The Black See plays a key role in the Russian aggression on Ukraine. Together with the Caucasus, it also has an important role for the EU and NATO. Despite its crucial location, political and economic significance, the West has neglected the area, as argued by Wilfried Jilge, an expert on Eastern Europe, Ukraine and the Black Sea Region at the Center of International Peace Operations in Berlin. Interview conducted by John Beauchamp, a long-time radio journalist and the voice of the Warsaw Metro.

Garry Poluschkin, an economic advisor for the Ukrainian government in a project financed by the German Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action, describes the current needs and level of support required by Ukraine at the moment. At the same time, the expert underlines that there are discussions about the post-war reconstruction and the reforms that Ukraine will have to implement in order to attract investment and ensure compliance with EU requirements. A perspective of EU membership would attract investors and help the country. Interview conducted by John Beauchamp, a long-time radio journalist and the voice of the Warsaw Metro.

The Russian invasion of Ukraine caught Germany completely unprepared. Berlin was entangled by a web of mutual economic and political relationships with Moscow. The attitude is slowly changing and the aid to Ukraine is flowing. Germany still has problems with breaking an attitude of appeasement and seeing the aggressor for what it is, explains Franziska Davies, a historian of East European history at the University of Munich, in a conversation with John Beauchamp, a long-time radio journalist and the voice of the Warsaw Metro.

Romania is not the first country people usually think of when it comes to slavery. Despite this, the country possesses an almost unknown history of Roma slavery that occurred over five centuries. The Way of the Land is a podcast that shows how this hidden history bleeds into the present discriminations against the Roma community.

In the small room of Romania’s National Theatre, the public frets in their seats, waiting for the play to start. They came to see a one-woman show written, directed and staged by Alina Șerban. She is the first Roma woman to ever direct a play for the National Theatre in Bucharest. Tonight, she plays in The Best Child in the World, a play about her life. The only poster displayed remains inside the theatre, where only the spectators can see it. It features Șerban wearing a traditional Roma dress. The curly haired woman stands back to back with a grotesque figure, a symbol of the most crushing insult against Roma, the crow. Șerban smiles.

David Ben-Gurion, one of the founders and the first prime minister of Israel, was born and grew up in Płońsk. Here, by the Płonka River, together with his friends, he was dreaming about the Jewish state.

The nation, its history and a new hope. A new podcast documentary series

Our experience with the coronavirus demonstrates that pandemics know no borders. Nearly every country has been affected. The economic crisis that continues to take a toll on societies shows that more than ever solidarity and global solutions are needed for global problems. Will the COVID-19 pandemic force humanity to rethink the international system and global order? Can future crises be averted by better global coordination and a more robust system?

Information coming out of Chechnya is hard to come by. It is controlled by the tight grip of the Republic’s leader Ramzan Kadyrov. This episode attempts to get insight into what the response to COVID-19 looks like in the Russian Republic of Chechnya.

For the last several years China has viewed the region of Central and Eastern Europe as an opportunity to gain a foothold in the European Union and influence states between the East and the West. One country not often considered as one in China’s focus is Lithuania.

It has been two years since Nikol Pashinyan has come to power after the Velvet Revolution in Armenia. In this episode Adam catches up with Richard Giragosian to discuss how much has changed in the country and how much has not.

Talk Eastern Europe is the official podcast affiliated with New Eastern Europe - hosted by Adam Reichardt, Maciek Makulski and Agnieszka Widłaszewska

Developments in relations between Romania and Moldova have raised a lot eyebrows lately. After Moldova’s pro-European government has fallen to be replaced by a Kremlin-friendly one; along with an already pro-Russia president the question remains as to what role Romania plays in all this.