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

  • "A True Gentleman" with Seva Novgorodsev

    July 10th, 2020  |  Season 2  |  49 mins 35 secs
    biopics, culture, language, music, seva novgorodsev

    BBC's Seva Novgorodsev joins us once more just in time for his 80th birthday! This time, we gather around Zoom, but the conversation is, as always, entertaining and unexpected--one never knows where Seva will lead us and what he will teach us. We hope you enjoy!

  • Intelligence with a Human Face (featuring Stephen Slick)

    June 1st, 2020  |  Season 2  |  43 mins 20 secs
    balkan history, diplomacy, intelligence, soviet history, yugoslav wars

    Former CIA officer Stephen Slick joins us to talk about his nearly three decades in intelligence, spent largely overseas, to his role as an educator at the University of Texas at Austin in building the Intelligence Studies Project--a first of its kind in the United States. We hope you enjoy!

  • Voices of the Past: Songs from Rural Ukraine (with Susan Crate)

    May 13th, 2020  |  Season 2  |  32 mins 31 secs
    anthropology, ethnomusicology, folklore, ukrainian culture, ukrainian language

    Dr. Susie Crate returns! This time, Dr. Crate spoke with SlavX host Katya about her experiences collecting ethnomusicological material from 1989–1990 in the Kharkiv oblast in Eastern Ukraine, then still part of the Soviet Union. This work was part of a larger project to collect and preserve songs unique to particular villages. Hope you enjoy!

  • "Disunited Nations" with Peter Zeihan

    May 11th, 2020  |  Season 2  |  59 mins 5 secs
    future of international relations, geopolitics, world order

    Renowned geopolitical strategist Peter Zeihan graciously joins us via Zoom for an intensive breakdown of the current world order and his predictions concerning the economic and political directions of America, Russia, China, Saudi Arabia, Mexico, and other nations. A must-listen for any student of global policy and IR theory!

  • Вокруг света с Жанной Немцовой

    May 7th, 2020  |  Season 2  |  56 mins 26 secs
    journalism, russia, ukraine, usa

    В этом эпизоде Мэтт беседует со знаменитой российской журналисткой Жанной Немцовой о многих темах, от ее времени в Америке до Украины. Надеемся, вам понравится слушать!

  • World War "C": Covid, Cognitive Dissonance, and Communism (with Markos Kounalakis)

    April 29th, 2020  |  Season 2  |  51 mins 15 secs
    civic engagement, cold war, history, protest, revolution

    Columnist, radio host, and Hoover Institution fellow Dr. Markos Kounalakis joins us via Zoom to talk about California's early response to Covid-19, the cognitive dissonance of beautiful Hungary, his experience in Central and Eastern Europe in the late 80s/early 90s as a journalist, and much more. Hope you enjoy!

  • "It Is What It Is": Western Media, the End of the USSR, and Russia Today (with Jeff Trimble)

    April 25th, 2020  |  Season 2  |  49 mins 19 secs
    history, press, us-russia relations, us-soviet relations

    Jeff Trimble, Moscow Bureau Chief for US News & World Report during the late Soviet period, talks to us about his wild experiences reporting from behind the Iron Curtain and witnessing the dissolution of the USSR. A radio professional as well (and earnest space aficionado and Star Trek fan) he certainly brings some amazing skills to this Zoom session. Hope you enjoy!

  • From Media Literacy to Karaoke Diplomacy (with Joe Crescente)

    April 21st, 2020  |  Season 2  |  35 mins 37 secs
    diplomacy, karaoke, media landscape, media literacy, privacy concerns, writing

    Joining us via Zoom from self-isolation in Moscow, New Jersey native Joseph Crescente talks to us about his area of expertise as the media literacy fellow at the US Embassy/American Center in Moscow. This is a fascinating and relevant discussion on how to navigate the media landscape in today's COVID-19 information-rich and facts-poor environment. Take a listen!

  • "To Russia and Beyond!" (featuring RBTH Editor-in-Chief Vsevolod Pulya)

    April 16th, 2020  |  Season 2  |  52 mins 45 secs
    journalism, media, rbth, russia

    If you're at all a Russophile and you've never visited Russia Beyond (rbth.com), find out what you've been missing as we connect with the editor-in-chief of this amazing, culturally-focused international publication that now boasts 5 million readers worldwide. (Also, the alternate title for this episode is "Pants Challenge", courtesy of Tom.)

  • Between Diplomacy and Propaganda: Global Engagement in the Digital Age (with Nicholas Cull)

    April 13th, 2020  |  Season 2  |  47 mins 28 secs
    bbc, culture, digital age, diplomacy, global engagement, world war ii

    Joining us via Zoom is the authority on public diplomacy from University of Southern California, Nicholas Cull. Having written the primary resource on the subject as used by the US State Department, Dr. Cull defines public diplomacy for us and expounds on how it has changed and will continue to change in this digital age. (Note: this is one of Tom's favorite interviews.)

  • Музыкальное путешествие со специальным гостем Артемием Троицким

    April 12th, 2020  |  Season 2  |  1 hr 2 mins
    modern russian music, music, music biopics, russian music history, russian rock, soviet history, subculture

    Artemy Troitsky joins us once again via Zoom to discuss rock music past and present and also films about music artists. Find out what biopic he would make and why in this episode! Артемий Троицкий обсуждает рок-музыку прошлого и настоящего, а также биографические фильмы о музыкантах. Узнайте, какой биографический фильм он будет снимать и почему в этом эпизоде!

  • Rock the USSR Part 2 (with Artemy Troitsky and Tom Garza)

    April 8th, 2020  |  Season 2  |  55 mins 21 secs
    elections, pandemic, putin, russian rock, soviet history, subculture

    Back for more via Zoom, Tom Garza joins Matt and Tom once again to discuss Russian rock during the late USSR period to modern-day Russia, the power of nostalgia, and the role of music in COVID-19. And this time legendary music critic Artemy Troitsky also joins from Estonia. Hope you enjoy!! The previous episode can be found here: https://www.slavxradio.com/sovietskyrock

  • "Everything is Going Extremely Well..."

    April 5th, 2020  |  Season 2  |  49 mins 26 secs
    covid-19, global economy, oil, opec, pandemic, politics, russia, saudi arabia

    On this episode, Tom, Matt, and Graham reunite to discuss more about Covid-19, the continuing oil drama between Russia and Saudi Arabia, and the ways in which the pandemic will permanently affect our world. As Dave from 2001 A Space Odyssey said, "Everything is going extremely well."

  • "The Shadow in the East" with Aliide Naylor

    April 2nd, 2020  |  Season 2  |  46 mins 26 secs
    baltics, covid-19, journalism, protests, putin, uk

    We meet with freelance journalist Aliide Naylor who joins us for our first Zoom interview from London to discuss her experiences in Russia, Ukraine, and her newly released book on Putin and the Baltics on this our 80th episode!

  • Soviets, Slovaks, and the Pope (with James Felak) // The Post-Socialist Effect (with Kateřina Kolářová)

    March 28th, 2020  |  Season 2  |  36 mins 36 secs
    central european history, communism, gender studies, pope, sociology, state socialism

    Take a break from the headlines and join us for a great conversation with the engaging Dr. James Felak, Central European historian at the University of Washington. And keep listening for an enriching visit with cultural studies professor Dr. Kateřina Kolářová from Charles University in Prague. We hope you enjoy!

  • The Future is Viral: Putin, Petroleum, and the Pandemic

    March 12th, 2020  |  Season 2  |  42 mins 33 secs
    covid-19, global economy, pandemic, politics, russia

    On this episode, Tom and Matt are joined by returning guest Graham Reblitz to delve into the meaty headlines of the day: Russian politics, the conflict between Russia and Saudi Arabia over oil, and the WHO-declared pandemic that is sweeping the globe.