Latvia Weekly

This week, Joe returns to the University of Latvia's Theology Faculty to sit down with Professor Valdis Tēraudkalns and lecturer Ņikita Andrejevs to discuss their work with the Latvian Bible Society in editing the most recent translation of the Bible to Latvian and the challenges of producing a work that can satisfy Latvia's diverse Christian community, as well as why theology is worth studying in the 21st century.

Intro and outro music: Chill Day by LAKEY INSPIRED is licensed under a Creative Commons License https://soundcloud.com/lakeyinspired/chill-day

Now that the book has been closed on the presidency of Raimonds Vējonis and the mayoralty of Nils Ušakovs, it's time for Otto and Joe to look back and evaluate the time these men spent in two of the three most high-profile jobs in Latvian politics and what their legacies will likely be.

Opening and closing music "Pane in the Glass" by Lee Rosevere is used with a Creative Commons 4.0 attribution license. http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Lee_Rosevere/Music_For_Podcasts_3/04_Pane_in_the_Glass

Latvia has a new president and Rīga has a new mayor, but one of them might not be able to hold onto his job for very long. Before joining Kris Akenfelds by phone to hear about the latest on his 50-day his cycling trip across the country, Otto and Joe break down the latest drama both on Rīga city council and in the KPV LV parliamentary faction as well as good news for rail and air travelers, not so good news for the Latvian economy, positive trends in Latvia’s relations with Russia, and much more!

Opening and closing theme song:

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

With travel likely on many people's minds now that the summer weather looks to be here to stay, we sat down one again with Leading Expert Mārtiņš Enģelis from the Investment and Development Agency of Latvia (LIAA)Tourism Department and the Capital R blog, this time to discuss the state's tourism strategy, the explosion of "alternative tourism," Rīga's hotel building craze, and some advice on choosing your next Latvian travel destination.

Intro and outro music: Chill Day by LAKEY INSPIRED is licensed under a Creative Commons License https://soundcloud.com/lakeyinspired/chill-day

Before they get into major stories of the week including more corruption drama in Rīga, changes to airport taxi regulations, and Latvia's dumbest arms dealer, Otto and Joe are joined via phone by regular contributor Kris Akenfelds who has started a 2-month bike journey along the country's entire border. In addition to the regular weekly discussions of Latvian news, Kris will be calling in each week to tell about where he's been and what he's seen. Don't miss this weekly trip through both Latvia's roads and current events!

Now that the dust has settled on a much-hyped EU Parliamentary election, Otto and Joe discuss the results and their implications both here in Latvia and throughout Europe. Did the far-right/Euroskeptic "wave" that was predicted truly materialize? Does the shooting star populist KPV LV party have a robust future after coming in 10th place? How will the results effect Brexit? All of this and much more is discussed, so grab a good cup of coffee or tea and join us for a thorough discussion of what exactly did and didn't happen in the 2019 EU election.

Note: For the normally scheduled weekly update episode where they discuss the news from the previous week, check back later today.

Opening and closing music: "Ode to Joy" composed by Ludwig von Beethoven and arranged by Herbert von Karajan

This recording, courtesy of nationalanthems.info, is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License.

Joe sits down with Uldis Dumiņš, director of the Zemgale NGO Center, to discuss the challenges of the NGO sector in Latvia as well as the role NGOs have had in anti-corruption activity and civic reform. Other topics include the potential effects of the EU Parliament election on the NGO sector both domestically and throughout Europe, the trouble with free municipal-funded newspapers, and hot air ballooning in Latvia.

Intro and outro music: Chill Day by LAKEY INSPIRED is licensed under a Creative Commons License https://soundcloud.com/lakeyinspired/chill-day

With the presidential election just days away, Otto and Joe take a look back at the people who have been president and the people who might be next, with a special focus on coalition candidate Egils Levits and what could be expected from his potential presidency. Other major topics include the latest corruption drama in Rīga, a dramatic threat by the minister of transportation to liquidate the country's passenger rail company, Latvia's run at the IIHF World Championship, and more!

Opening and closing theme song:

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

Artist: audionautix.com/

Sports theme song:

"Makai Symphony - Dragon Castle" is under a Creative Commons license (CC BY-SA 3.0).

Music promoted by BreakingCopyright: youtu.be/9gBTKiVqprE

Now that Joe is back to health, he joins Otto to belatedly celebrate Europe Day with a continent-sized episode discussing major domestic and international developments from the previous week and a half including threats of dismissals by Minister of Justice Jānis Bordans, the latest drama with Rīga City Council, surprising new EU election polls from the UK, a bittersweet run at the International Ice Hockey Federation Championships, and much more!

Opening and closing theme song:

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

Artist: audionautix.com/

Music promoted by Audio Library youtu.be/mbV9t1Z0rA8

Image courtesy of European Parliament via flickr: https://www.flickr.com/photos/european_parliament/13064833244

Last month, Joe brought his middle school students to the FIRST LEGO League robotics competition in Valmiera and took the opportunity to interview founders Edgars Skruodis and Anna Skroude about their experience starting and running the program as well as student and teacher participants about their experiences during the weekend.

This episode is part of a new series exploring some of the interesting work that people throughout Latvia are doing that might escape the attention of news camera but is having an impact nonetheless.

Full disclosure: Joe Horgan is a board member of FLL Latvija.

Intro and outro music: Chill Day by LAKEY INSPIRED is licensed under a Creative Commons License https://soundcloud.com/lakeyinspired/chill-day