Dignified Resilience with Riada Akyol

This was a special episode. I interviewed a dear friend, someone whom I enjoy having conversations on many topics offline, and today we decided to move our conversation about Russia’s conversation of Ukraine, about propaganda and misinformation, censorship, something that Karina Orlova, my today’s guest is very knowledgeable about herself. She was the Washington, D.C., correspondent for Russia’s liberal radio station, Echo of Moscow, before it was shut a few days after the invasion began. She left Russia in 2015, and has for years been very vocal about her opposition to Vladimir Putin and his regime. This was a very illuminating conversation with Karina, who as per usual self, offered many frank insights on the context of the invasion, her thoughts about why she feels guilty and ashamed at the moment, about the benefits of the sanctions and the consequences for the stability of the regime, her thoughts on Putin’s potential usage of chemical and nuclear weapons in Ukraine, and how to help Russian dissidents and people who most need it today - those in Ukraine.

It was an incredible privilege for me to host two experts like Catherine Baker and Azra Hromadzic for such an intellectually stimulating exchange! We had a great conversation that addressed topics like race, racism, migration, nationalism, environment, positionality, identification in research, and connected them in a way that I hope would be interesting beyond the geographical context of Southeast Europe as well. Azra and Catherine’s scholarship have inspired me to think about these topics and many other important issues in new ways, so maybe you too will decide to explore more of the same after listening to this conversation. I for sure know that I will go back to it many more times in the future. Enjoy! Catherine Baker is a lecturer in 20th Century History at the University of Hull, a scholar whose research includes topics related to nationalism, ethnicity and identity, connections with popular culture and the entertainment industry, travel, migration, mobility and other interesting ties in the former Yugoslavia and Southeast Europe. She brought that expertise to our conversation today, including her scholarly and theoretical work that offer a distinctive insight into how the region is configured by, and through, race. Catherine is also an author of numerous academic papers and book “Race in the Yugoslav region.” Azra Hromadzic is a cultural anthropologist based in Syracuse University in the U.S., at the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs - and her research interests are in the anthropology of international policy in the context of state-making in postwar Bosnia and Herzegovina. Her book ”Citizens of an Empty Nation: Youth and State-making in Postwar Bosnia and Herzegovina” is an ethnographic investigation of the internationally directed postwar intervention policies in Bosnia and Herzegovina and the response of local people, especially youth, to these policy efforts. Several years ago, Azra initiated a new project that ethnographically researches aging, care and social services in the context of postwar and postsocialist Bosnia and Herzegovina. She is currently working on what she calls “riverine citizenship” in Bihac (focused on the Una river). Photo credit: Azra Hromadzic, American Anthropological Association website, and for Catherine Baker, University of Hull website.

It was a pleasure to host Blerta Basholli, the director of the Kosovar film "Hive," currently shortlisted among 15 international feature films for Oscars 2022. The film is inspired by the true story of Fahrije Hoti from Krusha village, whose husband was missing from the war in Kosovo. In order to help the survival of her family and ensure kids' livelihood, she comes up with an idea to establish a cooperative, to start an agricultural business. On the way, she faces numerous challenges in a traditional, patriarchal environment. I spoke with Blerta about the background of the story, the process of making the film, Fahrije's resilience, the grief and its portrayal in the film, the importance of storytelling through this medium, the reception of the film in Kosovo, Blerta's plans for the film and her message for the viewers. It is a beautiful movie and I hope this conversation brings to more visibility for it, and that as many people get to see it! The film has achieved a tremendous success already, it won the top three awards at the US Sundance Film Festival in 2021, for “Best Film”, “Best Director” and “Audience Award," and continues its festival route. It will also be available for streaming on some major platforms in the US soon.

It‘s been a great pleasure to host Dr. Bruce D. Perry in this episode, for a fascinating conversation on his work and his most recent book, What Happened to You? Conversations on Trauma, Resilience, and Healing (2021), co-authored with Oprah Winfrey, is a #1 New York Times Bestseller. We discussed the meaning behind the title and the shift to asking “What happened to you?” rather than “What’s wrong with you?”. You will learn about the impact of our pasts on our lives, how all experience is processed from the bottom up, meaning, to get to the top, “smart” part of our brain, we have to go through the lower, not-so- smart part, and what that means for our interactions. You can learn why is it crucial to understand both vulnerability and resilience, and how all of us experience stress as an unavoidable and necessary part of life, but that how we experience stress that matters. Is everything bad that we experience trauma, or why not? Does every bad experience lead to PTSD, and why not? What are the best ways to heal? How can we change generational traumas? This has been a beautiful conversation, and I hope it helps you learn how to help yourself and others by acknowledging and respecting ”what happened to them,” instead of asking ”what is wrong with them?”. Dr. Perry is the Principal of the Neurosequential Network, Senior Fellow of The ChildTrauma Academy and a Professor (Adjunct) in the Departments of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at the Feinberg School of Medicine at Northwestern University in Chicago and the School of Allied Health, College of Science, Health and Engineering, La Trobe University, Melbourne, Victoria Australia. Over the last thirty years, Dr. Perry has been an active teacher, clinician and researcher in children’s mental health and the neurosciences holding a variety of academic positions. His work on the impact of abuse, neglect and trauma on the developing brain has impacted clinical practice, programs and policy across the world. Dr. Perry is the author, with Maia Szalavitz, of The Boy Who Was Raised As A Dog, a bestselling book based on his work with maltreated children and Born For Love: Why Empathy is Essential and Endangered. Dr. Perry‘s most recent book, What Happened to You? Conversations on Trauma, Resilience, and Healing (2021), co-authored with Oprah Winfrey, is a #1 New York Times Bestseller.

Wow, what a truly candid and powerful conversation - on politics, history, future of Bosnia & Herzegovina, Western Balkans and so much more! Learn why Jasmin believes that the biggest threat in the Western Balkans region is the renewed Serbian ultra-nationalism as the stated government policy of the regime in Belgrade. Guests also addressed the “Open Balkan” regional market initiative and the absence of Kosovo, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Montenegro, and why ”in the Western Balkans, the Serbian World is a fact on the ground and a threat to be confronted; concepts like the Open Balkan initiative are just fine ideas on paper” (J.M.). Harun and Jasmin shared their thoughts on the latest news (which is not news at all) from the EU that it can no longer agree to give a guarantee of future membership to the six Balkan countries that were for years led to believe they had a place in the EU. We talked a lot about the continuous gaslighting and dehumanization of Bosnian genocide survivors, as well as Bosniaks more broadly, and about the historical aspects and longevity of the anti-Muslim sentiment about the region. At the same time, the research on the denial of the Bosnian genocide shows it has moved into the academic-literary sphere at the international level, so guests shared their views about that, including on repercussions of insulting, hateful and dangerous claims such as that “Bosniak nationalists” have made Srebrenica their “chosen trauma” to avoid reconciliation with the Serbs. We talked about intergenerational legacies, representation, trauma, mutual mentorship, future prospects for Bosnia and Herzegovina and the region, hope, dealing with hate online and so much more. I hope that this conversation helps you learn or deepen your knowledge on these subjects, and that you see it as an invitation for more, maybe better or more thoughtful and meaningful exchanges on these topics in the future. Jasmin Mujanovic is a political scientist and analyst of southeast European and international affairs with a PhD from York University in Toronto. His career background is a unique blend of global academic and professional engagement, as he has worked as a scholar, policy analyst, consultant, researcher, and writer in both North America and Europe. His first book, ”Hunger and Fury: The Crisis of Democracy in the Balkans,” was published in 2018. He was the co-host of the podcast Sarajevo Calling. Harun Buljina is a historian of the late Ottoman and modern Balkans, with a focus on Muslim intellectual and socio-political networks in this region. He received his Ph.D. in History from Columbia University in May 2019, defending a dissertation on the Pan-Islamist reform movement in late 19th and early 20th century Bosnia-Herzegovina. Most recently, he was affiliated with the Center of the Middle Eastern Studies at Harvard University.