Talk Eastern Europe

In this episode Adam and Nina start with some of the recent developments including the return of Robert Fico after an assassination attempt in Slovakia which also gives added context to the recent attempted assassination of Donald Trump in the United States. They also discuss the latest developments in Ukraine and finally Trump’s pick for Vice President, Senator JD Vance, and how that is seen from this region.Later, Adam is joined by Wojciech Michnik - an assistant professor of International Relations and Security Studies at the Jagiellonian University in Kraków Poland and a Contributing Editor with New Eastern Europe. They go through the results of last week’s NATO Summit, what the 75th birthday means for the Alliance, and how NATO sees a possible membership for Ukraine.For more of the latest from the region check out New Eastern Europe online at: https://neweasterneurope.eu/Support the podcast here: www.patreon.com/talkeasterneurope

In this episode, Adam, Alexandra and Nina discuss recent horrific attacks on Ukraine, Orbans' visit to Kyiv and Moscow, and the Washington NATO summit. They also commemorate the July 11th Srebrenica massacre remembrance day and recommend a film Qua Vadis, Aida? which dramatizes events of the Srebrenica massacre.Later, Alexandra and Nina are joined by Dominika Hajdu, the Policy Director of the Center for Democracy & Resilience at GLOBSEC, a global think-tank based in Bratislava focused on providing a better understanding of global trends and their consequences for society, economy and security. Dominika speaks about their new report GLOBSEC Trends 2024: CEE which sheds light on how nine countries of Central and Eastern Europe view EU, NATO, Russia, or China, and to what extent they support Ukraine, and whether they are satisfied with democracy or believe in manipulative narratives. You can check out GLOBSEC’s activities and website: https://www.globsec.org/You can read the GLOBSEC Trends 2024 report: https://www.globsec.org/sites/default/files/2024-05/GLOBSEC%20TRENDS%202024.pdf  Support Talk Eastern Europe here: patreon.com/talkeasterneurope 

In this episode, the three hosts finally get back together and discuss the results of the Bulgarian elections, celebrate the opening of accession talks for Ukraine, Moldova and Montenegro and speak about the recent developments in Georgia, Ukraine and Russia.  Later, Alexandra and Nina are joined by Žilvinas Švedkauskas, a PhD candidate at Tübingen University and the author of the article A Newfound Hub of Global Democracy Promotion: Lithuania Playing to its Strengths where he discusses Lithuanian identity in promoting democratic values. In the interview, he shares the insights from the article but also sheds light on the results of recent elections in Lithuania.  In the exclusive bonus content, which our Patrons can listen to, Žilvinas shares what is the mood in Lithuania related to the Russian full-scale invasion of Ukraine and his insight into Russian spy scandals in Europe.The bonus content can be found here: https://www.patreon.com/posts/episode-185-107529843  Support the podcast become a patron: www.patreon.com/talkeasterneuropeCheck out the latest edition of New Eastern Europe: www.neweasterneurope.eu

In this episode, Alexandra and Nina start by reviewing some of the latest developments in the region, including the start of the Hungarian presidency of the EU, new sanctions against Bosnia and Herzegovina's Respublika Srpska officials, developments in Ukraine and Moldova.   Later, Alexandra and Nina are joined by Emina Bošnjak, Executive Director of the Sarajevo Open Centre- a civil society organization that works on advancing LGBTI+ rights and gender equality in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Emina speaks about the history of the LGBTI+ movement in Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Western Balkans and gives insights into the current situation.  This episode marks the occasion of the Bosnia and Herzegovina Pride which will take place on June 22nd in Sarajevo. Support the podcast. Visit us at: www.patreon.com/talkeasterneurope

In this episode, Adam and Alexandra start by reviewing some of the latest developments in the region, including the high-level Ukraine Recovery Conference, the results of the European parliamentary elections, and Russian-Armenian relations.Later, Adam and Nina are joined by Šimon Pánek, the Executive Director and one of the founders of the Czech organization “People in Need”. They discuss Šimon's journey from an activist to the executive director of one of the biggest humanitarian and human rights organizations in Central Europe. They also speak about the humanitarian situation in Ukraine and the reason why Czechia and its people are one of the key supporters of Ukraine in its fight for national survival.Check out the People in Need website: https://www.peopleinneed.net/Support their efforts here: https://www.peopleinneed.net/donate/onceGet the latest news from the region – sign up for the New Eastern Europe Newsletter: https://neweasterneurope.eu/newsletter/  Support our podcast: www.patreon.com/talkeasterneurope

In this episode of Talk Eastern Europe, Adam and Alexandra kick off this episode with a rundown of some of the recent developments in the region, including the ongoing war in Ukraine, recent local elections in Serbia, the upcoming European parliamentary elections and developments in Hungary and Poland.Later, Adam is joined by Vazha Tavberidze, a Georgian journalist and staff writer with RFE/RL's Georgian Service. They discuss the situation in the country surrounding the recently passed “foreign agent” law and its consequences. They also take a look at what’s next politically in the context of the upcoming elections in October.For further reading via New Eastern Europe:“Why the “Russian law” is so dangerous for Georgia” by Grigol Julukhidze and Mariam Gubievi: https://neweasterneurope.eu/2024/05/05/why-the-russian-law-is-so-dangerous-for-georgia/“Georgia has now reached a crucial moment” by Jakub Bornio: https://neweasterneurope.eu/2024/05/20/georgia-has-now-reached-a-crucial-moment/“Georgians want a better future” by Mark Temnycky: https://neweasterneurope.eu/2024/05/15/georgians-want-a-better-future/  Support us! Become a TEE patron: www.patreon.com/talkeasterneurope  

In this episode, Alexandra and Nina start by catching up on news from the Western Balkans. They also discuss the latest developments in Georgia and Alexandra shares her impressions from a recent trip to Tbilisi.   For the main interview, Alexandra talked with publisher Buzz Poole about his decades of experience working with authors from Southeastern Europe and bringing their stories to Anglophone audiences. Buzz gives listeners a “behind the scenes” look at the publishing world, shares his views on unique themes and aesthetics in fiction from this region, and makes quite a few suggestions for further reading.   You can check out the titles mentioned at https://sandorfpassage.org/  For those wanting to learn more – check out our special bonus content for our patrons, featuring a conversation with Tim Schaffner of Schaffner Press about the upcoming release: The Bone Whisperers: Two Women Scientists and Their Work to Connect Lost Lives in Bosnia-Herzegovina by Taina Tervonen.Listen to it here: https://www.patreon.com/posts/episode-181-bone-105302149  Check out New Eastern Europe online at: www.neweasterneurope.eu

This episode opens with Adam and Nina running down the latest news in the region, including the situations in Georgia and Armenia as well as the new mobilization law in Ukraine. Nina also mentions the assassination attempt of Slovakia's Robert Fico - and we have a special longer update via our patreon page here: https://www.patreon.com/posts/exclusive-update-104836695Later, Alexandra helps us mark the International Day of Solidarity with Political Prisoners in Belarus, by bringing us several stories from former Belarusian political prisoners and their families. Our guests discuss their experiences while imprisoned, life after release, and what the international community can do to support current and former prisoners. Talk Eastern Europe stands in solidarity with Belarusian political prisoners and would like to thank the following guests for appearing in this episode:Volha LoikaTasiana KhomichKrystsina CharankovaKsenia SyramalotAnonymousCheck out these links for more information about Belarusian political prisoners and the International Day of Solidarity on May 21. You can support organizations that work with Belarussian political prisoners such as Bysol, Viasna, Politvyazanka, ByHelp, Strana Dlia Zhizn and many others."Postcards for political prisoners campaign: You can write a postcard to political prisoners in Belarus by finding a political prisoner's address on Viasna's website and sending a postcard which refrains from overly political statements. Alternatively, you can also send a digital greeting by filling out this form and sending a message via Solidarity Postcards Atelier. It is expected that the correspondence may be withheld or censured, so you can also post a picture of the postcard on your social media with the tag #FreeNameAndSurname of the prisoner you have written to.Support our work - become a podcast patron: www.patreon.com/TalkEasternEurope

In this episode, Adam and Nina open with breaking news from Slovakia and discuss the recent shooting of Slovak’s Prime Minister- Robert Fico.Later, they move to the South Caucasus and comment on protests in Armenia and Georgia. They close with an update about Ukraine and positive news from the Czech Republic.  For the main interview, Nina is joined by Dr Marat Ilyasov, a visiting Scholar at the Global Academy of George Washington University to discuss the recent developments in Chechnya including the possible scenarios of Ramzan Kadyrov’s succession.Our Patrons can also listen to bonus content where Marat discusses what the experience with two Chechen wars could suggest for the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, available here: https://www.patreon.com/posts/episode-179-wars-104412121Marat’s analysis is based on his academic article which is restricted, but the abstract is available here.Support the podcast, become a patron: www.patreon.com/talkeasterneurope  Don’t forget to check out the latest articles online at www.neweasterneurope.eu

In this episode, Adam, Alexandra and Nina commemorate the 20th anniversary of the EU's 'Big Bang' enlargement. They also discuss Xi Jinping's visit to Serbia and Hungary, the latest news from Russia and Ukraine, and the elections in North Macedonia and Croatia.  Later in the episode, Alexandra and Nina are joined by Maja Gergorić, an expert on anti-gender movements in post-communist Europe. Maja shares her insights on gender equality challenges and the so-called anti-gender ideology in Croatia and elsewhere in the region.  In our patron-only bonus content, Maja comments on the recent parliamentary elections in Croatia and discusses possible scenarios for the future government.  Support the podcast, become a patron: www.patreon.com/talkeasterneurope  Talk Eastern Europe is Shortlisted in two categories for the Publish Podcast Awards – Best News Podcast; and Best Political Podcast. Check it out: https://publisherpodcasts.com/2024/en/page/shortlist2024