From 1989 to 1990, governments around the Socialist bloc were facing financial hardship and various movement organizing for greater labor rights, democratic processes, openning up of the markets, and all manner of other similar policies. Host James Orban examines the response one government from the region took. Hungary under Kadar in 1989 approved for Hungarians to be given global passports, and to be allowed greater access to foreign currency. What did people do? They went shopping in Vienna. Those shopping trips, as apocryphal as they may be on details, were the first real moment of experiencing Western capitalism.

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The European Union has long faced a brain drain from east to west, but in the last decade or so many young people especially in tech have decided to permanently move to the United States seeking a better life. Recently with immigration laws evolving in the US and the current US-China trade tensions, host James Orban looks into how this landscape is changing. Interviewing Marton Barcza, host of Tech Altar of YouTube, the pair discuss current affairs as they relate to Central and Eastern Europe.

Tech Altar on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TechAltar

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Host James Orban discusses how Eastern Europe is broadly viewed in the US as compared to Europe. While Berlin, Vienna and London have broadly started to hire and listen to experts who originate from the region or who have a lot of first hand knowledge, at every level American institutions and individuals seem resistant.

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The Eastern Border by Kristaps Andrejsons:

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Can Europe take advantage of the apparent American exodus? For as long as I've been alive, Americans have said "I'll leave if X candidate wins the election", and rarely does this happen. In 2025, reports are emerging from Spain, France, Poland, and Portugal among other countries that more and more Americans are applying for visas of all different kinds. On today's episode host James Orban digs into this question of whether the Americans arriving will integrate, what might help them do so, and how the current political climate makes these new arrivals different from those who came before. Perhaps we are seeing a distinct shift in immigration patterns, more and more Americans taking the leap to move abroad in search of what they believe is to be a better life.

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For a long time as someone who grew up in a part of the United States where everyone was from somewhere else, I had this thought that living in much of the US South would be akin to going somewhere no one would understand my experiences or references. I grew up around other immigrants and was shaped by that - so when I found that my new home in the southern US was seeing a rise in businesses from Eastern Europe and specifically the Slavic world I figured I would bring this to light.

Whether you are passing through or here for a few months, be sure to check out the following businesses: Pulaski Deli, Euromarket and Cafe, Atmosphere Restaurant.

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In this episode host James Orban explores the transition of Hungary from one-party Communist rule to a democratic capitalist state. Many people across the West assume it was a clean break, but that couldn't be further from the truth.

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