Americans believed the Soviet Union was cut off from the West. Nothing went in. And very little came out. Yet, tens of thousands of Americans visited their Cold War rival annually. What did they find behind the Iron Curtain? Teddy Goes to the USSR, a new six-part podcast series follows one such American, Teddy Roe, to shine light on Soviet tourism, police surveillance, consumerism, race, and everyday life through his extraordinary three-month trip to the Soviet Union in 1968.
Teddy Goes to the USSR
Claim This Podcastby Sean Guillory
4.9(14 reviews)
10 episodes
Updated Daily
Accepts GuestsHas Sponsors
Podcast Overview
Americans believed the Soviet Union was cut off from the West. Nothing went in. And very little came out. Yet, tens of thousands of Americans visited their Cold War rival annually. What did they find behind the Iron Curtain? Teddy Goes to the USSR, a new six-part podcast series follows one such American, Teddy Roe, to shine light on Soviet tourism, police surveillance, consumerism, race, and everyday life through his extraordinary three-month trip to the Soviet Union in 1968.
Language
🇺🇲
Publishing Since
5/8/2022
1 verified contact email on file for Teddy Goes to the USSR
Pitch yourself as a guest, propose sponsorships, or reach out directly to the host.
Recent Episodes
April 10, 2023
A Gift for Stalin, Part Two: The Accursed Share
<p>It all started with a letter to Stalin in 1935. And when a Kremlin clerk opened it, there was a piece of shit inside.</p> <p>Was the turd an insult? A way of saying to Stalin, “You’re a shit. Here’s some shit”?</p> <p>Perhaps.</p> <p>But I ended Part One of a Gift for Stalin on a different note: that the turd addressed to Stalin was no slight at all. It was, in fact, a gift.</p> <p>A little brown present for Comrade Stalin.</p> <p>Every society must deal with shit. Where to put it. What to do with it. It’s a problem unique to humans. One might even say that it defines us as human.</p> <p>The average person excretes about a half a kilo of crap a day. And left untreated, shit is deadly. About 2.6 billion people live without basic sanitation. And as a result, excrement finds its way onto feet, fingers, food, and into water. Scientists estimate people lacking sanitation ingest about 10 grams of fecal a day. Shit-related illnesses account for about 2.2 million deaths a year. Mostly children from extreme diarrhea.<br>So shit happens. All the time. And dealing with it is a life-or-death situation.</p> <p>But human waste has another history. A circular history. Where human excrement is put back into the cycle of production. And many societies have tried just that. They use human waste as fertilizer. Shit— that is, digested food—is returned to the earth to produce more food. Shit may be filth. It may be poison. But it can’t be denied. Waste is part of life.</p> <p>A Gift for Stalin was written, edited, and produced by Sean Guillory.</p> <p>Voiceovers by Maya Haber and Greg Weinstein.</p> <p>Music by Alvaro Antin, Harry Edvino, Future Joust, Lugvig Moulin, Stationary Sign, and Semen Slepakov.</p> <p>Thanks to Eliot Borenstein and Lina Zeldovich for participating and Maya Haber for her ears.</p> <p>For a list of sources consulted for A Gift for Stalin, go to The Eurasian Knot at <a href="https://euraknot.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferer">euraknot.org</a>.</p>
March 31, 2023
A Gift for Stalin, Part One: Dear Comrade Stalin
<p> </p> <p>It’s Sunday, October 13, 1935, and someone, we don’t know who mails a letter from the outskirts of Moscow. It’s addressed: “Kremlin. To Comrade Stalin.” It arrives a few days later.</p> <p>There was nothing odd about people writing Stalin. They wrote to him a lot. To plead for help. To give advice. To complain. To denounce. And to threaten.</p> <p>The letters could be incredibly personal. And also incredibly irate. So many letters poured into Soviet officials, one historian called letter writing “a national pastime.”</p> <p>So, when Comrade Sentaretskya, one of the secretaries sorting Stalin’s mail, got to this letter, she had no reason to worry . . . . that is until she opened it.</p> <p><strong>Credits:</strong></p> <p><br>A Gift for Stalin was written, edited, and produced by Sean Guillory.</p> <p>Voiceovers by Maya Haber and Greg Weinstein.</p> <p>Music by Harry Edvino, J. R. Productions, Lugvig Moulin, Stationary Sign, and Semen Slepakov.</p> <p>Art by Nik Arnoldi.</p> <p>Thanks to Arch Getty and Jon Waterlow for participating and Michelle Ransom, Alice Garner, and Rusana Novikova for their ears.</p> <p>For a list of sources consulted for A Gift for Stalin, go to The Eurasian Knot at euraknot.org.</p> <p> </p>
March 21, 2023
Trailer: A Gift for Stalin
<p>It’s Sunday, October 13, 1935, and someone, we don’t know, who mails a letter. It’s addressed: “Kremlin. To Comrade Stalin.”</p> <p>Now, there was nothing odd about people writing Stalin. They wrote to him a lot.</p> <p>So, when Comrade Sentaretskaya, one of the secretaries sorting Stalin’s mail, got to this letter, she had no reason to worry . . . . that is until she opened it.</p> <p>Just what was in this letter?</p> <p>Find out March 31 when The Eurasian Knot debuts with A Gift for Stalin, two episodes about a letter mailed to the Soviet dictator and what it might have meant in the Soviet Union. Available wherever you get your podcasts. </p>
10 total episodes available
Deep-dive analytics for Teddy Goes to the USSR
Frequently asked questions
Have a different question and can't find the answer you're looking for? Reach out to our support team by sending us an email and we'll get back to you as soon as we can.
- What is Teddy Goes to the USSR?
- How often does this podcast release new episodes?
This podcast updates daily.
- Where can I listen to this podcast?
This podcast is available on 4 platforms including Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and more. You can also use the RSS feed directly.
- Does this podcast accept guests?
Yes, this podcast regularly features guests.
Legal Disclaimer
Pod Engine is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or officially connected with any of the podcasts displayed on this platform. We operate independently as a podcast discovery and analytics service.
All podcast artwork, thumbnails, and content displayed on this page are the property of their respective owners and are protected by applicable copyright laws. This includes, but is not limited to, podcast cover art, episode artwork, show descriptions, episode titles, transcripts, audio snippets, and any other content originating from the podcast creators or their licensors.
We display this content under fair use principles and/or implied license for the purpose of podcast discovery, information, and commentary. We make no claim of ownership over any podcast content, artwork, or related materials shown on this platform. All trademarks, service marks, and trade names are the property of their respective owners.
While we strive to ensure all content usage is properly authorized, if you are a rights holder and believe your content is being used inappropriately or without proper authorization, please contact us immediately at hey@podengine.ai for prompt review and appropriate action, which may include content removal or proper attribution.
By accessing and using this platform, you acknowledge and agree to respect all applicable copyright laws and intellectual property rights of content owners. Any unauthorized reproduction, distribution, or commercial use of the content displayed on this platform is strictly prohibited.