Hey, it's Empire's Book of the Day. I'm Andrew Limbong. The Last Sweet Bite isn't a straightforward

cookbook. There are recipes in it, sure, but it's more about people holding on desperately to the

food that makes them feel human. It's written by Michael Shake, who is a human rights advocate,

and the book profiles six geographical

areas that have been racked by war, violence, or even genocide.

Through all that, people still have to eat, but what they eat might change depending on their

lot in life.

Sheikh talks to NPR's Le La Faddle about how recipes are a reflection of both

international policies and people's will to persist. That's after the break. In the U.S.,

national security news can feel far away from daily life. Distant wars, murky conflicts,

diplomacy behind closed doors on our new show,

Sources and Methods. NPR reporters on the ground bring you stories of real people,

helping you understand why distant events matter here at home.

Listen to sources and methods on the NPR app or wherever you get your podcasts.

For a decade, Michael Shake chronicled the human cost of war.

He documented war crimes and human rights abuses in Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka,

genocide in Myanmar, deadly coups in Bangladesh, and Thailand, and later he counted the civilians

killed in violence in Mali and Syria.

But beyond the life lost, the structures destroyed, Sheikh watched the way war, occupation,

and violence stole something else from a people. The food they treasured.

His new book is called The Last Sweet Bite, Stories and Recipes of Culinary Heritage Lost and Found.

And he joins me now.

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