Anne Applebaum is a Pulitzer Prize-winning American journalist, historian, and political analyst. A few weeks ago, she was awarded the Peace Prize of German Publishers at the Frankfurt Book Forum.

Her new book, "Autocracy, Inc.", explores the fragility of today’s democracies, and an ever-stronger network of autocracies that threaten them.

In this podcast, she discusses some of the book’s key ideas and Ukraine’s role in this global setting.

Host: Volodymyr Yermolenko, Ukrainian philosopher, chief editor of UkraineWorld and president of PEN Ukraine

UkraineWorld (ukraineworld.org) is brought to you by Internews Ukraine, one of Ukraine’s largest media NGOs.

Support "Thinking in Dark Times" podcast here:www.patreon.com/thinkinggg

You can also support our volunteer trips to the front lines at PayPal: ukraine.resisting@gmail.com.

---

Link to Anne Applebaum's book:
www.penguin.co.uk/books/455382/aut…ne/9780241627891

Link to Anne Applebaum's Frankfurt speech:
ukraineworld.org/en/articles/opin…nkfurt-book-fair

My name is Volodymyr Yermolenko, I am a Ukrainian philosopher who lives in Ukraine. I am launching this new podcast because I believe that Ukraine is a key place for thinking today. Despite the war and suffering, Ukraine is a place where important thinking is being born.

In this podcast, you will find my conversations with prominent intellectuals from Ukraine and abroad, as well as my reflections on key topics of today's world, as well as existential philosophical ideas and metaphors.

Support my work:

https://www.patreon.com/thinkinggg

Many anticipated that the 21st century would perpetuate the trend of the previous century, moving steadily away from imperialistic and colonial practices.

Yet, what if the coming decades herald a reversal, ushering in not fewer, but more empires?

Imagine a future where liberal democracies are overshadowed, forced to defend their existence and fight for their survival, much like Ukraine's current struggle. This possibility warrants serious consideration.

I am Volodymyr Yermolenko, a Ukrainian philosopher, the chief editor of UkraineWorld, and the president of PEN Ukraine.

Welcome to my podcast, "Thinking in Dark Times."

To support this endeavor, please visit https://www.patreon.com/c/thinkinggg

In this episode, I reflect on the commonalities and differences between sea imperialism and land imperialism. I also explore different forms of power and domination within these imperialisms: domination by difference and domination by sameness. Additionally, I analyze the specifics of Russian imperialism and why it remains misunderstood worldwide.

My name is Volodymyr Yermolenko, and I am a Ukrainian philosopher living in Ukraine. I am launching this new podcast because I believe Ukraine is a key place for critical thinking today. Despite the war and suffering, Ukraine is a place where important ideas are being born.

Support my work:

https://www.patreon.com/thinkinggg

Timothy Snyder came to Kyiv, Ukraine’s capital, to present his book "On Freedom".

We have had several conversations about the ideas of this book before (in Kyiv and Kharkiv), and you can find links to the podcast episodes featuring these discussions in the description.

However, this was the first time we talked about this book after its publication.

We recorded this conversation on February 9, 2025, at the Sense bookstore on Khreshchatyk Street, in the heart of the Ukrainian capital, very close to Maidan.

Several hundred people attended, with many staying despite the lack of available seats. Most of them were young.

This demonstrates how important reading and critical thinking are for Ukrainians today.

Host: Volodymyr Yermolenko – Ukrainian philosopher, the chief editor of UkraineWorld, and the president of PEN Ukraine.

The Ukrainian translation of this book was done by Choven Publishing House (translator: Halyna Herasym)

Support "Thinking in Dark Times" on Patreon:www.patreon.com/thinkinggg 

Other conversations with Timothy Snyder:

Kyiv, September 2022 ⁠www.youtube.com/watch?v=BHksNrj7elQ&t=10s⁠

Kyiv, September 2023 ⁠www.youtube.com/watch?v=_LkXsW14qJQ&t=724s⁠

Kharkiv, September 2024 ⁠www.youtube.com/watch?v=HR0bqQy5gzA&t=9s⁠

--

Contents:

01:54 - «I feel in Ukraine better than in most other places»

02:44 - being a historian who wrote a philosophy book

07:17 - What can the Ukrainian experience tell other nations about freedom?

12:45 - positive freedom (freedom-to) vs negative freedom (freedom-from). «Freedom isn’t just the absence of evil, but the presence of good»

15:44 - thinking about positive and negative freedom in America and Ukraine

20:30 - freedom and values

24:55 - freedom and sovereignty

32:47 - freedom and unpredictability

41:13 - the metaphor of the bell

45:07 - freedom during military occupation and de-occupation

50:30 - is history repeating itself?

1:00:00 - on social networks

1:11:50 - which values can unite Ukrainians during the war?

1:14:50 - rethinking Ukrainian history from the global perspective

What misconceptions do we have about the 20th century? Our inaccurate understanding of the past often leads to mistakes or inaction in the present. In this episode, I delve into what I believe are misconceptions about the 20th century. I will focus on two main points: 1) why a certain interpretation of the end of World War II is incorrect; 2) why the belief that we are living in a "post-history" era is misleading; and 3) why equating economic prosperity with political and social strength is misguided. These misconceptions have left the world unprepared for the return of dark times. 

Author: Volodymyr Yermolenko, a Ukrainian philosopher, the chief editor of UkraineWorld, president of PEN Ukraine, and associate professor at Kyiv-Mohyla Academy.

Support my work at https://www.patreon.com/thinkinggg

In this episode, I argue that a healthy polity is an equilibrium between the values of agora (conversation, dialogue, exchange) and the values of agon (warrior ethos, capacity to fight when needed).

The absolutization of one of these values weakens the state and society.

I also refer to classics of political philosophy and history, particularly the Greek historian Polybius and his account of the Roman Republic.

My name is Volodymyr Yermolenko, I am a Ukrainian philosopher and book writer, president of PEN Ukraine, and chief editor of UkraineWorld. Despite the ongoing war, I live in Ukraine and often visit frontline areas to help soldiers and civilians.

Support my work at https://www.patreon.com/c/thinkinggg

Which 20th-century ideas should we carry with us into the 21st century? And which of them have become obsolete?

We discuss these topics during a live event with David Rieff, a prominent American writer and journalist. The discussion was held on March 1st at PEN Ukraine space in Kyiv, and was organized by UkraineWorld, PEN Ukraine and Thinking in Dark Times podcast.

Hosts: Volodymyr Yermolenko, a Ukrainian philosopher and the chief editor of UkraineWorld, the president of PEN Ukraine, and Tetyana Ogarkova, a Ukrainian literary scholar, and author of the French-language podcast L’Ukraine face a la guerre by the Ukraine Crisis Media Centre. Both are lecturers at Kyiv-Mohyla Academy, the oldest Ukrainian university.

Support: https://www.patreon.com/c/thinkinggg

In this episode, I offer a critical perspective on communism. I will argue three main points:

First, while the idea of communism is built on certain commendable foundations, its Marxist and later Leninist iterations lead it down a misguided and immoral path.

Second, unlike Nazism, totalitarian communism has never been fully condemned, resulting in a legacy of unpunished crimes—crimes that, without accountability, continue to be repeated.

Third, Soviet Marxism was, in fact, a distorted or reversed version of Marxism. Instead of empowering those who control the means of production, it placed power in the hands of those who control the means of destruction.

This is Thinking in Dark Times, a podcast where I reflect on ideas in the midst of global crisis.

Host: Volodymyr Yermolenko; I am a Ukrainian philosopher. Despite the war, I continue to live and work in Ukraine.

You can support my work on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/c/thinkinggg

Margaret Atwood is perhaps one of the greatest living writers today. Her novel "The Handmaid’s Tale" and its continuation, "The Testaments," are seen by many as prophetic.

This is a conversation about dangers and hopes, about human nature, the classics, and the challenges of dark times.

Host: Volodymyr Yermolenko, a Ukrainian philosopher, the chief editor of UkraineWorld, and the president of PEN Ukraine.

"Thinking in Dark Times" is a podcast by UkraineWorld, an English-language media outlet about Ukraine based in Kyiv.

You can support our work at 

https://www.patreon.com/c/thinkinggg

This podcast relies increasingly on crowdfunding.

You can also support our volunteer trips to the front-line areas of the Russian war against Ukraine via PayPal at ukraine.resisting@gmail.com. We are trying to help both soldiers and civilians.

Do dictators rule by death and nihilism? Do they want to make us powerless - and do they succeed? Is today’s crisis also our chance?

This is an online conversation between Polish philosopher Krzysztof Czyzewski, American historian Marci Shore, Georgian writer Iva Pezuashvili, and Ukrainian philosopher Volodymyr Yermolenko.

The event was held under the aegis of the Dilemma project implemented by the Institute for Central European Strategy with the support of the European Commission

"Thinking in Dark Times" is a podcast by UkraineWorld, an English-language media outlet based in Kyiv.

Author: Volodymyr Yermolenko, a Ukrainian philosopher and writer.

You can support "Thinking in Dark Times" podcast at patreon.com/thinkinggg

SUPPORT "Thinking in Dark Times" podcast: https://www.patreon.com/c/thinkinggg

We had a conversation with Anne Applebaum a few months ago on this podcast about her book "Autocracy, Inc".—be sure to check it out: ukraineworld.org/en/podcasts//ep-332

The current episode features a public conversation on similar themes: the crisis of democracy, the rise of new autocracies, Trump’s pro-Russian stance, and Russia’s war against Ukraine.
It was recorded as a keynote discussion at the Lviv Media Forum—one of Ukraine’s major media events—in May 2025 (lvivmediaforum.com/en)

We’re now publishing it as part of our Thinking in Dark Times series at UkraineWorld.

Anne Applebaum is a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and political analyst.

Host: Volodymyr Yermolenko, a Ukrainian philosopher, the chief editor of UkraineWorld and the president of PEN Ukraine.

SUPPORT "Thinking in Dark Times" podcast: https://www.patreon.com/c/thinkinggg

SUPPORT THIS PODCAST: https://patreon.com/thinkinggg

What lessons can we draw from the Ukrainian experience? Why is Ukraine not only a place of suffering and fight, but also a place of thinking and creation? Why is the cultural renaissance so strong during the war? What does it mean to think in dark times?

Lecture by Volodymyr Yermolenko, a Ukrainian philosopher, the chief editor of UkraineWorld, and the president of PEN Ukraine, at the Institute for Human Sciences (Institut für die Wissenschaften vom Menschen) in Vienna on May 6th, 2025.

Moderator and host: Ludger Hagedorn, Permanent Fellow at IWM.

"Thinking in Dark Times" is a podcast series of UkraineWorld, an English-language media outlet about Ukraine run by Internews Ukraine.

You can support this podcast on 

https://patreon.com/thinkinggg

Your support is crucial for us as we rely a lot on crowdfunding.

You can also support our volunteer trips to the frontline areas in Ukraine, where we deliver support for both soldiers and civilians. You can donate via PayPal: ukraine.resisting@gmail.com

Democracy is fragile today. Yet it is not confined to a single place, a specific country, or a particular political system. The democratic promise remains far from fully realized. Still, we can find hope in the idea that when democracy retreats in one part of the world, it may grow stronger in another.

This is “Thinking in Dark Times”, a podcast series by UkraineWorld, an English-language media outlet focused on Ukraine.

Host: Volodymyr Yermolenko, a Ukrainian philosopher, the chief editor of UkraineWorld, and the president of PEN Ukraine.

Guest: Aman Sethi, an Indian journalist and the editor-in-chief of openDemocracy—an independent international media platform based in London.
We are recording this conversation during the Lviv Media Forum in May 2025, in Lviv, a city in western Ukraine.

You can support our work at: www.patreon.com/thinkinggg
Your support is vital, 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.

This episode is produced in partnership with the Ukrainian Institute, the country’s leading institution for cultural diplomacy.

Some might argue that the concept of evil is outdated in our relativistic age. And yet—how can we speak of war crimes, cruelty, or the neglect of human dignity without invoking the word evil? Perhaps it’s time to take it seriously again, to revisit the thinkers who have grappled with its meaning.

One of them, of course, is Hannah Arendt.

This is a conversation about Hannah Arendt and the concept of evil, which took place in Kyiv, the capital of Ukraine, on June 1st, at the Kyiv Book Arsenal—one of the country’s major literary events. Despite the ongoing war, the fair was full of people.

My guest was Marci Shore, an American intellectual, historian, and university professor. She specializes in 20th-century European intellectual history, with a particular focus on Hannah Arendt. This year, Marci co-curated the Kyiv Book Arsenal’s focus topic, alongside Oksana Forostyna.

My name is Volodymyr Yermolenko. I’m a Ukrainian philosopher, the editor-in-chief of UkraineWorld, and the president of PEN Ukraine.

UkraineWorld is an English language media outlet about Ukraine run by Internews Ukraine, one of the country’s leading media NGOs.

***

You can support our work at 

https://www.patreon.com/c/thinkinggg

Your support is vital, as we increasingly rely on crowdfunding. Even a small monthly donation can make a big difference.

You can also help fund our regular volunteer trips to Ukraine’s front-line areas, where we provide aid to both soldiers and civilians—mainly by delivering vehicles for the military and books for local communities. To support these efforts, you can donate via PayPal at ukraine.resisting@gmail.com.

***

Contents:

00:00 Intro
01:18 Support our work
04:44 Why is Hannah Arendt essential to understanding the 20th and 21st centuries?
06:16 What is Hannah Arendt's concept of 'radical evil'?
07:48 How are people made superfluous?
10:12 How has World War II shaped Arendt’s thought?
17:17 From “radical evil” to the “banality of evil”: connecting Arendt’s key concepts.
26:34 Marci Shore on the current situation in America
30:46 Thoughts on human dignity
32:14 Is the idea that 'everyone is replaceable' starting to repeat itself?
34:49 Why Sartre’s idea of “nothingness” might be dangerous?
42:14 Hannah Arendt: vita activa versus vita contemplativa
50:15 Outro

We need a fresh perspective on propaganda. The old strategies for combating misinformation are no longer effective. Simply offering fact-checks isn’t enough—those ensnared by propaganda aren’t searching for facts. They’re searching for something deeper: identity, belonging, and meaning.

This is the central argument of a new book by Peter Pomerantsev, a renowned scholar of propaganda and information warfare. "How to Win an Information War" tells the story of British journalist Sefton Delmer, who developed innovative techniques to counter Nazi propaganda during World War II. Peter explores Delmer’s legacy in hopes of uncovering lessons for today. Perhaps we, too, can learn something from both of them.

Book: www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/peter…81541774728/

Host: Volodymyr Yermolenko, a Ukrainian philosopher, editor-in-chief of UkraineWorld, and president of PEN Ukraine.

***

UkraineWorld is run by Internews Ukraine, one of the country’s leading media NGOs.

You can support our work at https://www.patreon.com/c/thinkinggg.

Your support is crucial, as we increasingly rely on crowdfunding. Even a small monthly contribution can make a meaningful difference.

You can also help fund our regular volunteer missions to Ukraine’s front-line areas, where we deliver aid to both soldiers and civilians—primarily by providing vehicles for the military and books for local communities. To support these efforts, donations can be made via PayPal at ukraine.resisting@gmail.com.

***

The podcast episode is created by Internews Ukraine as part of the project “Strengthening Truth, Transparency and Democracy to Counter Disinformation”, supported by the Government of Canada.

***

CONTENTS:

00:00:00 — What if fact-checks don’t work anymore?
0:01:52 — He, who fooled Hitler. Meet Sefton Delmer
00:05:28 — Why did we forget those who understand what propaganda is?
00:07:05 — Why propaganda keeps coming back
00:09:59 — Why did the Nazis win those who lost their identity?
00:11:42 — Are you wearing the mask or is it glued to your face?
00:13:57 — Think you're immune? That’s when propaganda hits
00:16:29 — To beat propaganda, you have to be vulnerable to it
00:18:55 — The real battle isn’t between freedom and unfreedom, but about what kind of “us” we build?
00:22:50 — Delmer’s radio war
00:25:53 — Weaponizing corruption: Delmer’s strategy to weaken Nazi loyalty
00:30:41 — “We know you better than they do”
00:33:28 — Tuning in = waking up: breaking the Nazi spell with masquerade
00:35:38 — What makes Kremlin elites panic? Not war - but losing control
00:39:39 — How to break Russian support for war?
00:44:24 — Forget regime change - exploit fear of losing grip
00:47:44 — Angry? Frustrated? That’s where good media begins
00:50:02 — Do I want to die for this? The question Delmer planted in Nazi minds
00:51:00 — Propaganda, trauma, and the fight for independent thought

What’s the difference between colonialism and imperialism? What types of colonialism can we identify — and which of them are playing out in Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and other countries?

This conversation is not purely academic. It helps us better understand what’s happening today — and what might happen tomorrow. Russian colonial and imperial practices sometimes resemble those of other empires — but at other times, they differ significantly. Russia often masks its imperial violence with nationalist mythology. It’s important to reveal why that mythology is misleading — and dangerous.

***

Host: Volodymyr Yermolenko, a Ukrainian philosopher, editor-in-chief of UkraineWorld, and president of PEN Ukraine.

Our guest today is Botakoz Kassymbekova, a renowned scholar of Eastern Europe and Central Asia. She is currently Professor of Eastern European History at the University of Zurich and specializes in Soviet history, Stalinism and post-Stalinism, and Russian imperial practices. She holds a PhD from Humboldt University of Berlin.

***

"Thinking in Dark Times" podcast is produced by UkraineWorld, an English-language media project about Ukraine, run by Internews Ukraine.

This episode is created in partnership with the Ukrainian Institute, the country’s leading cultural diplomacy institution.

***

A quick reminder: you can SUPPORT our work on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/c/thinkinggg

Your support is essential, as we rely heavily on crowdfunding.

You can also help us fund VOLUNTEER trips to frontline areas in Ukraine, where we support both soldiers and civilians.

Donations are welcome via PayPal: ukraine.resisting@gmail.com

***

CONTENTS:

00:00:00 — Intro: what is colonialism and imperialism, and why does it matter now?
00:02:06 — Why Russia is an empire? What is the difference between colonialism and imperialism?
00:04:32 — Russia’s colonial tactics
00:07:44 — Why does Russia seek full control over Ukraine? Not just influence, but domination and assimilation.
00:09:55 — Difference vs. sameness: how empires shape identities
00:11:24 — Settler colonialism vs. extractive colonialism: what drives conquest?
00:16:30 — Russia as a settler empire: back then and now
00:18:22 — How Russia colonises its internal nations through assimilation and language suppression.
00:20:50 — Censuses, schools and silent erasure: how Russian state mechanisms classify and erase non-Russian identities within its borders.
00:23:00 — Kazakhstan, Ukraine, and the memory of famine
00:25:30 — Why colonialism is about state power, not ethnicity, and why Ukrainians were tools, not masters, of the Russian colonialism elsewhere.
00:27:42 — Soviet categorisation: Muslims vs. Europeans. How the USSR racialised and managed populations with a colonial gaze.
00:32:04 — Why Russia criticises Western colonialism while mimicking it.
00:34:57 — “Greatness” as the keyword of Russian imperial ideology. Territory as the imperial prestige
00:40:15 — Russia's strategic aims: bullying Europe for superpower status.
00:43:33 — Why the Soviet Union’s support for global decolonisation masked its own imperial domination.
00:45:15 — “Friendship of peoples”: a Soviet colonial tactic in disguise
00:50:10 — Nuclear tests, cotton fields, and poisoned generations: how Moscow exploited Central Asia
00:53:20 — Health and autonomy: why so-called “Soviet development” often meant suffering, not progress.
00:55:44 — Who decides? The colonial theft of political agency
00:58:12 — Why many Western scholars failed to see Soviet colonialism and still don’t.
00:59:21 — Final reflection: Ukraine’s struggle is part of a bigger story

In this episode, I pose a question about evil. I argue that while the relativization of the concept of evil may once have been necessary, it has now swung to the opposite extreme—one in which we often fail to ask moral questions at all.

I suggest that we must return to the question of evil—again and again—if we are to remain moral beings capable of ethical action.

This question is not isolated. It is deeply connected to broader philosophical themes: the nature of being and nothingness, creation and destruction, and what I call thanatocracy—the rule by death.

***

This is Thinking in Dark Times, and my name is Volodymyr Yermolenko. I’m a Ukrainian philosopher, president of PEN Ukraine, and editor-in-chief of UkraineWorld.org. If you’d like to support my work, you can do so on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/c/thinkinggg

***

This episode is done in partnership with Politeia, a Ukrainian NGO focusing on preparing a new generation of change-makers in Ukraine.

Joseph Stiglitz is a world-renowned economist and thinker who was awarded the Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences in 2001.

I met him in Tbilisi, the capital of Georgia, in June 2025 during the inspiring Zeg Festival in which we both participated.

In this podcast episode, we spoke about his latest book, "The Road to Freedom", published last year, and about how flawed ideas of freedom can ultimately undermine freedom itself. I also asked him what the world can do to stop Russia’s brutal invasion of Ukraine.

***

Host: Volodymyr Yermolenko, a Ukrainian philosopher, the chief editor of UkraineWorld, and the president of PEN Ukraine.

This episode is also made in partnership with "Politeia", a Ukrainian NGO focusing on preparing a new generation of change-makers in Ukraine.

***

You can support "Thinking in Dark Times" on Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/c/thinkinggg). Your support is vital, as we rely heavily on crowdfunding.

***

Contents:

0:00:00 - Intro 
0:02:24 - How does "The Road to Freedom" compare to Hayek's "The Road to Serfdom" and Snyder's "The Road to Unfreedom"?
0:02:45 - What are Stiglitz’s main criticisms of neoliberalism?
0:08:09 - What's the core flaw in the concept of "limitless freedom"?
0:17:33 - How is Russia undermining democracy?
0:19:00 - What steps can Europe take with frozen Russian assets for Ukraine?
0:20:46 - Why won't seizing Russian assets cause a capital crisis or violate rule of law?
0:27:22 - How can good regulation foster beneficial innovation, not just exploitation?

In September 2025, in Kyiv, a prominent American historian Timothy Snyder received the Vasyl Stus Prize — a Ukrainian award honoring the name of Vasyl Stus, one of Ukraine’s greatest poets and dissidents of the 20th century, killed by the Soviet regime in 1985. Founded in 1989 by Yevhen Sverstiuk, another prominent Ukrainian dissident, the prize is now awarded by PEN Ukraine, the publishing house Dukh i Litera, and the Kyiv-Mohyla Business School.

Before the award ceremony, we held a public conversation with Snyder on the good and bad ways of thinking about history. Since interpretations of history often lie at the heart of both the good and the evil that people do, this question remains vitally important.

***

Host: Volodymyr Yermolenko, a Ukrainian philosopher, editor-in-chief of UkraineWorld, and president of PEN Ukraine.

Thinking in Dark Times seeks to find the light through — and despite — today’s darkness. 

***

UkraineWorld is an English-language media about Ukraine run by Internews Ukraine

Listen to our podcasts:

Explaining Ukraine: https://li.sten.to/explaining-ukraine

Thinking in Dark Times: https://li.sten.to/thinkinggg

***

Special thanks to the Ukrainian History Global Initiative, PEN Ukraine, and the Kyiv-Mohyla Business School for helping organize this event.

This episode was made possible with the support of Politeia, a Ukrainian NGO dedicated to preparing a new generation of change-makers in Ukraine.

***

You can also listen to several other conversations with Timothy Snyder from previous years:

On freedom: Timothy Snyder in Kyiv

https://ukraineworld.org/en/podcasts//ep-344

Timothy Snyder in Kharkiv: A conversation about freedom

https://ukraineworld.org/en/podcasts//ep-340

Freedom as a value and a task

https://ukraineworld.org/en/podcasts//ep-258

Ukraine, the war, and the plurality of values

https://ukraineworld.org/en/podcasts//ep-144 

***

SUPPORT: 

You can support this podcast on https://www.patreon.com/c/thinkinggg

We rely on crowdfunding to continue our work. 

You can also support our regular trips to the frontlines, where we provide support to both soldiers (cars) and civilians (books): PayPal, ukraine.resisting@gmail.com 

***

CONTENTS:

00:00:00 Timothy Snyder, world-renowned historian

00:03:04 What are the good and bad ways to use history to understand who we are?

00:08:53 How does a 'single line' view of the past, like Putin's or Trump's, take away our freedom?

00:25:18 Why recognizing the 'difference' of people in the past is a liberating act for us in the present?

00:49:55 Is the world truly living in a 'post-history' era where conflict and tragedy are safely in the past?

00:56:22 Does seeing a pattern in history mean the war is repeating, or is it a moment of new responsibility?

01:03:35 Was the US response in March 2022 a failure because American leaders were stuck in 'memory' instead of 'history'?

01:13:52 How does the power of data-driven tools force us to be careful about the human questions we ask?

01:24:21 Was the printing press as disruptive to society as social media is today?

SUPPORT this podcast: https://www.patreon.com/c/thinkinggg 

***

Are all empires equally bad? If some were better than others, what criteria can we use to make such judgments? Why must we study networks, not only hierarchies, to understand our past, present, and future? What happens to societies in times of catastrophe, and who has the best chances of survival? And finally — why is Ukraine so important for the world today?

***

Host: Volodymyr Yermolenko, a Ukrainian philosopher, editor-in-chief of UkraineWorld, and president of PEN Ukraine.

Guest: Niall Ferguson — a renowned British-American historian and author of numerous books, including “Empire”, “The Square and the Tower”, “The War of the World”, “Doom”, and others. Ferguson is the Milbank Family Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution.

We had this conversation during the Yalta European Strategy Forum in Kyiv in September 2025.

***

Thinking in Dark Times is a podcast of reflection from Ukraine. We try to see the light through — and despite — the current darkness. 

This episode was made possible thanks to the support of Politeia, a Ukrainian NGO dedicated to preparing a new generation of change-makers in Ukraine.

***

SUPPORT:

You can support this podcast on https://www.patreon.com/c/thinkinggg 

We rely on crowdfunding to continue our work. 

***

CONTENTS:

00:00 - Intro: Niall Ferguson, a renowned British American historian and author of numerous books.

01:58 - Why does historian Niall Ferguson keep coming back to Kyiv, and what value does he find here?

04:06 - Does the war in Ukraine truly hold a global meaning?

10:01 - Was the British Empire good or bad for the world?

12:17 - What's the difference between a 'liberal' empire and an 'illiberal' one?

19:30 - Does the European Union find a balance between the Empire and the Nation-State?

26:59 - Can Ukraine become an 'antifragile' state?

28:48 - Is being threatened by a 'big bad neighbor' the key to becoming an innovative society?

31:07 - How did the last decade of Russian aggression ultimately lead to the birth of the Ukrainian nation?

SUPPORT this podcast: https://www.patreon.com/c/thinkinggg 

***

Nationalism, for many people, is a bad word. They associate it with xenophobia, a sense of superiority, and exclusion. Many believe that nationalism inevitably leads to fascism or Nazism.

In this episode, I want to challenge these views. Yes, nationalism can lead to dangerous practices, but it can also be something very different — because its roots are different. It grew out of the 19th-century discourse of democracy and republics, in opposition to tyranny and despotism. In this sense, nationalism has been much closer to liberalism and socialism than many people think. Like them, it can be moderate or radical.

***

This is a podcast “Thinking in Dark Times”. My name is Volodymyr Yermolenko. I am a Ukrainian philosopher, president of PEN Ukraine, and chief editor of UkraineWorld, an English-language media outlet about Ukraine. 

I am staying in Ukraine with my family during the war, continuing to teach at the Kyiv-Mohyla Academy and doing volunteer work to support Ukrainian resistance. 

The goal of this podcast is to see the light through and despite the current darkness. 

This podcast is not about Ukraine, but it is thinking from Ukraine and shaped by the Ukrainian experience. 

***

You can support my work on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/c/thinkinggg 

Please also check out our website, UkraineWorld.org, and our other podcast, Explaining Ukraine.

This episode is produced in partnership with Politeia, a Ukrainian NGO dedicated to preparing a new generation of change-makers.

Yaroslav Hrytsak is one of Ukraine’s leading historians and public intellectuals. His recent book in Ukrainian, "Overcoming the Past: A Global History of Ukraine", became a bestseller. His English-language book, "Ukraine: The Forging of a Nation", is now a key reference work on Ukrainian history.

We met in Lviv to discuss the global dimension of Ukrainian history, and the features of Ukraine’s political culture that explain why the country has so often fought against tyranny.

***

"Thinking in Dark Times" is produced by UkraineWorld, an English-language media project about Ukraine.

We try to see the light through and despite today's darkness.

Host: Volodymyr Yermolenko, a Ukrainian philosopher, editor-in-chief of UkraineWorld, and president of PEN Ukraine.

This episode is made in partnership with Kyiv-Mohyla Academy and the project Heritage Ukraine, supported by the European Union’s Erasmus programme.

***

SUPPORT our work: https://www.patreon.com/c/thinkinggg

Support our volunteer trips to the frontline areas of Ukraine: PayPal: ukraine.resisting@gmail.com

***

CONTENTS:

00:00 — The untold global story of Ukraine
01:33 — Why the world can’t ignore Ukrainian history
03:06 — Why world wars revolved around Ukraine
06:02 — Russia’s dangerous dream of the 21st century
09:28 — Good empires vs. bad empires
14:13 — The empire paradox
17:27 — Russia’s secret weapon: violence
20:59 — Why Ukrainian nobles felt “freer” than Russians
30:31 — Ukraine’s miracle: democracy against all odds
33:35 — Breaking the myth of Moscow’s “Third Rome”
37:06 — Khmelnytsky’s gamble: alliances that changed history
41:28 — Ukraine’s naive hope: negotiating within the empire
44:13 — The only way to stop Russia’s imperial comeback
48:53 — Why history still matters

Ukraine is not a burden for Europe — it’s a chance for Europe.

Today, European security is unthinkable without Ukraine. Ukraine has the strongest army in Europe, a dynamic defense industry, and citizens with vast military experience.

The real question is: to what extent does Europe itself understand the threat posed by the new authoritarianisms? And to what extent does it realise that helping Ukraine is, in fact, a matter of its own survival?

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Host: Volodymyr Yermolenko, a Ukrainian philosopher, editor-in-chief of UkraineWorld, and president of PEN Ukraine.

Guest: Yevhen Hlibovytskyi, a prominent Ukrainian intellectual and director of the Frontier Institute.
Frontier Institute: frontier.pro-mova.com/en

***
Explaining Ukraine is produced by UkraineWorld, an English-language media outlet about Ukraine run by Internews Ukraine.

Listen on various platforms: li.sten.to/thinkinggg

***
SUPPORT:
You can support our work on 

https://www.patreon.com/c/thinkinggg

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.

***
CONTENTS:
00:00 Yevhen Hlibovytskyi, Ukrainian intellectual and director of the Frontier Institute.
02:04 Has the dynamic shifted, making Ukraine a supplier of security to Europe rather than just a recipient?
07:49 Is the acute 'need' driven by war a stronger motivator for entrepreneurship and creativity than peacetime opportunity?
10:25 Why is the historical understanding of the Russian threat still proving ambivalent in some Central and Southern European countries?
15:01 Should the European Union transform into a geopolitical union by adding a military security component to its integration?
22:36 Is the Ukrainian governance model inherently more resilient because of civil society?
27:59 Why is Europe failing to find the necessary political will to take decisive action on Russian assets, sanctions, and information warfare?
30:31 Is the perception of Ukraine as a 'burden' outdated?
35:03 What about NATO?
43:48 What long-term economic and demographic impacts will follow if the current threat isn't addressed?

She is not only a Nobel Peace Prize laureate. She is not only one of the most visible human-rights defenders in Europe in recent decades. She is not only a tireless activist with profound empathy for others. She is also a thinker — someone who reflects deeply on the moral foundations of freedom and dignity. 

Our guest today is Oleksandra Matviychuk, a prominent Ukrainian human-rights defender and head of the Center for Civil Liberties, which was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2022.

In this episode, we discuss the moral ideas that hold Ukrainian society together.

***

Host: Volodymyr Yermolenko, a Ukrainian philosopher, editor-in-chief of UkraineWorld, and president of PEN Ukraine.

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/explaining-ukraine 

UkraineWorld: https://ukraineworld.org/en 

***

SUPPORT: 

You can support our work on https://www.patreon.com/c/thinkinggg

Your help is crucial, as we rely heavily on crowdfunding.

***

CONTENTS:

00:00 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Oleksandra Matviichuk: On Freedom, Dignity, and War

02:24 "Not Nobel Peace Prize changed my life - the large-scale war has changed my life" 

08:32 Torture, rape, enforced disappearances, filtration camps — the reality of Russian occupation

11:55 Why are Ukrainians not "ideal victims"?

15:57 The horror of Russian captivity: Ihor Kozlovskyi`s experience

19:44 Why is freedom existential for Ukrainians?

24:16 Ukrainian strength lies in the people's belief that their efforts matter

31:38 Over 170,000 registered Russian war crimes in Ukraine

32:18 Why is justice important now, not after the end of the war?

35:41 Why is the Russian war against Ukraine genocidal?

43:50 What gives Oleksandra Matviichuk hope today?

***

The podcast episode is produced by UkraineWorld with the support of the Askold and Dir Fund as a part of the Strong Civil Society of Ukraine - a Driver towards Reforms and Democracy project, implemented by ISAR Ednannia, funded by Norway and Sweden. The contents of this publication are the sole responsibility of UkraineWorld and can in no way be taken to reflect the views the Government of Norway, the Government of Sweden and ISAR

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

***
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
Your help is crucial, as we rely heavily on crowdfunding.

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

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.

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?

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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
UkraineWorld: ukraineworld.org/en

***
SUPPORT:
You can support our work on https://www.patreon.com/c/thinkinggg
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.

***
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

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

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.

***
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?

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
UkraineWorld: ukraineworld.org/en

***
SUPPORT:
You can support our work on  https://www.patreon.com/c/thinkinggg
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.

***
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?