Episode 2: The country that cried itself into independence

What happens when you wake up one day and find yourself living in a different country?

In this week's episode, we move from the fall of communism in 1989 to the emergence of an independent Slovak state in 1993.

For most of this episode, we speak to people living in Bratislava, the dynamic and at times architecturally puzzling Slovak capital, before returning to Banská Bystrica in central Slovakia for our final conversation. We also make a brief stop in Košice in eastern Slovakia (photo gallery coming next week when we head back there).

The thread running through this episode is: what prevents some people in Slovakia from identifying with their own state?

Episode breakdown:

• Intro segment: The country that cried itself into independence, with democracy activist Ľuboš Žárský
• Segment 1: The complex nature of Slovak national feeling and identification with the state, with sociologist Miloslav Bahna
• Segment 2: The deep rift within the Slovak elite, then and now, with sociologist Dominik Želinský
• Interlude segment: The limits of solidarity, with professor of social work Katarína Šiňanská
• Segment 3: The country that was founded on a façade, with civil society activist and veteran Peter Medveď

Episode soundtrack: TRESTY by Samotay, one of my favorite Slovak indie artists

As always, you can reach me with questions, comments or just to say "ahoj" by emailing jeff@centraleuropematters.eu.

This episode was produced by Dávid Pál, and hosted and executive produced by me, Jeff Lugowe.

All photos taken by Lucia Hasbach/Ekopolis and me, Jeff.