Latvia Weekly

"Saskaņa", or "harmony", is the word of the week, and something that Daugavpils now lacks as Mayor Andrejs Elksniņš and the rest of the Saskaņa party's city council members quit the faction. Otto and Joe discuss the latest drama for the fragmenting political force along with other major stories like alleged embezzlement at Daugavpils University, criminal charges for parliamentarian Glorija Grevcov...

Otto and Joe discuss some of the biggest stories of the previous week such as a hefty fine levied on badly behaving bus operators, the downgrading of diplomatic relations between Russia and Latvia, more defections from a Conservative party on life support, potential new language requirements for political campaigns, stabilizing water levels in Jēkabpils, and more! If you would like to donate to th...

As floodwaters finally recede in Jēkabpils, Otto and Joe sit down to discuss the biggest stories of the last week and a half. If you would like to donate to the ENGtegration for Ukraine project, you can do it here at the Baltic Security Foundation's webpage here: balticsecurity.eu/support/ Theme song "Mēs esam ārzemnieki" by Aarzemnieki, used with permission Closing theme song: Think Tank by Audio...

Otto and Joe take a look back on the top 10 biggest stories of 2022 and name the Latvia Weekly person of the year, as well as their runners up. Music: Auld Lang Syne, performed by the U.S. Navy Band Ceremonial Band https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Auld_Lang_Syne_-_U.S._Navy_Band.ogg Picture credit: Marco Verch, used with a Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic (CC BY 2.0)license https://www.f...

"Agri" and "vēlu" are the words of the week as this first episode of 2022 comes later than expected. Joe and Otto take a look back on some of the biggest happenings of the last month, such as the swearing in of the new cabinet, the lack of support for a proposed civil union law, the acquittal of former Mayor Ušakovs in lower court, the changing of street names related to the Russian occupation, in...

Australian-born Latvian Kris Akenfelds joins the show once again, this time to discuss his experience as head teacher of the ENGtegration for Ukraine project that provides free English lessons to Ukrainian refugees in Latvia, a project organized by Otto and Joe that's administered by the Baltic Security Foundation and generously funded with a grant from the US Embassy, Riga. If you are would like...

As Latvia hunkers down for an early winter blizzard, Joe and Otto take a look back on the almost complete coalition formation process and a number of other important stories from the previous month, including the de-licensing of a Russian language TV channel, more heating aid to Latvian households, the potential end of Russian language as a "second foreign language" in schools, and more! To donate...

Joe takes a look back through the first half of October including significant potholes in the road to a coalition, major changes to Riga's public transit ticketing system, a shortage of antibiotics, ever-increasing energy prices, and more! To donate to the ENGtegration for Ukraine project: https://gogetfunding.com/my-dashboard/ Theme song "Mēs esam ārzemnieki" by Aarzemnieki, used with permission...

Otto and Joe are back to celebrate the fourth anniversary of the podcast and to break down the major stories of the last month such as the three-party coalition formation process that seems to be in its final stages, major energy initiatives, average speed cameras, the dismantling of more monuments, HIMARS for Latvia, and more! If you would like to donate to the ENGtegration for Ukraine project, y...

With the 2022 Saeima (parliament) election finally in the books, Otto and Joe sit down for an extended discussion on the results and the many implications for the election's winners and losers, as well as the first steps towards building a new governing coalition. Opening and closing music: "Epic Cinematic" by Scott Holmes Music is licensed under a Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International Licen...

On the eve of the 2022 Saeima election, Joe and Otto take a look back on some of the most important stories of the last few weeks such as a narrowly avoided teachers' strike, new energy saving measures, major decisions adopted by the outgoing parliament on education, a look at the regional security situation, and much more! Theme song "Mēs esam ārzemnieki" by Aarzemnieki, used with permission Clos...

With just a few days to go before the 2022 Saeima Election, Joe sits down with some of his 12th grade students, many of who are about to vote for the very first time in their lives, to find out what issues are most important to them and how they feel politicians are doing at engaging with people their age. Here is a link to the Election Guide spreadsheet and Otto and Joe created that is mentioned...

As a teacher's strike seems imminent, Otto and Joe sit down to discuss major new stories such as the potential elimination of "budget seats" at universities, legal independence for Latvia's Orthodox Church, the demise of Rīga's microbusses, new party polling data, and much more! Theme song "Mēs esam ārzemnieki" by Aarzemnieki, used with permission Closing theme song: Think Tank by Audionautix audi...

With Latvia set to vote on a new parliament in less than a month, Otto and Joe sat down for a marathon-length episode to discuss all 19 of the competing parties, as well as a brief introduction to how Saeima (Latvian parliament) works and is elected. If you would like to skip to a specific part of the episode, you can choose a part below: 3:24 What is Saeima (parliament)? 8:56 How the Prime Minist...

Joe returns back to Latvia to discuss with Otto the literally ground-shaking demise of the controversial Soviet Victory Memorial in Rīga, along with a number of other important stories from the previous few weeks! Theme song "Mēs esam ārzemnieki" by Aarzemnieki, used with permission Closing theme song: Think Tank by Audionautix audionautix.com​ Creative Commons — Attribution 3.0 Unported — CC BY 3...

With a parliamentary committee labelling Russia as a "terrorist state", visas being denied to almost all Russian citizens, and the seemingly imminent demolition of the country's most controversial landmark, the era of Latvia as a "bridge between east and west" seems to have officially drawn to a close. Otto and Joe discuss the newest low in diplomatic relations between Latvia and it's largest neig...

Concerns grow in Riga about a potential winter gas shortage for certain sectors, while Gazprom announces that it will no longer supply gas to Latvia. Otto and Joe discuss the implications along with a number of other stories, such as a picket protest by representatives of the medical sector, the long-awaited opening of an embassy in Australia, poorly planted trees in Riga, and an exciting "simtgad...

As energy costs continue to soar throughout the region, Latvia gets serious about conserving fuel and finding alternatives to unreliable Russian natural gas. Otto and Joe discuss the ongoing international energy crisis as it relates to Latvia, along with other important stories such as continued inflation, new measures against speeding, urban bee farms on the roofs of cities, and much more! Theme...

"Pludmale" is the word of the week, with many of Latvia's most popular beaches closed to swimmers due to low water quality amid a series of heatwaves. Otto and Joe discuss this and a number of other stories including high costs for the planned Soviet monument demolition, possible changes to Latvia's parental leave system, the trashiest criminal in Jēkabpils, and much more! Theme song "Mēs esam ārz...

"Iesaukt" (conscript) is the word of the week as Minister for Defense Atis Pabriks announces plans for obligatory military service that could be introduced as soon as next year. Otto and Joe discuss the implications for Latvia's society and security situation along with other major stories from the previous week such as cyberattacks on Latvian infrastructure, new poll data on attitudes towards Rus...

As Latvia suffers through a massive heatwave, Otto and Joe discuss some of the biggest stories of the week including a looming teacher's strike, trouble with KNAB for Ainārs Šlesers LPV party, new electric trains (finally!) and much more! Theme song "Mēs esam ārzemnieki" by Aarzemnieki, used with permission Closing theme song: Think Tank by Audionautix audionautix.com​ Creative Commons — Attributi...

Now that Otto and Joe are back from a number of "komandējumi" (business trips) and the busy school year is over, they sit down and take a look back through some of the biggest stories of the past few weeks! Theme song "Mēs esam ārzemnieki" by Aarzemnieki, used with permission Closing theme song: Think Tank by Audionautix audionautix.com​ Creative Commons — Attribution 3.0 Unported — CC BY 3.0 Free...

"Skriet" (to run) is the word of the weeb in honor of Otto's and Olevs's participation in Riga Marathon events. Before running to go run his distance, Otto joins Joe via audio call to run through the biggest stories of the week including planned demolition of Riga's major Soviet war memorial, political fallout from events on the 9th and 10th of May, promised electric train deliveries, Liepāja bein...

"Atjaunot" is the word of the week as Latvia celebrates 32 years since the restoration of independence. Otto and Joe discuss the meaning of the 4th of May in Latvia along with other major stories such as alternative heating and electricity to Russian gas, the dismantling of more Soviet monuments, donated bussed to Kyiv, and much more! Theme song "Mēs esam ārzemnieki" by Aarzemnieki, used with perm...

As the typical smell of grass fires fills the spring air despite the unusually cold weather, Otto and Joe discuss some of the biggest stories of the week such as new cycling routes, the establishment of natural gas reserves, war supporters potentially being stripped of citizenship, possible dismantling of "victory" monuments in Ogre, and much more! Theme song "Mēs esam ārzemnieki" by Aarzemnieki,...