When I was fourteen, we had a school poetry evening. We dressed up, rehearsed for weeks and tried to sound much older than we actually were.

Growing up in Ukraine, we were exposed to the literary density early. Long-form novels and poems (e.g. Master and Margarita, Iliad), metaphysics and symbolism before we had the life experience to metabolize them. At the time, it felt abstract.

Enjoy the episode or read a 1-minute reflection here.

This episode was originally published on February 20, 2026.

Image: Tenderness, Ivan Marchuk, 1984

Today is the first Friday the 13th of 2026. This year decided not to hold back, giving us a triple dose in February, March, and November. The superstition reaches all the way back to the Last Supper.

In Ukraine, this ancient anxiety finds its own rhythm.

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This episode was originally published on February 13, 2026.

Image: Le Chat Noir (The Black Cat), Théophile Steinlen, 1896

Slavs are often perceived as reserved or even cold. There is that famous “Slavic stare” — a steady, unreadable gaze between a poker face and a quiet observation plus intimidation, a bit of a killer look. People online try to imitate it but it only works if you grew up inside the code.

We don’t easily say “I’m worried about you, I miss you.” We don’t dramatize affection. Instead, we ask: “Sho ty tam?”.

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This episode was originally published on February 6, 2026.

Photo by Hasbi Kurnia on Unsplash (the closest imitation I’ve seen so far)

Time in Ukraine has stopped behaving. A single day here feels longer than a week used to but not because we have more hours. It is because we pack too much life into every sixty minutes.

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This episode was originally published on January 30, 2026.

Image: The Persistence of Memory, Salvador Dalí, 1931

At some point, you stop measuring days by plans. You start measuring them by electricity. The building chat becomes the most reliable source of truth.

— Does the elevator work?

— No, the elevator doesn’t work. I’m inside.

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This episode was originally published on January 24, 2026.

Photo by Vladyslav Tobolenko on Unsplash

Kyiv is currently a giant icebox where the temperature has hit –17°C (1.4°F) and 16-hour daily blackouts have become the new, brutal standard. While Russian strikes attempt to freeze our endurance, they’ve triggered a masterclass in accidental philosophy and extreme adaptation.

These true stories reveal a massive shift in behaviour and habits.

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This episode was originally published on January 16, 2026.

Photo by Oleksandr Voloshchenko on Unsplash

Crossing into Ukraine by land is a test of patience but for a girl named Daria on a bus from Italy, it became a Netflix-level drama. And so it was for Ukrainians and me today.

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This episode was originally published on January 6, 2026.

Image: Gandalf/Sir Ian Murray McKellen by New Line Cinema

The Ukrainian digital ecosystem has shattered the bureaucratic masochism. I booked a doctor through a mobile app, Helsi (just the way a Ukrainian would pronounce “healthy”) at midnight and sat for an online consultation the next morning. No traffic, no queues, just resolution.

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This episode was originally published on January 2, 2026.

Photo from www.digitalstate.gov.ua/about

Christmas in Ukraine has officially migrated to December 25th. The shift to the Gregorian calendar feels logical and European, yet the internal clock of my childhood still ticks toward January 7th.

My early memories are anchored in the quiet, post-New Year lull of my grandparents’ table. It takes more than a decree to reorder the architecture of nostalgia.

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This episode was originally published on December 26, 2025.

Photo: Carolers sing in a carriage of the Kyiv Metro on December 25, 2023. Photo by Leonst