We check in about what’s been happening in and to Russia since the “special military operation” started in Ukraine. Why most of Lily’s Russian friends are leaving or thinking about leaving, peoples’ fears about the current situation and future of being in Russia, and the humanitarian effects of mass sanctions and corporate virtue signaling against …

SIR has reunited once again to revisit the latest saga in the conflict with Ukraine, partially so that Lily’s brain doesn’t explode trying to explain to people separately or so she doesn’t start writing things on the internet she will likely regret later. First we get into some historical context to this latest wave of the crisis/conflict/war in Uk…

Are riots good? Are protests good? Plus Lily gives the etymology of the word pogrom.Olivia Capozzalo and Smith Freeman

Family history and Ukraine's war-time propaganda machine in Lugansk.Olivia Capozzalo and Smith Freeman

Lily gets updates on coronavirus in Russia from America and tells the story of Telegram's failed blockchain platform.Olivia Capozzalo and Smith Freeman

Petersburg doesn’t care about corona, Russian medicine, Soviet nostalgia and Ivan Chai.Olivia Capozzalo and Smith Freeman

Russian Orthodox Easter greetings and cake, Lily registers her new car.Olivia Capozzalo and Smith Freeman

Lily's finally reading Ferrante. Also a small COVID-19 in Russia update. And a tour of an abandoned experimental soviet neighborhood built in the late 1920s (Кондратьевский Жилмассив//Kondratyevsky Residential Area?)Olivia Capozzalo and Smith Freeman

In these times of troubles, SIR is back to update you on Russia’s response to COVID-19.Olivia Capozzalo and Smith Freeman

Undefined Hiatus by Olivia Capozzalo and Smith FreemanOlivia Capozzalo and Smith Freeman

Lily went to see an artistic evening with animator Yuri Norstein, best known for his movies Hedgehog in the Fog and Tale of Tales.Olivia Capozzalo and Smith Freeman

Lily returns to St. Petersburg. We talk about Soviet interior design, the Mongol Yoke and ordering Kosher on Aeroflot.Olivia Capozzalo and Smith Freeman

We tell the tale of the legendary 10th St. baths in New York. Also known as The Shvitz or the Russian and Turkish Baths or simply The Baths, the place has been co-owned by two Soviet immigrants since 1995, bringing its own particular breed of bath-spa culture to its devoted clientele.Olivia Capozzalo and Smith Freeman

We watched Werner Herzog's latest documentary, Meeting Gorbachev.Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev wast the last general secretary and only president of the Soviet Union. He's known for supporting nuclear disarmament, causing mass chaos and having a birthmark on his balding head.Olivia Capozzalo and Smith Freeman

FALSE CLAIM: SIR is run by Putin trollsFACT: SIR is run by two brilliant lady humans who are here to dispel myths about RussiaRussian Embassy's report The Russiagate Hysteria: a Case of Severe Russophobia: https://washington.mid.ru/en/press-centre/news/russian_embassy_special_report/Olivia Capozzalo and Smith Freeman

We talked to Ukrainian-born, London-based chef and cookbook author Olia Hercules about some of her delicious family recipes, summer kitchens, Georgian food you only get in Georgia and dishes from her childhood in Cyprus. Check out Olia's cookbooks: https://oliahercules.com/books/Follow Olia: https://www.instagram.com/oliahercules/?hl=enEpisode phot…

Special guest and dear friend Polya once sailed across the North Atlantic ocean on a viking-style ship. Now's she's written a book about it based on her notes and drawings from the onboard. We talk about the voyage, how the crew slept, ate, socialized and went to the bathroom on an open wooden ship at sea. Plus a bit about sex ed and drug preventio…

Dissecting Rachel Maddow's screen vom and crimes against journalism.Related episodes:Troll Factory indictment https://soundcloud.com/shes-in-russia/37-indict-meAnnexation of Crimea https://soundcloud.com/shes-in-russia/episode-11-crimea-it-existed-before-20142018 elections https://soundcloud.com/shes-in-russia/39-maybe-putin-wont-be-president-anymo…

Lily went to the great medieval city of Vyborg and gawked at abandoned buildings and Finnish tourists. *Support SIR: https://www.patreon.com/shesinrussiaShop for new Russian fashion: https://www.depop.com/fortochka/Olivia Capozzalo and Smith Freeman

Why the right loves Solzhenitsyn and his Gulag writings.Anna Akhmatova's everyday life of squalor, drama and paranoia during the Terror. *Support SIR: https://www.patreon.com/shesinrussiaShop for new Russian fashion: https://www.depop.com/fortochka/Watch ContraPoints: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCNvsIonJdJ5E4EXMa65VYpA…

Yulia Voznesenskaia was part of the Leningrad dissident women's movement that formed in the 1970s. Later, as an emigre in Germany, she wrote the Women's Decameron — the story of ten women quarantined in a Soviet maternity ward for ten days, telling each other tales. *Support SIR: https://www.patreon.com/shesinrussiaShop new Russian fashion: https:/…

What happened to all the death-commemorating and erotic traditions of everyone's favorite bliny-consuming, effigy-burning holiday, Maslenitsa? Here's the history of the week-long, slavic-pagan-christian, pre-Lenten celebration, plus several bliny recipes from a real Russian.Olivia Capozzalo and Smith Freeman

Popularly referred to as the puppet master and the shadowy man, Vladislav Surkov is back on the public stage with a manifesto on what he happily refers to as Putin's Russia. We break down the ideas he introduces in his latest article and trace how the man himself, specifically in the West, came to be known as the mastermind behind modern Russian po…

Icicles falling from buildings kill people in Russia every year, but this winter, walking outside in St. Petersburg is even scarier than usual.buy russian fashion: https://www.depop.com/fortochka/Olivia Capozzalo and Smith Freeman

SIR is joined by Crocodile Gena, Cheburashka, Vinni Pukh and Hedgehog in the Fog to discuss myths, techniques, legendary figures and beloved classics of Soviet animation.Watch all the cartoons we reference (plus ones we don't reference): https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLLFDtUKjvwX2P50tlMeyrtyx7KHPevbFW…

Founder of London supper club KinoVino Alissa Timoshkina talks about why Russian-Soviet cuisine is so hard to define, plus shares memories of her childhood kitchen in Siberia and beautiful, mouth-watering descriptions of some favorite foods. Pre-order Alissa's cookbook Salt and Time — Recipes from a Russian kitchen: https://amzn.to/2DBnR34Alissa is…

We talk with Yulia Gorbunova, a researcher in the Europe and Central Asia division of Human Rights Watch, and author of a recently published report on domestic violence in Russia and the state's response to it. report in english: https://www.hrw.org/sites/default/files/report_pdf/russia1018_web3.pdfreport in russian: https://www.hrw.org/ru/report/2…

The history of collective dining and the soviet cafeteria — utopias of factory kitchens and kitchen-less apartments, the science of soviet food consumption and where the design of the stolovaya as we know it actually came from. If you missed Fortochka, our Russian fashion pop-up at the beginning of December, you are in luck. We are selling off the …

Why BuzzFeed news and Rachel Maddow suck and a little update on Russian president Putin and Belarusian president Lukashenko's holiday meetups.Olivia Capozzalo and Smith Freeman

Maybe the only critical analysis of the new movie Donbass (Dir. Sergei Loznitsa) that you're gonna get, folks (in English, at least).This non-documentary, allegedly based on real events and YouTube videos, is set in the eastern regions of Ukraine (collectively referred to as Donbass) — which are currently fighting a war with the western regions of …

The failings of Michael McFaul, Boys Town scandals, and why Lily is probably not a spy. Help us out and email this guy at Buzzfeed about how much you love our little podcast: https://www.buzzfeed.com/scottybryan/podcast-suggestions-2019Olivia Capozzalo and Smith Freeman

This fine New Year we read and discuss texts by and about 19th c. Russian/Soviet/queer/polyglot poet Marina Tsvetaeva. Read Tsvetaeva's poem New Year, translated by Caroline Lemak Brickman: http://hypocritereader.com/26/new-yearOlivia Capozzalo and Smith Freeman

The co-creator of the ethnographic recording label Ored Recordings (@ored-recordings-1), Bulat Khalilov, talks to Smith about traditional music from various ethnic groups from the Caucasus. The ep includes lots of music, so best to listen with headphones.Listen to and support Ored Recordings: https://oredrecordings.bandcamp.com/Episode image taken …

The creator of streetwear merch producers Sputnik1985, Sergei Pakhotin, talks to Lily about why he's not a designer, the importance of subtle irony in political commentary, DIY punks in Belarus and what makes Gosha Rubchinsky an artist. Website: https://sputnik1985.com/Episode image taken from Sputnik1985 ig…

The history of standup comedy, reality TV, and what makes media in Russia independent. Our very special guest is Andrei Konyaev, founder and editor in chief of N+1, co-host of Kuji Podcast, math professor and humor expert.N+1: https://nplus1.ru/N+1 FB page (in English): https://www.facebook.com/einsteinsmama/Kuji: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC…

Historian, teacher, and author Tamara Eidelman talks to us about her recently-published book Как Работает Пропаганда (How Propaganda Works), published by Individuum.Russian-speaking SIR listeners! You can read Tamara's book for free here: https://bookmate.app.link/tamaraAll, you can also use the promo code TAMARA to subscribe to the Bookmate app fo…

We are doing a popup of new Russian fashion designers on Dec 8th & 9th at 332 E 4th St, New York, NY. Follow things: https://www.instagram.com/fortochka_, http://fortochka.site/.This week: Gossip, slander, facts about the sexual harassment case that led to Meduza's Editor in Chief Ivan Kolpakov resigning last week. Episode image lifted from lenta.r…

We are doing a non-digital project, wherein we sell clothes made by Russian designers for two days in December in New York City: fortochka.siteWhy do slavs squat? The eternal question. The history of the gopnik phenomenon. Plus we trace the emergence of the gopnik image/meme from Runet—>Slavic internet—> Western internet—> global fashion trend.this…

Two friends meet Baba Yaga and her army of babushkas in modern day St. Petersburg.A radio drama made in collaboration with Benita Klavis (Benjamin Davis and Nikita Klimov). Written by Ben, produced by SIR. Featuring the voice talents of: Elliot Davis, Ben, Nikita, Smith, and LilyEpisode art by Nikita.Ben (author) and Nikita (illustrator) have also …

Last month we trekked to a small village deep in the woods near the Ukrainian border to visit a certain legendary American and her horses. This episode is dedicated to the life, work, and loved ones of Laura Williams.Episode photo is a young Laura, taken by her husband Igor Shpilenok (presumably).If you would like to read Laura's book: https://www.…

School shootings, how their symbolism and aesthetics continue to echo Columbine, and whether or not they're preventable. This week's ep is unfortunately apropos of the mass murder at the Kerch Polytechnic College on Oct. 17.If you'd like to send money to help fund the treatment of those injured in the attack, you can do that here (sorry, it's in Ru…

The mystical St. Petersburg courtyard, the rural homestead, the royal court. This week we talk about the architectural and emotional history of the Russian dvor.patreon.com/shesinrussiaMusic: (theme music) Shit Happens by Tierra Whack, Русский Ковчег by Монеточка, Шоколадное кафе by ТупыеOlivia Capozzalo and Smith Freeman

Joined by our amazing special guest, Caucasus and MMA expert, Zukhra, we talk about how people from the North Caucasus relate to larger Russia, Khabib vs. Connor, why you shouldn't insult Caucasian people (the real ones), and everyday racism in Russian housing.Olivia Capozzalo and Smith Freeman

Super recognizers come one come all! The plot thickens in the case of the helpless Russian tourists visiting the lovely town of Salisbury.https://www.patreon.com/shesinrussiaOlivia Capozzalo and Smith Freeman

The Russian dacha wasn’t always а one-family weekend house symbolizing a return to the land and folksy country virtues. Lily tells Smith the more complicated story.Main knowledge source for this ep: Summerfolk: A History of the Dacha, 1710–2000 by Stephen LovellOlivia Capozzalo and Smith Freeman

Smith came to St. Petersburg and we went around recording our trials and tribulations.Olivia Capozzalo and Smith Freeman

(Best to listen with headphones, as this episode is in stereo)We tell the story (and listen to the music) of musician and poet Yanka Dyagileva and the late 1980s-early 1990s Siberian punk-rock scene she was at the center of. Listen to all the music from this episode: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLLFDtUKjvwX0tq-FOBtZHbsDvNqw6nkXlSupport us…

A discussion in Lily's kitchen about race paradigms, Gosha Rubchinskiy, censorship in Thaw-era film, and why Russia is the greatest country on earth.Olivia Capozzalo and Smith Freeman

We give our very in depth and diverging two cents on Keith Gessen's new novel A Terrible Country. There are spoilers, be warned.SPOILERS: 50:16 - 55:01 and 56:49 - 58:47Support us plz: patreon.com/shesinrussiaOlivia Capozzalo and Smith Freeman

An informal conversation where we talk about (among other things) a particular type of male expat in Russia, their relationship to women and sex, and the time Lily revealed herself to be nothing better than a capitalist parasite.Olivia Capozzalo and Smith Freeman