s2e13: sport plays such a crucial identity-shaping role in Ukraine - athletes of different genders, ethnicities, and skin colors helped to crystalize our feeling of national pride and what it means to be a Ukrainian in the last three decades since the end of the last Russian occupation. That's why it is no surprise that when another Russian assault started this year, thousands of Ukrainian athletes went to the frontline to defend Ukraine or rally global solidarity worldwide — they know very well...
Dec 10, 2022•46 min•Season 2Ep. 13
s2e11: Back in February, most Ukrainians still had no idea about the harrowing scale of genocide awaiting them in the coming months. But our friends from Syria and other parts of the Middle East reached out instantly with live-saving tips. Before unleashing it onto Ukraine, Russia tested and polished most of its terrorist and war crimes tactics on Syrian civilians — facing zero consequences or meaningful condemnation. But the hope is that crushing Russia in Ukraine will also end Russian terror i...
Nov 27, 2022•56 min•Season 2Ep. 11
s2e10: "Being free people is not cheap. What Ukrainians are going through is very much similar to what many people in Africa went through or are still going through." For another bridge episode of anti-colonial solidarity, we invited a South Sudanese liberation movement legend and prominent African thinker Peter Ajak Blair . In a powerful, raw, and moving chat, he explains why the Ukrainian liberation struggle triggers so many personal memories and why he believes more Africans should care. SUPP...
Nov 16, 2022•1 hr•Season 2Ep. 10
s2e9: when the genocide in Ukraine started, we were overwhelmed by the outpouring of support and solidarity from Japan. What makes people from, literally, the other side of our planet hurt, rally and cheer together with Ukrainians? For another bridge episode, we feature Ihor Ihnatiev , an activist from Stand With Ukraine Japan , and Asami Terajima , a Kyiv-based journalist with Kyiv Independent. We will also have a very special and moving cameo from one of our Patreon family members, joining liv...
Nov 05, 2022•56 min•Season 2Ep. 9
s2e8: Ukrainians are fighting not only to get their stolen homes back. This battle is also about their values, identity, and right to manifest who they are. Facing genocidal evil trying to assimilate them, Ukrainians resist by doubling down on diversity, creativity, and belief that they can build a better world. For this one, we feature Alice Zhuravel , a proud Ukrainian of color, a wartime artist making brilliant things at the nexus of tech and media, and the founder of Tozhsamist , a Ukrainian...
Oct 30, 2022•55 min•Season 2Ep. 8
s2e7: 'That's very unfair that you, Ukrainians, have to pay for all of us to find ourselves, to start valuing ourselves, to start emancipating ourselves.' We entered this bridge episode to find similarities between Qazaqstan and Ukraine in our shared anti-colonial struggle. We ended up with one of our most powerful and moving episodes. Our featured Ukrainian ally is Botakoz Kassymbekova , a prominent Kazakh scholar and thinker. SUPPORT US: #UkrainianSpaces is a 100% independent, volunteer, and l...
Oct 22, 2022•57 min•Season 2Ep. 7
s2e6: genocide in Ukraine triggers tens of millions of Russian neighbors. It is more than empathy, though. The history of colonial violence, erasure, and assimilation by russia is a shared experience for dozens of nations. We foster Ukrainian-Kyrgyz anti-colonial solidarity for another bridge episode and feature brilliant Kyrgyz journalist Bektour Iskender . SUPPORT US: #UkrainianSpaces is a 100% independent, volunteer, and listener-supported initiative. Please, ensure we can amplify more Ukrain...
Oct 15, 2022•54 min•Season 2Ep. 6
s2e5 : for this one, we pay tribute to fearless queer Ukrainians who defiantly manifest their rainbow colors even as Russian bombs keep raining down on them. Kharkiv pride went ahead on September 25th, 2022, in the country's second-largest city — despite fighting ongoing just several kilometers away and non-stop Russian shelling. Why has the Ukrainian queer liberation been turbo-charged by Russian full-scale invasion? We feature Ruslana Hnatchenko of Kharkiv Pride and Sarah Ashton-Cirillo , the ...
Oct 08, 2022•54 min•Season 2Ep. 5
s2e4: we are back to cast a kickass spell of ancient Ukrainian magic against Russian colonialism. Our featured Ukrainian is sensational artist Anka Lavriv . SUPPORT US: #UkrainianSpaces is a 100% independent, volunteer, and listener-supported initiative. Please, ensure we can amplify more Ukrainian voices and decolonize more Ukraine conversations — become our Patreon sponsor or bring a friend if you already are (a free trial is available.) GET FEATURED: send us a voicemail GET CONNECTED: ...
Oct 02, 2022•54 min•Season 2Ep. 4
s2e3: we are back to remind you why Ukraine and Ukrainian voices must remain at the center of global attention and should not be dismissed or ignored. Our featured Ukrainian is Oksana Pokalchuk , a legendary human rights defender who documents Russian war crimes. SUPPORT US: #UkrainianSpaces is a 100% independent, volunteer, and listener-supported initiative. Please, ensure we can amplify more Ukrainian voices and decolonize more Ukraine conversations — become our Patreon sponsor or bring a f...
Sep 25, 2022•49 min•Season 2Ep. 3
s2e2: why ending the genocide in Ukraine can only be done with the liberation of Crimea? Why understanding Russian settler colonialism in Crimea is understanding Ukraine? Why learning about the resistance of Crimean Tatars against annihilation is learning about Ukraine? Why speaking the truth about Ukraine is paramount, no matter how uncomfortable? For this one, we feature Sevgil Musaieva , an award-winning Ukrainian journalist, editor-in-chief of the country's largest independent newsroom Ukrai...
Sep 14, 2022•56 min•Season 2Ep. 2
s2e1: we are trying something new for Season Two — building stronger bridges between Ukrainians and our friends across the globe. In this one, we connect with kickass anti-imperialism and anti-colonialism fighters in Taiwan, where strong solidarity with Ukraine keeps making global headlines. Why Taiwanese feel so passionately about a nation living literally on the side of the planet? Our featured Ukrainian is a prominent activist and digital storyteller, Olek Shyn . And our featured Ukrainian al...
Sep 07, 2022•57 min•Season 2Ep. 1
s1e34: for the Season One finale, we keep it in the family and gather our #UkrainianSpaces family members to put messages of Ukrainian hope, love, resilience, and defiance into a podcast time capsule. Featured Ukrainians are (in the order of appearance): Mariam Naiem , Olek Shyn , Stas Olenchenko , Maria Buchelnikova , Romeo Kokriatski , Maria aka Vinok Collective , Kvitka Perehinets , Tetyana Denford (Bisyk) . SUPPORT US: #UkrainianSpaces is a 100% independent, volunteer, and listener-supported...
Aug 23, 2022•1 hr 1 min•Season 1Ep. 34
s1e33: one of the most visceral images from the ongoing genocide in Ukraine has been Ukrainians risking everything to save their pets or animals from a war zone. From zoo keepers who keep showing up for work even under russian shelling and rescuers putting their lives on the line to save pets trapped under the rubble of russian terrorist attacks, to thousands of volunteers working 24/7 to assist war-affected animals in the most dangerous places across the country. But why do Ukrainians keep risk...
Aug 20, 2022•46 min•Season 1Ep. 32
s1e32: apparently, eight years of Ukrainians having the lowest levels of political representation of far-right forces in Europe is not self-evident. So we gathered Ukrainian journalists to fact-check all the stupid myths about far-rights in Ukraine. Our featured Ukrainians are prominent journalists with years of experience in investigating fascists, Nika Melkozerova of New Voices of Ukraine and Katerina Sergatskova of Zaborona . Also, check out these explainers, ' How the world got tricked into ...
Aug 17, 2022•58 min•Season 1Ep. 32
s1e31: this show will be claimed by Romani Ukrainians and the stories of their struggle and defiance amid genocide in Ukraine. Our featured Ukrainian is Natali Tomenko , a brilliant Romani activist behind @ArcaYngo , a movement uniting Roma youth in Ukraine. SUPPORT US: #UkrainianSpaces is a 100% independent, volunteer, and listener-supported initiative. Please, ensure we can amplify more Ukrainian voices and decolonize more Ukraine conversations — become our Patreon sponsor or bring a friend...
Aug 15, 2022•52 min•Season 1Ep. 31
s1e30: this is a tribute to Generation Freedom, young Ukrainians in their 20s and 30s tasked with defending Ukraine from russian aggression. Identically to folks of their age elsewhere, they love their flat-whites, avocado toasts, and oversharing on social media. But they also put their lives on the line for democracy, equality, and freedom. For this one, we keep it in the family and invite back Mariam Naiem , a Ukrainian artist, researcher, and digital storyteller. SUPPORT US: #UkrainianSpaces ...
Aug 10, 2022•43 min•Season 1Ep. 30
s1e29: there are over 60+ million Ukrainians globally. We speak different languages. We are of different religions, skin colors, and ethnicities. But for the first time, each and every one of us is working in unison to ensure our homeland stands, our shared values are defended, our diversity is preserved, and our voices are not silenced. To understand Ukraine is to learn why diversity is integral to our identity and how it glues us together instead of dividing us. For this one, we feature Rissan...
Aug 06, 2022•36 min•Season 1Ep. 29
s1e28: in this one, we vent about the cruel, arrogant, and colonial treatment Ukrainians get from some foreign leftists. Our featured Ukrainian is Romeo Kokriatski , a journalist, podcaster, and proud Marxist. SUPPORT US: #UkrainianSpaces is a 100% independent, volunteer, and listener-supported initiative. Please, ensure we can amplify more Ukrainian voices and decolonize more Ukraine conversations — become our Patreon sponsor or bring a friend if you already are (a free trial is available.) ...
Aug 03, 2022•44 min•Season 1Ep. 28
s1e27: the Donbas mythology forms the ideological foundation of the Russian genocidal campaign in Ukraine. You won't understand Kremlin's obsession with eradicating Ukrainians without decolonizing your views about eastern Ukraine. This episode features Yevhenii Monastyrskyi , a brilliant young Ukrainian scholar from Luhansk. SUPPORT : #UkrainianSpaces is a 100% independent, volunteer, and listener-supported initiative. Please, ensure we can amplify more Ukrainian voices and decolonize more Ukrai...
Aug 01, 2022•50 min•Season 1Ep. 27
s1e26: "Every photographer dreams of taking a photo that will stop the war." This is the quote by Maks Levin, a Ukrainian journalist executed by Russian terrorists for documenting their war crimes in Kyiv suburbs earlier this year. Freedom of speech is sacrosanct for Ukrainians. That's why fierce and fearless Ukrainian journalism became the backbone of Ukrainian democracy. Thousands of Ukrainian journalists keep risking their lives every day to ensure the truth about this genocide is documented ...
Jul 28, 2022•52 min•Season 1Ep. 26
s1e25: many around the world can namedrop Russian writers. Few can do the same when it comes to Ukrainian literature. Even though the Ukrainian literary tradition is more than half a millennia older than Russian. Even though there wouldn't be Russian literature without Ukraine. Even though many literary names that people abroad think are Russian are, in fact, Ukrainian writers whose work Russian colonialism has appropriated. For this one, we recruit brilliant Ukrainian journalist Bohdana Neborak...
Jul 26, 2022•58 min•Season 1Ep. 25
s1e24: every fourth Ukrainian lives outside Ukraine. That's between 10 and 15 million of us who identify as Ukrainian or have Ukrainian ancestry. New genocide in our ancestral land activated Ukrainianness in so many from the diaspora. But for the first time in our history, Ukrainians abroad and at home are experiencing this awakening in sync. For this episode, we feature a Ukrainian-British journalist and entrepreneur, Joseph Stashko. SUPPORT: #UkrainianSpaces is a 100% independent, volunteer, a...
Jul 23, 2022•46 min•Season 1Ep. 24
S1E23: pride is something Ukrainians have been punished for, over and over again, for centuries. Pride in being who they are, the language they speak, the values they cherish, and the pride in who they love. In many ways, there's so much queerness in being a Ukrainian. And who are the best people to testify to that than queer Ukrainians? For this one, #UkrainianSpaces co-founder Maksym Eristavi and a prominent Ukrainian digital storyteller, Maria, aka VinokCollective , decolonize everything abou...
Jul 20, 2022•53 min•Season 1Ep. 23
s1e22: Food is sacral for Ukrainians. Any rituals around growing, cooking, sharing, and eating foods are synonymous with persisting, surviving, thriving, and connecting with fellow Ukrainians — against all odds. That's why one of the nicest things you can do to show appreciation for a Ukrainian is to learn how to cook Ukrainian dishes. This episode is about nurturing all of us back to life — and decolonizing some stuff about Ukrainian cuisine and culture along the way. Our featured Ukrainian is ...
Jul 18, 2022•43 min•Season 1Ep. 22
s1e21: From frontlines and volunteering to the global campaign of informing and explaining Ukraine, the Ukrainian resistance to russian fascism is led by brilliant, defiant Ukrainians of a new generation. In this one, we feature a young Ukrainian journalist and rising star of Ukrainian journalism, Anastasiia Lapatina . SUPPORT: #UkrainianSpaces is a 100% independent, volunteer, and listener-supported initiative. If you like us, please become our Patreon sponsor and help us to amplify more Ukra...
Jul 14, 2022•35 min•Season 1Ep. 21
s1e20: one of the biggest misconceptions about colonialism is that it must be exclusive to racial relations or maritime empires. Only white folks can colonize, and only folks of color can be colonized. But the history of Ukraine, most of Eastern Europe, as well as Scotland and Ireland, beg to differ. Our featured Ukrainian Nadia Dobrianska , an Ireland-based Ukrainian journalist, educates us about parallels between the colonial experiences of the Irish and Ukrainians. SUPPORT: #UkrainianSpaces i...
Jul 12, 2022•40 min•Season 1Ep. 20
s1e19: We are always unfiltered, raw, and honest, so this episode is about what all Ukrainians are going through, but few admit it: burnout . How it manifests, and how you can help a Ukrainian next to you battle it. The featured Ukrainian is researcher and activist Kvitka Perehinets . SUPPORT : #UkrainianSpaces is a 100% independent, volunteer, and listener-supported initiative. If you like us, please become our Patreon sponsor and help us to amplify more Ukrainian voices. GET FEATURED: you c...
Jul 09, 2022•51 min•Season 1Ep. 19
s1e18: Roses are red, violets are blue. Russian colonialism - we are coming for you. This episode is all about the historic moment of powerful self-decolonization most Ukrainians are going through. Our featured Ukrainian is Sasha Boychenko , a social justice researcher and advocate. SUPPORT: #UkrainianSpaces is a 100% independent, volunteer, and listener-supported initiative. If you like us, please become our Patreon sponsor and help us to amplify more Ukrainian voices. GET FEATURED: you can ...
Jul 05, 2022•48 min•Season 1Ep. 18
s1e17: understanding Ukraine is understanding why Ukrainians are bilingual, why and how we choose what language to speak in everyday life, and why so many Ukrainians ended up speaking Russian in the first place. We won't say this issue is simple, but it is possible for a foreigner to grasp. Ukrainian social media influencer and Ukraine explainer Stas Olenchenko helps us out with this topic and shares a powerful family story to illustrate it. SUPPORT: #UkrainianSpaces is a 100% independent, volun...
Jun 30, 2022•55 min•Season 1Ep. 17
