The Slavic Connexion

THIS IS PART 1 OF A 2-PART EPISODE. Conspiracy theory expert Ilya Yablokov joins SlavX host Matt to talk about... well... conspiracies: "When Notre Dame was on fire, you can't imagine how many of my Facebook friends were saying, 'oh my God this must be a sign', 'it must be a plan of Macron's to finance reconstruction'... Bloody hell! What kind of reconstruction plan is...

Our first Student Spotlight segment features Anna-Maria Andreeva, an international relations and global studies major from Bulgaria. Note: Recorded at the University of Texas at Austin on May 10th, 2019. CREDITS Co-Producer: Milena D-K (Connect: facebook.com/profile.php?id=100010939368892 Instagram: @thedistantsea and @milena.d.k) Associate Producer: Tom Rehnquist (Connect: facebook.com/thomas.reh...

Legendary Texas professor Thomas Garza brings his tremendous treasure chest of personal experiences in the Soviet Union to the studio, rekindling sights, sounds, and smells and recalling how and why he became so invested in Russia and (yes!) vampires. Visit his guest page for more information: https://www.slavxradio.com/guests/tjgarza NOTE: Episode recorded May 10th, 2019 at the University of Texa...

John Gleb is back on the Tom & Matt Show to discuss his favorite topic: U.S. diplomacy. It's slightly less than Slavic, sure, but still relevant to understanding modern international relations and foreign policy. Episode recorded April 12th, 2019 at the University of Texas at Austin. CREDITS Co-Producer: Tom Rehnquist (Connect: facebook.com/thomas.rehnquist) Co-Producer: Milena D-K (Connec...

If you're interested in learning more about Turbofolk, check out the Scalar website which Dr. Beronja's class put together with the help of UT librarian Ian Goodale, featuring writings by the students along with further listening for your guilty pleasure. Turbofolk website found here: http://scalar.usc.edu/works/turbofolk/index Some YouTube music videos referenced: Ceca - Oprostajna vecera...

About the Guest: Peter Pomerantsev (Питер Померанцев) is a Soviet-born British journalist, author and TV producer. His father is the writer and broadcaster Igor Pomerantsev. He is a Visiting Senior Fellow at the Institute of Global Affairs at the London School of Economics. He specialises on propaganda and media development, and has testified on the challenges of information war to the US House Fo...

SlavX hosts Lauren and Milena sit down with Ukrainian researchers Olga Onuch (Westminster) and Emma Mateo (Oxford) to talk about their choice to study Ukraine and mass protest. Dr. Onuch and Emma were guest speakers at the Information Wars Symposium at UT Austin on April 25th, 2019 and thus graciously agreed to appear on the Slavic Connexion. We're so glad they did! For more on Dr. Onuch, see...

We know almost everybody is disappointed with the Game of Thrones ending - trust us, we feel your pain - but maybe this will cheer you up. All four of our hosts--Tom, Matt, Milena, and Lauren--get together in the studio to reflect on our first season before they each went their separate ways for the summer. But not to worry, episodes will continue to be released over the summer... but from Moscow!...

Dr. Herasimenka in his own words: I have been involved in media production since 2006. My favourite time as a professional in the field includes seven years of work as a journalist, an editor and a media relation specialist. During that time, I authored hundreds of publications both analytical and journalistic for TV, radio, newspapers and the web. This work was honoured with national and internat...

Ilya Yablokov teaches a variety of courses in Russian studies at the University of Leeds. The areas of academic interests are conspiracy theories as a tool of political mobilisation and political communication. His recent monograph 'Fortress Russia: Conspiracy Theories in the Post-Soviet World' explores how political elites in post-Soviet Russia use conspiracy theories for political purpos...

Dr. Heather Rice, one of the nicest professors at the University of Texas, talks about her journey from Houston, Texas to post-Soviet Russia which made her eventually fall in love with the Russian language. As a Russian language professor, she discusses the difficulties and successes of her now-famous (relatively-speaking) Russian online course that's open to the public globally and taking the...

Tom and Matt host a special guest of the Information Wars symposium: Dr. Joshua Tucker, director of NYU's Jordan Center for Advanced Study of Russia, and co-editor of the Washington Post independent political science newsletter "The Monkey Cage". Books Mentioned: 1) PARTISAN HEARTS AND MINDS by Green, Palmquist, and Schickler https://www.amazon.com/Partisan-Hearts-Minds-Donald-Green/...

For more on our guest, visit: https://slavxradio.fireside.fm/admin/guests/844c0e5b-e1c5-4117-8497-9661fbe51195/edit This episode was recorded on April 24th, 2019 at the University of Texas at Austin. CREDITS Co-Producer: Matthew Orr (Connect: facebook.com/orrmatthew) Associate Producer: Tom Rehnquist (Connect: facebook.com/thomas.rehnquist) Associate Producer: Lauren Nyquist (Connect: facebook.com...

Peter Pomerantsev is a Visiting Senior Fellow at the Institute of Global Affairs at the London School of Economics, an author and TV producer. He specialises on propaganda and media development, and has testified on the challenges of information war to the US House Foreign Affairs Committee, US Senate Foreign Relations Committee and the UK Parliament Defense Select Committee. He writes for publica...

Dr. Denis Stukal is a postdoctoral researcher with SMaPP. He is doing research in the fields of Comparative Politics and Political Methodology. His primary focus is the use of machine learning techniques to study political misinformation in post-communist countries (especially, in Russia). Recorded Live at the Glickman Conference Center at the University of Texas at Austin on April 25th, 2019. www...

Dr. Joshua Tucker, director of NYU's Jordan Center for the Advanced Study of Russia, presents his most recent research at the 2019 Trust Me: Information Wars symposium, which was made possible by the Center for Russian, East European, and Eurasian Studies in collaboration with the Intelligence Studies Project (ISP). Follow Dr. Tucker on Twitter: @j_a_tucker Thanks for listening! Recorded Live...

As a kickoff to the Information Wars Social Media Conference here at the University of Texas today, we are releasing this episode featuring one of UT's own speakers, Dr. Kiril Avramov who is not only brilliant but one of the most caring and engaging educators on these Forty Acres! Dr. Avramov was until December 2017 the Acting Vice-Rector for International Relations and Research at the New Bul...

Our host Matt visits with special guest and East Asia expert Dr. Artyom Lukin about Russian geopolitics in the Asia-Pacific region. Этот эпизод на русском языке. Dr. Artyom Lukin is the deputy director for Research at the School of Regional and International Studies and associate professor at Far Eastern Federal University in Vladivostok, Russia. Dr. Lukin earned his PhD in Political Science from...

"In Russia, we don't see North Korea as a threat," says Dr. Artyom Lukin, an expert on Russian foreign policy in the Asia-Pacific region. A contributing writer to Washington Post, Huffington Post, and more, Dr. Lukin clears up American misconceptions in the Far East and gives us some uniquely Russian insight and perspective. Dr. Artyom Lukin is the deputy director for Research at the...

The future Dr. Ashlyn Hand dialogues with Matt about the super fun topic of religious freedom in U.S. foreign policy and the specific case of post-USSR Uzbekistan. And she says nobody wants her at the dinner table... About the Guest: Ashlyn Hand is a fourth-year doctoral student at the Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs. Ashlyn’s research interests involve the intersection of women’s polit...

On this episode, Tom hosts half-Russian graduate student Lucia Winkeler as they talk all things Caucasus and how many times she has to explain to people that it's not Czechia, it's CHECHNYA as in the First and Second Chechen Wars. Lucia is a dual-degree CREEES and LBJ Global Policy Studies graduate student who is primarily focusing her research on female terrorists originating in the North...

In this episode Matt and Tom discuss everything you probably NEVER wanted to know about Alexander Dugin. But who is Dugin and what does he want? Wikipedia says simply "[he] is a Russian political analyst and strategist known for his fascist views." High commendation, indeed. But Dugin and his concept of Eurasianism is far too complicated for us in general. However, Tom could write a book...

For more information on Seva Novgorodsev (DJ with the BBC Russian Service), visit his website www.seva.ru . Watch the interview on our YouTube channel with English subtitles: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KZ7t-TDkR-M&t=650s CREDITS Co-Producer: Matthew Orr (Connect: facebook.com/orrmatthew) Co-Producer: Tom Rehnquist (Connect: facebook.com/thomas.rehnquist) Music/Sound Design: Charlie Harper...

The indomitable Dr. Susanne Sternthal joins host Matt Orr in the studio to discuss her breadth of experience from New York to Moscow. Please visit her guest page for more on her bio and published works. https://www.slavxradio.com/guests/sternthal Movie mentioned by Susanne: GET OUT https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5052448/ Book mentioned by Susanne: D.H. Lawrence's THE RAINBOW https://www.amazon.c...

Dr. Beronja talks about the fascinating musical genre of Turbofolk which emerged during the tumultuous 80s in the former Yugoslavia, expanded to mass popularity in the 90s under Slobodan Milošević, and aligned itself with Balkan identity. For more on how nostalgia (such as "Yugo-nostalgia") directs politics and dialogue, check out the following website of digital scholarship by Dr. Beron...