Czechast, Radio Prague International

Episodes

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  Battle over Czech public television and radio funding: strikes, protests and political divisions 04.11.2026 28m

  The Czech government's plans to abolish television and radio licence fees have triggered strikes, demonstrations and a heated debate about the future of public-service broadcasting. Following a controversial parliamentary vote in the early hours of October 24, thousands of people gathered in Prague to protest against the proposed changes. In this episode of Czechast, Vít Pohanka brings together the views of leading politicians, Czech Radio Director General René Zavoral and demonstrators on Wenceslas Square.
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  Bohemia versus Moravia: Does the old divide still matter in Czechia? 31.10.2026 15m

  Moravia was once a distinct historical land, and some of its inhabitants still consider themselves Moravian rather than Czech. But the number declaring exclusively Moravian nationality has fallen sharply since 1991. In this episode of Czechast, Vít Pohanka explores the old boundary between Bohemia and Moravia and revisits interviews with a Moravian political activist and a historian who disagree about the region's identity and future.
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  Democracy is not forever: President Petr Pavel's warning to Czechia 29.10.2026 21m

  In his October 28 address marking the anniversary of Czechoslovakia's independence, President Petr Pavel delivered a warning about complacency, political courage and the future of Czech democracy. He called for greater responsibility in national security, public finances, climate preparedness and public debate, arguing that freedom and democracy require constant effort. This special edition of Czechast presents his complete speech in English translation. As a bonus, it features a rare archival interview with legendary Czech-American filmmaker Miloš Forman, who was posthumously awarded the Order of the White Lion, Czechia's highest state decoration, in 2026.
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  After Hungary, Poland and Slovakia, is Czechia's public broadcasting independence at risk? 26.10.2026 20m

  After years of political interference in public broadcasting in Hungary, Poland and Slovakia, attention is turning to Czechia, long considered a stronghold of independent public service media in Central Europe. The government's plan to replace radio and television licence fees with state-budget funding has triggered fierce parliamentary debate and large demonstrations. In this edition of Czechast, Vít Pohanka examines the government's arguments, talks to protesters in Prague and Brno, and reports on Prime Minister Andrej Babiš's response to mounting criticism.
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  Two Czech cities, two different worlds: Ostrava and Český Krumlov 24.10.2026 32m

  In this episode of Czechast, we travel to opposite corners of Czechia to explore two cities with very different histories and identities. Ostrava, once a powerhouse of coal mining and heavy industry, has to reinvent itself, while picturesque Český Krumlov has struggled with the consequences of mass tourism. Singer-songwriter Jaromír Nohavica, artist Jana Pešková and radio documentary maker Ivan Studený share their personal memories and explain what makes these places special to them.
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  Why does Czechia have a Senate—and how much power does it have? 20.10.2026 11m

  Prime Minister Andrej Babiš’s ANO movement failed to win a single seat in Czechia’s latest Senate elections, leaving the opposition with a comfortable majority. In this special episode of Czechast, Vít Pohanka examines the results and why low turnout calls for caution when interpreting them. He also traces the Senate’s history and explains its powers, its role as a constitutional safeguard, and why calls to abolish it have so far failed.
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  Václav Havel behind the scenes: Alexandr Vondra remembers 17.10.2026 41m

  What made Václav Havel a leader people trusted? In Czechast, Alexandr Vondra recalls their years in the dissident movement and the transition from opposition to working at Prague Castle. Through memories of underground publishing, speechwriting and Havel’s gift for listening, he offers a personal perspective on the man and his legacy.
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  Czech local elections highlight the country’s thousands of small municipalities 13.10.2026 15m

  In this special episode of Czechast, Vít Pohanka examines the history and future of one of the most distinctive and unique features of Czech public life: a country of fewer than 11 million inhabitants divided into more than 6,200 municipalities, each normally possessing its own elected council and mayor.
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  Czech Palestinians reflect on Gaza, identity and Czech attitudes towards the war 10.10.2026 53m

  Three years after the Hamas terrorist attacks on Israel and the beginning of the devastating war in Gaza, Czechast turns to two Palestinian voices with longstanding ties to Czechia. Anthropologist Yasara Abu Ghosh and editor and translator Lamis Bartušková Khalilová reflect on their personal histories, their complex identities and their disappointment with Czech political and media responses to Palestinian suffering. Their conversations complement earlier Czechast interviews exploring Jewish perspectives on the conflict.
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  Discovering Czechia through books: A Belgian reader on the country’s literary voice 03.10.2026 36m

  Czech literature will be in the international spotlight next week when Czechia becomes Guest of Honour at the Frankfurt Book Fair, the world’s largest publishing trade fair. Seventy-five Czech authors are heading to Frankfurt for the event, which runs from October 7 to 11 under the motto “ Czechia: A Country on the Coast .” Against that backdrop, Czechast speaks to Belgian intellectual-property lawyer and passionate reader Bart van Besien, whose Bookmarked Places project explores countries through their literature – and whose journey through Czech books has taken him from Bohumil Hrabal and Jiří Weil to contemporary writer Marek Šindelka.
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  Czechast: Jan Urban remembers Václav Havel 26.09.2026 24m

  Václav Havel, playwright, dissident and the first president of the Czech Republic, would have turned 90 on October 5. In this edition of Czechast, former Charter 77 activist Jan Urban remembers first meeting him in the final years of communist rule – and reflects on the qualities that made Havel such an extraordinary figure within the dissident movement.
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  Linda Zeilina-Cross: Czechs are sceptical of change – but when they embrace it, they move fast 19.09.2026 35m

  Linda Zeilina-Cross first came to Prague in 2017 and eventually chose the Czech capital as the base for her International Sustainable Finance Centre. She tells Czechast that Czech scepticism towards new ideas can be frustrating, but also sees a country whose clean-tech sector is stronger than many Czechs realise. Recent political changes concern her, but she believes economic forces driving the transformation will be difficult to reverse.
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  Jewish, Czech and caught in the debate over Gaza: Two scholars reflect on life after October 7 05.09.2026 39m

  What does it mean to be Jewish and Czech after October 7, 2023, and the devastating war that followed in Gaza? At Brno’s Štetl Fest, Czechast spoke to historian Anna Hájková (University of Warwick) and Israel expert Irena Kalhousová (Charles University) about antisemitism, Israel, the political left and the peculiar position of Jews in Czech society. 
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  Václav Klaus: Europe needs more than reform – it needs fundamental change 29.08.2026 31m

  More than 35 years after the fall of communism, how close is the Czech Republic to the free society and free-market economy envisioned in the early 1990s? In this episode of Czechast, former Czech president and prime minister Václav Klaus argues that much of Europe is now moving in the opposite direction. Speaking to Vít Pohanka, he discusses the European Union, the euro, the war in Ukraine and the political forces challenging Europe’s mainstream.
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  Letters from Brno: one American’s journey into a family history lost to the Holocaust 28.08.2026 22m

  Karen Kruger grew up in the United States unaware that her mother was Jewish and had escaped Czechoslovakia on a Kindertransport. Discovering that secret set the Holocaust educator and filmmaker on a decades-long search that resulted in Letters from Brno and repeated journeys to South Moravia. Speaking to Czechast during ŠTETL FEST, Kruger explains how confronting a painful family history gradually turned into an unexpected sense of belonging.
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  Václav Klaus, the Pražák: A controversial politician’s very personal Prague 22.08.2026 15m

  Václav Klaus is known internationally as a politician who has never shied away from controversy, from questioning policies designed to fight climate change to his views on Russia’s war against Ukraine. But this episode of Czechast reveals a more personal side of the former Czech president: Václav Klaus the Pražák. Born and raised in Vinohrady, he looks back on more than eight decades of life in a changing Prague – and has some typically strong opinions about the city of today.
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  Can trees keep Prague cool as temperatures rise? 15.08.2026 40m

  Prague is already feeling the effects of a warming climate, particularly during increasingly intense summer heat waves. Jan Richter, a climate change adaptation specialist at Prague City Hall, believes the answer lies partly beneath our feet: giving trees enough underground space, retaining rainwater and bringing more vegetation into even the historic centre. In this episode of Czechast, he also explains how a Fulbright scholarship in the United States and the urban farms of Detroit helped shape his ideas about the resilient city of the future.
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  Czech monuments tell us more about ourselves than about history, says historian 08.08.2026 1h 1m

  For centuries, paintings, monuments and public buildings have shaped the way Czechs understand their past. According to art historian and Charles University Professor Vít Vlnas, works of art often tell us less about the historical events they portray than about the period in which they were created. In an interview for Czechast, he reflects on Baroque art, Charles Bridge, collective memory and why modern generations are beginning to see Czech history differently.
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  Beyond Prague: the Czechia most visitors never see 01.08.2026 24m

  For the latest episode of Czechast, regional geographer and president of Jan Evangelista Purkyně University Jaroslav Koutský reflects on the changing map of Czechia. He discusses why some regions have reinvented themselves while others continue to face deep social challenges, and why geography still shapes everyday life.
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  Microphones against tanks: The voice of freedom on the airwaves and the invasion meant to silence it (3) 25.07.2026 28m

  The second half of the 1960s brought political thaw to stagnant Czechoslovakia and, with it, a breath of freedom that inevitably spread through the corridors of Czechoslovak Radio. International broadcasting, until then a strict and uncompromising instrument of communist propaganda, slowly began to change its tone. Czechoslovakia was opening up to the world, and the airwaves no longer carried only rigid ideological dictates.