Cullan
Co-Host of The Slavic Connexion
Cullan grew up in Boston and has a B.A. from the University of Vermont in History and Political Science. He is now pursuing a master's degree in Russian, East European and Eurasian Studies at The University of Texas at Austin. His research interests include Czech history, 19th and 20th century Central Europe, uses of digital consumer media as tools for public history, national identity, and what do those demanding "historically accurate media" even mean? Before moving to Austin, Cullan worked in Vermont both as a paralegal and trivia host, which are critical experiences for any good podcast host.
Cullan has hosted 22 Episodes.
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The Far-Fetched Far Right Non-Story with Andreas Umland
May 10th, 2022 | Season 4 | 46 mins 9 secs
international law, nuclear war, politics, propaganda, russia, ukraine, war
On this episode, Andreas Umland talks with Lera and Cullan about the Right and the Far Right political movements in Ukraine, addressing the ultranationalist claims 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 is a "non-story" and largely a "manipulation of consciousness."
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NATO and the "Bear in the Woods" with Sergey Radchenko
January 26th, 2022 | Season 4 | 51 mins 9 secs
china, cold war, conflict, history, nato, russia, ukraine
On this episode, Lera and Cullan have the chance to talk with Sakhalin-born historian Dr. Sergey Radchenko, who reflects on his first introduction to the United States via East Texas, Sino-Soviet and Sino-Russian relations, and the current Russian-Ukraine conflict and how the West's response is affecting the situation. We hope you enjoy!
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Everything You Need to Know About Eastern Europe (and More!) with Tomek Jankowski
December 13th, 2021 | Season 4 | 56 mins 26 secs
cold war, europe, history, poland, politics, revolution
On this, the 30th anniversary of the institution of martial law in Poland, we talked with Eastern Europe historian Tomek Jankowski to commemorate this momentous point in modern history which approximately coincides with the release of the 2nd edition of his comprehensive and entertaining history of Eastern Europe. Sharing with us his personal experiences and stories from his time in Hungary as a student to his getting caught in the Romanian revolution of 1989, Tomek reflects on the unimaginable changes in Eastern Europe since the 1st edition of his book (published in 2013). We hope you enjoy this amazing discussion!
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"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!
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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!
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"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!
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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!
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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!
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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!
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From Red to Green: The True Nature of Environmental Activism in Russia with Angelina Davydova
January 27th, 2021 | Season 3 | 50 mins 24 secs
environmental activism, environmental issues, journalism, russia, siberia
From St. Petersburg, Angelina Davydova, Environmental journalist and head of the German Russian Office of Environmental Information, graciously joins us to give us some surprising facts on the landscape of environmental activism and reform in Russia. This was an uplifting and eye-opening conversation and we hope you enjoy!
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Russian Meme Culture, "Shirtless Putin," and Pussy Riot with Eliot Borenstein
November 16th, 2020 | Season 3 | 42 mins 14 secs
humor, masculinity, memes, pussy riot, putin, shrek
On this fun episode, Dr. Eliot Borenstein from NYU joins us to talk about his research on memes and meme culture in Russia as well as his freshly-released book on Pussy Riot (available from Bloomsbury). We hope you enjoy!
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"Hunger and Fury: The Crisis of Democracy in the Balkans" with Jasmin Mujanovic
October 25th, 2020 | Season 3 | 51 mins 58 secs
balkans, china, democratization, elections, european union, regional politics
Dr. Jasmin Muajnovic, a political scientist focused on democratization and social movements in the Western Balkans and a host of podcast "Sarajevo Calling", joins Samantha and Cullan for an in-depth discussion on the state of democracy in the region in 2020. This is a great walkthrough of the elite maneuvering and politics in the Western Balkans and which nuclear powers hold sway and influence in the region. We hope you enjoy!
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The Białowieża Forest and "Pompik the Bison" with Tomasz Samojlik
September 4th, 2020 | Season 3 | 42 mins 27 secs
belarus, bison, environment, environmental activism, environmental history, forest, poland
On this episode, Cullan speaks with Dr. Tomasz Samojlik, an environmental historian and researcher at the Mammal Research Institute of the Polish Academy of Sciences in Białowieża. In addition to his research, Dr. Samojlik spoke with us about his work popularizing science and scientific knowledge using books, comics and graphic novels for children. Enjoy!
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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!
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The Filmmaker and the First Tsar: The Legend of Sergei Eisenstein (with Joan Neuberger)
February 27th, 2020 | Season 2 | 53 mins 27 secs
eisenstein, film, history, ivan the terrible, not even past
On this episode we have the privilege of speaking with History professor and Eisenstein expert Dr. Joan Neuberger who among many things is also co-host and co-creator of 15-Minute History podcast and the public history project Not Even Past.
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Shades of Red, White, and Blue: Politics and Foreign Policy Today (with Dr. Mark Pomar)
February 9th, 2020 | Season 2 | 53 mins 13 secs
politics, presidential elections, russia, ukraine, us-russia relations
Dr. Mark Pomar, Russia expert and senior fellow at the Clements Center for National Security, revisits the studio to speak with us about modern-day politics and foreign policy in the US.