Odesa in love and war

Let’s travel for a moment. Imagine you are on the shore of the Black Sea, in Odesa — one of the most beautiful cities in Eastern Europe.

Odesa possesses multiple identities and refuses to be trapped by a single definition. It is Jewish, French, Italian, Ukrainian, Crimean Tatar, Romanian, Moldovan, Greek, Bulgarian, and more. Both the Russian and Soviet empires sought to flatten this multiplicity into a single imperial identity. They failed. Today, in an act of resentment, Russia is attempting to destroy Odesa. Missiles and drones fall upon its historic center, a site of UNESCO World Heritage.

Meanwhile, Odesa is seeking a new identity. It is a work in progress—not yet fully formed—which makes the city incredibly vibrant and, in many ways, still misunderstood.

• Host: Volodymyr Yermolenko, a Ukrainian philosopher, chief editor of UkraineWorld, and president of PEN Ukraine.
• Guest: Julian Evans, a British-Australian journalist, writer, traveler, and filmmaker. His latest book, Undefeatable: Odesa in Love and War, published by Scotland Street Press, shares his personal story of Odesa through his friendships and family connections.

This is the “Explaining Ukraine” podcast. Explaining Ukraine is produced by UkraineWorld and brought to you by Internews Ukraine.

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This podcast was made with the support of the International Renaissance Foundation. It's content is the exclusive responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily reflect the views of the International Renaissance Foundation.This episode is also produced with support from Politeia, a Ukrainian NGO.