Friday, May 25, 2012

The Blender

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Audio Podcast: The Best Of 'The Blender' 1st Anniversary Show!

Posted At: 13 January 08:16

On this week's edition of The Blender, a look back at the best of the past year, as RFE/RL's only weekly English-language podcast celebrates its first anniversary.

We asked each of our four regular hosts -- Grant Podelco, Daisy Sindelar, Bruce Jacobs, and Pavel Butorin -- to choose some of the best moments from the previous 52 episodes -- the top news, features, interviews, and music since the first Blender was uploaded to iTunes on January 14, 2011. Ahh, they were so young then.

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​​We gathered them all in Studio P-10, asked faithful Blender editor Tanya Kancheva to assume her usual place in the control booth, opened a bottle of Champagne (OK, it was actually Czech sekt, The Blender entertainment budget not being what it used to be) and then we hit the record button.

What resulted is, I think you'll agree, an informative, entertaining, and often funny look back at some of the important -- and not so important -- stories from the past year.

We hope you enjoy it.
The Best of The Blender Anniversary Show (Episode 53)


Listen to or download Episode 53 of The Blender above, or subscribe to The Blender on iTunes. For the complete Blender archives, click here.

Got a question or comment about The Blender? We'd love to hear from you. Click here to send us your feedback or leave a comment below.

Audio Podcast: Uzbekistan’s Wrongs On Rights, And A Tale Of Torture In Afghanistan

Steve Swerdlow of Human Rights Watch discusses Uzbekistan at RFE/RL's headquarters in Prague.

Posted At: 06 January 07:55

On Episode 52 of The Blender, we take an up-close-and-personal look at the situation in Uzbekistan.

Human Rights Watch released a report last month stating that the Central Asian nation has failed to provide its citizens with basic legal rights. The New York-based watchdog was also critical of Western governments, including the United States, for seeking closer ties with the authoritarian regime in Tashkent, despite its many abuses.
 
The Uzbek government expelled HRW’s Uzbekistan researcher Steve Swerdlow from the country last year. Swerdlow sat down for an interview in Prague with RFE/RL correspondent Bruce Pannier, a veteran Central Asia reporter.

They talk about Swerdlow’s personal experiences and observations and the many human rights violations that still occur in Uzbekistan.
 
Sahar Gul in a Kabul hospital on December 31
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Sahar Gul in a Kabul hospital on December 31
​​We also have the story of the brutal torture  a 15-year-old newlywed girl in Afghanistan says she was subjected to.

Sahar Gul says she suffered terrible injuries at the hands of her husband’s family before being rescued by police. The case shocked the country and its president, Hamid Karzai, who vowed to take action against the perpetrators.

We have a report produced by Radio Free Afghanistan correspondents Bashir Ghazali and Hameed Mohmand in Baghlan and Kabul.
 
This week's host is Bruce Jacobs.
Uzbekistan’s Wrongs On Rights & An Afghan Tale Of Torture (Episode 52)


Listen to or download Episode 52 of The Blender above, or subscribe to The Blender on iTunes. For the complete Blender archives, click here.

Got a question or comment about The Blender? We'd love to hear from you. Click here to send us your feedback or leave a comment below.

Audio Podcast: The First Blender Mind Bender News Quiz!

Unwitting Blender News Quiz contestants Kathleen Moore (left), Brian Whitmore, and Andy Heil in The Blender studio

Posted At: 30 December 09:01

So you think you know a lot about world events? Of course you do. You’re reading this website, after all.
 
But are you willing to put yourself to the test? More specifically, our test?
 
In Episode 51 of The Blender, we present our first-ever Blender Mind Bender News Quiz, hosted by Grant Podelco. The questions cover events that took place in 2011 and are mostly related to RFE/RL’s broadcast region.
 
Host Grant Podelco
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Host Grant Podelco
​​Three members of our highly informed staff accepted the challenge. The contestants are:
 
-- Central Newsroom editor Brian Whitmore. He specializes in our European areas of coverage and is the author of The Power Vertical blog and podcast aimed at Russia wonks and Kremlin watchers. He also has an extraordinarily deep knowledge of Apple products and U.S. politics.
 
-- Central Newsroom Deputy Director Kathleen Moore. With her well-honed knowledge of events, current and otherwise, she usually knows the answer to a question before you realize you're even going to ask one. She speaks Russian, Czech, and Scottish and is always available to translate any of those into English upon request.
 
-- English language website editor Andy Heil. He is known for sharp-eyed copy corrections, his environmentally-oriented tweets, and his quick-witted quips. His stance on over-hyphenation was unknown at the time of this writing.

We laughed. We cried. The host said "excellent" about 20 too many times.
 
Who will win the first-ever Blender Mind Bender News Quiz? Listen in and play along.
The Blender News Quiz -- 12/30/11 (Episode 51)

Listen to or download Episode 51 of The Blender above, or subscribe to The Blender on iTunes. For the complete Blender archives, click here.

Got a question or comment about The Blender? We'd love to hear from you. Click here to send us your feedback or leave a comment below.

Audio Podcast: The Blender Year-Ender

German soldiers of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) approach locals during a patrol in the village of Isa Khel in the Chahar Dara district.

Posted At: 23 December 14:39

It's a Blender year-ender with a look at three hot spots in our coverage area as we talk with RFE/RL service directors about the major developments of 2011.
 
In Afghanistan, U.S.-led forces are set to hand over security responsibility in 2014 to Afghan forces. Some of the transition has gone smoothly, but militants continue to cross the border from Pakistan, brutal attacks by the Taliban have continued, and reconciliation efforts appear to have collapsed. Correspondent Ron Synovitz sat down to talk about the year's with Akbar Ayazi, a regional director of broadcasting for RFE/RL responsible for Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iran, and Iraq. 
 
In Belarus, former presidential candidates faced political trials, the economy was thrown into crisis, driving the country closer to Russia, and anti-government protesters came under intense pressure. Belarus service director Alexander Lukashuk covered these issues and more about troubling turns of 2011. 
Akbar Ayazi
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Akbar Ayazi
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And in Azerbaijan, practicing journalism remained a dangerous business this year. Journalists faced prison, threats, and even murder. RFE/RL editor Brian Whitmore spoke with Azerbaijani service director Kenan Aliyev about the poor state of media freedom in the country.
 
This week’s host is Bruce Jacobs.
It's A Blender Year-Ender -- 12/23/11 (Episode 50)

Got a question or comment about The Blender? We'd love to hear from you. Click here to send us your feedback or leave a comment below.
 
Listen to or download Episode 50 of The Blender above, or subscribe to The Blender on iTunes. For the complete Blender archives, click here.

Audio Podcast: If Life Hands You Proverbs, Play Proverb Games!

Playing The Blender Proverb Quiz are (clockwise from left) Salome Asatiani, Margot Buff, Grant Podelco, Pavel Butorin, and host Daisy Sindelar.

Posted At: 16 December 06:34

This week, we at The Blender found ourselves thinking about words. Proverbs, specifically.

In a company with 28 broadcast languages, it's a constant source of amazement to see how maxims and other traditional sayings can vary from language to language, even as the sentiments behind them remain more or less universal. (Look up "When pigs fly Uzbek" on the Internet, and you'll see what we mean.)

So in a very special Episode 49 of The Blender, we explore the world of proverbs.

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Daisy Sindelar
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Daisy Sindelar
​​We begin in Pakistan, where Khudainoor Nasar, the author of "Proverbs and Us," a popular program for RFE's Pashto-language service Radio Mashaal, looks at a proverb that's weaved its way into ordinary conversation and poetry alike: "Karwan ba teregee spee ba ghapegee," or "Dogs bark, but the caravan rolls on."

And since there's only one step from the sublime to the ridiculous, we move directly on to the first-ever Blender Proverb Quiz!

Blender regulars Salome Asatiani, Pavel Butorin, Grant Podelco, as well as a podcast newcomer, RFE multimedia producer Margot Buff, join us in Studio P10 for what turns out to be a very silly -- and by that we mean highly illuminating -- inaugural round.

Play along! Trust us -- your answers couldn't be any worse than ours.

This week's host is Daisy Sindelar.
The First Annual Blender Proverb Quiz! -- 12/16/11 (Episode 49)

Music used in this week's podcast includes "Piggies" by The Beatles, "Boys Don't Cry" by The Cure, and "The Cowboys' Christmas Ball," by The Killers.

Got a question or comment about The Blender? We'd love to hear from you. Click here to send us your feedback or leave a comment below.

Listen to or download Episode 49 of The Blender above, or subscribe to The Blender on iTunes. For the complete Blender archives, click here.

Audio Podcast: Eyewitnesses Recall U.S.S.R.'s Dying Days, Plus St. Petersburg Surf Rock

Ukrainian President Leonid Kravchuk (left), Belarusian leader Stanislau Shushkevich (center), and Russian President Boris Yeltsin after signing the Belavezha Accords, which formally dissolved the Soviet Union, on December 8, 1991.

Posted At: 09 December 09:03

December 8 marked the 20th anniversary of the Belavezha Accords, the document signed in a Belarusian forest in 1991 by the leaders of Russia, Ukraine, and Belarus, which declared an end to the U.S.S.R.

Between March 1990 and the end of 1991, all 15 Soviet republics had declared their independence. The Cold War had ended, for all intents and purposes.

Oleg Gitarkin and Zombierella of Messer Chups
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Oleg Gitarkin and Zombierella of Messer Chups
​​On Episode 48 of The Blender, we look back at those momentous days through the eyewitness accounts of some of our colleagues here at RFE/RL who lived through or reported on those events.

The reminiscences are taken from a special report at rfel.org called The Fall: 20 Years After The Collapse Of The U.S.S.R.

Elsewhere in the podcast, correspondent Kristin Deasy tells us about the Afghan debut of "Sesame Street," the beloved American children's TV show. Big Bird is now King of the Birds, and the only letters used are those shared by Afghanistan's two main languages, Dari and Pashto. But the message of the show hasn't changed a bit.

Grant Podelco
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Grant Podelco
​​And finally, surf rock from St. Petersburg. And Jimi Hendrix, Belarus, and drum 'n' bass. Romanian journalist Lucian Stefanescu hosts a rather surreal edition of our regular "Ear to the Ground" music segment.

​​This week's host is Grant Podelco.

Music used in this week's podcast includes the Soviet "March of the Motherland" and "I Want Change" performed by Viktor Tsoi and the band Kino.
Eyewitnesses Recall U.S.S.R.'s Dying Days -- 12/9/11 (Episode 48)

Got a question or comment about The Blender? We'd love to hear from you. Click here to send us your feedback or leave a comment below.

Listen to or download Episode 48 of The Blender above, or subscribe to The Blender on iTunes. For the complete Blender archives, click here.

Audio Podcast: British-Iranian Blowup, Hijras Of Pakistan, And Conquest Of The Caucasus

Protesters break into the British Embassy in Tehran on November 29.

Posted At: 02 December 12:01

The storming of the British Embassy by students in Tehran was one of the biggest stories of the week. Iran’s parliament speaker, Ali Larijani, said the attack was the result of longstanding animosity and tension between the two countries.

British Foreign Secretary William Hague said it was difficult to believe the Iranian government was not involved. The action followed shortly after Britain cut off banking ties with Iran over its suspect nuclear program.

Golnaz Esfandiari
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Golnaz Esfandiari
​​In Episode 47 of The Blender, we talk to correspondent Golnaz Esfandiari about what’s behind the diplomatic blowup and the longstanding U.K.-Iranian tensions.

We also report on at the challenges facing the "hijras" of Pakistan. They are transgender men who adopt the appearance of women. For decades, the hijras have struggled for equal rights, and sometimes for their very survival. But there has been progress in the last two years, and Pakistan’s Supreme Court has now granted them the right to vote. Correspondent Frud Bezhan has the story.

And we have a fascinating discussion with scholar Susan Layton, the author of the 2005 book "Russian Literature and Empire: Conquest of the Caucasus From Pushkin to Tolstoy." She examines the role of literature in empire-building with correspondent Salome Asatiani of RFE/RL’s Georgian Service.
British-Iranian Blowup And The Hijras Of Pakistan


This week's host is Bruce Jacobs.

Got a question or comment about The Blender? We'd love to hear from you. Click here to send us your feedback or leave a comment below.

Listen to or download Episode 47 of The Blender above, or subscribe to The Blender on iTunes. For the complete Blender archives, click here.

Tags:embassy, Britain, Iran, Pakistan, transgender, caucasus

Audio Podcast: Danchyk, An American Idol -- In Belarus

Bohdan Andrusyshyn, a.k.a. Danchyk, performs in The Blender studios.

Posted At: 25 November 06:00

Imagine traveling to a country you had never visited and being welcomed as a hometown hero.

That's what happened to Bohdan Andrusyshyn, an American born to a Belarusian mother and a Ukrainian father in 1960s New York. After a chance encounter with a Joan Baez record, Andrusyshyn picked up a guitar and launched his own singing career as Danchyk, eventually building a wide repertoire of Belarusian and Ukrainian ballads and folk songs that earned him an enthusiastic following among U.S. diaspora communities.

"Belarusachka," Danchyk's first album, released in 1977
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"Belarusachka," Danchyk's first album, released in 1977
​​Danchyk's music, carried back to Belarus on homemade cassettes, unwittingly earned him a fan base -- including members of the Belarusian Soviet super-group Pesniary, who recognized the young singer during a rare tour of the United States in the late 1970s.

Eventually, they helped Andrusyshyn make his first-ever trip to his ancestral homeland, where he was eagerly welcomed by thousands of Belarusians hungry to hear music in their native language, whose use had dwindled after years of russification. (Contemporary musicians like Lavon Volski have taken up the mantle, continuing to perform in Belarusian despite state disapproval.)
Talking to Danchyk, An American (Folk) Idol -- In Belarus

After four CDs and a successful tour with Leanid Bartkevich, the lead singer of Pesniary, Andrusyshyn settled into a new life as deputy director of RFE/RL's Belarus Service. But this week he dusted off his guitar and joined us in The Blender studios to play some of the American songs that inspired him early on and to talk about his life as a Belarusian folk hero.

Daisy Sindelar
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Daisy Sindelar
​​We hope you enjoy this very musical episode of The Blender, hosted by Daisy Sindelar.

This week's songs include "There But For Fortune," written by Phil Ochs and performed by Bohdan Andrusyshyn; "Donna Donna," performed by Joan Baez; "Belarusachka" and "Kharashukha," performed by Danchyk; "Pesnia ab Radzimie," performed by Danchyk and Leanid Bartkevich; "Kasiu Jas kaniushynu" (Jas Scythes the Clover) by Pesniary; and "Tudy, siudy -- sudy, sudy" (Here, There -- Trials, Trials) by Lavon Volski.
Danchyk Sings "Harashuha"

Danchyk Sings "Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow?"


Got a question or comment about The Blender? We'd love to hear from you. Click here to send us your feedback or leave a comment below.

Listen to or download Episode 46 of The Blender above, or subscribe to The Blender on iTunes. For the complete Blender archive, click here.
Danchyk (Bohdan Andrusyshyn)
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Audio Podcast: U.S. Tries To Be More Civil, Plus Iran's Deep Voice Of Satire

Host Grant Podelco interviews Dr. Tomicah Tillemann (left), Hillary Clinton's senior adviser for civil society and emerging democracies, in The Blender studios.

Posted At: 18 November 09:17

In Episode 45 of The Blender, we talk with Dr. Tomicah Tillemann, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's senior adviser on civil society and emerging democracies.

His title is quite a mouthful, and his duties may not immediately get your blood racing, but as Tillemann points out, many of the most momentous events in recent history have been instigated by civil society -- most recently the Arab Spring uprisings in Egypt and Tunisia, but also the efforts to combat climate change, to reduce the debt burden of the world's poorest countries, and the micro-credit movement.

Not to mention the events of 1989 that led to the collapse of communism and the disintegration of the Soviet Union.

​​The Obama administration is making an unprecedented push to engage with members of civil society around the world, in recognition of the extraordinary role that activists now play.

We talk with Tillemann about these efforts and how they relate to some of RFE/RL's more democratically challenged broadcast countries, such as Iran, Belarus, and Uzbekistan, and about concerns that affiliation with the U.S. State Department could sometimes be seen as less than advantageous.

U.S. Tries To Be More Civil, Plus Iran's Deep Voice Of Satire


Farshid Manafi's activism is of a different sort.

The RFE/RL broadcaster makes a difference in his home country of Iran through satire and humor, using the platform of his popular radio show, "Pasfarda." Five days a week, Farshid is on the air on our Persian-language service, Radio Farda, skewering the politics, politicians, and social mores of Iranian society.

Dan Telegin
​​Manafi just received the Association of International Broadcasting's International Radio Personalty of the Year award for 2011.

Correspondent Kristin Deasy sits down with Manafi to discuss his show, his life, and why Iranians respond so well to satire.

And in our monthly "Ear to the Ground" segment, Lucian Stefanescu profiles Russia's post-punk, lo-fi genius Dan Telegin, whose new EP, "Mua," was influenced by "Glamorama," the 1998 novel by American author Bret Easton Ellis.

This week's host is Grant Podelco.

Got a question or comment about The Blender? We'd love to hear from you. Click here to send us your feedback or leave a comment below.

Listen to or download Episode 45 of The Blender above, or subscribe to The Blender on iTunes. For the complete Blender archive, click here.

Audio Podcast: The Causes Of Militant Islam, Plus Putin And The State Of Marriage In Russia

Correspondent Gregory Feifer (right) interviews the Kremlin-appointed president of Ingushetia, Yunus-Bek Yevkurov

Posted At: 11 November 10:01

Why are radical Islamists more violent in Pakistan than in Indonesia?

On The Blender this week, that’s just one of the questions put to "Wall Street Journal Asia' columnist Sadanand Dhume. He’s the author of the book “My Friend the Fanatic: Travels With a Radical Islamist” and writes and speaks often on the topic of radical Islam.

​​In the North Caucasus region of Ingushetia, young men suspected of being Islamic militants often disappear without a trace. Security forces are accused by human rights organizations of being behind many disappearances.

Correspondent Gregory Feifer traveled to the region and spoke to its Kremlin appointed president, Yunus-Bek Yevkurov.

And we take a closer look at the discovery of an intelligence agency file stating that Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin cheated on his wife and beat her when he worked as an intelligence agent in East Germany in the 1980s.

The Causes Of Militant Islam And The State Of Marriage In Russia (Episode 44)

Correspondent Daisy Sindelar sat down with Irina Lagunina of RFE/RL's Russian Service to talk about the allegations and the reaction -- or the lack thereof -- in Russia, and the state of marriage in the country.

This week’s host is Bruce Jacobs.

Got a question or comment about The Blender? We'd love to hear from you. Click here to send us your feedback or leave a comment below.

Listen to or download Episode 44 of The Blender above, or subscribe to The Blender on iTunes. For the complete Blender archive, click here.

Audio Podcast: Hell On Earth...And Hope In Cyberspace

The son of Gimry village elder Nabi Magomedov was shot 62 times in a killing claimed by Chechen rebel leader Doku Umarov.

Posted At: 04 November 08:50

What if everything you knew about life -- your customs, your values -- were systematically destroyed as your home became one of the most violent places on Earth?

This week on The Blender, we look at Russia's troubled North Caucasus, where rival forces are wreaking havoc on the region's traditional way of life -- and leaving death and misery in their wake.

​​RFE/RL correspondent Gregory Feifer traveled to the republic of Daghestan, where he reports on one mountain village that has paid a heavy price as militancy and counterterrorism efforts continue to increase.

From Daghestan, we go to cyberspace. Earlier this week, government officials and web activists from 60 countries worldwide gathered in London to talk about the Internet, and how to preserve it as the last bastion of free speech and transparency.

Ahead of the conference, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton sat down with Voice of America's Persian-language service to announce efforts to build a "virtual Tehran embassy" that would use the web to make direct connections with Iranian people.

Her remarks -- together with a same-day interview with the BBC's Persian service -- constituted her first-ever interviews to the Persian media. She spoke to Kambiz Hosseini, a host of VOA's popular satirical program "Parazit."

Daisy Sindelar
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And finally to Kyrgyzstan, where voters have just elected the country's moderate prime minster, Almazbek Atambaev, to serve as president for the next six years. Atambaev's election comes at the end of a fractious political season that saw the forced ouster of his predecessor amid a wave of violent protests that culminated with deadly clashes in the south.

The Blender talks to RFE/RL Central Asia correspondent Bruce Pannier about the many challenges facing the region's lone parliamentary democracy -- and whether the 55-year-old Atambaev is the man for the job.

This week's host is Daisy Sindelar.

This week's show features the traditional Avar song "Ata Yurtum" (Father's House) and "Small World" by Livin' Free, on the Kruder & Dorfmeister mix LP "DJ Kicks."

Clinton And Iran's Youth, Death And Despair In Daghestan, Kyrgyz Election Analysis

Got a question or comment about The Blender? We'd love to hear from you. Click here to send us your feedback or leave a comment below.

Listen to or download Episode 43 of The Blender above, or subscribe to The Blender on iTunes. For the complete Blender archive, click here.

Audio Podcast: Bolshoi Welcomes An American; Political Murder In Kyrgyzstan

Natalia Osipova and David Hallberg perform in "The Sleeping Beauty" in New York last year.

Posted At: 28 October 09:15

On November 4, a momentous cultural event is occurring in Moscow. An American ballet dancer will debut as a full-fledged member (premier danseur) of the storied Bolshoi Ballet company.

Twenty-nine-year-old David Hallberg of South Dakota -- "obviously one of the great male dancers in the world," according to "The Washington Post" -- speaks to correspondent Richard Solash about his life, his career, and what dancing at the Bolshoi means to him.

Staying with Russia, RFE/RL producer Pavel Butorin invited Brian Whitmore -- the man behind our popular Power Vertical blog -- into the studios for a lively discussion of the case of Yury Luzhkov. He's the colorful former mayor of Moscow who recently gave a frank interview to RFE/RL that he blames for the fact that he's been called to testify in a fraud case allegedly connected to his wife. You can read the original interview with Luzhkov here.

An American At The Bolshoi And Political Murder In Kyrgyzstan


Voters in the Central Asian nation of Kyrgyzstan go to the polls on October 30 to elect a new president and hopefully usher in a period of much-needed stability. As correspondent Daisy Sindelar reports, however, things haven't gotten off to a promising start, as a grisly murder case and the brutal legacy of former President Kurmanbek Bakiev are casting a shadow over the vote.

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Grant Podelco
And finally to Afghanistan, where correspondent Frud Behzan takes a look at the country's fledgling filmmaking industry. If lack of money and resources weren't challenges enough, outside interference is also playing a role in keeping the world -- and even Afghans themselves -- from seeing some important work.

This week's host is Grant Podelco.

This week's show features music by Adolphe Adam from the ballet "Giselle," in which Hallberg will make his Bolshoi debut, as well as "Dokhtar Amu Jan" from "Traditional Music of Herat."

Got a question or comment about The Blender? We'd love to hear from you. Click here to send us your feedback or leave a comment below.

Listen to or download Episode 42 of The Blender above, or subscribe to The Blender on iTunes. For the complete Blender archive, click here.

Audio Podcast: What Lee Harvey Oswald Really Did In Minsk

Lee Harvey Oswald with Marina Prusakova in Minsk in the summer of 1961

Posted At: 21 October 08:28

November 22, 2011, will be the 48th anniversary of the assassination of U.S. President John F. Kennedy.
 
The passage of time has done little to lessen the intense interest in that historic event and the man accused of the killing, Lee Harvey Oswald.
 
Much has been written about Oswald over the decades, including the time he spent in the Soviet Union from 1959 to 1962. 
Alexander Lukashuk
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We speak with RFE/RL’s Belarus Service chief Alexander Lukashuk, who has written a book, “Trace of the Butterfly,” about Oswald’s time in Minsk.
 
Also, former Yugoslav leader Josip Broz Tito brought unity to his country in the years after World War II. But in the 1990s, it all came unraveled as war and ethnic cleaning swept the land.
 
Tito’s granddaughter, Svetlanta Broz, was born in Belgrade but has made Sarajevo her home. She talks to correspondent Irina Lagunina about her grandfather’s legacy and her work to heal the ethnic divisions that remain.
 
And correspondent Ron Synovitz has the story of the first outdoor rock festival in Afghanistan since 1975. It was part of a month-long series of music workshops, jam sessions, and concerts in Kabul during September and October, with mirror events in New York.
 
This week's host is Bruce Jacobs.
 
What Lee Harvey Oswald Really Did In Minsk

Got a question or comment about The Blender? We'd love to hear from you. Click here to send us your feedback or leave a comment below.

Listen to or download Episode 41 of The Blender above, or subscribe to The Blender on iTunes. For the complete Blender archive, click here.

Podcast: Quick! Who's The President of Ubeki-beki-beki-stan?

"What'd you say your name was again?" The Turkmen and Uzbek presidents, Gurbanguly Berdymukhammedov (left) and Islam Karimov, press the flesh in Tashkent.

Posted At: 14 October 07:37

Pronunciation was on The Blender's mind this week as U.S. presidential hopeful Herman Cain came face to face with a country whose name -- Uzbekistan -- he couldn't say and whose president -- Islam Karimov -- he couldn't remember.

We here at The Blender know all too well the challenges of pronouncing names like Mahmud Ahmadinejad and Gurbanguly Berdymukhammedov, as we make clear with a first-ever Blender blooper reel.

But while Uzbekistan might be hard to say, is it "insignificant," as Cain alleges? Correspondent Charles Dameron looks at Uzbekistan's rising role as a strategic U.S. partner -- and remembers a few other pronunciation mishaps uttered on behalf of U.S. foreign policy.

Daisy Sindelar
​​We also travel to Russia's Volga River city of Rybinsk to visit Aleksandr Zverkov, a once-celebrated television news anchor who now sells trolleybus tickets for a living after a critical report on garbage disposal angered the city's mayor -- and brought Zverkov's journalism career to an abrupt end.

The story is part of a six-part RFE/RL series on the Russian media that you can find on our website.

It's not just local journalists who come under pressure in Russia. Producer Pavel Butorin speaks to "The Guardian" newspaper's former Moscow correspondent Luke Harding, who was harrassed and eventually expelled from Russia for citing WikiLeaks cables referring to the country as a "virtual mafia state." Harding's just published a book about his experiences, the appropriately titled "Mafia State."

​​The Blender also talks to the first female head of state in the Balkans -- Kosovo President Atifete Jahjaga, who visited RFE/RL's Prague headquarters earlier this week. Jahjaga speaks to Gordana Knezevic, the head of our Balkans Service, about efforts to bring her 3-year-old country closer to the West and the continuing standoff with Serbia over the Serb-majority provinces in northern Kosovo.

​​This week's host is Daisy Sindelar.

Kosovo's President Stands Firm On Serbia (Episode 40)

Music used on this week's show includes "Fustani" by Nenad Vadilic and Armend Xhaferi; "Die Moritat von Mackie Messer" by Kurt Gerron; and "Tungi Hayot" by Shoxrux.

Got a question or comment about The Blender? We'd love to hear from you. Click here to send us your feedback or leave a comment below.

Listen to or download Episode 40 of The Blender above, or subscribe to The Blender on iTunes. For the complete Blender archive, click here.

Audio Podcast: Paying Price For Reporting The Truth; Harvesting Hash On Horseback

Azerbaijani journalist Eynulla Fatullayev (left) and his wife, Nigar (center), speak with Daisy Sindelar at RFE/RL's headquarters in Prague.

Posted At: 07 October 12:29

Human rights take center stage on this week's episode of The Blender. More specifically, the issue of press freedom in RFE/RL's broadcast countries and those who pay severe penalties for reporting the truth.

Azerbaijan, ruled by President Ilham Aliyev, is recognized as one of the world's "predators of press freedom." Correspondent Daisy Sindelar speaks with Eynulla Fatullayev, one of Azerbaijan's most respected journalists, who was recently released after serving four horrific years in prison for his reporting.

​​​We also sit down with Jamal Yazliyeva, the director of our Turkmen Service, to discuss the outrageous case of RFE/RL reporter Dovletmyrat Yazkuliyev. Yazkuliyev has been sentenced to five years in jail on charges that Reporters Without Borders RSF) has called "absurd." RSF says Yazkuliyev is being punished for his outspoken investigative reporting and his online blogs.

Elsewhere on the podcast, Merkhat Sharipzhanov talks about the unusual method of harvesting wild marijuana practiced in one remote part of Central Asia. Merkhat wrote about this a month or so ago for rferl.org, and his story attracted international attention. We decided to get in on the action.

Washington correspondent Heather Maher talks to U.S. soldiers from the so-called "9/11 generation," who are finding that it was much easier to join the military than to leave it behind.

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Grant Podelco
​​And in our monthly "Ear to the Ground" segment, Lucian Stefanescu introduces us to the music of MoZuluArt from Zimbabwe and Swiss composer and pianist Nick Baertsch and his band Ronin, both of whom performed recently at the Ethno Jazz Festival in the Moldovan capital, Chisinau.

This week’s host is Grant Podelco.
 
Got a question or comment about The Blender? Click here to send us your feedback or leave a comment below. We'd love to hear from you.
 
Doing Time For Reporting The Truth, Plus Harvesting Marijuana By Horseback (Episode 39)

Listen to or download Episode 39 of The Blender above or subscribe to The Blender on iTunes. For the complete archive of The Blender, click here.

Audio Podcast: Russian Political High Jinks And Pakistan's Sassy Veena Malik

"Aleksei, we need to talk."

Posted At: 30 September 08:27

This week, The Blender covers televised tussles in Russia and Pakistan, and a challenge to the very foundation of modern physics.
 
The big story this week was the on-air angst between Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and his finance minister, Aleksei Kudrin.
 
Miriam Elder
Kudrin said he wouldn’t serve under Medvedev if the president assumes the premiership next May. In a very public confrontation, Medvedev didn’t like that one bit and said so. Kudrin was out of a job by the end of the day.
 
We talk to "The Guardian’s" Moscow correspondent, Miriam Elder, about the unusual public cracks in the Kremlin’s façade and the political fallout from the high-level clash.
 
One of the most popular and commented-upon stories on our website recently was the revelation that a subatomic particle might possibly travel faster than the speed of light. The experiment with neutrinos, if repeated and verified, would challenge Albert Einstein’s century-old theories on relativity.

Correspondent Ron Synovitz gets an explanation of the experiment and its implications from a spokesman for the Swiss lab where it was carried out.
 
Veena Malik
And a Pakistani reality TV star takes on a Muslim cleric in an explosive televised clash. Veena Malik took heat from Mufti Abdul Qavi for her actions on an Indian reality TV show. She gave him a fiery response, standing up for herself and attacking attempts by Muslim clergy in Pakistan to vilify women for exercising their rights.

We have a report produced by Kristin Deasy and Farishte Jalalzai that includes an exclusive interview with Malik.
 
This week’s host is Bruce Jacobs.
 
Russian High Jinks And Pakistan's Sassy Veena Malik (Episode 38)

Got a question or comment about The Blender? Send your feedback to podcast@rferl.org or leave a comment below. We'd love to hear from you.
 
Listen to or download Episode 38 of The Blender above or subscribe to The Blender on iTunes. For the complete archive of The Blender, click here.

Podcast: This One Goes Out To The Dictators

Dude! Syria's Bashar al-Assad (right) and Libya's leader Muammar Qaddafi in happier days

Posted At: 23 September 11:50

This week, The Blender is dedicated to dictators.

Despots, tyrants, strongmen. Is there a unifying characteristic inherent to every autocratic leader? Behind the escapades of Muammar Qaddafi, the malaproposims of Alyaksandr Lukashenka, the parades of Kim Jong Il, are we losing sight of the plight of real people living under oppressive regimes?

​​"The Dictator’s Handbook: Why Bad Behavior Is Almost Always Good Politics," a new book by New York University professors Bruce Bueno de Mesquita and Alastair Smith, offers "a crash course in taking and holding on to power that any dictator, CEO, or president should take to heart." Grant Podelco speaks with Alastair Smith.

Blender host Pavel Butorin speaks with Golnaz Esfandiari, RFE/RL's Washington correspondent covering Iran, about President Mahmud Ahmadinejad's visit to the United States, which was preceded by some positive press courtesy of the U.S. media.

Pavel Butorin
As Ahmedinejad spoke at the UN General Assembly, two U.S. citizens who had been imprisoned in Iran on espionage charges were released. What was the message that Ahmadinejad was trying to get across at the UN and how is his media campaign working out?

Episode 37 of The Blender features the song "Losing My Religion" by R.E.M. The band announced its breakup just a few days ago. A statement on the band's website said: "We walk away with a great sense of gratitude, of finality, and of astonishment at all we have accomplished. To anyone who ever felt touched by our music, our deepest thanks for listening."

We thank R.E.M for our theme song, "Radio Free Europe."

Got a question or comment about "The Blender"? Send your feedback to podcast@rferl.org or leave a comment below. We'd love to hear from you.

Listen to or download Episode 37 of "The Blender" below or subscribe to "The Blender on iTunes. For the complete "Blender" archive, click here.

This One Goes Out To The Dictators (Episode 37)

Podcast: 9/11 Conspiracy Theories, Plus Afghanistan's First Rock Fest Since '75

Ten years later, conspiracy theories about 9/11 show no signs of abating.

Posted At: 16 September 07:08

Afghan insurgents launched an attack earlier this week on the American Embassy and NATO headquarters in Kabul, the sort of terrorist attack that has become depressingly common in that country.
Brian Viglione
But in Episode 36 of "The Blender," RFE/RL correspondent Ron Synovitz looks at the more optimistic side of Afghanistan in an interview with Brian Viglione, drummer for the popular U.S. punk cabaret duo The Dresden Dolls.

Viglione is serving as a "rock ambassador" for Sound Central: The Central Asian Modern Music Festival, Afghanistan's first rock festival since 1975.

A decade after the 9/11 terrorist attacks, conspiracy theories about that tragedy remain popular. We have an interview with Jonathan Kay, a managing editor, columnist, and blogger for Canada’s "National Post" newspaper, and the author of "Among The Truthers: A Journey Through America's Growing Conspiracist Underground."

And RFE/RL correspondent Robert Tait interviews Mustafa Akyol, a Turkish writer and religious thinker, who has published a new book called "Islam Without Extremes: A Muslim Case For Liberty." Akyol seeks to reconcile the traditional tenets of the Islamic faith with liberal democracy.

James Kirchick
This week's host is RFE/RL writer at large James Kirchick.

Got a question or comment about "The Blender"? Send your feedback to podcast@rferl.org or leave a comment below. We'd love to hear from you.

Listen to or download Episode 36 of "The Blender" below or subscribe to "The Blender on iTunes. For the complete "Blender" archive, click here.

9/11 Conspiracies, Plus Afghanistan's Rock Festival (Episode 36)

Audio Podcast: Remembering 9/11, And Other Days Like It

Gordana Knezevic with her daughter Olga in 1987. On May 2, 1992 -- a day she calls "my own 9/11" -- she was forced to put Olga and an older son on a bus out of Sarajevo to escape the war. It was five years before the family was reunited.

Posted At: 09 September 09:38

As the world commemorates the 10th anniversary of 9/11, Episode 35 of The Blender explores memory, pain, and consequence, as we examine the lives around the world affected by 9/11 and other tragedies like it.

We hear from victims' relatives about how, a decade after the attacks, some memories of that day remain precious -- like the phone call a mother received from her son moments before he helped storm the cockpit of doomed United Airlines Flight 93, averting a fourth attack. For others, the anniversary is a day like any other -- another opportunity to grieve, another opportunity to ask if enough has been done since.

Daisy Sindelar
Nowhere have the consequences of the 9/11 attacks been more profound than in Afghanistan. But what do Afghans really know about September 11th? Correspondents Charles Recknagel and Sayaed Jan Sabawoon report on the misperceptions and confusion that continue to color how 9/11 is seen in Afghanistan -- even as anger over the repercussions of the attacks remain pointedly real.

We also listen to the recorded memories of people around the world who recount where they were -- and what they thought -- when they first heard about the 9/11 attacks. You'll hear a range of voices, from a journalist in Iran struggling to craft a front-page headline to a world-traveling American interrogated by terrorism investigators on the eve of the attacks.

You'll find more recollections, photos, and videos at #my911, a special Tumblr page on our website.

Finally, we asked RFE broadcasters Gordana Knezevic, Hashem Ali Mandee, and Aslan Doukaev to look back to their "own" 9/11's -- days that remain locked in their memories as the moment when their lives and their homelands changed irreversibly.

This week's host is Daisy Sindelar.

If you've got a question about The Blender, or to contribute your own 9/11 memories, write to us at podcast@rferl.org or leave a comment below. We'd love to hear from you.

Music used on this week's show includes "On That Day" by Leonard Cohen; "The Rising" by Bruce Springsteen; "Wakhandi" by Humayon Sahebzai; "Pismo prijatelju" by Kemal Monteno; "Intidhar" by Anwar Abu Dragh; and "Motherland" by Makka Mezhidova.

Listen to or download Episode 35 of The Blender below or subscribe to The Blender on iTunes. For the complete Blender archive, click here.

Memory And Consequence (Episode 35)

Audio Podcast: '5 Days Of War' Is Hell, Plus Classic Iranian Psychedelic Rock

Posted At: 02 September 07:14


WATCH: The trailer for "5 Days of War," directed by Renny Harlin

In Episode No. 34 of "The Blender," we sit down with Georgian Service broadcaster Salome Asatiani to talk about director Renny Harlin's latest movie, "5 Days of War." The film, which stars Andy Garcia as Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili, attempts to tell the story of the largely forgotten war (at least in the West) between Russian and Georgia in August 2008 through the eyes of a crusading American journalist, played by Rupert Friend.

Salome Asatiani
The film's not getting very good reviews. It's being seen as a blatant piece of Georgian propaganda. (One reviewer called it a "popcorn movie for people itching to hate Russians again.")

We ask Salome for her take on the movie (to say she didn't like it is to belabor understatment) and listen to a few clips from the film (Andy Garcia's accent is a hoot).

Writer at large Jamie Kirchick visits our studios to discuss his recent reporting trip to Tunisia and Libya. Jamie gives his impressions of the political landscape in the country and where things may be headed.

In our monthly "Ear to the Ground" segment, host Lucian Stefanescu introduces us to the psychedelic sounds of Iranian musician Kourosh Yaghmaei, a pre-Revolution phenomenon in his native Iran who endured a recording ban for 22 out of the last 32 years.

Grant Podelco
And correspondent Daisy Sindelar tells us about 11-year-old Adnan Nevic, singled out by the UN as the world's 6th billionth person when he was born in 1999 in Bosnia. Celebrated then, Adnan has largely been forgotten today.

This week's host is Grant Podelco.

Got a question or comment about "The Blender"? Send your feedback to podcast@rferl.org or leave a comment below. We'd love to hear from you.

Music used on this week's show includes "Georgia on My Mind" by Ray Charles; "Zasto Nie Da Se Ne Druzime" by Rade Serbedzija; and "Assessment" by the Beta Band.

Listen to or download Episode 34 of "The Blender" below or subscribe to "The Blender on iTunes. For the complete "Blender" archive, click here.

"5 Days Of War" Is Hell (Episode 34) -- RFE/RL's The Blender

Podcast: What Now In Libya? Plus, The Taliban's Destructive Legacy In Pakistan's Swat Valley

A boy carries the free Libyan flag in Zawahiya on August 24.

Posted At: 26 August 07:37

The dramatic events in Libya dominated the news this week.

In Episode 33 of "The Blender," we talk about the future of that North African country with correspondents Abdelilah Nuaimi and Nabil Ahmed of RFE/RL's Radio Free Iraq. They give their perspectives on the rebel's political leader, Mustafa Abdel Jalil, and the challenges he faces stabilizing and rebuilding Libya.

Marc Grossman
We have a discussion on extremism with the U.S. special envoy to Afghanistan and Pakistan, Marc Grossman. The interview was conducted by the Voice of America's Lina Rozbih. They talked about the future of Al-Qaeda and the Haqqani network to India-Pakistan relations and the recent instability in Afghanistan as the United States begins to draw down its troops.

And RFE/RL's Radio Mashaal, which covers Pakistan, reports on the Taliban's destructive legacy in that country's Swat Valley. In the years that they controlled the area, the Taliban did lasting damage to women's rights and the area's musical culture.

This week's host is Bruce Jacobs.

Got a question or comment about "The Blender"? Send your feedback to podcast@rferl.org or leave a comment below. We'd love to hear from you.

Listen to or download Episode 33 of "The Blender" below or subscribe to "The Blender on iTunes. For the complete "Blender" archive, click here.

Libya: What Now? RFE/RL's "The Blender" (Episode 33)

Tags:libya, Pakistan, Swat Valley

Audio Podcast: Stepping Out Of The Shadow Of The Soviet Empire

Host Pavel Butorin (left) discusses the 1991 Soviet putsch with Natalia Churikova of our Ukrainian Service (second from left), Alisher Sidikov from the Uzbek Service, and Harry Tamrazian of our Armenian Service.

Posted At: 19 August 07:26

Twenty years ago this week, in August 1991, a group of senior hard-line members of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union and the KGB attempted to seize control of the country from Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev.

The abortive coup, which lasted just three days, paved the way for the collapse of the Soviet Union by the end of 1991.

Boris Nemtsov in a 1993 photo
In Episode 32 of "The Blender," correspondent Robert Coalson speaks with Russian opposition leader Boris Nemtsov, who was a member of the Russian parliament at the time and a close ally of Russian President Boris Yeltsin.

Nemtsov was in the midst of a mass campaign of civil resistance that helped defeat the plotters. He recalls the dramatic days of August 1991, assesses the role of the West in the following years, and offers a country-by-country analysis of where the former Soviet states are now. (A full transcript of the interview is available here.)

This week's host, Pavel Butorin, also chats with Harry Tamrazian of RFE/RL's Armenian Service, Natalia Churikova of the Ukrainian Service, and Alisher Sidikov of the Uzbek Service about their countries' efforts to break out of the shadow of the Soviet empire.

Countries that used to be part of the Soviet Union range from European democracies to authoritarian dictatorships, diverse in their culture, language, and politics. Does "the post-Soviet space" still exist?

This week, we feature the 1994 song "Born In The U.S.S.R." by the Russian band DDT and its leader, Yury Shevchuk.

Got a question or comment about "The Blender"? Send your feedback to podcast@rferl.org, or leave a comment below. We'd love to hear from you.

Listen to or download Episode 32 of "The Blender" below or subscribe to "The Blender" on iTunes. For the complete "Blender" archive, click here.

The Soviet Empire Crumbles (Episode 32)

Video Podcast: The Significance Of -- And Secrets To Surviving -- The Islamic Holy Month Of Ramadan

Posted At: 12 August 07:25

"The Blender" isn't all that good at fasting, it turns out. But it loves a good dinner. So it was all of the fun and very little of the struggle this week as "The Blender" joined RFE/RL Afghan broadcaster Jan Alekozai for dinner as part of a very special podcast focused on the Islamic holy month of Ramadan.

Daisy Sindelar
Ramadan, which this year falls during the entire month of August, is perhaps the best-loved holiday on the Islamic calendar. All over the world, Muslims mark the holy month by giving to charities, visiting friends and relatives, and -- most importantly -- abstaining from food, water, and even video games between sunrise and sunset. But once the sun goes down, they sit down to count their blessings with a festive meal.

That's where Jan and his wife and four sons come in.

"The Blender" was lucky enough to get a seat at the family's dining-room table to enjoy a sumptuous Ramadan dinner of mung-bean soup, meat dumplings with yogurt, qabili palau, and much, much more. (See the mouthwatering video above.)

During the meal, they shared memories about Ramadans past and divulged some of their secrets for surviving -- and even enjoying -- 17-hour days with no food or water.

In the meantime, Andy Heil, the managing editor of RFE/RL's English-language website, took to the corridors of our Prague headquarters to talk to some of our other Muslim colleagues about why they are -- or aren't -- observing the fast.

We hope you enjoy this week's show, which is hosted by Daisy Sindelar.

Want to share your own Ramadan experiences with us? We'd love to hear from you. Send your stories -- plus any other questions, comments, or critiques -- to podcast@rferl.org, or leave a comment below.

Listen to or download Episode 31 of "The Blender" below or subscribe to "The Blender" on iTunes. For the complete Blender archive, click here.

RFE/RL's The Blender -- 8/11/11 (Episode 31)

Audio Podcast: Amy Winehouse And The '27 Club,' Plus A Bosnian Soccer Phenom, And Belarusian 'Inaction'

Amy Winehouse on stage during her disastrous last concert, in Belgrade, on June 18.

Posted At: 05 August 05:14

British soul singer Amy Winehouse performed the last concert of her life in the Serbian capital, Belgrade, on June 18. You may remember "The Blender" report we did a few weeks back about the controversies surrounding Winehouse's incoherent performance.

Grant Podelco
Winehouse was 27 when she died late last month, just like many music greats -- Jim Morrison, Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Kurt Cobain, to name but a few. And in Episode 30 of "The Blender," Salome Asatiani of our Georgian Service talks to Eric Segalstad and Josh Hunter, the authors of "The 27s: The Greatest Myth of Rock and Roll," about this mysterious coincidence and the phenomenon of rock stardom, with its stereotypes, cliches, and hard realities.

Also this week, we sit down with Belarusian broadcaster Alexie Znatkevich to talk about an absurb new law that if -- or should we say, when -- passed by the rubberstamp legislature in Minsk, would make it illegal for people to gather "for a previously planned action or inaction."

Soccer phenom Miralem Ramic
We visit Miralem Ramic, a Bosnian soccer star courted by talent scouts from Spain and Italy. Did we mention that he's only 11 years old?

And in our regular "Ear to the Ground" segment, Romanian journalist Lucian Stefanescu introduces us to the music of two influential jazz groups -- The Shin, from Georgia, and Trigon, from Moldova.

We hope you enjoy this week's show, which is hosted by Grant Podelco.

Got a question or comment about "The Blender"? Send your feedback to podcast@rferl.org, or leave a comment below. We'd love to hear from you.

Listen to or download Episode 30 of "The Blender" below or subscribe to "The Blender on iTunes. For the complete "Blender" archive, click here.

 -- Amy Winehouse & The 27 Club, Plus Bosnian Soccer Phenom

Audio Podcast: Discussing Sergei Magnitsky With Bill Browder, Plus LulzSec And 'Ethical Hacking'

Lawyer Sergei Magnitsky in Moscow in 2006

Posted At: 29 July 09:25

In Episode 29 of "The Blender," Russian Service correspondent Irina Lagunina speaks with Bill Browder, once the largest U.S. investor in Russia. Browder has been campaigning around the world to hold Russian officials accountable for the death of his lawyer, Sergei Magnitsky.

Magnitsky was investigating a massive tax-fraud case connected to some of those officials when he arrested on allegedly trumped-up charges. He later died in prison under harsh conditions. This week, Browder talked to us about the U.S. State Department's decision to put a number of Russians believed to be involved in the case on a visa blacklist.

The editor of RFE/RL's English-language website, Luke Allnutt, takes a closer look at the hackers that are causing havoc by releasing confidential information from websites around the world. He interviews Sam Bowne, a professor and Internet expert who teaches a course on how to protect against hackers.

And in our "Different Beat" segment, correspondent Ron Synovitz learns about the Gothic harp from world-class performer Hana Blazikova. She takes a break from her European tour to play and talk about the instrument in our Prague studio.

WATCH: Hana Blazikova performs in "The Blender" studios:

Download
This week's host is Bruce Jacobs.

Got a question or comment about "The Blender"? Send your feedback to podcast@rferl.org, or leave a comment below. We'd love to hear from you.

Listen to or download Episode 29 of "The Blender" below or subscribe to "The Blender on iTunes. For the complete "Blender" archive, click here.

RFE/RL's The Blender -- 7/29/11 (Episode 29)

Audio Podcast: Digital-Activism Extravaganza With Hillary Clinton's Innovation Adviser -- Plus Geeks Trying To Build A Better World

Alec Ross: Innovator-in-chief

Posted At: 22 July 11:32

In Episode 28 of “The Blender,” RFE/RL's Washington correspondent Golnaz Esfandiari speaks with Alec Ross, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's senior adviser for innovation, about Internet freedom and the State Department’s efforts to reach out to civil societies across the world using social media, such as Facebook and Twitter. 
 
Staying on the subject, RFE/RL’s new media analyst Camilla Hawthorne tells “The Blender” about her participation in TechCamp events in Lithuania and Moldova -- training seminars in a series supporting Secretary Clinton’s Civil Society 2.0 initiative to build the digital literacy of civil society organizations around the world. Camilla discusses technological opportunities but also the challenges facing online activists across the world. 
Camilla Hawthorne

And we speak with Alexis Zimberg and Nicholas van Beek who have been traveling the former Soviet Union to study how graffiti is used as a form of protest when other outlets of expression are limited. They explain the dissenting opinions they saw on the walls of the Belarusian capital Minsk, where the government has been battling opposition protests. They have been documenting their journey on their website. Alexis and Nicholas also narrated a slideshow of some of the street art they have photographed in Belarus.
 
Episode 28 features the song "Belarus Freedom" by the Belarusian band Lyapis Trubetskoy.
 
This week’s host is Pavel Butorin.
 
Got a question or comment about "The Blender"? Send your feedback to podcast@rferl.org, or leave a comment below. We'd love to hear from you.
 
Listen to or download Episode 28 of "The Blender" below or subscribe to "The Blender on iTunes. For the complete "Blender" archive, click here.

RFE/RL's The Blender -- 7/22/11 (Episode 28)

Audio Podcast: An Afghan Assassination, Karl Eikenberry's Parting Shots, And An Uzbek Comedian's Sad Story

Ahmad Wali Karzai, Afghan President Hamid Karzai's powerful half-brother, was assassinated on July 12.

Posted At: 15 July 07:02

Afghanistan topped the news this week and so we take a closer look at the big issues the country is facing.

RFE/RL Associate Director of Broadcasting Akbar Ayazi, who used to run Radio Free Afghanistan, gives his perspectives on the assassination of Ahmad Wali Karzai. The powerful half-brother of Afghan President Hamid Karzai ran Kandahar’s provincial council and was shot to death by a trusted guard on July 12.

Ayazi talks about what Karzai's death will mean for the peace process and whether his successor can adequately fill his shoes.

We also have an exclusive interview with Karl Eikenberry, the outgoing U.S. ambassador in Kabul. The former general, who once commanded coalition forces in Afghanistan, talks with RFE/RL Kabul Bureau Chief Rahimullah Samandar about disagreements with President Karzai, Iranian support for the Taliban, and many other subjects.

Eikenberry speaks to RFE/RL.
In our regular “Uncovered” segment, Pete Baumgartner, one of the editors behind our "From Our Bureaus" wire, gives the details on stories from our broadcast region that are not getting big coverage in other media. This week, he focuses on Uzbek journalists on a hunger strike over censorship, the shutting down of all Wordpress blogs in Kazakhstan, and the disappearance of an Iranian actress and blogger.

And finally, correspondents Farangis Najibullah and Sadriddin Ashur bring us the story of a top Uzbek comedian who is having trouble getting laughs in his home country. The government there apparently doesn’t like his sense of humor and has essentially blacklisted him.

This week's host is Bruce Jacobs.

Got a question or comment about "The Blender"? Send your feedback to podcast@rferl.org, or leave a comment below. We'd love to hear from you.

Listen to or download Episode 27 of "The Blender" below or subscribe to "The Blender on iTunes. For the complete "Blender" archive, click here.

RFE/RL's The Blender -- 7/15/11 (Episode 27)

Audio Podcast: Hitchens On Iran, Nightmare In An Egyptian Jail, Balalaikas, and Boney M -- It's The Best of 'The Blender'!

Christopher Hitchens sat down for a chat with writer at large James Kirchick at his Washington, D.C., home.

Posted At: 08 July 07:32

"The Blender" is reaching its sixth-month mark, so for Episode 26, we decided to take a look back at some of the highlights of the first half-year.

All four of "The Blender" hosts -- Daisy Sindelar, Pavel Butorin, Bruce Jacobs, and Grant Podelco -- get together in the studio to talk about some of their favorite highlights so far.

Dmitry Kalinin
We begin with an excerpt from an exclusive interview with author and intellectual Christopher Hitchens (Episode 2), who spoke to writer at large James Kirchick late last year. Hitchens speculates on the possibility of an Iran armed with nuclear weapons.

From there we move to a harrowing account by correspondent Robert Tait (Episode 5) of his detention by Egypt's intelligence service in the early days of the public uprising that led to the ouster of longtime President Hosni Mubarak and has since sparked other Arab Spring protests in countries like Libya and Syria.

We also replay an interview with Bill Browder (Episode 3), who as the head of Hermitage Capital Management was once the largest American investor in Russia. His lawyer, Sergei Magnitsky, died in jail in 2009 under what the Kremlin's own human rights council now admits were abusive conditions.

We revisit our lively roundtable discussion (Episode 14) on the ramifications of France's recent ban on the wearing of face veils.

On the lighter side, we revisit the man with the fastest hands in the East -- balalaika virtuoso Dmitry Kalinin (Episode 21), who shares his passion for the Russian folk instrument with Ron Synovitz in our music segment, "A Different Beat."

Last but surely not least, we look at the German-based disco group Boney M (Episode 5), whose legacy in the former Soviet Union remains untouchable more than three decades after hits like "Daddy Cool" and "Ma Baker" made them superstars behind the Iron Curtain.

We hope you enjoy this special look back at the "Best of The Blender."

Featured music includes "Dina" by Hussein El Masry, "Tunnnnnn" by The Kominas, and -- but of course! -- "Rasputin" by Boney M.

Send your feedback to podcast@rferl.org or leave a comment below. We love hearing from you.

Listen to or download Episode 26 of "The Blender" below or subscribe to "The Blender" on iTunes. For the complete "Blender archive," click here.

RFE/RL's The Blender -- 7/08/11 (Episode 26)

Audio Podcast: Serbia Insulted -- Plus Cosmic Constructions, A Kyrgyz Kindergarten, And Georgia's Janis Joplin

Students at Kindergarten No. 30 in Osh

Posted At: 01 July 06:51

It's a milestone of sorts around "The Blender" studios. We're celebrating our 25th weekly podcast, and we've got a good one for you.

Grant Podelco
Correspondent -- and regular "Blender" host -- Daisy Sindelar, who just returned from assignment in southern Kyrgyzstan, reports from a local kindergarten in the city of Osh, which is still recovering from deadly ethnic clashes last year. The school is working hard to teach its diverse group of students about tolerance and friendship.

Chelsea Handler, a popular TV talk-show host in the United States, wasn't exactly a household name in Serbia. Until last week, that is. That's when she made some rather ignorant and disparaging remarks about Serbia in the course of taking British singer Amy Winehouse to task for an embarrassing performance at a concert in the capital, Belgrade.

A blog post at rfel.org about the affair has triggered more than 100 comments from readers. We invited Gordana Knezevic, the director of our Balkans Service -- and a Serb herself -- into the studio to discuss the controversy.

Romanian journalist Lucian Stefanescu returns with another installment of "Ear to the Ground," his monthly look at music trends, tours, and talent with a connection to RFE/RL's broadcast area. This week, he features Georgia's Nino Katamadze and her band Insight and Italian Maurizio Dami and his multi-ethnic band The Third Planet.

To round out the show, we talk to editor, author, and photographer Frederic Chaubin about his new book, "CCCP: Cosmic Communist Constructions Photographed." Chaubin traveled throughout the former Soviet Union, documenting the wild, sci-fi inspired architecture that predominated in the 1970s and '80s. You can find an audio slide show featuring his photographs here.

This week's host is Grant Podelco.

Send your feedback to podcast@rferl.org, or leave a comment below. We'd love to hear from you.

Listen to or download Episode 25 of "The Blender" below or subscribe to "The Blender on iTunes. For the complete "Blender" archive, click here.

RFE/RL's The Blender -- 7/1/11 (Episode 25)

Audio Podcast: Can Anyone Fill Bonner's Shoes? Plus, Voices From Syria And A Crossword Controversy

Is there anyone among Russia's young activists who can fill the void left by the death of Yelena Bonner?

Posted At: 24 June 09:02

Has Russia lost its greatest moral voice? In this week's show, we look at the legacy of Russian rights activist Yelena Bonner, whose death on June 18 silenced one of the most outspoken critics of both the Soviet regime and the era of Putinism.

Daisy Sindelar
Kirill Kobrin of RFE/RL's Russian Service joins correspondent Brian Whitmore, the author of our "Power Vertical" blog and podcast, to listen to excerpts from Bonner's last video interview and ask who, if anyone, is ready to take her place.

As Arab Spring protests continue to meet with a deadly crackdown in Syria, correspondent Kristin Deasy speaks to one protester who has already paid dearly for standing up to the state -- but says he won't give up.

Correspondent Ron Synovitz speaks to Sebastian Gorka, military affairs analyst with the Foundation for Defense of Democracies in Washington, on the tangled web of relationships between the intelligence and military communities in the United States and Pakistan -- and the further snarls that have come in the wake of the killing of Osama bin Laden.

We also take a look at some of the underreported stories coming out of RFE/RL's 20 regional bureaus -- including a brewing scandal in Kazakhstan over a controversial crossword clue. Sometimes "yurt" really is a four-letter word.

This week's host is Daisy Sindelar.

Featured music includes "Gul Zwani aw Gul Khanda" by Sapna Tahir, "Zima" by Amir Benayoun, and Bach's Prelude to Suite No. 1 in G Major, performed by Mstislav Rostropovich.

Send your feedback to podcast@rferl.org, or leave a comment below. We'd love to hear from you.

Listen to or download Episode 24 of "The Blender" below or subscribe to "The Blender on iTunes. For the complete "Blender" archive, click here.

RFE/RL's The Blender -- 6/24/11 (Episode-24)

Tags:podcast

Audio Podcast: Belarus Sinks Deeper; Top Obama Adviser Talks Russia; Plus, 'You Singin' To Me?' -- Uzbek Taxi Driver Serenades Chicago

Jan Maksymiuk of RFE/RL's Belarus Service visits "The Blender" studios to talk about his country's deepening financial crisis.

Posted At: 17 June 08:03

In this week's show, as Belarus turns to international organizations for help amid an escalating financial crisis, our reporters in the capital, Minsk, speak to some of its citizens about their economic troubles. Shopping has become a frustrating chore for many Belarusians, whose income has shrunk considerably since a devastating financial crisis struck the country's state-controlled economy in March.

Pavel Butorin
Jan Maksymiuk of RFE/RL's Belarus Service joins us in "The Blender" studios to discuss recent developments -- including protests against high gasoline prices -- and to share his thoughts about what caused the crisis and some of the options that are available to Belarus' autocratic ruler Alyaksandr Lukashenka.

Our chief Washington editor, Christian Caryl, interviews Michael McFaul, U.S. President Barack Obama's top adviser on Russia. McFaul, who will reportedly be nominated by Obama to be the next U.S. ambassador to Russia, gives his take on the latest session of a bilateral U.S.-Russia civil society working group in Washington.

And correspondent Joanna Kinscherff talks to a young Uzbek cab driver in Chicago who is gaining popularity by singing to his customers in his native language.

This week's host is Pavel Butorin.

Send your feedback to podcast@rferl.org, or leave a comment below. We'd love to hear from you.

Listen to or download Episode 23 of "The Blender" below or subscribe to "The Blender" on iTunes. For the complete "Blender" archive, click here.

Audio Podcast: Impressions Of Osh, One Year After Deadly Violence; Under The Bridge In Kabul

Daisy Sindelar speaks to an Uzbek pensioner, Anvar-hajji Satvaldiev, whose family business was destroyed in the June 2010 clashes.

Posted At: 10 June 07:04

In this week's show, correspondent Daisy Sindelar has the story of two neighbors in southern Kyrgyzstan. Both women -- a Kyrgyz and an Uzbek -- lived through the brutal ethnic violence that erupted one year ago. For both, sadness and suspicions have yet to fade.

We also talk with Daisy -- one of the rotating hosts of "The Blender" -- about her experiences and impressions while traveling around the region for the past week. She's there to cover the anniversary of the ethnic clashes that broke out in Osh on the night of June 10, 2010. When the dust settled and the fires had been extinguished, more than 470 people were dead and thousands of properties had been destroyed.

You can follow Daisy on Twitter as she reports from southern Kyrgyzstan at @DaisySindelar.

Christian Caryl
Our chief Washington editor, Christian Caryl, interviews Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski. As Poland prepares to assume the presidency of the European Council, the minister outlines Warsaw’s thinking on the topics of EU accession, Russia, Libya, and more.

And Radio Free Afghanistan's Sayedjan Sabawoon descends into the shadows under a notorious bridge in Kabul. He talks to some of the hundreds of drug addicts who gather there for their daily fix.

This week's host is Bruce Jacobs.

Listen to or download Episode 22 of "The Blender" below or subscribe to "The Blender" on iTunes. For the complete "Blender" archive, click here.

Send your feedback to podcast@rferl.org, or leave a comment below. We'd love to hear from you.

RFE/RL's The Blender -- 6/10/11 (Episode 22)

Audio Podcast: Kids With Bombs; A Balalaika Virtuoso; Balkans Redux; Cold War Tales From RFE/RL

Posted At: 03 June 06:27

In this week's show, correspondent Kristin Deasy reports on a most disturbing trend -- the use of child suicide bombers in Pakistan and Afghanistan. Afghan officials have accused the Taliban of training children for the attacks, although under closer inspection, the reasons why children become suicide bombers are more complex. Farishta Jalalzai contributed to this report from our bureau in Kabul.

Grant Podelco
Charles Recknagel looks back at the storied history of Radio Free Europe's first broadcast service -- to then communist Czechoslovakia -- which has been celebrating its 60th anniversary over the past year. Some of the stories that Charles relates sound like episodes from a bad Cold War spy novel.

We present Part Two of our interview with Balkans expert Nenad Pejic, who talks about why Bosnia is sliding back to square one and his belief that many in the Balkans know how to speak but seem incapable of listening.

Former RFE/RL Czechoslovak Service Director Pavel Pechacek
And we're honored to have renowned virtuoso Dmitry Kalinin of Russia stop by "The Blender" studios to talk to Ron Synovitz about the balalaika. We learn why this beautiful instrument was once considered a threat to church and state. Oh, and he also plays for us. In fact, you can watch a couple of videos of Kalinin performing in our studios above and below.

This week's host is Grant Podelco.

In addition to our R.E.M. theme song, music featured in this podcast also includes an excerpt from the 1950s Czech pop song "Docela Vsedni Obycejny Den" (Just An Ordinary Everyday Day), sung by Vlasta Pruchova.

Listen to or download Episode 21 of "The Blender" below or subscribe to "The Blender" on iTunes. For "The Blender" blog archive, click here.

RFE/RL's The Blender -- 6/03/11 (Episode 21)


Send your feedback to podcast@rferl.org, or leave a comment below. We'd love to hear from you.

WATCH -- Dmitry Kalinin plays Paganini:

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Audio Podcast: Ratko Mladic Arrested, The Day Many Thought Would Never Come; Dylan Turns 70; Censorship: A Look Back With Laughter

"Blender" host Grant Podelco (right) invited Nenad Pejic, RFE/RL's associate director of broadcasting, into the studio to talk about the ramifications of the arrest of war crimes fugitive Ratko Mladic.

Posted At: 27 May 06:12

In this week's show, host Grant Podelco sits down with Nenad Pejic, an associate director of broadcasting at RFE/RL, to talk about the arrest on May 26 of former Bosnian Serb wartime commander General Ratko Mladic. Mladic was the UN war crimes tribunal's most-wanted fugitive; he'd been on the run for more than 15 years.

We'd actually invited Nenad -- one of our most respected Balkan experts -- into the studio to talk about other issues percolating in that region. No sooner had we finished that discussion, however, when news came of Mladic's capture. We brought Nenad back into the studio, and the resulting segment focuses solely on the issues surrounding Mladic's arrest.

Perhaps we'll share the original part of our interview with Nenad in next week's show.

Lucian Stefanescu
Also this week, as iconic American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan celebrates his 70th birthday, we look at the impact that Dylan's music and poetry has had on musicians and artists across RFE/RL's broadcast region.

Speaking of music, this week we debut what we hope will become a new monthly segment on "The Blender." We call it "Ear to the Ground," and it's hosted by Romanian journalist Lucian Stefanescu. Lucian will keep us up-to-date on the latest releases and tours by interesting bands with a connection to our region.

Kenan Aliyev
And in our regular "This Is My Story" feature, Kenan Aliyev, the director of RFE/RL's Azerbaijani Service, talks about his days as a journalist in the 1990s, a time when state-mandated censorship was the law of the land. Publishing a newspaper in Baku back then meant a daily trip to the state censor, who'd keep reminding Kenan, as he snipped offending passages from his stories, that the censorship office didn't really exist.

Listen to or download Episode 20 of "The Blender" below or subscribe to "The Blender" on iTunes. For "The Blender" blog archive, click here.

Send your feedback to podcast@rferl.org, or leave a comment below. We'd love to hear from you.

RFE/RL's The Blender -- 5/27/11 (Episode 20)

Tags:censorship, Serbia, Azerbaijan, Ratko Mladic, Bob Dylan

Audio Podcast: Unraveling The Greg Mortenson Mystery In Pakistan; Facebook Revolution In Afghanistan?

Amid charges of fraud leveled against Greg Mortenson's Central Asia Institute, two Pakistani schools funded by CAI -- the Immit Higher Secondary School and the Majaweer Village School -- seemed to be running smoothly.

Posted At: 20 May 11:47

In Episode 19, we travel to Pakistan to investigate first-hand some of the allegations being made against "Three Cups Of Tea" author Greg Mortenson. How many schools built by Mortenson's Central Asia Institute actually exist and who's attending classes in them? Our correspondent visited Pakistan's remote Ishkoman Valley -- a 24-hour journey by car -- to see for himself. The results may surprise you.

Pavel Butorin
In our regular "Meet The Bloggers" segment, web editor Grant Podelco speaks with Liz Fuller, whose "Caucasus Report" blog offers in-depth analysis of this unruly region. It also aims to act as a "smoke detector," focusing attention on potential conflict situations and crises throughout the region.

Mustafa Sarwar, a broadcaster with RFE/RL's Radio Free Afghanistan, talks about the first, large-scale Facebook movement among Afghan university students calling for reform. Which raises the question: Will the wave of antigovernment dissent in the Middle East reach Afghanistan?

And in our regular "Uncovered" segment, Pete Baumgartner and Merhat Sharipzhan, the editors of RFE/RL's "From Our Bureaus" wire, talk about some of the significant stories breaking in RFE/RL's broadcast region that aren't getting the attention they deserve in the Western press.

This week's host is Pavel Butorin.

In this week's show, we're featuring the music of Pakistani singer Atif Aslam.

Listen to or download the episode below, subscribe to "The Blender" on iTunes, or subscribe to an RSS feed. For "The Blender" blog archive, click here.

RFE/RL's The Blender -- 5/20/11 (Episode 19).

Podcast: Bosnia In Crisis; Mirth And Madness In Minsk; And The Music Of The Rabab

Election opponents of Belarusian President Alyaksandr Lukashenka sit in the dock in a Minsk courtroom on May 11.

Posted At: 12 May 15:05

Bosnia-Herzegovina faces a major political crisis. Some are questioning whether the country could dissolve again into chaos and ethnic violence.

For Episode 18 of "The Blender," our New York correspondent, Nikola Krastev, sits down with the international community’s man in the middle of it all, Valentin Inzko. The high representative for Bosnia-Herzegovina gives his perspective on the situation and what needs to be done.

In Belarus, dozens of opposition rights activists and former presidential candidates are on trial. They face a variety of charges related to the violence that erupted after the country’s disputed December 19 presidential election.

RFE/RL’s Belarus Service is following the proceedings closely. Correspondent Alyaksey Znatkevich talks about the trials and what passes for justice these days in Minsk.

Even though times are hard in Belarus, people still find reasons to laugh. In fact, one of the biggest reasons is the country’s hard-line and humorless president, Alyaksandr Lukashenka, himself. In our "Inside Joke" segment, we share the political punch lines that are floating around among Belarusians these days.

And in "A Different Beat," correspondents Ron Synovitz and Mustafa Sarwar introduce us to the rabab (right), an ancient instrument similar to a sitar. The rabab was played for our correspondents by a master musician in the Afghan capital, Kabul.

We get a lesson on its sounds and construction, with a little music theory thrown in. One of the songs the master performs is used everyday to introduce radio broadcasts for RFE/RL’s Radio Free Afghanistan.

This week’s host is Bruce Jacobs.

Listen to or download the episode below or subscribe to "The Blender" on iTunes. For previous episodes, click here.

RFE/RL's The Blender -- 5/13/11 (Episode 18)

Audio Podcast: Osama Bin Laden -- In His Wake, Doubts About Pakistan, Use Of Torture

Posted At: 06 May 07:31

The death of Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden has dominated front pages and airwaves around the world this week, and "The Blender" is no exception.

In Episode 17, correspondent Ron Synovitz moderates a discussion with Mohammad Amin Mudaqiq of RFE/RL's Radio Free Afghanistan and correspondent Abubakar Siddique, who specializes in South Asian affairs.

Daisy Sindelar
They discuss the decision by U.S. President Barack Obama not to release photos of bin Laden's corpse; the criticisms being leveled against Pakistan for not doing more to track down the terrorist leader, who was hiding in plain sight; and whether bin Laden's death may provide an opportunity for reconciliation talks betwen the Taliban and the Afghan government.

This week's host, correspondent Daisy Sindelar, looks into the question of whether the ends justify the means. That is, was information obtained through so-called "enhanced interrogation" techniques -- what many people call torture -- ultimately crucial in the capture and killing of bin Laden?

In other news, producer Nikolay Pavlov and RFE/RL's Radio Free Iraq look at the lives of a group of Iraqi men, women, and children who are forced to rummage through Baghdad's garbage dumps in order to survive.

And Pete Baumgartner and Merkhat Sharipzhan, the editors behind our "From Our Bureaus" wire -- reveal some of the significant stories from RFE/RL's vast broadcast region that aren't getting the attention they deserve in the Western press.

The music featured in this week's show includes "Ze Ghame Kasee Halakam" by Ustad Arman and Tahir Shobab; "Stergey" by Fay Khan; " "Ma3na El 7ob" by Inaam Wali; and "Definition" by Kruder & Dorfmeister (yes, we already used that one last week, but someone here really likes K&D).

Listen to or download the episode below or subscribe to "The Blender" on iTunes. For previous episodes, click here.

RFE/RL's The Blender -- 5/6/11

Podcast: Afghan Fears Of New Morality Police; A Chat With Author Don DeLillo

RFE/RL broadcaster Mustafa Sarwar is pictured with his wife, Behar, at their own wedding in Kabul on November 20, 2006.

Posted At: 28 April 08:10

In this week's episode, we delve into the controversy surrounding a draft law now being debated in Afghanistan that many think would reverse freedoms made in the country since the fall of the Taliban in 2001.

Grant Podelco
Under the Taliban, morality police patrolled Afghan weddings. The draft law would restrict some aspects of the lavish ceremonies and make certain that ladies dress modestly and that men and women do not mix. Mustafa Sarwar, a broadcaster with RFE/RL's Radio Free Afghanistan, has that story.

Brian Whitmore snagged a few minutes with acclaimed American author Don DeLillo during DeLillo's appearance at the Prague Writer's Festival recently. DeLillo speaks eloquently about why writers should be "bad citizens" and the particular challenges writers face in RFE/RL's broadcast region.

Alsu Kumasheva of RFE/RL's Tatar-Bashkir Service reports on the tireless efforts of one woman in Kazan, the capital of the Russian Republic Tatarstan, who has devoted herself to preserving and promoting her native tongue and its culture.

Excerpt from Gabdulla Tuqay's poem "Shurale," in both Tatar and English


And Hoshyar Zebari, the foreign minister of Iraq, visited RFE/RL's Prague headquarters and defended his country's military action against Camp Ashraf, a raid which the UN said resulted in the deaths of 34 people. He also speaks to the uprisings sweeping the Arab world.

This week's host is Grant Podelco.

The music featured in this week's show includes "Definition" by Kruder & Dorfmeister; "From The Underworld" by Anselm C. Kreuzer; "Mustt Mustt" by Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan; and "Ahesta Buro" by Ahmad Wali.

Listen to or download the episode below or subscribe to "The Blender" on iTunes. For previous episodes, click here.

RFE/RL's The Blender -- 4/29/11

Audio Podcast: Escape From Kyiv -- Remembering The Chornobyl Nuclear Disaster 25 Years Later

Natalia Churikova (right) poses with her stepfather, Oleksander Pavlenko, and her mother, Valentyna Pavlenko, on holiday in Crimea in 1987 -- one year after the disaster at Chornobyl.

Posted At: 18 April 17:46

In this week's show, to mark the 25th anniversary of the Chornobyl nuclear disaster, we listen as Natalia Churikova, a broadcaster with our Ukrainian Service, remembers what it was like as a schoolgirl in nearby Kyiv during those scary days in April 1986, when Ukraine -- and the world -- first learned of the explosion and fire at Reactor No. 4.

Pavel Butorin
In our regular "This Is My Story" segment, Natalia speaks of panic, fear, and disinformation as the radiation cloud spread across Ukraine, Russia, and Belarus.

In an exclusive interview, Gary Samore, U.S. President Barack Obama's top adviser on arms control, talks about Washington's nuclear dialogue with Russia, and the Obama administration's efforts to resolve the nuclear standoff with Iran over its disputed nuclear program. Samore speaks with Irina Lagunina of our Russian Service and Hossein Aryan of our Persian service, Radio Farda.

And lastly, but not leastly, we chat with RFE/RL's chief Washington editor, Christian Caryl, to get the inside scoop on his new blog, "Outpost Washington."

This week's host is Pavel Butorin.

Both of the songs featured in this week's podcast are from the 2004 album "Bohuslav" by the Ukrainian folk rock band Haydamaky. The songs are "Sestry" and "Bohuslav."

Listen to or download the episode below or subscribe to "The Blender" on iTunes. For previous episodes, click here.

RFE/RL's The Blender -- 4/22/11

Podcast: Debating France's Contentious New Veil Ban; Russia's Forgotten 'Butterfly Children'

Outlawed on the streets of France

Posted At: 15 April 07:29

In this week's show, we explore all sides of the controversial issue of the Islamic full-face veil. France has just enacted a law that bans the wearing of garments in public that cover the face, the first such nationwide ban to be enforced in a European Union country. The new law primarily affects Muslim women who wear the niqab or burqa.

Pavel Butorin
To debate the issue, we invited into "The Blender" studio Zamira Eshanova of our Uzbek Service, Amina Umarova of our North Caucasus Service, and Washington correspondent Golnaz Esfandiari. It's a lively discussion, to say the least, and one which we think helps inform the issue.

Also on this week's episode, correspondent Daisy Sindelar tells us about Russia's so-called "butterfly children," who suffer from a rare skin disease called epidermolysis bullosa (EB). The story is based on reporting by Anton Shiryaev and Galina Shiryaeva of our Russian Service.

And we visit once again with the editors of our "From Our Bureaus" wire, Merkhat Sharipzhan and Pete Baumgartner, for another edition of our regular "Uncovered" segment. That's where Merkhat and Pete fill us in on some significant stories from our broadcast region that aren't getting their due attention in the Western media. Divorce by text message, anyone?

This week's show is hosted by Pavel Butorin.

This week's podcast features music from Russian rock musician Boris Grebenshchikov: "Wolves And Crows" from "The Russian Album"; and "Nowroz" from the album "Paris Tehran Project" by Alain Brunet & Shargh Ensemble Orchestra.

Listen to or download the episode below or subscribe to "The Blender" on iTunes. For previous episodes, click here.

RFE/RL's The Blender -- 4/15/11

Audio Podcast: Yury Gagarin, Soviet Pop Culture Inspiration; A Noted Director Goes 'Way Back'; Kyrgyzstan Navigates Rough Waters

All dressed up and one place to go: Yury Gagarin aboard his "Vostok" spacecraft

Posted At: 08 April 06:29

In this week's show, we look at the legacy of Soviet cosmonaut Yury Gagarin, whose historic space flight 50 years ago gave the USSR an early lead in the space race and catapulted the genial Gagarin into the international limelight. Claire Bigg has the story.

Daisy Sindelar
Gagarin was more than just an astronaut -- he was also the inspiration for some of the best in Soviet pop culture. We talk to RFE producer Pavel Butorin about some of the greatest music dedicated to Gagarin and the Soviet space program.

We also catch up with Australian director Peter Weir, whose latest film, "The Way Back," looks at the dramatic escape of World War II-era prisoners from a Siberian labor camp and their subsequent 4,000-mile trek to freedom. His latest work, Weir told writer at large Jamie Kirchik, gave him a chance to reflect on the human toll of communism.

And finally, we look at the demonstrations that rocked the Central Asian republic of Kyrgyzstan a year ago -- on April 7, 2010. Those demonstrations led to the ouster of President Kurmanbek Bakiev. But as Farangis Najibullah reports, they also resulted in the deaths of 90 people, leading many Kyrgyz to wonder if their democratically minded country has taken a turn for the worse.

This week's host is Daisy Sindelar.

Listen to or download the latest episode below or subscribe to "The Blender" on iTunes. For previous episodes, click here.

RFE/RL's The Blender -- 4/8/11

Audio Podcast: Misadventures On The High Seas; Minsk Madness; Classic Afghan Music In Decline

Giorgi Kurashvili, whose first tour as a sailor, under his father's command, saw him spending 11 months as a veritable hostage in a Libyan port.

Posted At: 01 April 07:10

In this week's show, we visit the musicians of Kharabat Street in Kabul. The street -- once the spiritual home of Afghanistan's rich classical music tradition -- is suffering after years of war, harsh Taliban edicts, and the emigration of its finest talents. Jeremy Bransten tells the story.

Grant Podelco
Speaking from exile, former Belarusian presidential candidate Ales Mikhalevich -- imprisoned for two months in a KGB jail in Minsk -- says he believes President Alyaksandr Lukashenka has presented the opposition with a grand moment to unify. Richard Solash, an RFE/RL Washington correspondent, reports.

And staying on the topic of Belarus, writer at large Jamie Kirchick caught up with acclaimed British playwright Tom Stoppard. Stoppard has been championing the causes of free speech and democracy in Belarus since 2005, when he began a relationship with the Belarus Free Theatre.

It sounds like the plot of an adventure novel -- sailors trapped for months on a ship without food, supplies, or navigation equipment, forced to fish in order to survive. But as Daisy Sindelar tells us, it's the real-life experience of one Georgian ship, the Vasilios N, which was held in Libya for 11 months before making a dramatic escape in early March.

This week's host is Grant Podelco.

Listen to or download the latest episode of "The Blender" below or subscribe to "The Blender" on iTunes. For previous episodes, click here.

RFE/RL's The Blender -- 4/1/11

Audio Podcast: Ouch! Medvedev Vs. Putin; Playing The Kyrgyz Komuz; Untangling 'Tangled Web'

Posted At: 25 March 05:50

WATCH: Janyl Chytyrbaeva plays the komuz and demonstrates the lovely "dance of the hand."

Grant Podelco
In this week's episode, Janyl Chytyrbaeva of RFE/RL's Kyrgyz Service plays the komuz, an ancient Central Asian stringed instrument. As she tells correspondent Ron Synovitz in our "A Different Beat" segment, Kyrgyz have no traditional dance, and for her, playing the komuz is like visual ballet -- "the dance of the hand."

We ask Brian Whitmore, author of "The Power Vertical" blog, to suss out the very public disagreement that erupted between Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and Prime Minister Vladimir Putin over the UN Security Council resolution authorizing enforcement of a no-fly zone over Libya. As Brian himself wrote about Medvedev's dressing down of Putin, "Ouch!"

Mohammad Amin Mudaqiq
Mohammad Amin Mudaqiq of RFE/RL's Radio Free Afghanistan kicks off a new segment we're calling "This Is My Story." Amin relates the harrowing tale of how, as a 23-year-old man in Soviet-occupied Afghanistan, he narrowly escaped the clutches of Soviet soldiers who were trying to forcibly draft him into the military.

And in "Meet The Bloggers," Luke Allnutt, editor in chief of rferl.org and the man behind "Tangled Web," explains the mission of his blog: "I'm looking at the smart ways in which people are using digital tools for activism," he says, "but I'm also looking at how repressive governments are using the same tools to crack down on activism."

This week's host is Grant Podelco.

Listen to or download the latest episode of "The Blender" below or subscribe to "The Blender" on iTunes. For previous episodes of "The Blender," click here.

RFE/RL's The Blender -- 3/25/11

Audio Podcast: Rumsfeld Reflects; WikiLeaks Speaks; Uzbekistan Declares War On Rock 'N' Roll

Donald Rumsfeld, possibly listening to latest "Blender" podcast.

Posted At: 18 March 10:15

In this week's episode, we present highlights from our exclusive interview with former U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld.

On the heels of Rumsfeld's recently released memoir, "Known And Unknown," writer at large Jamie Kirchick spoke with him about the decisions involved in the Iraq and Afghan wars, his views on the U.S. response to the 2005 massacre in the Uzbek city of Andijon, and many other topics.

Kristinn Hrafnsson
A transcript of the full interview with Rumsfeld can be found here.

Correspondent Kristin Deasy interviews Kristinn Hrafnsson, the spokesman for the controversial whistle-blowing website WikiLeaks. Hrafnsson responds to criticism about his organization's own lack of transparency and defends WikiLeaks' methods and goals.

Uzbek state television recently declared war on rock 'n' roll and rap music. A documentary called "Melody And Calamity" says this "satanic music" was created by evil forces to degrade young people in Western countries. Our Central Asian correspondent, Bruce Pannier, turns up the volume on this story.

And in our regular "Uncovered" segment, we sit down with Pete Baumgartner and Merkhat Sharipzhan, the editors of the "From Our Bureaus" desk, to discuss significant stories from our broadcast region that aren't getting their due in the Western media.

This week's host is Bruce Jacobs.

Listen to or download the latest episode of "The Blender" below or subscribe to "The Blender" on iTunes. For previous episodes of "The Blender," click here.

RFE/RL's The Blender -- 3/18/11

Audio Podcast: Russia's New Opposition Poster Boy; Volatile Pakistan; Women's Day Roundtable

Farah Hiwad of RFE/RL's Radio Free Afghanistan (left) and Zamira Eshanova of our Uzbek Service discuss the significance of International Women's Day in their countries.

Posted At: 11 March 08:12

In this week's episode, correspondent Gregory Feifer profiles Vladimir Milov, the handsome, well-spoken politician who hopes to become the first presidential candidate to challenge the Kremlin on behalf of a unified opposition.

Daisy Sindelar
Ron Synovitz picks the brain of our Pakistan specialist, Abubakar Siddique, about the current situation in that volatile country, following two high-profile assassinations and a spate of suicide bombings.

We marvel at the vocal talents of the "Tatar Beat Box," Islam Valiev, an economics major at Kazan State University (see video below).

And we mark the 100th anniversary of International Women's Day by looking at the roles that women play in Uzbekistan, Chechnya, and Afghanistan. Amina Umarova of the North Caucasus Service, Farah Hiwad of Radio Free Afghanistan, and Zamira Eshanova of the Uzbek Service participated in a lively roundtable discussion.

This week's host is Daisy Sindelar. If you have a comment on "The Blender," post it below or write to podcast@rferl.org.

Listen to or download the latest episode of "The Blender" below or subscribe to "The Blender" on iTunes. For previous episodes of "The Blender," click here.

The Blender -- Episode 9



"Tatar Beat Box" Islam Valiev:

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Podcast: My Dad, The Dictator; Serbia Exports The Rule Book On Revolution; Iran's Brave Bloggers

Belarusian President Alyaksandr Lukashenka and his son Kolya meet with Pope Benedict at the Vatican in April 2009.

Posted At: 04 March 08:08

In this week's episode, correspondent Daisy Sindelar looks at the personal side of polit
Grant Podelco
ics, examining the very public -- and very unusual -- relationship between a father and his son. In this case, it's Belarusian strongman Alyaksandr Lukashenka -- affectionately referred to as Europe's "last dictator" -- and his 6-year-old son, Kolya.

Correspondent Courtney Brooks looks at the surprising role that a group of Serbian pro-democracy activists -- integral in the overthrow of former Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic -- are playing in the revolutions currently sweeping North Africa and the Middle East.

In our "Meet the Bloggers" segment, Washington Bureau chief Heather Maher talks to Golnaz Esfandiari of "Persian Letters." As Golnaz explains, Iran's bloggers -- which "Persian Letters" closely monitors -- offer a window into Iranian politics and society that can't be found anywhere else.

Golnaz Esfandiari
And last but not least, editors Pete Baumgartner and Merkhat Sharipzhan of our "From Our Bureaus" desk fill us in on some significant stories from RFE/RL's broadcast region -- reported by journalists in our 20 local bureaus -- that aren't getting the traction they deserve in the Western press. You'll be shocked by the horrific experience endured by a candidate for Belarus's presidency, who was imprisoned and tortured in a KGB prison for having the gall to protest the result of December's election, widely considered to have been fraudulent. The winner of that poll? See above.

This week's host is Grant Podelco.

Listen to or download the latest episode of "The Blender" below or subscribe to "The Blender" on iTunes. For previous episodes of "The Blender," click here.

RFE/RL's The Blender -- 3/04/11

Podcast: Interviews With Vaclav Havel, Mikhail Gorbachev, And Outgoing RFE/RL Head Jeffrey Gedmin

Vaclav Havel

Posted At: 25 February 11:13

In this week's episode, we speak to former Czech president and world-renowned playwright Vaclav Havel about his directorial debut on a new movie based on his play called “Leaving.”

Our Moscow bureau interviews former Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev, where he lashes out at Russia’s current president and prime minister.

And the outgoing president of RFE/RL, Jeffrey Gedmin, talks about social media and the Internet battlefield.

This week's host is Bruce Jacobs.

Listen to or download the latest episode of "The Blender" below or subscribe to "The Blender" on iTunes. For previous episodes, you can also click here.

The Blender Episode 7

Audio Podcast: Sex Scandal Rocks Armenia; Barry Rubin On Egyptian Revolution; Music Of The Dutar

Murad Rakhimov, dressed in traditional Turkmen attire, playing the dutar

Posted At: 18 February 07:37

Grant Podelco
In this week's episode, Ruzanna Stepanyan reports from Yerevan about a sex scandal that's thrown Armenia for a loop.

Serop Der-Boghassian is an Iraqi-born Armenian who made a name for himself as a successful businessman. After working for decades in the United States, he returned to his ethnic homeland and became the main employer in a little northern town called Akhtala.

Now he's been charged with sex crimes.

He denies the charges, as the town itself wonders what will become of it if its benefactor is forced out.

Serop Der-Boghossian
Writer at large Jamie Kirchick returns from Israel with an interview with noted Mideast expert and author Barry Rubin. Rubin, as ever, offers his frank comments on the Egyptian revolution and some of the misconceptions surrounding it, as well as the status of the Muslim Brotherhood.

We pay a visit to the editors of our "From Our Bureaus" wire, Pete Baumgartner and Merkhat Sharipzhan, for another installment of "Uncovered" -- a discussion of important stories from our broadcast region that we think are being underreported in the West.

And finally, correspondent Ron Synovitz invited Murad Rakhimov into our studios to kick off a new segment we're calling "A Different Beat." Rakhimov is a virtuoso on the dutar, a two-stringed Asian lute. Listen in as Rakhimov plays the dutar and discusses its exotic history.

This week's host is Grant Podelco.

Listen to or download the latest episode of "The Blender" below or subscribe to "The Blender" on iTunes. For previous episodes, you can also click here.

RFE/RL's The Blender -- 2/18/11

Audio Harrowing Account Of Being Detained In Cairo; Meet The Bloggers; The Language Of Love

Robert Tait in the Central Newsroom at RFE/RL headquarters in Prague, shortly after his return from Egypt

Posted At: 11 February 08:29

Grant Podelco
In this week's episode, Ron Synovitz talks with our Southwest Asia correspondent Robert Tait about his harrowing ordeal in Cairo last week.

Tait and a colleague from Radio Free Iraq, Abdelilah Nuaimi, had just arrived in the Egyptian capital when they were detained by police at a roadblock on their way to Tahrir Square. What happened to Tait and Nuaimi while in the custody of the feared Mukhabarat intelligence service amounted to torture.

Staying on the same topic, our chief Washington editor, Christian Caryl, discusses the comparisons being made betweeen the events in Egypt and the Islamic Revolution in Iran in 1979. Caryl is writing a book about 1979 and how the remarkable events of that year continue to define the world.

In our new "Meet The Bloggers" segment, producer Pavel Butorin gets Brian Whitmore into the studio to talk about his "Power Vertical" blog, a must-read for obsessive Kremlin watchers.

And just in time for Valentine's Day, we discover that Aslan Doukaev, the director of our North Caucasus Service, speaks the language of love.

This week's host is Grant Podelco.

Listen to or download the latest episode below or subscribe to "The Blender" on iTunes. For previous episodes of "The Blender," you can also click here.

RFE/RL's The Blender -- Episode 5

Audio Egypt And The Ripple Effect; Boney M. & The Soviet Bloc; And Stories 'Uncovered'

The late Bobby Farrell performs in Moscow in December 2009

Posted At: 05 February 08:56

Daisy Sindelar
In this week's episode, RFE/RL's Jeremy Bransten looks at the recent uprisings in the Middle East and their repercussions for the nations of Central Asia, as well as Azerbaijan.

We also remember the legacy of Boney M. in the former Soviet bloc, following the untimely passing of its flamboyant frontman, Bobby Farrell. David Kakabadze of RFE/RL's Georgian Service, Mosaddegh Katouzian of Radio Farda, and Nik Krastev, our New York correspondent, listen and reminisce.

And we debut a new segment we're calling "Uncovered," which focuses on significant, if underreported, stories from RFE/RL's broadcast region. Pete Baumgartner and Merkhat Sharipzhan of our "From Our Bureaus" desk speak with editor Brian Whitmore.

This week's host is Daisy Sindelar.

Download the episode below or subscribe on iTunes.

RFE/RL's The Blender -- Episode 4

About This Podcast

Brian Whitmore
Welcome to "The Blender," the weekly podcast from Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. "The Blender" presents the best of RFE/RL -- features from our far-flung bureaus, interviews with newsmakers and correspondents, reports on language, music, and culture, even a little humor now and again. A new episode is posted every Friday. Download the latest episode at left or subscribe on iTunes. Your feedback is welcome, either in the comments section or write to podcast@rferl.org.