Odesa in love and war - with Julian Evans

About this episode

The episode explores the multifaceted identity of Odesa amidst the backdrop of war and cultural heritage.

Let’s travel for a moment. Imagine you are on the shore of the Black Sea, in Odesa—one of the most beautiful cities in Eastern Europe. Odesa possesses multiple identities and refuses to be trapped by a single definition. It is Jewish, French, Italian, Ukrainian, Crimean Tatar, Romanian, Moldovan, Greek, Bulgarian, and more. Both the Russian and Soviet empires sought to flatten this multiplicity into a single imperial identity. They failed. Today, in an act of resentment, Russia is attempting to destroy Odesa. Missiles and drones fall upon its historic center, a site of UNESCO World Heritage. Meanwhile, Odesa is seeking a new identity. It is a work in progress—not yet fully formed—which makes the city incredibly vibrant and, in many ways, still misunderstood. *** This is the “Explaining Ukraine” podcast. Host: Volodymyr Yermolenko, a Ukrainian philosopher, chief editor of UkraineWorld, and president of PEN Ukraine. Guest: Julian Evans, a British-Australian journalist, writer, traveler, and filmmaker. His latest book, Undefeatable: Odesa in Love and War, published by Scotland Street Press, shares his personal story of Odesa through his friendships and family connections. Book…

People in this episode

Host: Volodymyr Yermolenko

Guest: Julian Evans

Topics covered

• Odesa
• identity
• war
• cultural heritage
• journalism
• Ukraine

Keywords

• Odesa
• Black Sea
• cultural identity
• war
• Julian Evans
• Ukraine
• Russia
• UNESCO

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: UkraineWorld, Scotland Street Press

Products: Undefeatable: Odesa in Love and War

Places: Odesa, Black Sea, Ukraine, Russia, Soviet

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