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On this episode, Cullan talks with Professor Michal Kšiňan about his monograph on the Slovak national hero and co-founder of Czechoslovakia, Milan Rastislav Štefánik. Michal talks about Štefánik's military career and meteoric rise and the place he continues to hold in Czechoslovakia history and memory. Thanks for listening! ABOUT THE BOOK https://www.routledge.com/authors/i21001-michal-kian This is the first scientific biography of Milan Rastislav Štefánik (1880–1919) that is focused on analysing the process of how he became the Slovak national hero. Although he is relatively unknown internationally, his contemporaries compared him “to Choderlos de Laclos for the use of military tactics in love affairs, to Lawrence of Arabia for vision, to Bonaparte for ambition ... and to one of apostles for conviction”. He played the key role in founding an independent Czechoslovakia in 1918 through his relentless worldwide travels during the First World War in order to create the Czechoslovak Army: he visited Serbia and Romania on the eve of invasion by the Central Powers, Russia before the February revolution, the United States after it declared war on Germany, Italy dealing with the consequences of defeat in the Caporetto battle, and again when Russia plunged into Civil War. Several historical methods are used to analyse the aforementioned central research question of this biography such as social capital to explain his rise in French society, the charismatic leader to understand how he convinced and won over a relatively large number of people; more traditional political, military, and diplomatic history to show his contribution to the founding of Czechoslovakia, and memory studies to analyse his extraordinary popularity in Slovakia. By mapping his intriguing life, the book will be of interest to scholars in a broad range of areas including history of Central Europe, especially Czechoslovakia, international relations, social history, French society at the beginning of the 20th century and biographical research. ABOUT THE GUEST Michal Kšiňan is a researcher at the Institute of History of the Slovak Academy of Sciences in Bratislava. He defended his PhD theses in history summa cum laude in 2011. He wrote his PhD theses en cotutelle between University Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne, where he later also lectured (2018–2019), and the Institute of History of the Slovak Academy of Sciences, Bratislava where he currently works. He wrote several books about Štefánik, edited or coedited 5 volumes and published dozens of scientific papers on different topics. His works were published in Slovak, French, English, Italian, German and Russian. In 2006, he graduated from history and French language and literature at the Faculty of Pedagogy, Comenius University, Bratislava. In 2007, he got his Master 2 recherche from Contemporary Central European History at University Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne. PRODUCER'S NOTE: This episode was recorded on November 1, 2022 via Zoom. If you have questions, comments, or would like to be a guest on the show, please email slavxradio@utexas.edu and we will be in touch! CREDITS Host/Associate Producer: Cullan Bendig (@cullanwithana) Associate Producer: Lera Toropin (@earlportion) Assistant Producer: Taylor Ham Assistant Producer: Sergio Glajar Assistant Producer: Misha Simanovskyy (@MSimanovskyy) Executive Assistant: Eliza Fisher Supervising Producer: Katherine Birch Audio Editor: Blaine Young Recording and Sound Design: Michelle Daniel Music Producer: Charlie Harper (@charlieharpermusic) www.charlieharpermusic.com (Main Theme by Charlie Harper and additional background music by Shaolin Dub, Simon Mathewson, Blue Dot Sessions,) Executive Producer & Creator: Michelle Daniel (@MSDaniel) www.msdaniel.com DISCLAIMER: Texas Podcast Network is brought to you by The University of Texas at Austin. Podcasts are produced by faculty members and staffers at UT Austin who work with University Communications to craft content that adheres to journalistic best practices. The University of Texas at Austin offers these podcasts at no charge. Podcasts appearing on the network and this webpage represent the views of the hosts, not of The University of Texas at Austin. https://files.fireside.fm/file/fireside-uploads/images/9/9a59b135-7876-4254-b600-3839b3aa3ab1/P1EKcswq.png Special Guest: Michal Kšiňan.

On this episode, Cullan sits down with lauded historian Ulf Brunnbauer, managing director of the Leibniz Institute for East and Southeast European Studies in Regensburg, Germany, whose research on the social history and anthropology of Southeast Europe reveals that the Balkan region is in many ways more globalized than the rest of Europe. ABOUT THE GUEST: Ulf Brunnbauer, Academic Director of the Leibniz Institute for East and Southeast European Studies in Regensburg, holds a PhD in history from the University of Graz, Austria (1999). In 2006, he was awarded a habilitation by the Free University of Berlin, and since 2008 he holds the Chair of Southeast and East European History at the University of Regensburg. His most recent books include In den Stürmen der Transformation (2022, with Philipp Ther and others) and The Routledge Handbook of Balkan and Southeastern European History (2021, ed. with John Lampe). He is also author of Globalizing Southeastern Europe. Emigrants, America and the State since the 19th Century (2016). Read an interview with him from ASEEES: https://www.aseees.org/membership/ulf-brunnbauer PRODUCER'S NOTE: This episode was recorded on November 11th, 2022 at the Palmer House Hilton in Chicago, Illinois at the ASEEES 2023 Convention. SlavX is hosting an in-person and virtual conference on global media in diplomacy and foreign policy at The University of Texas at Austin, April 9-12, 2023. The call for papers can be found here: https://slavx.org/connexions. We hope to receive submissions from graduate students especially in countries all over Europe, Asia, and Africa. If your institution is interested in participating, please reach out to slavxradio@utexas.edu with the subject line "#CONNEXIONS CONFERENCE PARTNERSHIP". Thank you! CREDITS Host/Associate Producer: Cullan Bendig (@cullanwithana) Associate Producer: Lera Toropin (@earlportion) Associate Producer: Taylor Ham Assistant Producer: Sergio Glajar Assistant Producer: Misha Simanovskyy (@MSimanovskyy) Social Media Manager: Eliza Fisher Supervising Producer: Katherine Birch Recording, Editing, and Sound Design: Michelle Daniel Music Producer: Charlie Harper (@charlieharpermusic) www.charlieharpermusic.com (Main Theme by Charlie Harper and additional background music by Tea K Pea, Chicochico, Mindseye, Uncanny) Executive Producer & Creator: Michelle Daniel (@MSDaniel) www.msdaniel.com DISCLAIMER: Texas Podcast Network is brought to you by The University of Texas at Austin. Podcasts are produced by faculty members and staffers at UT Austin who work with University Communications to craft content that adheres to journalistic best practices. The University of Texas at Austin offers these podcasts at no charge. Podcasts appearing on the network and this webpage represent the views of the hosts, not of The University of Texas at Austin. https://files.fireside.fm/file/fireside-uploads/images/9/9a59b135-7876-4254-b600-3839b3aa3ab1/P1EKcswq.png Special Guest: Ulf Brunnbauer.

On this episode, historian Dr. Ivan Kurilla from European University in St. Petersburg shares about his research on the rich and little-known history of US-Russia relations since the 18th century. Dr. Kurilla explains how the US and Russia are "constitutive others" that have developed historically within the same political language, were both projections of the Greater Europe, and at times shared similar social and political upheaval and transformation. Please visit European University's website at https://eusp.org/ for more on their program for international students (as described by Dr. Kurilla in the episode) held now in Yerevan, Armenia. https://eusp.org/en/news/eusp-revamped-international-programs-explore-what-is-happening-in-russia-and-eurasia-today ABOUT THE GUEST Ivan Kurilla is a Professor of History and International Relations at European University, St. Petersburg. His primary field of interest is the history of U.S.-Russian relations, especially during the American antebellum and Civil War periods. In addition, he has organized workshops, published articles, and edited volumes on the use of history, historical memory, and historical politics in Russia and the post-Soviet space. Dr. Kurilla has also published articles on relations between the state and society in contemporary Russia. His articles have been published in the leading Russian historical journals, as well as in the Journal of American History, Demokratizatsiya, Journal of Cold War Studies, Problems of Post-Communism, and Nationalities Papers. In 2010 he translated into Russian the classic monograph by Perry Anderson, Lineages of the Absolutist State. Dr. Kurilla serves on the editorial board of Amerikanskii ezhegodnik (American Yearbook) of Moscow’s Russian Academy of Sciences. He is a member of the council of the Russian Society for U.S. History Studies and a member of the council of the Free Historical Society. PRODUCER'S NOTE: This episode was recorded on November 12th, 2022 at the Palmer House Hilton in Chicago, Illinois during the ASEEES 2022 Convention. If you have questions, comments, or would like to be a guest on the show, please email slavxradio@utexas.edu and we will be in touch! CREDITS Host/Assistant Producer: Misha Simanovskyy (@MSimanovskyy) Associate Producer: Lera Toropin (@earlportion) Associate Producer: Cullan Bendig (@cullanwithana) Associate Producer: Taylor Ham Associate Producer: Sergio Glajar Social Media Manager: Eliza Fisher Supervising Producer: Katherine Birch Recording, Editing, and Sound Design: Michelle Daniel Music Producer: Charlie Harper (@charlieharpermusic) www.charlieharpermusic.com (Main Theme by Charlie Harper and additional background music by Makaih Beats, Mindseye, Paradigm, Chad Crouch, Uncanny) Executive Producer & Creator: Michelle Daniel (@MSDaniel) DISCLAIMER: Texas Podcast Network is brought to you by The University of Texas at Austin. Podcasts are produced by faculty members and staffers at UT Austin who work with University Communications to craft content that adheres to journalistic best practices. The University of Texas at Austin offers these podcasts at no charge. Podcasts appearing on the network and this webpage represent the views of the hosts, not of The University of Texas at Austin. https://files.fireside.fm/file/fireside-uploads/images/9/9a59b135-7876-4254-b600-3839b3aa3ab1/P1EKcswq.png Special Guest: Ivan Kurilla.

On this episode, venerated political scientist Dr. Robert Freedman joins us to expound on the various wars and conflicts that Russia has gotten into, not only in Ukraine, but also in Syria, Libya, Mali, and more. Dr. Freedman articulates Putin's current goals as he sees them, touches on the liberal use of the Wagner Group by Russia, and prognosticates on the future of the war in Ukraine and Ukraine's prospects in joining Western security organizations. Thanks for listening (and happy holidays to all)! ABOUT THE GUEST Professor Robert Freedman received his B.A. in Diplomatic History from the University of Pennsylvania and his M.A. and Ph.D. degrees in International Relations from Columbia University. He was an Assistant Professor of Russian History at the United States Military Academy (West Point) and Associate Professor of Political Science and Russian at Marquette University, before his extended career in Baltimore as Professor of Political Science and later the President of the Baltimore Hebrew University. Now, he is visiting professor at Johns Hopkins University and continues to hold an appointment at the Baltimore Hebrew University. He is the author or co-author of five books on Soviet foreign policy and fifteen on Israel and the Middle East. He has consulted with U.S. and Israeli government agencies, served on significant government delegations, and been a commentator innumerable times on major news outlets. He is a highly respected authority in the U.S. foreign policy community. PRODUCER'S NOTE: This episode was recorded on November 13th, 2022 at Palmer House Hilton in Chicago, Illinois at the 2022 ASEEES convention. If you have questions, comments, or would like to be a guest on the show, please email slavxradio@utexas.edu and we will be in touch! CREDITS Host/Associate Producer: Taylor Ham Host/Assistant Producer: Misha Simanovskyy (@MSimanovskyy) Associate Producer: Lera Toropin (@earlportion) Associate Producer: Cullan Bendig (@cullanwithana) Assistant Producer: Sergio Glajar Social Media Manager: Eliza Fisher Supervising Producer: Katherine Birch Recording, Editing, and Sound Design: Michelle Daniel Music Producer: Charlie Harper (@charlieharpermusic) www.charlieharpermusic.com (Main Theme by Charlie Harper and additional background music by Holizna, Jazzafari, Kai Engel,Makaih Beats) Executive Producer & Creator: Michelle Daniel (@MSDaniel) www.msdaniel.com DISCLAIMER: Texas Podcast Network is brought to you by The University of Texas at Austin. Podcasts are produced by faculty members and staffers at UT Austin who work with University Communications to craft content that adheres to journalistic best practices. The University of Texas at Austin offers these podcasts at no charge. Podcasts appearing on the network and this webpage represent the views of the hosts, not of The University of Texas at Austin. https://files.fireside.fm/file/fireside-uploads/images/9/9a59b135-7876-4254-b600-3839b3aa3ab1/P1EKcswq.png Special Guest: Robert O. Freedman.

On this episode, Lera speaks with Emily Joan Elliott of H-Net about what got her interested in Soviet and post-Soviet history and her particular focus on migration to Moscow and the Priemnaia (reception desk) of the Supreme Soviet. Per Elliott's research: "the Priemnaia received thousands of complaints and petitions annually, often from individuals or groups who argued that local soviets or enterprises failed to deliver on various aspects of their material wellbeing, including housing. But the Priemnaia also provided a place for these petitioners to voice their concerns and plead for the state to intercede on their behalf... Although the Soviet bureaucracy was a behemoth, the Priemnaia provided its citizens with direct means of engagement with government officials, cutting through red tape, and improving their material wellbeing." Thanks for listening! ABOUT THE GUEST Hailing from New York, Dr. Emily Joan Elliott is the associate director for research and publications at H-Net (https://www.h-net.org/). She received her PhD in Soviet and post-Soviet history from Michigan State University in 2019. After earning her degree, she pursued opportunities both inside and outside the academy. She has taught a broad array of courses, including the history of Russia, the Soviet Union, modern Europe, socialism, and migration. Outside the academy, she has worked as a freelance researcher and as the Special Sections Editor for the Historical Society of Michigan’s magazines. She continued her foray into journalism as a reporter and then as the Managing Editor for East Lansing Info. In that role, she reported on a variety of topics, ranging from East Lansing Public Schools, Covid-19, and community disparities. PRODUCER'S NOTE: This episode was recorded on November 11th, 2022 at the Palmer House in Chicago during the ASEEES 2022 Convention. If you have questions, comments, or would like to be a guest on the show, please email slavxradio@utexas.edu and we will be in touch! CREDITS Host/Associate Producer: Lera Toropin (@earlportion) Associate Producer: Taylor Ham Associate Producer: Cullan Bendig (@cullanwithana) Associate Producer: Sergio Glajar Assistant Producer: Misha Simanovskyy (@MSimanovskyy) Social Media Manager: Eliza Fisher Supervising Producer: Katherine Birch Recording, Editing, and Sound Design: Michelle Daniel Music Producer: Charlie Harper (@charlieharpermusic) www.charlieharpermusic.com (Main Theme by Charlie Harper and additional background music by Ketsa, Shaolin Dub, DLay, ) Executive Producer & Creator: Michelle Daniel (@MSDaniel) www.msdaniel.com DISCLAIMER: Texas Podcast Network is brought to you by The University of Texas at Austin. Podcasts are produced by faculty members and staffers at UT Austin who work with University Communications to craft content that adheres to journalistic best practices. The University of Texas at Austin offers these podcasts at no charge. Podcasts appearing on the network and this webpage represent the views of the hosts, not of The University of Texas at Austin. https://files.fireside.fm/file/fireside-uploads/images/9/9a59b135-7876-4254-b600-3839b3aa3ab1/P1EKcswq.png Special Guest: Emily Joan Elliott.

On this episode, Sergio talks with Yacov Zohn, football historian and former semi-professional footballer in Russia, France, and the US. Yacov's research into the development of Soviet football sheds light on the immense political pressure placed on the primary USSR team, the Sbornaya, to win each and every game--but ultimately the unrealistic aim to earn gold at the Olympics in 1952 is never realized. Yacov also discusses how Lavrentiy Beria himself was involved in the politics of the sport. The USSR furthermore declined the invitation to compete in the FIFA World Cup, undoubtedly due to concerns from Beria and others about the Soviet team's inability to perform with top teams internationally. ABOUT THE GUEST Yacov Zohn is a semi-professional footballer and a PhD candidate in history at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. His dissertation traces the history of the national Soviet soccer team from its official recognition by the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) in 1946 to its tortuous disintegration in the early 1990s. His aim is to elucidate how the narrative of Soviet sports history intersects with the kaleidoscope of competing narratives from nation-states and global sport governing institutions to form a complex mosaic of transnational sports history. PRODUCER'S NOTE: This episode was recorded on November 10th, 2022 at the Palmer House Hilton in Chicago. If you have questions, comments, or would like to be a guest on the show, please email slavxradio@utexas.edu and we will be in touch! CREDITS Host/Associate Producer: Sergio Glajar Associate Producer: Lera Toropin (@earlportion) Associate Producer: Cullan Bendig (@cullanwithana) Assistant Producer: Taylor Ham Assistant Producer: Misha Simanovskyy (@MSimanovskyy) Social Media Manager: Eliza Fisher Supervising Producer: Katherine Birch Recording, Editing, and Sound Design: Michelle Daniel Music Producer: Charlie Harper (@charlieharpermusic) www.charlieharpermusic.com (Main Theme by Charlie Harper and additional background music by Comfort Fit, Ketsa, Mr. Smith, Eddie Aich, Lame Drivers) Executive Producer & Creator: Michelle Daniel (@MSDaniel) www.msdaniel.com DISCLAIMER: Texas Podcast Network is brought to you by The University of Texas at Austin. Podcasts are produced by faculty members and staffers at UT Austin who work with University Communications to craft content that adheres to journalistic best practices. The University of Texas at Austin offers these podcasts at no charge. Podcasts appearing on the network and this webpage represent the views of the hosts, not of The University of Texas at Austin. https://files.fireside.fm/file/fireside-uploads/images/9/9a59b135-7876-4254-b600-3839b3aa3ab1/P1EKcswq.png Special Guest: Yacov Zohn.

On this episode, Friederike Kind-Kovács visits with us in Austin, Texas, to talk about her latest book which explores the ways in which migration, hunger, and destitution affected children's lives, casting light on their particular vulnerability in times of distress. You can find her book "Budapest's Children" (published by Indiana University Press) here: https://iupress.org/9780253062161/budapests-children/. The book series referenced in the episode is Worlds in Crisis: Refugees, Asylum, and Forced Migration, information about which can be found on this page: https://iupress.org/new-series-accepting-submissions/. ABOUT THE GUEST Friederike Kind-Kovács is a contemporary historian and senior researcher at the Hannah Arendt Institute for Totalitarianism Studies at TU Dresden and a lecturer at Regensburg University in Germany. She is author of Written Here, Published There: How Underground Literature Crossed the Iron Curtain, which won the University of Southern California Book Prize in Cultural and Literary Studies in 2015. She is editor (with Machteld Venken) of the double special issue "Childhood in Times of Political Transformation in the 20th Century" in the Journal of Modern European History; (with Heike Karge and Sara Bernasconi) of From the Midwife's Bag to the Patient's File: Public Health in Eastern Europe; and (with Jessie Labov) of Samizdat, Tamizdat, and Beyond: Transnational Media During and After Socialism. PRODUCER'S NOTE: This episode was recorded in person on November 3rd, 2022 at The University of Texas at Austin. If you have questions, comments, or would like to be a guest on the show, please email slavxradio@utexas.edu and we will be in touch! CREDITS Host/Associate Producer: Sergio Glajar Host/Assistant Producer: Eliza Fisher Associate Producer: Lera Toropin (@earlportion) Associate Producer: Cullan Bendig (@cullanwithana) Associate Producer: Taylor Ham Assistant Producer: Misha Simanovskyy (@MSimanovskyy) Supervising Producer: Katherine Birch Recording, Editing, and Sound Design: Michelle Daniel Music Producer: Charlie Harper (@charlieharpermusic) www.charlieharpermusic.com (Main Theme by Charlie Harper and additional background music by Michelle Daniel Trio, Ketsa, and Glass Boy) Executive Producer & Creator: Michelle Daniel (@MSDaniel) www.msdaniel.com DISCLAIMER: Texas Podcast Network is brought to you by The University of Texas at Austin. Podcasts are produced by faculty members and staffers at UT Austin who work with University Communications to craft content that adheres to journalistic best practices. The University of Texas at Austin offers these podcasts at no charge. Podcasts appearing on the network and this webpage represent the views of the hosts, not of The University of Texas at Austin. https://files.fireside.fm/file/fireside-uploads/images/9/9a59b135-7876-4254-b600-3839b3aa3ab1/P1EKcswq.png Special Guest: Friederike Kind-Kovács.

On this episode, recorded in-person at the ASEEES 2022 Convention in Chicago, Lera and Taylor sit down with Will Pomeranz, the director of the Wilson Center's Kennan Institute, to talk about his experience practicing Russian law in Russia, the work of the Kennan Institute, the evolution (and devolution) of Russian law from the tsarist period through Vladimir Putin today, and the legality of the referenda in Ukraine. A timely discussion, especially in light of the bombings Poland at the Ukraine-Poland border on November 15th, 2022. We hope you enjoy! For more information on the Wilson Center and its vast resources, please visit their website: https://www.wilsoncenter.org/. For the Kennan Institute specifically, visit: https://www.wilsoncenter.org/program/kennan-institute. ABOUT THE GUEST William Pomeranz is the Director of the Kennan Institute, a part of the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars located in Washington, D.C. He also has taught Russian law at the Center for Eurasian, Russian, and East European Studies (CERES), Georgetown University. He hold a B.A. from Haverford College, a M.Sc. from the University of Edinburgh, a J.D. cum laude from American University, and a Ph.D. in Russian History from the School of Slavonic and East European Studies, University of London. Prior to joining the Kennan Institute, Dr. Pomeranz practiced international law in the United States and Moscow, Russia. He advised clients on investment in the Russian Federation as well as on U.S. anti-money laundering requirements, the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), and various U.S. sanctions programs. His research interests include Russian legal history as well current Russian commercial and constitutional law. His academic articles have been published in the Russian Review, Slavonic and East European Review, Kritika, Review of Central and East European Law, Demokratizatsiya, and Problems of Post-Communism. He also has provided commentary and conducted numerous press interviews with CNN, NPR, C-SPAN, Reuters, VOA, Bloomberg, and other media outlets. PRODUCER'S NOTE: This episode was recorded in Chicago's Palmer House Hilton on November 12th, 2022 at the ASEEES Convention. If you have questions, comments, or would like to be a guest on the show, please email slavxradio@utexas.edu and we will be in touch! CREDITS Host/Associate Producer: Lera Toropin (@earlportion) Host/Associate Producer: Taylor Ham Associate Producer: Cullan Bendig (@cullanwithana) Assistant Producer: Sergio Glajar Assistant Producer: Misha Simanovskyy (@MSimanovskyy) Social Media Manager: Eliza Fisher Supervising Producer: Katherine Birch Recording, Editing, Sound Design: Michelle Daniel Music Producer: Charlie Harper (@charlieharpermusic) www.charlieharpermusic.com (Main Theme by Charlie Harper and additional background music by Charlie Harper, Makaih Beats, Kirk Osamayo, Independent music collective) Executive Producer & Creator: Michelle Daniel (@MSDaniel) www.msdaniel.com DISCLAIMER: Texas Podcast Network is brought to you by The University of Texas at Austin. Podcasts are produced by faculty members and staffers at UT Austin who work with University Communications to craft content that adheres to journalistic best practices. The University of Texas at Austin offers these podcasts at no charge. Podcasts appearing on the network and this webpage represent the views of the hosts, not of The University of Texas at Austin. https://files.fireside.fm/file/fireside-uploads/images/9/9a59b135-7876-4254-b600-3839b3aa3ab1/P1EKcswq.png Special Guest: William Pomeranz.

On this episode, author and historian Brigid O'Keeffe joins Sergio and Misha to discuss her research and newly released work on the rise and fall of the multiethnic Soviet Union. The social histories which Dr. O'Keeffe mentions are: Jeff Sahadeo's Voices from the Soviet Edge https://www.cornellpress.cornell.edu/book/9781501738203/voices-from-the-soviet-edge/ and Adrienne Edgar's Intermarriage and the Friendship of Peoples https://www.cornellpress.cornell.edu/book/9781501762949/intermarriage-and-the-friendship-of-peoples/#bookTabs=1 ABOUT THE GUEST Brigid O'Keeffe is a Professor of History at Brooklyn College of the City University of New York. She is a specialist on the history of late imperial Russia and the Soviet Union. O’Keeffe is the author of The Multiethnic Soviet Union and its Demise (Bloomsbury); Esperanto and Languages of Internationalism in Revolutionary Russia (Bloomsbury; Winner of the 2021 Ab Imperio Award) and New Soviet Gypsies: Nationality, Performance, and Selfhood in the Early Soviet Union (University of Toronto Press). She is at work on her next book, The Family Litvinov: A History of the Twentieth Century. PRODUCER'S NOTE: This episode was recorded on October 31st, 2022 via Zoom. If you have questions, comments, or would like to be a guest on the show, please email slavxradio@utexas.edu and we will be in touch! CREDITS Host/Assistant Producer: Sergio Glajar Host/Assistant Producer: Misha Simanovskyy (@MSimanovskyy) Associate Producer: Lera Toropin (@earlportion) Associate Producer: Cullan Bendig (@cullanwithana) Assistant Producer: Taylor Ham Social Media Manager: Eliza Fisher Supervising Producer: Katherine Birch Recording, Editing, and Sound Design: Michelle Daniel Music Producer: Charlie Harper (@charlieharpermusic) www.charlieharpermusic.com (Main Theme by Charlie Harper) Executive Producer & Creator: Michelle Daniel (@MSDaniel) www.msdaniel.com DISCLAIMER: Texas Podcast Network is brought to you by The University of Texas at Austin. Podcasts are produced by faculty members and staffers at UT Austin who work with University Communications to craft content that adheres to journalistic best practices. The University of Texas at Austin offers these podcasts at no charge. Podcasts appearing on the network and this webpage represent the views of the hosts, not of The University of Texas at Austin. https://files.fireside.fm/file/fireside-uploads/images/9/9a59b135-7876-4254-b600-3839b3aa3ab1/P1EKcswq.png Special Guest: Brigid O'Keeffe.

To continue our discussion on the effects of the War in Ukraine on the energy sector, Foreign Policy columnist and Stimson Center senior fellow Dr. Emma Ashford joins us to share about her book "Oil, the State, and War: Foreign Policy of Petrostates." You can find more about this comprehensive guide to understanding petrostates and the significant role that oil plays in international relations here: http://press.georgetown.edu/book/georgetown/oil-state-and-war. Follow her on Twitter @EmmaMAshford. http://press.georgetown.edu/sites/default/files/9781647122379.jpg ABOUT THE GUEST https://www.stimson.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/Emma-Ashford-headshot.jpg Emma Ashford is a Senior Fellow with the Reimagining US Grand Strategy program at the Stimson Center. She works on a variety of issues related to the future of US foreign policy, international security, and the politics of global energy markets. She has expertise in the politics of Russia, Europe, and the Middle East. Ashford is also a nonresident fellow at the Modern War Institute at West Point, and an adjunct assistant professor in the Security Studies Program at Georgetown University. Her first book, Oil, the State, and War: The Foreign Policies of Petrostates, was published by Georgetown University Press in 2022, and explored the international security ramifications of oil production and export in states such as Russia, Saudi Arabia, Iran, and Venezuela. Prior to joining the Stimson Center, Ashford was a senior fellow with the Atlantic Council’s New American Engagement Initiative, which focused on challenging the prevailing assumptions governing US foreign policy. She was also a research fellow in defense and foreign policy at the Cato Institute, where she worked on a variety of issues including the US-Saudi relationship, sanctions policy, and US policy towards Russia, and US foreign policy and grand strategy more broadly. Ashford writes a bi-weekly column, “It’s Debatable,” for Foreign Policy, and her long-form writing has been featured in publications such as Foreign Affairs, the Texas National Security Review, Strategic Studies Quarterly, the York Times, the Washington Post, the National Interest, and War on the Rocks, among others. She is a term member of the Council on Foreign Relations, and holds a PhD in Foreign Affairs from the University of Virginia. PRODUCER'S NOTE: This episode was recorded on October 24th, 2022 via Zoom. If you have questions, comments, or would like to be a guest on the show, please email slavxradio@utexas.edu and we will be in touch! CREDITS Assistant Producer/Host: Taylor Ham Associate Producer/Host: Lera Toropin (@earlportion) Assistant Producer: Misha Simanovskyy (@MSimanovskyy) Associate Producer: Cullan Bendig (@cullanwithana) Assistant Producer: Sergio Glajar Social Media Manager: Eliza Fisher Supervising Producer: Katherine Birch Recording, Editing, and Sound Design: Michelle Daniel Music Producer: Charlie Harper (@charlieharpermusic) www.charlieharpermusic.com (Main Theme by Charlie Harper and additional background music by Holizno, Broke for Free) Executive Producer & Creator: Michelle Daniel (@MSDaniel) www.msdaniel.com DISCLAIMER: Texas Podcast Network is brought to you by The University of Texas at Austin. Podcasts are produced by faculty members and staffers at UT Austin who work with University Communications to craft content that adheres to journalistic best practices. The University of Texas at Austin offers these podcasts at no charge. Podcasts appearing on the network and this webpage represent the views of the hosts, not of The University of Texas at Austin. https://files.fireside.fm/file/fireside-uploads/images/9/9a59b135-7876-4254-b600-3839b3aa3ab1/P1EKcswq.png Special Guest: Emma Ashford.

On this episode, Misha speaks with Middle East expert Nicole Robinson who expounds on how MENA countries have responded to Russia's War in Ukraine and the reasons why. Ms. Robinson sheds some light on the future of the region as the conflict evolves and Russia's capacity to arm and feed its regional allies dwindles. Furthermore, she suggests that Russia's declining influence may allow for other actors to increase their influence in the Middle East region -- actors such as China, for example, which is one of the biggest recipients of oil and natural gas from the Persian Gulf. Ms. Robinson says it's unwise for the US to take a step back in the Middle East when it is geographically and strategically the region that is situated in between giants. This war is not only shifting great power competition, but also changing "how each of these countries think about their bilateral relationships." For more on Russia's War in Syria, listen to Ret. Col. Robert E. Hamilton's episode here: https://www.slavxradio.com/hamilton ABOUT THE GUEST https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQaNutVpZT13oUm_Eu8AovNN5d727uuySIXzA&usqp=CAU Nicole Robinson is a senior research associate in the Douglas and Sarah Allison Center for Foreign Policy at The Heritage Foundation, focusing on Middle East Policy. She researches and writes on economic, security, and political challenges facing the Middle East and North Africa, with a particular focus on the Levant region. Among other topics, she has written on women’s empowerment and domestic developments in Iran, Lebanon, and Yemen. Before joining Heritage, Nicole lived in Jordan for a year and half, studying at the University of Jordan and working at the Stabilisation Network and Near East Foundation.She is fluent in Arabic and is continuing to expand her knowledge about the Middle East. Nicole received her Master’s Degree in Arab Studies from Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service and holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Middle East Studies from the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities. She was born and raised in Woodbury, Minnesota, and currently resides in Alexandria, Virginia. PRODUCER'S NOTE: This episode was recorded on October 21st, 2022 via Zoom. If you have questions, comments, or would like to be a guest on the show, please email slavxradio@utexas.edu and we will be in touch! CREDITS Assistant Producer/Host: Misha Simanovskyy (@MSimanovskyy) Associate Producer: Lera Toropin (@earlportion) Associate Producer: Cullan Bendig (@cullanwithana) Assistant Producer: Sergio Glajar Assistant Producer: Taylor Ham Social Media Manager: Eliza Fisher Supervising Producer: Katherine Birch Recording, Editing, and Sound Design: Michelle Daniel Music Producer: Charlie Harper (@charlieharpermusic) www.charlieharpermusic.com (Main Theme by Charlie Harper and additional background music by Broke For Free, Shaolin Dub, "Karma" by Kazka) Executive Producer & Creator: Michelle Daniel (@MSDaniel) www.msdaniel.com DISCLAIMER: Texas Podcast Network is brought to you by The University of Texas at Austin. Podcasts are produced by faculty members and staffers at UT Austin who work with University Communications to craft content that adheres to journalistic best practices. The University of Texas at Austin offers these podcasts at no charge. Podcasts appearing on the network and this webpage represent the views of the hosts, not of The University of Texas at Austin. https://files.fireside.fm/file/fireside-uploads/images/9/9a59b135-7876-4254-b600-3839b3aa3ab1/P1EKcswq.png Special Guest: Nicole Robinson.

On this episode, Taylor talks with the director of CREEES, Dr. Mary Neuburger, about her latest book entitled Ingredients of Change: The History and Culture of Food in Modern Bulgaria. Thanks for listening! https://cornellpress-us.imgix.net/covers/9781501762581.jpg?auto=format&w=300 From the publisher: Ingredients of Change explores modern Bulgaria's foodways from the Ottoman era to the present, outlining how Bulgarians domesticated and adapted diverse local, regional, and global foods and techniques, and how the nation's culinary topography has been continually reshaped by the imperial legacies of the Ottomans, Habsburgs, Russians, and Soviets, as well as by the ingenuity of its own people. Changes in Bulgarian cooking and cuisine, Mary C. Neuburger shows, were driven less by nationalism than by the circulation of powerful food narratives—scientific, religious, and ethical—along with peoples, goods, technologies, and politics. You can find Ingredients of Change on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Ingredients-Change-History-Culture-Bulgaria/dp/1501762494#:~:text=%22Ingredients%20of%20Change%20provides%20exciting,was%20lost%20with%20its%20collapse.%22 ABOUT THE GUEST Dr. Mary Neuburger is currently the Director of the Center for Russian, East European and Eurasian Studies, the Chair of Slavic and Eurasian Studies, Professor of History, and Associate Director of the Global (Dis)Information Lab, at The University of Texas at Austin. Her research focus is on modern Eastern Europe with a specialization in Southeastern Europe. Her research interests include urban culture, consumption, commodity exchange, gender and nationalism. She is the author of Balkan Smoke: Tobacco and the Making of Modern Bulgaria (Cornell University Press, 2016) and The Orient Within: Muslim Minorities and the Negotiation of Nationhood in Modern Bulgaria (Cornell University Press, 2011). She teaches courses on the history of modern Eastern Europe. PRODUCER'S NOTE: This episode was recorded on October 5th, 2022 via Zoom. If you have questions, comments, or would like to be a guest on the show, please email slavxradio@utexas.edu and we will be in touch! CREDITS Host/Assistant Producer: Taylor Ham Associate Producer: Lera Toropin (@earlportion) Associate Producer: Cullan Bendig (@cullanwithana) Assistant Producer: Misha Simanovskyy (@MSimanovskyy) Assistant Producer: Sergio Glajar Social Media Manager: Eliza Fisher Supervising Producer: Katherine Birch Recording, Editing, and Sound Design: Michelle Daniel Music Producer: Charlie Harper (@charlieharpermusic) www.charlieharpermusic.com (Main Theme by Charlie Harper and additional background music by various Bulgarian folk artists) Executive Producer & Creator: Michelle Daniel (@MSDaniel) www.msdaniel.com DISCLAIMER: Texas Podcast Network is brought to you by The University of Texas at Austin. Podcasts are produced by faculty members and staffers at UT Austin who work with University Communications to craft content that adheres to journalistic best practices. The University of Texas at Austin offers these podcasts at no charge. Podcasts appearing on the network and this webpage represent the views of the hosts, not of The University of Texas at Austin. https://files.fireside.fm/file/fireside-uploads/images/9/9a59b135-7876-4254-b600-3839b3aa3ab1/P1EKcswq.png Special Guest: Mary C. Neuburger.

On this episode, Eliza talks with sports historian Bruce Berglund who shares about his personal love of hockey, the global development of the sport, the rise of hockey in Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union, and its role of hockey in the expression of national identity on the international stage. Thanks for listening! We encourage you to check out Dr. Berglund's excellent book, entitled "The Fastest Game in the World: Hockey and the Globalization of Sports": https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08P2ZZ8R9/ref=dbsadefrwthschvapitkinp1i5 ABOUT THE GUEST https://calvin.edu/contentAsset/image/c94cae26-bbad-4efc-b25f-ff567a1effa7/bannerImage/filter/Jpeg/jpeg_q/55.jpg Bruce Berglund is a historian of Europe, Russia & world sports. He did research in eight countries for his book The Fastest Game in the World: Hockey and the Globalization of Sports. His articles on world sports have appeared in the Washington Post and CNN Opinion, and he has have been interviewed for Sports Illustrated, The Athletic, National Public Radio, and television and radio programs in the U.S., Canada, Europe, and Australia. Some of the books he has most enjoyed writing are the series for Sports Illustrated Kids on sports records and all-time greatest athletes. A proud son of Duluth, Bruce lives in a small town in southern Minnesota. Follow him on Twitter @brberglund . PRODUCER'S NOTE: This episode was recorded on October 12, 2022 via Zoom. If you have questions, comments, or would like to be a guest on the show, please email slavxradio@utexas.edu and we will be in touch! CREDITS Host: Eliza Fisher (@elizaafisher) Associate Producer: Lera Toropin (@earlportion) Associate Producer: Cullan Bendig (@cullanwithana) Assistant Producer: Sergio Glajar Assistant Producer: Misha Simanovskyy (@MSimanovskyy) Supervising Producer: Katherine Birch Social Media Manager: Eliza Fisher Recording, Editing, and Sound Design: Michelle Daniel Music Producer: Charlie Harper (@charlieharpermusic) www.charlieharpermusic.com (Main Theme by Charlie Harper and additional background music by Independent Music Collective, Scott Holmes, Holizna, Kevin Bryce, and PK Jazz Collective ) Executive Producer & Creator: Michelle Daniel (@MSDaniel) www.msdaniel.com DISCLAIMER: Texas Podcast Network is brought to you by The University of Texas at Austin. Podcasts are produced by faculty members and staffers at UT Austin who work with University Communications to craft content that adheres to journalistic best practices. The University of Texas at Austin offers these podcasts at no charge. Podcasts appearing on the network and this webpage represent the views of the hosts, not of The University of Texas at Austin. https://files.fireside.fm/file/fireside-uploads/images/9/9a59b135-7876-4254-b600-3839b3aa3ab1/P1EKcswq.png Special Guest: Bruce Berglund.

On this episode, Lera and Taylor speak with returning guest Leonid Ragozin who candidly updates us on the war in Ukraine and helps us make sense of the fog of this conflict and the continual stream of headline-making actions from the Kremlin. They discuss Putin's mobilization orders, the West's response to Russians fleeing the draft, an unseen struggle for power within the Russian military, the "annexed" Donbas region, and the role that the coming Winter may play in the war for Europeans dependent on Russian oil and gas. Follow Leonid Ragozin on Twitter @leonidragozin. Thank you for listening. ABOUT THE GUEST https://149346090.v2.pressablecdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/vBl5zWMc_400x400-300x300.png Leonid Ragozin is an independent journalist and Lonely Planet author, formerly based in Moscow. He has contributed to many major publications including Al Jazeera, Business Week, the Guardian, Time, Buzzfeed and The New Republic. He previously worked as BBC producer in Moscow for 14 years and Russian Newsweek foreign correspondent. He has co-authored numerous Lonely Planet travel guides. https://twitter.com/leonidragozin/?lang=en PRODUCER'S NOTE: This episode was recorded on October 6th, 2022 via Zoom. If you have questions, comments, or would like to be a guest on the show, please email slavxradio@utexas.edu and we will be in touch! CREDITS Associate Producer/Host: Lera Toropin (@earlportion) Assistant Producer/Host: Taylor Ham Assistant Producer/Host: Misha Simanovskyy (@MSimanovskyy) Associate Producer: Cullan Bendig (@cullanwithana) Assistant Producer: Sergio Glajar Social Media Manager: Eliza Fisher Supervising Producer: Katherine Birch Recording, Editing, and Sound Design: Michelle Daniel Music Producer: Charlie Harper (@charlieharpermusic) www.charlieharpermusic.com (Main Theme by Charlie Harper and additional background music by Charlie Harper, Shaolin Dub, Kiggler, Audiorezout, AngelGarcia) Executive Producer & Creator: Michelle Daniel (@MSDaniel) www.msdaniel.com DISCLAIMER: Texas Podcast Network is brought to you by The University of Texas at Austin. Podcasts are produced by faculty members and staffers at UT Austin who work with University Communications to craft content that adheres to journalistic best practices. The University of Texas at Austin offers these podcasts at no charge. Podcasts appearing on the network and this webpage represent the views of the hosts, not of The University of Texas at Austin. https://files.fireside.fm/file/fireside-uploads/images/9/9a59b135-7876-4254-b600-3839b3aa3ab1/P1EKcswq.png Special Guest: Leonid Ragozin.

On this episode, luminary historian Professor Norman Davies joins us to talk about the state of Polish studies, the deep history of Ukraine when it was ruled from Warsaw and Krakow, and the importance of broadening European and Slavic studies as taught in academic spaces. This episode was all about historical context, so we hope you enjoy. Thanks for listening! ABOUT THE GUEST Norman Davies, born in 1939 in Bolton (Lancashire) was educated at Bolton School, Magdalen College, Oxford, the University of Sussex and at several continental universities including Grenoble, Perugia and Kraków. His formative years created a lifelong European outlook. He was for many years Professor of History at the School of Slavonic and East European Studies, University of London, and has also taught as a visitor to Columbia, McGill, Hokkaido, Stanford, Harvard, Adelaide, and Australian National, Canberra. He is the author of White Eagle, Red Star: the Polish-Soviet War, 1919-20 (1972): God’s Playground: A History of Poland (1981); the No.1 bestseller Europe: A History (1996); The Isles: A History (1998); Microcosm: Portrait of a Central European City (with Roger Moorhouse, 2002); Rising ’44, the Battle for Warsaw (2003); Europe at War, 1939-45 (2006); and Vanished Kingdoms (2011). His books have been translated into more than twenty languages, and he is a regular broadcaster. From 1997 to 2006 he was a Supernumerary Fellow at Wolfson College, Oxford, and is now an Honorary Fellow at St. Antony’s College, Oxford and Professor at the Jagiellonian University, Cracow. He has been a Fellow of the British Acadamy since 1997 and since 2011 of the Learned Society of Wales. He has been awarded Poland’s Order of the White Eagle and in Britain the CMG ‘for services to history’. He holds honorary doctorates from several universities in Britain and Poland as well as the honorary citizenship of five cities, and is a life member both of Clare Hall and of Peterhouse Cambridge. He lives in Oxford and Krakow with his wife, Maria, and has two grown sons, Daniel and Christian. “There is too much history,” he says, “for anyone to try and understand it all.” Visit his website: http://www.normandavies.com/?lang=en PRODUCER'S NOTE: This episode was recorded on September 23rd, 2022 via Zoom. A special thanks to Michalina at the Warsaw Security Forum for facilitating the conversation. If you have questions, comments, or would like to be a guest on the show, please email slavxradio@utexas.edu and we will be in touch! CREDITS Associate Producer/Host: Cullan Bendig (@cullanwithana) Assistant Producer/Host: Sergio Glajar Associate Producer: Lera Toropin (@earlportion) Assistant Producer: Misha Simanovskyy (@MSimanovskyy) Social Media Manager: Eliza Fisher Supervising Producer: Katherine Birch Recording, Editing, and Sound Design: Michelle Daniel Music Producer: Charlie Harper (@charlieharpermusic) www.charlieharpermusic.com (Main Theme by Charlie Harper and additional background music by The Polish Ambassador, Audiorezout, and Makaih Beats) Executive Producer & Creator: Michelle Daniel (@MSDaniel) www.msdaniel.com DISCLAIMER: Texas Podcast Network is brought to you by The University of Texas at Austin. Podcasts are produced by faculty members and staffers at UT Austin who work with University Communications to craft content that adheres to journalistic best practices. The University of Texas at Austin offers these podcasts at no charge. Podcasts appearing on the network and this webpage represent the views of the hosts, not of The University of Texas at Austin. https://files.fireside.fm/file/fireside-uploads/images/9/9a59b135-7876-4254-b600-3839b3aa3ab1/P1EKcswq.png Special Guest: Norman Davies.

On this first episode of season 5, Lera and Zack talk with Dr. Artyom Tonoyan about the ongoing Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, delving into the history of tensions between Armenia and Azerbaijan, Russia's role and presence as mediator, and the various geopolitical vectors in the region. Thanks for listening! From the publisher: "East View Press aims to provide readers with the immediate context of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict through the lens of Moscow, along with some insight into its complex historical, political and ethnic underpinnings." To purchase "Black Garden Aflame: The Nagorno-Karabakh Conflict in the Soviet and Russian Press" visit https://www.eastviewpress.com/resources/books/black-garden-aflame/. Enter the code BGA35 at checkout for 35% off the full price! https://www.eastviewpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Karabakh-cover-681x1024.jpg ABOUT THE GUEST Dr. Artyom Tonoyan was born and grew up in Gyumri, Armenia and now makes his home in Minneapolis, Minnesota where he was a research associate at the University of Minnesota’s Center for Holocaust and Genocide Studies (2015-2021). A sociologist by training, his research focuses on the intersection of religion and nationalism in Russia and the South Caucasus. His articles have appeared in Demokratizatsiya: The Journal of Post-Soviet Democratization, Society, and Modern Greek Studies Yearbook, among others. He has been a frequent guest on the BBC, Deutsche Welle, France 24, and other outlets. He is currently working on a book charting the social, historical, and religious backgrounds of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. He received his Ph.D. from Baylor University. Follow him on Twitter @ArtyomTonoyan. PRODUCER'S NOTE: This episode was recorded on September 16th, 2022 via Zoom. If you have questions, comments, or would like to be a guest on the show, please email slavxradio@utexas.edu and we will be in touch! CREDITS Associate Producer/Host: Lera Toropin (@earlportion) Associate Producer/Host: Zack Johnson Associate Producer: Cullan Bendig (@cullanwithana) Assistant Producer: Misha Simanovskyy (@MSimanovskyy) Assistant Producer: Sergio Glajar Social Media Manager: Eliza Fisher (@elizaafisher) Supervising Producer: Katherine Birch (@KatherineBirc12) Recording, Editing, and Sound Design: Michelle S Daniel Music Producer: Charlie Harper (www.charlieharpermusic.com) - Main Theme by Charlie Harper and additional background music by Shaolin Dub, Chad Crouch, Kirk Osamayo. Additional sound effects from NASA and Soviet space program archives. Executive Producer & Creator: Michelle S Daniel (@MSDaniel www.msdaniel.com) DISCLAIMER: Texas Podcast Network is brought to you by The University of Texas at Austin. Podcasts are produced by faculty members and staffers at UT Austin who work with University Communications to craft content that adheres to journalistic best practices. The University of Texas at Austin offers these podcasts at no charge. Podcasts appearing on the network and this webpage represent the views of the hosts, not of The University of Texas at Austin. https://files.fireside.fm/file/fireside-uploads/images/9/9a59b135-7876-4254-b600-3839b3aa3ab1/P1EKcswq.png Special Guest: Artyom Tonoyan.

Recent dual-degree CREEES and LBJ Global Policies Studies MA graduate Lucia Winkeler returns to the podcast to discuss her research and report “Chechen Chernie Vdovi: The Most Lethal Human ‘Black Widows’” in which she examines the motivations and explanations for Chechen women’s involvement in extremist organizations and actions. Content warning: There are discussions of sexual assault and suicide in this episode. Listener discretion is advised. You can listen to Lucia's first episode with us here: https://www.slavxradio.com/black-widows. ABOUT THE GUEST Lucia Winkeler is originally from Austin, Texas. She graduated from Texas A&M University with a BA in international studies and modern languages as a double major; her degree focuses were politics, diplomacy, and Russian. She came to the University of Texas at Austin for the CREEES and LBJ School of Public Affairs dual degree program which enables students to graduate with an MA of Russian, East European, and Eurasian Studies and a Master's of Global Policy Studies. Her Master's report focused on analyzing the Chechen "Black Widows" within the Chechen insurgency movement in the Russian Federation. Overall her academic interests include foreign policy, diplomacy, US-Russia relations, national security, Russia relations to its near abroad, and the Caucasus region. After earning her Master’s degrees she ideally wants to have a federal career to work on improving the state of US-Russian relations and affect US interests in the Eurasian region overall. PRODUCER'S NOTE: This episode was recorded on December 2021 via Zoom. If you have questions, comments, or would like to be a guest on the show, please email slavxradio@utexas.edu and we will be in touch! CREDITS Producer/Host: Kathryn Yegorov-Crate Associate Producer: Lera Toropin (@earlportion) Associate Producer: Cullan Bendig (@cullanwithana) Assistant Producer: Sergio Glajar Assistant Producer: Taylor Ham Assistant Producer: Misha Simanovskyy (@MSimanovskyy) Social Media Manager: Eliza Fisher Supervising Producer: Katherine Birch Recording, Editing, and Sound Design: Michelle Daniel Music Producer: Charlie Harper (@charlieharpermusic) www.charlieharpermusic.com (Main Theme by Charlie Harper and additional background music by Anthem of Rain, Bernd Bunson, Boss Bass) Executive Producer & Creator: Michelle Daniel (@MSDaniel) www.msdaniel.com DISCLAIMER: Texas Podcast Network is brought to you by The University of Texas at Austin. Podcasts are produced by faculty members and staffers at UT Austin who work with University Communications to craft content that adheres to journalistic best practices. The University of Texas at Austin offers these podcasts at no charge. Podcasts appearing on the network and this webpage represent the views of the hosts, not of The University of Texas at Austin. https://files.fireside.fm/file/fireside-uploads/images/9/9a59b135-7876-4254-b600-3839b3aa3ab1/P1EKcswq.png Special Guest: Lucia Winkeler.

With the end of the 2021-2022 academic year, we are taking a short reprieve before beginning our new season. In the meantime, we have the pleasure of bringing out a wonderful episode from our backlog recorded at the end of 2021 with guest José Vergara who speaks both about his passion for Russian literature and the unique methods he applies in the classroom to help students engage with novels by Dostoevsky, Nabokov, and others. Vergara also talks about his book which came out in October 2021 and focuses on the reception of James Joyce's works, particularly Ulysses and Finnegan's Wake, on Soviet-era writers through the various phases of the Cold War. ABOUT THE GUEST https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55e5dfc6e4b016ed0f9ba00a/1634668895847-WHH8GTITKGNPWXT7YLY2/FUJIFILM+X-T3+6240x4160_000358.jpg?format=1000w José Vergara is assistant professor of Russian at Bryn Mawr College. In addition to his work as a scholar and teacher, he enjoys collaborating with others to advance and support Slavic Studies and the Humanities. He has organized numerous guest lectures, a teach-in on the centennial of the October Revolution, and a symposium on the state of Russian Studies today. As advisor to the Swarthmore Project for East European Studies (SPEER), he has worked with students to develop conversations on campus about the region and its culture and politics. Visit his personal website for more on his teaching, research, events, and upcoming projects: https://josevergara.net/ To purchase his book, vIsit Cornell University Press here: https://www.cornellpress.cornell.edu/book/9781501759901/all-future-plunges-to-the-past/#bookTabs=0 PRODUCER'S NOTE: This episode was recorded on December 11th, 2021 via Zoom, before the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 24, 2022. If you have questions, comments, or would like to be a guest on the show, please email slavxradio@utexas.edu and we will be in touch! CREDITS Associate Producer/Host: Lera Toropin (@earlportion) Assistant Producer: Misha Simanovskyy (@MSimanovskyy) Associate Producer: Cullan Bendig (@cullanwithana) Assistant Producer: Sergio Glajar Assistant Producer: Zach Johnson Assistant Producer: Taylor Ham Recording, Editing, and Sound Design: Michelle Daniel Music Producer: Charlie Harper (Connect: facebook.com/charlie.harper.1485 Instagram: @charlieharpermusic) www.charlieharpermusic.com Executive Producer & Creator: Michelle Daniel (Connect: facebook.com/mdanielgeraci Instagram: @michelledaniel86) www.msdaniel.com DISCLAIMER: Texas Podcast Network is brought to you by The University of Texas at Austin. Podcasts are produced by faculty members and staffers at UT Austin who work with University Communications to craft content that adheres to journalistic best practices. The University of Texas at Austin offers these podcasts at no charge. Podcasts appearing on the network and this webpage represent the views of the hosts, not of The University of Texas at Austin. https://files.fireside.fm/file/fireside-uploads/images/9/9a59b135-7876-4254-b600-3839b3aa3ab1/P1EKcswq.png Special Guest: José Vergara.

On this episode, Andreas Umland talks with Lera and Cullan about the Right and the Far Right political movements in Ukraine, addressing the ultranationalist claim propounded by Russian propaganda versus the reality reflected at the election polls in Ukraine since 2014. Dr. Umland convincingly argues that the Far Right narrative, including the alarms raised over the Azov movement as justification for Putin's war, is a "non-story" and largely a "manipulation of consciousness." ABOUT THE GUEST https://lithuaniatribune.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/5752901.jpg Andreas Umland is a political scientist studying contemporary Russian and Ukrainian history as well as regime transitions. He has published on the post-Soviet extreme right, municipal decentralization, European fascism, post-communist higher education, East European geopolitics, Ukrainian and Russian nationalism, the Donbas and Crimea conflicts, as well as the neighborhood and enlargement policies of the European Union. He is a Senior Expert at the Ukrainian Institute for the Future in Kyiv as well as a Research Fellow at the Swedish Institute for International Affairs in Stockholm. He lives in Kyiv and is Associate Professor of Politics at the National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy. Follow him on Twitter @UmlandAndreas PRODUCER'S NOTE: This episode was recorded on April 27th, 2022 via Zoom. If you have questions, comments, or would like to be a guest on the show, please email slavxradio@utexas.edu and we will be in touch! CREDITS Associate Producer/Host: Lera Toropin (@earlportion) Assistant Producer/Host: Misha Simanovskyy (@MSimanovskyy) Associate Producer: Cullan Bendig (@cullanwithana) Assistant Producer: Sergio Glajar Assistant Producer: Zach Johnson Executive Assistant: Katherine Birch Recording, Editing, and Sound Design: Michelle Daniel Music Producer: Charlie Harper (@charlieharpermusic www.charlieharpermusic.com) (Main Theme by Charlie Harper and additional background music by Ketsa, Shaolin Dub, Metre, Tea K Pea, Charlie Harper) Executive Producer & Creator: Michelle Daniel (Connect: facebook.com/mdanielgeraci Instagram: @michelledaniel86) DISCLAIMER: Texas Podcast Network is brought to you by The University of Texas at Austin. Podcasts are produced by faculty members and staffers at UT Austin who work with University Communications to craft content that adheres to journalistic best practices. The University of Texas at Austin offers these podcasts at no charge. Podcasts appearing on the network and this webpage represent the views of the hosts, not of The University of Texas at Austin. https://files.fireside.fm/file/fireside-uploads/images/9/9a59b135-7876-4254-b600-3839b3aa3ab1/P1EKcswq.png Special Guest: Andreas Umland.

On this episode, Lera and Sergio speak with Douglas Selvage at the Humboldt University of Berlin about his research on the disinformation cooperation between KGB and STASI during the Cold War and specifically the work of Operation "Denver" in the 1980s. Dr. Selvage talks of how these same Cold War propaganda tactics are nearly verbatim recycled today in Putin's war of aggression in Ukraine. For his recent article, as mentioned in this episode, visit: https://www.wilsoncenter.org/blog-post/moscow-bioweapons-and-ukraine-cold-war-active-measures-putins-war-propaganda. ABOUT THE GUEST Dr. Douglas Selvage is a Research Associate (wissenschaftlicher Mitarbeiter) at the Institute for History of the Humboldt University in Berlin. He prevously served as acting director for the historical research project, “The GDR, the Ministry for State Security, and the CSCE Process, 1973-1989,” in the Education and Research Division of the Office of the Federal Commissioner for the Stasi Records in Berlin. He has published widely on the CSCE process, Polish-German relations under communism, and the history of the Soviet bloc. Previously, he also directed a grant project funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities to translate Warsaw Pact documents into English for the Parallel History Project (PHP) on Collective Security. From 2001-2006, he worked at the Historian’s Office of the U.S. Department of State, where his publications included Foreign Relations of the United States, 1969-1976: European Security, 1969-76, and a co-edited joint publication with the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Soviet-American Relations: The Détente Years, 1969-1972. PRODUCER'S NOTE: This episode was recorded on October 10th, 2021 and April 28th, 2022 via Zoom. If you have questions, comments, or would like to be a guest on the show, please email slavxradio@utexas.edu and we will be in touch! CREDITS Associate Producer/Host: Lera Toropin (@earlportion) Assistant Producer/Host: Sergio Glajar Assistant Producer: Misha Simanovskyy (@MSimanovskyy) Associate Producer: Cullan Bendig (@cullanwithana) Assistant Producer: Zach Johnson Assistant Producer: Taylor Ham Executive Assistant: Katherine Birch Recording, Editing, and Sound Design: Michelle Daniel Music Producer: Charlie Harper (Connect: facebook.com/charlie.harper.1485 Instagram: @charlieharpermusic) www.charlieharpermusic.com (Main Theme by Charlie Harper and additional background music by Holizna, Tea K Pea, Uncan, TAG) Executive Producer & Creator: Michelle Daniel (Connect: facebook.com/mdanielgeraci Instagram: @michelledaniel86) DISCLAIMER: Texas Podcast Network is brought to you by The University of Texas at Austin. Podcasts are produced by faculty members and staffers at UT Austin who work with University Communications to craft content that adheres to journalistic best practices. The University of Texas at Austin offers these podcasts at no charge. Podcasts appearing on the network and this webpage represent the views of the hosts, not of The University of Texas at Austin. https://files.fireside.fm/file/fireside-uploads/images/9/9a59b135-7876-4254-b600-3839b3aa3ab1/P1EKcswq.png Special Guest: Douglas Selvage.