Slovakia Today, English Language Current Affairs Programme from Slovak Radio

In the first story, we are going to discuss All Saints' Day, All Souls' Day and Halloween. What do these three days dedicated to commemorating the departed have in common? What is the difference between them? You will find out in the interview with ethnologist Katarína Popelková. Then we will look at the first natural cemetery in Slovakia with its founder Andrea Uherková and finally we will discuss COP26 summit that started on 31 October in Glasgow.

In this part of our series tracing the work of this significant rose breeder, we ask experts in Europa Rosarium, Sangerhausen, Germany, Rosenkultivarium in Baden, Austria, and Technical University in Zvolen, how to identify the origin of the rose.

On the Wednesday show we will be opening the time capsule from Michael's Gate in Bratislava. What was hidden in a mid-19th century capsule? Then we will discuss some Czechoslovak history connected to the spa town of Rajecké Teplice. Jiří Surmaj, a manager of the local hotel shows Zuzana Botiková copies of the Czech Crown Jewels. These copies refer to a little-known story from 1938, when in the vault of the Czechoslovak Bank in Rajecké Teplice the jewels were hidden from the Nazi oppressors.

Some experts, such as Belgian vaccinologist Geert vanden Bossche, believe the current global vaccination campaign may be making matters worse by driving the creation of new variants which will escape our vaccine-induced immunity. Others believe mass vaccination is having the opposite effect, reducing the number of such variants by reducing the number of active infections. Jonathan speaks with Richard Kollar, founder of the advisory initiative Science Helping with Covid-19, to get his take on the controversy. Although Michal Valko is a machine learning expert working at Google's Deep Mind laboratory and promotes the benefits of AI, he is not unaware of the potential dangers inherent in these new technologies - dangers that could conceivably pose serious threats to the future well-being of human society. He speaks as an insider about how some scientists within the industry are dealing with the ethical concerns that inevitably arise with the success of Artificial Intelligence technologies.

News and Topical Issue. In the first part of today’s show we are going to discuss Slovak contemporary dance scene with Miroslava Kovarova, who is an artistic director of the biggest and oldest contemporary dance festival in Slovakia Bratislava v pohybe (Bratislava in Movement). And then we will look at the topic of invasive species. What ecological dangers can they cause and how to fight them? Listen to the story to find out.

Tons of potential waste has found its second owner thanks to the Bratislava City Bazaar. However, the organizers are aiming higher. The Záhorie region aims to takes step to improve its tourism.

Originals of quality book illustrations for kids are on display in Bratislava as of Oct 15. With the managers of the international festival as well as its this year's ambassador, we talk about the importance of quality works of art for children development as well as about the increasing quality of comic books. The Slovak Philharmonic Orchestra opens its 2021/22 season October 22. Its programming director pays homage to late diva Edita Gruberova.

Exiled Bangladeshi writer Ahmedur Rashid Chowdhury recently visited the Slovak capital, where he called on Slovakia to help exiled writers and artists work through their trauma. Bratislava reminds him of Bangladesh in a way, as he thinks people are more open here.

Why would a world-renowned physicist and Nobel laureate choose to give his time to helping with a relatively unknown science award in a small country like Slovakia? Jonathan asks Professor Kip Thorne, in Bratislava last week to chair the 2021 Eset Science Award, just this question. Are science competitions for secondary school students more than just an amusing pastime for science & math geeks? We speak with Slovak scientists who credit these competitions with helping to shape their scientific ability and their careers.