Nash Holos Ukrainian Roots Radio Podcast

This conversation was recorded in early 2025. Event references reflect that date. Ukrainian newcomer Olena Lavrishcheva speaks with Pawlina about her family’s extraordinary journey from Kyiv to Nanaimo, their experience of the full‑scale invasion, and the community work now emerging on Vancouver Island. Olena recounts how she, her husband, and two of their daughters were unexpectedly outside Ukrai...

This podcast features a review of the first book in a trilogy by Canadian author Marsha Forchuk Skrypuch titled Kidnapped from Ukraine. The trilogy brings to light the horrific human impact of Vladimir Putin’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, which began on February 24, 2022. His first invasion occurred in 2014 when he took Crimea and portions of Eastern Ukraine. Skrypuch's trilogy portrays the liv...

Award‑winning Canadian author Marsha Forchuk Skrypuch returns to discuss her newly completed Kidnapped From Ukraine trilogy, set in Mariupol and grounded in the lived realities of Russia’s war on Ukraine. Her work continues to illuminate the human cost of this war for young readers at a time when few authors are writing into this space. This follow‑up conversation builds on last year’s Nash Holos...

Gene Berezovsky of Ukraine War Amps joins Pawlina with a clear, unvarnished update on the humanitarian crisis unfolding in Ukraine as Russia escalates winter attacks on civilian infrastructure. He discusses how sustained missile and drone strikes have left seniors, families, and thousands of displaced children struggling to survive in unheated dwellings with limited water, heating and electricity....

Originally recorded in 2014 and first published in 2025. Resurfaced for listeners who may have missed it. In this Nash Holos exclusive interview from 2014, Pawlina speaks with Mirko Petriw, Vancouver-based author of two spy thrillers set in Ukraine and president of the Ukrainian-Canadian Congress Vancouver branch. Recorded during the Maidan Uprising, in the tense weeks leading up to Russia’s annex...

In this 2011 interview, Valya Dudycz Lupescu discusses her debut novel, The Silence of Trees , a story that moves between post–World War II Ukraine and contemporary America. Drawing on years of interviews with elders who had never spoken about their wartime experiences, she explores the fear‑driven silences, cultural traditions, and fragmented memories carried by the Ukrainian diaspora. We talk ab...

Canadian veteran and sniper Wali was among the first foreign volunteers to answer President Zelensky’s call in early 2022. He served near Kyiv, Irpin, Bucha, and in parts of the Donbass during the most uncertain weeks of the full‑scale invasion. After speaking to the Ukrainian community in Vancouver, he joined Pawlina to discuss what compelled him to go, what he witnessed on the ground, and how th...

A previously aired conversation with Paulina Zelitsky , author of the two‑volume memoir The Sea Is Only Knee Deep . She discusses her work as a marine engineer at a soviet submarine station in Cuba at the height of the Cold War, her experiences inside the soviet system, and her 1971 defection to Canada with her two young children. The interview also includes a discussion about possible recently (2...

Harvard’s Ukrainian Research Institute (HURI) has long been a global leader in advancing the study of Ukrainian history, language, literature, and contemporary issues. In this episode, Pawlina speaks with Dr. Oleg Kotsuba, Director of Publications at HURI, about the institute’s remarkable grassroots origins and its role in establishing Ukrainian studies as a respected academic field at a time when...

In this Knyzhka Corner book review, Myra Junyk takes a fresh look at Serhii Rudenko’s Zelensky , a gripping biography of Volodymyr Zelensky—comedian, political outsider, and ultimately the wartime president who galvanized Ukraine after Russia’s full‑scale invasion. Myra highlights Rudenko’s vivid storytelling as he follows Zelensky from his early life in Kryvyi Rih and his unexpected rise to the p...

This Kultural Capsule feature looks at Ukraine’s first modern bid for independence in the years surrounding the First World War. It outlines how the early declarations of statehood set the foundation for a national revival that continues to resonate today. It also reflects on the unification of Ukraine’s early republics and the symbolic moments that kept the idea of independence alive through deca...

A review of Serhiy Zhadan’s A Harvest Truce , a tragicomic portrait of grief, resilience, and daily survival on Ukraine’s front lines, translated by Nina Murray and reviewed by Myra Junyk. *** This week’s Knyzka Corner looks at A Harvest Truce , Serhiy Zhadan’s tragicomic portrayal of everyday life in Eastern Ukraine during the ongoing conflict. Through the story of two brothers trying to bury the...

International correspondent Sergei Loiko reflects on his time inside the Donetsk airport during the height of the fighting — a rare vantage point that later shaped his novel Aeroport . This 2016 interview captures how the battle was understood before the English translation appeared and before the full‑scale invasion reshaped global awareness. A clear, unfiltered snapshot of the early phase of Rus...

In this Nash Holos exclusive from December 4, 2013, Pawlina speaks with Mirko Petriw—Vancouver-based author of two spy thrillers set in Ukraine and then-president of the Ukrainian Canadian Congress, Vancouver branch. This interview was recorded at a point when events had not yet escalated, though the shift in the air was clear. It captures the mood, concerns, and emerging currents that would soon...

Interview with Iryna Mycak about the 2025 Shevchenko Foundation Annual Report. Spotlight on Ukrainian museums in Canada. For full radio episodes and archives, listen on Mixcloud: https://www.mixcloud.com/nashholosukrainianrootsradio/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Gene Berezovski of Toronto-based Ukraine War Amps in conversation with Pawlina, chatting about giving a brief respite in Canada to a young relative in Ukraine, German Unity day and its parallels to the situation in Ukraine, and how the UWA Shoebox Program is a godsend to Ukrainian families and children displaced and disadvantaged as a result of russia's war of aggression against their homeland. Ho...

This edition of Knyzka Corner features Orysia Tracz’s book, First Star I See Tonight: Ukrainian Christmas Traditions.  In this beautiful book, Orysia Tracz explores the origins, rituals, and cultural significance of Ukrainian Christmas traditions in her first book, First Star I See Tonight. The book includes a number of articles about Ukrainian Christmas celebrations in Winnipeg and Manitoba...

A Nash Holos Feature Interview with Nick Buderatsky, a patriotic Ukrainian volunteer who was mentored by legendary combat medic Taira and went on to become a civilian paramedic working on Ukraine's front lines, including Avdiivka and Irpin. Despite being injured himself, he helped save countless lives — including in Bucha and Irpin, where he set up a mobile field hospital modeled after a M.A.S.H....

Recently on Nash Holos I interviewed two authors of young adult novels set in war-torn Ukraine: 2022 Mariupol and 2014 Crimea. Both great reads but also gut-punching, even for adults. "Kidnapped from Ukraine: Under Attack" by Marsha Skrypuch tells the story of 12-year old Dariia, who gets separated from her family during the attack on Mariupol. In the chaos she is abducted by russia, put through a...

Pawlina in conversation with Canadian Kobzar, one of the principals of Toonie Tuesdays, a unique and visionary fundraiser to support Ukraine. Kobzar explains the crowd-funding approach that Toonie Tuesdays takes to overcome the inevitable "compassion fatigue" and in the process makes fundraising for Ukraine accessible to anyone who can spare a toonie ($2) to help defenders in Ukraine. At the time...

Back in 2011, some 10 years ago now, I had the pleasure and privilege of speaking with Oleg Atbashan, author of a book called Shakedown Socialism: Unions, Pitchforks, Collective Greed, the Fallacy of Economic Equality, and other Optical Illusions of "Redistributive Justice" .   Oleg shared with me some startling personal recollections of life in Ukraine—and, by extension, anywhere in the form...

Pawlina in conversation with Svitlana Kominko, Co-Founder and Executive Director of Maple Hope Foundation in Vancouver. Svitlana shares details of how her foundation came to sponsor the upcoming west coast and Ottawa performances of iconic and beloved Ukrainian singer Oksana Mukha on her 2024 Canada/US tour. She also tells about Oksana's current fundraising project helping with the rehabilitation...

Oksana Poberezhnyk in conversation with iconic and beloved Ukrainian singer Oksana Mukha on her 2024 Canada/US tour. Oksana shares details of her music career as well as her current fundraising project helping with rehabilitation of Ukrainian defenders. Originally aired Dec 7, 2024 on Nash Holos Ukrainian Roots Radio 6pm on AM1320CHMB Vancouver. In Ukrainian. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy...

Gene in conversation with Pawlina shares details of UWA's 2024 Christmas Shoebox project and how, thanks to UWA donors, Ukrainian families who have lost their homes and livelihoods are being helped with basic footwear as well as food parcels to help make the festive season more festive, and the winter season tolerable. In English. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

• Ukrainian Food Flair: Two delicious salads: Leek and Apple, and Red Cabbage • Knyzhka Corner Book Review: Myra reviews Trapped in Hitler's Web by Marsha Forchuk Skrypuch • Ukrainian Proverb of the Week • Other items of interest • Great Ukrainian music! (A musical nod to Ivana Kupala and Ukrainian wedding.) Your host: Pawlina. The Vancouver edition of Nash Holos airs Saturdays at 6pm PST on air a...