Don't Push the Horses

Don't Push the Horses

Society EN ↓ 10 episodes

Tetiana Burianova, a Ukrainian producer, and Tim McDonnell, an American journalist, are friends and colleagues who work hard and party harder together in Kyiv. Join them, and a rotating cast of characters from the heart of Kyiv’s cultural scene, for a series of moving, funny, and insightful conversations about what life in the city during wartime is really like.

Author

Don't Push the Horses

Category

Society

Podcast website

podcasters.spotify.com

Latest episode

Jan 14, 2026

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Episodes

Ukraine’s information battlefield: How a government spokesperson chooses which secrets to keep 14.01.2026

Today’s episode is a New Years special. Tanya and Tim revisit a debaucherous night out on the town and their favorite achievements of 2025. Then we get the inside scoop from the US-Ukraine peace negotiations with Heorhiy Tykhyi, spokesperson for Ukraine’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Gosha, as his friends know him, is fighting on Ukraine’s information front: Pitching the government’s views to the...

Howard Buffett has a bone to pick with the White House and fellow philanthropists 31.12.2025

The billionaire son of legendary investor Warren Buffett is many things: A farmer, philanthropist, business executive, and former sheriff. He’s also among the top foreign donors to Ukraine and has visited the country two dozen times since 2022, often spending time on the front line (including a few close calls with FPVs). In today’s episode, Buffett joins us on his birthday to share his strategy f...

How to keep the lights on in Ukraine's schools and hospitals 17.12.2025

Blackouts reaching ten or more hours a day are a fact of life across Ukraine these days, as Russia continues to use attacks on the electric grid as a key weapon in its hybrid war. One of the people fighting back is today's guest, Yuliana Onishchuk, who made a risky career change to focus on solar power at a time many people thought it wasn't needed - only to prove, 33 schools and hospitals...

War is about People: Stories from the Washington Post Kyiv bureau 27.11.2025

We’re in love, literally, with today’s guest: Siobhán O’Grady, the Washington Post’s Ukraine bureau chief, who also happens to be Tim’s wife. Siobhán shares her experiences navigating cancelled nail salon appointments and incoming shelling. We also hear from our doggie Babette. Support the podcast: https://www.patreon.com/c/DontPushTheHorses

How the Invasion Influenced “Star Wars”: Hollywood Fiction Meets War 13.11.2025

In today’s episode, top Hollywood screenwriter Beau Willimon — whose credits include House of Cards, Severance, and Andor — and award-winning filmmaker Noaz Deshe tell the story of how they rushed to Ukraine at the beginning of the full-scale invasion with no clear plan of what they would find — and, in Willimon’s case, without permission from his employer — but managed to produce a captivating ne...

From Flowers to FPVs: Kseniia’s War Workshop 29.10.2025

In this episode, Tim fights his way through a forgotten corner of Soviet-style bureaucracy — and Kseniia Kalmus talks about her transformation from Kyiv florist to drone engineer, and how she created a community of foreign and Ukrainian volunteers working together to build some of the military’s most important weapons. She shares how fundraising became a daily part of life for every Ukrainian, wha...

Bookmaking Under Fire: Kyiv’s Book Revival in Wartime 15.10.2025

In today’s episode, Tania gets a puppy — and Nastya Leonova shares the story of IST Publishing, which has become one of Ukraine’s top producers of beautiful hardcover photo and culture books, despite rockets, blackouts, and paper shortages. We also talk about how, even as missiles fall, new bookshops are opening in Kyiv, the growing demand for Ukrainian-language books, and how people are clearing...

A Filmmaker Who Flows Like Water: Anton Shtuka on Documenting Ukraine’s War 02.10.2025

Before the full-scale invasion, Ukrainian filmmaker Anton Shtuka made his name directing music videos for some of the country’s biggest stars, including Aliona-Aliona and Kalush. But when Russia launched its all-out war, Shtuka wasn’t sure how to contribute - until he picked up his camera and began documenting the reality in front of him. Since then, he has completed three feature films that captu...

How Embroidered Shirts Became Cool Again: Maria Kvitka on Ukrainian Folklore, Museums, and Identity 24.09.2025

Tanya celebrates a birthday, and Tim gets schooled on Ukrainian birthday traditions. Then, badass folklorist and musician Maria Kvitka explains what’s wrong with Ukrainian museums, what it took to make traditional embroidered shirts cool, and why some young Ukrainians are still afraid to stop speaking Russian. Support our podcast and ask your question: https://www.patreon.com/cw/DontPushTheHorses...

Maslov Comes Home: How the Full-Scale Invasion Changed Kyiv, Photography and Us 17.09.2025

In our inaugural episode, Ukrainian-American photographer Sasha Maslov recounts his chaotic return to Kyiv in the first days of the full-scale invasion, and how the war transformed his approach to photography. We also reflect on how the invasion began for each of us: the shock of that first day, the changes that swept through Ukraine - and Kyiv in particular - as the war unfolded, and the strange...

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