Introducing... "Rough Transition"

A Rename and Relaunch for This Substack

What? You’re changing the name?!

As those of you who’ve been following my podcast on NPR already know – this week I am working on our last season of Rough Translation, to air July 26th.  It’s going to be amazing, dramatic and as Avery Trufelman once kindly wrote for the Bello Collective, very likely to make you cry. 

But after that, folks, I’m leaving NPR. 

So, yes, this name started as a joke. I told a friend that I was trying to get some of our incredible, loyal audience over to Substack – to keep you all posted on what I’m doing next. “What are you going to call it,” he said. “Rough Transition?”

I should have seen it coming. But then I couldn’t get the name out of my head. Transitions ARE Rough. But they’re also ass-kicking teachers. And if you’re like me, you’re probably going through some major transition of your own right now, too. 

The fact is, periods of big change in the world force us to look in the mirror and ask who we are and what we care about.

For the past six years, I got to tell stories of people going through deep personal changes while the world around them shifted, or transformed, or just plain fell apart. 

Then I learned that the show was being cut, along with other seasonal podcasts, as part of the network’s re-organization. It was a shock. I felt…well, kind of a  like a character in one of my own episodes. Apparently, other people thought so, too – as evidenced by this story in The Onion. 

(In case you’re wondering, my electricity is still on.)

The thing I realized though was that losing one’s job and swirling around the drainpipe of a rapidly shifting industry was all… survivable.  What hurt more was something I hadn’t anticipated: the loss of this community. The Rough Translation audience is highly diverse – culturally, ethnically, and globally. Lots of great stories have come from our audience writing in to the show.  Stories from around the world that are not just about crises or war or economic and environmental upheaval, but about people navigating real life through these ordeals – the way we all do. 

Well, at least that part I could still do something about. 

So what is Rough Transition? 

Rough Transition is an email newsletter where you will keep getting stories of places and lives around the world. 

There will be book reviews, there will be conversations, there will be audio. There will be travel tips from global nomads, not just how to pack a travel bag, but also how to make loneliness your friend and how to strike up useful conversations with strangers.

Stephen Hawking may or may not have said that “intelligence is the ability to adapt to change”, but I think hearing stories about people adapting to and making sense of a changing world does make us smarter. 

So think of it as an anthropological field guide to…the future.

Oksana Drachkovska

Is it free?

Mostly. I have spent the last 15 years as a public radio reporter proudly making free stuff, and whether you join as a free or paid member, you’ll still be an important part of this community. But after I leave NPR, I am flying solo. There’s a lot I want to experiment with on this Substack that takes money (like producing podcasts). So I’m offering some subscriber-only benefits (like livestreams and zoom chats) that give you more inside access, which in turn will help me make the thing that serves you better. 

Which is the point, right? This is an ongoing experiment. It will evolve as we go. But I promise delight, wonder, and at least some stories that you won’t hear anywhere else on the planet.