While I know otherwise, I often find myself wondering if the name “Afghanistan” comes from some ancient word for “tragedy.” Afghanistan is in the headlines yet again — swiftly, and with almost no resistance, taken over by Taliban overlords, who envision a medieval-style caliphate. To someone of my generation, this weekend’s events feel like déjà vu from a lifetime of watching that troubled corner of the world. First, in a decade of warfare that spanned nearly the entire 1980s, Afghanistan hobbled the USSR. And now — after spending two decades, nearly a trillion dollars, and thousands of American lives…

Roads & Kingdoms is proud to co-release this short film about the opening of the great Franco-Palestinian chef Fadi Kattan’s first restaurant in North America—and the first prominent restaurant in Toronto to call itself Palestinian. OPEN is shot entirely on film by an all-volunteer crew, blending Kodak Super 8, 35mm point & shoot, medium format, and Polaroid. We were first introduced to Fadi Kattan by Roads & Kingdoms co-founder Nathan Thornburgh in the fall of 2024. Fadi’s reputation preceded him, mostly through the groundbreaking cookbook he’d just published that was topping all the year-end lists. When Nathan explained that Fadi…

With the fall of Afghanistan, I’ve been reflecting on my travel experiences there as a 23-year-old backpacker on the “Hippie Trail” from Istanbul to Kathmandu. Yesterday and today, it’s a poor yet formidable land that foreign powers misunderstand and insist on underestimating.   In this journal entry from 1978, stow away with me on the bus from Mashhad, Iran, to Herat, the leading city in western Afghanistan.  Saturday, July 29, 1978: Mashhad to Herat  My Spanish friend woke me at 5:45. I think I would have slept all morning if he hadn’t have come in. We caught a ride down to the station and,…

In Bangladesh, Pumpkin Plus transforms rural lives through the innovative technology of growing crops on sandbars. They are a finalist for the 2024 Food Planet Prize. KURIGRAM, Bangladesh – Bangladesh sits on the Ganges-Brahmaputra delta, crisscrossed by the Padma, Brahmaputra, Meghna and Karnaful rivers. Though rivers have long been lifelines for the communities setting up shelters along their shores, the past decades have brought about destructive change. Riverbank erosion has cost the local population their homes and agricultural lands threatening their food security, and livelihood. Mosammad Apruza is one of those locals. Married at 16, and now mother to three…