Monuments Woman Podcast

Monuments Woman

George Gavrilis and Laura Tedesco
Indiana Jones was a woman. Join host George Gavrilis as American archaeologist Laura Tedesco takes us on her 11-year journey to help save Afghanistan's cultural treasures from looters, earthquakes, and the Taliban.
Ep 19: 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.
Nov 16, 2021
28 min
Ep 18: 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.
Nov 9, 2021
34 min
Ep 17: 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.
Nov 2, 2021
30 min
Ep 16: 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.
Oct 26, 2021
28 min
Ep 15: 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.
Oct 19, 2021
21 min
Ep 14: 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.
Oct 12, 2021
28 min
Ep 13: 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.
Oct 5, 2021
20 min
Ep 12: 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.
Sep 28, 2021
25 min
Ep 11: 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.
Sep 21, 2021
28 min
Ep 10: People, People, People
Laura had an idea: a book on heritage work across Afghanistan, that tells the stories of how Afghans live and observe the archaeology and history around them. This book has become a document of what might be lost in the years ahead, now that the Taliban have taken over the country. 
Sep 14, 2021
33 min
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