Slovakia Today, English Language Current Affairs Programme from Slovak Radio

RERUN: Listeners Tribune

Remembering the impact of the invasion of Warsaw pact troops on radio broadcasting in 1968. Polish musicians singing Lemko/Rusyn/Boyko songs as an invitation to World music festival in Slovak capital that is going to be held as of August 18.

300 years since the first steam engine Slovakia: In 18th century the silver mines of the Habsburg Monarchy, located mainly on the Slovak territory, were constrained by flooding. The waterwheels and horse gins had reached their technical limits. In 1722 a new steam engine replaced waterwheels in the battle against pit water. This engine was constructed by a British engineer, Isaac Potter, in Nová Baňa. Potter improved the control of the engine imported from England and from 1730 he successfully built further installations in the Slovakian mines. At the occasion of this anniversary we visit a special instalation in the mining museum of Banská Štiavnica. On the show we will also look on the funeral of cardinal Jozef Tomko in St. Elisabeth's Cathedral in Košice. Cardinal emeritus Jozef Tomko, who was the oldest member of the College of Cardinals and the only Slovak cardinal, died in Rome on August 8 at the age of 98.

REPEAT: With the problem of antibiotic resistance becoming more acute with time, and no new antibiotics in the pipeline, researchers are working hard on new ideas that could lead to future developments. Jonathan speaks with Imrich Barak of Bratislava’s Institute of Molecular Biology at SAV, who was also a finalist for the 2021 ESET Science Award, about research he and his colleagues are doing at the molecular level that could eventually have an impact on the fight against bacterial infection. – Does the Big Bang scientific theory have any implications for philosophical or religious beliefs about the origin of the universe? Jonathan puts this question to Brano Sitar, a Slovak nuclear physicist who has spent the past 25 years deeply involved in experimental research at CERN, one of the world's top scientfic institutions.

The Digitálny reštart platform has started to deploy charging stations for electric vehicles in towns and villages. Environmentalists in the Prievidza region managed to protect wetlands created as a result of mining. As of September, Slovak schools will be given health workers and also more teaching assistants.

The anthology of poetry from Visegrad 4 countries presents texts by Slovak young authors translated to Czech, Hungarian, Polish and English. Listen to two young poets reading their poems both in Slovak and English. In the rerun of our nameday series, you can learn about several significant women named Zuzana.

In 2022, Queen Elizabeth II has been celebrating 70 years on the British throne. Platinum jubilee of the longest serving monarch is observed also in Slovakia. We are currently on the Hviezdoslavovo square in downtown Bratislava, where a collection of photographs of queen’s visit to Slovakia in 2008 is on display. What does future hold for Slovak sports? Martina Šimkovičová spoke to Peter Tarcala, one of the highest ranked sports officials from Slovakia.

REPEAT: In the three short years of its existence the ESET Science Award has already gained a certain amount of international recognition, including the endorsement of one Nobel physics laureate and the direct involvement of another. Jonathan speaks with ESET’s Anton Zajac, the person most involved in establishing the award, about what motivated him and his colleagues to undertake this immense task, and how it all got started. – One of the ironies of scientific progress is the way in which new technologies can sometimes get in the way of each other. This phenomenon is clearly seen in the case of modern city lights causing a problem for astronomical researchers, the problem of ‘light pollution’. Jonathan speaks with František Kundracik, a light pollution researcher at the Physics, Maths and Informatics faculty of Bratislava’s Comenius University, about this problem and what he and his colleagues have been doing to help mitigate its impact.

The Studia Academica Slovaca Summer School of Slovak Language and Culture has welcomed 116 foreigners from 24 countries and ten Ukrainian participants. This is the 58th year of the programme and again it offers not only distance learning but also a full-time form of study. It will continue until 12 August. Also in Košice, in the Luník IX housing estate, a summer study programme for primary school children has been launched. Let's take a look at what summer schools in Slovakia look like.