Daily: Albanian Rhapsody – Fighting for freedom in Stalinism's last bastion

Albania in the 1980s was the last bastion of Stalinism in Europe. It was difficult to visit, and a place of poverty, executions and secret police, but for LSE politics professor Lea Ypi it was also home. She talks to Alex Andreou about her astonishing memoir Free: Coming of Age at the End of History, which details her childhood in one of Europe’s most repressive countries, what came afterwards, and what it truly means to be free. “The fall of the Berlin Wall was brushed aside as something that didn’t concern Albania” “At some point the state slogan was gone and was replaced by a coca-cola advert” “I’ve spent half my life under socialism, half my life under liberalism… neither of these systems delivered what they set out to” “To live in real democracy means to have a real say in the laws that are made” “What we have is not a democracy, but rather a liberal representative system” https://amzn.to/3HcK7Qw Presented by Alex Andreou. Produced by Andrew Harrison. Assistant producers: Jelena Sofronijevic and Jacob Archbold. Music by Kenny Dickinson. Audio production by Alex Rees. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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Your daily Need To Know on news and politics. Every morning The Bunker cuts through the noise to make sense of what’s really going on, with smart explainers, interviews, fresh perspectives and under-reported stories to rescue you from everyday Punch and Judy news coverage. It’s the only way to start the day. From the producers of Oh God, What Now? Our regulars include: Alex Andreou • Gavin Esler • Miatta Fahnbulleh • Dipo Faloyin • Hannah Fearn • Bobby Friction • Andrew Harrison • Ayesha Hazarika • Jacob Jarvis • Marie le Conte • Laura Makin-Isherwood • Jude Rogers • Yasmeen Serhan • Ahir Shah • Siân Pattenden • Ros Taylor. • Sign up to support the podcast and get episodes ad-free and early: patreon.com/bunkercast • Apple users: Get all of our core shows ad-free and early with the Podmasters Originals super-subscription. The Bunker is a Podmasters production.