Slovakia Today, English Language Current Affairs Programme from Slovak Radio

RERUN: May 2nd, 2025 marked the 30th anniversary of Dežo Ursíny's passing. This radio show looks at the life and work of this Slovak musical legend, filmmaker, and thinker. With the help of his son Jakub Ursiny, film producer Marián Urban and music journalist Marián Jaslovský we explore what made him so special. From his early music to his deep, personal films, Dežo Ursiny’s art still speaks to pe...

Sunday show dedicated to letters from our listeners and some inspiration for summertime music.

We take a look back at the week's headlines and some of our best stories from the past week.

The Bratislava literary festival, commonly known as BRaK, brought together readers and the wider community of authors, poets, translators, critics, and professionals working in the book industry, including publishers, distributors, illustrators, and even book reviewers from all across Slovakia. Although it is called the Bratislava literary festival, it also hosted several public readings and discu...

Join us as we take a look at the second edition of the biennial Teen Theatre Festival in Trnava, organized by the Ján Palárik Theatre. The motto of this year’s edition – WE ARE NOT ALONE – invited audiences to see the world, and themselves, from an entirely new perspective. The festival featured performances and artistic works that connected imagination, the realities of adolescence, and scientifi...

One of the few things in our modern world that has not changed for centuries is our need for forests. They provide so much more than the wood we all consume in myriads of forms in our daily lives. Forests are the lungs of the planet. They sequester carbon, provide habitat for many animals, and offer people a place to rest and reset. To keep many of our private and public forests healthy and produc...

Ben Pascoe visits Bratislava’s Jewish Community Museum and talks with director Maros Borsky about the newly opened exhibit Heritage Rediscovered II and about the Jewish Community in Bratislava.

International cooperation, digital skills and real-life learning define the European eTwinning platform, which has been part of Slovak schools for more than 20 years. To we explore how Europe’s largest online community of schools connects teachers and students across borders through projects that develop key competences for life in the 21st century we speak with Katarína Hrbáňová, coordinator of e...

5th part of RSI 2026 Competition series. Drawing of winners of the 4th round.

Past week's breaking headlines and broadcast selection of RSI English section.

As we prepare for the release of the next installment of the RSI Competition Series in 2026, we take a look back at the previous round.

In this Thursday’s programme, we first look at the legacy of Saint Francis of Assisi and the 800th anniversary of his passing, reflecting on the experiences of Slovak Franciscans during communist persecution and the continuing relevance of Franciscan values today. You will hear from Capuchin Brother Félix and Franciscan Brother Peter. In the second part, we turn to economics and examine how Slovak...

What happens when an abandoned railway station becomes a thriving cultural centre? And what does it feel like to spend almost four hours inside Philip Glass's groundbreaking opera Einstein on the Beach? In this feature, Radio Slovakia International explores two remarkable cultural stories from Slovakia - one about community, creativity and independent culture in Žilina, the other about a landmark...

Ben Pascoe talks with Zuzana Novotova Godalova from the antenna network of independent cultural centers about what these centers do and why it is important to Slovakia today. She also introduces us to some of the many festivals and events that these centers are organizing all across Slovakia all summer long.

Parenting counsellor Martina Vagačová says that walking to school independently helps children build self-confidence, responsibility and social skills. Yet many parents are hesitant because they do not see public spaces and traffic as safe enough for children. The Metropolitan Institute of Bratislava (MIB) is searching for solutions through its Mesto pre deti (City for Children) project. By combin...

The week we look back at 100 years of Slovak radio, find out about Slovak concerts in London and of course read some letters from our listeners.

We take a look back at the week's headlines and some of our best stories from the past week.

Slovak Film Day – Simona Nôtová from the Slovak Film Institute will discuss the consolidated event “Slovak Film Week”; director Katarína Kerekešová will talk about the current state of animated filmmaking while Katarína Krnáčová will present the first ever Slovak feature film in Rusyn language, "Flood". The Open Culture! international conference was discussing the European Artistic Freedom Act. Ta...

Today's programme talks about the organization Cesta Von, focusing on their largest project Omama, which focuses on supporting children growing up in generational poverty from their earliest years. Trained women from marginalized Roma communities (known as “omamas”) regularly visit families, helping parents develop their children’s skills and prepare them for a more successful start in school and...

In Slovakia, research is underway both in laboratories and even on farms, as scientists work to better understand and combat infectious diseases. One of the most prominent figures in this effort is Dr. Boris Klempa, a virologist at the Institute of Virology within the Biomedical Research Center at the Slovak Academy of Sciences. In our conversation, we discussed his work on zoonotic viruses in Slo...

Ben Pascoe talks with Zuzana Wienk from the Bystiny civil organization who put out the Dobru/Druh tourist guide with hundreds of tips on what to see in Slovakia while also supporting the growth of tourism and regional improvement.

Amnesty International is the world’s largest human rights movement, bringing together more than 10 million people across over 150 countries and territories to defend human rights and human dignity for everyone. Ahead of Amnesty International Day, observed worldwide on 28 May, we spoke with Rado Sloboda, director of Amnesty International Slovakia, about the state of human rights in Slovakia and aro...

Sunday with RSI, letters from listeners, music and another look through our Window to the world

From Trade unions, through nano technologies, from foreigners in Slovakia to Slovaks helping Ukrainians. This was the week on Radio Slovakia International as presented by Patrícia Lucia Balajová, Ben Pascoe, PAtrícia Polakovičová and Veronika Ščepánová..

Janko Kráľ, a poet, a representative of the Romanticism period in Slovak literature. "From dusk till dawn", the 22-year-old student became the most popular Slovak poet of his era. No portrait of Janko Kráľ has ever been found. On 23 May, it will be 150 years since his mysterious death. Who was Janko Kráľ, Johnny the King? Exploring this question are Ľubica Schmarcová of the Slovak Academy of Scien...