Talk Eastern Europe

Episode 229: Film talk – Black Snow In this episode, Adam and Nina catch up on the latest news, including a discussion on the outcomes of the historic NATO Summit in The Hague, highlights of the Pride in Budapest, recent clashes and arrests during protests in Serbia and ongoing protests in Georgia. Later in the episode, Nina speaks with Alina Simone, a Ukrainian-American journalist and filmmaker whose work has appeared in the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, and the Guardian Long Read. They go behind the scenes of Black Snow, a powerful documentary set in a remote Russian mining town where black snow falls due to extreme pollution. Alina reflects on the experience of making the film and the broader challenges of environmental activism in today’s Russia. Read more about the film: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt31462874/ [https://www.imdb.com/title/tt31462874/] More on the guest: https://www.alinasimone.com/about-alina-simone/ [https://www.alinasimone.com/about-alina-simone/] Sign up for the Brief Eastern Europe newsletter: https://briefeasterneurope.eu/subscribe [https://briefeasterneurope.eu/subscribe]

In this episode Adam and Alexandra open with some discussion on the latest news, including the release of 14 political prisoners in Belarus, repressions taking place in Azerbaijan, Romania and Georgia. For the main deep dive, Alexandra and Nina continue on the Georgian theme by speaking with Teona Macharashvili, co-founder and board member of Caucasus Open Space, and a committed pro-democracy activist, to unpack the latest developments in Georgia. Teona shares powerful first-hand insights from the ongoing protests, which have now continued for over 200 days. In the exclusive bonus segment – available to our Patrons - Teona sheds light on recent cuts to US foreign aid and what they mean for civil society and human rights defenders on the ground in Georgia. Listen to the bonus content here: https://www.patreon.com/posts/episode-228-132340122 [https://www.patreon.com/posts/episode-228-132340122] Further reading: Repression in Azerbaijan - An interview with Cesare FigariBarberis: https://neweasterneurope.eu/2025/06/24/repression-in-azerbaijan/ [https://neweasterneurope.eu/2025/06/24/repression-in-azerbaijan/] The 2024 Georgian elections and their geopolitical implications, Vakhtang Maisaia: https://neweasterneurope.eu/2025/05/05/the-2024-georgian-elections-and-their-geopolitical-implications/ [https://neweasterneurope.eu/2025/05/05/the-2024-georgian-elections-and-their-geopolitical-implications/] History rhymes: intellectual resistance and state repression in Georgia, Tamar Gamkrelidze: https://neweasterneurope.eu/2025/03/24/history-rhymes-intellectual-resistance-and-state-repression-in-georgia/ [https://neweasterneurope.eu/2025/03/24/history-rhymes-intellectual-resistance-and-state-repression-in-georgia/] Sign up for our weekly newsletter – Brief Eastern Europe: www.briefeasterneurope.eu [http://www.briefeasterneurope.eu]

In this episode, Alexandra and Nina discuss recent developments across Central and Eastern Europe, including the latest charges in North Macedonia following the tragic nightclub fire in Kočani, ongoing protests in Serbia, and a vote of no confidence in the Czech Republic. The main interview features Daryna Pidhorna, Senior Lawyer at the Regional Centre for Human Rights. Daryna explores how Russia's aggression is targeting Ukrainian culture, impacting museums, festivals and outlines what can be done to safeguard Ukraine’s cultural heritage during wartime. She also shares what life is currently like in Kyiv and reflects on the atmosphere in the city as Russia steps up its aerial attacks. In the bonus content for our patrons, Daryna stays on to delve into the repatriation of cultural property. She explains how Ukraine is working to recover looted heritage and highlights lessons that can be drawn from other countries’ experiences in reclaiming stolen cultural assets. To listen to the bonus content visit: https://www.patreon.com/posts/episode-227-131877614 [https://www.patreon.com/posts/episode-227-131877614]  Read Adam’s takeaways from the Globsec Conference featured in Brief Eastern Europe: https://briefeasterneurope.eu/p/june-16-2025 [https://briefeasterneurope.eu/p/june-16-2025]Additional financing for this podcast is provided by the Polish MFA: Public task financed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Poland within the grant competition “Public Diplomacy 2024 – 2025 - the European dimension and countering disinformation The opinions expressed on this podcast are those of the authors and do not reflect the views of the official positions of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Poland.

In this special episode, Nina, Alexandra and Adam host a special episode recorded live with the Patrons of Talk Eastern Europe. They start with a discussion on recent news developments, including Ukraine’s Operation Spider Web, Bulgaria joining the Eurozone, and the latest on repressions in Georgia. During the main episode, Adam is put in the hot-seat with Alexandra and Nina asking about the recent elections in Poland. They discuss the overall results of both rounds as well as key context heading into the elections. They also discuss how the new president-elect, Karol Nawrocki may act in relations with Europe, but also on  the situation with Ukraine. During our bonus section, the co-hosts address patrons questions and discuss in-depth the political repercussions of the election result and what could come next for Poland. The bonus content can be found here: https://www.patreon.com/posts/episode-226-131296617 [https://www.patreon.com/posts/episode-226-131296617] Thank you to all of our patrons who joined us during the recording and all of those who support Talk Eastern Europe. If you want to support the podcast and gain access to additional benefits and bonus content, join us here: www.patreon.com/talkeasterneurope [http://www.patreon.com/talkeasterneurope] We also were short-listed for “Best Deep Dive Podcast” at the recent Publisher Podcast awards, and Alexandra attended the awards on behalf of Talk Eastern Europe. We didn’t win, but we were honored to be even considered among such prestigious colleagues. Pictures are available on our Patron Facebook Page.

In this special edition of Talk Eastern Europe, Alexandra reports in-person from Romania for a deep dive into the recent presidential elections. She speaks with experts Laura Stefan, Diana Filimon, and Vlad Barleanu about what happened in these dramatic elections, the allegations of digital interference from Russia, how the public responded, and what it all means for Romanian democracy. Commentary by: * Laura Stefan, Founder and the Rule of Law and Anticorruption Coordinator for ExpertForum [https://expertforum.ro/en/] * Diana Filimon, Founder and President of Forum Apulum [https://forum.ong/en/homepage/], Founder of Gen, știri [https://www.instagram.com/genstiri/?hl=en] * Vlad Barleanu, former journalist and current PR specialist  To watch the full-length interviews and other behind-the-scene clips, you can check out our Patreon page: https://www.patreon.com/talkeasterneurope [https://www.patreon.com/talkeasterneurope] Research for this podcast episode was made possible with the support of the Heinrich Böll Foundation, Washington, DC’s Transatlantic Media Fellowship. Find out more about the Fellowship, and the Foundation’s work, here: https://us.boell.org/en/2025/05/22/2025-cohort-transatlantic-media-fellows [https://us.boell.org/en/2025/05/22/2025-cohort-transatlantic-media-fellows] Finally, thank you to Patrícia Raposo, Young European Ambassador for the EU Neighbours East and Policy Trainee at the Commission for Citizenship, Governance, Institutional and External Affairs, for her assistance in the research process.