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Central Europe Matters

Central Europe Matters

Welcome to a brand-new, narrative podcast about society, politics and democracy in the heart of Europe. Meet local activists, experts, journalists, artists and others struggling to make sense of what"s happening in their countries and of the turbulent times we live in. Between democratic backsliding, far-right populism, the ongoing legacy of 20th century experiments in totalitarianism, and a strategically vital location on the doorstep of Russia and Ukraine, Central Europe is ground zero for the

society & culture documentary

All Episodes

34:33

Bonus episode II: Listener questions

Central Europe Matters ·

2026/10/07

We now have seven episodes under our belt and are approaching the end of season 1: Slovakia - Democracy under attack. So what better time to share a few listener questions that have come in over the past week? ⠀I've done my best to answer the four questions I received for today's episode, but if I left anything out, shoot me an email. Somehow or another, I only managed to answer only one half of a two-part question I got about who my listeners are. So I figured I'd share the top 5 countries

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57:36

E7: Culture wars

Central Europe Matters ·

2026/09/30

Since Robert Fico’s coalition government took power three years ago, the ministry of culture has launched a full-frontal assault on independent culture. Led by Martina Šimkovičová, the ministry is pursuing an ideological crusade against what it characterizes as "progressive" or "liberal" culture, threatening to sideline brilliant artists and bankrupt unique institutions. It is an approach to governing defined by revenge rather than creation: if you can’t build, destroy. ⠀ Yet the Slovak

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55:37

E6: Slovakia is Europe – Anatomy of a protest movement

Central Europe Matters ·

2026/09/23

In the aftermath of Prime Minister Robert Fico’s shock visit to Moscow to meet Vladimir Putin in December 2024, Slovaks poured onto the squares of large cities and small towns under the banner Slovakia is Europe. The protest movement continued into 2025 and mobilized hundreds of thousands of people. Yet these protests were about far more than the country's membership in the EU. They were about values that people continue to hold dear and are not prepared to surrender without a fight:

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50:17

E5: Truthtellers

Central Europe Matters ·

2026/09/16

In Slovakia, political polarization seeps into everything. Disinformation emanating from Russia and spread by Slovak "alternative media" platforms has transformed the information landscape. This creates enormous challenges for media organizations in the country. How do you continue to focus on what really matters when faced with actors whose aim is to loosen people's grip on reality and make them question the truth of everything? ⠀ Seven years after investigative journalist Ján Kuciak

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51:30

E4: Between remembrance and forgetting

Central Europe Matters ·

2026/09/09

It is hard work confronting the darker chapters of our shared past. When faced with horrors like those that occurred on Slovak soil during the Second World War, it is easier to look away. To try to forget. ⠀ Others still never learn about the crimes committed by the wartime Slovak regime against citizens of the country. About what neighbors did to neighbors. ⠀ Yet in what Hana Kubatová – who you will meet in the second main interview of this week's episode – calls the spirit of historian

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22:50

Bonus episode: The story behind the podcast

Central Europe Matters ·

2026/09/02

Hey listener! I accidentally published the first draft of this episode earlier today. Sorry about that! This represents the final version of the episode. I hope you like it. Why did I quit my secure job in Oslo in early 2025 so that I could dedicate myself full-time to starting a podcast, this podcast?⠀In the first three episodes of the podcast, you've met people from all across Slovakia who have shared their fears, hopes and visions for a better country. They have demonstrated openness and

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23:57

BONUS: The story behind the podcast

Central Europe Matters ·

2026/09/02

Why did I quit my secure job in Oslo in early 2025 so that I could dedicate myself full-time to starting a podcast, this podcast?⠀In the first three episodes of the podcast, you've met people from all across Slovakia who have shared their fears, hopes and visions for a better country. They have demonstrated openness and vulnerability during our conversations and for that I am grateful to them. ⠀Now it's my turn to be open and vulnerable. Why am I doing this work? Why do I consider Central

en

52:04

E3: Do Slovaks like being ruled by a strongman?

Central Europe Matters ·

2026/08/26

Many Slovaks thought they had gotten authoritarian strongmen leaders out of their system when Prime Minister Vladimír Mečiar lost his reelection bid in 1998. Almost twenty years later, the current Slovak government is led by former Communist Robert Fico, whose coalition government attacks independent media, starves independent culture of financing, and in televised rants and social media tirades accuses political opponents and Slovaks who didn't vote for him of progressive fascism and

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43:46

E2: The country that cried itself into independence

Central Europe Matters ·

2026/08/19

What happens when you wake up one day and find yourself living in a different country? In this week's episode, we move from the fall of communism in 1989 to the emergence of an independent Slovak state in 1993. For most of this episode, I spoke to people living in Bratislava, the dynamic and at times architecturally puzzling Slovak capital, before returning to Banská Bystrica in central Slovakia for my final conversation. I also made a brief stop in Košice in eastern Slovakia.

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45:01

E1: The old system collapsed, but is it really gone?

Central Europe Matters ·

2026/08/12

This episode marks our first trip to Slovakia and the start of season 1, Slovakia – Democracy under attack. Buckle up – it's going to be a wild ride. Follow me, host Jeff Lugowe, as I speak with activists, researchers, artists and concerned citizens about the battle currently underway in Slovakia over the country's democratic future. ⠀ We begin in Banská Bystrica in central Slovakia to meet Sandra and Lea, two activists with the organization Not in our Town (Nie v nasom meste). ⠀ Then we

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2:03

Season 1 Trailer: Slovakia — Democracy under Attack

Central Europe Matters ·

2026/08/07

Season 1 will take listeners on a trip around Slovakia — a small, mountainous country on the eastern periphery of the European Union — currently in the throes of a democratic crisis. Join host Jeff Lugowe as he meets people living in the big cities and deep in the countryside and hears how they are fighting for their democracy. Slovakia — Democracy under Attack launches in August 2026. Subscribe today to get the first episode in your podcast feed. Central Europe Matters is an new,

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