Shows
The CosmopolicastWhy Ukraine staged the Kursk offensive nowVladislav Davidzon joins us to discuss his latest article in Tablet.Ukraine defies the US to launch a showy offensive into Russia: Observing Israel’s moves in the Middle East, Kyiv gambles on an American power vacuum:… What changed in July is that the Ukrainians, like other embattled US allies, were faced with a new opportunity in Washington: The cognitively impaired president had been forced out of his reelection bid in favor of his vice president, who was now out on the campaign trail, three months before the election. With this emergent power vacuum at the...2024-08-1927 min
The CosmopolicastThe Short Podcast, with a Vlad Davidzon CameoToday’s discussion:* Vladislav Davidzon joins us to give us the expert view on Transnistria. The situation sounds more minatory than John and I initially thought: There may be a purpose to the provocation that goes beyond, “distracting NATO.” * Welcome, Sweden! * Boo, Germany! What’s wrong with you? * The Sudan catastrophe is apocalyptic, no one has the bandwidth to deal with it, and now Russia, Iran, and Ukraine are involved, too.* It’s Vlad’s birthday! Happy Birthday, Vlad! This is a public episode. If you’d like to disc...2024-03-0718 min
The CosmopolicastThe Claire and Vladislav CosmopolicastVladislav Davidzon has for almost a decade been one of the most acute observers of the Ukrainian–Jewish relationship and of the place of Ukrainian Jewry within a developing political nation. His stylish reportage has been invaluable for understanding the dynamics of the Jewish Ukraine in a historical moment. This volume will surely enter the canon as an important document for anyone who wishes to understand this moment.—Wolf MoskovichA masterful chronicler of the real odyssey of the Ukrainian Jew amidst revolutionary times!—Simon Sebag MontefioreClaire: Hi! This is Claire Berlinski with the C...2023-09-271h 14
The CosmopolicastThe Claire and Vladislav CosmopolicastClaire—I think you’ll find this was an especially interesting conversation. I’ve included a transcript for those of you who don’t like listening to podcasts, but I particularly recommend listening to this one. CB: This is the Cosmopolitan Globalist and I’m Claire Berlinski, the host, and Vladislav Davidzon is my dear friend, neighbor as well, who is now Ukrainian. He is married to a Ukrainian woman. He was born in Tashkent, emigrated to the United States at the age of seven. So he is an authentic Cosmopolitan Globalist and he has been going back and f...2023-08-291h 28
The CosmopolicastThe Vladislav Davidzon CosmopolicastPlease join me in lavishly thanking our reader Michael Greenspan for donating his time today to helping me edit this podcast. I’m so grateful for the favor, and you will be too when you listen without hearing Vladislav and me ask each other repeatedly, “Are you still there? Still there?”To follow along, I recommend looking at the Ukraine Livemap, which is an invaluable resource for visualizing the war and following the news in real time:Here’s Vladislav’s book: From Odessa with Love: Political and Literary Essays from Post-Soviet Ukraine. Here’s his...2023-06-1052 min
The CosmopolicastUkraine and the Iraq WarLike yesterday’s essay by Tecumseh Court—Year Zero—this Cosmopolicast with Vladislav Davidzon considers the war in Ukraine in the context of the Iraq war. For those of you who don’t like podcasts, I’ve provided an (imperfect) transcript below.Claire: Hi, it’s Claire with the Cosmopolitan Globalist, and this is the Cosmopolicast. We have Vladislav Davidzon with us again. Welcome, Vladislav.Cat: Meow.Claire: That was my cat. Vladislav: Yes, I don’t meow like that cat. Although I still have some of the qualities of the cat. The more m...2023-03-211h 03
The CosmopolicastThe Davidzon CosmopolicastThank you to everyone who sent questions for Vlad and Regina. They were good questions. We decided to answer them in a podcast today because I was just exhausted last night—I hadn’t slept at all the night before. My three-legged cat slept like a log, but every time she yawned, stretched, purred, chuffed, or snored, I bolted awake, worried she’d split open at the seams or toppled headfirst into her water bowl. So I threw my guests out after dessert and told them we’d record the answers in the morning. They answered all your que...2023-01-281h 14
The CosmopolicastThe Ukrainian literature podcastVladislav Davidzon was in Odessa last week. He at last managed to persuade his elderly father-in-law, a salty old sailor, to abandon the hooch in his garage and leave for Romania with him. When we spoke to them last night, they’d just finished the exhausting sixteen-hour journey from Odessa by taxi, ferry, bus, taxi, and train. Volunteers at the border told them they were the first refugees they’d seen carrying their art collection. Vladislav has been doing superb reporting from Ukraine recently. I’ve put in a few links further down so you can watch his in...2022-05-031h 09
The CosmopolicastThe view from UkraineYesterday we spoke to Vladislav Davidzon and Olga Tokariuk in Kyiv. You can download the podcast here or at the Cosmopolitan Globalist. More by Vladislav at the Cosmopolitan Globalist: LENINFALL AND THE GREAT DANEThe story of the Viking who defeated the Odessa mafia and erected a runestone.ON MOSCOW’S OBJECTIVESUkrainian leaders visited Washington, D.C. The CIA and the Department of Defense gave them private briefings. They emerged deeply shaken.WHAT MANAFORT’S PARDON TAUGHT USUkrainians may be dejected that Manafort has...2022-02-121h 14
The CosmopolicastEpisode 5: The CosmoRussyaCastFrom Claire—So a Ukrainian, two Estonians, two Americans and a Canadian walked into the Cosmopolicast—and I’ve been looking for the right punchline all day, but it’s just not happening. Still, it’s a great podcast. Before anything else, though. Yesterday, in haste, I copied the wrong map into our newsletter. It was an important map, too. Here’s the right one, without which you can’t make sense of the whole business about the chicken neck. My mistake—not Vivek’s—and I apologize. We rounded up our favorite people from the form...2021-04-141h 00
The CosmopolicastThe China CosmopolicastThe Cosmopolitan Globalists, one and all, wish our readers, all and one, a happy Easter. Our China Cosmopolicast, with Adam Garfinkle, Henry Hill, and the editors, is our best so far. We’re itching to hit “publish.” But we figure no one will listen to it on a holiday, and we certainly wouldn’t want anyone to miss it. So above is a trailer. (It is our first trailer. We are proud.) We’ll publish it in two parts, beginning either tomorrow or Tuesday, depending on your request. Tell us in the comments. And we may even post the p...2021-04-0401 min