Mer Herosner is an inquisitive and gripping podcast that delves into Armenian history. Vahe Vic Aslanyan and Mike Balian host the podcast, which can also be viewed on YouTube. Mer Herosner, which is in English, actively engages the audience in understanding Armenian history and presents it in a factual context.
Aslanyan was born in Yerevan, Armenia. His grandparents were from Aintab and repatriated to Armenia in 1945. His mom was a proofreader in Armenia and an educator. “Growing up in Armenia, we were always taught about our struggles,” he shared with the Weekly. Aslanyan grew up in Hollywood, California, and always loved studying history.
Balian was born and raised in Los Angeles, California. His family came to the United States in the 1970s. He is a 3D artist who has worked on many movies and video game projects. Balian has always been fascinated with Armenian history, and during the 2020 war in Artsakh, he was motivated to create a sculpture of Tigranes the Great using 3D printing.
The sculpture, and Aslanyan and Balian’s love for Armenian history, were instrumental in kicking off the Mer Herosner podcast. “We were trying to light the fire during the 44-day war. When I saw Mike’s Tigran the Great sculpture, I knew we had to share what we were experiencing with our community,” Aslanyan said.
They have since created more sculptures of important figures from Armenian history. “It’s a very tedious process to get these 3D sculptures produced. We are giving the historical figures a 3D artistic spin,” Balian said.
“It costs a lot to make, and there isn’t much profit in it. We donate the proceeds. Mer Herosner is not a business. The point of the sculptures is for it to be a talking piece, to spark conversation,” Aslanyan added. “If you look at the Njdeh sculpture, you see the rock, which has the actual 3D map of Syunik with Njdeh rising from it. There is a story in the details. We currently have Komitas, Andranik, Queen Ashkhen and Hayk Nahabed. We are trying to bring in more females like Parandzem. Her story needs to be told.”
The duo got together and began to work on creating a podcast. The first episode was about the resurrection of the Armenian Highlands, featuring Dr. Vahan Setyan. “It was a three-hour live talk, and it went well. Having him as a resource opened up the floodgates of people to insanely interesting guests,” Balian said.
“We had such great feedback, and everyone wanted to hear more. One door opened another. Dr. Gevorg Nazaryan has been a great resource. Christina Maranci, who serves as the Mashdots Professor of Armenian History at Harvard University, is another phenomenal resource. This is our passion project. We are three years into it, in our fourth season, but the academics haven’t heard about us yet. We have this amazing platform — come to our show, and discover the immense reach our podcast has,” Aslanyan said.
The hosts hope that the podcast will help listeners understand current events. “Modern-day politics is such a touchy subject. However, something that we found ourselves in is that a lot of the politics from then to now is redundant. History repeats itself, which is why it’s so important to understand history. These things are being repeated by people in power all over the world. Understanding history makes you gain more mental traction, and you start connecting dots,” Balian said.
The pair also aims to capture the interest of the younger generation. “The Tigran Medz episodes were very moving for me. The younger generation can see the parallels with the Tudors and Game of Thrones, with the conquests and treachery,” Balian said.
The duo had an audience for their Mer Talk live panel discussion forum episode with Dr. Gevorg Nazaryan. Armenian school students were given extra credit for attending. It was a great incentive to engage high school-age Armenian students.
Our stories are amazing, filled with love, tragedy, resilience and overcoming situations that seem impossible. We want more people to pay attention and learn something, motivate them to be better humans and better Armenians, and to respect and love one another.
“I would give an honorable mention to half Kurdish, half Turkish author Umit Kurt, who wrote Armenians of Aintab. I found it to be wow, fascinating. He painted a picture of what was happening right before the Hamidian Massacres. It’s a fascinating episode to listen to. He put his safety on the line by releasing this book. He was shunned,” Balian said.
“We are going to continue our work with Mer Herosner and do more projects like Forgotten Thrones, a live action mixed with animation episodic show. Our stories are amazing, filled with love, tragedy, resilience and overcoming situations that seem impossible. We want more people to pay attention and learn something, motivate them to be better humans and better Armenians, and to respect and love one another. If you look at history, there are parts of our history where Armenians united and loved each other. This was when we got so much done as a people and a nation,” they both reflected.
Mer Herosner is such a beautiful documentation of our Armenian history. It is crucial for us to support by subscribing and following. The podcast serves to share our history, leaving a legacy for future generations. You can follow this exceptional podcast on YouTube, Instagram, Facebook and X.
Talar Keoseyan
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