Wandering Across Generations

Daniela Gerson and her wife, Talia Inlender, met at a picnic in Los Angeles, not knowing that 75 years earlier, their grandparents had left homes only blocks away from each other in a small Polish town and fled east to Ukraine. The Gersons and the Inlenders would go on parallel odysseys of 5,000 miles to survive the Holocaust, leading to new lives built on secrets and lies.

In her new book, The Wanderers, Daniela uncovers the path that her and Talia's grandparents shared as they escaped Nazi Poland and Stalin’s Soviet Union during World War II. Theirs is a story of refugees making impossible decisions when fleeing danger. It’s one that remains relevant each time a political upheaval wreaks havoc on families, and it’s one that can unexpectedly lead to the love that unfolded between Daniela and Talia.

Daniela will be in conversation with Jim Colgan; copies of The Wanderers are available for purchase with your ticket.

Daniela Gerson is an award-winning immigration reporter whose work has appeared in outlets including The New York Times, WNYC, Der Spiegel, and Financial Times. An associate professor of journalism at California State University, Northridge, and editor-at-large at Zócalo Public Square, she previously co-founded Migratory Notes, worked as a community engagement editor at the LA Times, and as a staff immigration reporter for the New York Sun.

Jim Colgan is a maker of audio and live events. He has worked as an editorial director and interactive programmer for The New York Times as well as independently producing audio and events for media and social impact organizations. He was a 2020 John S. Knight Journalism Fellow, and his career has spanned public radio, podcasting and tech startups. His work has been recognized with a Peabody award and by the Online News Association.

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