Stories Of Communism

We discuss Teodor Flonta's memoir "Paper Rings", telling the story of his cross-Iron-Curtain romance in the late 1960s and early 1970s. (Send feedback to erik@storiesofcommunism.com)

We interview Sergey Grechishkin, following up on his memoir "Everything Is Normal" that we discussed in the last episode. (Send feedback to erik@storiesofcommunism.com)

Sergey Grechishkin's memoir "Everything Is Normal" reveals the USSR's pervasive lack of everyday items we take for granted in the West, and the odd human behavior that results. (Send feedback to erik@storiesofcommunism.com)

We interview Klara Sever about her experiences as Slovakia transitioned from Nazi to Communist rule. (Send feedback to erik@storiesofcommunism.com)

We discuss a memoir of communism among early American settlers, and its relevance to today's political discussions. (Send feedback to erik@storiesofcommunism.com)

We interview successful Bulgarian actress Lilia Slavova, who fled to the west in the 1980s and eventually settled in the U.S. (Send feedback to erik@storiesofcommunism.com)

We discuss the memoir of Thomas Sgovio, who emigrated from the US to the Soviet Union and spent 16 years in Stalin's labor camps. (Send feeback to erik@storiesofcommunism.com)

Interview with Jennifer Zeng, who describes her persecution and torture by the Chinese government for practicing Falun Gong. (Send feeback to erik@storiesofcommunism.com)

We discuss the memoir of famous Jewish dissident Arkady Polishchuk, an activist in the USSR in the 1970s. (Send feeback to erik@storiesofcommunism.com)

An interview with Zilvinas Silenas, who grew up in Communist Lithuania but is now president of the Foundation for Economic Education. (Send feeback to erik@storiesofcommunism.com)

We discuss Nien Cheng's failed attempts to figure out the rules and navigate the Cultural Revolution in Mao's China. (Send feeback to erik@storiesofcommunism.com)

We discuss Vladimir Bukovsky's memoir of his struggles to preserve and expose the Soviet Union's history of oppression and human rights abuses, as preserved in their own archives. (Send feeback to erik@storiesofcommunism.com)

We learn the truth about Che Guevara from some of his victims, as collected in Humberto Fontova's "Exposing the Real Che Guevara". (Send feeback to erik@storiesofcommunism.com)

We discuss Vladimir Voinovich's hilarious satire of Stalin worship, "Monumental Propaganda". (Send feeback to erik@storiesofcommunism.com)

How one of North Korea's leading propagandists learned the truth about his leaders. (Send feeback to erik@storiesofcommunism.com)

Discussing a Peace Corps volunteer's experiences in China in the 2000s. (Send feeback to erik@storiesofcommunism.com)

Interview with Wojtek Lisicki, a local leader in the Polish Solidarity movement of the early 1980s. (Send feeback to erik@storiesofcommunism.com)

Learn how Chhalith Ou survived four terrifying years as a teenager under Khmer Rouge rule in 1970s Cambodia. (Send feeback to erik@storiesofcommunism.com)

We discuss the amusing stories of Mikhail Zoschchenko, the Seinfeld of 1920s Russia. (Send feeback to erik@storiesofcommunism.com)

An interview with Nelson Rodriguez Chartrand, a cuban dissident who was forced into exile in Brazil after teaching ideas of freedom and capitalism to his neighbors. (Send feeback to erik@storiesofcommunism.com)