Latest Blog Posts
- Two authors chat about their books set in modern-day war-torn Ukraine
In late February 2025, shortly after the three-year mark of russia’s full scale invasion of Ukraine, I had the great privilege to speak on air with the authors of two remarkable books that bring home this devastating war in gripping novels that are hard to put down. Chrystyna Lucyk-Berger is an American author now living in Austria who has written Swimming With Spies, a middle-grade novel set in Crimea, based on the true story of the sad fate of therapy dolphins in a dolphinarium in the port city of Sevastopol at… Read more: Two authors chat about their books set in modern-day war-torn Ukraine - “Canadian Kobzar” in conversation with Pawlina discussing Toonie Tuesday, Wild Hornets and more
In this interview which first aired on Nash Holos in March 2025, Canadian Kobzar tells us about NAFO, the Wild Hornets, and the Toonie Tuesday fundraiser. To listen, click on the player. Transcript below. Enjoy! Pawlina: Russia’s full-scale war of aggression against Ukraine is into its fourth year. Unfortunately, it has morphed into a political football for the media, which pays scant attention to the realities that the Ukrainian people face and have to deal with daily. It’s normal, if sad and bit callous, for compassion fatigue to sit in… Read more: “Canadian Kobzar” in conversation with Pawlina discussing Toonie Tuesday, Wild Hornets and more - 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 - Swimming with Spies: A Knyzhka Corner Book Review
Swimming with Spies is a young adult novel by Chrystyna Lucyk-Berger, set in Crimea during Russia’s 2014 annexation. Part of The Reschen Valley Series, the story follows a dolphin trainer navigating themes of loyalty, empathy, and marine biology in a time of political upheaval. This review originally aired on the Knyzhka Corner segment of Nash Holos Ukrainian Roots Radio. Transcript: 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… Read more: Swimming with Spies: A Knyzhka Corner Book Review - 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 …