The Tallinn University Podcast

In our annual Pride episode, comedian and TLU alumni Jana Levitina joins our host Terry McDonald to discuss the role humour plays in activism. Jana has co-founded a FLINTA (female, lesbian, intersex, non-binary, trans, agender) comedy club in Estonia, and in this episode enlightens Terry on the importance of political humour, how is feminism related to LGBTQ+ rights, and the ongoing importance of Pride in 2023.

For more info on Baltic Pride:

https://www.balticpride.ee/

Jana is also an editor at Feministeerium:

https://feministeerium.ee/

Thank you for 3 great seasons - see you in season 4!

The reconstruction of Ukraine is going to be one of the biggest international development projects in history. Many partners - governments, NGOs, and in the private sector - will have a role to play. 

As in the war itself, the US government will have a leading role in these efforts. As the development arm of the US government, USAid will likely be at the helm. In this episode of the Tallinn University Podcast, Patrick J. Wilson - Senior Advisor on Ukraine Recovery and Reconstruction for USAid, joins our host Terry McDonald in a unique episode format. 

As Terry is a Lecturer of International Relations in Tallinn University, this conversation takes place in Terry’s Global Development course lecture. Mr. Wilson joined Terry’s class via Zoom from Washington, taking questions from Terry and then from the students of the class. 

In the conversation, they first discuss the lessons learned since the Marshall Plan and through 70 years of success and failure in global development projects. Then, the topic moves to the reconstruction of Ukraine - the hopes, the challenges, who should bear the cost and how they will pay it, and what a potential US administration change might mean for the effort. 

As this was a ‘live’  episode, the usual studio perfection audio quality is not quite there - nonetheless, the opportunity to have one of the architects of Ukraine’s reconstruction in conversation makes the episode a must-listen.

In our annual Green Month episode, our host Terry McDonald speaks with Dr. Bianka Plüschke-Altof,  a Senior researcher in Environmental Sociology at Tallinn University. They discuss Green Cities, whether or not Tallinn deserves this award, and Bianka's book Whose Green City? Contested Urban Green Spaces and Environmental Justice in Northern Europe.

You can purchase the book here, or check it out your local library. https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-031-04636-0

This week Georgians and those sympathetic to them protested outside the Georgian embassy in Tallinn. They did so in solidarity with the massive protests in Tbilisi - Georgia's capital - as the parliament tried to pass a Foreign Agent law that the protesters dubbed the "Russian Law", as Putin passed the same law on his path to authoritarianism. 

In this episode, our host Terry McDonald is joined by TLU Graduate and protest organizer Anano Iashvili, who tells us about the political situation in Georgia,  the ongoing Russian military occupation of Georgian territory, the backlash against the law, and what comes next as the government wavers in face of widespread resistance. We learn about Georgia's fate - living a proud independent identity while often caught between Russia and the West. 

This podcast is presented in conjunction with Estonian World magazine.  

In this special episode, Prime Minister of Estonia Kaja Kallas joins our Host Terry McDonald live at the Tallinn University Symposium of International Relations. In a wide-ranging session, topics from the War in Ukraine, Globalization, Migration, Estonia's Priorities in World Affairs,  and Small State Survival are discussed as the PM takes questions from Terry and the student audience. 

The Symposium was supported by the MIRNet project, which has received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme. Please excuse any audio issues in the episode, as they can be attributed to the challenges of live recording of an unstructured event. For more information about our programs, visit www.tlu.ee 

More than 40 000 deaths, and 100 000 injured - the earthquake that hit Turkey and Syria this month is a humanitarian catastrophe. In its aftermath, there lays not only destruction, but legacies of war, corruption, and crises-within-crises. In this special episode, Tallinn University Podcast team member Jana Levitina speaks with TLU Politics and Governance student Selim Rahim, who is from Turkey, about how poor governance in the region magnifies the effects of natural disaster. 

If you wish to help the victims of the quake: 

https://www.icrc.org/en/donate/syria-emergency 

https://donation.ifrc.org/?campaign=f3cfd66a-0ba7-ed11-a2da-005056010028

https://help.unicef.org/turkiye-earthquakes-2023?country=EE&gclid=CjwKCAiA0cyfBhBREiwAAtStHFjpWgMPTLCYbkqwrK4xNgu-3BzwjRqzANWde5CIHQkWiH2duab8XxoCp24QAvD_BwE 

Christmas traditions in Estonia can be traced back many centuries ago, with the first ever documented Chrimstas tree being put on display in Europe found in Estonia over 600 years ago. However, modern Estonian winter holiday practices are recorded only from the 19th century due to the introduction of Christianity and the Baltic Germans. In this episode, TLU Alumni and Lecturer of Estonian culture and language Ele Arder, walks host Terry McDonald through the history of Christmas holiday traditions practiced in Estonia.

According to the data of the Social Insurance Board, as of December 31, 2021, Estonia had a total of 133,007 disabled people. Disabled people make up nearly 11% of Estonia’s total population. However, struggles with the legacies of the previous system - in which people with disabilities were hidden from society - remain.

In this episode, host Terry McDonald talks to Meelis Joost, Chairman, the Estonian Chamber of Disabled People, about the evolution of the rights of persons with disabilities over the years and the current state of disability accommodation and inclusivity, and to Paul-Markus Orav, a Master's student of Open Society Technologies at Tallinn University, about the disability awareness events that took place in November and their impact on the disability community in Estonia. We also talk about how the quality of life for disabled people in Estonia has improved over the years, how you can help people with disabilities, and how disabled people can get the support they need to feel included and safe.

The COP27 summit is grappling with how we can face the challenge of climate change in a way that is both effective and just. Tallinn University graduate Jyri Jäntti, a Climate Change Specialist for the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) based at the Regional Collaboration Center (RCC) Kampala, is a delegate there. In this episode, he joins our host Terry McDonald to discuss the conference, its aims, shortfalls, and what it all means to the future of Estonia. 

Look for us on www.estonianworld.com 

For information about Tallinn University and our programs, check out www.tlu.ee 

With Iran being rocked by protests, the world has taken notice. From record-breaking online support, to women cutting off their hair, to human chains and solidarity marches, people all over the world have expressed solidarity with this women-led movement for freedom, including activists here in Estonia. In our first episode of the new season, host Terry McDonald talks to Iranian poet and TLU student Maliheh Keshmiri about the origin of these protests, and TLU PhD Candidate in Middle East Studies Sandra Peets about why people in Estonia should care about them. We also discuss how you can help the protestors from wherever you are. 

Season 3 of the Tallinn University Podcast is presented in cooperation with Estonian World Magazine - https://estonianworld.com 

For more information about Tallinn University and its programs, check out www.tlu.ee 

The links for helping the protests mentioned in the episode are:

https://www.change.org/p/g7-leaders-expel-iran-s-diplomats-demand-that-political-prisoners-be-freed 

https://facebook.com/events/s/bloody-november/1355640798576202/