Start with Your Name

Here's a short look back at the first seventeen episodes from the inaugural season of the Start with Your Name podcast. We're already in production on season two and look forward to sharing many more of these stories with you. Theme song by Oleksandr Savochka

Fleeing Kyiv with his girlfriend, Zeyd must decide where he wants to make a new life, away from the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Fulfilling a childhood dream, Zeyd decides that this is the moment to move to Amsterdam and embrace a life in the Netherlands. Theme song by Oleksandr Savochka Additional music by: Denys Kyshchuk, Leigh Robinson & olexandrmusic

Answering to the name "Zeyd" is new for this week's guest, who is originally from Azerbaijan and was studying in Kyiv when the war broke out. Zeyd's journey is an exploration of life as a refugee from his own country and from war-torn Ukraine. Trigger warning: this episode contains discussion of domestic violence and abuse. Theme song by Oleksandr Savochka Additional music by: Denys Kyshchuk, Olek...

Guest host Sofie van den Enk talks with Lee about the challenges of living abroad, what he's learned from other podcast guests and about their approach to naming their own child. Theme song by Oleksandr Savochka Additional music by: Dvir Silver, Laurent Buczek & Trygve Larsen

The host becomes the guest as Lee's wife and the executive producer of the podcast, Sofie van den Enk, takes the reins. Sofie speaks with Lee about the long history of their relationship, the email that changed everything and Lee's journey moving from Brooklyn, New York to the Netherlands. Theme song by Oleksandr Savochka Additional music by: Julius H., Ashot Danielyan, Pavel Bekirov, Anastasia Ki...

Securing asylum in the Netherlands proves more challenging for Lior than for many others, mostly on account of her time in the U.S. military. Her path will take her into Kazakhstan and Russia before she makes her way back to the Netherlands. Theme song by Oleksandr Savochka Additional music by: Praz Khanal, Oleksii Kalyna, Ashot Danielyan, Denys Kyshchuk & Sergei Chetvertnykh

Born and raised in the capital city of Azerbaijan, Lior discovers two things at a young age: she's meant for a life abroad and she wants to know more about her Jewish roots. Our conversation is as much about her refugee story as it is her nearly lifelong pursuit of a Jewish life. After finishing her college career and spending time abroad studying in the U.S. Coast Guard, Lior returns to Azerbaija...

"Here. Now." This is the meaning of the tattoo that Lina bears on her right arm and the mantra that guided her through her journey away from Kyiv. We resume Lina's story as she's fleeing her home. It's February 2022 and the war in Ukraine has begun. Lina is headed west with a group of others she's just met in a bomb shelter in Kyiv. We follow her journey into Poland and, ultimately, to the Netherl...

Lina spent her childhood living in western Ukraine before moving to the capital city of Kyiv for university. She remained in Kyiv working in public relations and then took up freelance photography. Russia's annexation of Crimea in 2013 was a devastating blow for her country and for Lina's family, who'd spent many summers at their home in the peninsula. Less than a decade later, Lina awoke on Febru...

Arriving in the Netherlands, William discovers that his newfound freedom comes with its own set of risks and dangers. He spends a year navigating being a part of the refugee system and, soon after, alters the course of his career as the war in Ukraine begins. Theme song by Oleksandr Savochka Additional music by: Sergei Chetvertnykh & Luca Francini

Growing up in a very conservative, repressed country and culture, William had difficulty coming to terms with himself and the ways he was different from those around him. Championed by his grandmother, his sensitivity led him to change his name early on in his life and take a new one that felt like a much better fit. Despite rising to fame in the theater and on television, William's growing awaren...

Youssef has more to tell about his seven-month stay in the Egyptian prison system: what it was like from day-to-day, how the experience changed him and what he learned. In this short bonus episode, Youssef responded to my follow-up questions with a series of voice notes about the terrible treatment he received and his reasons for staying hopeful in the face of very challenging circumstances. Theme...

Youssef is in danger and must flee Egypt soon to avoid being detained and imprisoned again. As he journeys further and further from home and from the people he loves, he focuses on resuming and completing his studies and finding a place where he can live in safety. Theme song by Oleksandr Savochka Additional music by: Aleksey Chistilin, Sergei Chetvertnykh, Francesco Biondi & Nate Loper

With a flare for acting and the arts, Youssef assumed the role of activist as he entered university in his home city of Faiyum, Egypt. In so doing, he campaigned to keep the university environment safe, even as a new wave of dictatorship gripped the country. He also became a target for the new regime and was detained and imprisoned. Upon his release and after long discussions with friends and fami...

Once they reunite in the Netherlands, Yasmin and her family spend nearly a year living in refugee camps before getting refugee status and a new place to live in Amsterdam. Yasmin describes the Netherlands as her second home, but never stopped dreaming about returning to her homeland. That is ... until she made that dream a reality all on her own. Theme song by Oleksandr Savochka Additional music b...

Yasmin's life in Syria is permanently altered when protests and war break out in 2011. It quickly becomes clear that they won't be able to remain in their homeland and will become refugees. Yasmin is twelve years old at the time the war began. She would soon join her family on a journey through the Middle East, trying to find another place they can call home. Theme song by Oleksandr Savochka Addit...

Mohamed arrives to the Netherlands in hopes of being accepted as a political refugee. He learns that arriving to the Netherlands is only the beginning of this new leg of his journey, as he adapts to life in western Europe, far from family and friends. Theme song by Oleksandr Savochka Additional music by: AlexGrohl, Shakib Hasan, Ruud, Maxim Dudchik & Sergei Chetvertnykh 

Forced from his Egyptian homeland as a teenager, Mohamed escapes to Qatar and is reunited with his family. They hope to be able to stay together and wait for democracy to return to Egypt. The moment is short-lived, however, as Mohamed learns he must leave his family again, in search of asylum.   Theme song by Oleksandr Savochka Additional music by: Sergei Chetvertnykh & Shakib Hasan

Welcome to the Start With Your Name podcast. Each episode of this program will feature an immigrant, refugee and/or asylum-seeker. The conversation will offer guests an opportunity to delve into their past and shed light on the circumstances that led them to seek out a new life in a land far from their own. Theme song by Oleksandr Savochka