Prague Talk

In The Last Ghetto: The Everyday History of Theresienstadt historian Anna Hájková recreates the world of Terezín (its Czech name), which the Nazis used as a transit ghetto during the Holocaust. Here she discusses its social hierarchies, detailing how they relate to ethnicity and language, as well as influencing access to food and even arts events.

As director of the Czech branch of Transparency International, Ondráčka headed legal challenges to Andrej Babiš that resulted in the European Parliament finding the Czech PM in conflict of interest. Now he himself is entering politics, with new party People Pro.

What do YOU do to keep your spirits up in these Covid times? In this special edition we put that question to over a dozen interesting people, from the artistic chief of Karlovy Vary film festival to the Canadian ambassador to Prague. 

DJ Tomáš Vydra has been sharing his deep knowledge of classic blues and rock on Prague’s Radio 1 for decades. He was previously a professional tennis coach – and was locked up with his parents in his early teens when the family returned to Communist Czechoslovakia after a stay abroad.

Though still in his mid 20s, Jindřich Andrš recently won the coveted prize for best Czech documentary at the Jihlava film festival. His A New Shift follows a laid-off miner in Moravia Silesia seeking to start again as an IT guy – and allowed Andrš to see a different side of Czech society.

Danish historian and translator Peter Bugge was recently honoured for helping promote the good name of the Czech Republic. Here he discusses very different visits to Prague in the mid-1970s and at the time of the Velvet Revolution, translating Czech literature and much more.

With the US elections drawing extremely near, we asked the head of the Czech branch of Republicans Overseas about President Trump’s record, style and chances of defying the polls – and much more besides.

Why are Czechs behaving differently during the current Covid-19 wave than they did in the spring, when – amid a wave of solidarity – the country was seen as relatively successful in tackling the crisis? Veteran sociologist Jan Hartl offers some explanations in this interview.

Julia Bryan is international chair of Democrats Abroad. This interview with the long-time Prague resident takes in how overseas voters can impact domestic polls, why Democrats Abroad endorsed Bernie Sanders, the obstacles overseas voters can face and much more besides.

YouTube star Bald and Bankrupt now lives here in the Czech Republic. In this interview the Englishman discusses his fascination with everything Soviet, the future of Belarus, his Covid experiences and much more.

Krištof Kintera is known for thought-provoking, witty sculptures that frequently have a kinetic energy. Here he talks about his methods, the “adventure” of discovering beauty in unexpected places – and almost having a heart attack the first time he visited Prague’s paradise of electronic junk.

UK travel writer and Trigger Happy TV creator Dom Joly discusses a “magical” year in Prague in the early 1990s, when he didn’t apply himself much as a diplomat with the European Commission but did develop a deep and abiding love of the city.

The European Commission’s vice-president for transparency and values discusses whether Facebook et al should regulate political content, disinformation targeted at EU states by Russia and China and a host of other issues.

Adéla Horáková quit a top law job to devote all of her energies to campaigning for marriage equality. This wide-ranging conversation takes in everything from her own experiences of coming out to the possibility of the mistreatment of the LGBT community seen in other CEE states also appearing in the Czech Republic.

Lukáš Houdek runs Hate Free Culture, a state agency combatting hate speech, and is also a photographer, artist and radio documentary maker. Here he discusses his own path to human rights and much more.

Top Czech movie star Anna Geislerová has won plaudits for her role as Václav Havel’s wife Olga in the biopic Havel. Here she discusses playing Olga Havlová, her own encounters with the Havels – and way more.

Under the name Las Saboritas, Ana Hernandez Blackstad and Alison Maciejewski have done over 300 Twitter reviews of Prague restaurants in recent years. Here the former discusses how the city’s dining scene is being impacted by the coronavirus crisis.

Sound designer Juraj Mravec moved to London to find out why UK and US films sounded better than Czech ones. He has since worked on the likes of The Crown, Black Mirror, Peaky Blinders and other top TV shows.

Czech missionary Petr Jašek was subjected to humiliation and violence when placed in a cell with prisoners from ISIS in Sudan, where he was caught carrying out covert missionary work.

Over 15 years, Adam Štěch travelled the world searching out, visiting and documenting often obscure modernist buildings. The result is the highly impressive book Modern Architecture and Interiors.

The US journalist and writer discusses Franci’s War, her Prague-born mother Franci Rabinek Epstein’s candid and gripping account of surviving the Holocaust.

The Honest Guide man on how the coronavirus crisis is impacting tourism in Prague – and whether the city really can attract new types of visitors.

Czech-born, UK-based illustrator Lukáš Novotný is the author of Modern London. Here he talks about the book’s distinctive style, plans for another volume from NYC, Czech modernist architecture, his unusual profession of paper engineer – and working at London’s little-known lighthouse.

The top economist, who has been advising the Czech national coronavirus task force, gives his verdict on the government’s handling of the impacts of the epidemic – and shares his views of just how bad things may get before they get better.

Amos Chapple recently created a stunning collection of images of Prague’s rooftop statues. The New Zealand photographer, who has immersed himself in Czech history, describes the project as a love letter to the city.