Slovakia Today, English Language Current Affairs Programme from Slovak Radio

Talking about investigative journalism, we pay tribute to the late investigative journalist Jan Kuciak. Experts in cultural heritage preservation appeal on politicians not to approve the new Act on construction with a massive protest.

The Wednesday show is filled with winter sports - Olympic glory as well as sports that are very down to Earth, or better said, down to cold water. Slovak sport fans keep their eyes glued to the Olympic events underway in China, despite their biggest medal favorite, Petra Vlhová has already left Beijing. There is still enough winter action and stories to enjoy. Such as the story of the rising star of Slovak ice-hockey, 17-year old Juraj Slafkovský. Later in the show we will also visit the Slovak Olympic and Sports Museum and experience some of the historic Winter Olympics. And perhaps also take a dip in the ice cold water with swimmers, for whom winter is the best season to put on their swimsuit and tackle the nearby pond, or even the English Channel.

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. Repeat: 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.

News and Topical Issue. In the first story, we are going to discuss a documentary made by Ladislav Kaboš dedicated to architect Hans Broos. Hans Broos was a Carpathian German born in Slovakia who moved to Brasil and became one of the top Brasilian architects. Then you will hear a rerun of an interview with Zuzana Bieliková from the Slovak Film Commission, with whom we discussed sustainability and ecological principles in Slovak films.

Petra Vlhová becomes the first Slovak to wins Olympic gold alpine skiing with an admirable comeback from the unfortunate 1st round. RERUN: Bratislava is trying to solve a problem with the critically few flats it has for rent.

On the occasion of the upcoming World Radio Day, RSI speaks with Edita Kudlacova, the head of radio at the European Broadcasting Union, about how to preserve the trust of radio listeners. The live program entitled "Radio Week", on air in February 1926, is considered to be the first broadcast with presenters speaking at microphones, in the history of what is now the Slovak Republic.

On the show we speak to Helene Cincebeaux, collector and presenter of traditional Slovak folk clothing. She fell in love with "kroje" some 50 years ago, since then the dresses became her passion. Currently, her collection of headdresses is on display in the National Czech and Slovak Museum and Library. We will also rerun the 1st round of the new RSI competition dedicated to the Slovak regions. With Elena Seeber we visit Spiš.

The increasingly sedentary lifestyle of many in Western societies has been linked with various diseases that have been on the rise for decades. Jonathan speaks with Jozef Ukropec from the Biomedical Research Centre at the Slovak Academy of Sciences, who was also a finalist for the 2021 ESET Science Award, about these disturbing health trends and how the lack of physical movement in our lifestyle is contributing to them. Repeat: For the past 10 years or so we’ve been hearing a lot about the problem of ‘antibiotic resistance’ and the lack of new antibiotics in the development pipeline, a situation that could potentially leave us more vulnerable to infectious disease than we’ve been for decades. But there are people working on the problem, including Jonathan’s guest Pavol Jakubec of the Slovak University of Technology and the small team of scientists he’s part of.

News and Topical Issue. First you will hear an interview with Miroslava Kovářová, who is the artistic director of an international festival of contemporary dance, called Bratislava v pohybe. With Mrs Kovářová I have discussed the Slovak contemporary dance scene and tried to put it into the international context. Have you ever heard the term invasive species? And did you know that these species can represent a serious environmental threat? In the second story of today I will discuss invasive species with botanist Mária Šibíková, who will explain why these species can cause huge environmental problems and how we can fight them.

Following the news bulletin, we will dedicate some time to the feedback we receive from our listeners and as we sometimes do on Fridays, play you an excerpt from our regular mailbox programme. And also give you a little taste of what is coming up on this Sunday. And since today all eyes are turned to Beijing, where the Winter Olympics kick off, we will also talk sports. The alpine skier Petra Vlhová is the biggest medal hope for Slovakia. On the show we will learn more about the history of alpine skiing in the Tatras.