Czechast, Radio Prague International

Thirty-five years ago the Communist regime in Czechoslovakia started to crumble. Czechast brings you a perspective of Prague both before and after the fall of Communism.

About 1.5 million Americans identify with their Czech roots. The US Presidential election divided them as much as the rest of the country.

A visit to Jan Hus Museum in Constance with a very knowledgeble guide to how and why the Czech theologian, thinker and reformer ended his life in this German city.

Madeleine Albright's life story is a truly remarkable journey through history, shaped by her experiences during tumultuous times in Europe and the United States.

Meet a successful IT entrepreneur, made a surprising shift to farming. Hear how he balances technology and tradition to reshape agriculture with innovation and drones.

Czechast talks with Martin Tlapa, Czechia's Ambassador to Canada, who grew up in Prague's blue-collar neighborhoods during Communist rule.

Explore the Prague Spring of 1968 through personal memories of Miloš Forman and Jiří Menzel, and learn about the legacy of Czech-English scholar Jaroslav Peprník.

David Livingstone: "Czechs have been taking down statues every 20 years, for the last 100 years since Austria-Hungary fell apart. They are cancel culture experts!"

"I am the strange lady who goes around picking mushrooms," says Karina about keeping her identity after living decades in Britain.

Karel Čapek wrote science-fiction play R. U. R. more than a century ago. With the rise of AI his masterpiece gains new relevance.

Walking on historical roads and trails is a great way to discover the past and present of Czechia.

Your first thought will probably be: what a strange combination of guests. But bear with me.

Moving to a new country and immersing yourself in a different culture is no small feat, but our guest today has done just that and much more.

Dušan Neumann has a great story to share. Coming to New York in 1980 was definitely NOT like coming to the promised land.

We’re tackling a persistent issue that has plagued Czechia since the fall of communism over thirty years ago: the segregation and discrimination of the Roma people.

Czechast from and about Mikulčice-Valy, an archaeological site that preserves the remnants of a significant Slavic settlement from the times of the Great Moravian Empire.

Czechast visits a very special place: the Monument of Great Moravia – Cyril and Methodius Center in Staré Město near Uherské Hradiště.

They have been bred in Eastern Bohemia for more than 400 years. The Kladruber is the oldest Czech horse breed and one of the oldest in the world.

Czechast invites Daniel Hrbek, the director and manager of Švanda Theater in Prague, to discuss the enduring appeal of live theater, even in our digital age.

The administrative divisions we see today in Czechia don't quite respect historic boundaries of Bohemia, Moravia and Silesia. How did this come to be?

There is no doubt that one of the pivotal moments in Czech history I just mentioned came twenty years ago when this country joined the European Union.

We'll hear from two extraordinary Czech women who've woven their lives into the fabric of this the vibrant city of London.

Radek Špicar is a notable Czech figure with a rich background in both the political and business landscapes of the Czech Republic and beyond.

We're diving into the enduring relationship between Czechs and this vibrant city, exploring moments that have left an indelible mark on our nation's story.

This episode serves as a prologue to our upcoming discussions about the deep-rooted connections between Czechs and Britain, particularly through the lens of London.

There were scenes of great joy at Prague airport 20 years ago when three Czech journalists kidnapped in Iraq were reunited with their families. Vít Pohanka, now your Czechast host, was one of them.

Brian Goodman is an author and an associate professor at Arizona State University. He has spent the past two decades immersed in a project that bridges American and Czech literary worlds, delving into the shadows of the Cold War.

"I am here to stay," says Julia Tatiana Bailey, new director of Galerie Rudolfinum, one of the Prague's leading art venues.

Dr. Evelyn funda discusses "Weeds: A Farm Daughter's Lament", her award winning book, and much more about her family and life of Czech immigrants in the American West.

Willa Cather's novel My Ántonia is an American classic. Even though it is about Czech immigrants to Nebraska, it is virtually unknown in Czechia. It is a pity.

Dr. Anna Hájková is a Czech historian educated in Germany, the Netherlands and Canada. She is the author of the critically acclaimed book "The Last Ghetto: An Everyday History of Theresienstadt", published in English by Oxford University Press. In this episode of Czechast she talks very openly about why she finds life in Britain easier than in Czechia.

Ladislav Nagy is not just a scholar, translator and academic. He is also an experienced jockey and trainer, and even a member of the Presidium of the Czech National Jockey Club!

Milan Kocourek is a former colleague of mine, boasts an illustrious career as a BBC World Service producer and reporter. Later he worked also for the Czech National Public Radio.

Political scientist Petr Just in Czechast: "How is it possible that the parties that currently act more nationalistically are led by people who are not 100 percent Czech?"

Václav's story is one of transition and adaptation; from leading a team in a pharmaceutical corporation to embarking on an entrepreneurial path with his own consulting business. Apart from his professional achievements, Václav has been serving as the Czech Honorary Consul in Basel for several years.

Imagine knowing little to nothing about your roots, your lineage shrouded in the mists of time and distance. This was the reality for Jean Svoboda, an Australian with a Czech father and Latvian mother. Despite being born and raised down under, Jean's heritage whispered tales from far-off lands, tales she knew she had to uncover.

Why and how did a young woman from Brno find her new home in Britain? How does this impact her sense of nationality and identity? Does she feel more British or Czech? That's what I ask Leona Merclová who lives on a canal boat in England and works on a shore bird awarness project.

Following the publication of my previous episode on the name "Czechia", I received a brisk reaction from a vehement proponent of the name in international forums, Professor Pavlínek, who teaches geography in Prague and Omaha, Nebraska. He was not happy about some of the formulations and we debate what "grinds his gears".

In 2016, "Czechia" emerged as the official short, one-word geographical name promoted by the Czech government. This name has seen international adoption in organizations such as the United Nations and the European Union, yet it continues to evoke mixed feelings among the people it represents and observers abroad.

A disclaimer: when it comes to the city of Olomouc, I'm not entirely a dispassionate reporter. Although I consider myself a child of the Bohemian-Moravian Highlands, where I grew up and to which I returned as a middle-aged man, I spent seven wonderful years in Olomouc – studying and later working in this beautiful, historic city at the heart of Moravia. My career has taken me to numerous Czech and international cities, including extended stays in Paris, London, Washington, DC, and, naturally, several years in Prague. Yet, Olomouc still holds a special place in my heart.

"We provide a lot of music for little money," says Jaroslav Miller, a prominent Czech historian, academic and now deputy minister of education. He is not your typical politician; his extensive background in academia sets him apart. For seven years, Jaroslav served as the rector, or president, of Palacký University in Olomouc, one of the Czech Republic's leading universities. His impressive academic journey includes postgraduate studies at Oxford University, being honored twice as a fellow of the prestigious German scientific Alexander von Humboldt Foundation, and he's also a former Fulbright Fellow at Georgia College and State University in the United States. As a visiting professor at the University of Western Australia in Darwin, he has a special affinity for this part of the world.

Welcome to a special holiday edition of Czechast, brought to you by Radio Prague International. Today, we’re diving into the heartwarming and festive world of Christmas celebrations. In this episode, we'll explore the rich traditions and customs of Christmas in the Czech Republic, as well as how Czech and Moravian communities in the United States keep their heritage alive during this joyous season.

People in what is now Czechia could actually live in several different countries with different names and constitutions during one lifetime without moving anywhere at all. Their official nationality, citizenship and social status, official identity, could change quite dramatically, without their having any say in it.

This episode of Czechast brings you stories of women in Calgary, Canada, London and Manchester, UK, who organize teaching Czech language, culture and history to kids far away from the old country.

Czechast brings you the first part of the story, or rather stories, of several amazing Czech women who help Czech communities abroad keep their language and cultural heritage alive.

He started his career working for the Czech News Agency, or ČTK, as we Czechs call it, first as a regional correspondent in Central Bohemia, later in the central newsroom. In the early 1990s, after the Velvet Revolution that saw the fall of Communism in Czechoslovakia, Ivan was selected as a correspondent in London.

In the last episode we heard emeritus professor of Masaryk University in Brno Don Sparling. Among other things, he mentioned why he left Prague for Brno and that he considers the Czech Capital to be very “self-centered”. I agree and I also think that foreigners who come to Czechia often make the mistake of staying in Prague only. There are many other interesting and fascinating places and Brno is certainly one of them.

Canadian by birth, Don Sparling found a new home in Brno. Among other things, he explains why he prefers living in the second Czech city rather than the capital Prague.

Tomáš Masaryk, the first president of independent Czechoslovakia, married the American Charlotte Garrigue. She had been born to a wealthy and patrician family in Brooklyn, New York. On her father’s side she had ancestors among the French Protestants who had found refuge in America. On her mother’s side, she had ancestors who traveled to America on the Mayflower. So there was a very strong link that President Masaryk felt with the American people and its history and roots.

The Herzl Center for Israel Studies is a research and teaching institution dedicated to the enhancement of knowledge and awareness about the modern State of Israel. It is the first academic institution in the Czech Republic fully dedicated to the study of Israeli society, politics, and history.

You can meet them wherever you go in America, from New York in the East, to San Francisco and Los Angeles in the West, from Chicago in the North to Houston and Miami in the South. But it is in the Midwestern states where you can find whole cities and towns with a very kind of pronounced feeling of Czech Heritage.

How do you bring up children in bilingual and bicultural families? On the one hand, it is potentially a great advantage if the kids get this educational and learning impulse and live in two cultures at the same time. On the other hand, it is not easy to balance the influences of the two nationalities or ethnicities.

Czechs have always had somewhat contradictory feelings toward their nobility. One of the country’s leading aristocrats once even bitterly complained that Czechs are either louts or boot-lickers, nothing in between. One of the first laws of the newly independent Czechoslovakia, in 1918 right after the end of WW I, forbade the use of aristocratic titles. On the other hand, today Czechs have developed an avid interest in the lives of their dukes and counts. The second part of this Czechast  explores the subject.

The Kinský aristocratic family has played a significant role in the history of Czechia. Most of its members were exiled after the Communist coup d’etat in 1948. Francesco came to the country of his ancestors for the first time as a little boy in the early 1990s. After studying in Italy and the Netherlands and spending some time working in Brussels, he decided to settle in Eastern Bohemia, and learning the Czech language changed his life.

It is a kind of bitter déjà vu. As the war in Ukraine conflict heightened tensions between the West and Russia, Prague has become a focal point for intelligence and disinformation. There have been increasing intelligence reports over the years indicating a resurgence of Russian covert operations. It is not the first time that the Czech capital has found itself in such a situation.

When it comes to the fall of Communism in Czechia, most attention is concentrated on what happened in Prague. And understandably so, as it was the real center of the revolution. However, there were many dramatic moments in smaller cities in the provinces. And that is the theme of this Czechast special.

Martin Dvořák started making his mark on public life during the Velvet Revolution of 1989. As a young, obscure economist at a meat processing plant in Eastern Bohemia, he played a pivotal role in establishing the local branch of the Civic Forum, a broad coalition of non-communist entities in the nation. This coalition seized control following the country's first democratic elections in 1990.

Martin Řezníček is one of the anchors of the Czech Public Television flagship news program Události. He recently moderated a key debate in the Czech presidential election campaign. His firm and flawless performance angered one of the candidates: Andrej Babiš the opposition leader who ultimately lost the election to Petr Pavel.

Whether you're an English-speaking expat in Czechia or Slovakia, or a descendant of Czechs, Moravians, and Slovaks who emigrated to America, Australia, Britain, or Canada generations ago and no longer speak the language of your ancestors, this English-language podcast is for you!