Episode 230: A camera in the war room

In this episode, Alexandra and Nina discuss the blockades across Serbia, the 30th anniversary of the Srebrenica genocide, Russia’s largest air assault on Ukraine to date, and reflect on the conclusion of Poland’s EU presidency.Later in the episode, Nina speaks with Norwegian documentary filmmaker Tommy Gulliksen about his latest documentary, Facing War. The documentary follows NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg through his final year in office in 2024, as he works to maintain unity within the alliance and sustain support for Ukraine. The film shows NATO high-stakes meetings with world leaders a offers a rare and intimate look at diplomacy in times of war.More info about the film: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt35671816/Support us on Patreon: www.patreon.com/talkeasterneurope

Episode 229: Film talk – Black SnowIn this episode, Adam and Nina catch up on the latest news, including a discussion on the outcomes of the historic NATO Summit in The Hague, highlights of the Pride in Budapest, recent clashes and arrests during protests in Serbia and ongoing protests in Georgia. Later in the episode, Nina speaks with Alina Simone, a Ukrainian-American journalist and filmmaker whose work has appeared in the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, and the Guardian Long Read. They go behind the scenes of Black Snow, a powerful documentary set in a remote Russian mining town where black snow falls due to extreme pollution. Alina reflects on the experience of making the film and the broader challenges of environmental activism in today’s Russia.Read more about the film: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt31462874/More on the guest: https://www.alinasimone.com/about-alina-simone/Sign up for the Brief Eastern Europe newsletter: https://briefeasterneurope.eu/subscribe

In this episode Adam and Alexandra open with some discussion on the latest news, including the release of 14 political prisoners in Belarus, repressions taking place in Azerbaijan, Romania and Georgia. For the main deep dive, Alexandra and Nina continue on the Georgian theme by speaking with Teona Macharashvili, co-founder and board member of Caucasus Open Space, and a committed pro-democracy activist, to unpack the latest developments in Georgia. Teona shares powerful first-hand insights from the ongoing protests, which have now continued for over 200 days.In the exclusive bonus segment – available to our Patrons - Teona sheds light on recent cuts to US foreign aid and what they mean for civil society and human rights defenders on the ground in Georgia. Listen to the bonus content here: https://www.patreon.com/posts/episode-228-132340122Further reading:Repression in Azerbaijan - An interview with Cesare FigariBarberis: https://neweasterneurope.eu/2025/06/24/repression-in-azerbaijan/The 2024 Georgian elections and their geopolitical implications, Vakhtang Maisaia:https://neweasterneurope.eu/2025/05/05/the-2024-georgian-elections-and-their-geopolitical-implications/History rhymes: intellectual resistance and state repression in Georgia, Tamar Gamkrelidze:https://neweasterneurope.eu/2025/03/24/history-rhymes-intellectual-resistance-and-state-repression-in-georgia/Sign up for our weekly newsletter – Brief Eastern Europe:www.briefeasterneurope.eu

In this episode, Alexandra and Nina discuss recent developments across Central and Eastern Europe, including the latest charges in North Macedonia following the tragic nightclub fire in Kočani, ongoing protests in Serbia, and a vote of no confidence in the Czech Republic.The main interview features Daryna Pidhorna, Senior Lawyer at the Regional Centre for Human Rights. Daryna explores how Russia's aggression is targeting Ukrainian culture, impacting museums, festivals and outlines what can be done to safeguard Ukraine’s cultural heritage during wartime. She also shares what life is currently like in Kyiv and reflects on the atmosphere in the city as Russia steps up its aerial attacks.In the bonus content for our patrons, Daryna stays on to delve into the repatriation of cultural property. She explains how Ukraine is working to recover looted heritage and highlights lessons that can be drawn from other countries’ experiences in reclaiming stolen cultural assets.To listen to the bonus content visit: https://www.patreon.com/posts/episode-227-131877614 Read Adam’s takeaways from the Globsec Conference featured in Brief Eastern Europe: https://briefeasterneurope.eu/p/june-16-2025Additional financing for this podcast is provided by the Polish MFA: Public task financed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Poland within the grant competition “Public Diplomacy 2024 – 2025 - the European dimension and countering disinformation The opinions expressed on this podcast are those of the authors and do not reflect the views of the official positions of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Poland.

In this special episode, Nina, Alexandra and Adam host a special episode recorded live with the Patrons of Talk Eastern Europe. They start with a discussion on recent news developments, including Ukraine’s Operation Spider Web, Bulgaria joining the Eurozone, and the latest on repressions in Georgia. During the main episode, Adam is put in the hot-seat with Alexandra and Nina asking about the recent elections in Poland. They discuss the overall results of both rounds as well as key context heading into the elections. They also discuss how the new president-elect, Karol Nawrocki may act in relations with Europe, but also on  the situation with Ukraine.During our bonus section, the co-hosts address patrons questions and discuss in-depth the political repercussions of the election result and what could come next for Poland.The bonus content can be found here:https://www.patreon.com/posts/episode-226-131296617Thank you to all of our patrons who joined us during the recording and all of those who support Talk Eastern Europe. If you want to support the podcast and gain access to additional benefits and bonus content, join us here: www.patreon.com/talkeasterneuropeWe also were short-listed for “Best Deep Dive Podcast” at the recent Publisher Podcast awards, and Alexandra attended the awards on behalf of Talk Eastern Europe. We didn’t win, but we were honored to be even considered among such prestigious colleagues. Pictures are available on our Patron Facebook Page.

In this special edition of Talk Eastern Europe, Alexandra reports in-person from Romania for a deep dive into the recent presidential elections. She speaks with experts Laura Stefan, Diana Filimon, and Vlad Barleanu about what happened in these dramatic elections, the allegations of digital interference from Russia, how the public responded, and what it all means for Romanian democracy. Commentary by:Laura Stefan, Founder and the Rule of Law and Anticorruption Coordinator for ExpertForumDiana Filimon, Founder and President of Forum Apulum, Founder of Gen, știriVlad Barleanu, former journalist and current PR specialist To watch the full-length interviews and other behind-the-scene clips, you can check out our Patreon page: https://www.patreon.com/talkeasterneuropeResearch for this podcast episode was made possible with the support of the Heinrich Böll Foundation, Washington, DC’s Transatlantic Media Fellowship. Find out more about the Fellowship, and the Foundation’s work, here: https://us.boell.org/en/2025/05/22/2025-cohort-transatlantic-media-fellows Finally, thank you to Patrícia Raposo, Young European Ambassador for the EU Neighbours East and Policy Trainee at the Commission for Citizenship, Governance, Institutional and External Affairs, for her assistance in the research process. 

In this episode Adam and Alexandra catch up on the latest news, with a discussion on the upcoming presidential election in Poland, current developments in Hungary and what is the status of the peace process in Russia’s war against Ukraine.During the deep dive, Adam sits down with journalist Agnieszka Pikulicka-Wilczewska to discuss issues in Central Asia in particular the situation surrounding the Caspian Sea.  They look at the geopolitical significance of the sea region and the environment situation which is deteriorating as a result of oil extraction. This episode is the third part in our mini-series on Central Asia. Check out previous episodes to catch up on the issues facing this unreported region. Check out Agnieszka's podcast Turan Tales: https://turantales.substack.com/podcastRead Adam’s recent commentaries:On Poland and what’s at stake in the election: https://danperry.substack.com/p/poland-on-the-brinkOn why peace in Ukraine is slipping further away: https://briefeasterneurope.eu/p/may-26-2025Like the podcast? Support us on Patreon:www.patreon.com/talkeasterneurope

Nina and Alexandra celebrate some positive news from the Romanian and Polish elections over the weekend before updating listeners on US-brokered negotiations with Russia and Ukraine. They also discuss revelations of forgery in a shady business dealing involving Trump's son-in-law in Serbia and new efforts by the ruling party to undermine the opposition in Georgia. Alexandra then interviews Dilmurad Yusupov, an independent researcher and disability rights activist from Uzbekistan. They talk about what disability inclusion means, the state of disability rights in Uzbekistan compared to the rest of the region, and the challenges that civic groups like Dilmurad's face in promoting disability rights in the country.You can check out his organization, Sharoit Plus here: https://sharoitplus.uz/ And, Russian and Uzbek speakers can listen to Dilmurad's podcast, Inclusive Talk, here: Apple Podcasts: https://lnkd.in/ds4DsaVESpotify: https://lnkd.in/d9mFtwUhYandex Music: https://lnkd.in/e8GV5XEqYouTube: https://lnkd.in/ewCXPiAzSupport Talk Eastern Europe: www.patreon.com/talkeasterneurope

In this episode, Alexandra and Adam start with updates from Ukraine and efforts to bring about a ceasefire. Meanwhile, a Polish investigation has found that a fire last year which burned down a huge shopping center in Warsaw was ordered by Russian intelligence while the country gets ready to vote in the presidential election on May 18th. Finally, Alexandra discusses the results of the recent Albania parliamentary election.Later in the episode, Nina speaks with Assem Zhapisheva, a journalist and activist from Kazakhstan. Assem co-founded the Oyan, Qazaqstan – Wake Up, Kazakhstan movement for political reform and launched independent media projects like masa.media. She discusses her role in the film Streets Loud with Echoes and shares insights into Kazakhstan’s recent political turbulence, shedding light on civil society and activism under an authoritarian regime, as well as the country’s complex love–hate relationship with Russia.>>> In the bonus content for our patrons, Assem stays on to talk about her recent arrest related to the campaign Satire is not a crime and shares her perspective on the alarming decline of freedom of speech in Kazakhstan today. See more on the film “Streets Loud with Echoes”:https://www.oneworld.cz/films/56256-streets-loud-with-echoes

Nina and Alexandra open this episode with a discussion of the first round of the much-awaited presidential election in Romania, in which the far-right candidate George Simion blew away the competition. They then talk about Russia's commemoration of Victory in Europe Day taking place on May 9th, including the various guests from our region who plan to attend. Finally, Alexandra provides updates on the student protests in Serbia and Nina closes with some positive news for press freedom in Estonia.For the main interview, Alexandra sits down with Adnan Ćerimagić, Senior Analyst for the Western Balkans at the European Stability Initiative (ESI), to discuss the latest secessionist crisis in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Adnan provides a detailed update of what has transpired in the country since February, when Bosnian Serb politician Milorad Dodik was convicted in the first-instance of defying the orders of Bosnia and Herzegovina's High Representative. He then shares potential future scenarios and explains why this could become a very dangerous situation for the country and for the rest of Europe.  "Negotiating Peace? Trump, Putin and the future of Ukraine" - Check out the latest issue of New Eastern Europe now online: http://bit.ly/4d8ncXbVisit us online at: www.talkeasterneurope.eu