Podcasts about Central European

Horkay András, nemzetközi borakadémikus és a Central European Wine Institute (CEWI) alapítója és vezetője volt a vendégünk.

Five Years of Listening: What the Bees at Galbreath Are Teaching Us In this podcast we are delighted share the results of five years of ecological monitoring at Galbreath Wildlands Preserve, one of the most sustained observations of honeybee colonies living as part of a wild landscape anywhere in the US. Michael Thiele, founder of Apis Arborea, is joined by Dr. Benjamin Rutschmann, visiting from Germany, to walk us through what this long-term work has revealed. Among the findings: colony lifespans and survival rates that challenge prevailing assumptions about what honeybees are capable of when they live on their own terms, as well as insights into natural colony densities. We explore what the free-living population at Galbreath is teaching us about the resilience of the wild, and how these colonies serve as a compass point for innovative models of apiculture that draw on biomimicry and integrate evolutionary processes. About Dr. Benjamin Rutschmann Benjamin Rutschmann is a honeybee researcher and ecologist whose work centers on wild-living colonies, their nesting sites, and the forage resources that sustain them. He received his PhD from the University of Würzburg in 2022. Together with Patrick Kohl, he published the first systematic survey of wild-living honeybee colonies in Europe, confirming that self-sustaining populations still exist in Central European forests. He has since studied colony life histories and survival across Germany, Spain, and Switzerland, and has contributed to research projects spanning Europe, Asia, Africa, and North America. Most recently, he co-authored a framework for assessing wild Apis mellifera populations that helped inform their classification as an Endangered taxon on the IUCN Red List in the EU. About Michael Thiele Michael Thiele is the founder and Executive Director of Apis Arborea, a nonprofit dedicated to restoring wild, free-living honeybee populations and their ecological relationships. His work integrates field research, habitat restoration, and education to support resilient pollinator communities, with a focus on biomimicry, low-density systems, and evolutionary processes. Michael's approach bridges science and the humanities, exploring how humans can participate more responsibly within living systems. He is currently leading Apis Arborea's 7-year field study on wild honeybee populations at Galbreath Wildlands Preserve, which will be the focus of this Salon. Michael is also a co-founder of the Arboreal Apiculture Salon.

Owen Hatherley ist ein britischer Publizist mit Fokus auf Architektur (Brutalismus & Modernismus), Politik & Kultur. Er schreibt hauptsächlich für Architectural Review, Jacobin, die London Review of Books, Sidecar & Tribune und hat viele tolle Bücher zu Ästhetik & Politik veröffentlicht. owenhatherley.co.uk Sendung auf Deutsch und Englisch overdubbed, Skript weiter unten Part I is online at https://www.mixcloud.com/ittym/the-alienation-effect-w-owen-hatherley-ptii/ Ausgehend von drei Persönlichkeiten, die sehr unterschiedliche Wege eingeschlagen haben, jedoch alle im Konstruktivismus verwurzelt waren, haben wir im April das geistige und intellektuelle Klima in GB in der Zwischenkriegszeit im Gegensatz zu Zentraleuropa beleuchtet: Die Architekten Erno Goldfinger und Berthold Lubetkin sowie der Kunsthistoriker Nikolaus Pevsner standen im Fokus. Ein unrühmliches Kapitel, nämlich die antisemitisch und fremdenfeindlich motivierte Internierung der meisten Exilanten habe ich am Beispiel Kurt Schwitters umrissen. In seinem Buch gelingt es Owen, die Trope des 'guten Einwanders' zu vermeiden, deren Kehrseite die der 'unerwünschten, schlechten' Immigration ist - die Heterogenität der Exilant:innen spricht für sich. Sie einte Fluchterfahrung und Othering. Viele von ihnen waren überzeugte Antifaschist:innen und ihr Leben und Werk bezeugt das. Owens Begeisterung für einige der Protagonist:innen, seiner 'Held:innen', denn die gibt es durchaus, ist mitreißend. In diesem Teil der Sendung sollen einige von ihnen und ihr Einsatz für öffentlichen Luxus im Mittelpunkt stehen. Und das ist auch die Brücke zur Gegenwart und zu den letzten Sendungen - die Frage nach antifaschistischer Theorie und Praxis. Quellen: Tschichold https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jan_Tschichold Stefan Lorant / Lilliput / Picture Post https://tribunemag.co.uk/2022/10/picture-post-stefan-lorant-edward-hulton-central-europe https://www.fulltable.com/VTS/m/mag/lill/zzzzz/hfield/a.htm https://iconicphotos.wordpress.com/2017/02/20/back-to-the-middle-ages-picture-post/ https://youtu.be/cmCkvxGnCr0?si=T1ayc6XwCXRAnEGs The Themersons https://www.luxonline.org.uk/artists/stefan_and_franciszka_themerson/calling_mr_smith.html https://monoskop.org/images/b/b4/Kubasiewicz_Jan_1993_The_Themersons_and_the_Gaberbocchus_Press_An_Experiment_in_Publishing_1948-1979.pdf https-//vimeo.com/177270179 Ruth Glass https://uclurbanlab.medium.com/urban-lab-walk-ruth-glass-1964-london-route-in-2024-d56cce80baf2 https://optimism-modernity.org.uk/documents/contact1946.html https://archive.ph/V2KUu Naum Gabo https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Das_Realistische_Manifest https://berlinischegalerie.de/sammlung/kuenstlerinnen-archive/das-realistische-manifest-von-naum-gabo/ https://www.nationalgalleries.org/art-and-artists/377 https://artuk.org/discover/stories/eva-frankfurther-the-forgotten-german-artist-who-captured-a-changing-london https://optimism-modernity.org.uk/documents/contact1946.html Hans Feibusch https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Entartete_Kunst_(Ausstellung) https://www.historisches-lexikon-bayerns.de/Lexikon/Entartete_Kunst_(Ausstellung)#Inszenierung https://lostgen.art/thema/ausstellung.pdf https://stjohnswaterloo.org/hans-feibusch-a-focus/

What did Donald Trump actually achieve in Beijing, and what does it signal for Taiwan and the security of Central Europe? Wojciech Przybylski, Editor-in-Chief of Visegrad Insight, is joined by Marcin Jerzewski, Visegrad Insight Fellow and Head of the European Values Center for Security Policy think tank in Taipei, to unpack the outcomes of the Trump-Xi summit of 17–18 May 2026.They examine China's use of discourse power to shape the narrative around Taiwan, the strategic ambiguity now surrounding US arms sales, diverging EU member state approaches to China, and the concrete ways Central Europe and Taiwan can deepen cooperation, from drone supply chains to non-red technology partnerships.This episode draws on an ongoing Visegrad Insight report on Central European perspectives on Taiwan scenarios through the lens of economic security. Watch this space.Subscribe to Visegrad Insight for access to all our content, live and online events: visegradinsight.eu. Use code VISEGRAD35 for 35 per cent off a yearly subscription: https://visegradinsight.eu/membership-account/membership-levels/Visegrad Insight is powered by the Res Publica Foundation, Warsaw.Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/1kYQnreH1lD9eDEOFJrfUp?si=vY7E0d5-S7Kjdb_tFOOIDAListen on Apple Podcasts:Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/xRntS_U6KkE

From the glittering heights of victory to the "null points" heartbreaks, Austria has provided some of the most iconic moments in Eurovision Song Contest history. In this special bumper episode of the Eurovision Showcase, Ciaran Urry-Tuttiett embarks on an epic journey through the story of this Central European powerhouse. We are playing every single one of Austria's 57 entries. Whether it's the timeless elegance of Udo Jürgens, the boundary-breaking triumph of Conchita Wurst, or the wonderfully bizarre entries that only Eurovision could produce, we're covering it all. Join us as we explore: The Highs & Lows: Every podium finish and every early exit. The Quality & The Bizarre: From sophisticated ballads to the hilariously unforgettable. The Emotional & The Hilarious: The stories behind the songs that moved us and the ones that made us smile. Whether you are a die-hard member of the OGAE or a casual fan of the world's biggest singing competition, this is the ultimate definitive guide to Austria's participation. Listen now and immerse yourself in the Austrian story. For more information and updates, visit: escshowcase.com #Eurovision #ESC #Austria #EurovisionShowcase #ConchitaWurst #UdoJürgens #JJ #WastedLove #SongContest #MusicHistory

This week we talk about Orbán, Hungary, and reformers.We also discuss Fidesz, Tisza, and illiberalism.Recommended Book: I'm Starting to Worry About This Black Box of Doom by Jason ParginTranscriptHungary is a Central European country that was formed in the aftermath of WWI as part of the Treaty of Trianon, which—due to it having fought on the losing side of that conflict—resulted in the loss of more than 70% of its former territory, most of its economy, nearly 60% of its population, and about 32% of ethnic Hungarians who were left scattered across land that was given to neighboring countries when what was then Austria-Hungary was broken apart, initially by Hungary declaring independence from Austria, and then by those neighbors carving it up, grabbing land at the end of and just after the war, all of them pretty pissed at Hungary for being part of the Central Powers, quadruple alliance of Germany, Austria-Hungary, the Ottoman Empire, and the Kingdom of Bulgaria.Today, Hungary is surrounded on all sides by other nations, including those who gobbled up some of their territory, back in the day. They've got Slovakia to their north, Ukraine to their northeast, Romania is to the east, and Serbia is to the south. Croatia and Slovenia are to their southwest, and Austria, which used to be part of the same nation as Hungary, is to their west.In 2026, Hungary has a population of a little over 9.5 million people, and the vast majority of those people, around 97.7%, are ethnic Hungarians, the next-largest ethnic group is Romani, weighing in at just 2.4%.During WWII, Hungary was on the Axis side of the conflict, once again ending up on the losing side of a world war, and was eventually occupied by the Soviet Union, which converted the nation into a satellite state called the Hungarian People's Republic. Hungarians tried to revolt their way out of the Soviet Union's grip in 1956, but it didn't work. In 1989, though, during the wave of other regional revolutions that tore the Soviet Union apart, Hungary peacefully transitioned into a parliamentary democracy, and it joined the EU in 2004.What I'd like to talk about today is post-Soviet, Third Republic Hungary, the country's conversion into an ultra-conservative, ultra-corrupt state, and how a decade and a half of democratic backsliding might be eased, at least somewhat, by new leadership that just won an overwhelming majority in Hungary's recent elections.—In the 1990s, Hungary began its transition from state-run authoritarianism under the Soviets into the type of capitalism-centered democracy that was being spread by the US and its allies during the Cold War.In Hungary, like many other post-Soviet nations, this transition wasn't smooth, and the country experienced a severe economic recession that sparked all manner of social upsets, as well.Hungary's Socialist Party did really well in elections for a while, in large part because of how badly capitalism seemed to doing, and all the downsides locals now associated with it, but the Socialists went back and forth with other governments, especially the liberal conservative Fidesz (FEE-dez) party, each government taking the reins for four years before being voted out, replaced by the opposition, which was then voted out four years later and replaced by their opposition.In 2006, there was a big to-do about a report that the then-Prime Minister, in charge of the Socialist Party, had admitted behind closed doors to having lied to win the last election. “We lied in the morning, we lied in the evening, and we lied at night,” he said during that closed-doors speech, and the divulgence of this led to nationwide protests and a period, which continues today, in which no left-wing party could attain power, only conservative governments standing a chance of running things in Hungary.In 2010, the Fidesz party, led by Viktor Orbán, won a supermajority in parliament, and the following year, parliament approved a new constitution that brought a huge number of significant changes to the government and the nation's laws. This adoption was criticized for basically being a nation-defining document that enshrines the party's Conservative Christian ideology into law, permanently, despite that ideology not reflecting the views of the country at large; just over 40% of Hungary identifies as Christian. This new constitution also significantly cut or curtailed the rights of formerly independent institutions, removing basically all checks on the government's power, and making it nearly impossible to push back against anything they might want to do, moving forward.Under Orbán, Hungary saw significant democratic backsliding, meaning the country was converted from a functioning democracy into something that looked like a democracy from the outside, with elections and a press and such, but with actual functionality closer to that of Russia, which also holds elections, but those elections are tightly controlled by the government, the outcomes preordained by locking up those who challenge the existing power structure and falsifying votes when necessary. The press, too, in Russia and Hungary, is severely limited in what it can report, those who fail to toe the party line locked up or otherwise punished, and most of these formerly and supposedly journalistic entities owned by close friends of the country's leader.This sort of setup is often called a kleptocracy or mafia-state, that hides behind the veil of democracy, because the people up top basically just do whatever they want, perpetually enriching themselves at the expense of their countrymen, and they get away with it because all the forces of government and opposition that might stand in their way are systematically removed, all while they continue to pretend that this is what the people want.Both Hungary and Russia also publicly embrace illiberal governance, at least to some degree, meaning they loudly promote top-down systems of governance, and both of their top-down systems are vehemently anti-immigrant, anti-LGBT rights, anti-women's rights, and pro-fellow illiberal states—which in this case means Hungary and Orbán tend to be close buddies with other oppressive nations, like Russia, like Iran, and like China.Orbán has thus overseen the transition of Hungary from a liberalizing, open, post-Soviet nation into a different sort of totalitarian state, his version wearing the guise of western democracy instead of Stalinesque communism, but actually functioning as a private kingdom of sorts for Orbán and his friends, all of whom became wealthy by carving up state assets and making deals that favor them, just that group of oligarchs, and all of this happening at the expense of the Hungarian people and its institutions and resources.That context established, let's talk about what happened recently, during the 2026 Hungarian parliamentary elections.On April 12, 2026, Hungary held elections to fill all 199 seats in the country's parliament. 100 seats are necessary to achieve a majority, and thus to form a government and run things.Orbán's party, Fidesz, was seeking a fifth consecutive term, partnering with the Christian Democratic People's Party in the hopes of elbowing out a newer competitor, the conservative, center-right Tisza (TEE-sah) party.This election had been promoted as the most important in EU history, as while he was in control of Hungary, Orbán had been pushing the nation further and further into Russia's orbit, allegedly even sharing classified information from private EU meetings with Russia's government. He consistently also stood in the way of EU efforts to help support Ukraine, blocking billions of dollars of funding for Ukraine's defensive efforts against Russia's continuing invasion of its neighbor; if one EU member country says no, some bloc-wide efforts can be shut-down in perpetuity. And Orbán was a consistent ‘no' for anything that was bad for Russia, or anything that was good for the EU, in the liberal democracy sense of good. He also regularly demanded what amounted to bribes to get his vote for just about anything, and was thus a consistent obstructionist for even normal government business within the bloc.This new Tisza party, which is a Hungarian abbreviation for what translates as the Respect and Freedom Party, was established in 2020, then rose to prominence when a former Orbán ally and Fidesz member, Péter Magyar left Fidesz and joined with Tisza.Tisza ran on populist principles and the overthrow of Orbán, who has been increasingly unpopular as he's continued to heavy-handedly reinforce his own hold on power, rigging election maps so that nothing but the most overwhelming imbalance in votes against him would ever lead to a loss.Unfortunately for him, that's exactly what happened in this 2026 election: nearly 80% of potential voters turned out to vote, which is the highest since 1989, when communism originally collapsed throughout Europe. And Tisza, the new opposition party led by a former Orbán loyalist, who left Fidesz during a scandal during which the government oversaw the pardoning of people responsible for covering up child sexual abuse, Tisza took 141 of 199 seats, giving them the supermajority they need to not just form a government, but to change the constitution.This is being seen as a massive victory for the EU, and a serious defeat for Russian President Putin, who will likely be losing a lot of influence in the region, but also his proxy within the EU, which allowed him to forestall and halt all sorts of anti-Russian and pro-Ukrainian efforts.It's also being seen as a possible shot across the bow of illiberal and illiberalizing governments around the world, including others within Europe, but also that of the United States, which has seem similar democratic backsliding under two non-consecutive Trump administrations. The same forces that led to Orbán's loss, like a successful anti-corruption message communicated by his opposition, collapsing on-the-ground economic realities for the majority of Hungarian citizens, and a wave of support for the opposition, especially amongst young people, could lead to more toppled governments and strongman leaders in the coming years.There are still quite a few unknowns and potential pitfalls here, though.Magyar, though now the leader of a different party, was formerly in Orbán's camp; this could represent a changing of the guard up top, someone else holding the reins and enriching himself and a different group of friends, rather than a wholesale change that serves those at the bottom. It wouldn't be the first time we've seen an authoritarian replaced by a seeming freedom-fighter who then became an authoritarian, because all those former incentives remained in place when they stepped into office.It's also been posited that Putin might lean more heavily on Bulgaria as Hungary steps out of his sphere of influence; one pro-Russian, anti-Ukrainian, anti-EU European Union nation replaced by another, the obstructionism continuing, but with different people on the Russian payroll.As I'm recording this, polls from elections in Bulgaria that happened this past weekend seem to favor Bulgaria's former president, who is pro-Russian and anti-Ukraine, though his administration seems to be filled with pro-EU representatives. It could be that he plays nice with the West while still opposing support for Ukraine, or it could be he waits to see which way the large-scale winds blow before deciding how to lean; he's been pretty vague about how he'll govern, and the people of Bulgaria seem like they'll be happy just to have a functioning government after a long period without. So this guy could represent a foot in the door for Putin, but he could also be a reformer; he could also be a bit of both.It's also possible Orbán, who admitted defeat in the face of his opponent's overwhelming parliamentary victory, will try some kind of last minute maneuver to stay in power, claiming that the vote was rigged against in him some way, for instance—a classic authoritarian move that has been repeated by these sorts governments over and over, including in modern history, and at times, unfortunately, successfully.Show Noteshttps://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/4/15/hungarys-magyar-urges-president-to-quit-vows-to-overhaul-state-mediahttps://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c4g40npz37lohttps://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2026/04/18/bulgaria-election-radev-russia-orban/https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-04-18/hungary-s-tisza-party-widens-election-majority-in-fresh-tallyhttps://www.nytimes.com/2026/04/18/opinion/hungary-election-orban-loses-trump-maga.htmlhttps://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/apr/18/hungary-peter-magyar-donald-tusk-poland-europehttps://apnews.com/article/hungary-eu-unlock-funds-orban-5a208f4094d4d66a47de9fc10b9d194fhttps://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/hungary-putin-orban-russia-ukraine-b2959920.htmlhttps://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2026/04/hungary-orban-loss/686832/https://www.npr.org/2026/04/16/nx-s1-5784063/hungarian-americans-orban-defeat-trump-authoritarianism-democrats-republicanshttps://www.iiss.org/online-analysis/online-analysis/2026/04/hungarys-election-significance-and-implications/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/apr/17/eu-officials-hungary-talks-peter-magyar-governmenthttps://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/how-hungarys-vote-to-oust-viktor-orban-could-have-global-implicationshttps://www.atlanticcouncil.org/dispatches/hungary-just-voted-out-viktor-orban-heres-what-to-expect-in-europe-and-beyond/https://geopoliticalfutures.com/hungarys-landmark-election/https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/blogs/ukrainealert/could-bulgaria-replace-hungary-as-putins-proxy-inside-the-eu/https://ecfr.eu/article/four-principles-for-an-eu-hungary-reset/https://www.nytimes.com/2026/04/13/world/europe/hungary-election-results-orban-magyar.htmlhttps://apnews.com/article/hungary-election-orban-magyar-trump-1a4eb0ba6b94e0c80c3cd18bd36254abhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treaty_of_Trianonhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hungarian_diasporahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hungaryhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fundamental_Law_of_Hungaryhttps://www.nytimes.com/2026/04/19/world/europe/bulgaria-elections-what-to-know.html This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit letsknowthings.substack.com/subscribe

Der deutsche Faschismus zwang einen Großteil deutscher & europäischer Künstler:innen & Intellektueller zur Flucht und ins Exil, Zehntausende suchten Zuflucht in Großbritannien.
Viele dieser Exilant:innen waren ‚Doppeltgeflüchtete‘, oft hatten sie mindestens zwei Länder verlassen, bevor sie nach GB kamen. Es sind Biografien, die auch der „Geschichte von Revolutionen und Konterrevolutionen“ geschuldet sind: Die ungarischer Juden& Jüdinnen bspw., die nach der Zerschlagung der Sowjetrepublik 1919 aufgrund antisemtischer Progrome das Land verlassen hatten und nach Berlin oder nach Wien gegangen waren oder Biografien wie die von John Heartfield, der von Berlin über Prag und Paris nach London auswanderte.
Hatherley argumentiert, dass diese Emigrantengeneration, obwohl ihr in Großbritannien misstraut, sie missachtet und oft verleumdnet und nach Kriegsbeginn auf der Isle of Man als „Enemy Aliens“ interniert wurde, letztendlich einen entscheidenden, transformativen Einfluss auf die britische Kultur hatte.
(Denn) die Reaktion auf den Ersten Weltkrieg war in Großbritannien "eine Welle von Nostalgie, Fremdenfeindlichkeit und Abschottung" gewesen, es war "eines der kulturell dürftigsten Jahrzehnte in der Geschichte Großbritanniens – ein krasser Gegensatz zu den Entwicklungen auf dem Kontinent, insbesondere in Mitteleuropa."
Der Schriftsteller Arthur Koestler beschrieb das 'menschliche' Klima Englands als angenehm und beruhigend, als „a kind of Davos for internally bruised veterans of the totalitarian age“.
Diese Exilant:innen, von denen die meisten Juden und Jüdinnen und viele Kommunist:innen und Sozialist:innen waren, hinterliessen bleibende, wenn auch nicht unbedingt offensichtliche, Spuren in der britischen visuellen Kultur.
Sie modernisierten, trotz aller Ablehnung und vieler Widerstände, den ästhetischen Konservatismus des ‚piefigen' Großbrittanniens der Zwischenkriegszeit.
Hatherley beleuchtet Fotografie, Malerei, Architektur, Buchgestaltung und Verlagswesen. Dabei vermeidet er dennoch, in die Trope des 'good immigrants' zu verfallen, es geht ihm vielmehr um Ambivalenzen. Viele kulturelle Phänomene, die als durch und durch britisch gelten, von der Reihe ,Britain in Pictures" der 1940er-Jahre - produziert von einem Team überwiegend weiblicher Emigrant:innen - über James-Bond-Filmsets und das Pinguinbecken im Londoner Zoo sind Emigrant:innen zu verdanken. Ich spreche mit Owen u.a. über die Hintergründe der Entstehungsgeschichte seines tollen Buchs und seine Motivation, es zu schreiben. Über die Rezeption moderner Kunst in den Zwischenkriegsjahren in Großbritannien. Über die Architekten Naum Gabo, Erno Goldfinger und Berthold Lubetkin. Über die britische antifaschistische Antwort auf die Hetzkampagne in Form der Münchener Ausstellung Entartete Kunst' von 1937. Über Kurt Schwitters im Internierungslager und im Lake District. Über die eher konservativen Exilant:innen, wie Nikolaus Pevsner oder Friedrich Hayek. Unabhängig von ihrer jeweiligen politischen Ausrichtung glaubten sie alle an ,öffentliche Kultur und öffentlichen Luxus", stellt Owen Hatherley fest. My gratitude to Chris Povey to lending his voice to the poems of Kurt Schwitters. In der nächsten Folge: u.a.: Typografie & Buchdesign, Ruth Glass, Naum Gabo, Ernst Feibusch https://owenhatherley.co.uk/ https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/311898/the-alienation-effect-by-hatherley-owen/9780141989778

Empezamos con las intrigantes nuevas músicas de L'Attirail para luego adentrarnos en Eslovaquia, con una selección de finalistas de los premios Radio_Head Awards de la radio nacional, de los que Araceli ha sido jurado este año por cuarta vez. Desde esas tierras del centro de Europa nos llegan sonidos que van del swing romaní al folclore eslovaco, pasando por cruces con el jazz y músicas de los Balcanes o la tradición judía, con nombres como Miloš Biháry, Sendreiovci o Júlia Kozáková. We begin with the intriguing new music of L'Attirail, before heading into Slovakia, with a selection of finalists from the Radio_Head Awards of the national radio, for which Araceli has served as a jury member this year for the fourth time. From those Central European lands come sounds ranging from Romani swing to Slovak folklore, including crossovers with jazz and Balkan music or the Jewish tradition, with names such as Miloš Biháry, Sendreiovci and Júlia Kozáková. – L'Attirail - Le satrape est parti - Le rébus de l'explorateur – L'Attirail - The amazing spyglass - Le rébus de l'explorateur – Miloš Biháry - Heart from Romania - Čavoros de Django – Sendreiovci - Kaskere, namar man - Ringišpír – Júlia Kozáková - Šun Devla - Manuša – Mirka Záhumenská - Stojí kačka pri šentíši - Folklorism – Petraš Projekt - Aj mene majka jednu ima - Balkanske stopy – Mojše Band, Rachel Weston - Nigun - Hirsz Lejb Bakon: kantor z Chrzanowa – Ženy z Muzičky - Naprosto dijaka - Prvé a posledné – MusEquality - Vojake sheja - MusEquality – Martin Štefánik - Jasica - Kronika – Oľun - Č. 1. pre Oľun - Neo MusEquality

In this engaging conversation, Guy Pinsent shares his entrepreneurial journey from Cambridge economics student, being a banker in the City, to the Foreign Office and on to real estate and finally, on his own account, as a successful self storage business owner in Central Europe. Guy discusses the founding and growth of Less Mess Storage, which now operates 18 locations across Poland and Czech Republic with backing from Metric Capital Partners since 2015, and with 100,000 sqm of rentable space and 40,000 more in the pipeline. Key Topics Covered: The Self Storage Business Model: Guy explains his freehold property approach, inspired by companies like Big Yellow and the McDonald's model featured in "The Founder" film. Also attractive features of the self storage business: long lifetime value of clients, custom inertia, counter-cyclical demand so the business performs well across the business cycle.Cambridge University Value of a first-class education. The Why question: How Guy never worried about social status, and simply doing what it takes to build a life, do something of value. Entrepreneurial Philosophy: Discussion of motivation and work ethic, referencing Arnold Schwarzenegger's YouTube talks and Gary Vaynerchuk's "I will outwork you" mentality. Economic Principles: Insights on loss aversion from Daniel Kahneman's research and lessons from Cambridge professor Michael Kuczynski. Life as a British Expat: Guy shares his experience living abroad and his documentary project "Should Brits Come Home?" made with Patrick Ney, exploring whether British expats should return to the UK. Documentary Filmmaking: Behind-the-scenes stories from filming at the Notting Hill Carnival, agricultural shows, and conducting street interviews. Political Commentary: Reflections on Britain's direction, post-nationalism, and concerns about current UK leadership. About Guy Pinsent Guy is a British real estate entrepreneur and the Founder & CEO of Less Mess Storage, a leading self‑storage company operating across Central Europe. Born in London and raised in the English countryside, he studied at Eton College and Cambridge University before starting his career in investment banking at Citibank. He later served at the British Embassy in Poland to strengthen UK–Poland business relations, then moved into commercial real estate with Colliers, and in 2014 founded Less Mess Storage, which he has since built into a benchmark player in the Central European self storage sector. Guy's Linkedin Links Arnold Schwarzenegger - Guy referenced a 4-minute motivational talk on YouTube about entrepreneurship principles YouTube: Arnold Schwarzenegger 6 Rules of Success Gary Vaynerchuk - Richard mentioned him as an American entrepreneur from Belarus known for saying "I will outwork you" as part of his pathway to success example here Daniel Kahneman - Guy referenced his work on loss aversion (people feel $100 loss twice as painfully as the good feeling of a $100 gain) Wikipedia: Loss Aversion Michael Kuczynski - Economics professor at Pembroke College, Cambridge who taught both Richard and Guy; passed away in 2025 at age 84 Pembroke College: Michael Kuczynski (1941–2025) Pedro Pablo Kuczynski - Michael's brother, became President of Peru Wikipedia: Pedro Pablo Kuczynski Less Mess Storage - Guy's self-storage company operating in Poland and Czech Republic with 18 locations lessmess.storage Pembroke College, Cambridge - Where both Richard and Guy studied economics pem.cam.ac.uk Big Yellow - UK self-storage company mentioned as reference for freehold approach bigyellow.co.uk "The Founder" - Film about Ray Kroc and McDonald's history, illustrating property-based business model Wikipedia: The Founder (film) Richard's TED-ED lesson based on The Founder link "Should Brits Come Home?" - Documentary Guy made with Patrick Ney about whether British expats should return to the UK especially from a Polish perspective. Here Patrick Ney was a guest on this NBN channel here, And gave one of the most popular TEDxKazimierz talks of all time with over 375,000 downloads here Center for Policy Studies - UK centre-right think tank Guy mentioned link Extra Space - Major US self-storage operator link Metric Capital Partners - Private equity investor in Less Mess since 2015 link1 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network

In this engaging conversation, Guy Pinsent shares his entrepreneurial journey from Cambridge economics student, being a banker in the City, to the Foreign Office and on to real estate and finally, on his own account, as a successful self storage business owner in Central Europe. Guy discusses the founding and growth of Less Mess Storage, which now operates 18 locations across Poland and Czech Republic with backing from Metric Capital Partners since 2015, and with 100,000 sqm of rentable space and 40,000 more in the pipeline. Key Topics Covered: The Self Storage Business Model: Guy explains his freehold property approach, inspired by companies like Big Yellow and the McDonald's model featured in "The Founder" film. Also attractive features of the self storage business: long lifetime value of clients, custom inertia, counter-cyclical demand so the business performs well across the business cycle.Cambridge University Value of a first-class education. The Why question: How Guy never worried about social status, and simply doing what it takes to build a life, do something of value. Entrepreneurial Philosophy: Discussion of motivation and work ethic, referencing Arnold Schwarzenegger's YouTube talks and Gary Vaynerchuk's "I will outwork you" mentality. Economic Principles: Insights on loss aversion from Daniel Kahneman's research and lessons from Cambridge professor Michael Kuczynski. Life as a British Expat: Guy shares his experience living abroad and his documentary project "Should Brits Come Home?" made with Patrick Ney, exploring whether British expats should return to the UK. Documentary Filmmaking: Behind-the-scenes stories from filming at the Notting Hill Carnival, agricultural shows, and conducting street interviews. Political Commentary: Reflections on Britain's direction, post-nationalism, and concerns about current UK leadership. About Guy Pinsent Guy is a British real estate entrepreneur and the Founder & CEO of Less Mess Storage, a leading self‑storage company operating across Central Europe. Born in London and raised in the English countryside, he studied at Eton College and Cambridge University before starting his career in investment banking at Citibank. He later served at the British Embassy in Poland to strengthen UK–Poland business relations, then moved into commercial real estate with Colliers, and in 2014 founded Less Mess Storage, which he has since built into a benchmark player in the Central European self storage sector. Guy's Linkedin Links Arnold Schwarzenegger - Guy referenced a 4-minute motivational talk on YouTube about entrepreneurship principles YouTube: Arnold Schwarzenegger 6 Rules of Success Gary Vaynerchuk - Richard mentioned him as an American entrepreneur from Belarus known for saying "I will outwork you" as part of his pathway to success example here Daniel Kahneman - Guy referenced his work on loss aversion (people feel $100 loss twice as painfully as the good feeling of a $100 gain) Wikipedia: Loss Aversion Michael Kuczynski - Economics professor at Pembroke College, Cambridge who taught both Richard and Guy; passed away in 2025 at age 84 Pembroke College: Michael Kuczynski (1941–2025) Pedro Pablo Kuczynski - Michael's brother, became President of Peru Wikipedia: Pedro Pablo Kuczynski Less Mess Storage - Guy's self-storage company operating in Poland and Czech Republic with 18 locations lessmess.storage Pembroke College, Cambridge - Where both Richard and Guy studied economics pem.cam.ac.uk Big Yellow - UK self-storage company mentioned as reference for freehold approach bigyellow.co.uk "The Founder" - Film about Ray Kroc and McDonald's history, illustrating property-based business model Wikipedia: The Founder (film) Richard's TED-ED lesson based on The Founder link "Should Brits Come Home?" - Documentary Guy made with Patrick Ney about whether British expats should return to the UK especially from a Polish perspective. Here Patrick Ney was a guest on this NBN channel here, And gave one of the most popular TEDxKazimierz talks of all time with over 375,000 downloads here Center for Policy Studies - UK centre-right think tank Guy mentioned link Extra Space - Major US self-storage operator link Metric Capital Partners - Private equity investor in Less Mess since 2015 link1 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

How did civic activists in Kenya manage to stop the construction of the Lamu coal-fired power plant? How does this relate to the protection of local cultural heritage? And does this mean that East African countries are more progressive in climate protection than Central European countries? Lawyer Margaret Wagana discusses all of this in the latest episode of the podcast Crossroads. Margaret Wagana works as a conciliation judge for the Ugandan government. In addition, she is pursuing a PhD at the UOC (Universitat Oberta de Catalunya) in Barcelona, and her dissertation focuses on environmental law and climate justice in the Great Lakes region of East Africa. The Crossroads podcast series is produced as part of the research program “Identity in a World of Wars and Crises,” funded by the Czech Academy of Sciences under the AV 21 Strategy. We invite social scientists whose research addresses important topics and challenges of a globalizing world to appear on the podcast. This episode was hosted by Jiří Krejčík.

Hear about travel to Slovenia as Chris talks with travel writer Sam Baldwin about an active, slightly off-the-beaten-path itinerary through one of Europe's most underrated countries. This week's show is supported by the new Smart Travel Podcast. Travel smarter — and spend less — with help from NerdWallet. Check out Smart Travel here. Sam has been visiting Slovenia since 2007, lived there for five years, and recommends a road trip that combines Ljubljana, alpine lakes, mountain scenery, rivers, wine country, and a few unusual cultural experiences. His experiences of living, working, and exploring the wildlife and wild places of this stunning country are told in his travel memoir book, Dormice & Moonshine: Falling for Slovenia. Why should you go to Slovenia? Sam describes Slovenia as beautiful, safe, compact, and surprisingly diverse. In a short drive, you can go from alpine scenery to Mediterranean-influenced landscapes, from lakes and mountains to wine regions and warm rivers. He also emphasizes that Slovenia feels much more Central European than many travelers expect. ... https://amateurtraveler.com/travel-to-slovenia/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Many of us did not know about USAID (U.S. Agency for International Development) until it came under scrutiny by the White House's Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) in its recent cost-cutting efforts. USAID is—or was—the principal U.S. agency to extend assistance to countries recovering from disaster, trying to escape poverty, and engaging in democratic reforms.  While the constitutionality of DOGE's actions effectively curtailing USAID's efforts work their way through the courts, we invite you to hear a personal perspective from someone whose work was primarily funded by USAID and who experienced first-hand the impact of USAID's rule of law programs around the world during the past 30 years.  Mary Noel Pepys will provide an overview of her pro bono work in former communist countries, where she served as the rule of law liaison for the American Bar Association's Central European and Eurasian Law Initiative. She will discuss the challenges of assisting nations in their transition from communism to democracy, including efforts to strengthen the rule of law and promote judicial independence.  Mary Noel Pepys is a senior attorney specializing in the rule of law, specifically international legal and judicial reform. Since 1993 she has helped emerging democracies develop justice systems that ensure the protection of citizens' human rights, equal treatment of all individuals before the law, and a predictable legal structure with fair, transparent and effective government institutions. You can learn more about Pepys's international work at pepysinternational.com, which will serve as a backdrop of her presentation. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Richard Sakwa and Volodymyr Ishchenko on what is misunderstood about this war — and why it matters for the peace we need so badly.  In Part Two, Sakwa and Ishchenko turn to NATO's expansion, Russia's internal politics, and the peace proposals now being pushed. Sakwa dismisses the claim that NATO is merely defensive and rejects the idea that Russia poses a serious military threat to Western Europe. He traces the crisis to post-war settlements that shut Russia out of Europe's security order — even after Moscow sought NATO membership. Ishchenko argues that Central European states joined NATO less out of fear of Russia than from a desire to become “European,” while Putin's own political fears at home partly shaped the invasion. Both are skeptical of existing peace plans — yet argue that Trump's blunt proposal, however imperial, may come closer to confronting reality. The priority: stop the killing, save as many people as possible, and prevent the ultimate catastrophe.

Missed the live broadcast? Catch up now with Ciaran Urry-Tuttiett for a packed edition of the Eurovision Showcase on Forest FM. We are officially looking ahead as the first two entries for the 2026 Eurovision Song Contest in Vienna make their debut! On this week's show: The Class of 2026: We play the first confirmed entries! Hear Alis (Albania) with “Nân / Under” and Tamara Živković (Montenegro) with “Nova zora / New dawn”. New Music: A powerful festive blend of rock and pop from 2004 winner Ruslana with her new single “Hey, Malanka”. Rob's Random Request: Warning: High levels of cheese ahead!

For transcriptions and more detailed shownotes, please go to: https://swordschool.shop/blogs/podcast/episode-209-medieval-european-body-culture-with-dr-maciej-talaga To support the show, come join the Patrons at  https://www.patreon.com/theswordguy Dr Maciej Talaga is an assistant professor at the University of Warsaw. His research interests have revolved around premodern European martial traditions, with particular focus on late medieval, Central European and the so-called German School of fighting. His goal is to elevate HEMA studies into a legitimate field of research within academic history and archaeology. Maciej is a member of HEMAtac, a HEMA coaching organization, and is a qualified Olympic fencing instructor in the Polish Fencing Association. He also runs the Sprechfenster blog on Patreon. Guy first came across Maciej's work through his article Probing the Depth of Medieval European Body Culture: Preliminary Research on Methods of Physical Training, 1250 to 1500. We talk about how Maciej got into historical martial arts, and a bit of background of the development of the HEMA scene in Poland. Both Maciej and Guy have experience of sport fencing, and we talk about how sport fencing coaching techniques can be beneficial in training historical fencing, giving you a framework for understanding concepts in historical fencing. Maciej sees HEMA as a grand project, with tournaments having a key place within this project. We discuss the benefits of the competitive environment, how it affects your training, and how it reveals the differences between what's in the fight books and how we practice sword fighting today. Guy talks himself into getting back into tournament fencing – for seniors only, mind you. We also discuss the topic of Maciej's article about medieval European body culture. What sports did people do, how did they train? What sources do we have to prove what people did? Links of interest: Probing the Depth of Medieval European Body Culture: Preliminary Research on Methods of Physical Training, 1250 to 1500 HEMAtac: https://hematacticalanalys.wixsite.com/hematac Maciej's Sprechfenster blog: https://www.patreon.com/sprechfenster

In this near-final episode of 2025, the three co-hosts of Talk Eastern Europe reflect on the key political, social and geopolitical developments that shaped the region over the past year. They discuss waves of protest across several countries, the resilience of civil society, and the evolving security environment and geopolitical shifts since the start of 2025, including the impact of the new US presidency. The conversation also looks ahead to 2026 and considers what listeners should be watching in the year to come.The opening part concludes with a reflection on the success of Talk Eastern Europe in 2025, as the co-hosts share their favourite episodes and recommend past conversations worth revisiting.In the second part of the episode, Nina speaks with Owen Hatherley, a British writer, journalist and cultural critic known for his work on architecture, urbanism and politics, particularly modernism and communism. Together, they explore the profound influence of Central European émigrés on British architecture, culture and literature in the mid-20th century, tracing how these figures reshaped Britain's intellectual and cultural landscape during and after the Second World War.These themes are explored in depth in Owen's book The Alienation Effect: How Central European Émigrés Transformed the British Twentieth Century: https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/311898/the-alienation-effect-by-hatherley-owen/9780241378205Some figures and references mentioned in the interview:Otti Berger – Croatian designerEugene (Evžen) RosenbergJosef Herman – Polish-British painterJankel Adler – Polish painterJan Tschichold – German calligrapher and typographerHans Schmoller – German and British graphic designerRomek Marber – Polish-born graphic designer behind Penguin's ‘Marber Grid'Walter Neurath and Eva Neurath – founders of Thames & HudsonBerthold Lubetkin – architect associated with Soviet Bauhaus and VkhutemasErnő Goldfinger – Hungarian architect, designer of London's Balfron Tower and Trellick TowerKarel Čapek – Czech author and his book Letters from EnglandBertolt Brecht – German theatre practitioner, and the author of the Alienation theory (Verfremdungseffekt)Otto Neurath – Austrian polymathDua Lipa – British-Albanian pop singer, born to Kosovar Albanian parentsFor Talk Eastern Europe Patrons, Owen Hatherley stayed on for an extended discussion on Polish milk bars and their cultural significance which can be heard here: https://www.patreon.com/posts/249-bonus-polish-146141039

In this festive episode of the Gilded Age & Progressive Era podcast, we welcome back food historian Becky L. Diamond to discuss her latest book, The Gilded Age Christmas Cookbook. Using recipes as historical evidence, Becky takes us into nineteenth-century kitchens to explore how Christmas took shape during the Gilded Age—an era defined by inequality, immigration, and the rise of modern consumer culture.We talk about forgotten holiday treats like sugar plums, German and Central European influences on the American Christmas table, the labor behind seasonal abundance, and the challenges of translating nineteenth-century recipes for modern kitchens. Along the way, Becky shows how food opens a powerful window onto aspiration, memory, and domestic life in the Gilded Age.This episode builds on Becky's earlier appearance on the podcast for The Gilded Age Cookbook and reminds us why food history belongs at the centre of Gilded Age and Progressive Era scholarship.----Becky L. Diamond, The Gilded Age Christmas Cookbook (Lyons Press)Becky L. Diamond, The Gilded Age Cookbook Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this deep and reflective episode of Inside Personal Growth, host Greg Voisen sits down with Dr. Bartosz Adam Gonczarek, author of Riddled by Progress: The Challenge of Nurturing Humanity in the Age of AI, to explore the philosophical and human consequences of rapid technological advancement. Drawing from Greek mythology, Central European philosophy, and real-world AI implementation, Dr. Gonczarek reframes AI not as humanity's enemy—but as a riddle that challenges our understanding of meaning, wisdom, and human flourishing. This conversation invites listeners to rethink progress, authenticity, and the role of technology in shaping our inner and outer worlds. What Listeners Will Learn -Why the real danger of AI is not replacement, but the loss of human meaning and confidence -The Sphinx metaphor and how modern technology mirrors ancient existential riddles -What the Promethean Lag reveals about humanity's struggle to keep pace with its own creations -How over-reliance on AI-generated answers can undermine wisdom and personal growth -Practical ways to use AI responsibly without surrendering human agency or authenticity Our Guest, Bartosz Adam Gonczarek: ➥ Book: Riddled by Progress: The challenge of nurturing humanity in the age of AI ➥ Buy Now: https://amzn.in/d/2QaVcSF ➥https://www.riddledbyprogress.com/ ➥https://vstorm.co/ ➡️LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gonczarek/ Learn more about your Inside Personal Growth host, Greg Voisen: ➥ https://gregvoisen.com ➡️Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/insidepersonalgrowth/ ➡️Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/InsidePersonalGrowth/ ➡️LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gregvoisen/ ➡️Twitter/ X: https://twitter.com/lvoisen/

In the first part of this episode of the Curious Realm, host Christopher Jordan welcomes author and petroglyph researcher Keith Seland to discuss his new book: The Humaniverse Guide (R) - We Are Them, They Are Us: Our Ancestors, Us and ET. We will discuss the data that Keith has uncovered during his research into the connection of ancient societies and possible contact with those from beyond earth. What are these connections, and can we as humanity trace our origins to the stars as so many ancient cultures believe? In the second part of the episode, we welcome author and researcher Ann Selene to discuss the mythical origins and traditions behind Krampus, the horned, dark demonic counterpart to Saint Nicholas (St. Nick) from Central European folklore who accompanies St Nick to punish misbehaving children during the Christmas season. How does this tradition reflect the ways our society sees good and evil and could it be that we have needed Krampus all along?! Join the Curious Realm as we delve into the topics of ET ancestors with Keith Seland and Krampus traditions with Ann Selene. Curious Realm is proudly distributed by: Ground Zero Media & Aftermath Media, APRTV and the official Curious Realm ROKU App! Curious Realm has teamed up with True Hemp Science, Austin, TX-based suppliers of high-quality full spectrum emulsified CBD products and more. Visit TrueHempScience.com TODAY and use code Curious7 to save 7% off your order of $50 or more and get a free 50mg CBD edible! Intro music “A Curious Realm” provided by No Disassemble find more great music and content at: NoDisassemble.com.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/curious-realm--5254986/support.

In the first part of this episode of the Curious Realm, host Christopher Jordan welcomes author and petroglyph researcher Keith Seland to discuss his new book: The Humaniverse Guide (R) - We Are Them, They Are Us: Our Ancestors, Us and ET. We will discuss the data that Keith has uncovered during his research into the connection of ancient societies and possible contact with those from beyond earth. What are these connections, and can we as humanity trace our origins to the stars as so many ancient cultures believe? In the second part of the episode, we welcome author and researcher Ann Selene to discuss the mythical origins and traditions behind Krampus, the horned, dark demonic counterpart to Saint Nicholas (St. Nick) from Central European folklore who accompanies St Nick to punish misbehaving children during the Christmas season. How does this tradition reflect the ways our society sees good and evil and could it be that we have needed Krampus all along?! Join the Curious Realm as we delve into the topics of ET ancestors with Keith Seland and Krampus traditions with Ann Selene. Curious Realm is proudly distributed by: Ground Zero Media & Aftermath Media, APRTV and the official Curious Realm ROKU App! Curious Realm has teamed up with True Hemp Science, Austin, TX-based suppliers of high-quality full spectrum emulsified CBD products and more. Visit TrueHempScience.com TODAY and use code Curious7 to save 7% off your order of $50 or more and get a free 50mg CBD edible! Intro music “A Curious Realm” provided by No Disassemble find more great music and content at: NoDisassemble.com.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/curious-realm--5254986/support.

Guest Roger Moorhouse and host Iain Ballantyne discuss the German submarine threat in WW2 in a lively and engrossing chat. Roger is the author of several acclaimed books, including ‘Killing Hitler' and ‘First to Fight' and now ‘Wolfpack', an excellent single volume deep dive into the submarine arm of the Kriegsmarine - Hitler's navy - and which was reviewed in the November 2025 edition of Warships IFR. Topics touched on in this episode include pondering why the Germans placed their bets on the U-boat again, for the second time in a quarter of a century, despite having seen a similar strategy fail in WW1. Also discussed is the quality and character of the U-boat captains – cool, leather jacket, lumber jack shirt-wearing heroes or villains? Nazis to a man and fanatical supporters of the regime, of just Good Germans doing their best for their country? Iain asks Roger if ‘the U-boat peril' truly was the only thing that ever really frightened Winston Churchill in WW2 - or was the wartime British Prime Minister deploying his usual emotive characterisation to frame his own later record more valiantly? The term Wolfpack reeks of lethality, provoking a shiver of fear, but how effective were the U-boats really once the Allies improved tactics, weaponry and training? Roger provides his perspective on that topic in addition to considering the strategies of Karl Dönitz, the U-boat force boss. Looking at the moral dimension of the conflict, Roger and Iain ponder whether of not it is possible  to set aside the horror of the Nazis and what they did and feel empathy for the tens of thousands of young men in German submarines who died under a hail of Allied depth charges, bombs and gunfire.  Both host and guest offer a dose of common sense about the fantasy in some quarters of Hitler escaping in a U-boat to live out the rest of his days in South America. Finally, Iain asks Roger what he feels might be lessons for today in dealing with the Russian threat, which includes submarines. Visit the magazine web site http://bit.ly/wifrmag Also, follow it on X @WarshipsIFR Facebook @WarshipsIFR and Warships IFR TV on YouTube @warshipsifrtv3668  For more on the mag https://warshipsifr.com/ The new (January 2026) edition of Warships IFR magazine hits the streets on 19.12.25 and is available hard copy in shops and supermarkets, plus direct in hard and digital variants from publisher Sundial Magazines https://sundialmedia.escosubs.co.uk/subscribe/warships.htm Roger Moorhouse is a historian and author specialising in modern German and Central European history, with particular interest in Nazi Germany, the Holocaust and World War Two in Europe. Follow Roger on X @Roger_Moorhouse Visit his web site https://www.rogermoorhouse.com For more information on his ‘Wolfpack: Inside Hitler's U-Boat War' (William Collins ) https://www.rogermoorhouse.com/wolfpack Iain Ballantyne is the founding and current Editor of ‘Warships IFR' magazine (first published in 1998) along with its ‘Guide to the Royal Navy' (since 2003) and ‘Guide to the US Navy' (since 2018). Iain is also author of the books ‘Hunter Killers' (Orion) and ‘The Deadly Trade' (Weidenfeld & Nicolson), both about submarine warfare, plus ‘Arnhem: Ten Days in The Cauldron' and ‘Bismarck: 24 Hours to Doom' (both published by Canelo). In 2017 Iain was awarded a Fellowship by the British Maritime Foundation, which promotes awareness of the United Kingdom's dependence on the sea and seafarers. Visit his web site Bismarckbattle.com and follow him on X @IBallantyn

In this episode of DISINFORMATION WARS, host Ilan Berman speaks with Arthur Barys of TVP World about how Poland's premier English-language broadcaster is trying to change the conversation - and provide crucial context - about Russia's information offensive on Europe's eastern flank. BIO:Arthur Barys is a Warsaw-based translator and head language editor at TVP World, the English-language news channel of Poland's public broadcaster. TVP World covers the region from a Central European perspective, with a special focus on Ukraine, Russia, and NATO's eastern flank.

Georg Von Harrach, Brussels-based journalist; Arthur Sullivan, Berlin-based journalist; and Nick Thorpe, Central European correspondent for BBC News

Original Episode Transcript FollowsStephanie:Hello, everybody, and welcome to Dishing with Stephanie's Dish, the podcast where we talk about food. A lot of times we talk to cookbook authors and kind of understand their process and what they're doing. Well, I'm just noticing my hair is real bedhead, but it is what it is. Friends, in this particular episode, I want to talk to my friend Michael Kenney. He is from Defined Destinations. He owns his own business, and it's a travel company. And. And Michael and I met about three years ago now, and we have done a number of trips together, and we are planning our April trip, which is going to be to Turkey, and we have a lot of different cities that we're going to visit.And one of the things that I've heard from a lot of people is they all know we're going to Turkey and they want to hear about it, and they're excited to know about the destination, but they're nervous about signing up for the trip. So said to Michael, let's just talk. Let's do a podcast where we give people an idea of what to expect, where we're going, what kind of things we're going to see. My friend Todd Walker, coincidentally has. He's in Turkey right now. And he said. And he's been. He travels all over.He works for the Viking Cruise Lines, doing trips for them and helping to write about them and help people experience them. He sent me a text, and he said, turkey is in his top three places he's ever been. He's just super hot on it. He's like, you are totally going at the exact right time. Because he's like, people are just starting to learn about it, but there's so many cool things. He said it's a trip like nothing has ever experienced before. So, Michael, I'm excited to talk to you about it. And people ask me like, well, why did you pick turkey? And I was like, why not? I have always.I met a guy 20 years ago and in Paris that was from Turkey, and first of all, he was gorgeous, so let's just go there. But second of all, he really, like, he just was telling me about where he lived and what Turkey was like and what the food was like. And he talked to me about the spice Trail and kind of how people came in through Istanbul and then crossed over into Italy and into Spain. And it made me feel like, wow, okay. Turkey is this very Mediterranean feeling place with tons of culture, and I've always wanted to go there, so I picked it. Michael, why did you allow me to pick Turkey? Knowing that it would be a destination that would be harder to sell for people.Michael Kenney:Yeah, I think that's what's great. And thanks for having me on, Stephanie. It's always a blast, you know, to travel with you and with your, your listeners. It just, we've built some really great bonds with the people, which has been a fun. So even our latest trip to Sicily. What, what a blast. And great people.Stephanie:Yes.Michael Kenney:But you going back to why we choose this and with Turkey, and that's what's great about you. It's like you're willing to try some new areas. And a lot of people are like, well, I've heard of Turkey. I don't know much about it. And I think that's where we both kind of glammed on. Like, let's go and let's have this experience. And we've been putting group trips together for 27 years and we have some great partners and some Turkish partners, too, that can really open up the, the eyes. I know several people that have been to, to Istanbul and everyone's heard of Istanbul, like, oh, it's a top five city on earth for a lot of people.And you're probably wondering, well, why? So I encourage you to kind of jump in, look at our website, do a little research on that. But Turkey is so, so much more than that. I. They have absolutely stunning beaches, their food culture, their spices, the seaside communities, the, the Roman ruins. They have so much in different little pockets. So Turkey offers. And I think that's what maybe gravitated you and I both to it. Just the diversity and still a little of that wonder, like what's, what's really, what's in Turkey.And I think, you know, we, we talked about a little earlier before the podcast about some of the places, you know, that are kind of overrun with tourists. And definitely Turkey is not there. It will be at some point. So it's kind of fun to get on maybe the ground level to, to some of these places and not just Istanbul, because it, it is busy, but some of the other places that we're going to go from Ephesus to Kabukia or Pamuk. There's so many different places that are on this trip that you've never even heard of. So it's kind of like, well, I haven't really heard of that. Go, go look at our website. Go do a little research on the Internet and see what.It's so amazing. The Europeans, they know of Turkey really, really well because it's a, it's a quick flight and they Absolutely love it. I'm in Europe nine times a year and the folks that I talk with over there, they absolutely love it. So it's kind of like a discovery trip for Americans. And what's great about our trip that will, it's fully guided. We have 31 meals included. We have the inner flight inside, Turkey included. So there's really no out of pocket expense for that.So you can really sit back and relax and take in the best of Turkey with our local guides. And there's just so much and I think that's what's going to be kind of fun to go discover. This place in our group is going to be no more than 15 people. It's a small group experience so you can really relax and enjoy that. And I know folks that maybe, well, what's a group tour? You know, I think you even mentioned that too for some people. Like, well, what do you do? It's again, we've kind of handled everything. We've taken care of the hotels, the buses, the cooking class that we're going to do. I mean, you might want to touch on that later.But we've taken all of that, these best of experiences and put it in one itinerary so you can sit back and relax and know that you're going to see the best of Turkey.Stephanie:I think explaining my husband Kurt's sort of transformation is good here. My husband is an independent person. He's owned his own business, he's a sailor. He would, he, he has no interest really in group travel. Like when I brought it up to him and that I was going to start leading trips, he was like, why would you want to do that? Why would you want to be with people you don't even know? Like, he is just anti group travel as a rule. And he came on our first trip, he wanted to come with us when we went to Cambodia and we went to Vietnam. He knew that he would never plan a trip to Asia on his own. So he thought, well, I'll go along on this group travel and I'll just suck up the group travel part because I get to go to this cool destination.Well, what happened is he loved it. He liked group travel. He liked meeting new people. He liked not being the person that had to be in charge of making sure that we got our luggage to the room and that we made it to the right flights and that he had to carry all the stuff and all the itinerary. He kind of liked that he wasn't responsible for all that. And he liked the food, he liked Meeting the people he liked, not having to be in a city he'd never been in and figure out exactly where we were going to eat every single meal. We had flexibility. Obviously, on these trips, we want it to be your trip.In our Sicily experience, you mentioned a couple times, like, if this doesn't feel like something you want to do, then don't do it. Do something else for the day. We can help you orchestrate other things. He really loved the idea that he didn't have to do everything. And in fact, when we did our cooking class in Sicily, which was amazing, by the way, we learned to make arancini, which they call arancino. We made a thing called a pinella, which was a chickpea pancake that they eat in a sandwich, which was kind of different. But Kurt didn't want to do the cooking class. He was like, you know what? I think I'm just gonna go walk around the city.So him and another friend peeled off and, like, that's the joy of these trips. We plan everything, but if you're tired or if you just want a day of rest, you can do that too. We really try to make it so that we know it's your experience. We're not as interested in you just being forced to come along on things that you're not interested in. We're interested in your experience. We want you to have a good time. So if Kurt Johnson can get turned on to group travel, I feel like, seriously, anyone can.Michael Kenney:No, that's. That's well said. I would have never guessed that about Kurt initially. You know, and I wouldn't call him an introvert by any means, but I think we get, you know, a lot of people like that with. With. Kurt. You know, maybe their. Their.Their husband or their wife drags them on a trip, and they're like, you know what? This is actually pretty cool, especially for the person that maybe is doing typically all the planning. And it's stressful. You know, we do all that for you, but you can really, again, sit back and enjoy. You spend a lot of money to go on these trips, and that's what we want. So we want you to feel like you. You have that. That freedom, too. When we set up our hotels in nice, central locations and safe areas, too, that you can go out and explore, so we encourage you to do that.But honestly, we feel pretty good that the pace of these trips are designed really well, that you have that flexibility, because we want you. Yes, you're in a group, even a small group, but we want to make it feel like you're having these experience with, with a friend or a family member that's with you too, that you, you feel like you're, you're having these little exploring trips, but it's all kind of put together already for you. But again, we, we have time for you to go exploring, to have these other experiences, which is really, really important. Balance is so important. Over 27 years, I think we've really, we focus on that so we know that, that people are comfortable having that free time to explore. But again, having the, the framework of an itinerary with, with experiences. Typically, we might do a city tour in the, in the morning and then have the rest of your day free to have your own exploring. Then maybe for, especially for this trip with the 31 meals that will meet up and have dinner in a place.And again, they're all being curated with our local team too, in the area that you're going to have foods local from the area in great mom PA type of restaurants. So sometimes it's stressful when you're trying to figure out where am I going to go eat, what should I do? I want to make sure the dinner is going to be great. We've got that taken care of so you can sit back and relax. And again, we know most of you probably have not heard of a lot of these places. Please, we implore you to go and take a look at the itinerary, do a little research, because I guarantee in a few years from now, these are going to be mainstream and you'll be able to go explore and see these places before they're overly busy. So take a look at this itinerary.Stephanie:I was impressed because when I first was thinking about Turkey, I went on a map and I didn't realize, like, when I started going to Croatia, I didn't realize how close Croatia is to Italy. That literally they share a sea and that a lot of Italians use Croatia as their summer vacation spot.Michael Kenney:Yeah.Stephanie:And I didn't also realize that Turkey and Italy are very close and that a lot of Europeans, because they've got EasyJet there, that's an Italian airline, they're going to Turkey like we would be going to Palm Springs. I mean, a lot of Europeans are experiencing Turkey and it's just not a destination that a lot of Americans are familiar with. But a lot of people are going there and having fun, doing fun things. This. It's been so fun for me to watch my friend Todd Walker, because he went to Cappadocia, which is a city that we're going to go to and they have all these fairy houses that are like these stone. They look like dunce caps sort of. They're these weird structures. And he, like, actually spent the night in one of them.He did a hot air balloon r there, which is part of our itinerary. If someone wants to add that on, I know Kurt's going to do that. It's like he went and he had all this video of it where there's 140 hot air balloons going up kind of all at once out of this city. It just looks so completely cool. And then the. The huge market. There's like, the world's largest market. So all of these trips, I always end up with a group of great women shoppers.And I'm like, okay, bring an extra bag, ladies, because you're going to come home with a rug and you're going to come home with all of these spices. There's 4,000 stalls in the Grand Market in Istanbul. Do you know that?Michael Kenney:Yeah, the Grand Bazaar. I didn't know exactly how many, but, yeah, it's massive.Stephanie:So just that, like, I love getting into a market and just, like, seeing all the different things, feeling all the different spices. In Sicily, we had an opportunity to go to the market, and afterwards we had our. Our local guide that kind of takes you around and shows you where everything is and gives you a sense of maybe what to look for at the market. And then we split up and Kurt and I, he just wanted to drink beer in the market and kind of experience feeling in the market. So we went and got sandwiches. But a bunch of other people, like, shop till they dropped. Like, they had huge shopping bags full of stuff. So if your jam is shopping, great.If your jam is just sitting and taking in the culture, great. Like, you can also learn more about a city by spending time with the city guides that are with us. They're always having lunch with us, and we have a bus driver that we get to know in certain trips. It really just. We just got back from Sicily and we had such a great experience. We had such a great trip. It was probably one of my favorite groups because a lot of the folks had traveled with us before, so we really knew each other, too. It's group travel is really fun.I'm just. I don't know, I'm really jazzed about it, and I'm jazzed about Turkey, and I want people to come. If you could describe Ephesus, because that's a place that I haven't been before and you have what is that like?Michael Kenney:Yeah, Ephesus, it was, you know, built by the Romans in the time of Christ, so 2,000 years ago. And it's. You're walking through. It's. It's unbelievable. It's not like when you're at the Roman Coliseum or that area around there that's actually, it feels like it's in. More in ruins, if you will. But you're like in this village, this Roman village that you can think of, the Apostles walk, maybe if you're, you know, religious.Mary, Jesus's mother, has walked. And the. Still, the stone streets are there. You know, a lot of the buildings are in ruins, but the library, the, the whole front facade is still there. It's, it's unreal. It feels like you're just being brought back in time. And there's truly nothing like Ephesus, which is just right outside of the, the village of Kusadasi, or city in Turkey. But it's, it's like the.If, again, if I could have an analogy, like you're in Rome, but to another level that it's, it's much more, I would say intact. Still in ruins, but intact. But this, this, this village that it's in hibernation. So walking these streets. And we have these local guides as you touched on too, that kind of can bring everything to, to, to life. So, you know, you're not looking through your, your book and trying to like, well, what is this? You listen to an audio guide or our, our local guide speaking about that. So you're learning about the history. But Ephesus is, is.Is unbelievable. And we're not going to see. There's other ruins and more Roman sites and throughout this trip, so you'll really get, you know, a history. I wouldn't say a deep dive. They touch on it. So you're not like, oh, this is so boring. But you even said it's, it's a trip like this is great for, for shoppers, if you want to shop. I'm not a shopper.I like to do what Kurt does. Sit down, maybe have a beer and take it all in and do nothing. Just take in the people walking around, the smells. There's. There's nothing like it. And again, I think this trip to Turkey really offers a potpourri of different experiences. So if you're a foodie, if you're into photography, to culture, to history, this trip really ticks all the boxes. And I guarantee it, you'll love it.You'll love the trip. But then even at the end you. There's a great chance you're going to make lifelong friends on, on a trip like this too. So it's, it really ticks a box of. Of of experiences. So hopefully April is a great time to go to. The temperatures you can expect, you know, low 70s, you know, 50s, 60s at night. So it's really comfortable.Not like in the summer when it's really busy and it's busier with the Europeans and the temperatures hotter. This April time is a great time to visit for sure.Stephanie:Can you talk a little bit about what the food is like? Like, I have an idea, but I don't really know. Like, is it Mediterranean? Is it like meat and pomegranates and couscous?Michael Kenney:Yep, you're nailing it right now. No, it. It is like that. So I think I encourage again people to. To look online too, to see what some of these are. But you maybe have heard of, you know, baklava or, you know, kebabs, the lamb, the beef, the chicken. They have, you know, the different kebabs, lots of different spices, ganache, as many, you know, like fried dishes too, but then a lot of cooked on open fires. But I would say, I wouldn't necessarily say it's comfort food, like German, you know, in having, you know, some of the staples that you might know, but still something that's not too odd.It's probably more closer to home than maybe some of the French food you would see. But you'll see a lot of lamb, the beef, I said some of the fried foods, lots of, you know, from your Turkish delights and different things like that. So I think even when we're walking around in the market, you'll get that. And then we'll at our dinners have different meals as well that will infuse some of these different experiences. So it won't be something completely foreign, but it'll be. It'll be comfortable enough that I think you'll enjoy it, but it definitely be a nice array of different experiences with the food.Stephanie:I haven't told you this, but one of the places, and I don't know where I'm going to do this, but I am going to find. Have you ever been to a hammam or done the spa experience where like, you lay on like hot marble and it's sort of like a sauna and you get sweaty and then you like, go into a room and they like brush you with salt and scrubby things and like completely clean you. It's a Muslim tradition and it's the most amazing thing I've ever done. I did this in Athens and I loved it so much. We went three times while we were in Athens.Michael Kenney:Wow.Stephanie:Find a spa that does this there. I don't know in what city or where we are, but I know a local guide can help me when we get there.Michael Kenney:Yep.Stephanie:Both Kurt and I, it was just the most amazing, relaxing experience. Just someone scrubbing you with all these different herbs and salts. And they have weird little brushes that your eyes are closed and. And you can't even. Like. One of them was this big, puffy, like, pillow feeling that was running across the top of your body. It was so weird, but so great.Michael Kenney:Yeah, I haven't done it. I've seen them. I've done, like, the part that we're just going in, like, in the. In the sauna or the steam bath. That's it. I haven't had the full rub down yet. Maybe on this Turkish.Stephanie:We're going to do it. Yeah, it's great. I'll do it.Michael Kenney:No, it'll be fun, but no, it's very popular over there. The Turkish amans. To do that. So there definitely will be that opportunity. I will. I'll give it a shot. You know, it'll be interesting to have someone scrub me down with salts. But, hey, life's about to have any experiences and.And I'm. And I'm. I'm for it, but I'm glad you enjoyed that. But, yes, they definitely have that. And you'll have that opportunity if you want again. It's. Yeah, it's always. It's.Stephanie:I'm not gonna make anyone go get naked and do this, but if you want to get naked and do this, I'm telling you, it's amazing. And they probably actually. They wear bathing suits because they're pretty modest. Or they'll have, like, a separate women's area and a separate men's area. When we did it in Athens, it was men and women together, and we wore bathing suits. And then when you got into the private room, you could take your bathing suit off. And they were very modest and helpful, but.Michael Kenney:Yeah. So being comfortable. Yeah, no, that's. That's great. Well, that'll be. Maybe we'll just get a whole group and do that to get so great.Stephanie:Yeah, it's just like. It was one of the best things I've ever done. And I. I like spas and massage, and I've done a lot of weird things like that. This was, like, just amazing. Well, I'm excited. I hope that people will join us. The way it works is you can find all the itinerary on defined destinations website.We'll link that in the show notes here you can see each particular day and what city you'll be in and what you'll be doing and what's included. I would imagine in most of these breakfast is included because that's typically a sort of European thing to do. And then as he's. As Michael said, a lot of the meals are included. I do think when you're breaking open a new destination, it's important to kind of give people a sense of what they're going to be experiencing. And food is obviously a big part of that. And food is a big part of my journey on this trip. Turkish delights, if you've never had them, they're like this beautiful little jelly.Turkish coffee is very different. It's a much more intense coffee experience. So if you're a coffee drinker, you'll learn a lot. Also, olive oil is very much present in Turkey. Like again, I keep comparing it to Italy, but it is right across the water. So there's a lot of different olive oils that are used in Turkey, a lot of different spices. We're going to have fun. So the way this works is you can go online, you can put your deposit down and full payment is due I think in January for this trip.You can book your own travel if you want to, meaning get your airfare to get to where we're going to meet for the trip. Or you can use Michael's got a service that can help you book all your airfare. I personally like to control my airfare because I like to have the miles and I like to know exactly how I'm going to set things up on my itinerary. Kurt and I also like to get there like a day or two in advance just to get acclimated a little bit before the rest of you guys come. So that I'm not super jet lagged. I'm on fire by the time you arrive. And yeah, we do. There's going to be a lot of beautiful wine, I'm assuming too, because that's something that there's a great grape destination there.You don't know about Turkish wines yet, but you will. They, they exist. There's actually quite a lot of them. Yeah. And that's how it works. Michael, you've got a special offer just to get people that may be on the fence a little bit. Yeah.Michael Kenney:Well, we're excited. The trip again is April 9th through the 20th. And again, go online, take it just take a look at the website, look at some of the pictures. You'll absolutely love it. And then even all the things that we've talked about that aren't even mentioned in the itinerary, there's so many fun things. But if you're listening to this and you're new to register, you'll get $200 off per person if you register for the trip. Final payment is January 1st, so just think about that. So this would be a great.A great gift for a loved one. Hey, let's. We're going to go to Turkey. And I hear more and more people are. They want to have a travel experience rather than having tangible things about having experiences, especially with ones you love. So hopefully this trip to Turkey, if you want to try something new and have just an amazing experience about a place you maybe haven't heard too much about, I think you'll absolutely love it. So just go to defined destinations.com, like Stephanie said. She'll have the link there, too.Against April 9th through the 20th. You can register right there. If you need help with airfare, we're happy to do that. So we make it pretty easy for you on that end. So we're gonna. We're gonna have a blast with a great group of people and hopefully, you know, you'll want to join this small group of no more than 15 people.Stephanie:Is this the time that we tell people that are listening to maybe stay tuned. I mean, we do have a pretty epic October trip planned.Michael Kenney:Yeah, no, I mean, go for it. We don't have the. All the dates totally confirmed, but we're. Yeah, go ahead.Stephanie:Well, we're working on one of the trips. So I have taken people to Spain, I've taken people to Croatia, I've taken people to Cambodia, Thailand, and now Turkey. And the Croatia trip was really magical and people loved it. And I have a huge fondness for Croatia. Obviously, I've been there a lot, and there were a lot of people that wanted to go on that trip that didn't get the opportunity because it's a luxury experience. It's a luxury yacht. It's small rooms or not small rooms. It's a small ship with actually, the rooms were quite big for a boat.And so we had so many people that wanted to do that itinerary again. Michael said, hey, how about we do it again? But I'll add a couple of new things so that it's a new experience for you too, Stephanie, because there is. I've never been to Zagreb, which seems probably surprising since I've been to Croatia so many times and there's a bunch of these finger lakes. What do they call those? Is it the plastic lakes?Michael Kenney:Yeah, the Plaviche Lakes National Park. Yep.Stephanie:The national parks in Croatia are legendary. If you. I mean Mijet has one of the most beautiful national parks on it with a monastery in the middle of this lake. So we are going to be taking another small group. It'll be smallish. I think we had 28 on our last.Michael Kenney:Yeah, enough to fill the boat. And the boat only can sleep like 34. So it's a small experience on that. But yeah, I'm excited to go back to that again. That's been one of our hot sellers, our Croatia trip. So with the Zagreb and the Blevice lakes and then our seven night cruise, the Croatia trip will be great. So maybe you want to do two trips. Our beautiful Turkey trip in the spring and then come October we'll have this amazing trip to, to Croatia.So go out and have experiences and hopefully you want to join us. I think you'll find great value, great meals just. And great people that to travel with.Stephanie:And if you're listening and you want to explore Michael's other trips because he takes trips with other people, not just me. And also he just guides trips himself. Just tell him that you're a friend of Stephanie's dish so that he knows that you came from my referral. But just like, yeah, if you want to sign up for a Christmas market or you're interested in heading to the Amalfi coast, traveling with defined destinations is a really great opportunity. They do it extremely well. I have traveled a lot and so I've had some good experiences and some not so good experiences. So I know that when you travel with Michael, you're in good hands. I'm still just missing our guide Peter, who was with us on our last Sicilian trip, who turns out has been your friend for like 25 years.I just miss him. He's such a character. I loved him so much.Michael Kenney:Yeah. And that's great. Yeah. Peter's a good friend of mine for. He's our Austrian guy, but he's. He's got family in, in Italy and does some of our, our Central European trips. But again, like you said it too, it's, it's. Again, it's more than just the sights.You're building relationships even if you're not even looking for that. But it's fun to recall and all the good people you've met and the fun experiences you've had along the way. I love what I do, and hopefully it shows in our trips. It's all about having a great experience with great people, so encourage you. And you've been such a great part of the defined destinations family. Thank you, Stephanie.Stephanie:I love it.Michael Kenney:Looking forward to more.Stephanie:If I didn't, people know I would have kicked you to the curb long ago. And you even have got. You've even converted Kurt.Michael Kenney:So, I mean, yeah, that's great. So, yeah, it's about. About having fun and that's what we do. And we'd love to have you on, on any of our trips.Stephanie:Yeah. All right, you guys. So I'll put all that information that you need in the links below. We are going to Turkey and I hope you come. That's all I can say because I'm gonna probably be talking about it non stop because I'm so excited.Michael Kenney:That's great.Stephanie:I'm.Michael Kenney:I'm looking forward to it. Thanks again, Steph.Stephanie:Thanks, Michael. Okay, bye. Bye.Stephanie's Dish Newsletter is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit stephaniehansen.substack.com/subscribe

Original Episode Transcript FollowsStephanie:Hello, everybody, and welcome to Dishing with Stephanie's Dish, the podcast where we talk about food. A lot of times we talk to cookbook authors and kind of understand their process and what they're doing. Well, I'm just noticing my hair is real bedhead, but it is what it is. Friends, in this particular episode, I want to talk to my friend Michael Kenney. He is from Defined Destinations. He owns his own business, and it's a travel company. And. And Michael and I met about three years ago now, and we have done a number of trips together, and we are planning our April trip, which is going to be to Turkey, and we have a lot of different cities that we're going to visit.And one of the things that I've heard from a lot of people is they all know we're going to Turkey and they want to hear about it, and they're excited to know about the destination, but they're nervous about signing up for the trip. So said to Michael, let's just talk. Let's do a podcast where we give people an idea of what to expect, where we're going, what kind of things we're going to see. My friend Todd Walker, coincidentally has. He's in Turkey right now. And he said. And he's been. He travels all over.He works for the Viking Cruise Lines, doing trips for them and helping to write about them and help people experience them. He sent me a text, and he said, turkey is in his top three places he's ever been. He's just super hot on it. He's like, you are totally going at the exact right time. Because he's like, people are just starting to learn about it, but there's so many cool things. He said it's a trip like nothing has ever experienced before. So, Michael, I'm excited to talk to you about it. And people ask me like, well, why did you pick turkey? And I was like, why not? I have always.I met a guy 20 years ago and in Paris that was from Turkey, and first of all, he was gorgeous, so let's just go there. But second of all, he really, like, he just was telling me about where he lived and what Turkey was like and what the food was like. And he talked to me about the spice Trail and kind of how people came in through Istanbul and then crossed over into Italy and into Spain. And it made me feel like, wow, okay. Turkey is this very Mediterranean feeling place with tons of culture, and I've always wanted to go there, so I picked it. Michael, why did you allow me to pick Turkey? Knowing that it would be a destination that would be harder to sell for people.Michael Kenney:Yeah, I think that's what's great. And thanks for having me on, Stephanie. It's always a blast, you know, to travel with you and with your, your listeners. It just, we've built some really great bonds with the people, which has been a fun. So even our latest trip to Sicily. What, what a blast. And great people.Stephanie:Yes.Michael Kenney:But you going back to why we choose this and with Turkey, and that's what's great about you. It's like you're willing to try some new areas. And a lot of people are like, well, I've heard of Turkey. I don't know much about it. And I think that's where we both kind of glammed on. Like, let's go and let's have this experience. And we've been putting group trips together for 27 years and we have some great partners and some Turkish partners, too, that can really open up the, the eyes. I know several people that have been to, to Istanbul and everyone's heard of Istanbul, like, oh, it's a top five city on earth for a lot of people.And you're probably wondering, well, why? So I encourage you to kind of jump in, look at our website, do a little research on that. But Turkey is so, so much more than that. I. They have absolutely stunning beaches, their food culture, their spices, the seaside communities, the, the Roman ruins. They have so much in different little pockets. So Turkey offers. And I think that's what maybe gravitated you and I both to it. Just the diversity and still a little of that wonder, like what's, what's really, what's in Turkey.And I think, you know, we, we talked about a little earlier before the podcast about some of the places, you know, that are kind of overrun with tourists. And definitely Turkey is not there. It will be at some point. So it's kind of fun to get on maybe the ground level to, to some of these places and not just Istanbul, because it, it is busy, but some of the other places that we're going to go from Ephesus to Kabukia or Pamuk. There's so many different places that are on this trip that you've never even heard of. So it's kind of like, well, I haven't really heard of that. Go, go look at our website. Go do a little research on the Internet and see what.It's so amazing. The Europeans, they know of Turkey really, really well because it's a, it's a quick flight and they Absolutely love it. I'm in Europe nine times a year and the folks that I talk with over there, they absolutely love it. So it's kind of like a discovery trip for Americans. And what's great about our trip that will, it's fully guided. We have 31 meals included. We have the inner flight inside, Turkey included. So there's really no out of pocket expense for that.So you can really sit back and relax and take in the best of Turkey with our local guides. And there's just so much and I think that's what's going to be kind of fun to go discover. This place in our group is going to be no more than 15 people. It's a small group experience so you can really relax and enjoy that. And I know folks that maybe, well, what's a group tour? You know, I think you even mentioned that too for some people. Like, well, what do you do? It's again, we've kind of handled everything. We've taken care of the hotels, the buses, the cooking class that we're going to do. I mean, you might want to touch on that later.But we've taken all of that, these best of experiences and put it in one itinerary so you can sit back and relax and know that you're going to see the best of Turkey.Stephanie:I think explaining my husband Kurt's sort of transformation is good here. My husband is an independent person. He's owned his own business, he's a sailor. He would, he, he has no interest really in group travel. Like when I brought it up to him and that I was going to start leading trips, he was like, why would you want to do that? Why would you want to be with people you don't even know? Like, he is just anti group travel as a rule. And he came on our first trip, he wanted to come with us when we went to Cambodia and we went to Vietnam. He knew that he would never plan a trip to Asia on his own. So he thought, well, I'll go along on this group travel and I'll just suck up the group travel part because I get to go to this cool destination.Well, what happened is he loved it. He liked group travel. He liked meeting new people. He liked not being the person that had to be in charge of making sure that we got our luggage to the room and that we made it to the right flights and that he had to carry all the stuff and all the itinerary. He kind of liked that he wasn't responsible for all that. And he liked the food, he liked Meeting the people he liked, not having to be in a city he'd never been in and figure out exactly where we were going to eat every single meal. We had flexibility. Obviously, on these trips, we want it to be your trip.In our Sicily experience, you mentioned a couple times, like, if this doesn't feel like something you want to do, then don't do it. Do something else for the day. We can help you orchestrate other things. He really loved the idea that he didn't have to do everything. And in fact, when we did our cooking class in Sicily, which was amazing, by the way, we learned to make arancini, which they call arancino. We made a thing called a pinella, which was a chickpea pancake that they eat in a sandwich, which was kind of different. But Kurt didn't want to do the cooking class. He was like, you know what? I think I'm just gonna go walk around the city.So him and another friend peeled off and, like, that's the joy of these trips. We plan everything, but if you're tired or if you just want a day of rest, you can do that too. We really try to make it so that we know it's your experience. We're not as interested in you just being forced to come along on things that you're not interested in. We're interested in your experience. We want you to have a good time. So if Kurt Johnson can get turned on to group travel, I feel like, seriously, anyone can.Michael Kenney:No, that's. That's well said. I would have never guessed that about Kurt initially. You know, and I wouldn't call him an introvert by any means, but I think we get, you know, a lot of people like that with. With. Kurt. You know, maybe their. Their.Their husband or their wife drags them on a trip, and they're like, you know what? This is actually pretty cool, especially for the person that maybe is doing typically all the planning. And it's stressful. You know, we do all that for you, but you can really, again, sit back and enjoy. You spend a lot of money to go on these trips, and that's what we want. So we want you to feel like you. You have that. That freedom, too. When we set up our hotels in nice, central locations and safe areas, too, that you can go out and explore, so we encourage you to do that.But honestly, we feel pretty good that the pace of these trips are designed really well, that you have that flexibility, because we want you. Yes, you're in a group, even a small group, but we want to make it feel like you're having these experience with, with a friend or a family member that's with you too, that you, you feel like you're, you're having these little exploring trips, but it's all kind of put together already for you. But again, we, we have time for you to go exploring, to have these other experiences, which is really, really important. Balance is so important. Over 27 years, I think we've really, we focus on that so we know that, that people are comfortable having that free time to explore. But again, having the, the framework of an itinerary with, with experiences. Typically, we might do a city tour in the, in the morning and then have the rest of your day free to have your own exploring. Then maybe for, especially for this trip with the 31 meals that will meet up and have dinner in a place.And again, they're all being curated with our local team too, in the area that you're going to have foods local from the area in great mom PA type of restaurants. So sometimes it's stressful when you're trying to figure out where am I going to go eat, what should I do? I want to make sure the dinner is going to be great. We've got that taken care of so you can sit back and relax. And again, we know most of you probably have not heard of a lot of these places. Please, we implore you to go and take a look at the itinerary, do a little research, because I guarantee in a few years from now, these are going to be mainstream and you'll be able to go explore and see these places before they're overly busy. So take a look at this itinerary.Stephanie:I was impressed because when I first was thinking about Turkey, I went on a map and I didn't realize, like, when I started going to Croatia, I didn't realize how close Croatia is to Italy. That literally they share a sea and that a lot of Italians use Croatia as their summer vacation spot.Michael Kenney:Yeah.Stephanie:And I didn't also realize that Turkey and Italy are very close and that a lot of Europeans, because they've got EasyJet there, that's an Italian airline, they're going to Turkey like we would be going to Palm Springs. I mean, a lot of Europeans are experiencing Turkey and it's just not a destination that a lot of Americans are familiar with. But a lot of people are going there and having fun, doing fun things. This. It's been so fun for me to watch my friend Todd Walker, because he went to Cappadocia, which is a city that we're going to go to and they have all these fairy houses that are like these stone. They look like dunce caps sort of. They're these weird structures. And he, like, actually spent the night in one of them.He did a hot air balloon r there, which is part of our itinerary. If someone wants to add that on, I know Kurt's going to do that. It's like he went and he had all this video of it where there's 140 hot air balloons going up kind of all at once out of this city. It just looks so completely cool. And then the. The huge market. There's like, the world's largest market. So all of these trips, I always end up with a group of great women shoppers.And I'm like, okay, bring an extra bag, ladies, because you're going to come home with a rug and you're going to come home with all of these spices. There's 4,000 stalls in the Grand Market in Istanbul. Do you know that?Michael Kenney:Yeah, the Grand Bazaar. I didn't know exactly how many, but, yeah, it's massive.Stephanie:So just that, like, I love getting into a market and just, like, seeing all the different things, feeling all the different spices. In Sicily, we had an opportunity to go to the market, and afterwards we had our. Our local guide that kind of takes you around and shows you where everything is and gives you a sense of maybe what to look for at the market. And then we split up and Kurt and I, he just wanted to drink beer in the market and kind of experience feeling in the market. So we went and got sandwiches. But a bunch of other people, like, shop till they dropped. Like, they had huge shopping bags full of stuff. So if your jam is shopping, great.If your jam is just sitting and taking in the culture, great. Like, you can also learn more about a city by spending time with the city guides that are with us. They're always having lunch with us, and we have a bus driver that we get to know in certain trips. It really just. We just got back from Sicily and we had such a great experience. We had such a great trip. It was probably one of my favorite groups because a lot of the folks had traveled with us before, so we really knew each other, too. It's group travel is really fun.I'm just. I don't know, I'm really jazzed about it, and I'm jazzed about Turkey, and I want people to come. If you could describe Ephesus, because that's a place that I haven't been before and you have what is that like?Michael Kenney:Yeah, Ephesus, it was, you know, built by the Romans in the time of Christ, so 2,000 years ago. And it's. You're walking through. It's. It's unbelievable. It's not like when you're at the Roman Coliseum or that area around there that's actually, it feels like it's in. More in ruins, if you will. But you're like in this village, this Roman village that you can think of, the Apostles walk, maybe if you're, you know, religious.Mary, Jesus's mother, has walked. And the. Still, the stone streets are there. You know, a lot of the buildings are in ruins, but the library, the, the whole front facade is still there. It's, it's unreal. It feels like you're just being brought back in time. And there's truly nothing like Ephesus, which is just right outside of the, the village of Kusadasi, or city in Turkey. But it's, it's like the.If, again, if I could have an analogy, like you're in Rome, but to another level that it's, it's much more, I would say intact. Still in ruins, but intact. But this, this, this village that it's in hibernation. So walking these streets. And we have these local guides as you touched on too, that kind of can bring everything to, to, to life. So, you know, you're not looking through your, your book and trying to like, well, what is this? You listen to an audio guide or our, our local guide speaking about that. So you're learning about the history. But Ephesus is, is.Is unbelievable. And we're not going to see. There's other ruins and more Roman sites and throughout this trip, so you'll really get, you know, a history. I wouldn't say a deep dive. They touch on it. So you're not like, oh, this is so boring. But you even said it's, it's a trip like this is great for, for shoppers, if you want to shop. I'm not a shopper.I like to do what Kurt does. Sit down, maybe have a beer and take it all in and do nothing. Just take in the people walking around, the smells. There's. There's nothing like it. And again, I think this trip to Turkey really offers a potpourri of different experiences. So if you're a foodie, if you're into photography, to culture, to history, this trip really ticks all the boxes. And I guarantee it, you'll love it.You'll love the trip. But then even at the end you. There's a great chance you're going to make lifelong friends on, on a trip like this too. So it's, it really ticks a box of. Of of experiences. So hopefully April is a great time to go to. The temperatures you can expect, you know, low 70s, you know, 50s, 60s at night. So it's really comfortable.Not like in the summer when it's really busy and it's busier with the Europeans and the temperatures hotter. This April time is a great time to visit for sure.Stephanie:Can you talk a little bit about what the food is like? Like, I have an idea, but I don't really know. Like, is it Mediterranean? Is it like meat and pomegranates and couscous?Michael Kenney:Yep, you're nailing it right now. No, it. It is like that. So I think I encourage again people to. To look online too, to see what some of these are. But you maybe have heard of, you know, baklava or, you know, kebabs, the lamb, the beef, the chicken. They have, you know, the different kebabs, lots of different spices, ganache, as many, you know, like fried dishes too, but then a lot of cooked on open fires. But I would say, I wouldn't necessarily say it's comfort food, like German, you know, in having, you know, some of the staples that you might know, but still something that's not too odd.It's probably more closer to home than maybe some of the French food you would see. But you'll see a lot of lamb, the beef, I said some of the fried foods, lots of, you know, from your Turkish delights and different things like that. So I think even when we're walking around in the market, you'll get that. And then we'll at our dinners have different meals as well that will infuse some of these different experiences. So it won't be something completely foreign, but it'll be. It'll be comfortable enough that I think you'll enjoy it, but it definitely be a nice array of different experiences with the food.Stephanie:I haven't told you this, but one of the places, and I don't know where I'm going to do this, but I am going to find. Have you ever been to a hammam or done the spa experience where like, you lay on like hot marble and it's sort of like a sauna and you get sweaty and then you like, go into a room and they like brush you with salt and scrubby things and like completely clean you. It's a Muslim tradition and it's the most amazing thing I've ever done. I did this in Athens and I loved it so much. We went three times while we were in Athens.Michael Kenney:Wow.Stephanie:Find a spa that does this there. I don't know in what city or where we are, but I know a local guide can help me when we get there.Michael Kenney:Yep.Stephanie:Both Kurt and I, it was just the most amazing, relaxing experience. Just someone scrubbing you with all these different herbs and salts. And they have weird little brushes that your eyes are closed and. And you can't even. Like. One of them was this big, puffy, like, pillow feeling that was running across the top of your body. It was so weird, but so great.Michael Kenney:Yeah, I haven't done it. I've seen them. I've done, like, the part that we're just going in, like, in the. In the sauna or the steam bath. That's it. I haven't had the full rub down yet. Maybe on this Turkish.Stephanie:We're going to do it. Yeah, it's great. I'll do it.Michael Kenney:No, it'll be fun, but no, it's very popular over there. The Turkish amans. To do that. So there definitely will be that opportunity. I will. I'll give it a shot. You know, it'll be interesting to have someone scrub me down with salts. But, hey, life's about to have any experiences and.And I'm. And I'm. I'm for it, but I'm glad you enjoyed that. But, yes, they definitely have that. And you'll have that opportunity if you want again. It's. Yeah, it's always. It's.Stephanie:I'm not gonna make anyone go get naked and do this, but if you want to get naked and do this, I'm telling you, it's amazing. And they probably actually. They wear bathing suits because they're pretty modest. Or they'll have, like, a separate women's area and a separate men's area. When we did it in Athens, it was men and women together, and we wore bathing suits. And then when you got into the private room, you could take your bathing suit off. And they were very modest and helpful, but.Michael Kenney:Yeah. So being comfortable. Yeah, no, that's. That's great. Well, that'll be. Maybe we'll just get a whole group and do that to get so great.Stephanie:Yeah, it's just like. It was one of the best things I've ever done. And I. I like spas and massage, and I've done a lot of weird things like that. This was, like, just amazing. Well, I'm excited. I hope that people will join us. The way it works is you can find all the itinerary on defined destinations website.We'll link that in the show notes here you can see each particular day and what city you'll be in and what you'll be doing and what's included. I would imagine in most of these breakfast is included because that's typically a sort of European thing to do. And then as he's. As Michael said, a lot of the meals are included. I do think when you're breaking open a new destination, it's important to kind of give people a sense of what they're going to be experiencing. And food is obviously a big part of that. And food is a big part of my journey on this trip. Turkish delights, if you've never had them, they're like this beautiful little jelly.Turkish coffee is very different. It's a much more intense coffee experience. So if you're a coffee drinker, you'll learn a lot. Also, olive oil is very much present in Turkey. Like again, I keep comparing it to Italy, but it is right across the water. So there's a lot of different olive oils that are used in Turkey, a lot of different spices. We're going to have fun. So the way this works is you can go online, you can put your deposit down and full payment is due I think in January for this trip.You can book your own travel if you want to, meaning get your airfare to get to where we're going to meet for the trip. Or you can use Michael's got a service that can help you book all your airfare. I personally like to control my airfare because I like to have the miles and I like to know exactly how I'm going to set things up on my itinerary. Kurt and I also like to get there like a day or two in advance just to get acclimated a little bit before the rest of you guys come. So that I'm not super jet lagged. I'm on fire by the time you arrive. And yeah, we do. There's going to be a lot of beautiful wine, I'm assuming too, because that's something that there's a great grape destination there.You don't know about Turkish wines yet, but you will. They, they exist. There's actually quite a lot of them. Yeah. And that's how it works. Michael, you've got a special offer just to get people that may be on the fence a little bit. Yeah.Michael Kenney:Well, we're excited. The trip again is April 9th through the 20th. And again, go online, take it just take a look at the website, look at some of the pictures. You'll absolutely love it. And then even all the things that we've talked about that aren't even mentioned in the itinerary, there's so many fun things. But if you're listening to this and you're new to register, you'll get $200 off per person if you register for the trip. Final payment is January 1st, so just think about that. So this would be a great.A great gift for a loved one. Hey, let's. We're going to go to Turkey. And I hear more and more people are. They want to have a travel experience rather than having tangible things about having experiences, especially with ones you love. So hopefully this trip to Turkey, if you want to try something new and have just an amazing experience about a place you maybe haven't heard too much about, I think you'll absolutely love it. So just go to defined destinations.com, like Stephanie said. She'll have the link there, too.Against April 9th through the 20th. You can register right there. If you need help with airfare, we're happy to do that. So we make it pretty easy for you on that end. So we're gonna. We're gonna have a blast with a great group of people and hopefully, you know, you'll want to join this small group of no more than 15 people.Stephanie:Is this the time that we tell people that are listening to maybe stay tuned. I mean, we do have a pretty epic October trip planned.Michael Kenney:Yeah, no, I mean, go for it. We don't have the. All the dates totally confirmed, but we're. Yeah, go ahead.Stephanie:Well, we're working on one of the trips. So I have taken people to Spain, I've taken people to Croatia, I've taken people to Cambodia, Thailand, and now Turkey. And the Croatia trip was really magical and people loved it. And I have a huge fondness for Croatia. Obviously, I've been there a lot, and there were a lot of people that wanted to go on that trip that didn't get the opportunity because it's a luxury experience. It's a luxury yacht. It's small rooms or not small rooms. It's a small ship with actually, the rooms were quite big for a boat.And so we had so many people that wanted to do that itinerary again. Michael said, hey, how about we do it again? But I'll add a couple of new things so that it's a new experience for you too, Stephanie, because there is. I've never been to Zagreb, which seems probably surprising since I've been to Croatia so many times and there's a bunch of these finger lakes. What do they call those? Is it the plastic lakes?Michael Kenney:Yeah, the Plaviche Lakes National Park. Yep.Stephanie:The national parks in Croatia are legendary. If you. I mean Mijet has one of the most beautiful national parks on it with a monastery in the middle of this lake. So we are going to be taking another small group. It'll be smallish. I think we had 28 on our last.Michael Kenney:Yeah, enough to fill the boat. And the boat only can sleep like 34. So it's a small experience on that. But yeah, I'm excited to go back to that again. That's been one of our hot sellers, our Croatia trip. So with the Zagreb and the Blevice lakes and then our seven night cruise, the Croatia trip will be great. So maybe you want to do two trips. Our beautiful Turkey trip in the spring and then come October we'll have this amazing trip to, to Croatia.So go out and have experiences and hopefully you want to join us. I think you'll find great value, great meals just. And great people that to travel with.Stephanie:And if you're listening and you want to explore Michael's other trips because he takes trips with other people, not just me. And also he just guides trips himself. Just tell him that you're a friend of Stephanie's dish so that he knows that you came from my referral. But just like, yeah, if you want to sign up for a Christmas market or you're interested in heading to the Amalfi coast, traveling with defined destinations is a really great opportunity. They do it extremely well. I have traveled a lot and so I've had some good experiences and some not so good experiences. So I know that when you travel with Michael, you're in good hands. I'm still just missing our guide Peter, who was with us on our last Sicilian trip, who turns out has been your friend for like 25 years.I just miss him. He's such a character. I loved him so much.Michael Kenney:Yeah. And that's great. Yeah. Peter's a good friend of mine for. He's our Austrian guy, but he's. He's got family in, in Italy and does some of our, our Central European trips. But again, like you said it too, it's, it's. Again, it's more than just the sights.You're building relationships even if you're not even looking for that. But it's fun to recall and all the good people you've met and the fun experiences you've had along the way. I love what I do, and hopefully it shows in our trips. It's all about having a great experience with great people, so encourage you. And you've been such a great part of the defined destinations family. Thank you, Stephanie.Stephanie:I love it.Michael Kenney:Looking forward to more.Stephanie:If I didn't, people know I would have kicked you to the curb long ago. And you even have got. You've even converted Kurt.Michael Kenney:So, I mean, yeah, that's great. So, yeah, it's about. About having fun and that's what we do. And we'd love to have you on, on any of our trips.Stephanie:Yeah. All right, you guys. So I'll put all that information that you need in the links below. We are going to Turkey and I hope you come. That's all I can say because I'm gonna probably be talking about it non stop because I'm so excited.Michael Kenney:That's great.Stephanie:I'm.Michael Kenney:I'm looking forward to it. Thanks again, Steph.Stephanie:Thanks, Michael. Okay, bye. Bye.Stephanie's Dish Newsletter is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit stephaniehansen.substack.com/subscribe

In this episode of Good Morning BSS World, I had a pleasure of hosting three exceptional professionals who represent both sides of the Atlantic - Shelli Ryan (CEO of Ad Hoc Communication Resources), Michael Nacarato (Head of Third-Party Risk Management and member of IAOP's Strategic Advisory Board), and Jens R. Voigt (Global Outsourcing Leader at eBay). Together, we explored how American companies approach outsourcing, nearshoring, and offshoring - and what this means for Poland and Central Europe.The conversation was inspired by our recent meeting at the Follow the Leaders event in Gdańsk, where we discussed how Polish and Central European businesses can attract more American investors. Shelli emphasized the importance of building a clear narrative and value proposition for Polish service providers - focusing not only on cost but on talent, multilingual skills, and innovation. Michael highlighted the shift from chasing arbitrage to chasing talent and value, especially in the era of AI and automation. Jens shared insights from eBay's global outsourcing strategy, underlining Poland's strengths: education, infrastructure, safety, and stability - all crucial for long-term partnerships.We also talked about the need for a unified, public-private marketing effort to promote Poland abroad - similar to campaigns led by African nations - and how Poland can position itself as Europe's major investment gateway, just like Ireland once did.This episode is a must-listen for anyone in global business services, outsourcing, or economic development. It's a candid, cross-continental conversation about the future of global delivery, talent, and how to bridge American expectations with European excellence.Key points of the podcast:Poland's competitive advantages in the BPO sector include a highly educated workforce, significant infrastructure investments, and a stable regulatory environment, making it an attractive destination within Europe.To attract American businesses, Poland must enhance its public relations efforts, potentially through a public-private partnership to create a unified and aggressive marketing campaign that highlights its technological advancements and safety.Engaging in direct outreach, such as organizing roadshows in the US and inviting American executives to visit Poland, can help showcase the country's capabilities and foster stronger business connections.  Links:Shelli Ryan - https://www.linkedin.com/in/shelliryan/Michael Nacarato – https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-nacarato-cop-90705311/Jens R. Voigt – https://www.linkedin.com/in/jrvoigt/Ad Hoc Communication Resources - https://adhoccr.com/IAOP - https://www.iaop.org/Talk to AI about this episode - https://gmbw.onpodcastai.com/episodes/pBhcfzq4adl/chat  ****************************  My name is Wiktor Doktór and on daily basis I run Pro Progressio Club - https://proprogressio.com/en/activity/pro-progressio-club/1 - it's a community of many private companies and public sector organizations that care about the development of business relations in the B2B model. In the Good Morning BSS World podcast, apart from solo episodes, I share interviews with experts and specialists from global BPO/GBS industry.If you want to learn more about me, please visit my social media channels:YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/c/wiktordoktorHere is also link to the English podcasts Playlist - https://bit.ly/GoodMorningBSSWorldPodcastYTLinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/wiktordoktorYou can also write to me. My email address is - kontakt(@) wiktordoktor.pl  ****************************  This Podcast is supported by Patrons:Marzena Sawicka https://www.linkedin.com/in/marzena-sawicka-a9644a23/Przemysław Sławiński https://www.linkedin.com/in/przemys%C5%82aw-s%C5%82awi%C5%84ski-155a4426/Damian Ruciński https://www.linkedin.com/in/damian-ruci%C5%84ski/Szymon Kryczka https://www.linkedin.com/in/szymonkryczka/Grzegorz Ludwin https://www.linkedin.com/in/gludwin/Adam Furmańczuk https://www.linkedin.com/in/adam-agilino/Anna Czyż - https://www.linkedin.com/in/anna-czyz-%F0%9F%94%B5%F0%9F%94%B4%F0%9F%9F%A2-68597813/Igor Tkach - https://www.linkedin.com/in/igortkach/Damian Wróblewski – https://www.linkedin.com/in/damianwroblewski/Paweł Łopatka - https://www.linkedin.com/in/pawellopatka/Ewelina Szindler – https://www.linkedin.com/in/ewelina-szindler-zarz%C4%85dzanie-mark%C4%85-osobist%C4%85-0497a0212/Wiktor Doktór Jr - https://www.linkedin.com/in/wiktor-dokt%C3%B3r-jr-916297188/  Once you listen, give a like, subscribe and join Patrons of Good Morning BSS World as well. Here are two links to do so:Patronite - https://patronite.pl/wiktordoktor  Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/wiktordoktor Or if you liked this episode and would like to buy me virtual coffee, you can use this link https://www.buymeacoffee.com/wiktordoktor - by doing so you support the growth and distribution of this podcast.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/good-morning-bss-world--4131868/support.

Krunching Gears - The Rally Podcast, 2025 Season, episode 43. Jamie McMillan, Chief Engineer to Ott Tanak at Hyundai, chats to us about the Central European Rally. We hear about the recent Hemicuda Rally in Belgium from brothers Dale and Scott Singleton, who made the trip and came away with many positives. Ronan Comerford joins us to talk about his role as Chief Marshal (Shadow) on the final round of the WRC in Saudi Arabia (Nov 25 – 29th). Chapters Start 00:00:00 Jamie McMillan (Hyundai Motorsport Engineer) 00:04:36 Scott and Dale Singleton (Rally Hemicuda) 00:32:44 Ronan Comerford (WRC Saudi Arabia - Chief Marshal shadow) 00:51:25

Send us a textYou can contact Michele  at https://www.bookclues.com Have you ever read Dracula??? child's play compared to John Blair's Killing the  Dead; Vampire Epidemics from Mesopotamia to the New World.A corpse that won't stay put tells you as much about the living as it does about the dead. We sit down with Oxford's Professor John Blair to chart how vampire epidemics rise when communities are shaken by disease, war, or rapid change—and why the freshly buried become suspects when fear demands a target. From cuneiform-era hints of walking corpses to the 1720s Habsburg–Ottoman frontier where exhumations spread like wildfire, we follow the ideas that fused Central European “dangerous dead” with bloodsucking demons from the Caucasus and Black Sea, eventually crystallizing into the vampire that haunts Western imagination.Together we draw clear lines between ghosts, zombies, and walking corpses and explore cultures that treat death as a long passage rather than a moment. Greek funerary customs—wakes, ossuaries, inspection of clean white bones—frame a pragmatic logic: when decay stalls, ritual steps in. We examine gendered patterns that mark young women as prime “restless” candidates, echoing deep folklore about female power and unfinished lives. Then we head into the ground with a practical guide to reading graves: decapitation with bound legs, bodies flipped face down, hearts pierced or removed, jaws separated to stop biting and curses. Archaeology becomes a detective story, not a horror script.We also connect neurology and narrative through sleep paralysis, including intense Hmong cases in the United States where trauma and disrupted belief systems turned night terrors deadly. Finally, we trace how the press and literature—Voltaire's metaphors, Le Fanu's Carmilla, and Stoker's Dracula—reshaped scattered practices into a single, seductive archetype. If you're curious about how societies manage grief, channel anxiety, and transform fear into ritual, this conversation opens a doorway from folklore to forensic clues and back again.Subscribe, share with a friend who loves history or horror, and leave a quick review to help others find the show. What idea about vampires will you rethink after listening?

A powerful dialogue between Rabbi Daniel Lapin and the Hungarian Ambassador, Szabolcs Takács reveals the intricate challenges of modern nationhood, exploring Hungary's unique approach to demographics, religious identity, and cultural survival. Discover how a small Central European nation has navigated complex political pressures, maintained its Christian heritage, and developed groundbreaking family support policies that challenge contemporary global narratives about population, identity, and national sovereignty.

Professor Anne Tomiche of Sorbonne University in Paris was the keynote speaker at an international symposium exploring various aspects of the norms and transgressions of masculinities in Central Europe — from the 19th century to the present day. Martina Greňová Šimkovičová also spoke with Ivana Taranenková, head of the Slovak Academy of Sciences, and Václav Smyčka of Charles University in Prague. The program includes a brief tribute to Anca Monica Dragu, a longtime member of the RSI English section, who passed away on October 3rd, 2021. This week's culture tips feature: an invitation to Roman Ondák's solo exhibition in New York, the shared Visegrad Stage at the Budapest International Book Festival, and the Bratislava in Movement, the International Festival of Contemporary Dance — among others.

So where exactly is Trump's America? According to the Brookings fellow Jonathan Rauch, the world's largest economic, military and cultural power is “half way to Hungary” - the small, landlocked Central European country run by an equally small and landlocked man called Viktor Orban. For Rauch, this suggests that America is on its way to becoming the sort of pathetically petty patrimonial state that the wannabe dictator Orban is trying to establish in Hungary. But the idea of the world's dominant superpower being “halfway to Budapest” sounds more like the title of a characteristically absurd central European novel. It suggests that Trump's America is, in fact, currently lost in the mid-Atlantic. It's nowhere. And if making America great again really does require borrowing anything from a country as small and landlocked as Hungary, then I fear for the historical significance of both Trump and his MAGA movement. Surely they could come up with a more original playbook than that?1. America is Following the “Hungarian Playbook” of Modern Authoritarianism Rauch warns that Trump is deploying Viktor Orbán's four-part strategy: sue critics into bankruptcy, use regulatory power to threaten licenses, buy out media outlets, and intimidate advertisers. This represents a new form of authoritarianism that doesn't require tanks or military coups.2. The Rise of the “Woke Right” - Postmodern Tactics Adopted by Conservatives The right has borrowed from postmodern philosophy the idea that there's no objective truth, only power and narrative control. This creates a “postmodern right” that focuses on winning stories rather than establishing facts - exemplified by claims about vaccine dangers or election fraud.3. Constitutional Crisis is Already Underway, Not Coming Rauch argues we're not heading toward a constitutional crisis - we're already in one. He points to executive orders targeting political enemies and the “naked politicization” of prosecutorial systems as evidence that democratic norms have already been breached.4. 2028, Not 2026, Will Be the Real Test While Rauch expects the 2026 midterms to be relatively fair (70-80% likelihood), he's deeply concerned about 2028. The administration won't have enough time to fully implement election interference by 2026, but 2028 could see systematic attempts to rig the democratic process.5. Resistance Requires Slowing Down Authoritarian “Shock and Awe” The most effective resistance strategy is to slow down Trump's rapid implementation of authoritarian measures through litigation and civil society pushback. Early capitulation doesn't work - it only invites more demands. The key is preventing the normalization of antidemocratic behavior.Keen On America is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit keenon.substack.com/subscribe

Fully 11.2 per cent of the adults in Ireland are employed in brain business jobs, a term for highly knowledge-intensive jobs in tech, information and communications technology, advanced services, and creative professions. Ireland now outpaces Sweden (10.3 per cent) and is just narrowly behind Switzerland (11.24 per cent) in knowledge density. Ireland ranks second in all of Europe in terms of knowledge intensity, and if the development continues, it could soon even outpace Switzerland as number one. The larger European countries are now significantly behind Ireland when it comes to the share of adults in knowledge-intensive jobs. In comparison, in Germany, 8.3 per cent of adults are employed in brain business jobs, while the rates in France (6.4 per cent), Italy (5.5 per cent) and Spain (5.4 per cent) are even lower. There is a strong link between expert density and the share of adults that are employed in highly knowledge-intensive jobs. Ireland and Switzerland have the same expert density, since 11.9 per cent of adults are engineers and scientists in both countries. This is the third-highest rate in Europe, next to Sweden (13.4 per cent) and Norway (12.5 per cent). Despite not having quite as high an expert density as Sweden and Norway, Ireland still has more people employed in brain business jobs. Brain business jobs tend to grow in countries with high expert density and lower tax burdens; the favourable tax and business policy of Ireland and Switzerland can explain why these two countries are on top. On a national level, it is still Western European and Nordic countries that have a lead. Central European countries have lower expert density and are still behind at the national level. However, the capital regions of Central Europe have enough experts to compete, and combine this with lower costs and lower tax burden. In the Dublin region, fully 17.8 per cent of the adults are employed in brain business jobs. This is the 10th-highest rate in Europe. In comparison, in Bratislava, Prague, Budapest and Bucharest, some 22 to nearly 25 per cent of adults are employed in highly knowledge-intensive jobs. "Ireland is one of the most expert dense countries in Europe, and might soon even surpass Switzerland as having the highest share of adults in brain business jobs, illustrating the benefits of a competitive business climate", says Nima Sanandaji, CEO of ECEPR. The share of adults employed in brain business jobs in Ireland has grown from 10.6 per cent last year. Ireland has experienced a strong growth of knowledge-intensive jobs. Trade with the USA is important for knowledge-intensive jobs in Irish companies. Future development of trade relations with the USA is therefore important for the future growth of brain business jobs. Klas Tikkanen, COO of Nordic Capital Advisors, emphasised the importance of combining high-quality education with favourable tax and regulatory environments, stating, "Having many engineers and scientists in the population is closely linked to the share of advanced jobs. We also continue to see a trend in Europe where countries with the fastest growth in brain business jobs tend to have lower tax levels relative to GDP. Nations need to combine talent supply with competitive tax burdens in order to grow with knowledge-intensive jobs." Fostering high-value-creating jobs remains important for the regional labour markets of Europe. Each percentage point higher share of the population of European regions employed in brain business jobs is linked to 0.24 percentage points lower regional unemployment. This means that in a region where 10 percentage points more of the population is employed in brain business jobs, the average unemployment is 2.4 per cent lower, compared to the typical European region. Ireland has particular relative strengths in pharmaceuticals, where 26,700 are employed. The country also has a relatively strong media sector, with 11 800 employees. The geography of Europe's brain business jobs index ...

The word dulcimer is derived from the Latin, with the word dulce meaning sweet, and melos meaning song. In folk circles we have the mountain dulcimer, which is thought to be from Germany and France, and also the hammered dulcimer, which evolved from the Middle Eastern and Central European instrument called the Cymballon. These instruments share the name and some repertoire, but aren't actually related. We'll hear master players of both instruments, including Jean Ritchie, Bill Spence, Ken Bloom and Ken Kolodner. The sweet song of the dulcimer … this week on The Sing Out! Radio Magazine.Pete Seeger / “If I Had A Hammer”(excerpt) / Songs of Hope and Struggle / Smithsonian FolkwaysGerry Milnes & Lorraine Lee Hammond / “Sally Comin' Through the Rye” / Hell Up Coal Holler / ShanachieSally Rogers / “Jubilee” / The Unclaimed Pint / Flying FishKen Bloom / “Grey Cat on the Tennessee Farm” / The Bowed? Dulcimer / New TimeyJohn McCutcheon / “Lonesome John-Fine Times at Our House” / Fine Times at Our House / Green HaysJoni Mitchell / “Carey” / Blue / RepriseNo Strings Attached / “Take Five” / Take Five / TurquoiseDavid Massengill / “We Will Be Together” / We Will Be Together / GadflyHelicon / “Jerusalem Ridge” / The Titan / TurquoiseGerry Milnes & Lorraine Lee Hammond / “Shelvin' Rock / Hell Up Coal Holler / ShanachieJean Ritchie / “Hangman” / Constant Sorrow / One DayBill Spence & Fennig's All-Star String Band / “Cuffy-Sleepy Lou” / Fennigmania / Front HallJon Kay / “Leaver's Lullaby” / A Night at the Grind / StoneheadThe Bee Eaters / “Eleanor Rigby” / The Bee Eaters / Self-producedNorm Williams / “Beech Spring” / A Wayfarer... / Self-producedThe Gallier Brothers / “Catnip Dream” / Three Wire Choir / Dancing ThumbPete Seeger / “If I Had A Hammer”(excerpt) / Songs of Hope and Struggle / Smithsonian Folkways

Chris Merrill, Co-Founder and CEO of Harrison Street, joins Brandon Sedloff to explore a career defined by risk-taking, innovation, and a steadfast belief in building differentiated real estate strategies. The conversation traces Chris's early career in real estate through his formative years at Heitman, where he became one of the first Western investors to focus exclusively on Central Europe. That experience would inform the thesis behind Harrison Street—an investment firm centered on demographic-driven, need-based asset classes like student housing, medical offices, and self-storage. Chris shares how Harrison Street emerged from a 50-50 partnership with Motorola's former CEO Chris Galvin, and how its success has hinged on developing deep operator relationships, a repeatable process for innovation, and a long-term perspective on risk and value creation. They discuss: Why building a “pure play” Central European fund shaped his thinking on innovation and differentiation The early resistance to student housing, senior living, and self-storage as institutional asset classes How Harrison Street built an edge through proprietary scorecards and diversified operator relationships Why vertical integration was never the right strategy for Harrison Street's alternative real estate focus How infrastructure and on-campus partnerships are fueling the next phase of growth This episode is a masterclass in how to spot arbitrage opportunities and scale a business by staying contrarian. Links: Chris on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/christopher-merrill-006b243/ Harrison Street - https://harrisonst.com/ Brandon on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/bsedloff/ Juniper Square - https://www.junipersquare.com/ Topics: (00:00:00) - Intro (00:01:39) - Chris' background and career (00:12:22) - Capital raising in the mid-90s (00:15:25) - Founding Harrison Street (00:22:11) - What Harrison Street looks like today (00:23:24) - The evolution of Alternatives within Private Real Estate (00:25:26) - Investing strategies (00:32:42) - Milestones from the last 2 decades (00:34:46) - Failures (00:37:35) - What best-in-class operating partners look like (00:42:43) - Vertically integrated vs. allocator models (00:44:30) - Pivoting into infrastructure (00:48:19) - Making an ownership shift (00:52:16) - The intersection of innovation and Real Estate

“To live, a people must always be able to know its past, to judge it, to accept it.”— Simone Veil, French politician and Shoah survivor When I sat down with historian Anastasios Karababas to discuss his new book, In the Footsteps of the Jews of Greece: From Ancient Times to the Present Day (Paperback, published January 30, 2024), I was struck by the depth and complexity of the story he tells—a story that spans over 2,500 years and is still unfolding today. Karababas in the book and the conversation guided me through the origins and evolution of Jewish life in Greece from ancient times to today. We discussed the four major Jewish groups whose histories are intertwined with the Greek landscape: Romaniots, the ancient Greek Jews whose presence predates the Romans. Ashkenazi Jews, who arrived between the 11th and 13th centuries, bringing their Central European traditions. Sephardic Jews, who found refuge in Greece after their expulsion from Spain in the 15th century, especially revitalizing the community in Thessaloniki. Italian Jews, who settled in the 16th century, further enriching the community's diversity. Thessaloniki, once known as the "Jerusalem of the Balkans," stood out in our conversation as a beacon of Jewish life, with Jews making up 30–40% of the city's population at its height. Karababas's account of the 20th century was both inspiring and heartbreaking. Before World War II, there were about 75,000 Jews in Greece. He shared the stories of Jews who served in the Greek army against Mussolini, a testament to their deep sense of belonging. But the Holocaust cast a long shadow, with 85% of the community deported and wiping out around 90% of the community leaving a profound void. Today, as Karababas explained, the Jewish population in Greece numbers only about 5,000, spread across nine communities—a stark contrast to the more than thirty that once existed. Only Athens, Thessaloniki, and Larissa still have resident rabbis. These communities survive through private funding and the interest of Jewish heritage tourism, striving to keep their unique traditions alive. Our discussion also touched on the complexities of Judeophobia in Greece. Karababas described Judeophobia as a blend of anti-semitism, anti-zionism, and anti-Judaism, with roots in the influence of the Greek Orthodox Church. He characterized current anti-semitism as “superficial,” with few violent incidents. Despite the rise in anti-zionist sentiment, he pointed out that Greece maintains strong governmental ties with Israel, reflecting the nuanced relationship between Greek society, its Jewish citizens, and the broader region. Reading In the Footsteps of the Jews of Greece: From Ancient Times to the Present Day and speaking with Karababas reminded me how vital it is to know, judge, and accept our past as a means of ensuring a safer future. The story of Greek Jewry is one of migration, tragedy, and renewal—a testament to resilience and the enduring spirit of a people determined to remember and to live. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network

“To live, a people must always be able to know its past, to judge it, to accept it.”— Simone Veil, French politician and Shoah survivor When I sat down with historian Anastasios Karababas to discuss his new book, In the Footsteps of the Jews of Greece: From Ancient Times to the Present Day (Paperback, published January 30, 2024), I was struck by the depth and complexity of the story he tells—a story that spans over 2,500 years and is still unfolding today. Karababas in the book and the conversation guided me through the origins and evolution of Jewish life in Greece from ancient times to today. We discussed the four major Jewish groups whose histories are intertwined with the Greek landscape: Romaniots, the ancient Greek Jews whose presence predates the Romans. Ashkenazi Jews, who arrived between the 11th and 13th centuries, bringing their Central European traditions. Sephardic Jews, who found refuge in Greece after their expulsion from Spain in the 15th century, especially revitalizing the community in Thessaloniki. Italian Jews, who settled in the 16th century, further enriching the community's diversity. Thessaloniki, once known as the "Jerusalem of the Balkans," stood out in our conversation as a beacon of Jewish life, with Jews making up 30–40% of the city's population at its height. Karababas's account of the 20th century was both inspiring and heartbreaking. Before World War II, there were about 75,000 Jews in Greece. He shared the stories of Jews who served in the Greek army against Mussolini, a testament to their deep sense of belonging. But the Holocaust cast a long shadow, with 85% of the community deported and wiping out around 90% of the community leaving a profound void. Today, as Karababas explained, the Jewish population in Greece numbers only about 5,000, spread across nine communities—a stark contrast to the more than thirty that once existed. Only Athens, Thessaloniki, and Larissa still have resident rabbis. These communities survive through private funding and the interest of Jewish heritage tourism, striving to keep their unique traditions alive. Our discussion also touched on the complexities of Judeophobia in Greece. Karababas described Judeophobia as a blend of anti-semitism, anti-zionism, and anti-Judaism, with roots in the influence of the Greek Orthodox Church. He characterized current anti-semitism as “superficial,” with few violent incidents. Despite the rise in anti-zionist sentiment, he pointed out that Greece maintains strong governmental ties with Israel, reflecting the nuanced relationship between Greek society, its Jewish citizens, and the broader region. Reading In the Footsteps of the Jews of Greece: From Ancient Times to the Present Day and speaking with Karababas reminded me how vital it is to know, judge, and accept our past as a means of ensuring a safer future. The story of Greek Jewry is one of migration, tragedy, and renewal—a testament to resilience and the enduring spirit of a people determined to remember and to live. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/jewish-studies

“To live, a people must always be able to know its past, to judge it, to accept it.”— Simone Veil, French politician and Shoah survivor When I sat down with historian Anastasios Karababas to discuss his new book, In the Footsteps of the Jews of Greece: From Ancient Times to the Present Day (Paperback, published January 30, 2024), I was struck by the depth and complexity of the story he tells—a story that spans over 2,500 years and is still unfolding today. Karababas in the book and the conversation guided me through the origins and evolution of Jewish life in Greece from ancient times to today. We discussed the four major Jewish groups whose histories are intertwined with the Greek landscape: Romaniots, the ancient Greek Jews whose presence predates the Romans. Ashkenazi Jews, who arrived between the 11th and 13th centuries, bringing their Central European traditions. Sephardic Jews, who found refuge in Greece after their expulsion from Spain in the 15th century, especially revitalizing the community in Thessaloniki. Italian Jews, who settled in the 16th century, further enriching the community's diversity. Thessaloniki, once known as the "Jerusalem of the Balkans," stood out in our conversation as a beacon of Jewish life, with Jews making up 30–40% of the city's population at its height. Karababas's account of the 20th century was both inspiring and heartbreaking. Before World War II, there were about 75,000 Jews in Greece. He shared the stories of Jews who served in the Greek army against Mussolini, a testament to their deep sense of belonging. But the Holocaust cast a long shadow, with 85% of the community deported and wiping out around 90% of the community leaving a profound void. Today, as Karababas explained, the Jewish population in Greece numbers only about 5,000, spread across nine communities—a stark contrast to the more than thirty that once existed. Only Athens, Thessaloniki, and Larissa still have resident rabbis. These communities survive through private funding and the interest of Jewish heritage tourism, striving to keep their unique traditions alive. Our discussion also touched on the complexities of Judeophobia in Greece. Karababas described Judeophobia as a blend of anti-semitism, anti-zionism, and anti-Judaism, with roots in the influence of the Greek Orthodox Church. He characterized current anti-semitism as “superficial,” with few violent incidents. Despite the rise in anti-zionist sentiment, he pointed out that Greece maintains strong governmental ties with Israel, reflecting the nuanced relationship between Greek society, its Jewish citizens, and the broader region. Reading In the Footsteps of the Jews of Greece: From Ancient Times to the Present Day and speaking with Karababas reminded me how vital it is to know, judge, and accept our past as a means of ensuring a safer future. The story of Greek Jewry is one of migration, tragedy, and renewal—a testament to resilience and the enduring spirit of a people determined to remember and to live. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

“To live, a people must always be able to know its past, to judge it, to accept it.”— Simone Veil, French politician and Shoah survivor When I sat down with historian Anastasios Karababas to discuss his new book, In the Footsteps of the Jews of Greece: From Ancient Times to the Present Day (Paperback, published January 30, 2024), I was struck by the depth and complexity of the story he tells—a story that spans over 2,500 years and is still unfolding today. Karababas in the book and the conversation guided me through the origins and evolution of Jewish life in Greece from ancient times to today. We discussed the four major Jewish groups whose histories are intertwined with the Greek landscape: Romaniots, the ancient Greek Jews whose presence predates the Romans. Ashkenazi Jews, who arrived between the 11th and 13th centuries, bringing their Central European traditions. Sephardic Jews, who found refuge in Greece after their expulsion from Spain in the 15th century, especially revitalizing the community in Thessaloniki. Italian Jews, who settled in the 16th century, further enriching the community's diversity. Thessaloniki, once known as the "Jerusalem of the Balkans," stood out in our conversation as a beacon of Jewish life, with Jews making up 30–40% of the city's population at its height. Karababas's account of the 20th century was both inspiring and heartbreaking. Before World War II, there were about 75,000 Jews in Greece. He shared the stories of Jews who served in the Greek army against Mussolini, a testament to their deep sense of belonging. But the Holocaust cast a long shadow, with 85% of the community deported and wiping out around 90% of the community leaving a profound void. Today, as Karababas explained, the Jewish population in Greece numbers only about 5,000, spread across nine communities—a stark contrast to the more than thirty that once existed. Only Athens, Thessaloniki, and Larissa still have resident rabbis. These communities survive through private funding and the interest of Jewish heritage tourism, striving to keep their unique traditions alive. Our discussion also touched on the complexities of Judeophobia in Greece. Karababas described Judeophobia as a blend of anti-semitism, anti-zionism, and anti-Judaism, with roots in the influence of the Greek Orthodox Church. He characterized current anti-semitism as “superficial,” with few violent incidents. Despite the rise in anti-zionist sentiment, he pointed out that Greece maintains strong governmental ties with Israel, reflecting the nuanced relationship between Greek society, its Jewish citizens, and the broader region. Reading In the Footsteps of the Jews of Greece: From Ancient Times to the Present Day and speaking with Karababas reminded me how vital it is to know, judge, and accept our past as a means of ensuring a safer future. The story of Greek Jewry is one of migration, tragedy, and renewal—a testament to resilience and the enduring spirit of a people determined to remember and to live. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/european-studies

This is the story of how and why a small Central European country became the epicenter of global conservatism. It's the tale of two men…and what happens when we ignore the powerful forces behind a government. Reporter: David AaronovitchProducer: Jonathan LewisArtwork: Lola WilliamsSound Design: Dominic DelargyEditor: Jasper CorbettSubscribe to TheObserver+ on Apple Podcasts for early access and ad-free content head to our website observer.co.uk Download the Tortoise app – for a listening experience curated by our journalistsIf you want to get in touch with us directly about a story, or tell us more about the stories you want to hear about contact hello@tortoisemedia.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In an interview marking the 25th anniversary of the establishment of the International Visegrad Fund, its Deputy Executive Director, Maja Wawrzyk, discusses the importance of fostering mutual cooperation within the Central European region. The Culture Tips section highlights Slovak cultural events in Český Krumlov, Cedar Rapids, as well as in Trnava and Bratislava.

Time for another European flavoured Hackaday Podcast this week, as Elliot Williams is joined by Jenny List, two writers sweltering in the humidity of a Central European summer. Both of our fans and air conditioners made enough noise to be picked up on the microphone when they were turned on, so we're suffering for your entertainment. The big Hackaday news stories of the week are twofold, firstly a cat-themed set of winners for the 2025 Pet Hacks contest, and then the announcement of a fresh competition: the 2025 Hackaday One Hertz Challenge. Get your once-a-second projects ready! This week gave us a nice pile of interesting hacks, including some next-level work growing and machining the crystal for a home-made Pockels cell light valve, an pcoming technique for glass 3D prints, and enough vulnerabilities to make any Nissan Leaf owner nervous. We note that mechanical 7-segment displays are an arena showing excellent hacks, and we're here for it. Meanwhile among the quick hacks a filament made of PLA with a PETG core caught Elliot's eye, while Jenny was impressed with a beautifully-made paper tape punch. Finally in the can't miss section, The latest in Dan Maloney's Mining and Refining series looks at drilling and blasting. Such an explosive piece should come last, but wait! There's more! Al Williams gives us a potted history of satellite phones, and explains why you don't carry an Iridium in your pocket.  

Sacralism - the government being given the ultimate authority to enforce religious doctrine and orthodoxy. It has a long history, and modern proponents advocating we install this in the United States today. How is it, and did it, work in Europe? Let's talk about that. Follow us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/foundcausepodcast Podbean (download episodes): http://foundcause.podbean.com/ @ Us On Twitter: @found_cause

Financial analysts were far more prepared than most CEOs for the US tariffs announced on April 2. Analysts, who serve as a proxy for the financial markets, anticipated tariffs would soon be an enormous issue, mentioning the topic 62% more often than did CEOs during Q1 earnings calls. That's the conclusion of the second edition of the CEO Radar—a tool to help CEOs determine which issues truly deserve their time and attention. It unpacks the leading topics discussed on almost 4,900 earnings calls worldwide in Q1 2025, enabling chief executives to compare their agendas to those of their peers, and to the market's expectations. On this episode of the CEO Radar Podcast, Edward Adams of Bloomberg Media Studios is joined by BCG Global Chair Rich Lesser and Michael Brigl, Head of BCG's Central European practice, to discuss how tariffs are likely to have a long-term effect on corporate operations. Listen to CEO Radar: https://sponsored.bloomberg.com/immersive-story/the-ceo-radar-q2-2025 This podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis: Podtrac - https://analytics.podtrac.com/privacy-policy-gdrp

Financial analysts were far more prepared than most CEOs for the US tariffs announced on April 2. Analysts, who serve as a proxy for the financial markets, anticipated tariffs would soon be an enormous issue, mentioning the topic 62% more often than did CEOs during Q1 earnings calls. That’s the conclusion of the second edition of the CEO Radar—a tool to help CEOs determine which issues truly deserve their time and attention. It unpacks the leading topics discussed on almost 4,900 earnings calls worldwide in Q1 2025, enabling chief executives to compare their agendas to those of their peers, and to the market’s expectations. On this episode of the CEO Radar Podcast, Edward Adams of Bloomberg Media Studios is joined by BCG Global Chair Rich Lesser and Michael Brigl, Head of BCG’s Central European practice, to discuss how tariffs are likely to have a long-term effect on corporate operations.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

An Apache Tomcat vulnerability is under active exploitation. CISA rehires workers ousted by DOGE. Lawmakers look to protect rural water systems from cyber threats. Western Alliance Bank notifies 22,000 individuals of a data breach. A new cyberattack method called BitM allows hackers to bypass multi-factor authentication.  A Chinese cyberespionage group targets Central European diplomats. A new cyberattack uses ChatGPT infrastructure to target the financial sector and U.S. government agencies. Australia sues a major securities firm over inadequate protection of customer data. Our Threat Vector segment examines how unifying security capabilities strengthens cyber resilience. Cybercriminals say, “Get me Edward Snowden on the line!” Remember to leave us a 5-star rating and review in your favorite podcast app. Miss an episode? Sign-up for our daily intelligence roundup, Daily Briefing, and you'll never miss a beat. And be sure to follow CyberWire Daily on LinkedIn. Threat Vector Segment Security platformization is transforming the way organizations defend against cyber threats. In this episode of Threat Vector, host David Moulton speaks with Carlos Rivera, Senior Analyst at Forrester, about how unifying security capabilities strengthens cyber resilience. To listen to the full discussion, please check out the episode here or on your favorite podcast app, and tune in to new episodes of Threat Vector by Palo Alto Networks every Thursday.  Selected Reading Critical Apache Tomcat RCE Vulnerability Exploited in Just 30hrs of Public Exploit (Cyber Security News) CISA Rehires Fired Employees, Immediately Puts Them on Leave (GovInfo Security) Western Alliance Bank Discloses Data Breach Linked to Cleo Hack (SecurityWeek) New BitM Attack Lets Hackers Steal User Sessions Within Seconds (Cyber Security News) US Lawmakers Reintroduce Bill to Boost Rural Water Cybersecurity  (SecurityWeek) Chinese Hackers Target European Diplomats with Malware (GovInfo Security) Hackers Exploit ChatGPT with CVE-2024-27564, 10,000+ Attacks in a Week (Hackread) Australia Sues FIIG Investment Firm in Cyber 'Wake-Up Call' (GovInfo Security) Extortion crew threatened to inform Edward Snowden (?!) if victim didn't pay up (The Register) Share your feedback. We want to ensure that you are getting the most out of the podcast. Please take a few minutes to share your thoughts with us by completing our brief listener survey as we continually work to improve the show.  Want to hear your company in the show? You too can reach the most influential leaders and operators in the industry. Here's our media kit. Contact us at cyberwire@n2k.com to request more info. The CyberWire is a production of N2K Networks, your source for strategic workforce intelligence. © N2K Networks, Inc. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Listen to this engaging podcast with historian Robert Austin, the author of Royal Fraud: The Story of Albania's First and Last King (Central European UP, 2024). In the book, Austin explains the rise and fall of Albania's first and only monarch, King Zog!. The road to becoming Europe's youngest president in 1925 and king of Albania in 1928 was paved with feuds and assassinations. Zog retained his power until his "friend" Mussolini ousted him in 1939. He left Albania with almost no roads or trains, thoroughly uneducated and utterly impoverished. Zog may have regretted sending a young Enver Hoxha to France on a state scholarship. But one thing Hoxha did learn from Zog: it makes sense to have your rivals murdered. In this podcast, Austin talks about Zog, Albania's communist project, Italy's interest in the Balkans, Albania's limited reckoning with its communist human rights violations and its failure to identify a "usable past." Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/history

How can religion help decode the motives for Russia's aggression against Ukraine? And how can Judeo-Christian ethics inform a way forward for peace? Ukrainian Archbishop Sviatoslav Shevchuk, and historian of Central European politics Timothy Snyder explore these questions.

A complex array of individual responses to the abuse of power by the state is represented in this book in three horrific episodes in the history of East-Central Europe. The three events followed each other within a span of about ten years: the deportation and murder of Hungarian Jews in Nazi death and labor camps; the Arrow Cross terrorist rule in Budapest; and finally the Stalinist terror in Hungary and East-Central Europe. In Survival under Dictatorships: Life and Death in Nazi and Communist Regimes (Central European UP, 2024), László Borhi explores the relationship between the individual and power, attempting to understand the mechanism of oppression and terror produced by arbitrary, unbridled power through the experience of normal people. Despite the obvious peculiarities of time and place, the Hungarian cases convey universal lessons about the Holocaust, Nazism, and Stalinism. In the author's conception, the National Socialist and Stalinist experiences are linked on several levels. Both regimes defended their visions of the future against social groups whom they saw as implacable enemies of those visions, and who therefore had to be destroyed for sake of social perfection. Furthermore, the social practices of National Socialism were passed on. And although Stalinism was imposed by a foreign power, some of the survival skills for coping with it were rehearsed under the previous hellish experience. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network

Ep.235 Alicia Knock Head curator for the Contemporary Creation and Prospective Department at Centre Pompidou. Alicia Knock seeks to develop a transnational history of art. Her acquisitions and exhibitions – Ernest Mancoba, 2019; Chine-Afrique, Crossing the World Color Line, 2020; Global(e) Resistance, 2020 – focus specifically on post-colonial practices (Modern and contemporary African art and Central European art). Concurrently, she is also exploring exhibition formats through dynamic projects that reflect on the future of museums (Museum On/Off, 2016). In 2023, she co-curated Kaunas Biennial, Survival Kit in Riga and Ljubljana graphic arts Biennial focusing on "Long-distance Friendships" and non aligned solidarities between Africa and Eastern Europe. She curated the Albanian Pavilion at the 58th Biennale, and co-curated an exhibition devoted to Boris Mikhailov at the Pinchuk Art Centre in Kyiv in 2019. Photo credit: Alicia Knock © DR Centre Pompidou Black Paris https://www.centrepompidou.fr/en/program/calendar/event/VRo249Y (English) Paris Noir - Circulations artistiques et luttes anticoloniales, 1950 – 2000 - Centre Pompidou (French) https://www.centrepompidou.fr/en/magazine/article/paris-noir-pour-une-histoire-panafricaine-et-transnationale-de-lart https://www.centrepompidou.fr/en/program/calendar/event/7OFuMJz https://amis.centrepompidou.fr/en/activities/1230 Villa Albertine https://villa-albertine.org/va/events/black-paris-talk-series-comes-to-five-us-states/ Les Echos https://www.lesechos.fr/weekend/livres-expositions/alicia-knock-la-tete-chercheuse-du-centre-pompidou-2139352 Gagosian https://gagosian.com/quarterly/contributors/alicia-knock/ Le Quotidien de l'Art https://www.lequotidiendelart.com/articles/23456-le-centre-pompidou-nomme-alicia-knock-et-claudine-grammont.html Lawrie Shabibi https://www.lawrieshabibi.com/exhibitions/110-global-e-resistance-nadia-kaabi-linke-at-centre-pompidou-paris/overview/ Global Atlanta https://www.globalatlanta.com/event/a-conversation-on-black-paris-and-the-atlanta-connection/ E-flux https://www.e-flux.com/announcements/529604/alicia-knock-and-inga-lce-to-curate-14th-kaunas-biennial-and-survival-kit-festival/ Instituto Inclusartiz https://inclusartiz.org/en/midia/instituto-inclusartiz-promove-conversa-entre-os-curadores-do-centro-georges-pompidou-fr-alicia-knock-e-paulo-miyada-2/ Cite internationale des arts https://www.citedesartsparis.net/media/cia/183726-pr_chimurenga.pdf Kauno Bienale https://bienale.lt/2025/en/curators/ Ernest Mancoba https://ernestmancoba.org/2020/05/09/alicia-knock/ C& https://contemporaryand.com/exhibition/museum-onoff-group-show/ Say Who https://saywho.fr/mondains/alicia-knock/