Minutes from Latvia

LSM
  • 5.0 (3)
  • News

LSM's English language service has produced a new podcast. Titled Minutes From Latvia it involves discussion of current affairs and a specialist topic of the week. 

  1. 09/29/2018

    LSM Saeima election preview podcast special with Daunis Auers

    The LSM Minutes From Latvia podcast makes an election-season return with an hour-long special. With a new Saeima set to be voted in on October 6, LSM editor Mike Collier teams up again with academic Daunis Auers for an account of what has happened in the election campaign and what results we might see afterwards. After a discussion on the main characteristics of the campaign so far, we give brief overviews of the 16 competing parties and offer some opinions about their likely chances. We'd remind you that you can read another party-by-party overview of the upcoming election in our series of four special features: Part One, Part Two, Part Three and Part Four. The opinions expressed are entirely those of the participants and do not represent the views of Latvian Public Media.

  2. 09/21/2017

    Minutes from Latvia podcast 23: Philip Ruff on Latvian anarchists and civil resistance

    This week the Minutes from Latvia podcast features British historian Philip Ruff, whose decades-long researches have cast new light on a fascinating period in both Latvian and British history. Phil scored a huge hit in Latvia with his book Pa stāvu liesmu debesīs: nenotveramā latviešu anarhista Pētera Māldera laiks un dzīve (A Towering Flame – the life and times of Peter the Painter), published by Dienas Grāmata (Riga 2012). It tells the true tale of a charismatic young Latvian anarchist who for a while might justifiably have claimed to be the world's most wanted man, 'Peter the Painter' a.k.a Janis Zhaklis. Then in the second half of the podcast we revisit a lecture Phil gave in February 2015 on how we might today be able to learn lessons from the experiences of the Latvian anarchist movement in the context of civil resistance to occupation. If you would like to see a recording of the lecture in question, it is below.   You can follow Phil on Twitter @RuffPhilip.

  3. 09/07/2017

    Minutes from Latvia podcast 22: Agnese Kleina on style and salons

    The Minutes from Latvia podcast is back and this week the guest is Agnese Kleina, a writer, publisher, artist, entrepreneur and avowed style leader in Latvia. We talk in depth about her enigmatic publication Benji Knewman and follow it up with an account of her experimental hosting of a modern-day artistic salon that has proven a big hit among Riga's switched-on artistic set. We also consider why niche publications from a small corner of the Baltic Sea seem to have found global appeal and where future trends in publishing and cultural discussion might be heading. You can read more bout Benji Knewman via the link below or bu visiting the official website HERE. We hope you enjoy the podcast. In the world of pins be a medal ✔️ Our @benjiknewman Vol.6 got silver at the XII festival of creative excellence #Adwards2017 #benjiknewman pic.twitter.com/XNKstPPen3 — Benji Knewman (@benjiknewman) August 26, 2017

  4. 08/24/2017

    Minutes from Latvia podcast 21: Tom Crosshill on writing and pensions

    Podcast number 21 sees Renaissance man Tom Crosshill (a.k.a. Toms Kreicbergs) entering the pod to talk about his dizzying array of interests. The first half of the podcast is dedicated to Tom's activities as a successful fiction writer in various genres: science fiction, young adults' fiction and most recently as the author of The Cattle Express, a remarkable tale that takes the reader from Wall Street to the Siberian Deportations. In the second half of the podcast we consider Latvia's pension system, and specifically Indexo, a new presence in the pensions market with which Tom is involved.    He also briefly explains how he came to be licensed to operate a nuclear reactor. You can read more about Tom's literary creations HERE. The website of Indexo pensions (other pension plans are available) is HERE (in Latvian and Russian). We hope you enjoy the podcast.

  5. 08/10/2017

    Minutes from Latvia podcast 20: The return of Daunis Auers

    The pod is bedecked with festive streamers and the cheap champagne is flowing in copious amounts as we reach the landmark of 20 podcasts. Therefore we go back to our roots with academic think-tanker Daunis Auers, who joined us for the very first podcast last September. This time around we talk about Latvia's demographic challenges, comparisons with Ireland's experience, diaspora policy and the likely knock-on effects of 'Brexit' among other topics. You can read Daunis' research in English for the Certus thinktank HERE and you can follow him on Twitter HERE. We hope you find the podcast of passing interest.

  6. 07/27/2017

    Minutes from Latvia podcast 19: Baiba Rubesa on business and Rail Baltica

    The Minutes from Latvia podcast is back, this time with a business-oriented flavor. Joining us in the 'power-pod' is Baiba Rubesa, one of Latvia's top business executives. Baiba has a wealth of experience from various countries around the globe, but her most prominent role at the moment is as chair of RB Rail, the joint venture of the three Baltic states responsible for overseeing the construction of Rail Baltica, a massive and complex infrastructure project. After considering Baiba's background we delve into the intricacies of Rail Baltica and look forward to the departure of the first train - hopefully in 2026.  To find out more about Rail Baltica, visit the official website HERE. Baiba's personal Twitter feed is HERE.

  7. 07/13/2017

    Minutes from Latvia podcast 18: Eugene Birman on music and Russians

    The Minutes from Latvia podcast is back in a musical frame of mind as we are joined by acclaimed contemporary composer Eugene Birman.  Born in Daugavpils, Latvia's second-largest city, Eugene already has an international reputation and a talent for generating controversy with his thought-provoking compositions, many of them in collaboration with Tallinn-based librettist Scott Diel. Most famously they collaborated on a 'Twitter opera' based on a confrontation between former Estonian president Toomas Hendrik Ilves and Nobel prize-winning economist Paul Krugman on social media. On July 18 from 6 p.m. Eugene will be challenging Latvian residents to come to the Kim? contemporary art center to deliver their own, entirely anonymous verdict on Latvia-Russia relations for his latest musical project. It promises to be another piece of controversial creativity. The project, titled “Russia: Today,” is part of a wider "Trauma & Revival. Cultural relations between Eastern and Western Europe" residency co-funded by the Creative Europe Program of the European Union.   Participants will retain complete anonymity. Their answers, recorded in private chambers where they will be asked to state their hopes and fears, not to mention their true allegiances, will be turned into an ambitious staged work for the virtuoso London-based ensemble EXAUDI, to premiere in 2019. “Russia: Today” will create a musical narrative for the un-told experiences and uncensored opinions of the project's participants, and in a larger sense, a forum for the cross-generational nightmares and dreams of Latvians on the nation's 100th anniversary," according to publicity material.

  8. 07/03/2017

    Minutes from Latvia podcast 17: Amara Graps on space and science

    The Minutes from Latvia podcast returns, and this week we boldly go where no podcast has gone before, across the final frontier into space. The guest in the capsule-like pod is Amara Graps, a planetary scientist based in Latvia with an enviable list of contacts across the globe and -technically speaking - across the entire cosmos. Amara is also organizing a major space conference in Riga in September, and we talk about what that involves, plus the way astronomers and other Latvian scientists compete in the international arena, even if this means dedicating their own free time and raising their own money. Find out more about her project Baltics in Space HERE. We hope you enjoy the podcast. All EPSC 2017 Riga 1,000 Abstracts are online now, and you can browse them HERE. If you would like to help with crowd-funding of ESPC 2017 in Riga you can do so HERE. For videos at Amara's YouTube channel, see below:

See All (32)

Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
3 Ratings

About

LSM's English language service has produced a new podcast. Titled Minutes From Latvia it involves discussion of current affairs and a specialist topic of the week. 

Information

  • Creator
    LSM
  • Years Active
    2017 - 2018
  • Episodes
    32
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © LSM.LV
  • Show Website
    Minutes from Latvia