Explaining Ukraine

Why is Georgia drifting toward authoritarianism? Why is its current government aligning more closely with Russia and blaming its predecessors for Russia’s 2008 invasion of Georgia? How are the histories of Ukraine and Georgia deeply intertwined—and why are these two countries key to understanding Eastern Europe? My name is Volodymyr Yermolenko. I am a Ukrainian philosopher, the chief editor of Ukr...

Some might argue that the concept of evil is outdated in our relativistic age. And yet—how can we speak of war crimes, cruelty, or the neglect of human dignity without invoking the word evil? Perhaps it’s time to take it seriously again, to revisit the thinkers who have grappled with its meaning. One of them, of course, is Hannah Arendt. This is a conversation about Hannah Arendt and the concept o...

We need a fresh perspective on propaganda. The old strategies for combating misinformation are no longer effective. Simply offering fact-checks isn’t enough—those ensnared by propaganda aren’t searching for facts. They’re searching for something deeper: identity, belonging, and meaning. This is the central argument of a new book by Peter Pomerantsev, a renowned scholar of propaganda and informatio...

Terrell Jermaine Starr is a Black American journalist who spends much of his time in Ukraine. He knows the country intimately. He also recognizes the striking parallels between the experiences of Ukrainians and Black Americans in the United States. For centuries, both groups have endured systemic violence and humiliation—sometimes overt, sometimes hidden—that have pushed them into subordinate role...

Democracy is fragile today. Yet it is not confined to a single place, a specific country, or a particular political system. The democratic promise remains far from fully realized. Still, we can find hope in the idea that when democracy retreats in one part of the world, it may grow stronger in another. This is “Thinking in Dark Times”, a podcast series by UkraineWorld, an English-language media ou...

Does Ukraine have freedom of speech during the war? How are the media surviving under such harsh conditions? How do media perspectives within Ukraine compare to those from outside the country? Guest: Ola Myrovych, CEO of the Lviv Media Forum—one of the largest media events in Ukraine. We’re recording this conversation during the forum itself, in May 2025, in Lviv. Host: Volodymyr Yermolenko, a Ukr...

We had a conversation with Anne Applebaum a few months ago on this podcast about her book "Autocracy, Inc".—be sure to check it out: https://ukraineworld.org/en/podcasts//ep-332 The current episode features a public conversation on similar themes: the crisis of democracy, the rise of new autocracies, Trump’s pro-Russian stance, and Russia’s war against Ukraine. It was recorded as a keynote discuss...

Ukrainian resistance to the Russian invasion has once again brought to light an old topic: the cruelty of Russian imperialism—both past and present. In this episode, we explore the major historical periods and defining features of Russian imperialism since the 16th century. This conversation will help you understand that Ukraine’s experience is one of the most visible examples, but by no means the...

In this episode, we will explore the life and works of Oleksandra Ekster, a prominent Ukrainian avant-garde artist of the early 20th century. We will discuss cubofuturism, the cultural identity of Kyiv, the role of women in Ukrainian art, and the connections between Ukrainian and European avant-garde art. Our guest for this episode is Anna Lodygina, a Ukrainian art historian and journalist. She re...

What lessons can we draw from the Ukrainian experience? Why is Ukraine not only a place of suffering and fight, but also a place of thinking and creation? Why is the cultural renaissance so strong during the war? What does it mean to think in dark times? Lecture by Volodymyr Yermolenko, a Ukrainian philosopher, the chief editor of UkraineWorld, and the president of PEN Ukraine, at the Institute fo...

We should look at wars not to build hierarchies but to understand something important about humans. Where does the violence come from? How to prevent it? What to do when it is already there? How can we defend ourselves and others? For this episode, we invited an award-winning writer V.V. Ganeshananthan. Her novel "Brotherless Night" tells a story of the civil war in Sri Lanka that has lasted for m...

Do dictators rule by death and nihilism? Do they want to make us powerless - and do they succeed? Is today’s crisis also our chance? This is an online conversation between Polish philosopher Krzysztof Czyzewski, American historian Marci Shore, Georgian writer Iva Pezuashvili, and Ukrainian philosopher Volodymyr Yermolenko. The event was held under the aegis of Dilemma project implemented by the In...

Why is Russia using World War II as its major historical anchor? Why is the end of World War II seen in Ukraine as a victory of one evil over another, rather than a victory of good over evil? What was Ukraine’s role in World War II? Host: Volodymyr Yermolenko, Ukrainian philosopher and writer, the chief editor of UkraineWorld, president of PEN Ukraine. You can support our work at https://www.patre...

Margaret Atwood is perhaps one of the greatest living writers today. Her novel "The Handmaid’s Tale" and its continuation, "The Testaments," are seen by many as prophetic. This is a conversation about dangers and hopes, about human nature, the classics, and the challenges of dark times. Host: Volodymyr Yermolenko, a Ukrainian philosopher, the chief editor of UkraineWorld, and the president of PEN...

We have a lot to share with each other. We won’t agree on everything. Often, what is “good” for one may be “bad” for the other. And yet, this conversation is necessary — and it’s interesting. A perspective from Africa on Ukraine can offer a fresh viewpoint. Likewise, a Ukrainian perspective on Africa can do the same. At the very least, let’s try. Host: Volodymyr Yermolenko, Ukrainian philosopher a...

Ukrainian modernist literature is one of the golden ages of Ukrainian cultural history. In this episode, we’ll explore why that is—and why the questions raised during this period, spanning the late 19th and early 20th centuries, remain deeply relevant today. "Explaining Ukraine" is a podcast by UkraineWorld, a multilingual media outlet focused on Ukraine. Host: Volodymyr Yermolenko, a Ukrainian ph...

They have already become our friends: Jaap Scholten and a group of courageous Dutch writers, photographers, artists, and rugby players who come regularly to Ukraine to bring vehicles to the Ukrainian soldiers. We have already had conversations with some of them:  https://soundcloud.com/user-579586558/ep-287  https://soundcloud.com/user-579586558/ep-270 This time, we held a big event at PEN Ukraine...

You probably all know the Black Square, a famous avant-garde painting that has radically changed the way we think about art. You’ve probably heard that this painting was created by Kazymyr Malevych, a “Russian painter”. But he was not Russian. He comes from Polish and Ukrainian descent, and the Ukrainian sources of his creativity and thinking are huge. In this episode, we will try to explain why i...

Which 20th-century ideas should we carry with us into the 21st century? And which of them have become obsolete? We discuss these topics during a live event with David Rieff, a prominent American writer and journalist. The discussion was held on March 1st at PEN Ukraine space in Kyiv, and was organized by UkraineWorld, PEN Ukraine and Thinking in Dark Times podcast. Hosts: Volodymyr Yermolenko, a U...

Ivan Mazepa is a renowned Ukrainian leader who made significant contributions to the flourishing of Ukrainian culture and the Cossack state in the late 17th century. Because of his desire for Ukraine's freedom from Muscovy, Mazepa aligned himself with the Swedish king Charles XII in a war against the Russian tsar Peter I, ultimately losing the decisive battle near Poltava in seventeen o nine Howev...

The Russian and Soviet imperial narratives tried to persuade us that Ukrainian culture is provincial. It is not. It is very global and is enshrined in many interesting topics of the wider world. In this episode, we delve into these trajectories of ideas. Hosts: Volodymyr Yermolenko, a Ukrainian philosopher, the chief editor of UkraineWorld, the president of PEN Ukraine, and Tetyana Ogarkova, a Ukr...

How can Ukraine adapt to the new world that has emerged? Has America ceased to be its key partner? Is Europe ready to step in, and what does it need to do? Where else can Ukraine find its partners? Our guest is Dmytro Kuleba, a prominent Ukrainian diplomat and intellectual who served as Ukraine’s foreign minister from 2020 to 2024. Host: Volodymyr Yermolenko, a Ukrainian philosopher, the chief edi...

Let's explore the Ukrainian intellectual tradition. What recurring ideas can be found in Ukrainian philosophy, literature, and historiography? What are the key topics of ongoing debates in these fields? Hosts: Volodymyr Yermolenko, a Ukrainian philosopher and the chief editor of UkraineWorld, the president of PEN Ukraine, and Tetyana Ogarkova, a Ukrainian literary scholar, and author of the French...

War photography is not just about capturing destruction—it is about witnessing history, shaping narratives, and conveying human resilience. What motivates a photographer to enter a war zone, and how does this experience transform their perception of the reality? The guest of the Explaining Ukraine podcast is Jérôme Barbosa, an independent photographer who has ventured into Ukraine during wartime....

The humiliation of civilians is one of the widespread tactics of the Russian army. It uses starvation and deprivation as a war technique, and shells civilian targets when there are no military facilities around. We are discussing this issue with Catriona Murdoch, Vice-President of Global Rights Compliance. Catriona is an international criminal and human rights expert with over 13 years of experien...