Slovakia Today, English Language Current Affairs Programme from Slovak Radio

Sarah Hinlicky Wilson is American with Slovak background living currently in Japan and about to release her memoirs about the yera she spent in Slovakia. Founder of Pohoda, the largest multigenre festival in Slovakia, reveals the plans for summer 2021 and summer 2022.

Even though the topics of the Wednesday edition of Slovakia Today do not seem to be about Slovakia at first glance, the truth is we will look on the Slovak side of these events. In 2008 the Royal Couple paid a visit to Slovakia, we will speak to those who met prince Philip while he was here. In 1961 Soviets sent the first man to space, Jurij Gagarin. What is the state of space exploration 60 years later and what role do Slovaks play in it? All this and much more in the show.

As plastic waste continues to be a problem globally – with tiny micro-plastic particles contaminating even our drinking water, with unknown effects on our health – efforts are being made to address the issue, including here in central Europe. Plastic Free Danube was one such recent effort, an international collaboration between scientific institutions and others in Austria and Slovakia. Their goal was to monitor the Danube (or Dunaj) river between Vienna and Bratislava, hoping to get some sense of how much plastic ends up in the river and where it originates. Jonathan spoke with one of the project’s main participants, Mária Omastová of the Slovak Academy of Science’s Polymer Institute. Repeat: 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. Helping healthcare staff on the frontline of fighting Covid-19 preserve their mental well-being.

News and Topical Issue. Mortgage specialist Bruno Gabel explains how COVID-19 affected the prices of flats, mortgages and consumer behaviour in this segment. Public transportation in the city of Bratislava and the surrounding region to be supported by changes in ticket prices.

News and Topical Issue. In the first part of today’s show, we are going to discuss the relation between transport and biodiversity with Professor Peter Mederly and put it into the context of the BISON project launched by the European Commission. Then we are going to discuss the importance of silence on our well-being and adjustments that can be made to buildings in order to reduce unwanted noise. Later in the show, we are going to visit beautiful Slovak caves and celebrate the International Year of Caves and Krast. And finally, we are going to explore the incredible life of bees.

Following the daily news bulletin we will speak to Jana Šturdíková, a young photographer who documents abandoned chateaus and manor houses. Then we will visit the ruin of Likava castle within 3rd round of the RSI competition cycle: "Once there was a castle...". Listen to the feature and enter the competition to win some interesting prizes. On the show we will also meet an enthusiastic PE teacher, who figured out a good way to get the kids moving.

News and Topical issue. A bit of travelling through Slovakia with the help of our archive.

Special Easter Monday edition - How is the celebration of Easter different in the Slovak countryside as compared with in a city like Bratislava? Jonathan speaks with Ján Tkáč, who grew up in the remote region of eastern Slovakia and now lives in Bratislava, about just this question. Why is Easter still such a significant holiday for Christians after 2000 years? Bratislava pastor, author and poet Daniel Pastirčák tells us what he thinks is the most fundamental meaning of this most important of Christian holidays.

Easter special: Good Friday. In today’s special edition of Slovakia Today, we are going to discuss Easter traditions and symbols with ethnologist Marta Botíková. Then, we are going to discuss the celebration of International Bird Day observed on 1 April with Ján Gúgh of the Slovak Ornithological Society/BirdLife Slovakia. And finally, Patrícia Brandysová of Greenpeace Slovakia is going to give us some tips and tricks for colourful as well as ecological Easter celebrations.