Artist and author (and mother) Nika Dubrovsky is back on the show to talk about Soviet cartoons and Soviet literature for kids and the unique radical progressive ethos children’s culture had in post-revolutionary Soviet society.

We talk about the utopian book series Dunno, about poems by Marshak and Chukovsky, who is considered the Russian Dr. Seuss, and we compare them to the American publishing system that censors interesting and alternative children’s books. Nika tells a fascinating story on how Dr. Seuss found publishing success despite all odds.

Nika is currently working on a book series she cofounded with her late husband David Graeber: Anthropology For Kids, which was inspired by Vladimir Mayakovsky’s poem “what is good and what is bad.”

—Evgenia

P.S. I had to talk to Nika alone since Yasha couldn’t come down to New York because our daughter was sick. The sound quality is not that great since my mic set up failed and the conversation was recorded on an iPhone. My tech support was not there!

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