The New Yorker Radio Hour - Radio Ukraine

Episode Date: March 18, 2022

Kraina FM is a radio station that broadcasts in Kyiv and more than twenty other cities, playing Ukrainian-language rock and pop. When Russia invaded Ukraine, it took on the mantle of “the station of national resistance,” airing news bulletins and logistical information like requests for supplies. The radio hosts began adding jokes about the invading Russians, and advice from a psychologist about talking to children about the war; a writer told fairy tales on air to occupy those kids during the stressful nights of wartime. The station staff has dispersed, with Bogdan Bolkhovetsky, the general manager, and Roman Davydov, the program director, holed up in a town in the Carpathians, keeping production moving over unreliable Internet and communicating with listeners by text. They don’t know how many of their broadcasting stations are still functioning, and their tower in Kyiv could be destroyed at any time. But “we are not doing anything heroic,” Bolkhovetsky told Nicolas Niarchos, who visited their makeshift studio. “We are still in a lot of luck, having what we have right now. Thousands of people were not so lucky as we are. . . . We’re just doing what we can under these unusual circumstances.” Plus, we present the 2022 Brody Awards—the critic Richard Brody’s assessment of the best performances and the best films of the year. New Yorker Radio Hour listeners, we want to hear from you.  We have a few questions about the show and how you listen to it. The survey takes about twenty minutes, and your feedback will help us make our podcast better.  Take the survey here.

This is The New Yorker Radio Hour, a co-production of WNYC Studios and The New Yorker. Welcome to The New Yorker Radio Hour. I'm David Remnick. Kriena FM is a radio station broadcasting in Kiev, playing Ukrainian language rock and pop music. But when Russia invaded Ukraine, Kriena FM began broadcasting news about the war. It gave out logistical information to aid the war effort and collect supplies. They've even been doing things like telling stories for kids during the stressful nights of wartime. As Kiev came under the heavier and heavier assault from Russian forces, Kriena FM relocated its production facilities outside the city,

but they're still broadcasting in Kiev and around the country. On the second day when we came here, we went to the local military station. We went to the local military station, we said, we are here, what do you want us to do? And they asked us, what you can do? And we said, we can do radio. And they said, go and make radio. And how much do you help you?

Razum, to Perimogues. What is a radio nationalist of us, protov, me? Radio station of national resistance. So this is the radio station of national resistance? That's what we call it. I mean, we decided me and Roman in the morning. We have to do something.

We cannot just say we're Ukraine FM and we're playing only Ukrainian music. No, not now you should make your stunts public and your attitude public. That's the general idea. Nick, who were you talking with there? And where were you? So I can't say exactly where we were for security reasons. We were in a small village, a couple of hours south of Leviv in the Carpathian Mountains, in a makeshift radio station that had been set up in an accountant's office. I spoke with Bogdan Balchabetsky and

Román Davidov. They ended up in this town to which they had absolutely no connection, almost at random, after they fled Kiev. When we came back to our senses, we started discussing who was doing what at the moment when Putin started bombing. I remember I woke up at 2.30 from a terrible nightmare, just terrible like Stanley Kubrick movie nightmare. I mean, top great nightmare. It's graphic, absolutely. I woke up. And then, I'm browsing, browsing, and I click constantly. Let's reload, reload.

And the same moment I see this red line that Putin is dressing the nation, I start hearing bombing in Kiev. And I just get the bags, and my family was asleep in the next room, and I'm starting packing the bags, throwing everything. I'm putting in anything I see. And we move. So we left Kiev. Everyone was scattered for like for two or three days.

And Roman was in different parts of the country. I'm a general manager and he's a program director and the voice of the station actually. Drogues, as you know, we, in Krainifem, we're trying to disenfranchis, information about the potential, and we were lucky, extremely lucky, that Roman, from some of his remote, he had the microphone in a trunk. And I, record news in the news in the... The first day it was just news, of course.

And in three or four days, we decided that we should meet up somewhere. By that moment, it was very intense in terms of bombing and chelling and everything. And by chance, by pure chance, we found this place because that was the only place vacant. They had a room where we could stay up. And then we set up a small studio here. Do you mind if I just record you as you record? Mr. Minister of the

French, Jean Ivel Diran, Minister of France, Javille, Jav Leigh, Dian, Minister of

France, Javela. Minister of foreign of France, Jean Ivel Drian, announced a new package of sanctions. While I was there,

Roman read a news break for the station. In Irpenn, Russian, Russian occupants wrote correspondent American's video of New York Times,

Brin and Renault, One of those announcements was that a New York Times journalist was shot. It's in New York, Kiev. After the evacuation of the people, they passed the checkpoint, and they've been shot, and they've been hospitalized, right? One of them. One of them and another one. Killed.

So that was the day that the news broke about Brent Renault, one of the journalists who was killed covering the war. And initially it was thought, that he was a New York Times journalist, but it actually transpired that he was working for Time magazine. Nick, what are the mechanics of this operation? How is it all working? So Bogdan and Raman have this little studio in the village,

and it's in a little wooden room, almost like a log cabin, where they record news and they record promos, and then they send it out to people doing production in other cities, and those people get the signal to the broadcast towers. So like everyone else these days, they're relying on the web. Nick, do you have any idea how many radio stations this is being broadcast on? So Bogdan guessed that at the moment it's being broadcast on just over 20, but he really has no idea how many they are broadcasting on at the moment.

Normally it's around 28 stations. Have you heard from listeners? heard from people telling you. They text us. We don't have the set up to taking calls, but they text us and of course they like it. Of course they like it. So your programming still involves a lot of music or? It's music news and short news and mostly announcements on what is needed right now in a very specific place. That's we decided it would be our angle. Right now, right here in this place. I'll give you an example, like yesterday, the guys from

from Kyiv military called and they said, listen, we know you are broadcasting, we know you are broadcasting and we need like about 100 laptops because the warehouse was damaged or something happened. We need about 100. That's a lot, I mean 100 laptops and we made an announcement and we were playing this announcement like every 15 minutes or 20 minutes. For the Armed Forces of Ukraine,

we'll look at least which will be able to be able to be able to do. And they call back in two hours and say, stop it. We've gotten. People brought it in. What other reason do you need in this moment? In addition to laptops, the station has put out calls to collect helmets,

to collect sleeping bags, nails, gloves, thermos, even pots to transport food to the front. What about your families? Where are your families? Our families were with us and, like, Roman's family moved out to Europe this morning at 5 o'clock in the morning, and my family moved out to Europe like two days ago. Because it's complicated. It's complicated. I have a wife and I have a kid. Roman also has wife, kid and a dog.

How do you feel about your families having left? Who having left, sir? your family is. Do you have a family? You have a kid? Do you have wife? Then it means nothing what I tell you. Terrible. Terrible. Like never before. It's not compared to anything in my life, to anything. And I mean, it's complicated. It's better to be by ourselves. It's easier because you don't care, I mean, you don't care in a good way. Has everyone eaten? Has everyone slept well? You just send them to safe places.

They will take care of themselves and will take care of business and our sons. So that's the setup right now. Crying FM started out as a music station, but as the war has gone on, they've actually evolved. In the first day, it was just news, of course, because news is, Most simply with production. Now we make some features with humor. Of course, in the first week, we don't think about some funny. And now it's humor.

How wrong to say Ukrainian. Ukrainian selyanen not ask, where let's a warren helicopter? So, the American's Scylian's How can't get money, Zedavisks overroger

helicopter on metal Brux. Ukraine's Lekko. Slava Ukraine. So that's a joke about shooting down Russian helicopters.

And so they've done pieces that include poetry. I want, I want, to my garmati he go overrively

on claptie. Shopty, should just smatky and shmatt. That's just Shmarkly and lapty. I want to, And fairy tales for children to the evening, because so many children now in shelters, and they're scared. Stoitte crested derv.

And so, from the winter, as to the ground, they're going to let's, here, gilkis. And under the ground, that's there. And he went to the house and he went to the water. Plus, we have recommendations from psychological recommendations, different types of psychological recommendations. Like, what to do in shelter, what to tell your kid, how to come down your kid. It's not from internet, it's from...

No, no, it's from a live person who is recording this on her phone being in shelter. Then she sends us here, we produce it, and then we put it in air, play it. If you're back to make a child. We need to be able to be able to be of any other emotions, the other than to say, the psychologist is talking about caring for children whose parents are fighting in this war. She's giving advice, like show affection, show love, listen,

and don't contradict what the child says. How many people normally work at the station? 15. And where are all those people now? So it's you, a Roman. And we have two young creatives who are more freelance. They were just in an area. In Kiev, we have two, a few people who are doing some content, some news.

In Lutsk, in Lutsk, in... Poland. It's all our workers, but all of them in other places now. And some of them type text, some of them recording voices, some of them in production do something for production for us. And some of them, it's not our people, but they help to us from Russia. this type of work it consumes so much energy because internet is I shouldn't say this word

internet connection is very bad it's very bad it's just touch and go touch and go touch and go touch and go and you guys know the feeling right when you're trying to upload something and it stops at 98% and says there is no upload

and you re-upload then we might send like an audio piece or audio clip to the production and the guy is not there because he has no internet connection, then you ring everybody up, then you should find somebody who has internet connection, send it to him.

You send it to him. By that moment, the second guy got the internet connection. Then you have to call the third guy to cancel this. I mean, it's chicken farmer disease. You know, like, you know this joke about chicken farmer disease, no? And the chicken farmer goes out. outside and he was about to milk a cow. And then he sees that his chickens are not on place and he goes after the chickens.

Then he sees that some pig is out of the cage. He goes after the pig and at the end of the day he didn't milk the cow yet. Because you do a lot of things which interfere into your normal workflow. That's what we do right here. I mean, that's not very efficient in terms of work, but that's all we have right now. SINY FM, special, serious, not serious, project, Abedka, Weyne. Wevchaymo new Ukrainian alphavit,

together. I want to stress out, publicly off the record, on the record, that we are not doing anything heroic. We are just doing what we are doing. Okay, like any farmer would do, like any driver would do, like any coffee men,

nothing heroic happens here. No, here, by no means, we are still in a lot of luck, having what we have right now, in a lot of luck. Thousands of people were not that lucky as we are. So, and by no means, we want this to sound like, oh, here, here are the guys, they managed. It's, we've got off pretty easy, okay? We're just doing what we can under these very, very unusual circumstances. You can hear Crina FM on the web.

K-R-A-I-N-A-F-M-U-A. Nicholas Nyarko spoke with Bogdan Bolshevetsky and Romon Davidov. And you can find Nick's story and much more coverage of the invasion of Ukraine at New Yorker.com. This is the New Yorker Radio Hour with more to come. This is the New Yorker Radio Hour. I'm David Remnick. Now, every year, whatever may be going on in the world, the award ceremony, celebrate the best that film has to offer. And with apologies to the Oscars,

the awards that truly matter, are only broadcast right here on the New Yorker Radio Hour. And I am talking about the Brody Awards. The Brodies are unlike all other awards. There are no nominations. No committees, no voting, no statues. They're selected by just one magnificently informed and passionate film critic,

the New Yorker's Richard Brody. Richard joins me now, along with our colleague, Alexandra Schwartz. Alex writes about film and theater and books and much more. You know, it feels like every year the Oscar nominations tell a story about Hollywood somehow. We remember in 2015, there were the Oscars so white controversy,

and last year the nomination spoke to an industry that was really reeling from the pandemic. Richard, what is the story that you can derive from looking at this year's nominees? I think the expansion of the academy to include a younger, more representative membership, a more international membership, has had a significant impact on the kinds of films that get nominated. I would call it truth in nomination. Even if the money in Hollywood may be in franchises and superhero films,

this year's nominations reflect the kinds of films that people get into the industry to work on. Now, enough about the Oscars, the hell with them. Let's get down through the real business, the 2022. Brody Awards. So we'll start with best actress in a leading role. Alex the Brody nominees, please. The nominees are Alana Heim, Lickrish Pizza, Tessa Thompson, passing, Taylor Page, Zola, Kim Minhee, the woman who ran, and Nicole Kidman being the Ricardos. And Richard, the winner is The winner is Alana Heim for Lickrish Pizza. Why would you do that? He was maybe going to be my boyfriend.

Listen, young lady, you don't bring this idiot to Shabbat dinner here. Listen, Dad, he's an atheist and an actor, and he's famous! But he's Jewish! He was gonna take me out of here, Essie! Don't you even look at me! Don't you even look at me! You're always looking at me! I didn't even say anything! What are you doing? What are you thinking, huh? I'm Essie. I work for mom and dad. I'm perfect. I'm a real estate agent.

A lot of doesn't have her life together. A lot of brings home stupid boyfriends all the time. I mean... I knew it. I knew that was what you were thinking. You're always thinking. You're always thinking things, you stinker. You stinker! You sink things! That's such a great scene. God.

Richard, why did you make that pick? I felt like I was watching a new kind of performance altogether. I mean, I think that there was a terrific group of actors this year in this category. The long tradition of musicians, Frank Sinatra, Judy Garland, for that matter, this year's Oscar nominee, Will Smith, who started, who became great actors. Alana Heim's performance is simultaneously exact and unstrung. And this is basically screwball comedy rapid and screwball comedy dense dialogue that she's delivering with free physical motion with extreme precision and simultaneously an amazing spontaneity. I think we should say also that in this clip, the family of the character line, Alana, is played by the actual Haim family, both of her parents, her two sisters who were in a band with her. I mean, the role was literally written for her by Paul Thomas Anderson.

Richard, I'm curious about where you see the line between this kind of being and acting when someone is playing a role that is so so scripted to them and their personality. Well, there's a great tradition of this, too, whether Eric von Stroheim or Betty Davis or Orson Wells or John Cassavetes or Jenna Rollins. Actors have always had in great films certain proximity, certain emotional and personal proximity to the role. What's different here is that she goes back and forth. performing with her family. By the way, Alana Hymme's mother was Paul Thomas Anderson's art teacher.

Neighbors in the Valley. But Richard, when Paul Thomas Anderson was on this show a while back, you know, what do I know? I thought it was a shoe-in that Alana Hine would be nominated for an Oscar, but she wasn't even nominated. How was that possible? The kinds of acting that tend to get nominations are impersonation. Look at the actors, the actresses who are in fact nominated. Jessica Chastain, The Eyes of Tammy Fay,

biopic. Nicole Kidman, being the Riccarta, I think it's a great performance, but it's a biopic, Kristen Stewart, Spencer, biopic. Alanaheim is not a celebrity, and at the same time, her role is not, Let's put it this way. It doesn't have that kind of theatrical impressiveness, that the sort of overt display of craft that tends to impress the academy. Now, on to the best actor. The nominees are, Alex. The nominees are Woody Norman, Come on, Come on, Come On, Walkin' Phoenix, Come on, Come on.

Cooper Hoffman, Liquorice Pizza, Jeffrey Wright, the French Dispatch, and Oscar Isaac, the card counter. And Richard, the winner is? The winner is Jeffrey Wright for the French Dispatch. There is a particular sad beauty. Well known to the companionless foreigner as he walks the streets of his adopted, preferably moonlit city. In my case, on me, France. I have so often shared the day's glittering discoveries with no one at all.

Being in a Wes Anderson film is like dancing on eggshell. while playing the trumpet. Combination of the emphatic and the exquisite. And Jeffrey Wright brings such a sense of delicacy and depth to this role, which is essentially based on a combination of James Baldwin and A.J. Liebling. He dominates the film. And it's only one of three major segments in the film, but his performance as an American expatriate,

trying to find some margin of freedom as a black man and as a gay man in France, when he couldn't find them in the United States. I find it deeply moving. Richard, you have two nominees from the same movie, Come On Come On, Come On, Woody Norman, who plays the kid in the movie in Joaquin Phoenix. Tell us a little bit about the movie and what drew you to these performances. Come On Come On Come On's a family melodrama. It's directed by Mike Mills,

the story of a radio journalist, Joaquin Phoenix, who ends up taking temporary care of his young nephew, Woody Norman. It's essentially a mutual coming-of-age story. The child grows up through the uncle, but the uncle's world is vastly expanded in his connection to the young, rather idiosyncratic and ingenious child. I got to say, Richard, if Woody Norman isn't the next

Joaquin Phoenix or something, I'd be very surprised. It's an amazing thing. That's what I think. Woody Norman gives one of the greatest child performances I've ever seen. Now, Richard, the frontrunner for the Oscar in this category is Benedict Cumberbatch for Power of the Dog, the Jane Campion film. And that movie got more Oscar nominations than any other this year. We talked to her last week.

Why didn't it receive a single Brody nomination? Just shut out from the Brodies. I guess the reason why Power of the Dog is not among my favorite films of the year is that despite its dramatic power, I feel its intentions are all up front, that it means what it means and it doesn't mean anything else. There are no loose ends. It's a kind of hermetic film. A very good one, nonetheless, but not one of the best of the year. Alex, what did you think of Power of the Dog? I enjoyed The Power of the Dog. It is not my favorite Jane Campion movie. I actually agree with Richard's interpretation that the movie doesn't hold many secrets or surprises that even though it's predicated on a big twist that you may see coming for a little

bit in advance. However, if I may just be allowed to reach back to a previous Jane Campion movie, The Power of the Dog sent me back to Bright Star, her last feature film, very different movie about Keats in the last year of his life falling in love with his neighbor Fannie Braun. And I have not been able to recover from the death of Keats, which happened. many years before my own life began after re-watching this movie. So I would just send everyone to see Bright Star, especially those who have not yet. Which brings us to the evening's big prize, Best Picture. Alex, the nominees are? The nominees for the best picture at the 2022 Brodies are Lickrish Pizza, the French Dispatch, Zola. I was a simple man.

Come on, come on. Passing, Petit Mamon, the woman who ran, the disciple, and being the Ricardo's. And Richard, the winner is? The winner is the French Dispatch. Barrensen's article, The Concrete Masterpiece. Three dangling participles, two split infinitives, and nine spelling errors in the first sentence along. Some of those are intentional. The Cremant's story, revisions to a manifesto.

We asked for 2,500 words, and she came in at 14,000, plus 5,000. Footnotes, end notes of glossary, and two epilogues. It's one of her best. Zazirac? Impossible to fact check. He changes all the names and only writes about hobos, pimps, and junkies. These are his people. How about Roebuck Wright?

His door's locked, but I could hear the keys clacking. Don't rush him. The question is, who gets killed? There's one piece too many, even if we print another double issue, which we can't afford under any circumstances. A message from the foreman. One hour to press. David, it's basically documentary, right?

That movie is a little too close to home. The French Dispatch is Wes Anderson's most Andersonian film. He takes the idea of journalism and builds it out to an extraordinary level of complexity because he sees in every story the experience that's being reported on, the experience that is reported on, the life of the writer when writing, the life of the publication as the piece is being prepared. With all these levels of experience, he creates a film that is so complex, so kaleidoscopic, and at the same time, so inventive, so full of ideas about politics, about freedom, about history,

that you really, I've said this before about Anders, and the films that you have to see it twice to see it once. You have to see this three times to see it once. It innovates at the level of the image, at the level of narratives. It's one of the most original films I have seen in years. Right. Well, we're here for the Brodies, but let's spare a second to consider the Oscars. I have to confess, don't tell anybody,

but I don't think I've been able to avoid falling asleep during the Oscars in years. It goes on forever. And this year, to the anger of many people, including I think Steven Spielberg, there's an attempt to make the ceremony more audience-friendly, shorter speeches, fewer awards handed out during the broadcast of the big TV show. Alex first, how do you feel about these changes? You're excited to watch the Oscars this year? I don't have the highest hopes for the Oscars, unfortunately. I think they have not really cracked the code yet.

What I am looking forward to is Wanda Sykes is one of the hosts, along with Regina Hall and Amy Schumer. I wonder if this could inject some liveliness and actual edge into the Oscars, which would be a welcome thing. I think basically the Oscars are a dinosaur on life support. Part of the reason why they cut these categories, supposedly, is that ABC, which broadcasts the ceremony, threatened to pull the ceremony, simply to cancel the contract. I actually think that would have been the best thing that could have happened to the Oscars. Because the reason why young people don't watch the Oscars is that they're on television. If the Oscars were forced to re-examine themselves, or forced to reinvent themselves by way of internet broadcast, streaming,

you could have a five-hour ceremony. It would be a hangout. You wouldn't sit and watch the whole thing necessarily from beginning to end, but you would have an amazing parade of personalities, you'd have comedy, you'd have what people who care about movies care about it. You would have people in all the different categories. You would have somebody winning for best costume design and saying something amazing, which very often happens.

Richard, Alex, it's been an absolute pleasure. Every year it's better and better. Thank you, David. Good to see you, and good to talk with you. Richard Brody writes regularly on film at New Yorker.com. Alexandra Schwartz covers culture of all kinds. That's our program for today. Thanks for joining us. See you next time.

The New Yorker Radio Hour is a co-production of WNYC Studios and The New Yorker. Our theme music was composed and performed by Merrill Garbus of Tune Yards. We had additional help this week from Andrew Dunn. Special thanks also to Maria Borkowski. The New Yorker Radio Hour is supported in part by the Cherina Endowment Fund.