Prague Talk

Jan 22 2025 120 ep. 18 mins 38

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The best of Radio Prague International’s interviews

Society & Culture

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Jewish Museum head Pavla Niklová: When Oct. 7 happened we realised we live in an open society

Jan 22 2025 18 mins

Pavla Niklová has been the director of the Jewish Museum in Prague, one of the oldest institutions of its kind in the world, for around a year and a half. When we spoke at her office on the edge of the city’s Jewish Quarter, the conversation took in everything from Niklová’s own background to whether the museum has been much impacted by the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Miroslav Wanek on how Už jsme doma reached US audiences like no other Czech band

Jan 14 2025 28 mins

Miroslav Wanek is the leader of Už jsme doma, a Czech alternative band who this year are celebrating 40 years of existence. Už jsme doma have performed in over three dozen countries, most notably in the US, where they have notched up a remarkable 800-plus shows. Wanek, today 62, also has other strings to his bow. He could have entered politics after playing an active role in the

Pavel Fuksa: Very centre of Prague is visually appalling, a Wild West

Jan 07 2025 18 mins

If you’ve been to Prague in recent years, chances are high that you’ve encountered the work of Pavel Fuksa. The graphic designer is behind a series of official posters welcoming visitors to the city – and encouraging them to be on good behaviour. Fuksa, who is 42, has in the past worked for several of the world’s largest brands, including Nike, Facebook and Lego. What’s m

Diving into Waves: Jiří Mádl on massive hit "1968" film

Dec 31 2024 23 mins

Waves by Jiří Mádl wasn’t only the most successful Czech film at the box office in 2024: the movie, which centres on events at Czechoslovak Radio at the time of the Soviet invasion, is also one of the biggest cinema hits the country has seen in the modern era. Now Waves is also aiming for international glory, having made the shortlist of 15 pictures in contention for the Best

Biochemist Jan Konvalinka: I hate us being called a “very good East European institute”

Dec 23 2024 24 mins

Regular media appearances made biochemist Jan Konvalinka a well-known figure in Czechia during the Covid crisis, a period he calls the pinnacle of his professional life. A one-time vice rector at Prague’s Charles University, he is today director of the Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry at the Czech Academy of Sciences – and spearheaded its establishment of an outp

Watching the Jackals: Daniela Richterová on revolutionaries and terrorists in pre-‘89 Prague

Dec 17 2024 27 mins

A new book reveals the untold story of Czechoslovakia’s complex relations with terrorists and revolutionaries from the Middle East and elsewhere in the Cold War period. Watching the Jackals by historian Daniela Richterová draws on intelligence files to show how major figures such as Carlos the Jackal, Che Guevara and a mastermind of the 1972 Munich Olympic massacre visited Pragu

Jitka Pánek Jurková: Czechia’s cultural credit is really strong – we just need to be smart about it

Dec 11 2024 19 mins

More than two dozen Czech Centres on four continents represent a shop window for Czech culture around the world. But what more can the country do to boost its international image? And how does the network decide where to open, or close, branches? I discussed those questions, and way more, with the director of the Czech Centres, Jitka Pánek Jurková, who took up the post a year ago

Pavel Klusák on Suchý, Šlitr and the explosion that was Semafor

Dec 02 2024 22 mins

Prague’s Semafor theatre was the most significant arts institution in 1960s Czechoslovakia, ushering in a new era against the backdrop of a slow political thaw in the communist country. Semafor was centred on the song-writing duo of Jiří Suchý and Jiří Šlitr and gave starts to a whole generation of enormous and enduring pop stars. Top Czech music writer Pavel Klusák explor

Tom Gross: I delivered Western jeans to Václav Havel pre-1989

Nov 27 2024 21 mins

Tom Gross campaigned for Roma rights and was active in the media in early 1990s Prague. However, the Englishman had had some remarkable experiences in the city even before joining the influx of young westerners to Czechoslovakia’s new democracy. These included covert deliveries to leading dissidents in the communist period – and inadvertently being in close proximity to some of

Osamu Okamura: Most quality architecture is now happening outside Prague

Nov 22 2024 27 mins

Osamu Okamura was born in Tokyo to Japanese-Czech parents but moved to Prague while still an infant. An architect by profession, he is involved in a wide slew of activities, from academic work to popularising the concept of liveable cities among the general public. His family name is well-known in Czechia largely thanks to his brother Tomio Okamura, who heads a leading anti-EU poli