Podcast di IC

“A me pare inutile perdere tutto questo tempo.”
Dalla protesta di Ida prende avvio una riflessione sul vero significato della scrittura nello studio della letteratura. Attraverso il dialogo con Orbilius scopriamo che prendere appunti, costruire schede e riscrivere idee non è una perdita di tempo, ma il modo concreto con cui il pensiero prende forma.
La scrittura privata diventa così uno spazio di esercizio, di errore e di scoperta.
E il vecchio aneddoto medievale della monaca e del cavolo finisce per parlare anche di noi, immersi ogni giorno in un flusso rapido e disordinato di informazioni digitali.

Come si organizza davvero una lettura approfondita?
In questo iperspazio Ida e Orbilius mostrano come nasce una scheda di lettura: fabula, intreccio, voce narrante, osservazioni personali.
La scheda non serve a riassumere il testo, ma a smontarlo per capirne gli ingranaggi nascosti, proprio come si smonta un motore per comprenderne il funzionamento.
Leggere criticamente significa imparare a distinguere struttura, punti di vista, emozioni e strategie narrative. È qui che la lettura comincia a trasformarsi in pensiero.

La stessa storia può essere raccontata in modi completamente diversi.
Partendo da due versioni medievali quasi identiche nella fabula, questo iperspazio esplora il ruolo dell’intreccio e dei motivi liberi: dettagli, atmosfere, emozioni, caratteri.
Nel racconto dell’Anonimo senese il demonio non è più una presenza casuale, ma una forza mossa dall’invidia. E la vicenda della badessa si trasforma in un piccolo dramma della fragilità umana.
Attraverso il dialogo tra Ida e Orbilius impariamo così che la letteratura non vive soltanto nei fatti narrati, ma nel modo in cui vengono costruiti e fatti risuonare dentro il lettore.

Una monaca addenta distrattamente una lattuga senza benedirla e viene posseduta dal demonio.
Da questo curioso aneddoto medievale prende avvio un piccolo laboratorio di lettura. Attraverso il dialogo tra Ida e Orbilius scopriamo che dietro ogni racconto esiste una struttura nascosta: la fabula, cioè la sequenza essenziale degli eventi che regge la storia.
Smontare un testo non significa impoverirlo, ma imparare a vedere come funziona.
Tra diavoli, ortaggi e schede di lettura, questo iperspazio introduce uno degli strumenti fondamentali della bottega: osservare gli ingranaggi della narrazione per capire meglio ciò che leggiamo.

Would you be surprised if I told you that, in the six years I’ve lived in Eindhoven (Netherlands), I’ve often thought about my city, Milan (Italy)? Maybe you’d think it’s nostalgia… But no, not at all! If anything, I felt at home — or at least, not too far away. That’s because Milan and Eindhoven have a lot in common.
Sure, there are differences, but here, let’s focus on what connects these two cities and what they share.
These are the features that the two cities have in common. Water, climate, the architect Boeri, the golden age, the idea of freedom that gradually evolves from the freedom of trade to freedom without attributes, work, the mainstay, and finally the idea of the future.
The conclusion is entrusted to the Excelsior ballet. The ballet, first performed at La Scala in 1881, celebrates the victory of science over superstition

Voices from Stalingrad. Podcast. Episode 6 - Living at House 6/1 -
Readings from Ferdinanda Cremascoli's illustrated eBook You can read the book for free on Amazon or buy your copy.


In Grossman’s narrative, House 6/1 symbolizes all the places in Stalingrad—public buildings, homes, streets, and squares—where battles raged for every floor, every room, every inch of ground. While the identities of the countless individuals who fought fiercely against the Germans in these spaces often remain unknown, the novel restores them through its characters: archetypes of humanity painted with touches of humor and wit. Against the backdrop of death, destruction, and tragedy, this segment of the story adopts a different register. Here, the tone is light-hearted, reflecting the voices of ordinary people—terrified yet defiant, mocking their fear.

This episode is the last one.  Thank you for your attention and hope to see you again next time!

Voices from Stalingrad. Podcast.
Episode 5 - A Parcel at the Station

A Parcel at the Station is a poignant and tender story about Lena, a very young nurse serving on one of the most brutal fronts of the war.
Amid the relentless battle for the station unfolds the sorrowful tale of Lena's love for Kovalyov, a courageous young officer of the XIII Guards Division.
An elegiac tone weaves through the grotesque realities of war.

Readings from Ferdinanda Cremascoli's illustrated eBook
You can read the book for free on amazon or buy your copy.
All info In the description of the episode.

Voices from Stalingrad. Podcast.
Episode 4 - Scenes fron A Marriage

In the summer of 1942, the shadow of war looms over Stalingrad, yet life in the city continues much as before. Its inhabitants persist in their routines, among them Pavel Andreevich Andreev, a worker at the Red October foundry, and his wife, Varvara. The scene unfolds in their home, in the kitchen. Pavel is having dinner before heading out for his night shift at the factory, while Varvara stands nearby, ready to serve him as she has done faithfully for forty years of their shared life. To fully grasp the dynamics of this moment, we must first learn more about the protagonists.

Readings from Ferdinanda Cremascoli's illustrated eBook
You can read the book for free on amazon or buy your copy.
All info In the description of the episode.

Voices from Stalingrad. Podcast.
Episode 3 - Dictators - Part two - Stalin



Stalin is a looming yet indirect presence. In the first novel, his voice is heard, but he appears in person only in two brief chapters of Life and Fate. In these pivotal chapters, there is no space for the perspectives of other characters, as no one, except for his personal secretary, has access to Stalin.
Thus, the narrator resumes control, imagining Stalin’s.

Readings from Ferdinanda Cremascoli's illustrated eBook
You can read the book for free on amazon or buy your copy.
All info In the description of the episode.

Voices from Stalingrad. Podcast.
 Episode 3 - Dictators - Part One - Hitler

The two dictators share a profound estrangement from the European political and legal tradition, the very foundation of democracy as a system of governance. Both Hitler and Stalin believe that the rights they claim for their own people need not be extended to others. Crude and devoid of moral scruples, indifferent to the human cost of their actions, the two men are strikingly alike. Yet, they are not identical. While the outcomes of their regimes—terror and extermination—are comparable, their personalities and methods differ.

 The pages devoted to these dictators resonate with Imre Kertész’s reflections in his essay The Immortality of the Concentration Camps. Kertész compares Nazism and Bolshevism, identifying them as “the two murderous political movements of the twentieth century.” He highlights their differences—not in the fatal consequences of their actions, which are equally catastrophic, but in their underlying nature.  

Readings from Ferdinanda Cremascoli's illustrated eBook.
You can read the book for free on amazon or buy your copy.