Prague Talk Podcast
1) “I like big tasks”: Zuzana Stivínová on Havel, Forman and joy of acting at National Theatre
Zuzana Stivínová is a well-known Czech actress. She played one of the main roles in the stage version of Václav Havel’s Leaving in 2007 and today is most commonly to be found on the boards of the Nati...Show More
2) The Grandmother translator Susan Reynolds on bringing Czech classic to English-speaking readers
A new translation of one of the most important books in Czech literature, The Grandmother (Babička) by Božena Němcová, will be launched by the UK-based Jantar Publishing at the end of this month. It’s...Show More
3) Director Tereza Nvotová on Father, Mečiar and the politics making her “very scared”
Director Tereza Nvotová is enjoying one of the most successful moments in her career, with her film Father having competed at the recent Venice festival – and now greatly surpassing box office expecta...Show More
4) David Mareček: We want whole nation to feel part of success of Czech Philharmonic – it’s theirs too
David Mareček is the director general of the Czech Philharmonic, one of Czechia’s premier cultural institutions. The orchestra, launched in the 1890s with a concert conducted by Dvořák, is based at Pr...Show More
5) Otto Eibl on Czech elections 2025: Fiala’s legacy, Babiš’s legal woes, “threats to liberal democracy”
Polls suggest outgoing Czech prime minister, Petr Fiala, is one of Europe’s least popular leaders, but does his four-year term actually deserve opprobrium? And what is outlook for potential successor ...Show More
6) Anna Shavit on campaigning with early ANO, “very polarised” 2025 elections – and potential coalitions
Anna Shavit is one of Czechia’s top experts on political marketing and has herself worked on campaigns for the likes of Karel Schwarzenberg and Andrej Babiš’s ANO. So how does electioneering for Octob...Show More
7) Barbora Baronová, the “punk” publisher putting art before financial stability
Barbora Baronová runs Wo-men, an independent publishing house based in Prague. Since 2012 the company has brought out works by such names as photographer Libuše Jarcovjáková and dancer Miřenka Čechová...Show More
8) Kovy: Czech politicians are clueless about what works on social media
Karel Kovář, who goes by the name Kovy, is one of Czechia’s biggest social media stars. He shot to fame through witty and entertainng YouTube videos over a decade ago and reached a million subscribers...Show More
9) Brendan McNally on Martha Dodd, “nympho” spy for Soviets who lived in Prague for decades
Martha Dodd was an American spy for the Soviet Union who spent her final decades in Prague. Dodd’s colourful life, and grim end, are the subject of the book Traitor’s Odyssey by Brendan McNally, a US ...Show More
10) Police vs. ravers: Šimon Šafránek on how CzechTek culminated in violence
CzechTek was a free techno music festival that drew many tens of thousands and culminated two decades ago in clashes between riot police and participants. The annual unauthorised gathering and the cul...Show More