Justinian Talks

In this episode of Justinian Talk, Nikola, Dimitar and Katerina talk with Kevin Morris, a former Fulbright scholar in Macedonia and a current Marshall in the UK. 

They talk about Georgia going Democratic in the 2020 presidential campaign, and about the Balkans - its complicated relation with history, the recent Bulgarian veto against EU accession negotiations and nationalism in the Balkans. Kevin is fascinated by the Balkans and as a historian talks about how we should teach history in more critical way.

We're back with another episode of the Justinian Talks podcast where we have our very good friend and comrade Phil Pingeton joining us again to discuss the 2020 US Presidential election. We talked a lot and went over our thoughts, projections and frustrations on how this election played out. Oh... and we had to record the beginning twice because we got some breaking news right before we finished with the recording of the episode. 

In the new episode of Justinian Talks, Gjorgi and Nikola sit down with Marc Cordero, a recent graduate from Arizona State University and a friend of the pod. They talk with him about the his travels in the Balkans last summer, the 2020 election (12:50), as well as the some US history and foreign policy (26:18), current state of the US (29:53), and the connectedness of politics and religion (46:30). We finished the episode with some music and podcast recommendations from Marc (63:12). 

In the sixth episode of Justinian Talks, Gjorgi, Dimitar and Katerina sit down with Phil Pingeton, friend of the pod and a leftie who lives in Thailand.  They talk with him about the latest news with the Democratic party (04:18), Tramp and his campaign (29:21), as well as the down-ballot races and try to answer the question on what could lefties do in November (42:52). 

In the fifth episode of Justinian Talks, Gjorgi and Dimitar sit down with Aziz Sulejmani, a political science student and political activist to discuss the snap elections that just happened in Macedonia. They talk with him about the political events that led to the snap elections (02:42), the reason why we needed them in the first place, the political culture in the country (16:51), as well as the election results (38:33), and what would they mean for the future of Macedonia (01:07:49).

In this episode of Justinian Talks, Gjorgi, Nikola and Dimitar sit down with Kyle Butcher - a returned Peace Corps volunteer in Macedonia and current MLB (Major League Baseball). employee. They talk about Kyle's experience in Macedonia as a Peace Corps volunteer, GLOW/YMLP camps and clubs, sports, and at the end Kyle gives us a crash course in baseball.

In the third episode of Justinian Talks, Gjorgi, Nikola and Dimitar sit down with Rron Gjinovci, a political activist from Kosovo. They talk with him about the current political situation in Kosovo, the rise of Albin Kurti and United States's influence on Kosovo politics, Rron's public confrontation with Edi Rama, as well as the state of the education in Kosovo, and the importance of cooperation between the youth in the Balkans.

In the second episode of Justinian Talks, Gjorgi and Nikola sit down with Steven Richards - a returned Peace Corps volunteer in Macedonia and Namibia, and Vera Soleska - a student at Berlin International University of Applied Science. They talk about Steven's experience in Macedonia and Namibia, the work they have all done together with YMCA and GLOW & YMLP clubs and camps, Vera's experience as international student in Berlin, as well as hopes and goals for after COVID-19 times.

*Everything said in this episode about Peace Corps and GLOW & YMLP are our own views and opinions and don't reflect any official Peace Corps or GLOW & YMLP positions.

In the first episode of Justinian Talks, Gjorgi and Nikola sit down with Phil Pingeton - a returned Peace Corps volunteer in Macedonia, historian and a teacher who currently works in Thailand. They talk about Phil's experience in Macedonia, his teaching position in Surat Thani, Thailand, as well as the state of the world today and US politics.