Shows
Travel Writing PodcastReclaiming a Lost Eastern Europe: Interview with Jacob MikanowskiWhat is Eastern Europe, and does it still exist? Jacob Mikanowski set out to answer these questions and more in his book "Goodbye Eastern Europe: An Intimate History of a Divided Land". In this episode of the Travel Writing Podcast, he shares how his Polish heritage, academic background, and personal travels shape his work.
Staying in Warsaw at the tail end of communism, Jacob lived through Poland's transition from sleepy empty streets to the chaotic capitalism of the 1990s. He has since traveled across nearly every Eastern European country, exploring both their nuances and shared identities.
His book is a...
2025-03-2833 min
Rick Steves Audio EuropeGoodbye, Eastern EuropeHistorian Jacob Mikanowski describes how the monolithic "Eastern Europe" of the Cold War has faded and the region is surging with life.
2025-02-1428 min
The Audio Long ReadTeeth as time capsules: Soviet secrets and my dentist grandmotherIn postwar Warsaw, my grandmother Zosia fixed the teeth of prisoners and spies. In doing so, she came into contact with the hidden history of her times in a way few others could. By Jacob Mikanowski. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/longreadpod
2025-01-0630 min
El PodcastE101: Goodbye Eastern Europe: A Conversation w/ Author Jacob MikanowskiHistorian and journalist Jacob Mikanowski explores the legacy of communism, post-Soviet transitions, surveillance states, and the uncertain future of Europe.Guest Bio: Jacob Mikanowski is a historian, cultural critic, and journalist. He is the author of Goodbye, Eastern Europe: An Intimate History of a Divided Land, which traces the complex past and present of the region through personal stories, political history, and cultural memory.Topics Covered:Communist nostalgia and post-1989 transitionsEconomic shocks, privatization, and hyperinflation in Eastern EuropeSurveillance tactics in Cold War-era regimes vs. modern digital surveillanceDecline of legacy media and rise of decentralized...
2024-10-121h 01
Talk Eastern EuropeEpisode 190: Book Talk. Goodbye Eastern EuropeTalk Eastern Europe is back after the August break! In this episode, Adam and Alexandra start with some discussion of the news headlines from the last few weeks, including Ukraine’s Kursk operation, the prisoner swap with Russia, Vladimir Putin’s visit to Mongolia, Georgia’s foreign agent law, Azerbaijani elections, and repressions in Serbia.During the main interview Adam and Nina are joined by Jacob Mikanowski, the author of the book - Goodbye Eastern Europe. An intimate history of a divided land. He is a freelance writer and academic. The discussion takes listeners into Jacob’s book, his moti...
2024-09-051h 03The Audio Long ReadBest of 2024 … so far: Solar storms, ice cores and nuns’ teeth: the new science of historyEvery Friday in August we will publish some of our favourite audio long reads of 2024, in case you missed them, with an introduction from the editorial team to explain why we’ve chosen it. This week, from May: Advances in fields such as spectrometry and gene sequencing are unleashing torrents of new data about the ancient world – and could offer answers to questions we never even knew to ask. By Jacob Mikanowski. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/longreadpod
2024-08-3038 minThe Audio Long ReadSolar storms, ice cores and nuns’ teeth: the new science of historyAdvances in fields such as spectrometry and gene sequencing are unleashing torrents of new data about the ancient world – and could offer answers to questions we never even knew to ask. By Jacob Mikanowski. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/longreadpod
2024-05-0336 min
BNR Perestrojkast | BNR#218: Jelle Brandt Corstius en Lisa Weeda schrijven, praten, treuren en grappen zich suf over OekraïneOekraïners zijn ‘hot’, in de mode. Oekraïne is een hype. Niet alleen journalisten, fotografen, hulpverleners en buitenlandse politieke leiders weten de weg te vinden naar Oekraïne. Ook schrijvers reizen naar een land in oorlog. Zoals Jaap Scholten, Tommy Wieringa en Manon Uphoff, én Lisa Weeda en Jelle Brandt Corstius. De laatste twee brachten dit jaar een boek uit met de oorlog in Oekraïne als rode draad. Dans dans revolutie van Lisa Weeda (bestel) en Jelle Brandt Corstius met Spullen brengen (bestel). Beiden reisden af naar Oekraïne sinds de grootschalige invasie in februari 2022. Wat hebben...
2024-03-041h 08
Heartland Daily PodcastBeyond the Wall: A History of East Germany (Guest: Katja Hoyer)Heartland’s Tim Benson is once again joined by Katja Hoyer, research fellow at King’s College London, to discuss her new book, Beyond the Wall: A History of East Germany. They chat about the political, social, and cultural landscape that existed in East Germany, the oppressions and hardships implemented and placed on the East German population by the communist regime, and why East Germans were so into blue jeans. Get the book here: https://www.basicbooks.com/titles/katja-hoyer/beyond-the-wall/9781541602571/Show Notes:Commentary: Clare McHugh – “East of Eden”https://www.commentary.org/articles/cl...
2024-03-041h 30
Ill Literacy: Books with BensonBeyond the Wall: A History of East Germany (Guest: Katja Hoyer)Heartland’s Tim Benson is once again joined by Katja Hoyer, research fellow at King’s College London, to discuss her new book, Beyond the Wall: A History of East Germany. They chat about the political, social, and cultural landscape that existed in East Germany, the oppressions and hardships implemented and placed on the East German population by the communist regime, and why East Germans were so into blue jeans. Get the book here: https://www.basicbooks.com/titles/katja-hoyer/beyond-the-wall/9781541602571/Show Notes:Commentary: Clare McHugh – “East of Eden”https://www.commentary.org/articles/cl...
2024-03-041h 30
Smart CookiesThe History of EASTERN EUROPE with Jacob MikanowskiJacob Mikanowski is a Polish-American journalist, writer and academic who's recently published an amazing book on the history of EASTERN EUROPE called "Goodbye Eastern Europe: An Intimate History of a Divided Land." Jacob and I talk about the origins of Slavs, the surprising role of slavery in early kingdoms, the colourful medieval Slavdom, as well as modern stereotypes and our unique sense of humour.
2024-02-021h 18
RevDem PodcastAn Intimate Portrait of Eastern Europe - In Conversation With Jacob MikanowskiIn this conversation with RevDem editor Ferenc Laczó, Jacob Mikanowski – author of Goodbye, Eastern Europe: An Intimate History of a Divided Land – discusses his major inspirations as a writer and how his travels have shaped his perspective; explicates his specific approach to the history of Eastern Europe and what he views as the
distinguishing features of this diverse region; and reflects on whether Eastern Europe might still be a place where nonconformists and their heterodox
ideas can flourish.
Jacob Mikanowski (PhD, University of
California, Berkeley) is a writer, journalist, and critic who has written for The Atlantic and t...
2024-01-1239 min
Conversations with TylerJacob Mikanowski on Eastern EuropeJacob Mikanowski is the author of one of Tyler's favorite books this year called Goodbye, Eastern Europe: An Intimate History of a Divided Land. Tyler and Jacob sat down to discuss all things Eastern Europe, including the differences between Eastern and Western European humor, whether Poles are smiling more nowadays, why the best Polish folk art is from the south, the equilibrium for Kaliningrad and the Suwałki Gap, how Romania and Bulgaria will handle depopulation, whether Moldova has an independent future, the best city to party in, why there are so few Christian-Muslim issues in Albania, a nuanced ta...
2023-10-181h 00
History As It HappensRecovering a Vanished WorldThe Eastern Europe that existed before the horrors of the 20th century was a world of ethnic, linguistic, and religious diversity and relative tolerance, "a kind of ramshackle utopia" with "many peoples and faiths and languages arranging themselves in a loose symbiosis" that had lasted centuries, according to journalist and author Jacob Mikanowski in his new book, "Goodbye Eastern Europe: An Intimate History of a Divided Land." Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine evokes memories of the region's darkest days, rather than the history and traditions Mikanowski beautifully writes about. In this episode, the author discusses the region's forgotten...
2023-09-2637 min
Departures with Robert AmsterdamThe fragile ties that bind Eastern EuropeEastern Europe, from the northernmost reaches of of the Baltics and down to the Balkan statelets strung along the Adriadic Sea, is one of the most perplexing, conflicted, and interesting regions of the world which still today remains the subject of myths and misunderstanding. Since the end of the Cold War, one could say that the region barely exists as a concept except in historical memory - but it also stubbornly clings to numerous shared cultural features and experiences that continue to bind it together. In historian Jacob Mikanowski's fascinating new book, "Goodbye, Eastern Europe: An Intimate...
2023-08-2327 min
The Naked Pravda‘Goodbye, Eastern Europe’ with Jacob Mikanowski“This is a history of a place that doesn’t exist. There is no such thing as Eastern Europe anymore. No one comes from there.”
These are the opening lines of Goodbye, Eastern Europe, a new book by writer and historian Jacob Mikanowski that offers a sweeping history of a region that he argues is disappearing. Not in the literal sense, of course; the lands historically considered “Eastern Europe” are very much still there. But the term itself (much like “post-Soviet” and “former Soviet republics”) has fallen out of fashion. And the entangled diversity that was once the hallmark of Eas...
2023-08-1127 min
New Books in Military HistoryJacob Mikanowski, "Goodbye, Eastern Europe: An Intimate History of a Divided Land" (Pantheon Books, 2023)Eastern Europe, the moniker, has gone out of fashion since the fall of the Soviet Union. Ask someone now, and they might tell you that Estonia is in the Baltics, or Scandinavia, that Slovakia is in Central Europe and Croatia is in the Eastern Adriatic or the Balkans. In fact, Eastern Europe is a place that barely exists at all, except in cultural memory. Yet it remains a powerful marker of identity for many, with a fragmented and wide history, defined by texts, myths, and memories of centuries of hardship and suffering.Goodbye, Eastern Europe: An Intimate...
2023-08-111h 12
New Books in European PoliticsJacob Mikanowski, "Goodbye, Eastern Europe: An Intimate History of a Divided Land" (Pantheon Books, 2023)Eastern Europe, the moniker, has gone out of fashion since the fall of the Soviet Union. Ask someone now, and they might tell you that Estonia is in the Baltics, or Scandinavia, that Slovakia is in Central Europe and Croatia is in the Eastern Adriatic or the Balkans. In fact, Eastern Europe is a place that barely exists at all, except in cultural memory. Yet it remains a powerful marker of identity for many, with a fragmented and wide history, defined by texts, myths, and memories of centuries of hardship and suffering.Goodbye, Eastern Europe: An Intimate...
2023-08-111h 09
New Books in Polish StudiesJacob Mikanowski, "Goodbye, Eastern Europe: An Intimate History of a Divided Land" (Pantheon Books, 2023)Eastern Europe, the moniker, has gone out of fashion since the fall of the Soviet Union. Ask someone now, and they might tell you that Estonia is in the Baltics, or Scandinavia, that Slovakia is in Central Europe and Croatia is in the Eastern Adriatic or the Balkans. In fact, Eastern Europe is a place that barely exists at all, except in cultural memory. Yet it remains a powerful marker of identity for many, with a fragmented and wide history, defined by texts, myths, and memories of centuries of hardship and suffering.Goodbye, Eastern Europe: An Intimate...
2023-08-111h 09
New Books in Eastern European StudiesJacob Mikanowski, "Goodbye, Eastern Europe: An Intimate History of a Divided Land" (Pantheon Books, 2023)Eastern Europe, the moniker, has gone out of fashion since the fall of the Soviet Union. Ask someone now, and they might tell you that Estonia is in the Baltics, or Scandinavia, that Slovakia is in Central Europe and Croatia is in the Eastern Adriatic or the Balkans. In fact, Eastern Europe is a place that barely exists at all, except in cultural memory. Yet it remains a powerful marker of identity for many, with a fragmented and wide history, defined by texts, myths, and memories of centuries of hardship and suffering.Goodbye, Eastern Europe: An Intimate...
2023-08-111h 12
New Books in Russian and Eurasian StudiesJacob Mikanowski, "Goodbye, Eastern Europe: An Intimate History of a Divided Land" (Pantheon Books, 2023)Eastern Europe, the moniker, has gone out of fashion since the fall of the Soviet Union. Ask someone now, and they might tell you that Estonia is in the Baltics, or Scandinavia, that Slovakia is in Central Europe and Croatia is in the Eastern Adriatic or the Balkans. In fact, Eastern Europe is a place that barely exists at all, except in cultural memory. Yet it remains a powerful marker of identity for many, with a fragmented and wide history, defined by texts, myths, and memories of centuries of hardship and suffering.Goodbye, Eastern Europe: An Intimate...
2023-08-111h 09
New Books in Ukrainian StudiesJacob Mikanowski, "Goodbye, Eastern Europe: An Intimate History of a Divided Land" (Pantheon Books, 2023)Eastern Europe, the moniker, has gone out of fashion since the fall of the Soviet Union. Ask someone now, and they might tell you that Estonia is in the Baltics, or Scandinavia, that Slovakia is in Central Europe and Croatia is in the Eastern Adriatic or the Balkans. In fact, Eastern Europe is a place that barely exists at all, except in cultural memory. Yet it remains a powerful marker of identity for many, with a fragmented and wide history, defined by texts, myths, and memories of centuries of hardship and suffering.Goodbye, Eastern Europe: An Intimate...
2023-08-111h 09
War BooksEastern Europe's Wars – History Beyond War – Jacob MikanowskiEp 032 – Nonfiction. What is the importance of Eastern Europe, and how has it been defined by warfare? Jacob Mikanowski joins me to discuss his insightful new book, "Goodbye, Eastern Europe: An Intimate History of a Divided Land."Support local bookstores & buy Jacob’s book here: https://bookshop.org/a/92235/9781524748500Subscribe to the War Books podcast here:YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@warbookspodcastApple: https://apple.co/3FP4ULbSpotify: https://spoti.fi/3kP9scZFollow the show here:Twitter: http...
2023-08-091h 11
Russland WatchGoodbye, Eastern Europe #55Der westliche Blick auf Osteuropa ist schwierig. Alte Gewohnheiten verstellen vielerorts den Blick auf alte und neue Realitäten. Jacob Mikanowski hat eine „intimate history of a divided land“ geschrieben, die helfen mag, neue Wege zu finden.
Thomas Fleurs hat die 500 Seiten gelesen und spricht mit Markus Pöhlking und Stefan Schaak über seine Eindrücke dieser Lektüre.
Jacob Mikanowski im Gespräch mit Xavier Bonilla von Converging Dialogues am 31. Juli 2023
https://youtu.be/Qe9P6HjtQds
2023-08-021h 02
Converging Dialogues#248 - Eastern Europe: An Intimate History of A Divided Land: A Dialogue with Jacob MikanowskiIn this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Jacob Mikanowski about the past and present history of Eastern Europe. They define the contours of Eastern Europe and why this region is often forgotten. They talk about the Slavs possibly originating from Romania, Ashkenazi Jews, Paganism, Christianity, and Judaism in Eastern Europe. They talk about Muslim majority countries in Eastern Europe, impact of the Ottoman Empire, the “almost empire” of Poland-Lithuania, and Transylvania. They also discuss language and nationalism, modernization in the 20th century, communism, and many more topics.Jacob Mikanowski is a writer and journalist who focu...
2023-07-311h 55
Skipped HistoryThe Diversity of Eastern Europe—and UkraineI’ve been inclined to steer clear of Ukraine in our interviews. This is a U.S. history newsletter, after all. But Eastern Europe has come up repeatedly in our explorations (for example, on Israel and the Diversity Visa), and I seized the chance to read Goodbye, Eastern Europe by Jacob Mikanowski to learn more. Truth be told, I was blown away, and I hope you find our conversation as enjoyable and educational as I did.Jacob is a historian, journalist, and critic. He’s written for The Atlantic, The Guardian, and The New York Times. He’s also...
2023-07-2139 min
HistoryExtra podcastEastern Europe: a personal journey through the region’s pastEastern Europe has been the setting for some of history’s most climactic events. Yet barely 30 years since the collapse of Communism heralded the so-called “end of history”, are we now witnessing the region’s disappearance? Speaking with Danny Bird, Jacob Mikanowski discusses how eastern Europe’s unique diversity of cultures, traditions and ideologies has endured through the Ottoman empire and the Soviet Union, and wonders if the cultural identity of the region is at risk of disappearing entirely.(Ad) Jacob Mikanowski is the author of Goodbye Eastern Europe: An Intimate History of a Divided La...
2023-07-1745 min
Step Inside A Full Audiobook That Is Simply Best-Selling.Goodbye, Eastern Europe by Jacob MikanowskiPlease visithttps://thebookvoice.com/podcasts/2/audible/71829to listen full audiobooks.
Title: Goodbye, Eastern Europe
Author: Jacob Mikanowski
Narrator: Jacob Mikanowski
Format: mp3
Length: 13 hrs and 5 mins
Release date: 07-11-23
Ratings: 4 out of 5 stars, 31 ratings
Genres: Europe
Publisher's Summary:
"Eastern Europe" has gone out of fashion since the fall of the Soviet Union. Ask someone today, and they might tell you that Estonia is in the Baltics or Scandinavia, that Slovakia is in Central Europe, and that Croatia is in the eastern Adriatic or the Balkans. In fact, Eastern Europe is a place that barely exists at all, except in...
2023-07-111h 05Explore Into Audiobooks — Short Inspiring Combo To Start.Goodbye, Eastern Europe (Audiobook: Jacob Mikanowski)Please visit https://thebookvoice.com/podcasts/2/audible/71829 to listen full audiobooks.
Title: Goodbye, Eastern Europe
Author: Jacob Mikanowski
Narrator: Jacob Mikanowski
Format: mp3
Length: 13 hrs and 5 mins
Release date: 07-11-23
Ratings: 4 out of 5 stars, 31 ratings
Genres: Europe
Publisher's Summary:
"Eastern Europe" has gone out of fashion since the fall of the Soviet Union. Ask someone today, and they might tell you that Estonia is in the Baltics or Scandinavia, that Slovakia is in Central Europe, and that Croatia is in the eastern Adriatic or the Balkans. In fact, Eastern Europe...
2023-07-111h 05
Gone MedievalMedieval Eastern EuropeFrom the Baltics to the Balkans, from Prague to Kiev, Eastern Europe is more than the sum total of its annexations, invasions and independence declarations.In this episode of Gone Medieval, Matt Lewis meets Jacob Mikanowski, author of Goodbye Eastern Europe, to discuss what can be found out about the region in the Medieval period - a history that is fascinating and often overlooked.This episode was edited by Joseph Knight and produced by Rob Weinberg.Discover the past on History Hit with ad-free original podcasts and documentaries released weekly...
2023-07-0732 min
Personal LandscapesEastern Europe with Jacob MikanowskiDonate to Personal Landscapes.The more I’ve travelled in Europe, the more my interest has shifted east, to a region that looks increasingly complex the deeper you delve into it. I reached out to Jacob Mikanowski to help me understand its empires, faiths, stories and nations.He's the author of a fascinating new book called Goodbye Eastern Europe: An Intimate History of a Divided Land. We spoke about frontier societies, plagues of vampires, and the gift of seeing comedy amidst tragedy. This is a public episode. If...
2023-04-201h 37
The Harper’s PodcastThe Call of the DrumsMisremembered histories are often more powerful than fact—look no further than the Tea Party, a political movement that wealthy donors and disaffected cranks built upon stacks of unused high school textbooks. However, the United States isn’t alone in such wonky mythologizing. Viktor Orbán, the far-right prime minister of Hungary, has embraced Turanism, which entails a bogus story of his nation’s founding, in order to further the success of his political party, Fidesz. This revision, which asserts that Hungarians are descended from triumphant Turkic barbarian empires from the East, has grown a culture in direct opposition to the Eur...
2019-08-0832 min
Professor Margaret Lavinia Anderson History Lectures from UC BerkeleyLecture 23: The Russian Revolution - S1:E23Lecture 23: The Russian Revolution (Clips played during class have been removed)
History 5 - Spring 2008: The Making of Modern Europe, 1453 to the Present
Guest Lecture by Jacob Mikanowski, Graduate Student Instructor. Intro: “Aelita Queen of Mars” (1924 Soviet silent film, depicting hero traveling through space to bring Marxism-Leninism to Mars. Clip is on the internet). Russia before 1917: largest continental state in the world; 80% peasants, poor & backward, relative to European counterparts. Serfdom, ended in 1861, is a living memory; harsh terms of emancipation have left peasants deeply indebted, land hunger growing. Nicholas II, an autocrat in love with tradition. Russi...
2019-05-071h 24