Greece, Ukraine, Communism, War, Europe - with Christos Chomenidis

Greece, Ukraine, Communism, War, Europe - with Christos Chomenidis

I read this book with absolute passion. While it is a novel, it is truly an epic—the story of a family told through the greatest upheavals and disasters of the 20th century. Although it is set in Greece, we Ukrainians can deeply relate to this story: a narrative where global events shape your life far more than your own plans. It is a novel about national conflicts and population displacements, fascism and communism, World War II, violence from all sides. It explores the trap of "revolutionary struggle," the dilemmas of duty versus life, and self-sacrifice versus human happiness. The novel is called "Niki", and it was written by Christos Chomenidis, a prominent Greek writer. I was glad to meet him in Kyiv, the Ukrainian capital, where he traveled at the invitation of the Greek embassy and his Ukrainian publisher. We sat down at PEN Ukraine and spoke about Europe, the past, the future, freedom, war, and peace. This is Thinking in Dark Times, a podcast series by UkraineWorld, an English-language media outlet about Ukraine. *** Host: Volodymyr Yermolenko, a Ukrainian philosopher, chief editor of UkraineWorld, and president of PEN Ukraine. Guest: Christos Chomenidis, a prominent, award-winning Greek writer. He has traveled to Ukraine despite the relentless Russian missile and drone strikes that regularly target the Ukrainian cities. *** Listen on various platforms: li.sten.to/thinkinggg [https://gate.sc/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fli.sten.to%2Fexplaining-ukraine&token=8afab9-1-1781037283710] UkraineWorld: ukraineworld.org/en [https://gate.sc/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fukraineworld.org%2Fen&token=596d43-1-1781037283710] *** SUPPORT: You can support our work on  https://www.patreon.com/c/thinkinggg [https://gate.sc/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.patreon.com%2Fc%2Fukraineworld&token=306c73-1-1781037283710] Your help is crucial, as we rely heavily on crowdfunding. You can also contribute to our volunteer missions to frontline areas in Ukraine, where we deliver aid to both soldiers and civilians. Donations are welcome via PayPal at: ukraine.resisting@gmail.com [ukraine.resisting@gmail.com]. *** CONTENTS: 0:03 Intro 2:04 What brought prominent Greek writer Christos Chomenidis to Kyiv despite the ongoing war? 3:05 How does Chomenidis’ novel "Niki" weave together individual human stories with the challenging 20th-century history of Greece? 4:12 How does the experience of communism differ between Greece and Ukraine, and what forms did it take in each country? 5:56 How does the novel portray the act of destroying one's own house as a sacrifice to communist forces, and how is this understood today? 7:31 How does the novel explore the tension between duty to a greater cause and the pursuit of individual desires and happiness? 11:12 What main similarities does the author find between the Greek and Ukrainian peoples? 12:44 How did Chomenidis experience the fear of air raids in Kyiv, and what does it reveal about Ukrainian resilience? 15:28 Why was the Soviet Union, and even Stalin, romanticized in some Greek left-wing circles, and how does Chomenidis explain this perspective now? 17:41 How does modern Russian propaganda operate in Greece, and why do some Greek parties support Russia based on "zoopolitics"? 23:17 Do societies with a recent memory of authoritarianism have a stronger capacity or intuition to fight for freedom? 35:12 Why is democracy likened to a "baby"? What is freedom a "muscle" that requires constant, everyday struggle and care? 38:28 What gives Christos Chomenidis hope for the future amidst challenging times?

How war technology shapes peace

In this podcast episode, I explore how wartime technologies can impact peaceful life, drawing parallels from historical conflicts.  Author: Volodymyr Yermalenko, a Ukrainian philosopher, editor in chief of UkraineWorld, president of PEN Ukraine Support this podcast: https://www.patreon.com/thinkinggg [https://www.patreon.com/thinkinggg] I use the example of the Rhodes piano, which originated from technologies developed during World War II, to illustrate how tragedy can spur innovation. I also discuss how World War I and II accelerated developments in radio, television, medicine, automobiles, and aviation, which later transformed civilian life. Computer technology is also highlighted as a byproduct of WWII. I also analyze the current Russo-Ukrainian war, emphasizing the significant role of drone technology. I also note how drones are changing warfare and making previously safe areas vulnerable. I analyze how these technologies, including advanced robotics, AI-equipped drones, and satellite technology, could shape post-war society, potentially leading to advancements like drone-based delivery services and autonomous vehicles.  The episode concludes by stressing that while war is a tragedy, it is also a powerful driver of technological advancement that will inevitably influence future peaceful lives.

Decoding Trump’s Ukraine policy - with Christopher Atwood

Since Donald Trump’s return to the U.S. presidency, Russia has drastically escalated its missile and drone strikes on Ukrainian cities. In January 2026, launches exceeded 6,000—a sharp increase from approximately 2,000 in January 2025. The use of guided aerial bombs (KABs) also reached a record high of almost 6,000 per month. With the Trump administration significantly cutting military aid to Kyiv, Ukraine now finds itself in an increasingly vulnerable position. What are the underlying causes of this policy shift, and what does it reveal about Trump’s vision for global order and human rights? *** Explaining Ukraine is a podcast by UkraineWorld, an English-language media outlet covering Ukraine. Host: Volodymyr Yermolenko—Ukrainian philosopher, editor-in-chief of UkraineWorld, and president of PEN Ukraine. Guest: Christopher Atwood, an American human rights and communications expert and Head of Ukraїner International—the international branch of the popular Ukrainian media platform, Ukraїner. *** Listen on various platforms: li.sten.to/explaining-ukraine [https://gate.sc/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fli.sten.to%2Fexplaining-ukraine&token=b0f8be-1-1771487874077] UkraineWorld: ukraineworld.org/en [https://gate.sc/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fukraineworld.org%2Fen&token=abcd23-1-1771487874077] *** SUPPORT: You can support our work on https://www.patreon.com/c/thinkinggg [https://gate.sc/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.patreon.com%2Fc%2Fukraineworld&token=45046b-1-1771487874077] Your help is crucial, as we rely heavily on crowdfunding. You can also contribute to our volunteer missions to frontline areas in Ukraine, where we deliver aid to both soldiers and civilians. Donations are welcome via PayPal at: ukraine.resisting@gmail.com [ukraine.resisting@gmail.com]. *** CONTENTS: 00:00 Intro 06:00 Why is it important to be in Ukraine? 10:08 Analysis of the US political shift: Biden VS Trump 13:58 Trump and violence 15:00 "Empathy Recession": How cruelty has become a cultural zeitgeist 21:10 The role of the media establishment 27:11 Trump`s perspectives on Ukraine: Is he a mediator or closer to Putin’s vision? 30:43 The threat to Europe 35:27 Trump’s economics 40:01 Public vs. Political support: Why most Americans still favor Ukraine 44:04 Building a coalition of the willing

Cities without Kings: Humanity's Prehistory on Ukrainian Soil — with David Wengrow

What can the deep past of Ukrainian lands reveal about the global story of humanity? Six thousand years ago, "mega-sites" flourished in what is now central Ukraine—but can these be considered the world’s first cities? How were they organized without central authorities, and how do they challenge everything we thought we knew about early social life? *** This is Thinking in Dark Times, a podcast by UkraineWorld, an English-language multimedia project about Ukraine. Host: Volodymyr Yermolenko, a Ukrainian philosopher, editor-in-chief of UkraineWorld, and president of PEN Ukraine. Guest: David Wengrow, a renowned British archaeologist and Professor of Comparative Archaeology at University College London. He is the co-author, alongside David Graeber, of the international bestseller "The Dawn of Everything: A New History of Humanity". *** Thinking in Dark Times is produced by UkraineWorld and brought to you by Internews Ukraine. It is supported by the International Renaissance Foundation and Politeia, a Ukrainian NGO. *** SUPPORT: You can support our work on https://www.patreon.com/c/thinkinggg [https://gate.sc/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.patreon.com%2Fc%2Fukraineworld&token=ce7757-1-1769586263583] Your help is crucial, as we rely heavily on crowdfunding. You can also contribute to our volunteer missions to frontline areas in Ukraine, where we deliver aid to both soldiers and civilians. Donations are welcome via PayPal at: ukraine.resisting@gmail.com [ukraine.resisting@gmail.com]. *** CONTENTS: 00:00 - Intro. What can the deep past of Ukraine reveal about the global story of humanity? 00:14 - Were the world’s first cities actually built in what is now Ukraine? 02:51 - Why does the Ukrainian soil play a key role in rethinking the origins of cities and states? 03:55 - Why are standard narratives of human history fundamentally wrong? 09:15 - What were the Cucuteni-Trypillia megasites? 17:23 - Why does the existence of egalitarian cities overturn political history itself? 20:35 - What does a circular city say about how people imagined the world? 21:27 - How did thousands of people govern themselves without rulers? 26:36 - Did democracy exist thousands of years before ancient Greece? 28:29 - Were Hobbes and Rousseau both wrong about human nature? 42:29 - Is Ukrainian history shaped by a tension between freedom and vulnerability? 47:22 - What do burning rituals reveal about cyclical views of life and nature? 50:51 - Why does Ukraine’s past matter for the future of humanity?

Ukrainian geopolitical thought - with Danylo Lubkivsky

Ukraine has its own tradition of geopolitical thinking — a tradition that reaches deep into the past and continues to shape the country’s strategic imagination today. What are its key traits? Why was it developed more by writers than by statesmen? And how does it relate to Ukraine’s current reflection on its identity? *** Explaining Ukraine is a podcast by UkraineWorld, an English-language media platform about Ukraine, run by Internews Ukraine. Listen on various platforms: https://li.sten.to/thinkinggg UkraineWorld: ukraineworld.org/en [https://ukraineworld.org/en] *** Host: Volodymyr Yermolenko, a Ukrainian philosopher, editor-in-chief of UkraineWorld, and president of PEN Ukraine. Guest: Danylo Lubkivsky, a Ukrainian diplomat and thinker, deputy foreign minister in 2014, and currently director of the Kyiv Security Forum. *** SUPPORT: You can support our work on https://www.patreon.com/c/thinkinggg [https://www.patreon.com/c/thinkinggg] Your help is crucial, as we rely heavily on crowdfunding.