Today, we have  Joel Burke the author of Rebooting a Nation: The Incredible Rise of Estonia, E-Government and the Startup Revolution. Joel is also a fellow at fp21, a think tank focused on transforming the process and institutions of U.S. foreign policy using evidence. Previously, Joel was an AI fellow in the office of Senator Mike Rounds and served as Head of Business Development for the Republic of Estonia's e-Residency program.

Music intro is: Arvo Pärt- Spiegel im Spiegel

Satellite Imagery Analysis: “What’s going on in Putin’s military bases behind the Estonian Border and how big a threat they really pose?”

Holger Roonemaa, leads an investigative team at Delfi Estii Ekspres.

His investigations have focused on money laundering and corruption, espionage and national security, and Russia's disinformation campaigns in the Baltic countries.

Roonemaa's investigations have been published by, and he is also an editor of OCCRP, an acronym for The Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project, a global network of investigative journalists who expose crime and corruption; he has also been published in ICIJ, which stands for International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, The Daily Beast, Vsquare, BuzzFeed News, and Re:Baltica, among other outlets.

He has been repeatedly awarded the Journalist of the Year title at Estonia's national journalism awards and won the National Investigative Journalism Award in 2021.

Holger is currently studying and working as a Knight-Wallace Journalism Fellow at the University of Michigan. There, he is developing an investigative journalism hub designed to bridge resource gaps, make use of high-tech investigative methods, and bolster data-driven regional partnerships.

The Russian Factor in Baltic History in the 19th & 20th C with Professor Karsten Brugemann

 Educational Credentials

As far as his Professional Experience is concerned:

Karsten Brüggemann’s expertise spans the history of the Baltic states and Russia, cultural history, transnational history, and the historical dimension of sports, tourism, and music.

In this episode, we discuss the National Committee of the Republic of Estonia and its importance to the Estonian State's claim of the continuance of government during the Soviet occupation.

Calendar of Events in February 1944

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JdS96R6WuaI

Anthem of the Estonian volunteer regiment in the Finnish Army 1943- 1944

We start off the new year by following the calendar that I picked up at The Estonian War Museum which follows important events and dates in the tumultuous year of 1944.

We go on to discuss Zelensky's Trip to Tallinn and Estonia's pledge to support Ukraine with .25% of GDP.

In this episode, I sit down with Toomas Hiio, the Associate Director at The General Laidoner Estonian War Museum. This is the first in-person interview of the Podcast.

Toomas Hiio, born on June 1, 1965, is a distinguished Estonian historian known for his significant contributions to the study of Estonia's history during crucial periods. He completed his education at Tallinn 32nd Secondary School in 1983 and earned his degree in history from Tartu University in 1991. Hiio is highly regarded in academic circles and holds the esteemed position of research director at the Laidoner Museum. Additionally, he serves as the research manager at the Estonian Memory Institute, showcasing his expertise and dedication to preserving Estonia's historical legacy. Apart from his academic pursuits, Hiio is also a respected reserve officer, having attained the rank of second lieutenant in 1998. Recognizing his contributions to historical research and Estonian society, he was awarded the Order of the White Star IV class in 2002.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JLLGtOOkPpA

Vicarious Sovereignty - Becoming European The Estonian Way: With Professor Maria Mälksoo

The following is a link to the music video from the band Vennaskond, the song it titled: Jumal Kaitse Kuningat

Interview with Professor Marek Tamm on the subject: What do Estonians remember of their past, i.e. not about Estonian history, but about Estonian mnemohistory?

 Marek Tamm is the Professor of Cultural History at the School of Humanities in Tallinn University. He is a member of the Estonian Academy of Sciences and of the Academia Europaea. Graduated in history and semiotics at the University of Tartu (1998), he earned his master's degree in medieval studies from the Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales in Paris (School of Advanced Studies in Social Sciences) (1999) and his doctorate in medieval history from Tallinn University (2009). He is the editor-in-chief of the Estonian history journal Acta Historica Tallinnensia and the editor of the Journal of the Philosophy of History. His primary research fields are cultural history of medieval Europe, theory and history of historiography, digital history, and cultural memory studies. Author or co-author of ten books, of a hundred scholarly articles published in Estonian, English, German, and French, and editor of more than thirty collections of articles or special issues.