Minutes from Latvia

To celebrate the occasion we are joined by Ivars Ijabs: academic. commentator, philosopher and French horn player.

There's no better person to give us an overview of the political scene in Latvia, developments in political discourse and even provide a few pointers as to where we are all heading, with the idea of 'open' and 'closed' societies possibly taking over from established notions of 'left' and 'right'.

Jau plkst.18.00 notiks LU asoc. prof. Ivara Ījaba @ijabs grāmatas „Politikas teorija: pirmie soļi” atvēršanas svētki.https://t.co/GH4o1hd6oN pic.twitter.com/5RSdMwPuoI

There's also some information about Ivars' new book, Political Theory: First Steps which provides an excellent introduction to the basic principles of the political world and should probably be required reading for any self-respecting Saeima deputy. 

Ivars explains it all far better that we can in this summary -- so we hope you enjoy the podcast.  

Andris gives us details of his background in, and thoughts on, the advertising industry (good and bad), and how Latvian advertising differs in subtle ways from what you might encounter elsewhere.

Then there is a brief diversion into the strangely compelling world of Dormeo mattresses (other mattresses are available) before we get back on track.

The second half of the podcast moves onto the unique stories Latvia can tell and in particular an innovative project called The Red Jackets, which champions Latvian exporters.

Šodien 16.00 atklāsim @JacketsRedThe otrās grāmatas "Treasures of Latvia" portretu izstādi @galerijacentrs 1. stāvā. Tiekamies! pic.twitter.com/orGfci2MQy

We hope you enjoy the show.

As well as considering a few items of topical interest, from fake news to the trouble satire faces dealing with Trump and tax rates for small businesses, Edgars tells us about his past and future musical projects - with a nice sense of humor into the bargain.

If you'd like to explore the work we discuss from last year based on four Latvian churches, you can view it (and more importantly, listen to it) below.

And for a fine selection of classical, jazz and world music 24 hours a day, you can listen to Latvian Radio 3 online HERE.

Our guest is Lolita Tomsone who combines her main job running the Žanis Lipke Memorial museum in Riga with a wide range of other interests and activities.

We consider how recent holocaust memorial ceremonies were conducted; including a moving speech by President Raimonds Vejonis; and as well as reflecting upon some of the brutalities of the past, find evidence that Latvia is also rediscovering its own very particular Jewish heritage.

We hope you enjoy the podcast. 

Andis is a professional Russia-watcher at the Centre for East European Policy Studies (CEEPS or APPC in Latvian) which is based in Riga.

Topics discussed range from NATO cohesion and Russian infowar to the lessons to be learned from Ukraine and how Latvia can play a role in proving that being Russian and being a supporter of Vladimir Putin do not need to go hand in hand.

To find out more about Andis' work with CEEPS (we recommend the report on resistance to propaganda in particular), you can visit its website. 

We hope you enjoy the conversation.

We discuss what Latvia can and can't offer as a conference destination, what makes a good venue, the changing nature of public presentations and why "start-up" culture is the hot trend among both entrepreneurs and officials - while retaining a bit of healthy skepticism about its occasional excesses.

As always, nice talking with @mikskoljers about organising summits & festivals in Riga @lsmlv @liveriga_lv @DigiFF #dffestival #ThankYou pic.twitter.com/iRhztipHjm

For more information about some of Dagnija's numerous projects, visit the websites of the Digital Freedom Festival, and Reputation Time.

We hope you find the podcast interesting.

The first section of the podcast has Aiva recollecting her career as press officer to a President and a Prime Minister, along with a discussion of whether new Estonian president Kersti Kaljulaid's idea for a 'Nordic Benelux' of the Baltic states has any merits.

.@ARozenberga par kampaņu #GribuTeviAtpakaļ: Ir jājautā, ko es varu izdarīt pats https://t.co/Lp4QWxdnEO #intervija pic.twitter.com/Na3BikDG6c

The second half of the podcast concentrates on the evolving work of the Latvian Institute and their recent adventures on social media including the hashtag #GribuTeviAtpakaļ, which went decidedly viral.

Japaneese newspaper on Latvian Institute's social initiative #IWantYouBack #GribuTeviAtpakaļ (in Japaneese): https://t.co/ytiN20F8XP

Oh, and we also cover a favorite topic of Mike's - freeloading foreign journalists!

We hope you enjoy podcast 4 and welcome your comments below.

In the company of Gustavs Strenga from the Latvian National Library, we first discuss Latvian films and legendary director Janis Streičs, as well as considering how the arts are funded in a small nation of 2 million people.

The second half of the show sees Gustavs talk us through the permanent exhibition at the Latvian National Library, Book In Latvia, which tells the tale of the printed word over the centuries and is highly recommended (it is in both English and Latvian).

And if the show makes you want to watch a classic Latvian film... well, the wonderful Limuzīns Jāņu nakts krāsā (1981) is below (unfortunately without subtitles).

The podcast gets underway with  reflections on the US Presidential debates seen from a Latvian perspective, then shifts to a consideration of more matters presidential in the form of Latvian President Raimonds Vejonis and his parallel career as a fashion model.

Aizkulišu kadrs kā top @mikskoljers no @LSM_eng jaunais podcast ar @IvetaKazoka piedalīšanos! Jau drīz telefonos! pic.twitter.com/vs9PGrMCLM

The first half of the podcast concludes with a consideration of the effectiveness or otherwise of the current ruling coalition, an attempt to reinvent the Unity political party and the seemingly impregnable position of Riga mayor Nils Usakovs.

After the shortest of interludes we return to explore Latvia's attitude to the European Union, the profiles of local MEPs and a guess at where it might all be heading.

We hope you enjoy it. 

Podcast number 1 covers the Paralympics, a chess-playing finance minister, parliamentary legislative procedure and a lengthy look at positive signs for the future in Latvia's higher education system with academic Daunis Auers and LSM editor Mike Collier.

Along the way we discover that "politicians are people" and that though Latvia has made great strides in improving its higher education offerings, it will be hard pressed to produce a university in the very top rank of educational institutions.

And because it's all in a handy audio format you can listen to it whether you're working out at the gym, taking a bath or telling your cabinet what jobs they should be doing next week.