Radio Prague International - latest articles

Czech Next Wave, a regular podcast produced jointly by the Czech Centres network and Radio Prague International, introduces listeners around the world to emerging, exciting and highly talented young Czechs in various areas of the arts and beyond. The first episode will be released in the second half of next week.

Jaroslav Seifert was one of the greatest Czech poets of the 20th century and is the only Czech Nobel Prize winner for literature. He started his career as a proletarian poet in the early 1920s, moving on to become one of the leading figures of Czechoslovakia’s avant-garde movement. Seifert is admired for the clarity of his verses but also for his deeply felt love for his country. To this day, he remains one of the country’s most beloved poets.

Archaeologists from South Bohemia have just announced a unique discovery of some 800 silver coins dating back to the second half of 13th century. The coins, which are exceptionally well-preserved, were minted during the reign of King Přemysl Otakar II. It is one of the largest discoveries of its kind in the Czech Republic.

A company linked to the Chinese army has been harvesting online data relating to several hundred high-profile Czechs, according to a report on the news site Aktuálně.cz on Wednesday. The targets include politicians and their family members, academics, diplomats and business people.

The wildcat was thought to have disappeared from the Czech lands following centuries of hunting and deforestation. However, it has been spotted again in recent years on the Czech-Slovak border. Now environmentalists from the Czech branch of Friends of the Earth and a number scientists have launched a two-year project to monitor the animal in the area. I spoke to the main project coordinator, Mirek Kutal from Friends of the Earth, and began by asking him what the venture aims to find out.

A new water reservoir created by filling a former brown coal mine has officially opened in North Bohemia, near the town of Most. With a surface of over 300 hectares, Lake Most is the Czech Republic’s largest pit lake to date. The project, which cost some CZK 2.5 billion, took nearly 12 years to complete.

The Czech Republic has been facing a significant surge in the number of new coronavirus cases, with some experts saying that it is the beginning of a second wave. However, the government insists the situation is under control, stating on Monday that the amount of dedicated hospital wards is still underfilled and a flexible system is in place to extend capacity if needed.

In a major change to the Czech Republic’s income tax system, what’s known as the super gross wage is being abolished, with most employees set to pay a 15 percent rate from next year. However, the change will cause a sharp fall in state revenues and, suggests a new study, will be of virtually no benefit to the lowest paid.

The most comprehensive ever UK exhibition of works by the top Czech sculptor Krištof Kintera kicks off at the Ikon Gallery in Birmingham this week. Kintera (46) is known for thought-provoking, witty sculptures that reimagine everyday elements of the world around us and frequently have a kinetic energy. Ahead of the Ikon show – which The Guardian has ranked among the top art events in Britain this autumn – I spoke to Kintera at his crammed, bustling and colourful studio in a former factory near the Vltava in the Prague district of Modřany.

YouTuber Bald and Bankrupt has seen a meteoric rise on the popular video site since he began posting videos of his travels through countries of the former USSR. Recently, he moved to Prague and visited our studio where we discussed his fascination with all things Soviet, his COVID-19 experience, the situation in Belarus and why he thinks Prague is a great place to live. I began by asking him why he chose to be known as Bald and Bankrupt.