Crossing North

What constitutes an act of war? Finnish research fellow Minna Ålander considers the edge cases—damaged data cables, suspicious AirBnBs, and prank phone calls—under a new label: 'hybrid warfare.' In this episode we discuss Finland's responses to an ever-evolving security environment and the motivations behind Finland and Sweden's recent decisions to join NATO. *** This episode

How did so many Indigenous Sámi artifacts end up in private collections and museums outside of Sápmi? And why were collectors only interested in certain types of objects? American non-fiction writer, journalist, editor, and translator Barbara Sjoholm discusses the history of ethnographic collections and the future of cultural repatriation in her latest book, From Lapland to Sápm

Lithuanian actresses Marija Žemaitytė and Rugilė Latvėnaitė share songs from their performance “Graži ir ta galinga” (The Pretty and the Powerful One), and together with Professor Emeritus Violeta Kelertas, they discuss the legacy of Žemaitė, Lithuania's most famous female literary figure. *** This episode was written, edited, and produced by Colin Gioia Connors. Specia

What are the dangers of radicalization? Bjørn Westlie is a Norwegian historian and journalist best known for his reporting on Norway’s history of antisemitism, and he has been a driving force for elevating Norway’s Jewish history. Bjørn visited the UW to discuss his 2008 book, Fars krig [My Father’s War], recently translated into English. Bjørn’s book deals with his fath

How to do you write a good story? Award-winning Swedish novelist & playwright Jonas Hassen Khemiri discusses his craft and his latest novel, The Family Clause. *** This episode was written, edited, and produced by Colin Gioia Connors. Special thanks to Karin Filipsson. *** Transcript available at https://scandinavian.washington.edu/crossing-north-25-family-clause *** Theme music us

In 2018, a radar image of a buried Viking ship in Norway went viral online. Dr. Joakim Karlsen put together a team of archaeologists and 3D modelers to create a digital exhibit and to share the discovery with the world at gjellestadstory.no *** This episode was written, edited, and produced by Colin Gioia Connors. *** Transcript available at https://scandinavian.washington.edu/cro

Anthropologist Margaret Willson discusses the dramatic life of Icelandic Sea Captain Þuríður Einarsdóttir, who saved lives, solved crimes, and was largely overlooked by 20th century historians. *** This episode was written, edited, and produced by Colin Gioia Connors. Special thanks to Thea Lund for reading the excerpt from Woman, Captain, Rebel in the opening. Sound design by

On August 23, 2019, over 210,000 Hongkongers joined hands in a 60 kilometer human chain to protest police violence and to demand democratic reforms. This human chain, called the Hong Kong Way, took place on the 30th anniversary of another human chain protest—the Baltic Way of 1989—in which approximately two million Estonians, Latvians, and Lithuanians formed a 690 kilometer hum

Are Swedes humans? What is the Swedish theory of love? Historians Henrik Berggren and Lars Trägårdh are perhaps best known as the co-authors of the 2006 Swedish bestseller Är svensken människa?, which describes the Swedish model of statist individualism wherein the state supports individual autonomy. The book has been widely read, discussed, and debated, and it continues to enl

While Robert Eggers’ 2022 film, The Northman, was still in theaters, Lauren Poyer, Assistant Teaching Professor in Scandinavian Studies here at the University of Washington, was a guest on the podcast American Prestige to talk about the film’s interest in portraying a “historically accurate” Viking Age, as well as its medieval inspirations, and the popularity of Vikings in