Episodes 11–20
Balkh or Bust
Laura and George head to the north of Afghanistan, where archaeological riches abound and challenges mount as the once rebellious north comes under Taliban control.
September 21, 2021
Silverback Gorillas
The discussion of the atmospheric Afghan north continues as Laura takes us on a sweep of its archaeological history. She uses words like "silverback" and "tumuli" that George had to look up and has now added to his everyday vocabulary.
September 28, 2021
Troubletown II
The Taliban are racing towards the gates of Kabul. Everyone is heading for the exits, even Afghan friends Laura and George thought would never leave. They reminisce about Laura's life in the confines of the US Embassy and the city just beyond the compound.
October 5, 2021
In the End, Love Wins
With Kabul's internet at a slow drip and telecom companies losing staff and clients left and right, Laura and George manage somehow to connect with an Afghan colleague and friend. Jamal stayed in Kabul after the Taliban took over, and has a story to tell.
October 12, 2021
Sift This
So how does one exactly become an archaeologist? Laura’s answer transports us to the 1990s to graduate school in a gritty New York and digs in broiling Cyprus and a newly independent Armenia.
October 19, 2021
Not the Kardashians' Armenia
After her cat survives a fight with a venomous snake in her front yard, Laura reminisces about an Urartian archaeological dig in Armenia in the 1990s and an unexpected marriage proposal.
October 26, 2021
Punch in the D*ck
After Armenia, Laura heads to a dig in Syria. In between stories of wild dogs and being detained by police, she teaches us a thing or two about Mesopotamian civilizations.
November 2, 2021
It's All About the Paper
Laura hires an intrepid and seasoned photographer to shoot Afghanistan’s heritage sites. As it turns out, this is no easy mission, as Robert Nickelsberg tells us in his own words.
November 9, 2021
Zabul, Not Kabul
After channeling Redd Foxx while nearly choking to death, George talks to Laura about her jaunt to Zabul province and her quest to find historic sites to preserve.
November 16, 2021
The Architect
The saga of the National Museum of Afghanistan continues as Laura and George talk with Toño Foraster Mariscal, the Spanish architect who in 2013 won the competition to design a new museum and who believes that architecture cannot be the protagonist of the story.
November 30, 2021