Latvia Weekly

For the first interview episode in some time, Joe sat down with freelance journalist and voice of "The Baltic Reports" podcast Anna Ūdre to discuss a wide range of topics including the pros and cons of working as a freelancer in Latvia, the relationship between politicians and media, the role of advertising in funding public media, and much more!

Despite the short amount of time between episodes, there was plenty for Joe to discuss with Otto in his first time back on the show this month, with developments in the Baiba Broka bribery case, threats by Jaunā konservatīvā partija to sack Rīga city council altogether, major economic statistics released for the first half of 2019, and much more! They were even finally able to finally call Latvian-Australian cross-country cyclist Kris Akenfelds to hear about his latest adventures and misadventures throughout Eastern Latvia. This is one transatlantic discussion you won't want to miss!

Opening and closing music by Anna Veisa

Weather theme:

Smooth Jazz (am) by Backing Track Ninja

Source: backingtrackninja.bandcamp.com/track/smo…h-jazz-am

After more than a month as "president-elect," Mr. Egils Levits was finally handed the keys to Rīga castle by outgoing President Raimonds Vējonis. On the other side of town, former Nacionālā apvienība mayoral candidate Baiba Broka spent time in very different accommodation — a jail cell in Čiekurkalns after being detained by KNAB agents over bribery allegations. Join Olevs and Joe as they break down these developments and others including major passenger rail contracts, new initiative proposals by the Kariņš government, sexist sports posters, and much more!

Opening and closing music by Anna Veisa

As if there wasn't enough political drama this week with KNAB announcing a status of "suspect" for former Mayor Nils Ušakovs just days before assuming his duties as an EU parliamentarian, the resignation of the entire temporary supervisory board of Latvenergo as well as major developments in the ongoing green energy subsidy corruption debacle certainly kept things interesting. Join Joe and Olevs as they take you through these stories and more, including yet another pothole in the road towards a Rīga concert hall, a new "receipt lottery" scheme, and a massive windfall for Latvia's most famous athlete!

Opening and closing music by Anna Veisa

While Rīga City Council might be quickly running out of ways to avoid a messy early election, Otto and Joe certainly aren't in danger of running out of issues to discuss, with major topics such as the final 2026 Olympic decision, the rejection of a civil partnership bill, and the dismissal of the entire Latvenergo energy utility's board all happening throughout what was expected to be a slow news week following Latvian midsummer celebrations.

CORRECTION: An earlier version of this episode claimed that the Ulmanis provisional government was "toppled by Baltic Germans" in 1919, which is not an accurate description of the events that took place.

Opening and closing theme:

Think Tank by Audionautix is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution license (creativecommons.org/licenses/...)

Artist: audionautix.com/

Weather theme:

Smooth Jazz (am) by Backing Track Ninja

Source: backingtrackninja.bandcamp.com/track/smo…h-jazz-am

Join Joe as he sits down with Latvian-Australian Kris Akenfelds, who is halfway through a 2-month cycling journey along Latvia's entire border and a few places off the track. Kris recounts some of the most interesting places he's been to and people he's met, as well as a brush with the supernatural and a few life-changing moments along the way.

Photo credit: Bhavishya Goel

https://www.flickr.com/photos/103799582@N02/42450309940

Opening and closing music:

Bicycle - Reunited by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

Source: http://incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/index.html?isrc=USUAN1100870

Artist: http://incompetech.com/

Līgo, Līgo! In honor of this year’s quickly approaching midsummer celebration, Joe sat down with 2x2 Latvian youth camp volunteer Austra Apsīte to discuss Jāņi traditions, clear up midsummer myths, and even share some traditional Līgo music. Whether you're a midsummer newbie or a lifelong "Jāņa bērns," you're likely to learn something interesting about this important time of the year for Latvian culture!

Opening music by Austra Apsīte

Photo courtesy of Austra Apsīte

With small cracks starting to appear in Attistibai/Par! and giants fissures widening in KPV LV, Joe and Olevs discuss the stability of both parties as well as the coalition as a whole. Other major topics include updates in health and financial reforms, an increase to teachers' salaries, a knockout performance by Briedis, and a sad day of remembrance for all Latvian people.

In this next installment of the summer interview series, Joe sits down with local archaeology assistant Jānis Tomašuns to talk about some of the surprises hidden throughout Latvia just a few centimeters below the ground as well as his experience going on digs throughout the country.

What began as Joe and Olevs' going away party for Otto ended in disaster thanks to the abnormally tropical weather overheating Joe's laptop and erasing the first ever episode all three had recorded together. Sadly, the loss of a podcast episode was far from the most serious consequence of the heatwave, with severe thunderstorms, hail damage, and drownings being reported throughout the country. Join Joe as he tries his best to recount the major domestic happenings of the week solo before calling Kris Akenfelds to hear the latest about his cross-country cycling adventure and then handing it over to Otto for international stories and the week in history.

Think Tank by Audionautix is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution license (creativecommons.org/licenses/...)

Artist: audionautix.com/

Weather theme:

Smooth Jazz (am) by Backing Track Ninja

Source: backingtrackninja.bandcamp.com/track/smo…h-jazz-am