Stories of Communism

We discuss our favorite stories from past episodes. (Send feedback to erik@storiesofcommunism.com)

We discuss Anhua Gao's chronicle of living through China's Great Leap Forward and Cultural Revolution, and her surprise arrest during the "reform" era. (Send feedback to erik@storiesofcommunism.com)

Nelson Rodriguez Chartrand's book is now available in English, order on Amazon at https://www.amazon.com/Revolution-Promises-Reflections-Cuban-Exile-ebook/dp/B0CG11SYWK . (Send feedback to erik@storiesofcommunism.com)

Nelson Rodriguez Chartrand reveals the many promises broken by the Cuban revolution. (Send feedback to erik@storiesofcommunism.com)

We discuss the strange and terrifying upbringing of Joseph Stalin's daughter Svetlana. (Send feedback to erik@storiesofcommunism.com)

We discuss Vladimir Tsesis's memoir "Communist Daze", recalling his early years as a doctor in the Soviet Union. (Send feedback to erik@storiesofcommunism.com)

We discuss Alexander Zinoviev's satire of Soviet intellecutal life in "The Yawning Heights". (Send feedback to erik@storiesofcommunism.com)

Immigrant Joe Czismazia shares his story of escape from Communist Hungary in 1956. (Send feedback to erik@storiesofcommunism.com)

We discuss Eugene Yelchin's historical novel "Breaking Stalin's Nose", one of the few books in this genre aimed at young readers. (Send feedback to erik@storiesofcommunism.com)

Romanian immigrant Gyuszi Suto, author of "I Tried", shares more amusing stories, and reflects on the lessons of his Communist Romanian upbringing. (Send feedback to erik@storiesofcommunism.com)

We discuss the memoir "I Tried", by Romanian immigrant Gyuszi Suto, a collection of lighthearted anecdotes about his early life in the final decades of Ceausescu's reign. (Send feedback to erik@storiesofcommunism.com)

The strange story of the socialist commune where author Louisa May Alcott spent part of her childhood. (Send feedback to erik@storiesofcommunism.com)

We catch up with Nelson Rodriguez Chartrand, the Cuban lawyer who tried to teach free market economics in his home country, and ended up having to flee to Brazil. (Send feedback to erik@storiesofcommunism.com)

We hear from Chinese dissident Jennifer Zeng and 2010 Nobel Prize nominee David Kilgour about the terrifying procedures used to supply organs to Chinese hospitals. (Send feedback to erik@storiesofcommunism.com)

Discussing Slavonia Draculic's “A Guided Tour Through the Museum of Communism: Fables from a Mouse, a Parrot, a Bear, a Cat, a Mole, a Pig, a Dog, and a Raven”. (Send feedback to erik@storiesofcommunism.com)

We interview Nora Clinton about her memoir "Quarantine Reflections Across Two Worlds", discussing her early life in Communist Bulgaria and her later experiences in the US. (Send feedback to erik@storiesofcommunism.com)

We continue our discussion of modern Venezuela, looking at Raul Gallegos's book "Crude Nation". (Send feedback to erik@storiesofcommunism.com)

Interview with two recent Venezuelan refugees about the last few decades of changes in their country. (Send feedback to erik@storiesofcommunism.com)

We discuss author Vladimir Voinovich's comical (but real) attempts to upgrade his apartment in 1970s Moscow, as he describes it in "The Ivankiad". (Send feedback to erik@storiesofcommunism.com)

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 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 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 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 feedback to erik@storiesofcommunism.com)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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