In this episode, Elena Trifan, a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Erfurt, delves into her research on at-risk academics within the Romanian higher education system. With a background in anthropology and sociology, Elena offers a unique lens shaped by her academic journey and personal connection as a first-generation scholar.Her research explores Romania’s position as a peripheral EU country, traditionally known for exporting skilled labor, and examines its evolving higher education landscape. From navigating neoliberal reforms and addressing systemic inequalities to grappling with far-right nationalism and racism, Elena highlights the challenges and transformations shaping the experiences of displaced scholars in Romania.Focusing on Ukrainian academics and intersecting vulnerabilities faced by women and queer scholars, she investigates identity, professional success, and strategies for career resilience amidst a backdrop of systemic delays in academia’s response to social and political shifts. With a gender-sensitive perspective and qualitative methodology, Elena sheds light on the complexities of forging a scholarly identity within a receiving academic environment unaccustomed to its new role.

In this interview, Jessica Knowles discusses her current research into the apocalyptic stained-glass window in St Martha’s pilgrim hospice church in Nuremberg, comparing it to apocalyptic windows in All Saints, North Street in York, northern England.Jessica is considering St Martha’s window in its fullest context of the late-fourteenth century.  Therefore, this includes not only the images and the surviving text surrounding the images, but also the story these images and texts told, and how this story fitted with the stories told by adjacent windows in St Martha’s.  In addition, she considers the people who saw the window and the ways in which they would have seen and experienced it, also the people who paid for the window and how they benefited from this donation and memorial.  Jessica concludes that, although today we see the apocalyptic images and windows as perhaps negative as the physical world burns and is destroyed, late medieval people would probably have seen them as positive, hopeful and an image of the salvation of their souls.This podcast is part of a series of interviews covering central Europe in the medieval period for MECERN and CEU Medieval Studies.

In this episode, we are joined by our colleague, Dr. Nadiya Kiss, a social linguist from Ukraine and co-founder of the Vision Ukraine – Education, Language, Migration research network. Drawing from her extensive work on language policy and activism, Nadiya explores the pivotal role of language in migration and identity formation, especially in the context of forced displacement.She discusses the linguistic behaviors of Ukrainian migrants in Germany, their rejection of Russian as a colonial language, and how these shifts symbolize resistance, identity transformation, and community building. Nadiya also reflects on how language influences narratives in research settings and its significance as a bridge for integration and resilience in times of social challenges.

In this interview, Maria Theisen talks about her work on the Making of the Wenceslas Bible.  This great bible was written in German in the late fourteenth century, and although it was never completed, it still contains 2,000 folios and over 650 illuminations.  Maria sets the creation of the bible into the context of the times, particularly the reforms within the church and the power struggles between the Catholic church and King Wenceslas IV.  Maria also explains the complex  iconography of the period and the symbolism of the images in the great first letter of Genesis. As the bible was not finished, there remain notes in the margins for the illuminators which give clues to the process of making the bible and the lives of the scribes and illuminators.This podcast is part of a series of interviews covering central Europe in the medieval period for MECERN and CEU Medieval Studies.

In this episode, we get to know our colleague Tania Arcimovich, a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Erfurt and a key member of the Protecting Academia at Risk project. Originally from Minsk, Tania reflects on her journey to Germany, her evolving identity as a scholar, and the impact of displacement on academic life.Tania shares her unique perspective as a Belarusian researcher, focusing on the experiences of female migrant academics and the structural challenges they face. Her work explores how gender, risk, and forced migration influence both scholarly routines and the knowledge produced within academia.Tune in to learn how Tania’s personal journey and academic expertise contribute to rethinking academic freedom and resilience in times of uncertainty.

In this interview, Olga Kalashnikova, recent PhD graduate and researcher at the CEU Democracy Institute ‘History of Democracy’ section, discusses her research into Good Friday Sermons – the Mass Media of 14th Century Bohemia.Olga’s research focussed on Milíč of Kroměříž, a popular and radical preacher in Bohemia who wrote many lengthy sermons which were widely copied and disbursed in central and northern Europe.  Using Milíč’s sermons for Good Friday as a window into the preaching of the period, Olga explains why the Good Friday sermons were so important, how the sermons were used as a form of mass communication, and what the sermons were expected to achieve in connection to the church congregation.   Olga also shows why and how these sermons are still valuable and relevant for today’s academics and wider population.This podcast is part of a series of interviews covering central Europe in the medieval period for MECERN and CEU Department of Historical Studies.

In this episode, we hear from our colleague, Prof. Dr. Bernhard Kleeberg from the History of Science (Historical Department) at the University of Erfurt. Prof. Kleeberg discusses his work on political epistemologies and the cultures of knowledge, focusing on how scientific habits and political frameworks intertwine. As a historian of science, he shares insights into the Political Epistemologies of Central and Eastern Europe research network, which he co-founded in 2015, and explores themes like academic authority, dissidence, and gender epistemologies.Prof. Kleeberg delves into the micro-politics of scientific research, examining how political agendas and scholarly identities shape day-to-day academic practices. He also reflects on how systems of knowledge are disrupted by events such as the arrival of refugee scholars, prompting new questions and challenging established norms.Tune in to explore how the intersections of politics and science reshape academic spaces in Central and Eastern Europe.

The UrbanCommunity podcast elevates voices from community led initiaitves for sustainable and just cities.In this final episode (for now),  our community of practice expert and network weaver, Duncan, explains what these terms mean. He shows us how local initiatives, like our previous UrbanCommunity experiments, can be connected over great distances, leading to a more united effort to make this planet a better place.

This episode examines, through the lens of Aristotelian virtue ethics, how roguelike video games, such as Cogmind, can foster personal development and self-understanding through training our ethical and intellectual virtues. Roguelikes provide more than entertainment; they offer a space to practice virtue, teaching resilience, adaptability, and growth through the careful deployment and interaction of game mechanics. Drawing on Aristotle’s teachings on virtue, this analysis suggests that engaging with roguelikes helps cultivate a virtuous character and imparts valuable life lessons, revealing how gaming can serve as a pathway to self-improvement and deeper self-awareness.Watch the video version on YouTube here.CreditsWritten and presented by James CartlidgeProduced by Greta RauleacOriginal music by James CartlidgeBreaking the Game is a YouTube channel and podcast series about philosophy and video game studies. It aims to facilitate discussions about games, the games industry and philosophy with wider audiences. It mainly (though not exclusively) focusses on the indie games sphere, and current and future philosophical topics include phenomenology, existentialism, political philosophy, ethics, philosophy of mind/consciousness, cognitive science, psychoanalysis and psychology. It is based on the postdoctoral research of James Cartlidge.Check out and subscribe to Breaking the Game here.

This episode examines the classic psychological horror game Silent Hill 2 through the framework of psychoanalysis, investigating how the game represents the unconscious, dream symbolism, horror, and the processing of trauma. Silent Hill 2 is celebrated for its sophisticated portrayal of human psychology, particularly its engagement with a Freudian psychoanalytic theory. In this video, I argue that the game functions as a dramatization of Freud’s theory of dreams as wish-fulfilment, and the notion of the "punishment dream" in particular. Through the game’s intricate portrayal of the psychological torment of protagonist James Sunderland, it explores Freudian ideas about repressed memories. The symbolic environment of Silent Hill reflects deeper, unresolved conflicts in the form of dream images. This analysis reveals Silent Hill 2 as a profound exploration of psychological horror and the complexities of the human mind.Watch the video version on YouTube here.CreditsWritten and presented by James CartlidgeProduced by Greta RauleacOriginal music by James CartlidgeBreaking the Game is a YouTube channel and podcast series about philosophy and video game studies. It aims to facilitate discussions about games, the games industry and philosophy with wider audiences. It mainly (though not exclusively) focusses on the indie games sphere, and current and future philosophical topics include phenomenology, existentialism, political philosophy, ethics, philosophy of mind/consciousness, cognitive science, psychoanalysis and psychology. It is based on the postdoctoral research of James Cartlidge.Check out and subscribe to Breaking the Game here.