Cha Chat 3.1 Bonus: Erratum/A Teachable Moment

Listen to the Episode

This is an accompaniment to Episode 3.1 on Ukrainian Tea Culture where Erik explores the mistake he made in the podcast of referring to Ukraine as “the Ukraine” and the importance of what words we choose, openly admitting mistakes and improvement moving forward.

Recorded: June 14, 2022

About the Episode

“I’ll admit as a host of this podcast, I enjoy learning about the science and culture of tea along with the listener. In this podcast I admit that I neglected my duty as a host by not performing due diligence and not realizing that there is a profound difference in meaning when saying Ukraine versus the Ukraine, in my ignorance, I thought the two as the same like United States and the United States.  I was terribly wrong and chagrined to admit that I was saying the Ukraine.  This has not been an acceptable practice since 1991 and saying “The Ukraine”  is representative of imperialism and hegemony of the Soviet Union.  That term infringes on Ukraine’s sovereignty which it is currently fighting so hard to retain. Words we use are extremely important, and while I made sure to do Post-hoc editing of any reference I made to “the Ukraine” so as not to take away from the important discussion in the podcast, I believe it is also important to acknowledge we all make mistakes, and when it comes to labelling or using inappropriate references to nations, ethnicities or people, the most important thing is to realize our words matter and if they negatively affect anyone, to acknowledge this, stop the practice and try to do better.  I can’t thank Nina and Nadia enough for their courage and kindness in teaching me the negative impact of using the wrong name for Ukraine and their trust for knowing I would not have desired to offend them or Ukrainians around the world.  On that note, I wanted to share my learning experience and also have an opportunity to share more of Nadia’s fantastic music!”

Bonus Soundtracks

Two more bonus soundtracks from Nadia Tarnawsky are also in this podcast:

Shadows of Our Forgotten Ancestors.  Music direction by Alexander Fedoriouk. Cleveland, OH: Folk Sounds Records, 2001.

• Vasyl Geker, violin
• Alexander Fedoriouk, cimbalom, buben
• Andrei Pidkivka, sopilka, tylynka
• Nadia Tarnawsky, vocals
• Mykola Kuzyk, trembita