
Uncovering Roots
Uncovering Roots is not just a podcast; it's a journey into the lesser-known narratives that deserve to be heard. Each episode is crafted to immerse listeners in a creative and personal storytelling experience, fostering a connection between the audience and the featured stories.
Uncovering Roots will feature a number of stories which will concentrate on the SWANA (South West Asia and North Africa) region and indigenous people across the globe. The podcast aims to appeal to a broad audience by covering a wide range of themes.
Uncovering Roots
Flags for the Stateless
When Leo Torosian started studying old photographs of Armenian revolutionaries, he noticed something strange: almost every fighter posed with a flag. But these weren't the neat, simple flags we know today, they were covered in text, embroidered with poems, and broke every rule of good flag design.
Now, in his Los Angeles apartment surrounded by recreated flags from the 1890s, Leo has become possibly the world's only specialist in Armenian revolutionary flags. Following his detective work through faded photographs and museum archives, we uncover how these flags became the lifeline of a stateless people fighting against colonial empires.
Through Leo's research, we discover how Armenian fedayi used flags not just as battlefield markers, but as propaganda tools photographed in studios and sent worldwide to fund a 20-year revolution. This is the story of symbols, survival, and what happens when the country you're fighting for exists only on a piece of cloth.
This episode was produced and sound designed by Maxim Saakyan. Flag Rules voice over by Mariam Koloyan.
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