Czechia, along with Poland and Hungary, joined NATO exactly 25 years ago, on March 12, 1999. But how has Czech membership of the alliance actually gone over the last quarter century? And how has Russia’s war on Ukraine impacted that membership? I discussed those questions, and many more, with Michal Smetana, an international security expert and associate professor at Charles University.

Czech Television’s series Volga swept this year’s Czech Lion national film awards at the weekend. The mini-series about a Czechoslovak television chauffer picked up five prizes, including the Best Actor and best Supporting Actor. The Best Film Award went to Brothers, a retelling of the Cold War story of the controversial Mašín brothers.

Former US President Bill Clinton is in Prague for a conference commemorating the 25th anniversary of Czechia’s admission to NATO. On Sunday night he visited Prague's Reduta jazz club, where he celebrated the country’s admission to Western structures together with then president Vaclav Havel and US secretary of state Madeleine Albright a quarter of a century ago.

Friday marks Petr Pavel’s first year as president of Czechia. What have been his biggest successes so far? And did he succeed in uniting the divided Czech society? I discussed these questions with political scientist Vlastimil Havlík from Masaryk University in Brno:

Thursday was a red letter day for Czech soccer fans, with Premier League leaders Liverpool coming to Prague to take on Sparta in the Europa League. Sparta did give the crowd plenty to cheer about – but were still beaten 5:1 as Liverpool made the gulf in class pay.

Relations between Czechia and Slovakia, which were part of one country for over seven decades, have consistently been described as “exceptional”. But mounting differences over foreign policy have now led the Czech government to suspend a planned joint meeting of the two cabinets in what is seen as a clear message that Prague wants to distance itself from Bratislava’s pro-Russian stance.

A forgotten sculpture by the visionary Czech-born architect Jan Kaplický was recently discovered in a factory in Italy. The giant stainless steel water drop, designed 20 years ago for the Triennale di Milano, will go on display in Prague later this year.

Before serving as a stylish backdrop to James Bond's Casino Royale, this famous Czech spa catered to the world's elite. In the course of the 20th century the Imperial Baths served monarchs, politicians and more recently film stars. The spa house has now been restored to its former glory.

The 26th edition of the One World festival of human rights films gets underway in Prague in just under a fortnight’s time. For the first time the showcase is also including fiction films this year – but what has not changed is the breadth of projects from all corners of the globe.

Whooping cough has seen a dramatic increase this year in Czechia – at the last count there have been 1,666 confirmed cases since the start of the year, more than in the last four years combined. Over the last two decades, the only year that saw a greater number of infections was 2014, when there were over 2,500. But experts say that on the current trajectory, it is likely that the total number of cases this year will far surpass that. I spoke to Jana Kamanová from the Institute of Microbiology at the Czech Academy of Sciences to find out what is behind the sudden rise in infections.