Episode 21: Untranslatable Ukrainian Humour and Life in Ukraine Today with Oksana Forostyna

Writer, editor and prominent intellectual Oksana Forostyna joins Ivan Vejvoda from Lviv to discuss the ongoing situation in Ukraine, her recent essay on Ukrainian jokes and humour and their importance as a shield against trauma and aggression, the political life of the country during wartime; and daily family life during these difficult years.A co-founder of Yakaboo Publishing Oksana was chosen for the New Europe 100 list of outstanding challengers from Central and Eastern Europe in 2014 and made the Top 100 People in Ukrainian Culture list by Novoe Vremya illustrated weekly in 2017. Her debut novel Duty Free was published in Ukraine in December 2012. She is also an author of essays and articles in Ukrainian and English. Forostyna was a former executive editor for Krytyka Journal and for Critical Solutions — an online media project of Krytyka. In 2015, she launched the independent publishing imprint TAO. Formerly a Marcin Król Fellow at Visegrad Insight, she is a Europe's Futures fellow at IWM this year.Find her on twitter @ForostynaRead her essay on Ukrainian jokes at The European Review of BooksIvan Vejvoda  is Head of the Europe's Futures program at IWM where, in cooperation with leading European organisations and think tanks IWM and ERSTE Foundation have joined forces to tackle some of the most crucial topics: nexus of borders and migration, deterioration in rule of law and democracy and European Union’s enlargement prospects.<br /><br />The Institute for Human Sciences (IWM) is an independent institute for advanced study in the humanities and social sciences. Since its foundation in 1982, it has promoted intellectual exchange between East and West, between academia and society, and between a variety of disciplines and schools of thought. In this way, the IWM has become a vibrant center of intellectual life in Vienna.The IWM is a community of scholars pursuing advanced research in the humanities and social sciences. For nearly four decades, the Institute has promoted intellectual exchange across disciplines, between academia and society, and among regions of the world. It hosts more than a hundred fellows each year, organizes public exchanges, and publishes books, articles, and digital fora. you can find IWM's website at:https://www.iwm.at/