Cultural Resilience Amid War: The Struggle of Ukrainian Artists

The 2025 Academy Award-nominated documentary “Porcelain War” tells the story of Ukrainian artists Slava Leontyev and Anya Stasenko as they defy the Russian invasion through their art and by aiding in the war effort. In the intricately painted porcelain figurines they create, the artists represent how their lives used to be — and their hopes for the future. Leontyev, Stasenko and producer Paula DuPré Pesmen join us to talk about the film and the power and fragility of art in the face of war. Later in the hour, we’ll speak with former Ukraine ambassador Steven Pifer about the future of U.S. aid to Ukraine under the Trump Administration.

Guests:

Steven Pifer, affiliate, Center for International Security and Cooperation at Stanford University; former ambassador, to Ukraine; former senior director, National Security Council in the Clinton administration

Paula DuPré Pesmen, producer, “Porcelain War”

Slava Leontyev, artist and co-director, “Porcelain War”

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