Explore every episode of the podcast Central Europe Matters

Hey listener! I accidentally published the first draft of this episode earlier today. Sorry about that! This represents the final version of the episode. I hope you like it. 

Why did I quit my secure job in Oslo in early 2025 so that I could dedicate myself full-time to starting a podcast, this podcast?
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In the first three episodes of the podcast, you've met people from all across Slovakia who have shared their fears, hopes and visions for a better country. They have demonstrated openness and vulnerability during our conversations and for that I am grateful to them.
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Now it's my turn to be open and vulnerable. Why am I doing this work? Why do I consider Central Europe Matters a mission as much as a podcast?
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I owe a great debt to the Bratislava-based post-metal band Besna, whose song Ocean práchu (Ocean of Dust) is the soundtrack to this episode. This episode truly wouldn't have been possible without this hauntingly beautiful track. 
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Please let me know what you think of the episode by emailing me at jeff@centraleuropematters.eu. I'd also be grateful if you'd share this podcast with a friend who feels overwhelmed by the current direction of travel in Europe and the world. 
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I also want to thank my producer Dávid Pál for the beautiful work he did mastering this episode. 
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You will have a "regular" episode in your feed next Wednesday. 
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Finally, if you're located in or near Oslo, please join me for the official podcast launch event Tuesday, September 8th from 4:30pm until 6:30pm at Kulturhuset. 

This episode was executive produced and hosted by me, Jeff Lugowe. Why did I quit my secure job in Oslo in early 2025 so that I could dedicate myself full-time to starting a podcast, this podcast?

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In the first three episodes of the podcast, you've met people from all across Slovakia who have shared their fears, hopes and visions for a better country. They have demonstrated openness and vulnerability during our conversations and for that I am grateful to them.
⠀
Now it's my turn to be open and vulnerable. Why am I doing this work? Why do I consider Central Europe Matters a mission as much as a podcast?
⠀
I owe a great debt to the Bratislava-based post-metal band Besna, whose song Ocean práchu (Ocean of Dust) is the soundtrack to this episode. This episode truly wouldn't have been possible without this hauntingly beautiful track. 
⠀
Please let me know what you think of the episode by emailing me at jeff@centraleuropematters.eu. I'd also be grateful if you'd share this podcast with a friend who feels overwhelmed by the current direction of travel in Europe and the world. 
⠀
I also want to thank my producer Dávid Pál for the beautiful work he did mastering this episode. 
⠀
You will have a "regular" episode in your feed next Wednesday. 
⠀
Finally, if you're located in or near Oslo, please join me for the official podcast launch event Tuesday, September 8th from 4:30pm until 6:30pm at Kulturhuset. 

This episode was executive produced and hosted by me, Jeff Lugowe. 

Many Slovaks thought they had gotten authoritarian strongmen leaders out of their system when Prime Minister Vladimír Mečiar lost his reelection bid in 1998. Almost twenty years later, the current Slovak government is led by former Communist Robert Fico, whose coalition government attacks independent media, starves independent culture of financing, and in televised rants and social media tirades accuses political opponents and Slovaks who didn't vote for him of progressive fascism and ideological terrorism.

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To understand what Fico's brand of take-no-prisoner politics means for Slovakia and its people, I spoke to a political scientist, an author/journalist and two women living in a small town. 
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We start our journey around Slovakia in the passenger's seat of Diana's car, somewhere between Revúca and Spišská Nová Ves in Central Slovakia. You met Diana in episode 1; now she's back due to popular demand. We then move to Košice in the country's southeast, before making the long drive (when is that cross-country highway getting built?) to the capital, Bratislava. Finally, we jump back into the car with Diana and Emma, one of the students Diana mentors. 

Episode breakdown:
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• Intro segment: With politicians like this, what could possibly go wrong? with Diana Jacková
• Segment 1: Slovak stagnation and the ruse of social democracy, with political scientist Lukáš Jakabovič
• Segment 2: Progress and development? Not on Robert Fico's watch, with author, columnist and translator Samo Marec
• Outro segment: Double standards in politics, with Diana and Emma

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Episode soundtrack: Močí ďïovča konope (featuring Ženy z Muzičky) by Folk&Bass Orchestra, a Slovak ensemble that combine folk sounds with electronic and jazz elements. 
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As always, you can reach me with questions, comments or just to say "ahoj" by emailing jeff@centraleuropematters.eu.
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This episode was produced by Dávid Pál, and hosted and executive produced by me, Jeff Lugowe.

What happens when you wake up one day and find yourself living in a different country?

     
In this week's episode, we move from the fall of communism in 1989 to the emergence of an independent Slovak state in 1993.

     
For most of this episode, I spoke to people living in Bratislava, the dynamic and at times architecturally puzzling Slovak capital, before returning to Banská Bystrica in central Slovakia for my final conversation. I also made a brief stop in Košice in eastern Slovakia.

     
The thread running through this episode is: what prevents some people in Slovakia from identifying with their own state?

     
Episode breakdown:

• Intro segment: The country that cried itself into independence, with democracy activist Ľuboš Žárský
• Segment 1: The complex nature of Slovak national feeling and identification with the state, with sociologist Miloslav Bahna
• Segment 2: The deep rift within the Slovak elite, then and now, with sociologist Dominik Želinský
• Interlude segment: The limits of solidarity, with professor of social work Katarína Šiňanská
• Segment 3: The country that was founded on a façade, with civil society activist and veteran Peter Medveď

     
Episode soundtrack: TRESTY by Samotay, one of my favorite Slovak indie artists

     
As always, you can reach me with questions, comments or just to say "ahoj" by emailing jeff@centraleuropematters.eu.

     
This episode was produced by Dávid Pál, and hosted and executive produced by me, Jeff Lugowe.
     
You can click on the names of the cities I visited for today's episode if you want to pair your listening experience with a visual trip around Slovakia. Visit the Central Europe Matters website for even more photos, a preview of the rest the season, or if you're curious about who I am and why I started this podcast. 

This episode marks our first trip to Slovakia and the start of season 1, Slovakia – Democracy under attack. Buckle up – it's going to be a wild ride. Follow me, host Jeff Lugowe, as I speak with activists, researchers, artists and concerned citizens about the battle currently underway in Slovakia over the country's democratic future.
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We begin in  Banská Bystrica in central Slovakia to meet Sandra and Lea, two activists with the organization Not in our Town (Nie v nasom meste).
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Then we move a few hours northwest to the city of  Žilina. There, I sat down with three high school students who gained national prominence last winter for their Student Protest initiative (Študentský protest).
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Finally, I drove the winding roads back to Central Slovakia and  Revúca, a town of 11,000 people set amid a canopy of forested hills. Diana invited me to her apartment, where we talked about being a community activist in a small, isolated town. 
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This journey around Slovakia is just getting started. Subscribe to Central Europe Matters if you haven't already – episode 2 will be out next Wednesday.
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Episode soundtrack: Dufekova Cifra by  Folk&Bass Orchestra

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Check out the official show website, where you can read more about the podcast and what motivated me to embark on this project in the first place: https://www.centraleuropematters.eu/
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You can see photos of the places we visited during this episode by clicking on the names of the cities above. 
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Email me with any questions or to tell me what you think of the first episode: jeff@centraleuropematters.eu
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This episode was produced, mix and mastered by Dávid Pál. It was hosted and executive produced by me, Jeff Lugowe. 

Season 1 will take listeners on a trip around Slovakia — a small, mountainous country on the eastern periphery of the European Union  — currently in the throes of a democratic crisis. Join host Jeff Lugowe as he meets people living in the big cities and deep in the countryside and hears how they are fighting for their democracy.

Slovakia — Democracy under Attack launches in August 2026. Subscribe today to get the first episode in your podcast feed.

Central Europe Matters is an new, independent narrative podcast. Read more about the podcast and the upcoming season by visiting:  https://www.centraleuropematters.eu/

Trailer soundtrack: Smutné kvety by Samotay