The first episode of "A Dictionary of Ukrainian Emotions" centres on Anastasiia Kosodii’s short play "How to Talk to the Dead", written in the aftermath of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The play was inspired by the horrors witnessed in cities like Bucha, Mariupol, and others.

The podcast itself grew from the anthology "A Dictionary of Emotions in a Time of War", initiated and translated by John Freedman and published by Laertes Press, under the leadership of Nina Kamberos.

In this debut episode, renowned American actress Alessandra Torresani performs a reading of Kosodii’s play, followed by an insightful conversation between Freedman and Kosodii about the work’s themes. The episode concludes with an interview with Nina Kamberos, who shares her experience publishing this important collection of Ukrainian plays, written during the first months of the war.