Bread and War

Bread and War: Why You Should Watch This Podcast

There were two moments during this podcast when I had to stop and fight back quite an emotional response — something I wasn’t expecting. But then again, Bread and War isn’t just a book. It’s a reckoning.

Today I recorded a conversation with Felicity Spector about her extraordinary book, Bread and War. The podcast will be out this Saturday, and I hope — truly — that you’ll take the time to listen.

Because this is not the kind of story the news tells.

This isn’t about summits or soundbites. It’s about bakers. It’s about bread. And it’s about what it means to keep feeding people in a country being bombed — to bake, to nourish, and to keep going when the world is falling apart around you.

Felicity writes with beautiful, haunting prose. She transports you to Ukraine, into the kitchens and bakeries of people who are doing the unthinkable — making loaves in war zones. Feeding their neighbours. Serving soldiers wearing body armour. Rolling out dough when the electricity is down and the sirens are howling.

It’s humbling. And it reminds us of something I believe deeply:
Bread has no borders.

I have Russian students. I have Ukrainian students. I have students from 84 different countries. And in every one of those kitchens, bread brings people together. It heals. It feeds. It holds us steady.

We forget, sometimes, that Ukraine is the grain basket of Europe. That its soil, its wheat, its bakers have fed nations. And still — even now — they’re baking.

This podcast is not just about war. It’s about survival, dignity, and the power of ordinary people doing extraordinary things. Felicity is one of the most inspiring people I’ve had the privilege to interview.

Please watch the film. Listen to the podcast. Buy the book.

We need peace. And we need to remember that in the darkest times, it’s often bread — not politics — that carries us through.