s2e23: It has been the worst year for every Ukrainian. In a way, it also has been the best one. Those Ukrainians who survived it are transformed forever. Despite the trauma, pain, and heartbreak, they keep dreaming, creating, and daring. Millions of Ukrainian stories can inspire anyone to live in a better world and to be a better person. But for the season two finale, we decided to keep it within the close family, featuring 9 Ukrainians and how they withstood the darkest, coldest winter of our lives.

The episode features (in the order of appearance): Solomiya Petlyak, Mariam Naiem, Stas Olenchenko, Maria Buchelnikova, Romeo Kokriatski, Tetyana Denford (Bisyk), and Alice Zhuravel. 

s2e22: Russian-backed conspiracies about Ukraine and Ukrainians might appear bizarre, entertaining, or even funny. But every piece of anti-Ukrainian propaganda shared abroad, even accidentally or as a hate share, has a specific price in Ukrainian lives. That's why Ukrainians take fact-checking so seriously, and it is universally regarded as important as defending our freedom with actual weapons in the trenches. Mark Kaplan, our featured Ukrainian for this episode, might have a reputation as a funny journalist ridiculing Russian propaganda for a late-night show on Telebachennya Toronto. But he also developed one of the brightest and smartest understandings of how anti-Ukrainian disinformation gets picked up in the West and why it happens. 

s2e21: This is not Russia's first attempt to eradicate Ukrainians. This is not the first time fascism is trying to wipe an entire nation from the face of the Earth, either. Nevertheless, there has never been so much global unity when it comes to helping Ukrainians as today. But does it mean we are finally learning our 'never again' lessons? Let's do a quick rundown of things foreigners historically always get wrong about Ukraine and whether they are still mainstream. Our featured Ukrainian is Andrea Chalupa, a prominent Ukrainian-American journalist, author, and the person behind an absolute must-see Holodomor movie Mr. Jones. 

s2e20: When Ukrainians express discomfort by being pushed into a space with a Russian person without consent, some foreigners label it 'hatred' or 'russophobia.' When Ukrainians talk about Russian society's centuries-old patterns of serial abusive behavior towards their neighbors, we are dismissed as 'emotional' and 'hysterical.' Could it be just a lack of empathy or education? Lia Dostlieva, a Ukrainian artist, anthropologist, and our featured Ukrainian for this episode, wants you all to recognize in this attitude the old Western colonial tradition of marginalizing 'uncomfortable' voices. Together we decided to do a small workshop on talking and listening to Ukrainians without falling into colonial tropes.

s2e19: Through centuries of colonial oppression, music remained a secret superpower for Ukrainians to keep their resistance up. The ongoing genocide is no different. Ukrainian music artists have been creating breathtaking art that keeps our spirits up and inspires us not to give up. For this one, we feature Zbaraski, one of our favorite Ukrainian musicians, to explain the deep anti-colonial roots of Ukrainian music and where Ukrainian artists find the inspiration and energy to keep creating the ultimate act of resistance. 

Music featured:

s2e18: We took the theme of our second season, building bridges with Ukrainian allies worldwide, and thought why not go more ambitious? That's how Volya Hub was founded. A sister Ukrainian Spaces project, it unites journalists, storytellers and scholars across former Russian colonies to expand public awareness about the crimes of Russian colonialism — in languages of the communities that are affected by it. We invited our friends and partners to chat about why we teamed up for Volya Hub and how personal it is for all of us. This episode features prominent Qazaq journalist Vyacheslav Abramov of Vlast, Georgian activist Nodar Rukhadze of Shame Movement and Ukrainian journalist Kateryna Sergatskova of Zaborona.

s2e17: How does one go from a foreign journalist to a NAFO founding figure to a Ukrainian soldier putting your life on the line for Ukraine daily? For this one, we talk to James (his second name will remain secret due to security concerns) from Spaghetti Kozak Media. We discuss the price of freedom, colonialism, the NAFO phenomena, and Russian propaganda in the most honest, raw way - because facing death on the Ukrainian frontline puts all of it in a new, crystal-clear perspective.

s2e16: Despite what Russia claims, the roots of Ukrainian identity reach as far back as thousands of years. Despite what Russia is trying to do, a new generation of Ukrainian artists resists the cultural erasure and makes ancient Ukrainian culture reborn and reimagined again. For this one, a Ukrainian ethnographic researcher, style icon, and the founder of Nadiia, Nadiia Shapoval, explains how centuries of Ukrainian traditions are inspiring a new age of powerful cultural renaissance in wartime Ukraine, why many Ukrainians are on the journey to reclaim their ancient ancestral roots and in what way it makes our resistance to genocide even stronger.

s2e15: We talk so much about cultural appropriation by Westerners. But Russians have been doing the same thing to Ukrainians - and so many other neighboring cultures - for centuries, presenting stolen cultures as their own. We've had enough. Receipts of colonialism are ready to be shown, and anti-colonial tea is ready to be spilled. Our featured Ukrainian is Oleksandra Povoroznyk, a culture critic and insanely intelligent person.

s2e14: Before Russia started mass-slaughtering us, Ukrainians had global traction for exceptional work ethic, 'everything-is-possible' attitude, and breathtaking creativity. For the same reasons, Ukraine became one of the leading global hubs for high-end movie and video production in recent years. But what it has to do with our colonial past? Everything. For this one, we feature Kateryna Galytska, an executive producer behind the award-winning production house Radioaktive Film with accolades from Cannes Lions, MTV Music Video Awards, Emmys, and more.