Musician and Author Neko Case on Her Ukrainian Roots, Lost Records, and a Wrestling Aunt

In this episode of Identified, Nabil Ayers is joined by acclaimed musician and author Neko Case for a powerful, wide-ranging conversation about inherited silence, cultural disconnection, and what it means to choose your own family.

Neko shares the experience of growing up with emotionally unavailable parents—her mother absent by choice, her father quietly burdened by trauma—and the deep loneliness that shaped her early years. She reflects on the generations of silence in her Ukrainian family, including the erasure of language and identity, and the heartbreak of losing family records in a house fire.

In a surprising and moving twist, Neko recounts discovering a great-aunt—professional wrestler Ella Waldek—through a documentary. Their connection offered a rare sense of validation, visibility, and power within a lineage that otherwise remained unspoken.

The conversation explores found family, the responsibilities of being a stepparent, and how Neko has redefined her role within a fractured past.

Host: Nabil Ayers

Guest: Neko Case

Executive Producer: Kieron Banerji

Production Company and Network: Palm Tree Island

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