Contraélite

ENGLISH starts after our intro! 

Also finally on YouTube (https://youtu.be/MoxpsgpenAk) -  We are starting CON FUERZA in our 3rd season of Contraelite!

We interviewed Lithuanian-American author Silvia Foti, who wrote "The Nazi's Granddaughter: How I Discovered My Grandfather was a War Criminal"  and buckle up, because it's a super interesting ride into how Silvia found out the very painful history of her grandfather, Jonas Noreika, or "General Storm" who was hailed as a Lithuanian war hero, while in reality, he had been an anti-Soviet partisan and Nazi collaborator. 

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Contraelite podcast on different platforms:

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Our breaks music is "Draco" by Yung Kartz (https://www.yungkartzbeats.com/)

Related reading and more information about our guest:

New York Times article "No more lies. My grandfather was a Nazi" by Silvia Foti: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/27/opinion/jonas-noreika-lithuania-nazi-collaborator.html

NYT article en español: https://www.nytimes.com/es/2021/01/31/espanol/opinion/abuelo-nazi.html

Silvia Foti on HardTalk BBC: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/w3ct1n10

Silvia's article: https://www.silviafoti.com/who-is-jonas-noreika/ 

Article on the Chicago Tribune: https://www.chicagotribune.com/opinion/commentary/ct-opinion-lithuania-nazi-jonas-noreika-20210407-k72dbr373fforgk6kuq5ubzkru-story.html

My grandfather, a national hero in Lithuania — and a war criminal - Article on the Harvard Gazette: https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2021/10/how-author-silvia-foti-discovered-her-grandfathers-nazi-past/

Silvia's book: https://www.amazon.com/Nazis-Granddaughter-Discovered-Grandfather-Criminal/dp/1684511089

Articles about controversial monument in Budapest, Hungary: 

-EURACTIV article https://www.euractiv.com/section/central-europe/news/controversial-monument-divides-hungarians-angers-jewish-community/

-Reuters article: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-hungary-holocaust-german-memorial/hungary-pm-defends-contested-monument-to-nazi-victims-idUSBREA0L1H820140122

Finalmente & finally, we are kicking off Season 3 of Contraelite! Some content is a little outdated, please listen to our opening message. 

As always, so fortunate to have excellent and insightful guests, this time is no exception. We dive deep into the interesting dynamics of Austrian, and to an extent overall European, politics with Natascha Strobl, an Austrian political scientist, expert on right-wing extremism and the New Right. She is the author of the newly released book, Radicalised Conservatism / Radikalisierter Konservatismus, a study into the "hard right agenda [being] pushed through by stoking a constant mood of anxiety towards a vague 'other'" (Irish Times). 

The lead-up to the eventual exit of Sebastian Kurz, labor shortages & workers issues, women's issues and feminism, the Peruvian elections in 2021, as well as a bit of friendly banter on the 2021 Euro Cup, this episode covers it all and then some. 

Follow us @Contraelite1 on Twitter and Instagram

http://anchor.fm/contraelite

Our breaks music is "Draco" by Yung Kartz (https://www.yungkartzbeats.com/)

Related reading and more information about our guest:

On Twitter, Natascha is at @Natascha_Strobl

IPS Journal contributor - https://www.ips-journal.eu/about/writers-and-contributors/writer/natascha-strobl/

Natascha Strobl on Second Wiki (bio and a list of many of her articles) https://second.wiki/wiki/natascha_strobl 

Natascha's new book: https://www.suhrkamp.de/rights/book/natascha-strobl-radicalised-conservatism-fr-9783518127827 

Natascha's website (in German): https://www.natsanalysen.at/

"Sebastian Kurz suffers fall from grace in Austria amid graft inquiry" - https://www.irishtimes.com/news/world/europe/sebastian-kurz-suffers-fall-from-grace-in-austria-amid-graft-inquiry-1.4701753

The grim statistic we mention: "Over 40% of Czechs Feel that Rape Can Be Justified" https://www.expats.cz/czech-news/article/over-40-percent-czechs-feel-rape-can-be-justified

"Many Europeans consider rape acceptable" https://www.statista.com/chart/6999/many-europeans-consider-rape-acceptable/4

Final Season 2 episode of Contraelite! (Apologies for having taken such a long time to get these out, but life happens, guys!) 

On today's episode, we get deep into international migration and global historical trends that lay the foundations for current political issues, and to provide an excellent and expert analysis on these issues, we are joined by Dr. Eglė Verseckaitė Grzeskowiak, who earned her Ph.D in political science at the Johns Hopkins University, after completing her master's and bachelor's degrees at Vilnius University Institute of International Relations and Political Science. She is currently a Senior Lecturer at ISM University of Management and Economics in Vilnius, Lithuania. In addition to teaching in universities, she has worked for a governmental institution, a think tank and a political party. Dr. Verseckaitė Grzeskowiak has a special graduate certificate in Racism, Immigration and Citizenship and gives public lectures on migration issues.

If you know us, you know we have special love for Lithuania, so you know we were happy as a clam to have the opportunity to chat with our guest!

http://anchor.fm/contraelite

Our breaks music is "Draco" by Yung Kartz (https://www.yungkartzbeats.com/)

Related reading and more information about our guest:

Facts & Myths about International Migration (Video) https://youtu.be/tDUrFVs4V78

Populism and Ideas of the Nation (Panel brief) https://www.ipsa.org/wc/panel/populism-and-ideas-nation 

Brexit and the Framing of the EU in the Media (link to Abstract of paper): https://www.ipsa.org/wc/paper/brexit-and-framing-eu-media 

Hungary has increasingly become a hot topic among leftists and an example to follow for the right-wing around the Western world. The hardline rhetoric and actions from Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán are alarmingly effective, giving him unprecedented popularity both inside and outside Hungary's borders. Orbán and his cabinet are unapologetically conservative and traditional, recklessly offensive, unafraid to challenge and mock liberal ideology. This guy doesn't give a fuck about your feelings! Join us as we interview sociopolitical researcher and doctoral candidate Eszter Kováts and dive deep into Hungary's resurgence as a right-wing juggernaut, the social and political moment of Hungary, and fundamental lessons for the left. 

Eszter Kováts is a PhD student of Political Science at the University ELTE Budapest, her research focus: the enemy image of "gender ideology" in the global context of strengthening the right and in connection with developments in progressive politics. Between 2012 and 2019, she was responsible for the gender programme of the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung for Eastern Central Europe in Budapest. Femina Politica recently published (2018/1) "Conservative Counter-Movements? Overcoming Culturalising Interpretations of Right-Wing Mobilizations Against 'Gender Ideology'". She regularly writes on Hungarian politics, East-West inequalities in Europe, the care crisis, and the political controversies around the term 'gender'.

Keep up with Eszter on Twitter at: @EszterKovats 

Follow us @Contraelite1 on Twitter and Instagram

http://anchor.fm/contraelite

Our breaks music is "Draco" by Yung Kartz (https://www.yungkartzbeats.com/)

Related reading and more information about our guest:

Eszter's bio page at The Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung: https://eu.boell.org/en/person/eszter-kovats

"East Central Europe's Revolt against imitation"

https://www.ips-journal.eu/regions/europe/east-central-europes-revolt-against-imitation-4205/

"The culture war over the Istanbul Convention in East Central Europe"

https://www.ips-journal.eu/topics/future-of-social-democracy/the-culture-war-over-the-istanbul-convention-in-east-central-europe-4826/

On this episode of Contraelite, we interview financial whistleblower and co-author of espionage thriller book "KGB Banker", John Christmas. 

John Christmas was the former head of international relations of Parex Bank in the early 2000s; according to EU Today and information on Wikipedia, "Christmas listened horrified as senior employees at the bank told him of the frauds at Parex as if laundering money were as normal as taking out a mortgage. He began emailing and faxing details of the bank's wrongdoing to auditors, creditors and rating agencies and was forced out of his job in 2004. Christmas left Latvia in 2005 due to concerns for his safety and would later be told by a Parex employee that the bank was hunting him down. The threat to John's safety was due to the bank's links to organised crime and Russian intelligence". He blew the whistle by informing the Financial Services Authority in London about a massive money laundering network involving shell companies, but the Financial Authority took no action. 

This year, he co-authored the international thriller fiction book "KGB Banker", which was just released in September 2021. 

Get all the latest on KGB Banker at https://www.facebook.com/KGBBanker/ 

Keep up with John at https://www.facebook.com/john.christmas.35 

Follow us @Contraelite1 on Twitter and Instagram

http://anchor.fm/contraelite

Our breaks music is "Draco" by Yung Kartz (https://www.yungkartzbeats.com/)

More about our guest & related reading :

The Insider who Revealed the Russian Money Nexus in Latvia: https://bylinetimes.com/2019/09/05/the-insider-who-revealed-the-russian-money-nexus-in-latvia/

The Ghosts of Christmas Past: https://eutoday.net/news/business-economy/2020/ghosts2 

John Christmas' author page on Amazon https://www.amazon.com/Mr.-John-Walter-Christmas/e/B005HBS5EU%3Fref=dbs_a_mng_rwt_scns_share 

Two countries, two murders that deserve answers: https://theshiftnews.com/2020/08/06/two-countries-two-murders-that-deserve-answers/

En este episodio, le bajamos dos a la política y nos sentamos a conversar con la influencer polaca y profesora de idiomas, "la polaca más latina!" MexiDaria, sobre las similitudes y diferencias entre las culturas latina y polaca. 

Videos!! 

APRENDER POLACO O...? https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=1195860010847487

PINCHES BAÑOS EUROPEOS!! https://www.instagram.com/p/CNQQhMaJEzl/

Sigue a MexiDaria en sus redes: 

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@mexi.daria

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mexi.daria/ 

Síguenos en Twitter e Instagram: @Contraelite1

contraelitepodcast at gmail.com

http://anchor.fm/contraelite

Nuestra música durante los breaks es "Draco" por Yung Kartz (https://www.yungkartzbeats.com/)