The Slavic Connexion

A fresh international chat show on Russia, Eastern Europe, and Eurasia from The University of Texas at Austin

About the show

A fresh international chat show on the Slavic world from the Center for Russian, East European, and Eurasian Studies and the William P. Clements, Jr. Center for National Security at The University of Texas at Austin. "It's not typical Texas."

The Center for Russian, East European, and Eurasian Studies condemns the Russian Federation’s military invasion of Ukraine. We stand in support of the people of Ukraine who are fighting for their lives and sovereignty in the face of the unjustified invasion by Russian military forces.

TPN 2021
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.

The Slavic Connexion on social media

Episodes

  • The Man From Vladivostok: Russia and the Asia-Pacific with Artyom Lukin

    April 22nd, 2019  |  Season 1  |  38 mins 14 secs
    china, far east russia, foreign policy, international relations, north korea, politics

    "In Russia, we don't see North Korea as a threat," says Dr. Artyom Lukin, an expert on Russian foreign policy in the Asia-Pacific region. A contributing writer to Washington Post, Huffington Post, and more, Dr. Lukin clears up American misconceptions about the Far East with some unique Russian perspective.

  • International Religious Freedom and the Case of Uzbekistan: Trading the Hammer-and-Sickle for the Moon and Star

    April 17th, 2019  |  Season 1  |  29 mins 30 secs
    human rights, post-communist countries, religious freedom, u.s. foreign policy, uzbekistan

    Fourth-year-PhD student Ashlyn Hand dialogues with Matt about the super fun topic of religious freedom in U.S. foreign policy and the specific case of post-USSR Uzbekistan. And she says nobody wants her at the dinner table...

  • Black Widows of the Black Sea

    April 15th, 2019  |  Season 1  |  25 mins 29 secs
    azerbaijan, black widows, caucasus, chechen republic, chechnya, counterterrorism, ethnicity, female terrorism, georgia, religion, soviet union, twins of the caucasus

    On this episode, Tom hosts half-Russian graduate student Lucia Winkeler as they talk all things Caucasus and how many times she has to explain to people that it's not Czechia, it's CHECHNYA as in the First and Second Chechen Wars.

  • Inside Dugin's Beard with Tom & Matt

    April 11th, 2019  |  Season 1  |  32 mins 3 secs
    alexander dugin, eurasianism, fourth political theory

    On this installment of Matt and Tom (Tom and Matt) they talk about Eurasianism and Duginism. What exactly are these things? Well, it's kind of a long story... But hopefully this episode will help to break it down for you.

  • Сeва Новгорoдцев - Рyсская слyжба Би-би-си (на русском языке)

    April 9th, 2019  |  Season 1  |  31 mins 28 secs
    cold war, communism, cultural icon, radio broadcasting, seva, soviet union

    Our first episode in Russian features the legendary rock music DJ from the BBC, Seva Novgorodsev! Please visit our YouTube channel for the English-subtitled version.

  • Adventures in Communism with Susanne Sternthal

    April 8th, 2019  |  Season 1  |  57 mins 13 secs
    communism, dogs in russia, politics, soviet society

    The indomitable Dr. Susanne Sternthal joins host Matt Orr in the studio to discuss her breadth of experience from New York to Moscow.

  • Turbofolk: The Music of Balkan Identity with Vladislav Beronja

    April 4th, 2019  |  Season 1  |  22 mins 4 secs
    cultural identity, nostalgia, public history, turbofolk, yugoslavia, культурная идентичность, ностальгия, публичная история, турбофолк, югославия

    Dr. Beronja talks about the fascinating musical genre of Turbofolk which emerged during the tumultuous 80s in the former Yugoslavia, expanded to mass popularity in the 90s under Slobodan Milošević, and aligned itself with Balkan identity. Listen for a few clips of some of the most popular songs of the era.

  • SPECIAL BONUS EPISODE: Sevaoborot (Texas Edition) (по-русски)

    April 2nd, 2019  |  Season 1  |  53 mins 53 secs
    seva novgorodsev, sevaoborot, сева новгородцев

    Seva Novgorodsev reprises his long-running show "Sevaoborot" while at the University of Texas at Austin. He is joined by Harvard-alum Dr. Thomas Garza of the university who specializes in Russian Language and popular culture and directs the Texas Language Center. www.seva.ru

  • The Currency of Diplomacy and State Department "1.0" with (the one and only) John Gleb

    March 30th, 2019  |  Season 1  |  34 mins 10 secs
    dollar diplomacy, foreign service, human rights, state department history

    Straight from the University of California, Berkeley to the Forty Acres of UT Austin, John Gleb gives us a comparative development of diplomacy, foreign policy, and human rights in the U.S. and Europe pre-World War II.

  • Polls, Politics, and Presidents with Matt & Tom

    March 23rd, 2019  |  Season 1  |  28 mins 40 secs
    corruption, elections, politics, russia, ukraine, united states

    Beginning a new format, hosts Tom Rehnquist and Matt Orr bring to the studio current events and political debates ripe for discussion, and so today that means the Ukrainian presidential elections. Find out which candidate is Matt's chosen "horse" in this episode.

  • David Foster Wallace Goes to Russia... in Print

    March 21st, 2019  |  Season 1  |  12 mins 57 secs
    literature, politics, social media, society

    Matt & Tom talk about the late American author David Foster Wallace who for the first time is being published in Russia in Russian.

  • On Democracy in Eastern Europe with Austin Sappington

    March 18th, 2019  |  Season 1  |  32 mins 24 secs
    culture, czech, eastern europe, eastern ukraine, geopolitics, international relations

    Czech-American Austin Sappington, a Clements Center Undergraduate Fellow for 2018-2019, talks about his identification with the local Austin Czech community, Russian influence in the EU, Ukrainian democracy, the Czech Republic, and threats to Ukraine's economic well-being.

  • Brexit: An EU Insider's Perspective with Lorinc Redei

    March 16th, 2019  |  Season 1  |  54 mins 36 secs
    brexit, british politics, current events, european union, josh tucker, uk, ukraine elections

    Dr. Lorinc Redei, an expert on the foreign policy of the European Union, gives his insightful take on the current trajectory of the EU, the destructive influence of Brexit on the EU, and Ukraine's prospects of joining either the EU or NATO.

  • From Radio Free Europe to the US Russia Foundation with Mark Pomar

    March 12th, 2019  |  Season 1  |  45 mins 46 secs
    civics, democracy, education, elections, politics, putin, russia, trump, ukraine, voting

    Dr. Pomar discourses on a full breadth of topics, including his experiences living in the Soviet Union under Brezhnev and the ideological bent of Radio Free Europe after the collapse of the USSR.

  • Baltics and Basketball with Audrius Rickus

    March 12th, 2019  |  Season 1  |  21 mins 34 secs
    basketball, current politics, history, lithuania

    Grad student Audrius Rickus talks about the upcoming Lithuanian elections, his research, and... basketball.

  • Let's Talk Nationalism with Jonathan Parker

    March 12th, 2019  |  Season 1  |  20 mins 34 secs
    czech history, identity politics, nationalism

    PhD candidate Jonathan Parker from the History Department at the University of Texas talks with Tom about his research on Czech nationalism.