Yasha

What it is about

Experience the harrowing true story of a Jewish boy and his family's 6-year flight across the Soviet Union during World War II. When the Nazi invasion threatens their small town in Belarus, 11-year-old Yasha's mother makes a decision that will save the lives of generations to come: the decision to flee. What follows is an odyssey spanning thousands of miles across a war-torn nation, caught between Hitler's advancing forces and Stalin's iron rule. Built from testimony recorded by his grandson on an old camcorder, Yasha brings to life a childhood defined by upheaval, scarcity, and war, where growing up meant never standing still.

Publisher’s own description, taken unchanged from the podcast feed.
© 2026 Yasha

Listen

Available at these services — the RSS feed works in any podcast app.

Apple Podcasts Spotify

Latest episodes

Bonus: Inside the Making of Yasha

2026-10-20 · 21 min · Season 1, episode 6

In this bonus episode, host Jeremy Gendelman sits down with Buzzsprout to talk about how a 2008 camcorder interview with his grandfather became a narrative documentary podcast. Learn what spurred him to rediscover the…
Helpers

2026-08-31 · 38 min · Season 1, episode 5

EPISODE 5 -- Yasha’s family shelters in an abandoned circus while enduring hard labor in the dead of winter. When his mother resolves to leave once more, another arduous journey is punctuated by the unexpected kindness…
Land and Sea

2026-08-31 · 47 min · Season 1, episode 4

EPISODE 4 -- As the Nazis close in on the Caucasus, Yasha’s family joins thousands of evacuees at the Caspian Sea before enduring a harrowing three-month transport north. Stripped of their passports and packed into…
A Grand Society

2026-08-31 · 36 min · Season 1, episode 3

EPISODE 3 -- Displaced to a Soviet collective farm in the Caucasus, eleven-year-old Yasha is forced into farm labor while we contend with the absurdities of Stalin’s “utopian” system. When the family breaks from the…
Rumors

2026-08-31 · 39 min · Season 1, episode 2

EPISODE 2 -- Reunited with his family in Petrikov, Yasha witnesses the power of rumors — Nazi massacres that compel his mother to choose to flee by barge down the Pripyat River. As their exodus begins, the last echoes…
The World Beyond the Trees

2026-08-31 · 38 min · Season 1, episode 1

EPISODE 1 -- Jeremy introduces his grandfather, Yasha, and his childhood in 1930s Belarus shaped by Stalin’s famine and the sudden death of his father. We witness the moment Hitler’s invasion reaches Yasha’s world,…
Official Trailer

2026-08-18 · 4 min

TRAILER -- When Nazi Germany invades the Soviet Union during World War II, eleven-year-old Yasha and his Jewish family must flee to survive. Built from testimony recorded by his grandson on an old camcorder, Yasha…

Episode details from the publisher’s feed. Playback happens at the publisher.

Publisher details

Oldest episode in feed: 08/2026
Typical length: 34 min
Format: Serial Meant to be heard in order
Keywords: narrative podcast, documentary podcast, based on true events, World War II, WWII history, Holocaust history, Jewish history, Soviet Union

Yasha in the rankings

The best History podcasts The best English-language podcasts All rankings ›

For podcasters

Is this podcast yours? Verify it — afterwards you can correct details, get the widget for your website, and we let you know when your podcast is nominated or wins.

Without an account you can use an email address on your show’s own domain — we create the account along the way. The other methods need a login.