Episode 4 (2015–2026) closes our Modern History of Ukraine series. We follow the “cyborgs” who held Donetsk Airport, the rise of Volodymyr Zelensky, and the toppling of Soviet symbols as Ukraine reshapes its identity. We also look at Crimea’s occupation, the Crimea Platform, the fate of the Crimean Tatars, and the Ukraine Recovery Conference in Italy — where the world plans how Ukraine will rebuild.

U.S. Ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield’s remarks at the UN Security Council meeting on Russian filtration of Ukrainians:

⁠https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=auB1bYECCfA⁠

Sources/Further Reading:

Ukraine Recovery Conference (URC2025) — Official Site
Ukraine Recovery Conference 2025 (Rome)
https://www.urc-international.com/

Office of the President of Ukraine
Address by the President to the Participants of the Ukraine Recovery Conference 2025 (July 10, 2025)
https://www.president.gov.ua/en/news/zvernennya-prezidenta-do-uchasnikiv-konferenciyi-z-pitan-vid-98929

Reuters
Conference commits over 10 bln euros to Ukraine rebuilding, Italy says (July 10, 2025)
https://www.reuters.com/business/aerospace-defense/conference-commits-over-10-bln-euros-ukraine-rebuilding-italy-says-2025-07-10/

Office of the President of Ukraine
President Zelenskyy Opens the Inaugural Crimea Platform Summit (Aug. 23, 2021)
https://www.president.gov.ua/en/news/prezident-ukrayini-vidkriv-inavguracijnij-samit-krimskoyi-pl-70269

U.S. Department of State
Russia’s Filtration Operations and Forced Relocations (2022)
https://2021-2025.state.gov/russias-filtration-operations-and-forced-relocations/

The New Yorker
Joshua Yaffa, Inside Russia’s “Filtration Camps” in Eastern Ukraine (Oct. 2022)
https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2022/10/10/inside-russias-filtration-camps-in-eastern-ukraine

Reuters
Russian missile strike hits Ukrainian shopping mall in Kremenchuk (June 28, 2022)
https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/rescuers-dig-survivors-russian-missile-strike-ukrainian-shopping-mall-2022-06-28/

Freedom House (Nations in Transit 2014 — Ukraine PDF)
Nations in Transit 2014: Ukraine
https://freedomhouse.org/sites/default/files/28.%20NIT14_Ukraine_final.pdf

Welcome to Part 3 of 4 in our Modern History of Ukraine series, tracing the last 50 years of Ukraine’s story. In this episode, we break down how corruption and oligarchs became central players in Ukraine’s politics and economy—where they came from, how the system worked, and why it proved so hard to escape. We also explore why Ukraine didn’t move toward Europe sooner, and how ordinary Ukrainians pushed back—culminating in mass protests that reshaped the country. This episode covers Ukraine’s story from 1995 to 2014.

Sources / Further Reading

1. Freedom House — Nations in Transit 2014: Ukraine (PDF) ⁠https://freedomhouse.org/sites/default/files/28.%20NIT14_Ukraine_final.pdf⁠
2. Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty — Ukraine-Russia “Trade War” (Aug 2013) ⁠https://www.rferl.org/a/ukraine-russia-trade-war/25076710.html⁠
3. U.S. Department of State — Country Reports on Human Rights Practices: Ukraine (2004) ⁠https://2009-2017.state.gov/j/drl/rls/hrrpt/2004/41715.htm⁠
4. Centre for Eastern Studies (OSW) — Ukrainian Parliament Adopts Part of “European Laws” (Sep 25, 2013) ⁠https://www.osw.waw.pl/en/publikacje/analyses/2013-09-25/ukrainian-parliament-adopts-part-european-laws⁠
5. Anders Åslund (PDF) — [your downloaded PDF] (Dec 3, 2013) (Your local file: aslund20131203.pdf — replace with the public link if you have one)
6. Wikipedia (background dates only) — Leonid Kuchma ⁠https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leonid_Kuchma⁠
7. Wikipedia (background dates only) — Viktor Yushchenko ⁠https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Viktor_Yushchenko⁠
8. Wikipedia (background dates only) — Yulia Tymoshenko ⁠https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yulia_Tymoshenko⁠
9. Wikipedia (background dates only) — Orange Revolution ⁠https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orange_Revolution⁠
10. Wikipedia (background dates only) — Budapest Memorandum on Security Assurances ⁠https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Budapest_Memorandum_on_Security_Assurances⁠

Welcome to Part 2 of 4 in our Modern History of Ukraine series, where we cover the last 50 years of Ukraine’s story — the moment Ukraine gets a divorce from Russia.

Russia doesn’t want Ukraine to walk away. It says, “Let’s make this work. You can stay in the union — just with more freedoms.” But Ukraine says, “No. I’m done with you.”

Like any divorce, it’s messy. They have to figure out who gets the military, who gets the nuclear weapons, and who keeps what. Suddenly, Ukraine is on its own, trying to build a very delicate democracy — and then something remarkable happens in 1994: a peaceful transfer of power between President Leonid Kravchuk and incoming president Leonid Kuchma. Changing leaders without violence is an extraordinary feat.

Ukraine is doing the right things — but even here in 1994, it’s still a young democracy, figuring out its place in the world.

Based on research from The Gates of Europe by Serhii Plokhy and the Internet Encyclopedia of Ukraine.

Welcome to Diary of the World, Part 1 of our 50-year journey through the modern history of Ukraine. Join host Kerri as she brings to life Ukraine’s story under Soviet rule — from the arrests of Ukrainian dissidents in the 1970s to the Chernobyl disaster and the growing movement for independence. Through vivid storytelling and real historical figures, you’ll experience how freedom and control shaped Ukraine’s path toward sovereignty.

From 1972 to 1988, Ukraine remained under Soviet control — but what did that really look like? This episode explores how the policies of Khrushchev, Brezhnev, and Gorbachev shaped life in Ukraine, balancing moments of freedom with periods of strict control. By the end, we’ll see how Ukraine’s growing desire for independence began to take shape.
Based on research from The Gates of Europe by Serhii Plokhy and the Internet Encyclopedia of Ukraine.

Professor Michael Naydan (Penn State) joins me to read Yuri Vynnychuk’s short story “An Embroidered World.” We pause at key moments to unpack its symbolism and explore how Ukrainian magical realism helps make sense of historical trauma.

Since the war in Ukraine started in 2022, over 100,000 Ukrainians have found refuge in Ireland. One bike shop owner in Dublin, Paul McQuaid, has made it his mission to help get bikes for free to any Ukrainian refugee and any Irish person in need of one. He has a long waitlist, and he could use donations and parts, but he is totally committed to continuing doing what he's doing. I talked to Paul about cycling, The Good Bike Project, and the time I rented a bike from him in Ireland.

The Good Bike Project has given away over 3,900 bikes. Please make a donation on their GoFundMe page here: https://thegoodbikeproject.com/

Ireland has long been a country of contradictions — the public stories told by church and state often sat uneasily alongside the hidden realities of ordinary lives. In this episode, I speak with acclaimed writer and critic Fintan O’Toole about his book We Don’t Know Ourselves and the modern history of Ireland.

We explore how revelations of abuse, secrecy, and collusion between church and state forced Irish society to confront uncomfortable truths — and how, out of those dark stories, came extraordinary change.

At the heart of this change, as Fintan explains, is storytelling: the courage of ordinary people to finally tell their real stories, and the willingness of a society to adapt. This conversation dives into Ireland’s journey from silence to honesty, and how contradictions, once spoken, became the engine of transformation.

Be sure to check out Fintan’s upcoming lecture at Princeton University, along with other outstanding guest speakers hosted by the Fund for Irish Studies:

https://fis.princeton.edu/current-season/

South Korea's loudspeakers stationed at the DMZ between North and South Korea are being taken down as a conciliatory gesture towards the North. Historically, the broadcasts coming from the North and South have been on and off, in a tit for tat psychological war between the two Koreas.

Is the new president Lee Jae Myung taking the right step in turning the broadcasts off? He will be cutting off an estimated 200,000 North Korean citizens from the outside world. Could cutting off the broadcasts that challenge the North Korean regime's draconian ways actually help the relationship between the two Koreas?

A Korean American student at Phillips Andover Academy committed suicide on March 27, 2025. He was captain of the golf team, an honor student, and co-founder of a charity called Fairway Fund. Why would a young man with so much promise take his life?

Kerri explores what some of the rumors surrounding the suicide pointed to: that the death was brought on by the all-too-familiar pressures Koreans and Korean Americans face to overachieve.

To understand where these pressures are rooted and what to do about overcoming the trauma they cause for Korean as well as Asian Americans, Kerri talks with Alex Ly, the Bad Asian Therapist.

To learn more about Alex's work, visit his site:
https://www.badasiantherapist.com/asian-american-therapist

Interested in this topic and want to learn more? Check out these books that I came across:

Grace Jung's _K-Drama School: A Pop Culture Inquiry Into Why We Love Korean Television
https://www.gracejungcomedy.com/books/kdrama-school-a-pop-culture-inquiry-into-why-we-love-korean-television

Stephanie Foo's What My Bones Know: A Memoir of Healing From Complex Trauma
https://www.stephaniefoo.me/