Latest Blog Posts
- Show Archives and Podcast Feed changesUpdate: October 8, 2025 Late last year, I was hit with a takedown notice by my podcast hosting platform where I had been archiving the shows for many years. Fortunately, I appealed and was given a reprieve. The feed was not taken down, but I was informed that going forward I am not allowed to post full shows featuring music. The immediate result was, however, a halt to updating my RSS feed with new episodes, and the need to find a new home for them. The end result is that… Read more: Show Archives and Podcast Feed changes
- Knyzhka Corner book review: The Torture Camp on Paradise Street
In this edition of Knyzka Corner, we will be discussing Stanislav Aseyev’s, The Torture Camp on Paradise Street. The Torture Camp on Paradise Street, translated by Zenia Tompkins and Nina Murray and published by the Ukrainian Research Institute at Harvard University, is a personal memoir of Stanislav Aseyev’s two and a half years in illegal captivity, most of it at the site of the defunct insulation factory, Isoliatsia (Isolation), in the city of Donetsk. This secret prison in the heart of Donetsk was called the “Donetsk Dachau” because of the… Read more: Knyzhka Corner book review: The Torture Camp on Paradise Street - Ukrainian Food Flair – the Cookbook
For those advance planners, here’s a suggestion for holiday gift-giving. Everyone loves a good cookbook, and this one has turned out to be quite popular. In August of last year, I wrapped up a project started almost 20 years ago—a collection of the recipes of Sylvia Molnar, who presented over 200 of them in the series Ukrainian Food Flair. Sylvia passed away in 2015, but last year her sister Leone and I finally were able to publish her recipes, as a tribute to her memory. Ukrainian Food Flair: Authentic Recipes… Read more: Ukrainian Food Flair – the Cookbook - Knyzhka Corner book review: Kidnapped from Ukraine: Under Attack by Marsha Skrypuch
In this edition of Knyzka Corner, we will be discussing Marsha Forchuk Skrypuch’s novel, Kidnapped from Ukraine: Under Attack. In this novel, Skrypuch describes the horrific human impact of Vladimir Putin’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, which began on February 24, 2022. His first invasion occurred in 2014 when he took Crimea and portions of Eastern Ukraine. She explores how this invasion changed the lives of 12-year-old twin sisters Rada and Dariia Popkova from Mariupol. Skrypuch explains her own reaction to these events in the Author’s Note, “I never thought I… Read more: Knyzhka Corner book review: Kidnapped from Ukraine: Under Attack by Marsha Skrypuch - Knyzhka Corner Book Review: “Swimming with Spies”
A story of courage and loyalty as Crimea falls under occupation, Swimming With Spies follows Sofiya’s fight to protect her beloved dolphins in a gripping tale inspired by real events. In this edition of Knyzhka Corner, we will be discussing Swimming With Spies, a novel for young readers by Chrystyna Lucyk-Berger. Swimming With Spies is set in 2014 Sevastopol, Crimea and is based on the true story of Ukraine’s dolphins being confiscated by Russia for military purposes. 12-year-old Sofiya has a close relationship with her father who is manager of… Read more: Knyzhka Corner Book Review: “Swimming with Spies” - 29 Years of the Hryvnia: Currency, Identity, and the Stories We Must Not Forget
Ukraine celebrates the 29th anniversary of the hryvnia, its national currency. To mark 29 years of Ukraine’s hryvnia, introduced to the world on September 2, 1996, we revisit a four-part radio series originally aired five years ago on Nash Holos Ukrainian Roots Radio. This series explores how coins and banknotes quietly tell stories—of independence, identity, and a long, intertwined history shaped by centuries of shared struggles for independence and sovereignty by both nations. They aren’t just pieces of paper and metal—they’re miniature monuments to historical memory. 🪙 Part 1: Sovereignty… Read more: 29 Years of the Hryvnia: Currency, Identity, and the Stories We Must Not Forget - Remembering Chornobyl – 39 years later the scars have not healedToday is April 26, 2025. Thirty-nine years ago, the world witnessed the catastrophic explosion at Reactor 4 of the Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant. An event that not only scarred the Ukrainian landscape but also left an indelible mark on global consciousness. In the immediate aftermath of the explosion, thousands of brave individuals—firefighters, engineers, scientists, and soldiers—risked and often sacrificed their lives to contain the disaster. Known as “liquidators,” these heroes came from all corners of the Soviet Union, representing a wide array of ethnicities, including Ukrainians, Russians, Belarusians, Armenians, Georgians,… Read more: Remembering Chornobyl – 39 years later the scars have not healed
- Asking the question: Where are all of Ukraine’s abducted children …In early 2024, a new song was released, called Де Ти … two words meaning Where Are You? in Ukrainian translation. The song was written in response to Russia’s bombing of the Mariupol Drama Theatre on March 16, 2022. The building was used as an air raid shelter during the siege of Mariupol, sheltering a large number of civilians. «ДЕТИ» is also one word in russian translation, which means children. The stage crew of the theater had painted ДЕТИ in Russian in front of the building in letters large enough… Read more: Asking the question: Where are all of Ukraine’s abducted children …
- 2025 is a Double Milestone Anniversary Year for Nash HolosThis year marks two milestone anniversaries for Nash Holos. The 25th anniversary of Nash Holos Ukrainian Roots Radio in Vancouver on AM1320 CHMB Vancouver, and the 35th anniversary of the inception of Nash Holos. For the record, not a milestone number but 14 years at CHLY 101.7FM in Nanaimo. The show has undergone many changes in those years (decades). Except for one – I’ve been with the show since day one – June 4, 1990 on AM1470 CJVB Vancouver. And it’s been an honour and a privilege. A Record-breaking… Read more: 2025 is a Double Milestone Anniversary Year for Nash Holos
- Victor’s Vignettes: My Baba said …Baba is what I called my granny on my father’s side … or sometimes just simply “Ba.” My Baba was an amazing woman. Her folk wisdom and wit still inspire me to this day … even though I didn’t really even know her. I was only two years old when she died, so there were times growing up when I wondered if I invented her myself. But she definitely did exist. I know this because throughout my childhood years, my mum was in the habit of prefacing folk sayings with:… Read more: Victor’s Vignettes: My Baba said …