Category: podcast

The podcast closes with a reunion between Sara and her father’s long-lost family. Laurie’s husband Bob Weinberg, grandson of Sara’s aunt, lived in Moscow in the early 1980s, and he became like a son to her. When she emigrated to the U.S. in 2001, he and Laurie took her into their home in Swarthmore, Pennsylvania. They also helped Sara find her cousin Moritz Mebel, a prominent surgeon in Germany whose family severed relations with Sara and her in 1934. In her 80s and 90s, Sara was finally able to cross some of the bridges created by time and space.

Download Episode 012 Transcript in PDF format

Episode Music Credits:

Russian Dance by Yair Yona is licensed under aAttribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives (aka Music Sharing) 3.0 International License.

Everywhere by Lee Rosevere is licensed under a Attribution License.

Down by the Bank by Blue Dot Sessions is licensed under a Attribution-NonCommercial License.

Sweet and Clean by Podington Bear is licensed under a Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 International License.

Gaena by Blue Dot Sessions is licensed under a Attribution-NonCommercial License.

Starling by Podington Bear is licensed under a Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 International License.

Yarrow and Root by Blue Dot Sessions is licensed under a Attribution-NonCommercial License.

Soulmates by Lee Rosevere is licensed under a Attribution-NonCommercial License.

Delphi by Podington Bear is licensed under a Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 International License.

Cloud 9 by Podington Bear is licensed under a Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 International License.

Chrysalis by Podington Bear is licensed under a Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 International License.

Clouds Pass Softly Deux by Podington Bear is licensed under a Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 International License.

The Situationists/ who set fire to weathered drums and old poems by the gaslamp fixtures listening to radio broadcasts of the past by The Fucked Up Beat is licensed under a Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives (aka Music Sharing) 3.0 International License.

Thank you for listening.

Sara’s fight with the Soviet bureaucracy to be allowed to move with her mother to the Moscow cooperative apartment they not only paid for, but helped build is the subject Episode 11. Their “palace” was a single room with its own kitchen and bathroom that they lived in until Sara’s mother’s death in 1973. Soon after, Sara found a new and loving companion when she married her older cousin Victor Belinkov.

Download Episode 011 Transcript in PDF format

Episode Music Credits:

Russian Dance by Yair Yona is licensed under aAttribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives (aka Music Sharing) 3.0 International License.

American Coot by Chad Crouch is licensed under a Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0

Slow Toe by Blue Dot Sessions is licensed under a Attribution-NonCommercial License.

Composition by Kosta T is licensed under a Attribution License.

Bookatty by Kosta T is licensed under a Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike License.

Memory Wind by Podington Bear is licensed under a Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 International License.

Great is the Contessa by Blue Dot Sessions is licensed under a Attribution-NonCommercial License.

Little Black Cloud by Podington Bear is licensed under a Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 International License.

This Is Difficult For Me by Lee Rosevere is licensed under a Attribution-NonCommercial License.

Warm Fingers by Blue Dot Sessions is licensed under a Attribution-NonCommercial License.

Cass County Beauty Queen by Alan Singley is licensed under a Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 International License.

The Situationists/ who set fire to weathered drums and old poems by the gaslamp fixtures listening to radio broadcasts of the past by The Fucked Up Beat is licensed under a Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives (aka Music Sharing) 3.0 International License.

New episodes are available every Wednesday from August 1 to October 17, 2018.

The Red Army may have led the USSR to victory, but Stalin’s paranoia about internal enemies spurred xenophobic attacks in the war’s wake. Episode 10 shows how Sara and her mother were targeted during postwar antisemitic policies and the bogus charges against Soviet doctors. Sara and her mother succeeded in keeping their kept their jobs, however, and Sara found satisfaction and pride in her work as a seismologist.

Download Episode 010 Transcript in PDF format

Episode Music Credits:

Russian Dance by Yair Yona is licensed under aAttribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives (aka Music Sharing) 3.0 International License.

Simple Vale by Blue Dot Sessions is licensed under a Attribution-NonCommercial License.

Low Force by Daniel Birch is licensed under a Attribution-NonCommercial License.

Stately Shadows by Blue Dot Sessions is licensed under a Attribution-NonCommercial License.

Paper Feather by Blue Dot Sessions is licensed under a Attribution-NonCommercial License.

BMood by Podington Bear is licensed under a Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 International License.

Pat Dog by Blue Dot Sessions is licensed under a Attribution-NonCommercial License.

Russian Waltz Ozidanie by Gene Ettore and his Accordion Ensemble, Public Domain.

The Situationists/ who set fire to weathered drums and old poems by the gaslamp fixtures listening to radio broadcasts of the past by The Fucked Up Beat is licensed under a Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives (aka Music Sharing) 3.0 International License.

New episodes are available every Wednesday from August 1 to October 17, 2018.

In the ninth episode, we see how Sara and her mother made it back to Moscow, but not before Sara had her own #metoo moment in her new job as a Cheremkhovo social welfare inspector. Although their barracks and all their possessions had been destroyed during the war, Sara and her mother shared the general elation over the Soviet Union’s victory over Nazi Germany.

Download Episode 009 Transcript in PDF format

Episode Music Credits:

Russian Dance by Yair Yona is licensed under aAttribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives (aka Music Sharing) 3.0 International License.

Falling Falling by Podington Bear is licensed under a Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 International License.

Base Camp by Blue Dot Sessions is licensed under a Attribution-NonCommercial License.

Silent Flock by Blue Dot Sessions is licensed under a Attribution-NonCommercial License.

Elipse by Podington Bear is licensed under a Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 International License.

Overhead by Blue Dot Sessions is licensed under a Attribution-NonCommercial License.

Tach by Blue Dot Sessions is licensed under a Attribution-NonCommercial License.

Chopin – Mazurka Op30No1 by Blue Dot Sessions is licensed under a Attribution-NonCommercial License.

Repose by Podington Bear is licensed under a Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 International License.

Unsound by Kosta T is licensed under a Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike License.

The Situationists/ who set fire to weathered drums and old poems by the gaslamp fixtures listening to radio broadcasts of the past by The Fucked Up Beat is licensed under a Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives (aka Music Sharing) 3.0 International License.

New episodes are available every Wednesday from August 1 to October 17, 2018.

This episode looks at the life that Sara and her mother managed to make for themselves another 900 miles further east in the mining town of Cheremkhovo, where they wound up only after Sara explored a remote Buryat village accessible in the winter only by horse, boat, and sled. Often hungry, Sara found work in a Cheremkhovo meat- processing factory and was soon promoted from line worker to supervisor.

Download Episode 008 Transcript in PDF format

Episode Music Credits:

Russian Dance by Yair Yona is licensed under aAttribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives (aka Music Sharing) 3.0 International License.

F Minor Klezmer by The Underscore Orkestra is licensed under a Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0

G Piano by Podington Bear is licensed under a Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 International License.

Cake by Podington Bear is licensed under a Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 International License.

Turquoise by Podington Bear is licensed under a Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 International License.

Hollow Gold by Podington Bear is licensed under a Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 International License.

Grebe by Podington Bear is licensed under a Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 International License.

The Situationists/ who set fire to weathered drums and old poems by the gaslamp fixtures listening to radio broadcasts of the past by The Fucked Up Beat is licensed under a Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives (aka Music Sharing) 3.0 International License.

New episodes are available every Wednesday from August 1 to October 17, 2018.

How the German invasion upended Sara’s life is the subject of Episode seven. Having stayed in Moscow until Stalin ordered a general evacuation in October 1941, Sara and her mother had their luggage stolen during an aerial bombardment just as they mounted a crowded freight car to Novosibirsk with fellow evacuees. When they exited the train after a month-long trip, they were left to fend for themselves in the Siberian winter.

Download Episode 007 Transcript in PDF format

Episode Music Credits:

Russian Dance by Yair Yona is licensed under aAttribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives (aka Music Sharing) 3.0 International License.

Glimpse by Podington Bear is licensed under a Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 International License.

American Crow by Chad Crouch is licensed under a Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 International License.

Skeptic by Podington Bear is licensed under a Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 International License.

Autumn Leaves by Podington Bear is licensed under a Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 International License.

Cold War Echo by Kai Engel is licensed under a Attribution License.

Transient by Podington Bear is licensed under a Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 International License.

The Situationists/ who set fire to weathered drums and old poems by the gaslamp fixtures listening to radio broadcasts of the past by The Fucked Up Beat is licensed under a Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives (aka Music Sharing) 3.0 International License.

New episodes are available every Wednesday from August 1 to October 17, 2018.

Episode six examines Sara’s experiences after her father’s second arrest, as she faced the stigma of having a parent labeled a traitor and then suffered abandonment from family members and friends. Although Sara resumed high school and acted as though nothing were wrong, her shame and fear determined both her future education and career.

Download Episode 006 Transcript in PDF format

Episode Music Credits:

Russian Dance by Yair Yona is licensed under aAttribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives (aka Music Sharing) 3.0 International License.

Fragile, Do Not Drop by Podington Bear is licensed under a Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 International License.

Fives by Podington Bear is licensed under a Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 International License.

Lilac by Podington Bear is licensed under a Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 International License.

night-march by Dee Yan-Key is licensed under a Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike License.

Celadon by Podington Bear is licensed under a Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 International License.

Blue by Podington Bear is licensed under a Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 International License.

Little Dipper by Podington Bear is licensed under a Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 International License.

Dry Air by Podington Bear is licensed under a Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 International License.

The Situationists/ who set fire to weathered drums and old poems by the gaslamp fixtures listening to radio broadcasts of the past by The Fucked Up Beat is licensed under a Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives (aka Music Sharing) 3.0 International License.

New episodes are available every Wednesday from August 1 to October 17, 2018.

In this episode, we hear Sara’s story of her father’s arrest in early 1934 and his subsequent exile to Kazakhstan. Just as Sara and her mother were preparing to move from Moscow and join him in the city of Alma-Ata, the secret police took him away again. Sara and her mother lost him forever, never learning of his fate.

Download Episode 005 Transcript in PDF format

Episode Music Credits:

Russian Dance by Yair Yona is licensed under aAttribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives (aka Music Sharing) 3.0 International License.

Den by Podington Bear is licensed under a Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 International License.

Swale by Podington Bear is licensed under a Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 International License.

Pshaw by Podington Bear is licensed under a Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 International License.

Lensky’s Aria by Leonid Sobinov.

Cedar Waxwing by Chad Crouch is licensed under a Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 International License.

I Noticed You by Blanket Music is licensed under a Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 International License.

Accordion Dirge by Dana Boulé is licensed under a Attribution-NonCommercial License.

Song Sparrow by Chad Crouch is licensed under a Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 International License.

The Situationists/ who set fire to weathered drums and old poems by the gaslamp fixtures listening to radio broadcasts of the past by The Fucked Up Beat is licensed under a Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives (aka Music Sharing) 3.0 International License.

New episodes are available every Wednesday from August 1 to October 17, 2018.

Episode four looks closely at Sara’s parents, socialist sympathizers from Orthodox Jewish families who went down a secular path to take part in the Soviet Union’s great experiment. As a nurse-midwife, Sara’s mother epitomized the USSR’s “emancipated woman.” Though his seven siblings escaped to the West, most of them to the United States, Sara’s father stayed put and worked as an economic planner for the communist regime.

Download Episode 004 Transcript in PDF format

Episode Music Credits:

Russian Dance by Yair Yona is licensed under aAttribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives (aka Music Sharing) 3.0 International License.

Gentle Heart by Podington Bear is licensed under a Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 International License.

Fragile, Do Not Drop by Podington Bear is licensed under a Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 International License.

High Holidays Melodies

Trio for Piano Violin and Viola by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons.

Logjam by Podington Bear is licensed under a Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 International License.

An Introduction to Beetles by Blue Dot Sessions is licensed under a Attribution-NonCommercial License.

Swing Lo by Podington Bear is licensed under a Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 International License.

Paper Boat by Podington Bear is licensed under a Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 International License.

The Situationists/ who set fire to weathered drums and old poems by the gaslamp fixtures listening to radio broadcasts of the past by The Fucked Up Beat is licensed under a Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives (aka Music Sharing) 3.0 International License.

New episodes are available every Wednesday from August 1 to October 17, 2018.

The Mebel family’s move to the outskirts of Moscow in the late 1920s and the life they shared in one room of a crowded barracks with no indoor plumbing is the focus of Episode three. Although it sounds like poverty and hardship made for a difficult existence, these were the years Sara counted as her best because her family was still whole.

Download Episode 003 Transcript in PDF Format

Episode Music Credits:

Russian Dance by Yair Yona is licensed under aAttribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives (aka Music Sharing) 3.0 International License.

Tchaikovsky’s Russian Dance by Albert Markov

Dry Air by Podington Bear is licensed under a Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 International License.

Clouds Pass Softly Deux by Podington Bear is licensed under a Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 International License.

Trio for Piano Violin and Viola by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License.

The Situationists/ who set fire to weathered drums and old poems by the gaslamp fixtures listening to radio broadcasts of the past by The Fucked Up Beat is licensed under a Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives (aka Music Sharing) 3.0 International License.

New episodes are available every Wednesday from August 1 to October 17, 2018.