Ukraine - History in the Making
When I started the conversation series ”Ukraine - History in the Making” I could have never imagined where this journey would lead me. It all started in March 2023 after I got home from an exchange stay in Chile and felt, that I had to do more for Ukraine, than what I did on my social media accounts and on the streets in the spring and summer of 2022. I think most of us remember that initial period after Ruzzia’s the full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Speaking from a European/Danish point of view it was a time of big fear, desperation and uncertainty, but also a time of high hopes, energy and big solidarity. In the very first conversation of the show with Veronika Netrebenko, she says the following about the feelings of Ukrainians during the Maidan Revolution: ”We understood we gotta fight for it, and it was something totally different, we felt different, we felt that we need to fight for it”. To a certain degree I believe you can say the same about what happened within the hearts and minds of Europeans after Ruzzia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. We also felt different, and I also thinkt that we immediately understood that the time of ”peace” was over, but our problem is, that we still dont want to accept it. I realised when I got home from Chile before the spring of 2023, just how far we were from accepting the fact, that we have to stand up, both for Ukraine and for ourselves, much more than what we like to make ourselves believe we are doing and have done. The energy from 2022 was already gone the following year, solidarity declarations towards Ukraine went from many to few and the war became much less prevalent in news headlines. Because of this development concerning our collective sentiment towards Ukraine, I decided that the best way to help Ukraine would be to start a conversation series in which I spoke with Ukrainians, experts or politicians in English and Danish. I wanted Ukranians to have a platform from which they could tell their story, I wanted experts to come on and explain my listeners and I why Ukraine is existentially important. And I wanted politicians to come on, because they have the power to do things and the freedom to speak much more clearly about the subject than what many experts can do. All this took me on a journey I could have never imagined. I could highlight almost all conversations and experiences, but let me share two things: I’ll NEVER(!!!) forget the Ukrainians I spoke with, whose families had to stay in now temporarily occupied parts of Ukraine, where they are, in some cases subject to brutal oppression and torture, and I will also NEVER forget my own trip to Ukraine in February 2024, that came about after I spoke with Jens Alstrup, Chairman of the Danish Organisation, Freedom for Ukraine. The last thing I started with the podcast was a specific ”Ukraine History Series” within the broader show in which me and the team i gathered present the history of Ukraine over 10-15 episodes. We well get back to that as soon as I, the host Emil, have figured out my general professional situation after finishing my education in February 2025.
Listen on:
Episodes
Sunday Nov 26, 2023
Sunday Nov 26, 2023
On Sunday the 26th of November I spoke with Olena Dudko. We talk about why history in general is important and about why Ukrainian history is, particularly, important as Ukraine is fighting an existential war for the survival of Ukraine as an independent free and sovereign nation. The conversation works as a kind of prologue to a longer “Ukrainian history series” I have been wanting to do for a long time, because history and especially Ukrainian history really captivates me. Besides that, I sincerely think historical knowledge is key to understand the Ukrainian will to self-defense against a brutal Russian aggressor. Because of that I am very happy to announce with this conversation, that I, over the next couple of months, together with three Ukrainians, Olena, Yevheniia and Diana, will be doing a “Ukraine history series” as a part of the Ukraine and Beyond conversation series.
Listen along and get smarter.
Tuesday Nov 14, 2023
Tuesday Nov 14, 2023
Mandag den 13. november talte jeg for anden gang med Niels Jespersen, chefredaktør for Netavisen Pio. Vi taler om krigen i Ukraine og om Ukraines politiske krig med fokus på udsigten til fortsat og øget militær støtte. Det taler vi om i lyset af krigen mellem Hamas og Israel, der siden 7. oktober har betydet, at mindre fokus har været til overs for Ukraine. Derudover taler vi om alt mellem himmel og jord, herunder KU's groteske retningslinjer for politisk aktivisme på skolens matriktler.
Lyt med og bliv klogere!
Slava Ukraini, i går, i dag, i morgen, for altid!
Sunday Nov 05, 2023
Sunday Nov 05, 2023
This week is a special episode about our change of name from "Conversations about Eastern Europe" to "Ukraine and Beyond". We´re changing the name because "Ukraine and Beyond" is more fitting than the current to describe the conversation series. In the episode i outline the reasons for the change, talk about the connection between the Israel-Palestine war and the war Ukraine and make a sort of status as to where we are now with the war in Ukraine.
Listen along and get smarter.
Slava Ukraini!
Sunday Oct 29, 2023
Sunday Oct 29, 2023
On Wednesday 18 October, I spoke with Anna, who is the Head of the Law Department at the Liberal Democratic League of Ukraine.
Listen along and get smarter.
Wednesday Oct 18, 2023
Wednesday Oct 18, 2023
On Wednesday 11 October I spoke with Oleksandr Kraiev. Oleksandr is the director of the North American Programme at the Foreign Policy Council "Ukrainian Prism" and a future PhD fellow at Visegrad Insight. We talk about the latest news in Ukraine, the tragedies that have struck Ukrainian civilians, about our assessments concerning development in US support for Ukraine and about the relationship between Hamas and Russia.
Listen along and get smarter!
Link to Oleksandr Kraievs FB: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100009469088340
Link to IG: https://www.instagram.com/oleksandr_kraiev/
Link to X: https://twitter.com/OKraiev
Link to LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/oleksandr-kraiev-283890290/
Monday Oct 16, 2023
Monday Oct 16, 2023
Tirsdag den 10. oktober, tre dage efter terrorangrebet på Israel, talte jeg med Katrine Evelyn Jensen, forbundsformand i Danmark Socialdemokratiske Ungdom. Vi taler om, hvorfor vi bakker Israel op, om hvordan vores verdenssyn med tiden har ændret sig, og så taler vi om, hvor tragisk det er, at der i Danmark er steder, hvor det at være jøde eller udtrykke sympati med Israel og jøder medfører en sikkerhedsrisiko.
Lyt med og bliv klogere.
Link til klip fra DR: https://www.facebook.com/drp1/videos/1046072283094547/
Wednesday Oct 11, 2023
Wednesday Oct 11, 2023
Tirsdag den 10. oktober talte jeg med Nicolai Toxværd, der tidligere har været EU-, forsvars- og udenrigsordfører i Konservativ Ungdom. I dag er han Sergentelev på Løjtnantsuddannelsen ved HSGS. Vi taler om den aktuelle situation i Israel og Palæstina, om situationen i Mellemøsten bredere set og om, hvad der skal til fra de "vestlige" befolkningers side, hvis den nedadgående kurve for frihed og demokrati på globalt plan skal vendes. Derudover blev der også tid til en gedigen kritik af venstrefløjen herhjemme.
Lyt med og bliv klogere.
Wednesday Oct 04, 2023
Wednesday Oct 04, 2023
Onsdag den 4. oktober talte jeg med Maria Pryds, kandidat til Europa-Parlamentsvalget 2024. Først taler vi om Marias overvejelser om at stille op, om hvordan processen mod at blive kandidat har været, og om hvor hun er i sin kampagne. Efter det taler vi om, hvordan de østeuropæiske lande bedst muligt kan blive integreret i den frie demokratiske europæiske familie, og om hvad Vesten har gjort forkert de sidste mange år i mødet med ydre trusler som Rusland. Afslutningsvis vender vi en teori, jeg præsenterer, og taler om, hvorfor vi synes, det er godt med flere unge kandidater til et valg, unge historisk stemmer mindre ved.
Lyt med og bliv klogere.
Link til Marias FB: https://www.facebook.com/mariapryds.k
Link til Marias Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/MariaPryds
Link til klip i intro og outro: https://shorturl.at/tQW68
Sunday Oct 01, 2023
Sunday Oct 01, 2023
On September 27 I spoke with Yevheniia Fedotova who is the Vice President of the Liberal Democratic League of Ukraine. We last spoke May 1, so this time we talk about what we have done in the meantime, how the development in the war has been and about the movement of different political and diplomatic trajectories between May and now. Besides that, we dwell a lot on subjects such as the UN, the Ramstein-Group, the relationship between Russia and China, what individuals like you and I can do to help Ukraine and much more.
Listen along and get smarter.
Link to Yevheniia FB: https://www.facebook.com/yevheniia.fedotova
Link to Yevheniia Twitter: https://twitter.com/jane_fedotova
Link to Yevheniia Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/yevgenia_shulga/
Link to intro and outro clips: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q340ludA1TE&t=2172s&ab_channel=TheTelegraph
Sunday Sep 24, 2023
Sunday Sep 24, 2023
Torsdag den 14. september talte jeg med Mathias Kring Niebuhr, kandidat til Europa-Parlamentsvalget 2024 for Socialdemokratiet. Vi taler om Mathias motivationer for at stille op, processen op til at blive kandidat og så selvfølgelig om Mathias´ ambitioner for Europa. Vi kommer bredt rundt, men taler først og fremmest om Ruslands fuldskalainvasion af Ukraine og om, hvordan Mathias tænker, man bedst kan integrere lande som Ukraine, Georgien, Moldova osv. i den Europæiske Union.
Lyt med og bliv klogere!
Link til Mathias FB: https://www.facebook.com/mathias.kringniebuhr
Link til Mathias Insta: https://www.instagram.com/mkniebuhr/