Lea Ypi grew up in one of the most isolated countries on earth, a place where communist ideals had officially replaced religion. Albania, the last Stalinist outpost in Europe, was almost impossible to visit, almost impossible to leave. It was a place of queuing and scarcity, of political executions and secret police. To Lea, it was home. People were equal, neighbours helped each other, and children were expected to build a better world. There was community and hope.

Then, in December 1990, a year after the fall of the Berlin Wall, everything changed. The statues of Stalin and Hoxha were toppled. Almost overnight, people could vote freely, wear what they liked and worship as they wished. There was no longer anything to fear from prying ears. But factories shut, jobs disappeared and thousands fled to Italy on crowded ships, only to be sent back. Predatory pyramid schemes eventually bankrupted the country, leading to violent conflict. As one generation's aspirations became another's disillusionment, and as her own family's secrets were revealed, Lea found herself questioning what freedom really meant.

Free is an engrossing memoir of coming of age amid political upheaval. With acute insight and wit, Lea Ypi traces the limits of progress and the burden of the past, illuminating the spaces between ideals and reality, and the hopes and fears of people pulled up by the sweep of history.

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I am delighted to welcome Lea Ypi to our Cold War conversation…

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0:00 Introduction

1:01 Life in Albania during the Cold War: Lea Ypi's Background

3:08 Lea Ypi's Family History and the Impact of Politics

7:15 Tourism and International Influence in Cold War Albania

15:46 Decoding Family Secrets: The Coded Language of Dissidence

19:25 The Delayed Fall of Communism in Albania and its Aftermath

26:35 Lea Ypi's Exposure to the Outside World and Cultural Shifts

34:39 Childhood Memories: The Tourist Area and Italian Television

42:13 Political Transition in Albania: From Communism to Liberalism

51:48 Rise and Fall of Pyramid Schemes in Transitioning Albania

54:18 Lea Ypi's Journey into Studying and Teaching Marx and Marxism

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