The Slavic Connexion

Nord Stream 2 and You: More Than A European Problem

November 22nd, 2021  |  Season 4  |  27 mins 27 secs

Mark Temnycky, a Ukrainiain-American journalist, breaks down the Nord Stream 2 issue, timeline, and its relation to the energy situation in Europe. He expounds on the Biden administration's reversal on its position concerning the pipeline, and explains the security concerns that a working Nord Stream 2 that bypasses Belarus and Ukraine creates for America, NATO, and Europe in general. Thanks for listening!

Sports (History) Illustrated: Cold War Edition with Johanna Mellis

November 13th, 2021  |  Season 4  |  53 mins 15 secs

eastern europe, history, hungary, olympics, sports

Dr. Johanna Mellis, a former D1 swimmer and current history professor at Ursinus College, joins Lera for a lively conversation on the history of sports in Hungary during the Cold War. They also touch on the Olympics (past and present), sport diplomacy, and the development of competitive sports on an international plane. We hope you enjoy!

"And Still We Rise": Uncovering the Story of the Bosnian Genocide

November 5th, 2021  |  Season 4  |  38 mins 16 secs

bosnia, education, ethnic conflict, genocide, post-communist, serbia, yugoslavia

Author Jordan Steven Sher joins Lera and Cullan to talk about his new historical fiction novel which authentically and carefully explores the grossly overlooked Bosnian Genocide of Muslims and Catholic Croats during the Bosnian War of 1992-95, as carried out by Slobodan Milošević of Serbia. This was a great foundational and human-centric understanding of the conflict in the region for anyone who might be interested in Yugoslav history. Thank you for listening!

Mountains without Borders: Discovering the Carpathians with Patrice Dabrowski

October 21st, 2021  |  Season 4  |  38 mins 26 secs

environmental history, forest, geographic history, mountain ranges, poland, ukraine

In this episode, Patrice Dabrowski takes us on a historical journey through the highly understudied Carpathian Mountains of Poland, Slovakia, and Ukraine. Her brand new book details the many forces at play in the mountainous region over the years from 1860 to 1980 and shows how this area gradually went from terra incongita to tourist attraction. We hope you enjoy!

"Frozen by the Thaw": The Soviet Masculinity Crisis of the Long Sixties with Marko Dumančić

October 9th, 2021  |  Season 4  |  42 mins 32 secs

culture, film, gender, history, soviet union

On this episode, Marko Dumančić joins Lera and Cullan to talk about his recently published monograph entitled Men Out of Focus: The Soviet Masculinity Crisis in the Long Sixties wherein he unpacks the changing conceptions of men in post-Stalinist society by taking a deeper look at Soviet films made at the time. This is a fun conversation, riddled with film talk. We hope you enjoy!

The Unexplored History of the USSR, Afghanistan, and the Cold War with Timothy Nunan

September 24th, 2021  |  Season 4  |  43 mins 30 secs

afghanistan, cold war, international history, ussr history

Dr. Timothy Nunan from the Free University of Berlin joins Cullan and new host Sergio to discuss his latest book, The Humanitarian Invasion: Global Development in Cold War Afghanistan. With his research interests spanning from Soviet-Russian religious internationalism to the USSR’s relations with the global south, we are lucky to host such a knowledgeable resource on the pod! Take a listen!

An Intimate Look at Prostitution in Late Imperial Russia with Siobhán Hearne

September 10th, 2021  |  Season 4  |  49 mins 23 secs

culture, imperial russia, prostitution, society, soviet union

Dr. Siobhán Hearne joins Katya to talk about her new book, Policing Prostitution: Regulating the Lower Classes in Late Imperial Russia, a social history of prostitution in last decades of the Russian Empire. Dr. Hearne uses archival research conducted in Moscow, St Petersburg, Arkhangelsk, Riga, Vilnius, Minsk, Kyiv and Tartu to examine how prostitution and its regulation functioned in different parts of the empire. We hope you enjoy!

Afghanistan: A Strategic Failure with Ret. Col. Robert Hamilton

August 30th, 2021  |  Season 4  |  36 mins 50 secs

afghanistan, georgia, security, us military operations, war

For the first episode of Season 4, we asked Dr. Robert Hamilton of the U.S. Army War College to return to the show and speak about the current situation in Afghanistan and the fate of the region's security architecture. Currently on leave to serve as advisor to the Georgian Ministry of Defense, Dr. Hamilton discusses the role of the Georgian military in the Afghanistan War and what the U.S. withdrawal (and Taliban rule) means for Georgia's future as well.

Decolonization in Eastern Europe: A Critical Geographer's Perspective with Zoltán Ginelli

July 30th, 2021  |  Season 3  |  41 mins 11 secs

central europe, geography, history, hungary

Zoltán Ginelli from Budapest joins Zach and Cullan to talk about his field of critical geography and the framing of colonial history of Central Europe following both World War II and the Cold War. We hope you enjoy this conversation!

The Inside Scoop on "Cold War Correspondents" with Dina Fainberg

June 29th, 2021  |  Season 3  |  43 mins 30 secs

america, history, journalism, media, soviet union

On this episode, Professor Dina Fainberg joins Zach and Lera to talk about her latest book, the highly readable "Cold War Correspondents" in which she highlights stories of Soviet and American journalists and draws parallels to the US-Russia media landscape today. We hope you enjoy!

Eurovision: More than a Song (Contest) with Sophia Kontos

June 7th, 2021  |  Season 3  |  14 mins 50 secs

art, europe, eurovision, music, politics

On this special (musical) episode, guest host Sophia Kontos helps us understand Eurovision and break down the politics and ploys behind the song entries themselves, focusing on three major countries: Greece, Turkey, and Ukraine. We hope you enjoy!

Steppe by Steppe: From America's Great Plains to Russia's Grasslands (and Back Again!) with David Moon

May 31st, 2021  |  Season 3  |  34 mins 13 secs

agriculture, caucasus, environmental history, geography, russia, west texas

On this episode, Professor David Moon joins Tom and Lera from the UK to talk about the fascinating personal journey which led to the release of his latest book, The American Steppes: Unexpected Russian Roots of Great Plains Agriculture. He clearly delineates how the kernels of his transnational research all began during his tenure some years ago at The University of Texas at Austin. We hope you enjoy!

The Pivoting Anthropologist: From Chernobyl to Social Activism to Kurt Vonnegut to... with Sarah Phillips

April 21st, 2021  |  Season 3  |  37 mins 25 secs

anthropology, health, literature, social activism, soviet studies, ukraine

Our wonderful guest is Dr. Sarah Phillips, director of the Russian and East European Institute at Indiana University Bloomington. Dr. Phillips walks us through her remarkable anthropological career in the Slavic world from her beginnings in the 90s with studying the effects of Chernobyl to her many social activism projects in Ukraine, taking us to her present fascination with the culture that developed in the USSR around Kurt Vonnegut's writings and translated works. We hope you enjoy, and as always thanks for listening!

The Ghana-Soviet Connexion with Nana Osei-Opare

April 12th, 2021  |  Season 3  |  34 mins 30 secs

african history, history, nationalism, politics, racism, soviet history

On this episode, Professor Nana Osei-Opare from Fordham University joins us to talk about the history of Ghana's independence from Great Britain and the way in which this West African country looked to the Soviet Union to build itself as an "industrialized, socialist" post-colonialist state. This is a fascinating, important discussion, and we hope you enjoy!

Ukraine Through the Author's Pen with Oksana Lutsyshyna

March 24th, 2021  |  Season 3  |  1 hr 1 min

literature, social media, ukraine, war, writers

In this episode, Dr. Oksana Lutsyshyna, beloved UT professor and recent winner of Ukraine's highest state prize for literature, joins Matt to talk about her most recent book Ivan and Feba (Іван і Феба), as well as her earlier works including Love Life (Любовне життя) and much more. We hope you enjoy!

"American Girls in Red Russia" with Julia Mickenberg

March 17th, 2021  |  Season 3  |  51 mins 55 secs

american stories, communism, history, social movements, soviet union, women's history

In honor of Women's History Month, we have a special episode featuring American Studies professor Dr. Julia Mickenberg who joins us to talk about her spectacular book "American Girls in Red Russia" which explores the intimate lives of American women who traveled to the USSR chasing the "Soviet Dream." We hope you enjoy!