807: Eight Fights

This American Life

Nadia's family is split between Russia and Ukraine, which is pretty common. And when Russia invaded Ukraine, it didn’t just start fighting on the battlefield. It sparked family conflict, too. An intimate story of the war from writer Masha Gessen.

• Prologue: An extended family, and eight fights. (1 minutes)
• Fight #1: Luka’s parents – Nadia and Karen – try to figure out where to take him once war breaks out. (6 minutes)
• Fight #2: Nadia and Karen have been arguing over Russian-ness since they needed to pick a school for Luka. (10 minutes)
• Fights #3 and #4: Nadia remembers the times that Luka’s father would suggest going to Crimea for vacation, as if it wasn’t Ukrainian land occupied by Russia. And she remembers a present that Karen once gave Luka––the sort which had to be smuggled into the country. (6 minutes)
• Fight #5: Nadia tells the story of her father, Alex, who lives near Bucha, and how differently he and she view the Russian atrocities there. (10 minutes)
• Fight #6: Nadia tells the story of her mother, who lives in Russia, and how she won’t do the one thing Nadia keeps asking her to do. (2 minutes)
• Fight #7: Karen sends Nadia a photo which drives them to a final showdown. (12 minutes)
• Fight #8: Nadia’s step-father works for the Russian government. How to manage that? (4 minutes)
• Epilogue: Nadia and Karen’s son, Luka, who most of these fights are about, gets the last word. (3 minutes)

Transcripts are available at thisamericanlife.org