Talk Eastern Europe

Adam and Maciek open the episode with a discussion on how the coronavirus situation is developing in the Eastern Partnership countries. They also highlight one small bit of good news in recent days, despite all the bad news that has been dominating the headlines. The episode then focuses on the main topic of the podcast which is the recent shuffling of the cabinet of ministers in Ukraine, which in...

Episode 32 of the Talk Eastern Europe podcast takes a snapshot of how some countries in Eastern Europe are trying to slow the effects of climate change in the region. After the European Commission announced its ambitious initiative of an EU New Green Deal, many questions remain, including to what extent members of Europe’s eastern neighbourhood will be involved in the project and how a just transi...

Maciek and Adam are back in the latest episode of Talk Eastern Europe! This episode is dedicated to the upcoming POSTWEST Transcultural Festival which will take place in Berlin 27-31 of May. During the festival, 12 theatres from the region of Central and Eastern Europe will get together to showcase productions that interpret this idea of what is East, and what is West. In the podcast, Adam sits do...

Globalization was supposed to connect people, but instead ended up connecting only the powerful. Local news is rapidly disappearing and leaving crucial stories unreported, communities unrepresented and disconnected, a side-effect of digitalization and the ownership concentration in media markets. But local and hyperlocal media play an important role in sustaining robust and resilient regimes of pu...

Tackling disinformation means thinking about how our media spheres are structured. Recent developments suggest a readiness for regulation, reversing the libertarian ethos of the first two decades of the internet. But does regulation not mean a different set of traps? Are states to be trusted solely with the democratic functioning of our public spheres? In this special podcast episode we hand the r...

In this episode Adam and Maciek catch up with Shaun Walker – a journalist, writer and Guardian correspondent for Central and Eastern Europe. Shaun spent over a decade in Russia as a journalist and foreign correspondent. He is also the author of the book The Long Hangover: Putin's New Russia and the Ghosts of the Past published by Oxford University Press. Shaun talks about his experience in Russia,...

In the first episode of 2020, Adam and Maciek explore the current situation in Belarus. As the country is under more pressure from the Kremlin to implement greater integration with Russia, it tries to open up to the West. What’s more, presidential elections will be held later this year, putting into question the future of Belarus, its independence and what’s next for President Lukashenka. The podc...

In the second part of this special two-part series, Maciek interviews Adam, the co-host of Talk Eastern Europe and editor in chief of New Eastern Europe. Listeners get a chance to learn more about Adam’s background, his hobbies, interests, the history of New Eastern Europe, as well as some hints on the region for the upcoming year. Follow Adam on Twitter: https://twitter.com/areichardt We hope you...

In this special two-part series, we have decided to open up and give a special look into the co-hosts of Talk Eastern Europe. In this first part, Adam interviews Maciek. They discuss his background, hobbies, interests as well as predictions for the upcoming year for our region. Follow Maciek on Twitter: https://twitter.com/MakulskiMaciej We hope you enjoy the discussion. Stay tuned for part II, wh...

In the final episode of our special series on Black Sea security, Adam and Maciek discuss the most recent NATO meeting of heads of states in London. Adam then interviews Victor Kipiani, chair of the Geocase think tank in Tbilisi (15.45), where they discuss implications for Georgia, the region and wider geopolitics. Follow Victor Kipiani on Twitter: @victor_kipiani https://twitter.com/victor_kipian...

In this episode of Talk Eastern Europe, Adam interviews Emil Avdaliani, a Tbilisi-based expert and author with New Eastern Europe, on the role of geopolitics in the Black Sea region. They discuss Turkey-Russia relations, Chinese-American competition, the security risk of Iran’s proximity and Georgia’s place as an inter-connector for geopolitics. Follow Emil on Twitter: @emilavdaliani. Become a Pat...

Welcome to Episode 26 of Talk Eastern Europe! This episode features an interview with Marta Ardashelia of Sova. News – a Russian language portal based in Georgia. Adam and Maciek introduce the episode with a brief roundup of some of the most important developments in the region, including a look at the Normandy Summit in France and recent developments in Belarusian-Russian integration. Maciek then...

How does the situation of extremism look in Georgia and the South Caucasus? How can these countries deal with returning members of ISIS and the challenge of their re-integration? For this and much more, check out the latest episode of Talk Eastern Europe. In this episode, our co-hosts Adam and Maciek explore the current outlook for Georgia in the realm of security in the wider region of the South...

This episode is a part of a special series on Georgia and Black Sea Security funded by the Polish Embassy in Tbilisi. In this episode Adam interviews Egor Kuroptev, head of the Free Russia Foundation’s Tbilisi office. They discuss issues on Georgian-Russian relations, the ongoing borderization of the so-called South Ossetia (Tskhinvali) territory and the current threat to Georgian security as a re...

This episode features an interview with Francis Fukuyama, a professor at Stanford University and author of the recent book Identity: the demand for Dignity and the Politics of Resentment. Maciek and Adam open with a small birthday celebration and later discuss the background to the interview. In the interview, Maciek and Prof. Fukuyama discuss the history of identity politics, how it fits in today...

This episode launches a special series on security, Georgia and the Black Sea region. The series is sponsored by the Polish Embassy in Tbilisi Georgia – the NATO contact point embassy for 2019/2020. In this first episode of the series, Adam catches up with Dominik Jankowski – a Brussels-based expert on security who gives an overview from the NATO perspective. Adam and Dominik discuss the Black Sea...

This episode of Talk Eastern Europe takes a closer look at the current state of Russia-China relations. It features an interview with Marcin Kaczmarski from the University of Glasgow. Adam and Marcin examine how Russia-China relations have developed in the context of geopolitical changes and the wake of the 2014 annexation of Crimea and aggression in Donbas. They discuss such pertinent questions a...

Talk Eastern Europe celebrates its 20th episode! In this episode Adam and Maciek take a look back at the last 19 episodes and then discuss how Ukraine has unexpectedly found itself in the center of the scandal with US President Donald Trump and how all of a sudden everyone is an expert on Ukraine. Later Adam interviews Andrew Wilson, a professor of Ukrainian studies at UCL in the United Kingdom an...

This episode of the podcast gives a rundown of the current changes taking place in Moldova. After a political agreement between the Socialists and the pro-West ACUM broke an electoral status quo, the country has seemed to gain new momentum. However, are the new authorities going to be able to meet the high expectations the society and international partners have for them? To help answer this quest...

Talk Eastern Europe is back! After a short break for our own August recess, Adam and Maciek are back with a new episode of the podcast. This episode focuses on Kazakhstan – the largest Central Asian state – which has recently undergone a transition of power: from the 30 year rule of Nursultan Nazarbayev to elections in June, which saw Qasym-Jomart Toqaev, a candidate anointed by Nazarbayev himself...

This episode of Talk Eastern Europe looks at some of the recent developments in our region focusing on Ukraine and Georgia. The podcast opens with commentary from Andreas Umland on the parliamentary election victory of Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Ukraine and what may come next.  Later, Maciek interviews Givi Gigitashvili to discuss the recent protests in Georgia which have broken out recently. They tac...

In the latest episode of Talk Eastern Europe, co-hosts Adam and Maciek delve into security-related issues in Central and Eastern Europe, with a particular focus on Poland’s view and its desire to increase American presence in the country. The episode features Adam’s interview with Ivo Daalder, President of the Chicago Council on Global Affairs and former US ambassador to NATO. They discuss issues...

This episode starts with a brief introduction by the co-hosts Adam Reichardt and Maciek Makulski who are currently on two different continents, and some background on a new project Adam is working on. The main interview is with Rusif Husenyov and Murad Muradov, co-founders of the Topchubashov Center in Baku. The guests discuss current issues in Azerbaijan’s relations with Europe, Armenia, Russia a...

In this episode, co-hosts Maciek Makulski and Adam Reichardt catch up with Anna Korbut, a Robert Bosch Fellow at Chatham House. Anna discusses what issues are the most important for Ukrainians, the latest developments regarding the new president Volodymyr Zelenskiy and what is next for Ukrainian politics.   Please support the podcast by via our Patreon page here: https://www.patreon.com/bePatron?u...

In this second part of the two-part special podcast, Talk Eastern Europe dissects the results of the European Parliamentary elections in the region of Central and Eastern Europe. On Lithuania: Maciek interviews Mariusz Antonowicz from Vilnius University's Institute of International Relations and Political Science; On Poland: Adam discusses the results with Daniel Tilles, editor in chief of Notes f...