Macedonian Content Farmers Podcast

As political events rapidly unfold in Macedonia this second week of November, Cvetin and Jason provide a more compact podcast yet one full of information and analysis on how Zoran Zaev and his government of SDSM and DUI officials might finally go this week or shortly thereafter. While Zaev said he would resign last week, after his disastrous showing in local elections, he has since gone back on hi...

The second round of local elections in Macedonia took place on Sunday, October 31 and produced a tsunami of good news for the opposition VMRO-DPMNE and a massive defeat for the ruling parties and current government of SDSM and DUI. Cvetin and Jason suss out the results and details as they analyze what this means. And Zoran Zaev announces his resignation as both prime minister of Macedonia and lead...

In this episode, Cvetin and Jason include a fair number of Star Wars references and lots of laughs as they suss out the recent local elections (Round 1) in Macedonia, talk about the winners (VMRO-DPMNE) and losers (Zoran Zaev and his SDSM), what it means for Round 2, and what it holds for the future. And – get out our Bingo drinking cards! – they include references to Burke, Locke, and Solzhenitsy...

Cvetin and Jason record this ep three years to that awful day in 2018 when Prime Minister Zoran Zaev held his failed referendum on changing Macedonia’s name and identity – September 30. The fact that the referendum failed, however, did not deter him from moving forward by giving away the country. How’s that project going? As they count the costs of that debacle, they discuss the end of the census...

Cvetin and Jason return after what should have been a joyous Independence Day for Macedonia on September 8 which instead was marred by a fire in a makeshift Covid hospital in Tetovo that claimed the lives of 15 and injured 11. They discuss the calls for the resignations of health minister Venko Filipce and his deputy while explaining why prime minister Zoran Zaev will likely not accept Filipce’s r...

Cvetin and Jason record this podcast on September 1, the start of Macedonia’s school year, and discuss the back-to-school situation in Macedonia, the ongoing Covid crisis, upcoming local elections (Cvetin gives a masterful analysis of this), the census, Afghanistan, the hit to the US and NATO, and the Afghan refugees now in Macedonia, the upcoming 30th anniversary of Macedonia’s independence as a...

After a hiatus of nearly a month, Cvetin and Jason return to talk about the collapse of Afghanistan, the serious damage done to the reputation and credibility of the US and NATO, and what this means for Macedonia as NATO’s newest member. They touch on Kipling, Hemmingway, empire, wokeism, pride, refugees and of course, drugs. And they manage to get in a few words about upcoming local elections in...

It might be the middle of a long, hot, summer, but Cvetin and Jason have things to discuss including the latest attempts by Zoran Zaev to enrich himself, his family, and his cronies by making Macedonia a hub for exporting marijuana and importing garbage (you’ll have to listen to believe it). They discuss the no-bid and perhaps multi-billion dollar road project given to American construction compan...

Cvetin and Jason get together to discuss parts of the book by James Pardew, “Peacemakers: American Leadership and the End of Genocide in the Balkans” (2018, The University Press of Kentucky), which covers his involvement in the countries of Southeastern Europe, including Macedonia, from 1995 to 2008. As the 20th anniversary of the so-called Ohrid Framework Agreement comes up, the lads look at some...

Once again Cvetin and Jason talk football, and specifically Macedonian football (with an honorable mention of the Hungarian team) and what that means for Macedonia. Of course the Greeks had to go and get their knickers in a knot, getting all upset over a mention of the Macedonian Football Team by Zoran Zaev, so Zaev went and groveled before them. All of this, however, points toward a larger issue...

Cvetin and Jason begin this ep talking about how epic it is that Macedonia and Macedonian football (soccer to our American listeners!) has taken to the world stage, in this case, the European Championships, Euro 2020! This is the first time in Macedonia’s history that the team has achieved this goal and we’ll all be watching to see how many goals the Macedonians score. In the meantime, the Greeks...

For their first podcast of June and as we slip into summer, Cvetin and Jason begin by noting the death of James Pardew, former US Ambassador to Bulgaria and diplomat involved, often controversially, in Bosnia-Herzegovina, Kosovo, Serbia, and of course, Macedonia.  They discuss Ali Ahmeti’s new “green” agenda (and how his party has been anything but environmentally-focused in the past), more Zaev s...

We have a bit more reflective podcast this week as Jason reminisces on his recent 25th anniversary of being involved in and with Macedonia and the Macedonians, including his story of how he got there in the first place. Cvetin and Jason discuss many past events and people of the past quarter century and also share their thoughts about the nation-state and sovereignty, how that is under attack and...

Cvetin and Jason cover a range of topics in this episode starting with events far from Macedonia but impacting Macedonians, namely the Hamas bombing of Israel and the reaction of some leftists in Macedonia to it (Allahu Akbar!). They tackle the recent party congress of comrades in SDSM and the defenestration of Radmila Sekersinska, and what this means for Zoran Zaev, the education minister’s conti...

After a brief hiatus, Cvetin and Jason catch up on the latest news coming out of Macedonia including the recent Europe Day (or is it Day of Europe?) and VE Day celebrations in Macedonia – but not for Macedonia because, alas, Macedonia still does not have a date to begin EU accession talks. And not just that, but it looks as though Albania will begin those talks sooner than Macedonia due to Bulgari...

Radmila Sekerinska, the minister of defense and powerful vice president of the SDSM party in Macedonia (prior to 1991, the League of Communists of Macedonia) recently announced she will not stand for reelection as vice president at the party congress next month. Cvetin and Jason suss out what that might mean for prime minister Zoran Zaev and they chat about the recent major protest against the gov...

It’s been about two weeks since Cvetin and Jason gathered to gab and one of them has a good excuse.  As they catch up, they chat about the madness that continues to engulf Macedonia (or is it a circus?) with hazmat suits in parliament, intercepted marijuana shipments that are related to the Zoran Zaev family (and the involvement of the American Drug Enforcement Agency), passports and ID cards hand...

As Macedonians face the grim milestone of 4,000 deaths in the coronavirus pandemic, Cvetin and Jason gather to discuss the ongoing pandemic in the country, the government’s failures in addressing it in the past (as well as the fact that finally, some vaccines are getting in the arms of Macedonians), and the new curfews in place for Ramadan and maybe for Easter. They briefly touch on the census, no...

…and here I am stuck in the middle with EU. Cvetin and Jason talk quite a bit about what the US Embassy in Macedonia and the State Department, have been up to in Macedonia and the possibility (one of several possibilities) that their interference (especially around the issue of the census) will, ultimately, invite two NATO members on either side of Macedonia to have a bit of Macedonia. Far fetched...

Cvetin and Jason bring you news you can use such as the news that the government of Zoran Zaev is essentially doubling its defense budget by purchasing US Stryker vehicles at a cost of $210 million – but there are no offsets leading to some pointed questions. In the meantime, while the Macedonian government is splurging on unneeded toys, the coronavirus rages across the country with no end, and no...

Cvetin and Jason begin this episode talking about butter – yes, butter.  Turns out the Zaev government uncovered 4.5 tons of expired German butter and declared it a victory in the war on corruption!  Sadly, there are many more real scandals in Macedonia at the moment and the lads dutifully go through the list including the arrest of businessman Orce Kamcev on questionable grounds, the ongoing vacc...

Cvetin and Jason DO talk about Macedonia but first delve into a discussion of beloved children’s books by Dr. Seuss and cancel culture in general, thinking they might be able to make a fortune by buying all of the Dr. Seuss books in Macedonia. Then they chat about Zoran Zaev’s latest and desperate attempts to save himself and his government by proposing a government of national unity to VMRO-DPMNE...

Cvetin and Jason laugh a lot in this episode, mostly at the ineptitudes of the Zaev government.  They cover a lot of ground including the sentencing of Sasho Mijalkov, vaccine distribution (what vaccine distribution?) the upcoming census and of course, Bulgarian government foolishness. They also dive into the bravery of MANU’s defense of Macedonia, chat briefly about their growing media empire on...

Cvetin and Jason talk about the circus that came to Macedonia this week, that of former secret police chief Sasho Mijalkov and his “escape” from the country for about 48 hours before he casually reappeared and turned himself in, and the fiasco, farce, charade, whatever you want to call it that is associated with this embarrassing moment in Zoran Zaev’s government. Cvetin gives an extensive history...

Cvetin and Jason gather to discuss the latest attempted humiliation of Macedonia by its own prime minister – Zoran Zaev – which includes denying private entities the use of that very name, Macedonia which is a goal of the Greek Government. They have an animated chat over the new ID cards and the heightened debate in country over the use of the various adjectives – Macedonians, Albanians, Roma, and...