In this episode, we talk with Benjamin Goldhagen — the mind behind “To the Zero Line” and “The Steel Porcupine” — about what it takes to film on the edge of a war zone, finding humanity amid destruction, and why Ukraine’s story needs to be told now. Goldhagen shares his experiences filming on the frontlines of Ukraine — capturing resilience, trauma, and the human stories behind the headlines. www.thesteelporcupine.com 🎥 Keywords: Ukraine documentary, Benjamin Goldhagen interview, Ukrainian war, frontline filmmaking, Ukrainian culture, documentary podcast.

Jonas is a former Swedish Marine who when Russia invaded Ukraine, decided that he must act to support Ukraine. For almost 4 years he drives once a month to the front lines in Ukraine donating various supplies purchased by Swedish donors. Join us for his insights into the war from both an "on the ground" and Swedish perspective.

Hanna Shelest is the Director of Security Programmes at Foreign Policy Council “Ukrainian Prism”, one of the top Ukrainian think-tanks. A native of Odessa, we discuss how her city and people have managed during the war, Hanna's expert perspective of the global stage vis a vis Ukraine, Russia's psychological mind games, and the various technology and techniques used by Ukraine to counter Russia's invasion. 

Olena Trehub is the founder and Secretary General of NAKO - the Independent Anti-Corruption Commission, established in Ukraine in cooperation with Transparency International in 2017. NAKO focuses on promoting good governance in the defense sector, anti-corruption reform in areas critical for national security, and due diligence in the defense industry.  Olena is currently serving her second term on the Anti-Corruption Council of the Ministry of Defence of Ukraine. She also works with the International Center for Ukrainian Victory, advocating for strong international support for Ukraine. Previously, Olena served as Director at Ukraine's Ministry of Economic Development and Trade, managing over $12 billion in international development projects. She is a graduate of the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy (Tufts) and Central European University. She has received multiple awards for her reform work and was named one of Ukraine's 100 most influential women by New Time Magazine.

Since the time of Covid, Vladyslav created his YouTube channel "The Metal Pilgrim" commenting on the latest happenings in the world of heavy metal music. The slick production, sharp editing combined with his insightful commentary and passion for the music grew his audience quickly. When the full scale invasion of Ukraine started in 2022, Vladyslav, who is based in Kyiv, began to fundraise to buy supplies and then move them to the front lines. He kept his audience informed on what was happening on the ground in Ukraine, and later worked with both metal musicians and fans to fundraise for his non profit, -Сталеві Крила / Steel Wings Foundation -

For Episode 20 we invite previous guests and Ukraine experts Professor Oles Motyl and Dr. Taras Kuzio to discuss their latest thoughts on developments on Russia's war on Ukraine and the dichotomy of the Trump administration. 

Brian Bonner was Chief Editor of the Kyiv Post from 2008-2021. Join us as we catch up with Brian as to what he is doing now, his reflections on journalism both in Ukraine and the US, and a general conversation about the state of recent events on the political arena.

John Shmorhun is a Ukrainian-American with over 30 years experience working in Ukraine. Shortly after Russia's full scale invasion of Ukraine in early 2022, he and his wife, Patricia, founded "Move Ukraine", an organization dedicated to supporting internally displaced Ukrainians within Ukraine by providing both housing and rehabilitation services. Join us for in depth conversation on this initiative and John's reflections on the current situation. 

Stefan Korshak is the Kyiv Post Senior Defense Correspondent. He is from Houston, Texas and is a Yalie. He has worked in journalism in the former Soviet space for more than twenty years and currently lives in Kyiv. HIs comprehensive military blogs offer unique and detailed analyses of the movements on the front lines of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. We discuss his take on the current state of affairs, both on the front lines and on the geopolitical stage.

SIMON OSTROVSKY is an Emmy Award-winning documentary filmmaker and PBS NewsHour Special Correspondent. Simon was senior correspondent and a founding member of the original VICE News team, winning a Dupont for his documentary "Selfie Soldiers" and two 2016 Emmy nominations for "Russian Roulette", his series on the war in Ukraine. In this episode we discuss his new documentary about Russian occupation and oppression of Christian Evangelical churches in Ukraine, his previous work in Ukraine with Vice News, and his general take and thoughts on current events around Russia's invasion of Ukraine. 

Robert Van Voren is Chief Executive of the international foundation ‘Human Rights in Mental Health-FGIP’, an international foundation for mental health reform. He is also Executive Director of the Andrei Sakharov Research Center for Democratic Development and Professor at Vytautas Magnus University in Kaunas, Lithuania. Since 2000 he lives in Lithuania, and shuttles regularly to Ukraine, his main country of operation. Since the full-scale invasion he travels there on a monthly basis developing and implementing projects to support the country to deal with the psychological consequences of the war for both military and civilians.

Christian Borys is the founder of Saint Javelin, a Toronto based company that makes various clothing and swag to fundraise for charities that support Ukraine. He has years of experience working as a journalist and Saint Javelin social media is a trusted information source on breaking news from Ukraine.

Maksym Eristavi is a Ukrainian journalist, writer, and author of the award-winning book “Russian Colonialism 101,” an illustrated guide to Russian colonial crimes. He was also a co-founder of Hromadske International, an independent news start-up based in Kyiv Ukraine. His current mission is to create global awareness about the Russian colonial legacy.  We discuss the west's journalistic coverage of Ukraine over the years, Maksym's personal motivations for creating the Russian Colonialism 101 guidebook, and the importance of global recognition of Russia's imperial ambitions.     

Andriy Semotiuk is a Canadian and American immigration Lawyer, writer & Ukrainian leader. In this episode we discuss the legal aspects of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the general standing of global current affairs, lessons from 20th Century history that are applicable today, the state of affairs in Canada, the Hollywood Trident Group and more! Join us for a wide reaching conversation!

Sasha Maslov is a photographer based in New York City. Originally from Kharkiv, Ukraine, he has extensively documented the front lines since Russia’s full scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. This year he partnered with St. Javelin to publish a photography book called “Saints” which portrays stories of Ukrainians who have devoted their lives to defend their country on the front lines .

Paul Hennemeyer is an American energy executive based in Europe with over 30 years experience in the energy industry. He and his partner Ralph Meima created “Re-energize Ukraine”, a volunteer initiative to help supply spare and retired electricity equipment to Ukraine. We discuss Paul’s work and recent trip to Ukraine, the closing of the last gas pipeline in Ukraine that transports Russian gas to Europe, Germany’s long term reliance on Russian energy and German energy politics, and the future of the Ukrainian energy industry. Email: phennemeyer@Avrioenergy.com  

In Part 2 of our conversation with Dr. Kuzio we discuss potential scenarios and security guarantees for Ukraine under the Trump administration, the evolution of Volodymyr Zelensky as President, and reflections on Dr. Kuzio's last visit to Ukraine in 2023.  

Dr. Taras Kuzio is a Professor in the Department of Political Science at the National University of Kyiv Mohyla Academy. He is also an Associate Fellow at the Forum for Foreign Relations and has worked with various think tanks. Taras has written over 24 books, most recently,  “Fascism and Genocide, Russia’s War Against Ukrainians.” In Part 1 we talk about the global dynamics surrounding the fall of Assad’s regime, the reluctance of Israel to cooperate with Ukraine, the roots of Russian sadism, and how the West missed its opportunity to defeat Russia’s army in Ukraine. 

In Episode #7 it is our pleasure to speak with one of the original American Expat pioneers in newly independent Ukraine, Jed Sunden. Jed started the Kyiv Post in 1995, the first English language newspaper in Ukraine, which continues on today. In early 2024, Jed founded the American Ukraine PAC to lobby for political support for Ukraine to the US Congress. We discuss his experiences maintaining an independent journalistic enterprise during his 15 year tenure as owner of KP Media Group, as well as the work that the American Ukraine PAC is doing today in support of “The War for Ukrainian Sovereignty".

We continue our conversation with Dr. Lada Roslycky discussing corruption within Ukraine and troubles of Ukrainian soldiers, the lack of will and duplicity from the West, and the importance of true accountablity, and the value of freedom and liberty.