Escaping the Soviet Bloc, Sent to the Gulags, Raped in Prisons with Florica Means

My guest, Florica Means, is the first polymath I’ve had on this show. She was born & raised in Romania. She escaped her home country in 1990, at the age of 36.

Her story is incredible, which, even writing the word incredible, feels like I’ve cheapened the word a long time. I’ve done it justice here though, but I’ve been forced to grapple with using the word too often—as we frequently use others words. Awesome comes to mind. Or unbelievable.

But trust me when I say that “Flory” (permission granted to use her nickname)—her story is hard to believe. It’s incredible, but true. I’ve been inside her home. I’ve seen pictures, passports, stamps, etc.

I’ll leave most of the story for her to share. Because she tells it so well.

In this episode, once combined with her accent, goosebumps may ensue, which she herself admits to getting while telling her own story.

We spend considerable time discussing Florica’s experience living under Romanian President Nicolae Ceaușescu’s regime.

We also talk about what led her to ultimately leaving her home country—the only home she’d ever known. Hint: she’d finally had enough, and wanted a taste of freedom.

This was such an insightful discussion from as candid of a guest as I’ve welcomed here. In fact, I’ve never had a podcast episode like this.

So candid. So vulnerable. I hope you enjoy and appreciate Flory as much as I did.

Questions asked:

What year was this [departure from Romania]?
Were you [personally] forced to have four children under Nicolae Ceaușescu?
What year did that start [for women to start birthing four children]?
Are you saying Donald Trump said to Romania to pay 2% of GDP if they want defense?
How old were you [experiencing freedom for the first time]?
How did America find out that there were all these orphans in Romania that were being left to die?
Did you know anyone who didn’t clap hard enough [for Ceaușescu] & got arrested?
Can you tell me about your upbringing? Did you have friends? Did you have joyous times?
What do you make of all these people in America complaining about America?
Were you educated on Marxism–Leninism?
What do you make of all these accusations of racism & prejudice?
Wasn’t Ceaușescu accused of killing 60,000 of his own people?
Were you a fan of Ceaușescu?
Why was your sister having so much sex?
How long was your father in the Gulag?
Are you working at Costco right now?
How many hours are you getting (working) at Costco?
What’s your opinion of Ronald Reagan?
Do you like Donald Trump?
Do you feel like the other Presidents were just trying to occupy the office & not “ruffle any feathers?”
Is it a bad thing if somebody gets 5x richer & the bottom 1 or 2% get twice as rich?
What is your opinion of Vladimir Putin?
Do you think free speech is going away in America?
Is it possible January 6 was an inside job, where Democrats provoked people to storm the Capitol?
Why did you want to read Solzhenitsyn?
Do you think we should have a female US president?

Fun questions:

Do you think social media has been a net positive or net negative for society?
George Clooney or Brad Pitt?
If you were stuck on an island & could only have one music album, what would it be?
If you were a Jeopardy contest & got to choose the Final Category, what would it be?
[Final Jeopardy question] Who was the Prime Minister of Britain when Ronald Reagan was president?
If you could go anywhere in the world for 2 weeks & cost were not an issue, where would you go?
If somebody gave you $50,000 & you had to put it all in Bitcoin or gold, where would you put the money?
If you had $50,000 & you could put it all in Apple or Amazon, where are you putting the money?
If you had $50,000 & you can put it all in Apple or Bitcoin, where are you putting the money?
Will Bitcoin more likely to go to zero or $250,000?
If you’re hosting a dinner party in your condo & cost is not an issue, are you having 4, 6, or 12 guests?
Do you have an internal monologue that runs at all times?
Do you think Coronavirus was deliberate?

Listen here:

Books mentioned:

The Gulag Archipelago by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn

Other topics discussed:

Questions asked:

Fun questions:

Listen here:

Books mentioned:

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