Sweet as Challah

For our last episode of season 1, we welcome queer Russian-Jewish refugee storyteller and activist — and former Hidden Compass editor — Sonya Pevzner to Hidden Compass, The Podcast. As always, Sonya blows us away by her courage and candor as she speaks with Sabine and Sivani about the heartache of prejudice, the serendipity of survival, and the triumph of claiming a right to our own family histories. But first, journey with us, as Sonya takes us to the siege of Leningrad and its aftermath to honor a family story as wrenching as heartbreak and as “Sweet as Challah.”

Storyteller: Sonya Pevzner’s experience as a queer Russian-Jewish refugee informs much of her work, from storytelling to activism. This former Hidden Compass editor has hiked all over remote northwest Montana looking for grizzly bears, spent summer nights trapping endangered bats in the woodlands of Pennsylvania, worked on farms from Oregon to Norway, and taken the trans-Siberian railroad from Moscow to Mongolia. Her writing and photography have been featured in Elevation Outdoors, She Explores, Wylder Goods, Boulder Weekly, Outdoor Retailer Magazine, and Hidden Compass. See more of her work at https://sonyapevzner.com/my-work, and explore her Hidden Compass profile page at https://hiddencompass.net/journalist/sonya-pevzner/.

Sonya did some spectacular editing while at Hidden Compass, and one of the pieces she edited, “Wade in the Water,” is mentioned in this interview. Read that story, written by Alexandria Scott and with paintings by Latasha Dunston, at https://hiddencompass.net/story/wade-in-the-water/.

Story: “Sweet as Challah” first appeared in the spring 2020 issue of Hidden Compass, The Magazine as a feature in our Time Travel department. It won a silver award in the 15th Annual Solas awards for best travel writing. See the full story and its accompanying photos at www.hiddencompass.net/story/sweet-as-challah.

Hidden Compass, The Magazine: If you like the stories you hear on this podcast, you’ll love our magazine, which brings you more stories, alongside stunning photography and bespoke artwork. And you get to be a part of it! See the faces and hear the voices of the people behind our stories, and help us forge an alliance to turn storytellers and explorers into heroes and champion a new age of discovery. Learn more at hiddencompass.net, and sign up for our newsletter at https://mailchi.mp/8539a03c8c0c/hclanding2020-explorers.

Thanks so much for listening, and we’ll be back later this year for season 2 of Hidden Compass, The Podcast. Our theme will be Against the Odds, and we’ll introduce you to more stories and storytellers venturing to the frontiers of courage and curiosity. See you then!