Episode Details

In this episode, we journey to one of the most unexpected chapters in Jewish history: the Jewish Autonomous Oblast, a remote slice of Russia's Far East where the Soviet Union once tried to build a socialist Jewish homeland—complete with Yiddish schools, Yiddish newspapers, and enough mud, mosquitoes, and political ideology to fill a novel. We'll uncover why Stalin picked a spot near China for this grand experiment, what life was actually like for the Jews who moved there, and how the region's quirky, complicated legacy lives on today. It's a story of hope, propaganda, survival, and the strangest "Promised Land" you've never heard of. Join us as we head to Birobidzhan—passport not required.