Other Armenias Podcast

In this episode we talk to Ani Khachatryan, who has many years of experience in the environmental struggle in Armenia and especially in the movement against Lydian International's attempt at opening a gold mine in Amulsar in 2018. Ani talks to us about what it means to struggle for the environment, why it matters, and the major personal risks of being "an activist."

In this episode - the first of which we record TOGETHER, from the same place! - we discuss Armenia as a meeting ground, a place through which many come and share lives, worlds, friendships, and ideas, but also a place in which the power differentials through all of the other Armenias meeting in one place is starkly felt, especially for those who live in the Republic of Armenia. We also discuss our...

In this episode we talk to Raja Swamy about his new book Capitalism and Catastrophe: A Critical Disaster Studies Manifesto ( https://www.berghahnbooks.com/title/SwamyCapitalism ). Our conversation touches upon the arguments he makes in his book - about the need to refocus on capitalism as a constant and normalized disaster, which also now more than ever creates acute disasters as well as imperiali...

Ի՞նչ է քվիրը։ Ի՞նչ է արվեստը։ Ի՞նչ է քաղաքականությունը։ Զրույց Լուսինե Թալալյանի հետ Այս եպիսոդում մենք արվեստագետ Լուսին Թալալյանի հետ զրուցում ենք «Քվիրինգ Երևան»-ի պատմության, կոլեկտիվի անվան մեջ «քվիր» տերմինի իմաստի և այն մասին, թե ինչպես է այն թարգմանվել որպես տարօրնակելով։ Մենք քննարկում ենք արվեստի, կյանքի և քաղաքականության միջև եղած փոխհարաբերությունների վերաբերյալ հարցերը Հայաստանում և դ...

In this interview, we talk with Svetlana Avagyan of Luys Yoga and @luyscast who works through various methods, including kinesiology and yoga, to heal women's birth trauma. We discussed how women, who are either made afraid of birthing naturally or who are discouraged from doing so otherwise, are led to cesarian sections that are assumed to be easier, leaving them with the potential for many healt...

In this episode we interview authors of Psychoanalysis Under Occupation: Practicing Resistance in Palestine, Lara Sheehi and Stephen Sheehi. We talk about their concept of "reality bending" in the book and its many uses beyond the context of military occupation, apartheid, and today's genocide in Palestine - including how we might think about all of the realities in Armenia that are regularly bent...

Milena and Tamar have a discussion on race, identity politics, assimilation, and the different racial regimes (across space and time) in which Armenians have been caught up and which affect how we each see our own positionalities. A very vulnerable discussion. Please leave comments!

In this episode we are joined by psychologist (and dear friend!) Lusine Sargsyan to discuss the politics of trauma in the context of Armenias and beyond - how trauma manifests in our psyches, our memories, and our bodies; how trauma is used by state narratives in order to justify various forms of violence; and the ways in which misunderstanding "intergenerational" and "transgenerational" trauma ca...

In this episode we interview Beirut-based writer and educator, Nayiri Baboudjian Bouchakjian. Listen to the interview and also read Nayiri's deeply touching work that explores loss, yearning, kindness, love, neighborliness and much more - all in the contexts of many other Armenias. 2025, "Teaching in Times of Genocide": https://www.pangyrus.com/essay-memoir/teaching-in-the-times-of-genocide/ 2022,...

In this episode, we have a discussion with Nelli Sargsyan about how we each came to the struggle for the liberation of Palestine, what it means for us politically, especially in the context of genocide today, and how we connect it to Armenia.

In this episode, we talk to historian Gayane Ayvazyan about her article «Հայո՞ց, թե՞ Հայաստանի պատմություն» [“Armenians’ or Armenia’s History?”]. What were the forces that conspired to narrow down a wide Diaspora world into the focus and study of Armenian state as Armenia’s only, and singularly valuable, history? What is the role of capitalism and neoliberalism in such a narrowing? And what are th...

In this episode, we talk to members of the Sixty One Collective, a new collective of feminists in Armenia who are working to create contexts for revolution. The discussion includes a brief history of the collective, reflections on what makes for a collective, as well some of the fascinating ways in which the collective is imagining life, world, love, and revolution for the present and the future....

Welcome to the launch of Other Armenias, a podcast by other Armenians for other Armenians! In this first episode, your hosts Tamar Shirinian and Milena Abrahamyan talk about the inspiration behind this podcast, what is meant by other Armenias and what you can expect to hear about in future episodes. Remember to subscribe to our channel and stay tuned for new episodes every other Friday!