Czechia in 30 minutes

News, MP quits ANO but coalition retains solid majority, leading Czech palliative care NGO holds anniversary auction

Geraldine Manolas on preserving the legacy of Czechoslovak war veterans,  Andreas Halskov on the genius of Miloš Forman

The Babiš government’s fast-tracking of legislation to end license fees and fund Czech Television and Czech Radio from the state budget sparked protests at the weekend. Ian Willoughby discussed the situation in Pundit series with political scientist Jiří Pehe and Vít Pohanka prepared a report from demonstrations in two of the country's biggest cities.

In the weekend edition of Czechia in 30 Minutes, we revisit two reports recorded during the COVID pandemic, exploring the distinctive character of two very different Czech cities. Singer-songwriter Jaromír Nohavica reflects on his hometown of Ostrava, its industrial heritage and transformation. In picturesque Český Krumlov, artist Jana Pešková and radio documentary maker Ivan Studený recall how ma...

Gratias Agit Awards 2026: from preserving veterans’ legacy to promoting Czech music, Unsound Siblings: 1970s Egon Bondy novel gets English translation, More than tricks: How Czech freeskiers built a community on and off the slopes

News, unprecedented El Niño to hit Czechs in the wallet, Ji.hlava at 30: Documentaries that changed the world, Kingdom Come: Deliverance star Luke Dale on becoming a Prague “innkeeper”

News, Czech galleries explore art’s potential to improve mental health, Czech crop invention heads to European farms through British partnership

News, historic Spitfire returns to Czechia after decades abroad, exhibition documents Sigmund Freud’s childhood in his hometown of Příbor, Moravia

ANO failed to take a single constituency in second round run-offs to one-third of the seats in the Senate, virtual reconstruction of the Rolava-Sauersack tin mine and the history and future of one of the most distinctive and unique features of Czech public life: 11 million inhabitants divided into more than 6,200 municipalities.

How did Václav Havel lead, and did power change him? In the weekend edition of Czechia in 30 Minutes, Alexander Vondra recalls the dissident playwright who became president—and the friend he knew after his years at Prague Castle. Marking what would have been Václav Havel’s 90th birthday, we return to our interview in a longer version, exploring his character, his painstaking approach to speeches a...

Health Ministry planning financial incentive for preventive screenings, critics skeptical, “It’s unbelievable”: Pavel Haas Quartet wins latest Gramophone prize with Martinů: String Quartets, “There was no censorship”: Tomki Němec on photographing Václav Havel

Many in culture sphere in Czechia angered over new state arts policy; parrot breeding success for Prague Zoo.

News, Signalfest -Dreams and Visions, Climate change threatens rare Krkonoše mountain tundra, Amanita Design announces a sequel to Machinarium 

Young Brno scientist wins international award for early detection of heart failure, Soup that Helps: A local tradition with a charitable purpose, Czechia: a crossroads for Europe's migrating birds.

News, municipal elections, Bílá pastelka charity drive for the blind,  Martin Plesar of HairMates 

In the weekend edition of Czechia in 30 Minutes, we hear from two Palestinians with close ties to Czechia about the devastating war in Gaza and its impact on Czech public debate. Lamis Bartušková Khalilová and anthropologist Yasar Abu Ghosh express deep disappointment with what they see as a lack of solidarity with Palestinian civilians among Czech politicians and in much of the Czech media.

News, President Pavel to skip local elections, exhibition puts Czechoslovakia’s forgotten lamp designers in the spotlight, Václav Havel's former spokesperson Ladislav Špacek shares his memories of the late Czech president.

News, Czechs at Frankfurt Book Fair, Ivan Klima book, interview with Midnight Swimmers frontman Stanislav Chyzhman.

Czech media unite against threats to journalists and restrictions on information, Designblok director on Václav Havel, light as a symbol of hope and the festival’s biggest edition yet, Czech archaeologists comb site of former Soviet Gulag in Kazakhstan that held Czechs and Slovaks

News, Bill Clinton remembers Vaclav Havel, Czech researchers find that 3D materials not always safe, Alexander Vondra on his years with Havel 

Nest week, Czechia will be Guest of Honour at the Frankfurt Book Fair under the motto Czechia: A Country on the Coast. Ahead of the event, we meet Belgian intellectual-property lawyer and passionate reader Bart van Besien, whose Bookmarked Places project explores countries through literature. He tells us how visits to Czechia led him to discover writers including Bohumil Hrabal, Jiří Weil and Mare...

News, municipal and Senate elections coming up, Drone Shield 2026, head of Galerie Rudolfinum Julia Bailey 

Villa Müller reopens to visitors, exhibition showcasing work of artist Kamil Lhoták opens in Prague and Czechs have developed a way to help cereal crops make better use of water and nutrients 

News, Egon Schiele’s work on display, music conferences vying for artists, Malešice Botanical Gargen

Man shot during 1968 invasion identified, with bullet still in leg; Brno scientists develop glue that could help heal complex fractures.