Slovakia Today, English Language Current Affairs Programme from Slovak Radio

In the 5th part of our series dedicated to 95 years of radio and 65 years of TV broadcasting in Slovakia, we enter the era of television and map the way radio coped with this revolutionary change. Moreover, 1960's period is considered the golden era of broadcasting both in radio and television. Join us in finding out what shows were so popular that they made Slovak streets empty.

British Council celebrates these days 75 years in Slovakia. However, for more than half of this time they had to be closed down. We speak about their mission then and now with the British Council in Slovakia director Alastair Basset. In the past few days Slovak media are full of reports of human-bear encounters, including one fatality. Are there more bears in Slovak forests and how dangerous are they? Zoologist Robin Rigg from the Slovak Wildlife Society says there isn't something as too many bears.

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 problems for astronomical researchers, giving rise to a relatively new term that’s used more and more often these days: ‘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 very modern problem, and what he and his colleagues have been doing to mitigate its impact. Repeat: Are you trying to learn Slovak or some other language? Lýdia Machová – a language teacher who speaks nine languages herself – has some tips for you, in particular how to recognise the crucial difference between expecting to be taught a language, and actively learning one.

News and Topical issue. In the first story of today, Elena Seeber will discuss the phenomenon of suburbanisation in the Slovak context with geographer Martin Šveda. On Friday, Slovakia played its 2. match at Euro 2020 against Sweden. Zuzana Botíková will therefore look at the highlights of this match in the second story of today. And finally, we will discuss the tradition of beekeeping in Slovakia.

News and Topical Issue. RERUN: Ján Gordulič and Jakub Ťapák of Silné Reči, the largest stand-up comedy formation in Slovakia, told us how the pandemic lockdowns looked for them. Viliam Gyurke Director of the Studienka Center for children and families, which used to be an orphanage, explains how they have battled throughout lockdown and the pandemic situation.

Saving a meadow in Petržalka, the largest Slovak housing estate, for an alluvial forest. A fascinating life story of a Slovak Roma boy.

European football fans have their eyes glued to their TV screens these days. And so do Slovaks, who are following the results of their national team. On the show today we will speak about Slovakia’s EURO 2020 adventure as well as look a bit to the past, when Czechoslovakia was the best European football team. Later on the show we will speak about the Rusyns, who celebrated their day on June 12.

Just last week certain parts of the world witnessed a very specific type of astronomical event, called an ‘annular’ solar eclipse. This happens when the moon passes directly over the centre of the sun but does not cover it completely, leaving a so-called ‘ring of fire’ visible around the edge. Patrik Čechvala, a PhD astronomy student at Bratislava’s Comenius University whose research is focused on high-energy cosmic and gamma rays, explains why it is that an eclipse of this type sometimes occurs instead of a total solar eclipse; tells us about a few other astronomical events we can look forward to in the future; and offers tips on good websites and apps that can help us understand and visualise what’s happening in the sky. Repeat: Brano Sitar is a nuclear scientist who has worked closely for the past 25 years with the international organisation CERN, where cutting-edge research on sub-atomic particles is giving scientists new insights into the very first moment of the existence of the Universe, less than a microsecond after the Big Bang.

General anotation.

News and Topical Issue. RERUN: In the first part of today’s show, we will visit one of the hidden treasures of nature that can be found only a few minutes by bus or train from Bratislava - Pannonian grove. And then, in the second part of the show, we will take a close look at the Slovak education system and discuss the challenges it faces when it comes to implementing the principles of inclusive education.