She's In Russia

Are riots good? Are protests good? Plus Lily gives the etymology of the word pogrom.

Family history and Ukraine's war-time propaganda machine in Lugansk.

Lily gets updates on coronavirus in Russia from America and tells the story of Telegram's failed blockchain platform.

Petersburg doesn’t care about corona, Russian medicine, Soviet nostalgia and Ivan Chai.

Russian Orthodox Easter greetings and cake, Lily registers her new car.

Lily's finally reading Ferrante. Also a small COVID-19 in Russia update. And a tour of an abandoned experimental soviet neighborhood built in the late 1920s (Кондратьевский Жилмассив//Kondratyevsky Residential Area?)

In these times of troubles, SIR is back to update you on Russia’s response to COVID-19.

Undefined Hiatus by Olivia Capozzalo and Smith Freeman

Lily went to see an artistic evening with animator Yuri Norstein, best known for his movies Hedgehog in the Fog and Tale of Tales.

Lily returns to St. Petersburg. We talk about Soviet interior design, the Mongol Yoke and ordering Kosher on Aeroflot.

We tell the tale of the legendary 10th St. baths in New York. Also known as The Shvitz or the Russian and Turkish Baths or simply The Baths, the place has been co-owned by two Soviet immigrants since 1995, bringing its own particular breed of bath-spa culture to its devoted clientele.

We watched Werner Herzog's latest documentary, Meeting Gorbachev. Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev wast the last general secretary and only president of the Soviet Union. He's known for supporting nuclear disarmament, causing mass chaos and having a birthmark on his balding head.

FALSE CLAIM: SIR is run by Putin trolls FACT: SIR is run by two brilliant lady humans who are here to dispel myths about Russia Russian Embassy's report The Russiagate Hysteria: a Case of Severe Russophobia: https://washington.mid.ru/en/press-centre/news/russian_embassy_special_report/

We talked to Ukrainian-born, London-based chef and cookbook author Olia Hercules about some of her delicious family recipes, summer kitchens, Georgian food you only get in Georgia and dishes from her childhood in Cyprus. Check out Olia's cookbooks: https://oliahercules.com/books/ Follow Olia: https://www.instagram.com/oliahercules/?hl=en Episode photo from Olia's cookbook Mamushka, taken by Kris Kirkham

Special guest and dear friend Polya once sailed across the North Atlantic ocean on a viking-style ship. Now's she's written a book about it based on her notes and drawings from the onboard. We talk about the voyage, how the crew slept, ate, socialized and went to the bathroom on an open wooden ship at sea. Plus a bit about sex ed and drug prevention in Russian schools. *11 days left* to pre-order Polya's book by contributing: https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/how-i-sailed-a-viking-ship-across-the-ocean#/