Show Notes
In March 1992, Zlata Filipović was an 11-year-old girl growing up in Sarajevo, Bosnia in a normal, middle-class family who kept a diary about all the everyday things a child of her age does: going to school, doing music lessons, visiting her grandparents.
Just one month later, Zlata's diary had begun to transform into an incredibly vivid description of a city under siege as the Balkans War reached her hometown. Towards the end of 1993, that diary became she and her family's way out of the city: picked up by a French publisher, it became an international bestseller in the midst of the war and Zlata, just 13 years old, became a media phenomenon.
She joined Richie in the Second Captains studios earlier this week and described the daily reality of life in a war-torn city, how overwhelming at times the coverage of the ongoing atrocities in Ukraine and Gaza have been, and how she and her family eventually came to resettle in Dublin in the nineties.
Zlata's story is truly incredible and feels particularly timely - we'd like to thank her for being so open and willing to share it.
Episode is brought to you by NOW and is a Second Captains production. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
More from Episode with Richie Sadlier
With the war in Ukraine and the ongoing genocide in Gaza dominating the news agenda, Richie is joined for the final show of the series by BBC special correspondent and veteran war reporter, Fergal Keane.
As we may have mentioned once or twice on social media this week, joining Richie on today's show is a very old friend and an up and coming League of Ireland manager by the name of Damien Duff.
A message for listeners: today's show includes discussions of themes that some people may find distressing from the outset and throughout, including sexual violence, sexual abuse and the sex trade.
Nine months ago, Pat Sheedy walked out of prison after spending more than two and a half years locked up for trying to fund his decades-long gambling addiction through various scams.
This week on Episode we're taking a mid-series break but fear not, Richie and Killian will be back on the road next week when we'll be bringing you another brilliant conversation.