https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/war-survival-stories--7284132
Each episode reconstructs one true story in full, cinematic detail: the city surrounded, the checkpoint that decided who passed, the basement that became a hospital, the neighbor who became an informer. No host chatting between clips, no panel debating politics. Just one complete story, narrated start to finish, built from diaries, letters, and the testimony of the civilians who lived it.

You will follow civilians smuggling bread through siege lines, villagers hiding strangers under their floors, and ordinary people forced to negotiate with armies for their families' lives. Some episodes follow a single family through one terrible week; others trace a town's entire war from the day the soldiers arrived to the day they left. All of them treat civilians at war as what they are: the war's true center, not its background.

If you are drawn to war stories told from the inside of the house instead of the top of the hill, this is built for you. New episodes drop regularly, each one a self-contained story of civilians at war. Subscribe now so the next one lands the moment it goes live.]]>enDocumentaryCopyright OBOMEDIA ENTERTAINMENThttps://d3wo5wojvuv7l.cloudfront.net/t_rss_itunes_square_1400/images.spreaker.com/original/eac88a38013de797b8f4254fc45eaf3c.jpghttps://www.spreaker.com/podcast/war-survival-stories--7284132Thu, 10 Sep 2026 08:02:02 +0000OBOMEDIA ENTERTAINMENTOBOMEDIA ENTERTAINMENTcreators@obomedia.comCivilians at war do not get uniforms, orders, or medals. They get a front line that arrives at their doorstep and a choice nobody should have to make. This show tells the true stories of civilians at war: the families, doctors, teachers, and children...
Each episode reconstructs one true story in full, cinematic detail: the city surrounded, the checkpoint that decided who passed, the basement that became a hospital, the neighbor who became an informer. No host chatting between clips, no panel debating politics. Just one complete story, narrated start to finish, built from diaries, letters, and the testimony of the civilians who lived it.

You will follow civilians smuggling bread through siege lines, villagers hiding strangers under their floors, and ordinary people forced to negotiate with armies for their families' lives. Some episodes follow a single family through one terrible week; others trace a town's entire war from the day the soldiers arrived to the day they left. All of them treat civilians at war as what they are: the war's true center, not its background.

If you are drawn to war stories told from the inside of the house instead of the top of the hill, this is built for you. New episodes drop regularly, each one a self-contained story of civilians at war. Subscribe now so the next one lands the moment it goes live.]]>false2d6c8b2f-3e2f-5ca1-bcfd-230b0a5dec2fepisodichttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-curriculum-change-that-turned-a-rector-into-a-target--74834932
The Curriculum Change That Turned a Rector into a Target

In this episode, we follow Bolesław Przybyszewski’s rise from prisoner of war to rector and the curricular battle that put him in the middle of Moscow’s cultural politics. What choices and changes at the conservatory made him vulnerable to the state?

Person: Bolesław Przybyszewski
Date of birth: February 22, 1892
Location: Moscow Conservatory
Event: Curriculum changes driven by RAMP pressure
Status: Sentenced by the Military Collegium of the Supreme Court of the USSR on August 21, 1937

- He arrived in Russia as an interned enemy subject, settled in Orsk, and chose to remain during chaotic civil war years.
- By 1920 he was publicly defending his famous father’s reputation in print while living far from home.
- He joined the Communist Party, rose through cultural posts, and became rector of the Moscow Conservatory in 1929 at age 37.
- The Russian Association of Proletarian Musicians pushed a new curriculum that cut core music hours and added political-economic studies.
- Konstantin Saradzhev and others at the conservatory criticized the reduced hours in key disciplines as pernicious.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/74834932Fri, 11 Sep 2026 08:00:03 +0000OBOMEDIA ENTERTAINMENTA Moscow Conservatory rector cuts practice hours for a new curriculum and is suddenly marked by the state-how did that expose him? The Curriculum Change That Turned a Rector into a Target In this episode, we follow Bolesław Przybyszewski’s rise...
The Curriculum Change That Turned a Rector into a Target

In this episode, we follow Bolesław Przybyszewski’s rise from prisoner of war to rector and the curricular battle that put him in the middle of Moscow’s cultural politics. What choices and changes at the conservatory made him vulnerable to the state?

Person: Bolesław Przybyszewski
Date of birth: February 22, 1892
Location: Moscow Conservatory
Event: Curriculum changes driven by RAMP pressure
Status: Sentenced by the Military Collegium of the Supreme Court of the USSR on August 21, 1937

- He arrived in Russia as an interned enemy subject, settled in Orsk, and chose to remain during chaotic civil war years.
- By 1920 he was publicly defending his famous father’s reputation in print while living far from home.
- He joined the Communist Party, rose through cultural posts, and became rector of the Moscow Conservatory in 1929 at age 37.
- The Russian Association of Proletarian Musicians pushed a new curriculum that cut core music hours and added political-economic studies.
- Konstantin Saradzhev and others at the conservatory criticized the reduced hours in key disciplines as pernicious.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1479falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-swiss-passport-that-branded-him-an-enemy-of-the-ussr--74834930
The Swiss Passport That Branded Him an Enemy of the USSR

In this episode, we follow the arc of a famous actor whose every practical choice to survive during wartime intersected with bureaucracy and suspicion. The episode traces his career, the inherited Swiss passport, and the interrogation that made that passport the pivot of his fate - could a neutral nationality be treated as a crime?

Person: Eugeniusz Bodo
Date: 20 October 1942 (sentence issued)
Location: Butyrki prison; transit depot in Kotlas
Origin: Łódź; Warsaw; Lwów
Document: Swiss passport in the name Junod

- Born Bohdan Eugène Junod, he built a Polish stardom under the stage name Eugeniusz Bodo
- His father Teodor Junod was Swiss and passed Swiss citizenship and a passport to his son
- Bodo fled east to Lwów, joined Tea-Jazz, toured the Soviet Union and recorded in Russian in 1940
- Arrested after Germany invaded the USSR in June 1941, interrogations began with his navy-blue Swiss passport
- NKVD officer Pyotr Fedotov noted the passport and signed the key document that would define the case

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/74834930Thu, 10 Sep 2026 08:00:03 +0000OBOMEDIA ENTERTAINMENTA Swiss passport in Soviet hands brands Poland’s biggest star an enemy of the USSR - how did six letters on a document become a death sentence? The Swiss Passport That Branded Him an Enemy of the USSR In this episode, we follow the arc of a...
The Swiss Passport That Branded Him an Enemy of the USSR

In this episode, we follow the arc of a famous actor whose every practical choice to survive during wartime intersected with bureaucracy and suspicion. The episode traces his career, the inherited Swiss passport, and the interrogation that made that passport the pivot of his fate - could a neutral nationality be treated as a crime?

Person: Eugeniusz Bodo
Date: 20 October 1942 (sentence issued)
Location: Butyrki prison; transit depot in Kotlas
Origin: Łódź; Warsaw; Lwów
Document: Swiss passport in the name Junod

- Born Bohdan Eugène Junod, he built a Polish stardom under the stage name Eugeniusz Bodo
- His father Teodor Junod was Swiss and passed Swiss citizenship and a passport to his son
- Bodo fled east to Lwów, joined Tea-Jazz, toured the Soviet Union and recorded in Russian in 1940
- Arrested after Germany invaded the USSR in June 1941, interrogations began with his navy-blue Swiss passport
- NKVD officer Pyotr Fedotov noted the passport and signed the key document that would define the case

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1399falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-legal-name-change-that-let-hala-become-lea-reshaped-her-career-and-identity--74834926
The legal name change that let Hala become Léa reshaped her career and identity

In this episode, we follow the moments that shaped a life: a legal name change in Paris, migration from Beirut to France, and the choices that steered a journalism career. We ask what that change cost and how it shaped public and private identity.

Person: Léa Salamé (born Hala Léa Salamé)
Date of birth: 27 October 1979
Location: Beirut (birth), Paris (family moved 1984)
Event: Legal name change in Paris before first internship and broadcast
Education: Lycée Saint-Louis-de-Gonzague; École alsacienne; Panthéon-Assas University; Sciences Po; New York University

- At age five her family left Beirut during the Lebanese Civil War and settled in Paris in 1984.
- She became a French citizen in 1988 and later attended Sciences Po and NYU, where she was in New York on 11 September 2001 and was injured.
- Before any public career, she legally changed the name on her birth certificate from Hala to Léa in a Paris government office.
- Early media access included an internship supervised by Jean-Pierre Elkabbach at La Chaîne parlementaire and an on-air role at Public Sénat.
- She rejected a written offer of €50,000 a month from BFM TV and accepted €25,000 a month at France 2, shortly before France 2’s audience rose.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/74834926Wed, 09 Sep 2026 08:00:02 +0000OBOMEDIA ENTERTAINMENTA refugee child turned journalist legally changed her name from Hala to Léa before her first broadcast-how did that legal name change expose her? The legal name change that let Hala become Léa reshaped her career and identity In this episode, we...
The legal name change that let Hala become Léa reshaped her career and identity

In this episode, we follow the moments that shaped a life: a legal name change in Paris, migration from Beirut to France, and the choices that steered a journalism career. We ask what that change cost and how it shaped public and private identity.

Person: Léa Salamé (born Hala Léa Salamé)
Date of birth: 27 October 1979
Location: Beirut (birth), Paris (family moved 1984)
Event: Legal name change in Paris before first internship and broadcast
Education: Lycée Saint-Louis-de-Gonzague; École alsacienne; Panthéon-Assas University; Sciences Po; New York University

- At age five her family left Beirut during the Lebanese Civil War and settled in Paris in 1984.
- She became a French citizen in 1988 and later attended Sciences Po and NYU, where she was in New York on 11 September 2001 and was injured.
- Before any public career, she legally changed the name on her birth certificate from Hala to Léa in a Paris government office.
- Early media access included an internship supervised by Jean-Pierre Elkabbach at La Chaîne parlementaire and an on-air role at Public Sénat.
- She rejected a written offer of €50,000 a month from BFM TV and accepted €25,000 a month at France 2, shortly before France 2’s audience rose.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1157falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-book-that-drew-the-blade-that-killed-him--74834925
The book that drew the blade that killed him

This episode explores the life and mysterious death of a prolific Bangladeshi writer, tracing the events that led to a brutal attack and his subsequent demise. It delves into the impact of his work and the questions surrounding his final days.

Person: Humayun Azad
Date of birth: April 28, 1947
Date of death: August 12, 2004
Location of death: Munich
Cause of death: Not officially established

- Humayun Azad changed his surname from Azad to Azad, meaning "free" in Bengali, in 1988 as a declaration.
- He earned a doctorate in linguistics from the University of Edinburgh in 1976 and became a full professor at the University of Dhaka by 1986.
- His 1992 feminist treatise, "Naree," was banned in 1995 but the ban was lifted by the High Court of Bangladesh in 2000.
- In 2003, excerpts from his novel "Pak Sar Jamin Sad Bad," a critique of Islamic extremist ideology, led to threats and calls for its ban.
- One week before the machete attack, a member of parliament publicly called for the novel's ban and for blasphemy law to be applied to Humayun Azad.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/74834925Tue, 08 Sep 2026 08:00:04 +0000OBOMEDIA ENTERTAINMENTA professor survives a machete attack after publishing a controversial novel, only to be found dead months later in Munich with no clear cause of death. The book that drew the blade that killed him This episode explores the life and mysterious...
The book that drew the blade that killed him

This episode explores the life and mysterious death of a prolific Bangladeshi writer, tracing the events that led to a brutal attack and his subsequent demise. It delves into the impact of his work and the questions surrounding his final days.

Person: Humayun Azad
Date of birth: April 28, 1947
Date of death: August 12, 2004
Location of death: Munich
Cause of death: Not officially established

- Humayun Azad changed his surname from Azad to Azad, meaning "free" in Bengali, in 1988 as a declaration.
- He earned a doctorate in linguistics from the University of Edinburgh in 1976 and became a full professor at the University of Dhaka by 1986.
- His 1992 feminist treatise, "Naree," was banned in 1995 but the ban was lifted by the High Court of Bangladesh in 2000.
- In 2003, excerpts from his novel "Pak Sar Jamin Sad Bad," a critique of Islamic extremist ideology, led to threats and calls for its ban.
- One week before the machete attack, a member of parliament publicly called for the novel's ban and for blasphemy law to be applied to Humayun Azad.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1112falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-pen-the-government-handed-him-wrote-his-first-article--74834924
The pen the government handed him wrote his first article

This episode explores the early life of Albert Saijo, a Japanese American writer who began his career while interned during World War II. It delves into the complex circumstances surrounding his first published work and the tensions that shaped his perspective.

Person: Albert Saijo Saijo
Date: December 7, 1942
Location: Heart Mountain Relocation Center, Wyoming
Event: Publication of first article
Order: Executive Order 9066

- Albert Saijo was named after his father's wealthy industrialist employer, Albert Saijo Holden.
- His mother, Asano, was a picture bride who wrote columns for Japanese-American newspapers and participated in haiku groups.
- The Saijo family was first taken to the Pomona Assembly Center before being transferred to Heart Mountain.
- The Heart Mountain Echoes, the camp's school newspaper, was supervised by the War Relocation Authority.
- Saijo's later editorials in the Echoes explicitly linked internment to imprisonment and racial discrimination.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/74834924Mon, 07 Sep 2026 08:00:04 +0000OBOMEDIA ENTERTAINMENTA Japanese American teen in a WWII internment camp publishes his first article - but will the government that imprisoned him allow it? The pen the government handed him wrote his first article This episode explores the early life of Albert...
The pen the government handed him wrote his first article

This episode explores the early life of Albert Saijo, a Japanese American writer who began his career while interned during World War II. It delves into the complex circumstances surrounding his first published work and the tensions that shaped his perspective.

Person: Albert Saijo Saijo
Date: December 7, 1942
Location: Heart Mountain Relocation Center, Wyoming
Event: Publication of first article
Order: Executive Order 9066

- Albert Saijo was named after his father's wealthy industrialist employer, Albert Saijo Holden.
- His mother, Asano, was a picture bride who wrote columns for Japanese-American newspapers and participated in haiku groups.
- The Saijo family was first taken to the Pomona Assembly Center before being transferred to Heart Mountain.
- The Heart Mountain Echoes, the camp's school newspaper, was supervised by the War Relocation Authority.
- Saijo's later editorials in the Echoes explicitly linked internment to imprisonment and racial discrimination.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1145falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/a-secret-memo-saved-15-345-lives-from-a-german-estate--74834921
A secret memo saved 15,345 lives from a German estate

This episode explores the complex life of Johan Bernhard Hjort, a Norwegian lawyer and former fascist co-founder, whose actions during World War II led to a significant rescue operation. It delves into the contradictions of his past and the motivations behind his wartime efforts.

Person: Johan Bernhard Hjort
Date: October 26, 1944
Location: German estate
Lives saved: 15,345
Affiliation: Nasjonal Samling (National Unity party)

- Johan Bernhard Hjort, a Norwegian supreme court lawyer, co-founded the fascist Nasjonal Samling party in 1933.
- In 1935, he proposed reintroducing a constitutional clause that would exclude Jews from Norway.
- By 1936, Hjort's relationship with the party began to shift after a chaotic rally and a meeting with Heinrich Himmler.
- In February 1937, Hjort resigned from Nasjonal Samling, before the German occupation of Norway began.
- After the German invasion in 1940, Hjort, as a conscripted sergeant, attempted to use his German family connections to stop Vidkun Quisling's coup.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/74834921Sun, 06 Sep 2026 08:00:02 +0000OBOMEDIA ENTERTAINMENTA civilian internee on a German estate sends a secret memo through diplomatic channels, requesting the transfer of Norwegian prisoners to Sweden. His actions will expose the true nature of wartime rescue operations. A secret memo saved 15,345 lives...
A secret memo saved 15,345 lives from a German estate

This episode explores the complex life of Johan Bernhard Hjort, a Norwegian lawyer and former fascist co-founder, whose actions during World War II led to a significant rescue operation. It delves into the contradictions of his past and the motivations behind his wartime efforts.

Person: Johan Bernhard Hjort
Date: October 26, 1944
Location: German estate
Lives saved: 15,345
Affiliation: Nasjonal Samling (National Unity party)

- Johan Bernhard Hjort, a Norwegian supreme court lawyer, co-founded the fascist Nasjonal Samling party in 1933.
- In 1935, he proposed reintroducing a constitutional clause that would exclude Jews from Norway.
- By 1936, Hjort's relationship with the party began to shift after a chaotic rally and a meeting with Heinrich Himmler.
- In February 1937, Hjort resigned from Nasjonal Samling, before the German occupation of Norway began.
- After the German invasion in 1940, Hjort, as a conscripted sergeant, attempted to use his German family connections to stop Vidkun Quisling's coup.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1602falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/four-words-exposed-a-leader-s-secret-knowledge--74834918
Four words exposed a leader's secret knowledge

This episode explores the life of Balthazar Johannes Vorster, a prominent figure in South African history whose name was quietly removed from a university building decades after his influence. It delves into the circumstances surrounding his internment during World War II and his later political ascent, revealing the complex legacy of a man whose actions shaped a nation.

Person: Balthazar Johannes Vorster
Date: 1915 (birth), 1942 (internment), 1965 (Nelson Mandela's imprisonment)
Location: Stellenbosch University, Jamestown (Cape Province), Koffiefontein (Northern Cape)
Organization: Ossewabrandwag (Ox-Wagon Sentinel)
Event: Anglo-Boer War, Second World War

- Balthazar Johannes Vorster was the fifteenth child of an Afrikaner farming family, born in 1915 in the rural Cape Province.
- He attended Stellenbosch University in the 1930s, becoming chairman of the debating society and leader of the junior National Party branch.
- In 1938, the Ossewabrandwag was founded, an organization that became explicitly pro-Nazi and conducted sabotage against South Africa's war infrastructure during World War II.
- Vorster joined the Ossewabrandwag after 1939, rising to the rank of general in its paramilitary wing, the Stormjaers.
- In 1942, he publicly stated, "We stand for Christian nationalism which is an ally of National Socialism," leading to his internment by his own government in a detention camp.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/74834918Sat, 05 Sep 2026 08:00:03 +0000OBOMEDIA ENTERTAINMENTA leader's past is hidden when a university removes his name, but a financial scandal and a four-word commission finding expose his secret knowledge. Four words exposed a leader's secret knowledge This episode explores the life of Balthazar...
Four words exposed a leader's secret knowledge

This episode explores the life of Balthazar Johannes Vorster, a prominent figure in South African history whose name was quietly removed from a university building decades after his influence. It delves into the circumstances surrounding his internment during World War II and his later political ascent, revealing the complex legacy of a man whose actions shaped a nation.

Person: Balthazar Johannes Vorster
Date: 1915 (birth), 1942 (internment), 1965 (Nelson Mandela's imprisonment)
Location: Stellenbosch University, Jamestown (Cape Province), Koffiefontein (Northern Cape)
Organization: Ossewabrandwag (Ox-Wagon Sentinel)
Event: Anglo-Boer War, Second World War

- Balthazar Johannes Vorster was the fifteenth child of an Afrikaner farming family, born in 1915 in the rural Cape Province.
- He attended Stellenbosch University in the 1930s, becoming chairman of the debating society and leader of the junior National Party branch.
- In 1938, the Ossewabrandwag was founded, an organization that became explicitly pro-Nazi and conducted sabotage against South Africa's war infrastructure during World War II.
- Vorster joined the Ossewabrandwag after 1939, rising to the rank of general in its paramilitary wing, the Stormjaers.
- In 1942, he publicly stated, "We stand for Christian nationalism which is an ally of National Socialism," leading to his internment by his own government in a detention camp.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1140falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-exemption-that-failed-to-protect-a-man--74834915
The Exemption That Failed to Protect a Man

This episode explores the journey of Ludwig Hirschfeld-Mack, a Bauhaus artist and teacher, as he navigates the complexities of pre-war Europe and the British internment policies despite an official exemption. It raises the question of what it truly costs a person to carry a lifetime of work and experience through such upheaval.

Person: Ludwig Hirschfeld-Mack
Date: October 1939
Employer: Dulwich College
Invention: Farbenlichtspiele (colour-light plays)

- Ludwig Hirschfeld-Mack was officially exempted from enemy alien internment by the British government in October 1939.
- He was a teacher whose work focused on the relationship between color and music, having studied at the Debschitz-Schule and the Bauhaus.
- At the Bauhaus, he developed "Farbenlichtspiele," a machine that projected moving colored light through geometric stencils, timed to his own music.
- Ludwig studied under notable artists like Johannes Itten, Paul Klee, and Wassily Kandinsky, and even ran his own unofficial color course.
- After being dismissed from institutions in Germany due to political shifts, he left for England in 1936 under the Quaker Subsistence Program.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/74834915Fri, 04 Sep 2026 08:00:03 +0000OBOMEDIA ENTERTAINMENTA British exemption should protect a man, but a Bauhaus artist finds himself aboard a troopship-what will become of him? The Exemption That Failed to Protect a Man This episode explores the journey of Ludwig Hirschfeld-Mack, a Bauhaus artist and...
The Exemption That Failed to Protect a Man

This episode explores the journey of Ludwig Hirschfeld-Mack, a Bauhaus artist and teacher, as he navigates the complexities of pre-war Europe and the British internment policies despite an official exemption. It raises the question of what it truly costs a person to carry a lifetime of work and experience through such upheaval.

Person: Ludwig Hirschfeld-Mack
Date: October 1939
Employer: Dulwich College
Invention: Farbenlichtspiele (colour-light plays)

- Ludwig Hirschfeld-Mack was officially exempted from enemy alien internment by the British government in October 1939.
- He was a teacher whose work focused on the relationship between color and music, having studied at the Debschitz-Schule and the Bauhaus.
- At the Bauhaus, he developed "Farbenlichtspiele," a machine that projected moving colored light through geometric stencils, timed to his own music.
- Ludwig studied under notable artists like Johannes Itten, Paul Klee, and Wassily Kandinsky, and even ran his own unofficial color course.
- After being dismissed from institutions in Germany due to political shifts, he left for England in 1936 under the Quaker Subsistence Program.

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© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1181falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-fifteen-year-old-name-she-chose-that-survived-a-gulag--74834913
The Fifteen‑Year‑Old Name She Chose That Survived a Gulag

In this episode, we follow Natalya Yevgenevna Semper from Moscow salons to Soviet prisons, tracing the choices and practices that shaped her life before and during her sentence. What role did a self‑chosen name and a life of language play in the years that followed?

Person: Natalya Yevgenevna Semper (born Sokolova)
Date: Arrest July 1949; sentence ten years; released April 1955
Location: Moscow; Lubyanka; Butyrka; Vyatlag labor camp
Occupation: Translator, reviewer, Egyptological scholar
Education: Second Moscow State University; Moscow State Linguistic University

- At fifteen she deliberately adopted the pseudonym Nelly Semper and used it publicly and professionally for life.
- Raised in an artistically saturated Moscow household with a Bolshoi dancer mother and an artist father, she absorbed culture as atmosphere.
- She trained in modern and Oriental languages, working by 1935 at VOKS and later with writer Sigizmund Krzhizhanovsky.
- Despite the Great Terror and the suspicious role of cultural institutions, she continued translating, teaching herself additional languages and writing memoirs.
- In July 1949 two agents arrested her without warning under Article 58; she passed through Lubyanka and Butyrka before a ten‑year labor camp sentence.

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© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/74834913Thu, 03 Sep 2026 08:00:04 +0000OBOMEDIA ENTERTAINMENTA Moscow translator seized in 1949 faces Article 58 and a decade in a Gulag-how did the name she chose at fifteen help expose her inner survival? The Fifteen‑Year‑Old Name She Chose That Survived a Gulag In this episode, we follow Natalya...
The Fifteen‑Year‑Old Name She Chose That Survived a Gulag

In this episode, we follow Natalya Yevgenevna Semper from Moscow salons to Soviet prisons, tracing the choices and practices that shaped her life before and during her sentence. What role did a self‑chosen name and a life of language play in the years that followed?

Person: Natalya Yevgenevna Semper (born Sokolova)
Date: Arrest July 1949; sentence ten years; released April 1955
Location: Moscow; Lubyanka; Butyrka; Vyatlag labor camp
Occupation: Translator, reviewer, Egyptological scholar
Education: Second Moscow State University; Moscow State Linguistic University

- At fifteen she deliberately adopted the pseudonym Nelly Semper and used it publicly and professionally for life.
- Raised in an artistically saturated Moscow household with a Bolshoi dancer mother and an artist father, she absorbed culture as atmosphere.
- She trained in modern and Oriental languages, working by 1935 at VOKS and later with writer Sigizmund Krzhizhanovsky.
- Despite the Great Terror and the suspicious role of cultural institutions, she continued translating, teaching herself additional languages and writing memoirs.
- In July 1949 two agents arrested her without warning under Article 58; she passed through Lubyanka and Butyrka before a ten‑year labor camp sentence.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1302falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-letter-to-stalin-that-brought-him-home-to-die--74834911
The letter to Stalin that brought him home to die

This episode explores the life of Yusif Vazirov, a prolific writer and diplomat, tracing his journey from his birth in Azerbaijan to his return to the Soviet Union and the unresolved mystery surrounding his most famous work.

Person: Yusif Vazirov
Born: September 12, 1887
Birthplace: Shusha, Azerbaijan
Profession: Novelist, diplomat, lawyer
Pen Name: Chamanzaminli

- Yusif Vazirov used at least fifteen pen names before the age of twenty, each carefully chosen, such as "Badbakht" (the Unlucky One) and "Stradayushiy" (Sufferer).
- He made a private vow to use the pen name Chamanzaminli, honoring the three brothers who nursed him through typhoid and sheltered his father.
- Vazirov studied engineering, then law, graduating in 1915, training that would prove crucial later in his life.
- In 1907, he met Berta Maiseyeva, identified by researchers as the prototype for Nino in the novel Ali and Nino.
- After the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic dissolved, Vazirov, a diplomat for a non-existent country, worked in a Paris automobile factory and wrote for a small journal.

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© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/74834911Wed, 02 Sep 2026 22:24:19 +0000OBOMEDIA ENTERTAINMENTA novelist and diplomat returns to the Soviet Union after years abroad, believing it a "long-awaited shore," only to face the regime's growing machinery. The letter to Stalin that brought him home to die This episode explores the life of Yusif...
The letter to Stalin that brought him home to die

This episode explores the life of Yusif Vazirov, a prolific writer and diplomat, tracing his journey from his birth in Azerbaijan to his return to the Soviet Union and the unresolved mystery surrounding his most famous work.

Person: Yusif Vazirov
Born: September 12, 1887
Birthplace: Shusha, Azerbaijan
Profession: Novelist, diplomat, lawyer
Pen Name: Chamanzaminli

- Yusif Vazirov used at least fifteen pen names before the age of twenty, each carefully chosen, such as "Badbakht" (the Unlucky One) and "Stradayushiy" (Sufferer).
- He made a private vow to use the pen name Chamanzaminli, honoring the three brothers who nursed him through typhoid and sheltered his father.
- Vazirov studied engineering, then law, graduating in 1915, training that would prove crucial later in his life.
- In 1907, he met Berta Maiseyeva, identified by researchers as the prototype for Nino in the novel Ali and Nino.
- After the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic dissolved, Vazirov, a diplomat for a non-existent country, worked in a Paris automobile factory and wrote for a small journal.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1152falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-fresh-surgical-scar-that-contradicted-her-hostage-video--74834908
The fresh surgical scar that contradicted her hostage video

This episode details the abduction of Mia Schem from the Nova music festival and her subsequent 54-day captivity in Gaza. It explores how a forced video released by her captors presented a stark contrast to the reality of her experience, revealed by a visible injury.

Person: Mia Schem
Date: October 7, 2023
Location: Nova music festival, southern Israel
Event: Civilian abduction
Status: Hostage for 54 days

- Mia Schem, a 21-year-old French-Israeli tattoo artist, sent a text message from a field in southern Israel stating, "They are shooting at us please come save us."
- She was attending the Nova music festival, an outdoor rave near Re'im, close to the Gaza border.
- Mia and her friend Elia Toledano were in Elia's car when Hamas militants breached the border fence and attacked the festival.
- Mia was shot in the arm at point-blank range by a Hamas militant and then taken into Gaza along with Elia.
- On October 16, Hamas released a hostage video of Mia, where she stated she was being treated with care, but a fresh surgical scar on her arm was visible.

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© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/74834908Wed, 02 Sep 2026 22:24:15 +0000OBOMEDIA ENTERTAINMENTA young tattoo artist is abducted from a music festival, and her forced hostage video becomes the first glimpse into a brutal captivity. But a fresh surgical scar tells a different story. The fresh surgical scar that contradicted her hostage video...
The fresh surgical scar that contradicted her hostage video

This episode details the abduction of Mia Schem from the Nova music festival and her subsequent 54-day captivity in Gaza. It explores how a forced video released by her captors presented a stark contrast to the reality of her experience, revealed by a visible injury.

Person: Mia Schem
Date: October 7, 2023
Location: Nova music festival, southern Israel
Event: Civilian abduction
Status: Hostage for 54 days

- Mia Schem, a 21-year-old French-Israeli tattoo artist, sent a text message from a field in southern Israel stating, "They are shooting at us please come save us."
- She was attending the Nova music festival, an outdoor rave near Re'im, close to the Gaza border.
- Mia and her friend Elia Toledano were in Elia's car when Hamas militants breached the border fence and attacked the festival.
- Mia was shot in the arm at point-blank range by a Hamas militant and then taken into Gaza along with Elia.
- On October 16, Hamas released a hostage video of Mia, where she stated she was being treated with care, but a fresh surgical scar on her arm was visible.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1190falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-market-stall-that-kept-paying-rent-while-he-vanished--74834906
The Market Stall That Kept Paying Rent While He Vanished

This episode tells the story of Elkana Bohbot, a logistics manager and aspiring ice cream shop owner, whose life takes an unexpected turn on October 7, 2023. It explores the harrowing experience of being held captive and the profound impact on his family.

Person: Elkana Bohbot
Date: October 7, 2023
Location: Tel Aviv, Mevaseret Zion, Gaza
Event: Nova Festival attack

- Elkana Bohbot, a 34-year-old logistics manager, planned to open a gourmet ice cream stall in Tel Aviv.
- On the morning of October 7, 2023, he was working at the Nova Festival, where his company built the stage.
- He called his mother, Ruhama, at 7:50 AM, stating he was helping others evacuate and would come home soon.
- His wife, Rivka, warned him about terrorists in pickup trucks disguised as Israeli military vehicles.
- At noon, a friend confirmed Elkana's capture via a Hamas video showing him bound and injured alongside other Nova hostages.

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© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/74834906Wed, 02 Sep 2026 22:24:11 +0000OBOMEDIA ENTERTAINMENTA market stall in Tel Aviv keeps paying rent for 738 days, even though its owner, a logistics manager, has vanished. His family learns he is a Gaza hostage. The Market Stall That Kept Paying Rent While He Vanished This episode tells the story of...
The Market Stall That Kept Paying Rent While He Vanished

This episode tells the story of Elkana Bohbot, a logistics manager and aspiring ice cream shop owner, whose life takes an unexpected turn on October 7, 2023. It explores the harrowing experience of being held captive and the profound impact on his family.

Person: Elkana Bohbot
Date: October 7, 2023
Location: Tel Aviv, Mevaseret Zion, Gaza
Event: Nova Festival attack

- Elkana Bohbot, a 34-year-old logistics manager, planned to open a gourmet ice cream stall in Tel Aviv.
- On the morning of October 7, 2023, he was working at the Nova Festival, where his company built the stage.
- He called his mother, Ruhama, at 7:50 AM, stating he was helping others evacuate and would come home soon.
- His wife, Rivka, warned him about terrorists in pickup trucks disguised as Israeli military vehicles.
- At noon, a friend confirmed Elkana's capture via a Hamas video showing him bound and injured alongside other Nova hostages.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1006falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-manzanar-name-that-turned-a-scientist-into-a-forest-builder--74834905
The Manzanar Name That Turned a Scientist into a Forest-builder

In this episode, we trace the life choices that led Gordon Hisashi Hisashi from Manzanar to the National Academy of Sciences and then to planting nearly a million trees in Eritrea. What drove him to choose mangroves, Eritrea, and to keep the name Manzanar for the project?

Person: Gordon Hisashi Hisashi
Date of birth: December 17, 1927
Event: Imprisonment at Manzanar Relocation Camp
Location: Terminal Island, East San Pedro; Manzanar; Red Sea coast of Eritrea
Achievement: Elected to the National Academy of Sciences; co-recipient of Rosenstiel Award

- At age fourteen Hisashi was removed from Terminal Island under Executive Order 9066 and sent to Manzanar, where he played baseball and saxophone in the camp jazz band.
- After Manzanar closed in 1945 he resumed education, earning a B.S, in biochemistry (USC, 1951) and a Ph.D, in biophysics from Caltech (1955) under Max Delbrück.
- Hisashi’s postdoctoral work included labs with Gunther Stent and Theodore Puck, and he joined Brandeis faculty in 1958, later directing the W. Alton Jones Cell Science Center.
- He shared the Rosenstiel Award with Stanley Cohen and Rita Levi-Montalcini and was elected to the National Academy of Sciences in 1984, while remaining active in high-level biomedical research.
- In his mid-fifties he left institutional science to establish a mangrove reforestation project on Eritrea’s Red Sea coast, naming it Manzanar and planting trees in saltwater and desert conditions.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/74834905Wed, 02 Sep 2026 22:24:07 +0000OBOMEDIA ENTERTAINMENTA Japanese American scientist from Manzanar names a Red Sea mangrove project after the camp - will she build it? The Manzanar Name That Turned a Scientist into a Forest-builder In this episode, we trace the life choices that led Gordon Hisashi...
The Manzanar Name That Turned a Scientist into a Forest-builder

In this episode, we trace the life choices that led Gordon Hisashi Hisashi from Manzanar to the National Academy of Sciences and then to planting nearly a million trees in Eritrea. What drove him to choose mangroves, Eritrea, and to keep the name Manzanar for the project?

Person: Gordon Hisashi Hisashi
Date of birth: December 17, 1927
Event: Imprisonment at Manzanar Relocation Camp
Location: Terminal Island, East San Pedro; Manzanar; Red Sea coast of Eritrea
Achievement: Elected to the National Academy of Sciences; co-recipient of Rosenstiel Award

- At age fourteen Hisashi was removed from Terminal Island under Executive Order 9066 and sent to Manzanar, where he played baseball and saxophone in the camp jazz band.
- After Manzanar closed in 1945 he resumed education, earning a B.S, in biochemistry (USC, 1951) and a Ph.D, in biophysics from Caltech (1955) under Max Delbrück.
- Hisashi’s postdoctoral work included labs with Gunther Stent and Theodore Puck, and he joined Brandeis faculty in 1958, later directing the W. Alton Jones Cell Science Center.
- He shared the Rosenstiel Award with Stanley Cohen and Rita Levi-Montalcini and was elected to the National Academy of Sciences in 1984, while remaining active in high-level biomedical research.
- In his mid-fifties he left institutional science to establish a mangrove reforestation project on Eritrea’s Red Sea coast, naming it Manzanar and planting trees in saltwater and desert conditions.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1257falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-wartime-stall-that-shaped-a-scholar-s-fight-for-justice--74834903
The Wartime Stall That Shaped a Scholar's Fight for Justice

In this episode, we follow the arc from a toddler’s confinement in a converted horse stall to a lifetime of questions about citizenship, labor, and structural power. It traces the places and decisions that shaped Evelyn Nakano Glenn’s path and asks how those beginnings pushed her into a career of naming systemic injustice.

Person: Evelyn Nakano Glenn
Date: February 19, 1942 (Executive Order 9066)
Location: Turlock Assembly Center; Gila River War Relocation Center; Heart Mountain
Event: Forced removal and incarceration of people of Japanese ancestry
Topic: Labor, citizenship, and structural confinement

- Two-year-old Evelyn lived in a converted horse stall at the Turlock Assembly Center that still smelled of animals.
- Executive Order 9066 authorized forced removal of people of Japanese ancestry from the Pacific Coast.
- The family was moved from Turlock to Gila River, Arizona, then to Heart Mountain, Wyoming, all before she was five.
- Postwar displacement sent the family to Chicago, redirecting the community’s geographic and social ties.
- Evelyn became a sociologist who focused on structural questions-labor, citizenship, and how confinement operates beyond fences.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/74834903Wed, 02 Sep 2026 22:24:03 +0000OBOMEDIA ENTERTAINMENTA two-year-old newborn in a horse stall at Turlock grows into a sociologist who confronts how a nation confines its own - how did that stall expose her? The Wartime Stall That Shaped a Scholar's Fight for Justice In this episode, we follow the...
The Wartime Stall That Shaped a Scholar's Fight for Justice

In this episode, we follow the arc from a toddler’s confinement in a converted horse stall to a lifetime of questions about citizenship, labor, and structural power. It traces the places and decisions that shaped Evelyn Nakano Glenn’s path and asks how those beginnings pushed her into a career of naming systemic injustice.

Person: Evelyn Nakano Glenn
Date: February 19, 1942 (Executive Order 9066)
Location: Turlock Assembly Center; Gila River War Relocation Center; Heart Mountain
Event: Forced removal and incarceration of people of Japanese ancestry
Topic: Labor, citizenship, and structural confinement

- Two-year-old Evelyn lived in a converted horse stall at the Turlock Assembly Center that still smelled of animals.
- Executive Order 9066 authorized forced removal of people of Japanese ancestry from the Pacific Coast.
- The family was moved from Turlock to Gila River, Arizona, then to Heart Mountain, Wyoming, all before she was five.
- Postwar displacement sent the family to Chicago, redirecting the community’s geographic and social ties.
- Evelyn became a sociologist who focused on structural questions-labor, citizenship, and how confinement operates beyond fences.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1115falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-denis-facade-rolled-outward-and-made-aalbers-famous--74834900
The DENIS facade rolled outward and made Aalbers famous

This episode explores the story of Albert Frederik Aalbers, an architect who designed the DENIS Bank on Braga Street in Bandung, Dutch East Indies, and the personal cost of his architectural ambition amidst a changing world.

Person: Albert Frederik Aalbers
Location: Bandung, Dutch East Indies
Year: 1935
Building: DENIS Bank
Topic: Colonial Architecture

- Albert Aalbers trained at the Rotterdam Academy of Visual Arts and Techniques, absorbing Dutch expressionism, Frank Lloyd Wright's horizontal logic, and Le Corbusier's open structural thinking.
- After his Rotterdam office collapsed in 1926, Aalbers moved to the Dutch East Indies in 1928 with his wife, initially working for a contractor in Sukabumi.
- In 1930, Aalbers established himself as a freelance architect in Bandung, a city undergoing significant infrastructure investment without a clear purpose, creating an "architecture laboratory."
- The DENIS Bank commission in 1935 required a building on Braga Street, and Aalbers delivered a design featuring six curved horizontal platforms and a central vertical lift tower.
- The design for the DENIS Bank incorporated elements from Le Corbusier and Frank Lloyd Wright, but also a unique fluidity that resembled water caught mid-motion.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/74834900Wed, 02 Sep 2026 22:23:59 +0000OBOMEDIA ENTERTAINMENTAn architect builds a radical bank facade in colonial Indonesia - then the world shuts down around him. What did this architecture cost him? The DENIS facade rolled outward and made Aalbers famous This episode explores the story of Albert...
The DENIS facade rolled outward and made Aalbers famous

This episode explores the story of Albert Frederik Aalbers, an architect who designed the DENIS Bank on Braga Street in Bandung, Dutch East Indies, and the personal cost of his architectural ambition amidst a changing world.

Person: Albert Frederik Aalbers
Location: Bandung, Dutch East Indies
Year: 1935
Building: DENIS Bank
Topic: Colonial Architecture

- Albert Aalbers trained at the Rotterdam Academy of Visual Arts and Techniques, absorbing Dutch expressionism, Frank Lloyd Wright's horizontal logic, and Le Corbusier's open structural thinking.
- After his Rotterdam office collapsed in 1926, Aalbers moved to the Dutch East Indies in 1928 with his wife, initially working for a contractor in Sukabumi.
- In 1930, Aalbers established himself as a freelance architect in Bandung, a city undergoing significant infrastructure investment without a clear purpose, creating an "architecture laboratory."
- The DENIS Bank commission in 1935 required a building on Braga Street, and Aalbers delivered a design featuring six curved horizontal platforms and a central vertical lift tower.
- The design for the DENIS Bank incorporated elements from Le Corbusier and Frank Lloyd Wright, but also a unique fluidity that resembled water caught mid-motion.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>945falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/a-jewish-quota-blocked-his-architecture-dreams-changing-his-life--74834897
A Jewish quota blocked his architecture dreams, changing his life

This episode explores the early life of Simon Wiesenthal, a man who survived five concentration camps and dedicated his life to pursuing justice. It delves into the discrepancies between his autobiographical accounts and documented facts, raising questions about the accuracy of his personal narrative.

Person: Simon Wiesenthal
Date: May 5, 1945
Location: Mauthausen concentration camp
Weight: 41 kilograms
Family losses: 89 relatives

- Simon Wiesenthal was born in 1908 in Buczacz, a town at the edge of empires.
- His father died on the Eastern Front during World War I, and his younger brother died in 1924, leaving him and his mother.
- A Jewish quota prevented him from attending the Polytechnic in Lwów, redirecting his education to Prague.
- During World War II, Wiesenthal and his wife Cyla were transferred to Janowska concentration camp.
- Wiesenthal traded railway intelligence for false papers, allowing Cyla to escape to Warsaw under a false identity.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/74834897Wed, 02 Sep 2026 22:23:55 +0000OBOMEDIA ENTERTAINMENTA man rebuilt from a death block dedicates six decades to justice, but his version of events contains contradictions. How did his story change? A Jewish quota blocked his architecture dreams, changing his life This episode explores the early...
A Jewish quota blocked his architecture dreams, changing his life

This episode explores the early life of Simon Wiesenthal, a man who survived five concentration camps and dedicated his life to pursuing justice. It delves into the discrepancies between his autobiographical accounts and documented facts, raising questions about the accuracy of his personal narrative.

Person: Simon Wiesenthal
Date: May 5, 1945
Location: Mauthausen concentration camp
Weight: 41 kilograms
Family losses: 89 relatives

- Simon Wiesenthal was born in 1908 in Buczacz, a town at the edge of empires.
- His father died on the Eastern Front during World War I, and his younger brother died in 1924, leaving him and his mother.
- A Jewish quota prevented him from attending the Polytechnic in Lwów, redirecting his education to Prague.
- During World War II, Wiesenthal and his wife Cyla were transferred to Janowska concentration camp.
- Wiesenthal traded railway intelligence for false papers, allowing Cyla to escape to Warsaw under a false identity.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1341falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-diplomat-who-vanished-four-years-in-rhodesia--74834896
The Diplomat Who Vanished: Four Years in Rhodesia

This episode explores the life of Jamal al-Husayni, a diplomat from Jerusalem who was interned in Southern Rhodesia for four years without trial. It questions the kind of life that leads to such an outcome, revealing a story stranger than it first appears.

Person: Jamal al-Husayni
Period: 1894-1982
Location: Jerusalem, Southern Rhodesia, Beirut
Status: Diplomat, interned without trial
Event: Internment in Southern Rhodesia

- Jamal al-Husayni was born into a prominent Arab family in Jerusalem, deeply embedded in Palestinian Arab public life.
- He was the first student at St. George's School in Jerusalem to wear Western clothes, showing a modern and outward-looking orientation.
- While studying medicine in Beirut, he fled after Ottoman authorities raided his college, narrowly escaping the fate of fellow Arab nationalists who were later hanged.
- At 27, he became Secretary of the Executive Committee of the Palestine Arab Congress, traveling to meet Muslim leaders and proposing a two-chamber Legislative Council to the Jewish Agency.
- He petitioned the High Court in 1927 to remove "Eretz Israel" from Palestine postage stamps, arguing it prejudiced Arab claims, but the petition was rejected.

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© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/74834896Wed, 02 Sep 2026 22:23:52 +0000OBOMEDIA ENTERTAINMENTA diplomat is interned in Rhodesia for four years without trial, far from Jerusalem. His story reveals what happens when a negotiator's world burns. The Diplomat Who Vanished: Four Years in Rhodesia This episode explores the life of Jamal...
The Diplomat Who Vanished: Four Years in Rhodesia

This episode explores the life of Jamal al-Husayni, a diplomat from Jerusalem who was interned in Southern Rhodesia for four years without trial. It questions the kind of life that leads to such an outcome, revealing a story stranger than it first appears.

Person: Jamal al-Husayni
Period: 1894-1982
Location: Jerusalem, Southern Rhodesia, Beirut
Status: Diplomat, interned without trial
Event: Internment in Southern Rhodesia

- Jamal al-Husayni was born into a prominent Arab family in Jerusalem, deeply embedded in Palestinian Arab public life.
- He was the first student at St. George's School in Jerusalem to wear Western clothes, showing a modern and outward-looking orientation.
- While studying medicine in Beirut, he fled after Ottoman authorities raided his college, narrowly escaping the fate of fellow Arab nationalists who were later hanged.
- At 27, he became Secretary of the Executive Committee of the Palestine Arab Congress, traveling to meet Muslim leaders and proposing a two-chamber Legislative Council to the Jewish Agency.
- He petitioned the High Court in 1927 to remove "Eretz Israel" from Palestine postage stamps, arguing it prejudiced Arab claims, but the petition was rejected.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1065falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-man-who-mapped-hell-from-the-inside--74834892
The Man Who Mapped Hell From The Inside

This episode recounts the extraordinary journey of Avraham Shifrin, from his youth as a "Son of an Enemy of the People" to his testimony before the United States Senate. It explores the personal cost of exposing the Soviet Union's hidden geography of captivity.

Person: Avraham Shifrin
Date: 1973
Location: United States Senate
Topic: Soviet Gulag system
Charge: Espionage

- Avraham Shifrin's father was arrested in 1937, leading to Avraham being classified as a "Son of an Enemy of the People."
- During World War Two, Shifrin was assigned to a penal battalion and fought in the assault on Königsberg, earning a medal.
- After the war, Shifrin became a lawyer for the Soviet Ministry of Defense while secretly active in the Zionist movement.
- In 1953, he was arrested on false espionage charges and sentenced to 25 years in the Gulag, serving ten.
- After emigrating to Israel, Shifrin founded a research center and began mapping Soviet prisons and forced labor camps based on survivor testimonies.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/74834892Wed, 02 Sep 2026 22:23:48 +0000OBOMEDIA ENTERTAINMENTA man testifies before the US Senate about Soviet Gulag camps, including an atomic reactor, on an Arctic island. No one can prove him wrong. The Man Who Mapped Hell From The Inside This episode recounts the extraordinary journey of Avraham...
The Man Who Mapped Hell From The Inside

This episode recounts the extraordinary journey of Avraham Shifrin, from his youth as a "Son of an Enemy of the People" to his testimony before the United States Senate. It explores the personal cost of exposing the Soviet Union's hidden geography of captivity.

Person: Avraham Shifrin
Date: 1973
Location: United States Senate
Topic: Soviet Gulag system
Charge: Espionage

- Avraham Shifrin's father was arrested in 1937, leading to Avraham being classified as a "Son of an Enemy of the People."
- During World War Two, Shifrin was assigned to a penal battalion and fought in the assault on Königsberg, earning a medal.
- After the war, Shifrin became a lawyer for the Soviet Ministry of Defense while secretly active in the Zionist movement.
- In 1953, he was arrested on false espionage charges and sentenced to 25 years in the Gulag, serving ten.
- After emigrating to Israel, Shifrin founded a research center and began mapping Soviet prisons and forced labor camps based on survivor testimonies.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1280falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/a-widow-s-photograph-located-karsavin-s-lost-grave--74834890
A Widow's Photograph Located Karsavin's Lost Grave

This episode tells the story of Lev Karsavin, a philosopher whose grave was lost for decades in an abandoned cemetery above the Arctic Circle. It explores how a single photograph, preserved by a widow, ultimately led researchers to its discovery.

Person: Lev Karsavin Karsavin
Date: December 13, 1882 (birth)
Location: Abez, above the Arctic Circle
Period: 19th and 20th centuries
Event: Organized expulsion of Russian intellectuals

- Lev Karsavin was a philosopher who wrote five volumes on European culture and taught in three countries.
- He was sentenced at age sixty-seven for alleged crimes committed decades earlier and transported above the Arctic Circle.
- In 1922, he was among approximately forty-five prominent Russian intellectuals expelled from the country on the "Philosophers' Steamers."
- Karsavin became a leading voice for the Eurasian movement, arguing Russia was its own civilizational type.
- He accepted a chair at Vytautas Magnus University in Kaunas, Lithuania, in 1928, learning Lithuanian and publishing extensively there.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/74834890Wed, 02 Sep 2026 22:23:43 +0000OBOMEDIA ENTERTAINMENTA philosopher's grave above the Arctic Circle is lost to history until a single photograph, kept by a widow, exposes its location. A Widow's Photograph Located Karsavin's Lost Grave This episode tells the story of Lev Karsavin, a philosopher...
A Widow's Photograph Located Karsavin's Lost Grave

This episode tells the story of Lev Karsavin, a philosopher whose grave was lost for decades in an abandoned cemetery above the Arctic Circle. It explores how a single photograph, preserved by a widow, ultimately led researchers to its discovery.

Person: Lev Karsavin Karsavin
Date: December 13, 1882 (birth)
Location: Abez, above the Arctic Circle
Period: 19th and 20th centuries
Event: Organized expulsion of Russian intellectuals

- Lev Karsavin was a philosopher who wrote five volumes on European culture and taught in three countries.
- He was sentenced at age sixty-seven for alleged crimes committed decades earlier and transported above the Arctic Circle.
- In 1922, he was among approximately forty-five prominent Russian intellectuals expelled from the country on the "Philosophers' Steamers."
- Karsavin became a leading voice for the Eurasian movement, arguing Russia was its own civilizational type.
- He accepted a chair at Vytautas Magnus University in Kaunas, Lithuania, in 1928, learning Lithuanian and publishing extensively there.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1115falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-boy-at-beslan-who-kept-training-and-became-a-champion--74834888
The Boy at Beslan Who Kept Training and Became a Champion

In this episode, we follow the life of Zaurbek Sidakov from the grounds of School Number One in Beslan to the elite mats of international freestyle wrestling. The episode traces his training, key matches, and the question his career cannot answer: what becomes of someone who witnessed the worst thing they ever saw but kept moving forward?

Person: Zaurbek Sidakov
Date: September 1, 2004
Location: School Number One, Beslan, North Ossetia
Event: Beslan school siege
Period: From childhood training to international wrestling competitions

- An eight-year-old Sidakov stood outside the gym as more than a thousand hostages, including his friends and training partners, were forced inside.
- North Ossetia’s wrestling culture is described as inheritance-coaches, small gyms, and community expectation shaped young athletes like him.
- After Beslan, Sidakov continued training; by 19 he earned bronze at the Ivan Yarygin Golden Grand Prix as an unknown.
- In 2016 Sidakov returned to the Yarygin and defeated the reigning Russian national champion, Khusein Suyunchev, to win gold.
- At the 2018 Russian National Championships Sidakov advanced through four matches with decisive scores before meeting Khetag Tsabolov in the final.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/74834888Wed, 02 Sep 2026 22:23:39 +0000OBOMEDIA ENTERTAINMENTAn eight-year-old stands outside School Number One as armed men herd his teammates inside-how did that Beslan morning shape a champion wrestler? The Boy at Beslan Who Kept Training and Became a Champion In this episode, we follow the life of...
The Boy at Beslan Who Kept Training and Became a Champion

In this episode, we follow the life of Zaurbek Sidakov from the grounds of School Number One in Beslan to the elite mats of international freestyle wrestling. The episode traces his training, key matches, and the question his career cannot answer: what becomes of someone who witnessed the worst thing they ever saw but kept moving forward?

Person: Zaurbek Sidakov
Date: September 1, 2004
Location: School Number One, Beslan, North Ossetia
Event: Beslan school siege
Period: From childhood training to international wrestling competitions

- An eight-year-old Sidakov stood outside the gym as more than a thousand hostages, including his friends and training partners, were forced inside.
- North Ossetia’s wrestling culture is described as inheritance-coaches, small gyms, and community expectation shaped young athletes like him.
- After Beslan, Sidakov continued training; by 19 he earned bronze at the Ivan Yarygin Golden Grand Prix as an unknown.
- In 2016 Sidakov returned to the Yarygin and defeated the reigning Russian national champion, Khusein Suyunchev, to win gold.
- At the 2018 Russian National Championships Sidakov advanced through four matches with decisive scores before meeting Khetag Tsabolov in the final.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1043falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-ring-he-bought-that-kept-him-asking-for-five-hundred-and-five-days--74834885
The ring he bought that kept him asking for five hundred and five days

In this episode, a chronological account follows Eliya Cohen from the hours before October 7 through the months that followed, tracing his abduction at the Nova music festival and the early days in captivity. The story focuses on the timeline, the conditions he endured, and the single purchased object that recurs in the record - what does it mean?

Person: Eliya Cohen
Date: October 7, 2023
Location: Nova music festival, near Kibbutz Re'im
Status: Survived
Event: Abduction and captivity for 505 days

- Cohen attended an open-air trance festival the night before October 7, carrying a pre-purchased ring in his pocket.
- At about 6:20 AM sirens sounded; attendees moved toward a nearby roadside concrete shelter built for rocket fire.
- Gunmen reached the festival; inside or near the shelter Cohen was shot in the leg and put into the back of a pickup truck.
- In captivity he was treated first in a Gaza hospital, then moved into an apartment and later into tunnel systems where he was chained.
- For months the captives subsisted on extreme deprivation: chains that cut into legs, one pitta bread split between four men per day, and surgeries performed without anesthesia.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/74834885Wed, 02 Sep 2026 22:23:36 +0000OBOMEDIA ENTERTAINMENTA man with a ring in his pocket is seized at a desert music festival and spends 505 days chained in tunnels; how did that ring expose them? The ring he bought that kept him asking for five hundred and five days In this episode, a chronological...
The ring he bought that kept him asking for five hundred and five days

In this episode, a chronological account follows Eliya Cohen from the hours before October 7 through the months that followed, tracing his abduction at the Nova music festival and the early days in captivity. The story focuses on the timeline, the conditions he endured, and the single purchased object that recurs in the record - what does it mean?

Person: Eliya Cohen
Date: October 7, 2023
Location: Nova music festival, near Kibbutz Re'im
Status: Survived
Event: Abduction and captivity for 505 days

- Cohen attended an open-air trance festival the night before October 7, carrying a pre-purchased ring in his pocket.
- At about 6:20 AM sirens sounded; attendees moved toward a nearby roadside concrete shelter built for rocket fire.
- Gunmen reached the festival; inside or near the shelter Cohen was shot in the leg and put into the back of a pickup truck.
- In captivity he was treated first in a Gaza hospital, then moved into an apartment and later into tunnel systems where he was chained.
- For months the captives subsisted on extreme deprivation: chains that cut into legs, one pitta bread split between four men per day, and surgeries performed without anesthesia.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1312falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-phone-call-that-shattered-an-invisible-ceiling--74834883
The Phone Call That Shattered an Invisible Ceiling

This episode explores the experiences of Joan Aiko Shigekawa, who was interned as a child during World War II, and how those formative years shaped her ability to identify and challenge systemic barriers in her later career. It questions what a person carries out of such an experience and how it influences their life's work.

Person: Joan Aiko Shigekawa
Event: Japanese American internment
Order: Executive Order 9066
Location: Tule Lake
Period: 1942-1973

- Joan Aiko Shigekawa was six years old when her family was confined to the Tule Lake internment camp for eighteen months.
- Her mother, Yoshiko Shigekawa, searched for wood scraps daily to heat their barracks, where Joan’s brother suffered from whooping cough.
- Executive Order 9066 authorized the military removal of people of Japanese ancestry from the Pacific Coast without individual suspicion or evidence.
- After internment, Joan attended Bryn Mawr College, where she developed a keen diagnostic sense for the gap between an institution's claims and its reality.
- In 1973, Joan received a phone call from Ronnie Eldridge of Ms. magazine, offering her the opportunity to produce a television special made by and for women.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/74834883Wed, 02 Sep 2026 22:23:31 +0000OBOMEDIA ENTERTAINMENTA six-year-old Japanese American girl is held in a government internment camp during WWII. Decades later, she confronts an invisible ceiling in television. The Phone Call That Shattered an Invisible Ceiling This episode explores the experiences...
The Phone Call That Shattered an Invisible Ceiling

This episode explores the experiences of Joan Aiko Shigekawa, who was interned as a child during World War II, and how those formative years shaped her ability to identify and challenge systemic barriers in her later career. It questions what a person carries out of such an experience and how it influences their life's work.

Person: Joan Aiko Shigekawa
Event: Japanese American internment
Order: Executive Order 9066
Location: Tule Lake
Period: 1942-1973

- Joan Aiko Shigekawa was six years old when her family was confined to the Tule Lake internment camp for eighteen months.
- Her mother, Yoshiko Shigekawa, searched for wood scraps daily to heat their barracks, where Joan’s brother suffered from whooping cough.
- Executive Order 9066 authorized the military removal of people of Japanese ancestry from the Pacific Coast without individual suspicion or evidence.
- After internment, Joan attended Bryn Mawr College, where she developed a keen diagnostic sense for the gap between an institution's claims and its reality.
- In 1973, Joan received a phone call from Ronnie Eldridge of Ms. magazine, offering her the opportunity to produce a television special made by and for women.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1088falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-file-she-photocopied-that-unmasked-the-internment-case--74834881
The File She Photocopied That Unmasked the Internment Case

This episode explores the life of Aiko Herzig-Yoshinaga, from her forced removal as a teenager to her later work in the National Archives. It delves into the personal and systemic impacts of the Japanese American internment, and what she discovered that challenged the official narrative.

Person: Aiko Herzig-Yoshinaga
Date: June 26, 1942
Location: Los Angeles High School
Event: Japanese American internment
Document: Final Report on Japanese Evacuation from the West Coast

- Aiko Herzig-Yoshinaga was a 17-year-old honors student when Executive Order 9066 authorized the removal of over 110,000 people of Japanese ancestry from the West Coast.
- Her high school principal told Japanese American students they did not deserve their diplomas, citing "your people bombed Pearl Harbor."
- Aiko eloped with her sweetheart before forced removal, hoping to keep her family unit together, but was sent to Manzanar, a prison camp in the California high desert, while her parents went to Jerome.
- She gave birth to her first child inside the Manzanar camp and was later released with only twenty-five dollars and a bus ticket.
- In her fifties, Aiko spent years at the National Archives, using her own portable copy machine to cross-reference documents from various government agencies.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/74834881Wed, 02 Sep 2026 22:23:27 +0000OBOMEDIA ENTERTAINMENTA young woman is imprisoned in a desert camp during World War II, then spends decades uncovering the bureaucratic truth behind her internment. Her research exposes the hidden facts of a national injustice. The File She Photocopied That Unmasked the...
The File She Photocopied That Unmasked the Internment Case

This episode explores the life of Aiko Herzig-Yoshinaga, from her forced removal as a teenager to her later work in the National Archives. It delves into the personal and systemic impacts of the Japanese American internment, and what she discovered that challenged the official narrative.

Person: Aiko Herzig-Yoshinaga
Date: June 26, 1942
Location: Los Angeles High School
Event: Japanese American internment
Document: Final Report on Japanese Evacuation from the West Coast

- Aiko Herzig-Yoshinaga was a 17-year-old honors student when Executive Order 9066 authorized the removal of over 110,000 people of Japanese ancestry from the West Coast.
- Her high school principal told Japanese American students they did not deserve their diplomas, citing "your people bombed Pearl Harbor."
- Aiko eloped with her sweetheart before forced removal, hoping to keep her family unit together, but was sent to Manzanar, a prison camp in the California high desert, while her parents went to Jerome.
- She gave birth to her first child inside the Manzanar camp and was later released with only twenty-five dollars and a bus ticket.
- In her fifties, Aiko spent years at the National Archives, using her own portable copy machine to cross-reference documents from various government agencies.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1027falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-east-africa-war-showed-what-disease-does--74834877
The East Africa War Showed What Disease Does

This episode explores the career of George Vance Allen, a bacteriologist and college principal, and his experiences during internment. It highlights how his medical background, particularly in tropical diseases, prepared him for the challenges he faced.

Person: George Vance Allen
Date: February 1942
Location: Singapore
Event: Japanese bombardment of Singapore
Period: World War II

- George Vance Allen, a bacteriologist, was interned for three years, seven months, and four days at Changi Prison and Sime Road internment camp.
- His career spanned over twenty years, focusing on diseases prevalent in British Empire territories.
- During World War I, he served in the Royal Army Medical Corps in East Africa from 1917 to 1920, witnessing the impact of disease on populations without infrastructure.
- By 1930, Allen was the permanent principal of King Edward VII College of Medicine and Professor of Clinical Medicine in Singapore.
- As the Japanese bombardment of Singapore began in January 1942, Allen transformed the College of Medicine into a blood transfusion center and urged people to grow food, anticipating the breakdown of supply chains.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/74834877Wed, 02 Sep 2026 22:23:23 +0000OBOMEDIA ENTERTAINMENTA bacteriologist interned during wartime uses his expertise in tropical disease to keep civilians alive with "inadequate and unlikely sources." How did his methods expose them? The East Africa War Showed What Disease Does This episode explores...
The East Africa War Showed What Disease Does

This episode explores the career of George Vance Allen, a bacteriologist and college principal, and his experiences during internment. It highlights how his medical background, particularly in tropical diseases, prepared him for the challenges he faced.

Person: George Vance Allen
Date: February 1942
Location: Singapore
Event: Japanese bombardment of Singapore
Period: World War II

- George Vance Allen, a bacteriologist, was interned for three years, seven months, and four days at Changi Prison and Sime Road internment camp.
- His career spanned over twenty years, focusing on diseases prevalent in British Empire territories.
- During World War I, he served in the Royal Army Medical Corps in East Africa from 1917 to 1920, witnessing the impact of disease on populations without infrastructure.
- By 1930, Allen was the permanent principal of King Edward VII College of Medicine and Professor of Clinical Medicine in Singapore.
- As the Japanese bombardment of Singapore began in January 1942, Allen transformed the College of Medicine into a blood transfusion center and urged people to grow food, anticipating the breakdown of supply chains.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1154falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-british-arrest-warrant-that-sent-zahedi-into-exile--74834876
The British arrest warrant that sent Zahedi into exile

This episode explores the early life and military career of Fazlollah Zahedi, an Iranian general whose path intertwined with the Pahlavi dynasty and the nationalization of Iran's oil. It questions how a man interned by the British for suspected Nazi ties became a central figure in a major geopolitical event.

Person: Fazlollah Zahedi
Date: May 17, 1892 (birth)
Location: Hamadan, Iran
Event: Operation PONGO
Period: Second World War

- Fazlollah Zahedi was born into a prominent family with ancestral ties to Sufi mystics and an 18th-century ruler, making him a distant relative of Mohammad Mosaddegh.
- His military career began in the Imperial Russian-trained Iranian Cossack Brigade, where his superior officer was Mosaddegh Khan, who later became Mosaddegh Shah.
- By age 25, Zahedi was a brigadier general, suppressing rebellions and holding key positions like Military Governor of Khuzestan and Chief of the National Police.
- In 1941, British officer Fitzroy Maclean arrested Zahedi, then Commanding General of the Isfahan division, under suspicion of organizing an uprising aligned with the Axis powers.
- During the arrest, British officers found German weapons, opium, correspondence from a German agent, and an illustrated register of prostitutes in Zahedi's bedroom.

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© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/74834876Wed, 02 Sep 2026 22:23:19 +0000OBOMEDIA ENTERTAINMENTA British commando arrests a powerful general for Nazi collaboration, finding German weapons and opium. This Cold War figure later becomes a key player in a CIA-backed coup. The British arrest warrant that sent Zahedi into exile This episode...
The British arrest warrant that sent Zahedi into exile

This episode explores the early life and military career of Fazlollah Zahedi, an Iranian general whose path intertwined with the Pahlavi dynasty and the nationalization of Iran's oil. It questions how a man interned by the British for suspected Nazi ties became a central figure in a major geopolitical event.

Person: Fazlollah Zahedi
Date: May 17, 1892 (birth)
Location: Hamadan, Iran
Event: Operation PONGO
Period: Second World War

- Fazlollah Zahedi was born into a prominent family with ancestral ties to Sufi mystics and an 18th-century ruler, making him a distant relative of Mohammad Mosaddegh.
- His military career began in the Imperial Russian-trained Iranian Cossack Brigade, where his superior officer was Mosaddegh Khan, who later became Mosaddegh Shah.
- By age 25, Zahedi was a brigadier general, suppressing rebellions and holding key positions like Military Governor of Khuzestan and Chief of the National Police.
- In 1941, British officer Fitzroy Maclean arrested Zahedi, then Commanding General of the Isfahan division, under suspicion of organizing an uprising aligned with the Axis powers.
- During the arrest, British officers found German weapons, opium, correspondence from a German agent, and an illustrated register of prostitutes in Zahedi's bedroom.

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© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>999falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-language-he-learned-on-the-dunera-that-saved-his-career--74834875
The language he learned on the Dunera that saved his career

In this episode, we follow Ernst Kitzinger’s flight from Munich in 1934, his years of unpaid scholarship across Europe, and the startling detour of being interned and shipped to Australia on HMT Dunera. We track the choices, institutions, and moments - including the odd, pivotal decision to learn Russian aboard the Dunera - that shaped a decades-long academic life; what did learning that language enable?

Person: Ernst Kitzinger
Date: 1934-1940 (flight, migration, internment)
Location: Munich; Rome; London; HMT Dunera (voyage to Australia)
Event: Internment as an enemy alien and voyage on HMT Dunera
Topic: Learning Russian while interned

- He defended his doctoral dissertation in Munich and left Germany the next day in 1934 at age 21.
- He worked at the Bibliotheca Hertziana in Rome, then volunteered at the British Museum, producing scholarship without a salary.
- In 1939 he assisted with the Sutton Hoo finds and in 1940 published Early Medieval Art in the British Museum.
- In 1940 Britain classified him as an enemy alien and loaded him onto HMT Dunera with nearly 2,600 internees bound for Australia.
- During the cramped, degrading voyage on the Dunera, he began learning Russian from a fellow internee.

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© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/74834875Wed, 02 Sep 2026 22:23:15 +0000OBOMEDIA ENTERTAINMENTA Jewish art historian flees 1934 Munich, is interned on the Dunera, and begins learning Russian - how did that language save his career? The language he learned on the Dunera that saved his career In this episode, we follow Ernst Kitzinger’s...
The language he learned on the Dunera that saved his career

In this episode, we follow Ernst Kitzinger’s flight from Munich in 1934, his years of unpaid scholarship across Europe, and the startling detour of being interned and shipped to Australia on HMT Dunera. We track the choices, institutions, and moments - including the odd, pivotal decision to learn Russian aboard the Dunera - that shaped a decades-long academic life; what did learning that language enable?

Person: Ernst Kitzinger
Date: 1934-1940 (flight, migration, internment)
Location: Munich; Rome; London; HMT Dunera (voyage to Australia)
Event: Internment as an enemy alien and voyage on HMT Dunera
Topic: Learning Russian while interned

- He defended his doctoral dissertation in Munich and left Germany the next day in 1934 at age 21.
- He worked at the Bibliotheca Hertziana in Rome, then volunteered at the British Museum, producing scholarship without a salary.
- In 1939 he assisted with the Sutton Hoo finds and in 1940 published Early Medieval Art in the British Museum.
- In 1940 Britain classified him as an enemy alien and loaded him onto HMT Dunera with nearly 2,600 internees bound for Australia.
- During the cramped, degrading voyage on the Dunera, he began learning Russian from a fellow internee.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1262falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-diplomatic-list-that-handed-stajner-back-and-cost-him-decades--74834873
The diplomatic list that handed Štajner back and cost him decades

This episode recounts the harrowing experience of Karlo Štajner, a communist activist who endured decades within the Soviet Gulag system. It explores the arbitrary nature of his imprisonment and the extraordinary circumstances that eventually led to his release.

Person: Karlo Štajner
Date: November 4, 1936
Location: Moscow
Event: Arrest by NKVD
Charge: Counterrevolutionary activity, Gestapo agent, complicity in Sergei Kirov assassination

- Karlo Štajner, a printing worker from Vienna, joined the Austrian communist movement by 1919 and later established an illegal printing house in Zagreb.
- He moved to the Soviet Union in 1932, becoming manager of the Comintern publishing house and marrying Sofya Yefimovna Moiseeva in 1935.
- On November 4, 1936, Štajner was arrested by the NKVD on charges of counterrevolutionary activity and complicity in the assassination of Sergei Kirov, despite no evidence.
- His co-defendants, Filip Filipović and Antun Mavrak, were executed, while Štajner received a ten-year sentence without clear explanation for the difference.
- Štajner was transferred through various Gulag camps, including Solovki and Norilsk, where he endured brutal conditions while his daughter Lida died in Moscow and his wife Sonya was labeled an "enemy's wife."

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© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/74834873Wed, 02 Sep 2026 22:23:11 +0000OBOMEDIA ENTERTAINMENTA printing worker is arrested by the state he served, charged with crimes no record substantiates. His survival hinges on a diplomatic list, but the cost is decades. The diplomatic list that handed Štajner back and cost him decades This episode...
The diplomatic list that handed Štajner back and cost him decades

This episode recounts the harrowing experience of Karlo Štajner, a communist activist who endured decades within the Soviet Gulag system. It explores the arbitrary nature of his imprisonment and the extraordinary circumstances that eventually led to his release.

Person: Karlo Štajner
Date: November 4, 1936
Location: Moscow
Event: Arrest by NKVD
Charge: Counterrevolutionary activity, Gestapo agent, complicity in Sergei Kirov assassination

- Karlo Štajner, a printing worker from Vienna, joined the Austrian communist movement by 1919 and later established an illegal printing house in Zagreb.
- He moved to the Soviet Union in 1932, becoming manager of the Comintern publishing house and marrying Sofya Yefimovna Moiseeva in 1935.
- On November 4, 1936, Štajner was arrested by the NKVD on charges of counterrevolutionary activity and complicity in the assassination of Sergei Kirov, despite no evidence.
- His co-defendants, Filip Filipović and Antun Mavrak, were executed, while Štajner received a ten-year sentence without clear explanation for the difference.
- Štajner was transferred through various Gulag camps, including Solovki and Norilsk, where he endured brutal conditions while his daughter Lida died in Moscow and his wife Sonya was labeled an "enemy's wife."

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1181falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-barbed-wire-that-marked-his-unmarked-grave--74834871
The barbed wire that marked his unmarked grave

This episode explores the life of Pinchus Kahanovich, also known as Der Nister, a prominent Yiddish author whose chosen pseudonym became a literal truth. It examines the forces that led to his unmarked burial and the enduring mystery surrounding his death.

Person: Pinchus Kahanovich (Der Nister)
Born: November 1, 1884
Location: Berdychiv, Ukraine
Died: June 4, 1950

- Pinchus Kahanovich adopted the pseudonym Der Nister, meaning "The Hidden One," as a young writer in 1904, a name reflecting his Kabbalistic approach to truth.
- He began his literary career publishing in Vilna, Warsaw, and Kiev, gaining recognition from figures like I. L. Peretz.
- During a brief period of Soviet cultural policy, Der Nister taught at a Jewish orphanage near Moscow alongside artists like Marc Chagall.
- After returning to the Soviet Union in 1926, his work, dense with Hasidic mysticism, was declared reactionary by the regime, forcing him to publicly renounce his symbolism.
- He survived the 1930s as a translator and children's author, and later began his multi-generational novel, "The Family Mashber," which was universally praised upon its 1939 release.

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© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/74834871Wed, 02 Sep 2026 22:23:07 +0000OBOMEDIA ENTERTAINMENTA Yiddish writer, "The Hidden One," dies in a Soviet prison, his unmarked grave known only decades later. How did his literary life lead to this fate? The barbed wire that marked his unmarked grave This episode explores the life of Pinchus...
The barbed wire that marked his unmarked grave

This episode explores the life of Pinchus Kahanovich, also known as Der Nister, a prominent Yiddish author whose chosen pseudonym became a literal truth. It examines the forces that led to his unmarked burial and the enduring mystery surrounding his death.

Person: Pinchus Kahanovich (Der Nister)
Born: November 1, 1884
Location: Berdychiv, Ukraine
Died: June 4, 1950

- Pinchus Kahanovich adopted the pseudonym Der Nister, meaning "The Hidden One," as a young writer in 1904, a name reflecting his Kabbalistic approach to truth.
- He began his literary career publishing in Vilna, Warsaw, and Kiev, gaining recognition from figures like I. L. Peretz.
- During a brief period of Soviet cultural policy, Der Nister taught at a Jewish orphanage near Moscow alongside artists like Marc Chagall.
- After returning to the Soviet Union in 1926, his work, dense with Hasidic mysticism, was declared reactionary by the regime, forcing him to publicly renounce his symbolism.
- He survived the 1930s as a translator and children's author, and later began his multi-generational novel, "The Family Mashber," which was universally praised upon its 1939 release.

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© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1286falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-coins-she-counted-bought-a-refugee-s-escape--74834870
The Coins She Counted Bought a Refugee's Escape

This episode explores the early life of Margaret Thatcher, from her childhood in a small Lincolnshire town to her time at Oxford. It examines the formative experiences and contradictions that shaped one of the 20th century's most polarizing figures.

Person: Margaret Hilda Thatcher
Date: October 13, 1925 (birth)
Location: Grantham, Lincolnshire
Parent: Alfred Roberts
Education: Somerville College, Oxford

- Margaret Roberts was born in Grantham, a market town where her father, Alfred Roberts, ran a tobacconist's and grocery.
- Alfred Roberts was a Methodist preacher and alderman who instilled values of hard work and self-reliance in his daughters.
- In 1938, Margaret, aged twelve, and her sister Muriel saved their pocket money to help a Jewish teenager who had fled Nazi Germany.
- Margaret attended Kesteven and Grantham Girls' School, serving as head girl in her final year.
- She studied Chemistry at Somerville College, Oxford, under Dorothy Hodgkin, a future Nobel laureate whose portrait would later hang in 10 Downing Street.

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© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/74834870Wed, 02 Sep 2026 22:23:04 +0000OBOMEDIA ENTERTAINMENTIn 1938, two girls in a Grantham corner shop count coins from their pockets to help a Jewish refugee escape Nazi Germany. One will later hold power for over a decade. The Coins She Counted Bought a Refugee's Escape This episode explores the...
The Coins She Counted Bought a Refugee's Escape

This episode explores the early life of Margaret Thatcher, from her childhood in a small Lincolnshire town to her time at Oxford. It examines the formative experiences and contradictions that shaped one of the 20th century's most polarizing figures.

Person: Margaret Hilda Thatcher
Date: October 13, 1925 (birth)
Location: Grantham, Lincolnshire
Parent: Alfred Roberts
Education: Somerville College, Oxford

- Margaret Roberts was born in Grantham, a market town where her father, Alfred Roberts, ran a tobacconist's and grocery.
- Alfred Roberts was a Methodist preacher and alderman who instilled values of hard work and self-reliance in his daughters.
- In 1938, Margaret, aged twelve, and her sister Muriel saved their pocket money to help a Jewish teenager who had fled Nazi Germany.
- Margaret attended Kesteven and Grantham Girls' School, serving as head girl in her final year.
- She studied Chemistry at Somerville College, Oxford, under Dorothy Hodgkin, a future Nobel laureate whose portrait would later hang in 10 Downing Street.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1486falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-dizengoff-bomb-hurled-her-across-the-pavement-and-redirected-a-life--74834868
The Dizengoff bomb hurled her across the pavement and redirected a life

In this episode, we follow Carmen Elmakiyes from the moment the Dizengoff Center explosion throws her across the pavement to the choices she makes afterward, tracing how trauma, schooling, and community work shape her trajectory. What did she do with that morning that kept pressing on every room she entered?

Person: Carmen Elmakiyes
Event: Dizengoff Center bombing, Purim 1994
Location: Tel Aviv; grew up in Shikunim, Ashkelon
Education: left school at 16; later completed high school independently and earned a film degree from Kinneret Academic College
Organization: co-founded Not Nice; worked with Ahoti and Libi BaMizrach Coalition

- Standing at an ATM a few meters from the blast, she was thrown several meters and watched children die.
- Medically classified as minor injuries, she nonetheless endured years of psychological rehabilitation and was later exempted from military service.
- Raised in Shikunim as one of nine children to Moroccan immigrant parents, she experienced the structural neglect of public housing.
- Tracked into technical schooling and leaving at sixteen, she later completed schooling independently and trained as a medical clown.
- Volunteering with Mizrahi feminist groups led to directing projects for the Libi BaMizrach Coalition and co-founding Not Nice.

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© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/74834868Wed, 02 Sep 2026 22:22:59 +0000OBOMEDIA ENTERTAINMENTA Tel Aviv teen hurled by the Dizengoff Center Purim bombing must rebuild her life-how did that redirect her path? The Dizengoff bomb hurled her across the pavement and redirected a life In this episode, we follow Carmen Elmakiyes from the...
The Dizengoff bomb hurled her across the pavement and redirected a life

In this episode, we follow Carmen Elmakiyes from the moment the Dizengoff Center explosion throws her across the pavement to the choices she makes afterward, tracing how trauma, schooling, and community work shape her trajectory. What did she do with that morning that kept pressing on every room she entered?

Person: Carmen Elmakiyes
Event: Dizengoff Center bombing, Purim 1994
Location: Tel Aviv; grew up in Shikunim, Ashkelon
Education: left school at 16; later completed high school independently and earned a film degree from Kinneret Academic College
Organization: co-founded Not Nice; worked with Ahoti and Libi BaMizrach Coalition

- Standing at an ATM a few meters from the blast, she was thrown several meters and watched children die.
- Medically classified as minor injuries, she nonetheless endured years of psychological rehabilitation and was later exempted from military service.
- Raised in Shikunim as one of nine children to Moroccan immigrant parents, she experienced the structural neglect of public housing.
- Tracked into technical schooling and leaving at sixteen, she later completed schooling independently and trained as a medical clown.
- Volunteering with Mizrahi feminist groups led to directing projects for the Libi BaMizrach Coalition and co-founding Not Nice.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1187falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-diary-that-tracked-every-day-behind-barbed-wire--74834866
The Diary That Tracked Every Day Behind Barbed Wire

This episode explores the story of the Shimomura family, focusing on Toku Shimomura, a midwife, and her grandson Roger, as they navigate forced relocation and incarceration during World War II. It questions how a family's established life was uprooted by government order.

Person: Toku Shimomura
Date: June 26, 1939
Location: Seattle's Central District
Executive Order: 9066
Camp: Minidoka War Relocation Center

- Toku Shimomura, a licensed midwife, delivered her grandson Roger in Seattle's Central District.
- In February 1942, Executive Order 9066 authorized the removal of Japanese American from the West Coast.
- Roger, not yet three, and Toku were among the 120,000 people ordered to leave their homes.
- The Shimomura family was first sent to Camp Harmony, a converted fairground in Puyallup, Washington.
- They were later transferred to the Minidoka War Relocation Center in Idaho, where Toku continued to write in her diary.

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© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/74834866Wed, 02 Sep 2026 22:22:55 +0000OBOMEDIA ENTERTAINMENTA professional midwife and her grandson are classified as national security threats, forcing them into a Japanese American incarceration camp. The Diary That Tracked Every Day Behind Barbed Wire This episode explores the story of the Shimomura...
The Diary That Tracked Every Day Behind Barbed Wire

This episode explores the story of the Shimomura family, focusing on Toku Shimomura, a midwife, and her grandson Roger, as they navigate forced relocation and incarceration during World War II. It questions how a family's established life was uprooted by government order.

Person: Toku Shimomura
Date: June 26, 1939
Location: Seattle's Central District
Executive Order: 9066
Camp: Minidoka War Relocation Center

- Toku Shimomura, a licensed midwife, delivered her grandson Roger in Seattle's Central District.
- In February 1942, Executive Order 9066 authorized the removal of Japanese American from the West Coast.
- Roger, not yet three, and Toku were among the 120,000 people ordered to leave their homes.
- The Shimomura family was first sent to Camp Harmony, a converted fairground in Puyallup, Washington.
- They were later transferred to the Minidoka War Relocation Center in Idaho, where Toku continued to write in her diary.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>997falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/covered-windows-hid-the-route-forged-a-congressman--74834865
Covered Windows Hid the Route, Forged a Congressman

This episode explores the early life of Michael Makoto Honda, from his family's forced relocation to an internment camp in 1942 to his father's service in the US military. It examines the contradictions of a nation at war and the impact of policy on American citizens.

Person: Michael Makoto Honda
Date: 1942
Location: Camp Amache, southeastern Colorado
Event: Japanese American internment
Order: Executive Order 9066

- Michael Makoto Honda was one year old when his family was moved in a vehicle with covered windows, preventing them from seeing their route or destination.
- His father, Giichi Honda, served as an intelligence agent for the United States military while his family was simultaneously imprisoned.
- Executive Order 9066, signed by President Franklin Roosevelt, authorized the removal of 120,000 people of Japanese descent, two-thirds of whom were American citizens.
- The Honda family was sent to Camp Amache, also known as the Granada Relocation Center, in southeastern Colorado.
- After their release in 1953, Giichi Honda, despite his military service, returned to California to work as a sharecropper, having lost his farm.

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© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/74834865Wed, 02 Sep 2026 22:22:52 +0000OBOMEDIA ENTERTAINMENTOne-year-old Japanese American boy rides in a covered-window vehicle after being removed from home - how will this internment shape him? Covered Windows Hid the Route, Forged a Congressman This episode explores the early life of Michael Makoto...
Covered Windows Hid the Route, Forged a Congressman

This episode explores the early life of Michael Makoto Honda, from his family's forced relocation to an internment camp in 1942 to his father's service in the US military. It examines the contradictions of a nation at war and the impact of policy on American citizens.

Person: Michael Makoto Honda
Date: 1942
Location: Camp Amache, southeastern Colorado
Event: Japanese American internment
Order: Executive Order 9066

- Michael Makoto Honda was one year old when his family was moved in a vehicle with covered windows, preventing them from seeing their route or destination.
- His father, Giichi Honda, served as an intelligence agent for the United States military while his family was simultaneously imprisoned.
- Executive Order 9066, signed by President Franklin Roosevelt, authorized the removal of 120,000 people of Japanese descent, two-thirds of whom were American citizens.
- The Honda family was sent to Camp Amache, also known as the Granada Relocation Center, in southeastern Colorado.
- After their release in 1953, Giichi Honda, despite his military service, returned to California to work as a sharecropper, having lost his farm.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1388falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-hospital-canteen-that-smuggled-radios-and-sent-him-to-the-kempeitai--74834862
The Hospital Canteen That Smuggled Radios-and Sent Him to the Kempeitai

In this episode, we follow Elizabeth Choy Su-Moi and the months she spent running a canteen and ambulance service that also supplied contraband to Changi Prison. The story traces her life before the war, the risks of smuggling radio parts, and the moment she returned to the Kempeitai seeking her husband-what did that choice cost her and why did she trust their denial?

Person: Elizabeth Choy Su-Moi
Date: October 10, 1943
Location: Tan Tock Seng Hospital, Singapore
Topic: Smuggling medicine and radio parts into Changi Prison
Event: Elizabeth voluntarily returned to the Kempeitai to ask about her husband

- Born November 29, 1910 in Kudat, eldest of eleven and educated at Raffles College, she funded her studies by teaching.
- Married Choy Khun Heng in August 1941 and ran a hospital canteen and ambulance service after Singapore fell in February 1942.
- For roughly eighteen months the canteen served as a supply line delivering cash, clothing, medicine, letters and radio parts to internees at Changi.
- Possession of a radio by a prisoner carried an execution penalty; every delivery carried that risk and the operation continued until an informant reported them.
- On October 10, 1943 Choy Khun Heng was arrested; Elizabeth visited the Kempeitai twice-first told there was no record, then summoned back and held without charge.

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© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/74834862Wed, 02 Sep 2026 22:22:47 +0000OBOMEDIA ENTERTAINMENTA schoolteacher at a Singapore hospital canteen smuggled medicine and radio parts into Changi-then walked into the Kempeitai looking for her husband. The Hospital Canteen That Smuggled Radios-and Sent Him to the Kempeitai In this episode, we...
The Hospital Canteen That Smuggled Radios-and Sent Him to the Kempeitai

In this episode, we follow Elizabeth Choy Su-Moi and the months she spent running a canteen and ambulance service that also supplied contraband to Changi Prison. The story traces her life before the war, the risks of smuggling radio parts, and the moment she returned to the Kempeitai seeking her husband-what did that choice cost her and why did she trust their denial?

Person: Elizabeth Choy Su-Moi
Date: October 10, 1943
Location: Tan Tock Seng Hospital, Singapore
Topic: Smuggling medicine and radio parts into Changi Prison
Event: Elizabeth voluntarily returned to the Kempeitai to ask about her husband

- Born November 29, 1910 in Kudat, eldest of eleven and educated at Raffles College, she funded her studies by teaching.
- Married Choy Khun Heng in August 1941 and ran a hospital canteen and ambulance service after Singapore fell in February 1942.
- For roughly eighteen months the canteen served as a supply line delivering cash, clothing, medicine, letters and radio parts to internees at Changi.
- Possession of a radio by a prisoner carried an execution penalty; every delivery carried that risk and the operation continued until an informant reported them.
- On October 10, 1943 Choy Khun Heng was arrested; Elizabeth visited the Kempeitai twice-first told there was no record, then summoned back and held without charge.

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© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1056falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/a-wartime-letter-sent-by-post-nearly-activated-a-shadow-government--74834860
A wartime letter sent by post nearly activated a shadow government

This episode explores the documented record of John Warburton Beckett, from his origins as a boy in Hammersmith to his career as a Labour Member of Parliament, and his eventual transformation into a fascist propagandist. It questions how a man travels so far from where he started.

Person: John Warburton Beckett
Date: 1940
Location: Britain
Organization: MI5
Event: Wartime letter containing a shadow government list

- John Warburton Beckett, once a Labour MP, drafted a list of ministers for a Britain under German occupation, with himself as Home Secretary.
- Thirty-two of the thirty-nine people on Beckett's list were already under MI5 surveillance when the letter was written.
- Beckett was born in Hammersmith in 1894 and left school at 14 after his family's finances collapsed due to a swindler.
- After serving in the war, Beckett founded the National Union of Ex-Servicemen and was elected Labour MP for Gateshead in 1924.
- In 1934, Beckett joined Oswald Mosley's British Union of Fascists, becoming Director of Publications and editing their newspapers.

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© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/74834860Wed, 02 Sep 2026 22:22:44 +0000OBOMEDIA ENTERTAINMENTA wartime letter containing a shadow government list is sent by post, and 32 of 39 names are already under MI5 surveillance. A wartime letter sent by post nearly activated a shadow government This episode explores the documented record of John...
A wartime letter sent by post nearly activated a shadow government

This episode explores the documented record of John Warburton Beckett, from his origins as a boy in Hammersmith to his career as a Labour Member of Parliament, and his eventual transformation into a fascist propagandist. It questions how a man travels so far from where he started.

Person: John Warburton Beckett
Date: 1940
Location: Britain
Organization: MI5
Event: Wartime letter containing a shadow government list

- John Warburton Beckett, once a Labour MP, drafted a list of ministers for a Britain under German occupation, with himself as Home Secretary.
- Thirty-two of the thirty-nine people on Beckett's list were already under MI5 surveillance when the letter was written.
- Beckett was born in Hammersmith in 1894 and left school at 14 after his family's finances collapsed due to a swindler.
- After serving in the war, Beckett founded the National Union of Ex-Servicemen and was elected Labour MP for Gateshead in 1924.
- In 1934, Beckett joined Oswald Mosley's British Union of Fascists, becoming Director of Publications and editing their newspapers.

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© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1236falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-suitcase-tracked-by-officers-sent-her-east--74834858
The Suitcase Tracked by Officers Sent Her East

In this episode, we follow the moment Anita Lasker was arrested at Breslau station and the small, bureaucratic details that shaped her fate. We trace how a single piece of luggage intersected with Nazi procedures and ask what that reveals about the machinery she walked into.

Person: Anita Lasker
Date: September 1942
Location: Breslau station
Topic: Gestapo arrest and luggage documentation

- A suitcase owned by a seventeen-year-old was loaded onto a train and catalogued by Gestapo officers while its owner was held in handcuffs on the concourse.
- Officers recorded the bag by size, color, and contents, filed paperwork, and returned the luggage to the prison.
- Anita and her sister Renate worked in a paper factory and helped French POWs forge travel documents before attempting to cross into France themselves.
- Their parents, Alfons and his wife, were taken by the Gestapo in April 1942 and transported east; Alfons had been awarded the Iron Cross for WWI service.
- Anita’s account and archival testimony document that the bureaucracy treated the suitcase with more procedural care than it treated Anita’s life.

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© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/74834858Wed, 02 Sep 2026 22:22:39 +0000OBOMEDIA ENTERTAINMENTA seventeen-year-old's suitcase is catalogued at Breslau station while she stands cuffed above-how did that bureaucracy expose her? The Suitcase Tracked by Officers Sent Her East In this episode, we follow the moment Anita Lasker was arrested at...
The Suitcase Tracked by Officers Sent Her East

In this episode, we follow the moment Anita Lasker was arrested at Breslau station and the small, bureaucratic details that shaped her fate. We trace how a single piece of luggage intersected with Nazi procedures and ask what that reveals about the machinery she walked into.

Person: Anita Lasker
Date: September 1942
Location: Breslau station
Topic: Gestapo arrest and luggage documentation

- A suitcase owned by a seventeen-year-old was loaded onto a train and catalogued by Gestapo officers while its owner was held in handcuffs on the concourse.
- Officers recorded the bag by size, color, and contents, filed paperwork, and returned the luggage to the prison.
- Anita and her sister Renate worked in a paper factory and helped French POWs forge travel documents before attempting to cross into France themselves.
- Their parents, Alfons and his wife, were taken by the Gestapo in April 1942 and transported east; Alfons had been awarded the Iron Cross for WWI service.
- Anita’s account and archival testimony document that the bureaucracy treated the suitcase with more procedural care than it treated Anita’s life.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1169falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-hermitage-curator-s-arrest-forced-him-to-refuse-a-confession--74834856
The Hermitage Curator's Arrest Forced Him to Refuse a Confession

In this episode, we follow Vladimir Tchernavin’s path from ichthyologist and Arctic researcher to prisoner and refusenik, tracing the moments that turned routine professional choices into accusations. What did his refusal to sign mean inside a system that equated confession with fate?

Person: Vladimir Tchernavin
Person: Tatiana (wife), curator, Section of Applied Arts at the Hermitage Museum
Date: Arrest of Tatiana in January 1931; Vladimir’s death March 31, 1949
Location: Shpalernaya prison (interrogation); Kensington flat (death)
Topic: confession trap; Soviet GPU interrogation methods

- He was a salmon scientist who prioritized research over administration, stepping down from a Murmansk directorship in 1928.
- The GPU reframed ordinary professional records and decisions-publications, posts, correspondence-as evidence of “wrecking.”
- Vladimir watched forty-eight food industry colleagues confess and be executed before he faced the same charges.
- He refused to sign a confession at Shpalernaya despite repeated interrogations and the rotation of interrogators.
- After his refusal, his wife Tatiana was arrested as a pressure tactic while she worked at the Hermitage cataloguing decorative arts.

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© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/74834856Wed, 02 Sep 2026 22:22:35 +0000OBOMEDIA ENTERTAINMENTA former Gulag prisoner and Hermitage curator's husband refuses to confess after her arrest, and a salmon scientist's quiet decisions become evidence against him-how did that expose them? The Hermitage Curator's Arrest Forced Him to Refuse a...
The Hermitage Curator's Arrest Forced Him to Refuse a Confession

In this episode, we follow Vladimir Tchernavin’s path from ichthyologist and Arctic researcher to prisoner and refusenik, tracing the moments that turned routine professional choices into accusations. What did his refusal to sign mean inside a system that equated confession with fate?

Person: Vladimir Tchernavin
Person: Tatiana (wife), curator, Section of Applied Arts at the Hermitage Museum
Date: Arrest of Tatiana in January 1931; Vladimir’s death March 31, 1949
Location: Shpalernaya prison (interrogation); Kensington flat (death)
Topic: confession trap; Soviet GPU interrogation methods

- He was a salmon scientist who prioritized research over administration, stepping down from a Murmansk directorship in 1928.
- The GPU reframed ordinary professional records and decisions-publications, posts, correspondence-as evidence of “wrecking.”
- Vladimir watched forty-eight food industry colleagues confess and be executed before he faced the same charges.
- He refused to sign a confession at Shpalernaya despite repeated interrogations and the rotation of interrogators.
- After his refusal, his wife Tatiana was arrested as a pressure tactic while she worked at the Hermitage cataloguing decorative arts.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1286falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-sentence-about-lenin-s-portraits-sent-him-to-the-camps--74834854
The Sentence About Lenin's Portraits Sent Him to the Camps

In this episode, we follow the life and career of Nikolay Punin, an art historian who spent decades defending Russia’s great collections and giving public lectures on Rembrandt and the Impressionists. The episode traces the secret file that grew against him and asks how a casual critique of Lenin’s portraits could become the fatal accusation.

Person: Nikolay Punin
Date of birth: November 28, 1888
Location: Saint Petersburg (Petrograd)/Hermitage
Event: Arrests, secret surveillance file, final exile to Abezlag
Date of death: August 21, 1953

- Punin rose from Saint Petersburg University to head key cultural institutions, including the Hermitage, after the 1917 revolution.
- He spent thirty years protecting Western masterpieces labeled “decadent bourgeois art” and openly opposed their destruction.
- His public lectures on Rembrandt and the Impressionists were documented by Lieutenant Prussakov and entered into a growing secret file.
- The secret file compiled accusations, surveillance notes, and fabricated evidence across years of monitoring in Leningrad.
- A nine-word art-critic sentence about Lenin’s portraits became the formal charge that led to his exile to Abezlag.

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© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/74834854Wed, 02 Sep 2026 22:22:32 +0000OBOMEDIA ENTERTAINMENTAn art critic’s nine-word remark about Lenin’s portraits brands a museum protector as an enemy - how did that sentence expose him? The Sentence About Lenin's Portraits Sent Him to the Camps In this episode, we follow the life and career of...
The Sentence About Lenin's Portraits Sent Him to the Camps

In this episode, we follow the life and career of Nikolay Punin, an art historian who spent decades defending Russia’s great collections and giving public lectures on Rembrandt and the Impressionists. The episode traces the secret file that grew against him and asks how a casual critique of Lenin’s portraits could become the fatal accusation.

Person: Nikolay Punin
Date of birth: November 28, 1888
Location: Saint Petersburg (Petrograd)/Hermitage
Event: Arrests, secret surveillance file, final exile to Abezlag
Date of death: August 21, 1953

- Punin rose from Saint Petersburg University to head key cultural institutions, including the Hermitage, after the 1917 revolution.
- He spent thirty years protecting Western masterpieces labeled “decadent bourgeois art” and openly opposed their destruction.
- His public lectures on Rembrandt and the Impressionists were documented by Lieutenant Prussakov and entered into a growing secret file.
- The secret file compiled accusations, surveillance notes, and fabricated evidence across years of monitoring in Leningrad.
- A nine-word art-critic sentence about Lenin’s portraits became the formal charge that led to his exile to Abezlag.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1118falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-steel-door-refused-the-axe-he-saved-his-granddaughter--74834853
The steel door refused the axe - he saved his granddaughter

This episode recounts the story of Kurt Westergaard, a Danish cartoonist whose single drawing in 2005 led to a life under constant threat and the construction of a panic room in his home. It explores the events that followed, including an axe attack on New Year's Day 2010.

Person: Kurt Westergaard
Date: January 1, 2010
Location: Aarhus, Denmark
Topic: Cartoon controversy
Event: Axe attack

- Kurt Westergaard was a former schoolteacher and psychologist who worked with handicapped children before becoming a staff cartoonist.
- In 2005, Westergaard submitted a cartoon depicting the Prophet Muhammad with a turban shaped into a lit bomb.
- The Danish Security and Intelligence Service (PET) placed Westergaard under personal protection due to credible death threats.
- His home was fortified with steel doors, reinforced glass, surveillance cameras, and a panic room.
- In 2008, PET arrested three men charged with plotting to murder Westergaard, disrupting the plot.

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© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/74834853Wed, 02 Sep 2026 22:22:29 +0000OBOMEDIA ENTERTAINMENTA cartoonist's controversial drawing leads to years of armed protection, culminating in a steel door facing an axe attack with his granddaughter inside. The steel door refused the axe - he saved his granddaughter This episode recounts the story...
The steel door refused the axe - he saved his granddaughter

This episode recounts the story of Kurt Westergaard, a Danish cartoonist whose single drawing in 2005 led to a life under constant threat and the construction of a panic room in his home. It explores the events that followed, including an axe attack on New Year's Day 2010.

Person: Kurt Westergaard
Date: January 1, 2010
Location: Aarhus, Denmark
Topic: Cartoon controversy
Event: Axe attack

- Kurt Westergaard was a former schoolteacher and psychologist who worked with handicapped children before becoming a staff cartoonist.
- In 2005, Westergaard submitted a cartoon depicting the Prophet Muhammad with a turban shaped into a lit bomb.
- The Danish Security and Intelligence Service (PET) placed Westergaard under personal protection due to credible death threats.
- His home was fortified with steel doors, reinforced glass, surveillance cameras, and a panic room.
- In 2008, PET arrested three men charged with plotting to murder Westergaard, disrupting the plot.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1171falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-printed-notice-that-gave-them-seven-days-and-took-their-lives-apart--74834852
The printed notice that gave them seven days and took their lives apart

This episode explores the documented life of Kazuko Itoi, an American-born woman whose family managed a Seattle hotel, as she navigates the sudden upheaval of forced removal during World War II. It questions what a government believes it is doing when it interns its own citizens.

Person: Kazuko Itoi
Date: 1942
Location: Seattle, Washington
Order: Executive Order 9066

- Kazuko Itoi was born in Seattle in 1919, an American citizen fluent in English and a graduate of Broadway High School.
- Her parents were Issei immigrants, barred from naturalized citizenship, while Kazuko and her siblings were Nisei, citizens by birthright.
- The family managed the Carrollton Hotel in Seattle's Skid Road district, a working-class establishment near the waterfront.
- Following the attack on Pearl Harbor, West Coast newspapers began publishing editorials calling Japanese Americans a security threat.
- In May 1942, a printed notice was posted in Japanese American neighborhoods, giving families seven days to report to an assembly point.

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© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/74834852Wed, 02 Sep 2026 22:22:25 +0000OBOMEDIA ENTERTAINMENTA 1942 executive order forces Japanese Americans from their homes. One woman's detailed record reveals the impact of official policy on ordinary lives. The printed notice that gave them seven days and took their lives apart This episode explores...
The printed notice that gave them seven days and took their lives apart

This episode explores the documented life of Kazuko Itoi, an American-born woman whose family managed a Seattle hotel, as she navigates the sudden upheaval of forced removal during World War II. It questions what a government believes it is doing when it interns its own citizens.

Person: Kazuko Itoi
Date: 1942
Location: Seattle, Washington
Order: Executive Order 9066

- Kazuko Itoi was born in Seattle in 1919, an American citizen fluent in English and a graduate of Broadway High School.
- Her parents were Issei immigrants, barred from naturalized citizenship, while Kazuko and her siblings were Nisei, citizens by birthright.
- The family managed the Carrollton Hotel in Seattle's Skid Road district, a working-class establishment near the waterfront.
- Following the attack on Pearl Harbor, West Coast newspapers began publishing editorials calling Japanese Americans a security threat.
- In May 1942, a printed notice was posted in Japanese American neighborhoods, giving families seven days to report to an assembly point.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1033falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/a-campus-directory-renames-forty-million-americans--74834848
A campus directory renames forty million Americans

This episode explores the origins of the term "Asian American" and the historical work that accompanied its creation. It delves into the life of Yuji Ichioka, whose personal experience with forced relocation shaped his dedication to self-definition and historical recovery.

Person: Yuji Ichioka
Date: 1968
Location: Berkeley
Event: Founding of the "Asian American" term

- Yuji Ichioka, at six years old, was among 120,000 people of Japanese ancestry removed from their homes and sent to the Topaz War Relocation Center in 1942 under Executive Order 9066.
- After serving in the US Army and earning a history degree, Ichioka entered a doctoral program at Columbia University but left to work as a juvenile probation officer in New York.
- A trip to Japan sparked Ichioka's interest in the Issei, the first generation of Japanese immigrants, whose unread historical records were primarily in Japanese.
- Returning to Berkeley around 1968, Ichioka found a campus transformed by the anti-war, civil rights, and Third World Liberation Front movements.
- Ichioka began using a campus directory to identify students with Asian surnames who were already involved in political organizations, a method that became foundational to a new movement.

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© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/74834848Wed, 02 Sep 2026 22:22:19 +0000OBOMEDIA ENTERTAINMENTA man uses a campus directory to identify students with Asian surnames already in political groups, sparking a movement to rename forty million Americans. A campus directory renames forty million Americans This episode explores the origins of...
A campus directory renames forty million Americans

This episode explores the origins of the term "Asian American" and the historical work that accompanied its creation. It delves into the life of Yuji Ichioka, whose personal experience with forced relocation shaped his dedication to self-definition and historical recovery.

Person: Yuji Ichioka
Date: 1968
Location: Berkeley
Event: Founding of the "Asian American" term

- Yuji Ichioka, at six years old, was among 120,000 people of Japanese ancestry removed from their homes and sent to the Topaz War Relocation Center in 1942 under Executive Order 9066.
- After serving in the US Army and earning a history degree, Ichioka entered a doctoral program at Columbia University but left to work as a juvenile probation officer in New York.
- A trip to Japan sparked Ichioka's interest in the Issei, the first generation of Japanese immigrants, whose unread historical records were primarily in Japanese.
- Returning to Berkeley around 1968, Ichioka found a campus transformed by the anti-war, civil rights, and Third World Liberation Front movements.
- Ichioka began using a campus directory to identify students with Asian surnames who were already involved in political organizations, a method that became foundational to a new movement.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1077falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-room-assignment-that-starved-their-charity--74834846
The Room Assignment That Starved Their Charity

In this episode, we follow the arrival of Western civilians at the Weihsien Civilian Assembly Center and the committee work that assigned rooms inside a mission compound pressed into service. The story tracks how everyday decisions about space and rations tested assumptions about faith, education, and civilized behavior, and asks what those choices reveal about the people who made them.

Person: Langdon Brown Gilkey
Person: Eric Liddell
Location: Weihsien Civilian Assembly Center, Shandong Province, China
Date: Autumn 1943 (internment began after December 7, 1941; consolidation in 1943)
Event: Room assignment committee and rationing inside the compound

- Two thousand Western civilians were consolidated into a former Presbyterian mission compound converted into an internment center.
- Langdon Gilkey, twenty-two and a Harvard graduate, served on the committee that assigned rooms inside the overcrowded compound.
- The compound’s buildings, courtyards, and chapel were now encircled by Japanese guards and subject to controlled food rations.
- Internees included missionaries, teachers, businesspeople, diplomats, and figures like Olympic gold medalist Eric Liddell.
- Committee decisions about who got which rooms and how space was allocated created tensions that challenged long-held beliefs about faith and civilized conduct.

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© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/74834846Wed, 02 Sep 2026 22:22:15 +0000OBOMEDIA ENTERTAINMENTA room-assignment committee in a Shandong internment camp rationed space and dignity-how did those allocations expose them? The Room Assignment That Starved Their Charity In this episode, we follow the arrival of Western civilians at the...
The Room Assignment That Starved Their Charity

In this episode, we follow the arrival of Western civilians at the Weihsien Civilian Assembly Center and the committee work that assigned rooms inside a mission compound pressed into service. The story tracks how everyday decisions about space and rations tested assumptions about faith, education, and civilized behavior, and asks what those choices reveal about the people who made them.

Person: Langdon Brown Gilkey
Person: Eric Liddell
Location: Weihsien Civilian Assembly Center, Shandong Province, China
Date: Autumn 1943 (internment began after December 7, 1941; consolidation in 1943)
Event: Room assignment committee and rationing inside the compound

- Two thousand Western civilians were consolidated into a former Presbyterian mission compound converted into an internment center.
- Langdon Gilkey, twenty-two and a Harvard graduate, served on the committee that assigned rooms inside the overcrowded compound.
- The compound’s buildings, courtyards, and chapel were now encircled by Japanese guards and subject to controlled food rations.
- Internees included missionaries, teachers, businesspeople, diplomats, and figures like Olympic gold medalist Eric Liddell.
- Committee decisions about who got which rooms and how space was allocated created tensions that challenged long-held beliefs about faith and civilized conduct.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1152falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-surgical-instrument-salesman-who-built-the-blackshirts--74834845
The surgical instrument salesman who built the Blackshirts

In this episode, we follow Neil Francis Hawkins from his early life in commerce to the centre of Britain's fascist movement, tracing the decisions, mergers and internal purges that made him indispensable - and asking what the gaps in the record reveal about the man behind the organisation.

Person: Neil Francis Hawkins
Occupation: Surgical instrument salesman; later BUF Director-General of Organisation: British Fascisti; British Fascisti of Fascists (Blackshirts)
Date: Died Boxing Day 1950; interned and released 1944
Event: Merger talks, internal splits, rise to head of the Blackshirts

- Joined the British Fascisti in the early 1920s and rose to a three-man headquarters committee.
- Allied with E. G. Mandeville Roe to push the group toward corporate-state ideas and anti-Semitism.
- Opened merger talks with the New Party without founder Rotha Lintorn-Orman's approval; a Grand Council vote rejected the merger by one vote.
- Led a mass split in 1932, bringing most members into Oswald Mosley's British Fascisti of Fascists and taking senior administrative posts.
- By 1938 had consolidated power: rivals Joyce and Beckett dismissed, Chesterton resigned, and Hawkins controlled the organisation's structure.

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© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/74834845Wed, 02 Sep 2026 22:22:11 +0000OBOMEDIA ENTERTAINMENTA surgical-instrument salesman became the architect of Britain's Blackshirts and sat four years in prison without charge - how did that expose him? The surgical instrument salesman who built the Blackshirts In this episode, we follow Neil...
The surgical instrument salesman who built the Blackshirts

In this episode, we follow Neil Francis Hawkins from his early life in commerce to the centre of Britain's fascist movement, tracing the decisions, mergers and internal purges that made him indispensable - and asking what the gaps in the record reveal about the man behind the organisation.

Person: Neil Francis Hawkins
Occupation: Surgical instrument salesman; later BUF Director-General of Organisation: British Fascisti; British Fascisti of Fascists (Blackshirts)
Date: Died Boxing Day 1950; interned and released 1944
Event: Merger talks, internal splits, rise to head of the Blackshirts

- Joined the British Fascisti in the early 1920s and rose to a three-man headquarters committee.
- Allied with E. G. Mandeville Roe to push the group toward corporate-state ideas and anti-Semitism.
- Opened merger talks with the New Party without founder Rotha Lintorn-Orman's approval; a Grand Council vote rejected the merger by one vote.
- Led a mass split in 1932, bringing most members into Oswald Mosley's British Fascisti of Fascists and taking senior administrative posts.
- By 1938 had consolidated power: rivals Joyce and Beckett dismissed, Chesterton resigned, and Hawkins controlled the organisation's structure.

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© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1354falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-trevi-fountain-s-silence-mourned-a-star--74834837
The Trevi Fountain's Silence Mourned a Star

This episode explores the life of Marcello Mastroianni, an actor whose quiet survival and unique screen presence defied the logic of his own legend, even as his death sparked a final argument among the women in his life.

Person: Marcello Mastroianni
Date: December 19, 1996
Location: Rome, Italy
Event: Trevi Fountain silenced
Films: 147

- On December 19, 1996, Rome's Trevi Fountain was draped in black cloth and its water switched off, an unprecedented act for a private citizen.
- Marcello Mastroianni, born in Fontana Liri, was interned in a German prison camp during World War II before escaping to Venice.
- His first uncredited film appearance was in 1939 in "Marionette," at the age of fourteen.
- Mastroianni starred in Federico Fellini's 1960 film "La Dolce Vita," which featured an iconic scene at the Trevi Fountain.
- He received three Academy Award nominations for Best Actor but never won, though he won Best Actor twice at the Cannes Film Festival.

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© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/74834837Wed, 02 Sep 2026 22:22:07 +0000OBOMEDIA ENTERTAINMENTRome's Trevi Fountain is silenced for the first time in centuries to mourn a star. His private life, however, remains a public battle. The Trevi Fountain's Silence Mourned a Star This episode explores the life of Marcello Mastroianni, an actor...
The Trevi Fountain's Silence Mourned a Star

This episode explores the life of Marcello Mastroianni, an actor whose quiet survival and unique screen presence defied the logic of his own legend, even as his death sparked a final argument among the women in his life.

Person: Marcello Mastroianni
Date: December 19, 1996
Location: Rome, Italy
Event: Trevi Fountain silenced
Films: 147

- On December 19, 1996, Rome's Trevi Fountain was draped in black cloth and its water switched off, an unprecedented act for a private citizen.
- Marcello Mastroianni, born in Fontana Liri, was interned in a German prison camp during World War II before escaping to Venice.
- His first uncredited film appearance was in 1939 in "Marionette," at the age of fourteen.
- Mastroianni starred in Federico Fellini's 1960 film "La Dolce Vita," which featured an iconic scene at the Trevi Fountain.
- He received three Academy Award nominations for Best Actor but never won, though he won Best Actor twice at the Cannes Film Festival.

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© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1074falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-memoir-that-withheld-her-life-for-decades--74834829
The memoir that withheld her life for decades

This episode explores the life of Nadezhda, a woman who navigated the tumultuous 20th century under multiple identities, from her origins in the Russian Empire to her work as a Soviet agent. It delves into the extraordinary circumstances that shaped her and the quiet, yet profound, impact she had as a civilian caught in the machinery of ideological war.

Person: Nadezhda (Esther Markovna Fridgant)
Date: July 26, 1977
Location: London
Event: Interview with William F. Buckley Jr.

- Born Esther Markovna Fridgant in Bershad, Russian Empire, into a family with a rabbi grandfather.
- At fourteen, she renamed herself Nadezhda, meaning hope, and joined the Young Revolutionary International as an anarchist.
- By sixteen, she was actively involved in the October Revolution, helping to occupy the Odessa police station.
- At eighteen, she began working for the Cheka, the Soviet secret police, traveling to Germany under secret instructions.
- In 1929, she operated as "Kirschner" in Shanghai for Soviet military intelligence (GRU), working alongside Richard Sorge.

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© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/74834829Wed, 02 Sep 2026 22:22:03 +0000OBOMEDIA ENTERTAINMENTA woman who ran a spy network is arrested by the state she served for knowing too much. How did her memoir expose her Cold War past? The memoir that withheld her life for decades This episode explores the life of Nadezhda, a woman who navigated...
The memoir that withheld her life for decades

This episode explores the life of Nadezhda, a woman who navigated the tumultuous 20th century under multiple identities, from her origins in the Russian Empire to her work as a Soviet agent. It delves into the extraordinary circumstances that shaped her and the quiet, yet profound, impact she had as a civilian caught in the machinery of ideological war.

Person: Nadezhda (Esther Markovna Fridgant)
Date: July 26, 1977
Location: London
Event: Interview with William F. Buckley Jr.

- Born Esther Markovna Fridgant in Bershad, Russian Empire, into a family with a rabbi grandfather.
- At fourteen, she renamed herself Nadezhda, meaning hope, and joined the Young Revolutionary International as an anarchist.
- By sixteen, she was actively involved in the October Revolution, helping to occupy the Odessa police station.
- At eighteen, she began working for the Cheka, the Soviet secret police, traveling to Germany under secret instructions.
- In 1929, she operated as "Kirschner" in Shanghai for Soviet military intelligence (GRU), working alongside Richard Sorge.

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© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1751falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-secret-pact-that-traded-a-nation--74834773
The Secret Pact That Traded a Nation

This episode explores the life and mysterious death of Kārlis Ulmanis, Latvia's leader during World War II, who vanished into the Soviet prison system. How did a head of state, who once ruled a nation, meet such an end?

Person: Kārlis Ulmanis
Date: September 20, 1942
Location: Soviet prison transport
Status: Died of dysentery
Event: Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact

- Kārlis Ulmanis was born in 1877 into a farming family in the Russian Empire, before Latvia existed as a state.
- After participating in the 1905 Revolution, he fled to the United States, earning an agriculture degree from the University of Nebraska.
- He returned to Latvia in 1913 and became Prime Minister of the Provisional Government after Latvia declared independence in 1918.
- On May 15-16, 1934, Ulmanis dissolved Latvia's parliament and banned all political parties in a bloodless coup.
- In August 1939, the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact secretly assigned Latvia to the Soviet sphere of influence, unbeknownst to Ulmanis.

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© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/74834773Wed, 02 Sep 2026 22:21:59 +0000OBOMEDIA ENTERTAINMENTLatvia's leader cooperates with occupiers, dissolving his republic and asking for a pension, only to face a one-way journey into the Soviet prison system. This is a WWII civilian wreckage story. The Secret Pact That Traded a Nation This episode...
The Secret Pact That Traded a Nation

This episode explores the life and mysterious death of Kārlis Ulmanis, Latvia's leader during World War II, who vanished into the Soviet prison system. How did a head of state, who once ruled a nation, meet such an end?

Person: Kārlis Ulmanis
Date: September 20, 1942
Location: Soviet prison transport
Status: Died of dysentery
Event: Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact

- Kārlis Ulmanis was born in 1877 into a farming family in the Russian Empire, before Latvia existed as a state.
- After participating in the 1905 Revolution, he fled to the United States, earning an agriculture degree from the University of Nebraska.
- He returned to Latvia in 1913 and became Prime Minister of the Provisional Government after Latvia declared independence in 1918.
- On May 15-16, 1934, Ulmanis dissolved Latvia's parliament and banned all political parties in a bloodless coup.
- In August 1939, the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact secretly assigned Latvia to the Soviet sphere of influence, unbeknownst to Ulmanis.

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© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1541falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/a-five-year-old-american-boy-slept-in-a-horse-stall-by-government-order--74834637
A five-year-old American boy slept in a horse stall - by government order

This episode covers the experience of Japanese American families, including the Takeis, who were forcibly removed from their homes and incarcerated during World War II. It explores the impact of Executive Order 9066 and the question of why American citizens were included in the internment.

Person: George Takei
Date: February 19, 1942
Location: Los Angeles, California
Event: Japanese American internment

- The US government signed Executive Order 9066, authorizing the military to designate exclusion zones and remove individuals based solely on Japanese ancestry.
- The Takei family, including four-year-old George, was given days to settle their affairs and lost their home, business, and savings.
- Their first stop was Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, California, where horse stables were converted into temporary living quarters.
- George Takei, then five, and his family were assigned to a horse stall with wood plank floors and the lingering smell of animals.
- The family was later moved to Rohwer War Relocation Center in Arkansas, a former swamp surrounded by barbed wire and guard towers.

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© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/74834637Wed, 02 Sep 2026 22:21:56 +0000OBOMEDIA ENTERTAINMENTIn 1942, the US government reclassified an entire population. Japanese ancestry alone was grounds for removal, forcing thousands into internment camps. A five-year-old American boy slept in a horse stall - by government order This episode covers...
A five-year-old American boy slept in a horse stall - by government order

This episode covers the experience of Japanese American families, including the Takeis, who were forcibly removed from their homes and incarcerated during World War II. It explores the impact of Executive Order 9066 and the question of why American citizens were included in the internment.

Person: George Takei
Date: February 19, 1942
Location: Los Angeles, California
Event: Japanese American internment

- The US government signed Executive Order 9066, authorizing the military to designate exclusion zones and remove individuals based solely on Japanese ancestry.
- The Takei family, including four-year-old George, was given days to settle their affairs and lost their home, business, and savings.
- Their first stop was Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, California, where horse stables were converted into temporary living quarters.
- George Takei, then five, and his family were assigned to a horse stall with wood plank floors and the lingering smell of animals.
- The family was later moved to Rohwer War Relocation Center in Arkansas, a former swamp surrounded by barbed wire and guard towers.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1391falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-cedar-sign-she-carved-that-outlasted-exile--74834546
The cedar sign she carved that outlasted exile

This episode explores the life of Miwako Kai, a renowned Japanese pianist whose career was interrupted by forced internment during World War II, and the unexpected legacy she created in a new country.

Person: Miwako Kai
Date: 1944
Location: Columbia University
Occupation: Pianist, Library typist
Event: Japanese American internment

- Miwako Kai was born in San Francisco in 1913, into a family prominent in the Japanese commercial community.
- At age eleven, she was placed under the guardianship of American piano teacher Edith Kawasaki, a relationship that ended abruptly when her family moved to Japan.
- In 1932, at nineteen, Kai won the Grand Prize at the first Music Competition of Japan, a prize never awarded again.
- She performed the Japanese premiere of the Schumann Piano Concerto and later competed in the prestigious Third International Chopin Competition in Warsaw.
- After a goodwill tour of the United States in 1939, she returned to California in 1940, planning to stay for one year.

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© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/74834546Wed, 02 Sep 2026 22:21:51 +0000OBOMEDIA ENTERTAINMENTA celebrated Japanese pianist, once held in a US internment camp, takes a typing job at Columbia University. What she builds there will defy her exile. The cedar sign she carved that outlasted exile This episode explores the life of Miwako Kai,...
The cedar sign she carved that outlasted exile

This episode explores the life of Miwako Kai, a renowned Japanese pianist whose career was interrupted by forced internment during World War II, and the unexpected legacy she created in a new country.

Person: Miwako Kai
Date: 1944
Location: Columbia University
Occupation: Pianist, Library typist
Event: Japanese American internment

- Miwako Kai was born in San Francisco in 1913, into a family prominent in the Japanese commercial community.
- At age eleven, she was placed under the guardianship of American piano teacher Edith Kawasaki, a relationship that ended abruptly when her family moved to Japan.
- In 1932, at nineteen, Kai won the Grand Prize at the first Music Competition of Japan, a prize never awarded again.
- She performed the Japanese premiere of the Schumann Piano Concerto and later competed in the prestigious Third International Chopin Competition in Warsaw.
- After a goodwill tour of the United States in 1939, she returned to California in 1940, planning to stay for one year.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1140falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-dictation-that-made-her-a-bestselling-hooker--74834542
The Dictation That Made Her a Bestselling Hooker

In this episode, we follow a single life through a string of public moments and decisions that propelled it into culture. The episode traces how a memoir, an arrest, and a dictation set off a cascade of adaptations and publicity - but what exactly connected them?

Person: Xaviera Hollander
Event: Birth in internment camp; 1974 board game release
Date: 1971 (book publication and deportation)
Location: New York City
Author: Robin Moore (dictation title), Yvonne Dunleavy (ghostwriter)

- Born in a Japanese internment camp in 1943, she later returned to Europe and moved to New York in 1968.
- Hired as a secretary at the Dutch consulate, she resigned to become a call girl and then opened the Vertical Whorehouse.
- By 1971 she was arrested for prostitution and deported from the United States at age twenty-seven.
- The Happy Hooker: My Own Story was published in 1971 from her dictation, credited with a title by Robin Moore and prose shaped by Yvonne Dunleavy.
- Between 1975 and 1980 five actresses portrayed her across multiple films while she appeared in a semi-autobiographical role in 1975.

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© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/74834542Wed, 02 Sep 2026 22:21:47 +0000OBOMEDIA ENTERTAINMENTA bestselling madam born in a Japanese internment camp sees her life become a board game and five film versions-how did that exposure trace back to a dictation and arrest? The Dictation That Made Her a Bestselling Hooker In this episode, we...
The Dictation That Made Her a Bestselling Hooker

In this episode, we follow a single life through a string of public moments and decisions that propelled it into culture. The episode traces how a memoir, an arrest, and a dictation set off a cascade of adaptations and publicity - but what exactly connected them?

Person: Xaviera Hollander
Event: Birth in internment camp; 1974 board game release
Date: 1971 (book publication and deportation)
Location: New York City
Author: Robin Moore (dictation title), Yvonne Dunleavy (ghostwriter)

- Born in a Japanese internment camp in 1943, she later returned to Europe and moved to New York in 1968.
- Hired as a secretary at the Dutch consulate, she resigned to become a call girl and then opened the Vertical Whorehouse.
- By 1971 she was arrested for prostitution and deported from the United States at age twenty-seven.
- The Happy Hooker: My Own Story was published in 1971 from her dictation, credited with a title by Robin Moore and prose shaped by Yvonne Dunleavy.
- Between 1975 and 1980 five actresses portrayed her across multiple films while she appeared in a semi-autobiographical role in 1975.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1362falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-priest-s-mosley-portrait-hung-and-it-recruited-hamm--74834540
The priest's Mosley portrait hung, and it recruited Hamm

In this episode, we trace the path from a parish photograph to a political life: how a Welsh schoolteacher moved from ordinary provincial stability to internment, conversion, and public agitation. What chain of people, places and moments turned him into a focal point for British fascism?

Person: Edward Jeffrey Hamm
Date: Born 15 September 1915
Location: Wembley parish house (wedding reception), Leeuwkop internment camp, Hyde Park, East End
Event: Wedding with Nazi salute and Mosley portrait; wartime internment under Defence Regulation 18B
Occupation: Schoolteacher; later public speaker and organizer

- Hamm joined the British Union of Fascists in 1935 while a young teacher and later took a teaching post at King’s School in Harrow.
- In 1939 he accepted a teaching position in the Falkland Islands and was arrested in 1940 under Defence Regulation 18B for allegedly promoting fascist ideas among pupils.
- Interned at Leeuwkop in South Africa, he lived alongside German Nazi prisoners, where MI5 files record sustained Nazi ideological influence and his participation in a tunnel escape attempt.
- Returned to Britain in 1941, he enlisted in the Royal Tank Regiment but was discharged as disruptive in 1944 and did not see frontline combat.
- Priest Clement Russell received Hamm into the Catholic Church, kept a Mosley portrait on the parish wall, performed Hamm’s wedding where guests gave a Nazi salute, and within months Hamm began speaking to crowds in Hyde Park and the East End.

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© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/74834540Wed, 02 Sep 2026 22:21:42 +0000OBOMEDIA ENTERTAINMENTA framed portrait of Oswald Mosley hung in a Wembley parish house as a priest married Edward Jeffrey Hamm beneath a Nazi flag-how did that exposure recruit him into Mosley’s fascist network? The priest's Mosley portrait hung, and it recruited Hamm...
The priest's Mosley portrait hung, and it recruited Hamm

In this episode, we trace the path from a parish photograph to a political life: how a Welsh schoolteacher moved from ordinary provincial stability to internment, conversion, and public agitation. What chain of people, places and moments turned him into a focal point for British fascism?

Person: Edward Jeffrey Hamm
Date: Born 15 September 1915
Location: Wembley parish house (wedding reception), Leeuwkop internment camp, Hyde Park, East End
Event: Wedding with Nazi salute and Mosley portrait; wartime internment under Defence Regulation 18B
Occupation: Schoolteacher; later public speaker and organizer

- Hamm joined the British Union of Fascists in 1935 while a young teacher and later took a teaching post at King’s School in Harrow.
- In 1939 he accepted a teaching position in the Falkland Islands and was arrested in 1940 under Defence Regulation 18B for allegedly promoting fascist ideas among pupils.
- Interned at Leeuwkop in South Africa, he lived alongside German Nazi prisoners, where MI5 files record sustained Nazi ideological influence and his participation in a tunnel escape attempt.
- Returned to Britain in 1941, he enlisted in the Royal Tank Regiment but was discharged as disruptive in 1944 and did not see frontline combat.
- Priest Clement Russell received Hamm into the Catholic Church, kept a Mosley portrait on the parish wall, performed Hamm’s wedding where guests gave a Nazi salute, and within months Hamm began speaking to crowds in Hyde Park and the East End.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>940falsefull