Series Preview
Yasha
A true story of survival during one of humanity’s darkest chapters
When the Nazis invaded, millions were murdered. But what happened to those who fled just before they arrived?
Yasha is a limited-series narrative podcast blending archival family interviews, historical storytelling, and immersive sound design to recount a Jewish boy’s six-year flight from the Nazis across the Soviet Union during World War II.
SAMPLE MOMENTS
Bombs over the Pripyat
The razor thin margins of survival
Three months on a train
Horseplay on a collective farm
SERIES OVERVIEW
When Hitler invaded the Soviet Union in 1941, eleven-year-old Yasha’s mother made a decision that would save generations to come—the decision to flee.
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What followed was an odyssey spanning thousands of miles in the shadow of two of history’s most brutal regimes.​​ In 2008, Yasha sat with his grandson, Jeremy, as he recorded on an old camcorder, and told his story.
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Format: A serialized, two-part, narrative non-fiction series (8–10 episodes, 35–45 minutes each)​​​​
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Structure: Archival recordings interwoven with narrative voiceover, framing a boy’s memories through his grandson decades later
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Style: Sound-rich storytelling designed to immerse listeners in one of WWII's most overlooked human dramas
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Market: History and WWII enthusiasts, Jewish and diaspora communities, narrative nonfiction fans, documentary & audiobook crossover audiences ​
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Comps: Pack One Bag (Lemonada), We Share the Same Sky, Covering Their Tracks​​​​
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EPISODE & ARC OVERVIEW
Part I
The World Beyond the Trees​
Jeremy introduces his grandfather, Yasha, and his childhood in 1930s Belarus shaped by Stalin’s famine and the sudden death of his father. We witness the moment Hitler’s invasion reaches Yasha’s world, forcing him from the streets into the forest where, briefly, the chaos of war gives way to the fragile innocence of childhood.
Part II - in development
WHY YASHA? WHY NOW?
Tyranny must never be forgotten. Stories like Yasha's remind us what it really looks like.
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Timeliness: As Holocaust-era voices fade and war once again uproots millions in Eastern Europe, Yasha’s story is more than history, it's an urgent reminder.
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Market gap: Few Jewish WWII narratives capture mass migration across the Eastern Front—among the largest human displacement events in modern history.​
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Cultural relevance: In an increasingly fragmented media landscape, audiences seek authentic, narrative audio as a way to connect personal lives with larger meaning.
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Franchise potential:
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Adaptation into documentary or scripted film/TV
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Sequel: Yasha’s family’s gripping escape from the USSR to the U.S., recounted by his sons
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Other lost stories brought to life in the same immersive style​​
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CREATORS
Jeremy Gendelman
Writer, Executive Producer & Host
Carter Woghan
Editor & Sound Designer