Shows
Diasporas SpeakingDiasporas Speaking Season Two announcementAfter an enriching first season, Diasporas Speaking is happy to come back with a second season, with the first episode streaming the week of the 8th of December 2025.
2025-12-0701 minDiasporas SpeakingMusic, Memory & Movement: Exploring Diasporic life through soundIn this episode, Rina Limoni, founder and host of the Diasporas Speaking Podcast will be interviewed by Arbër Qerka-Gashi, to reflect on her life experiences through music. Using songs and music as prompts to evoke memories, the conversation delves into how these songs and music have accompanied Rina throughout her journey of displacement and migration, through the difficulties of navigating identity formation, code switching in different environments and exploring the personal significance they hold and the ways they symbolise key moments in her life
2025-08-1157 minDiasporas SpeakingWriting Oneself into History: Queer, Bosnian, Muslim, and Foreign with Ervin MalakajWriting Oneself into History: Queer, Bosnian, Muslim, and Foreign with Ervin Malakaj Ervin Malakaj was born in Doboj. In the 1990s he lived as refugee in Germany before immigrating to the USA. After completing graduate degrees in German studies, he became a professor at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada, where he currently lives with his partner and dog. Ervin’s scholarly work focuses on queer and diaspora studies with a special focus on visual culture. He is currently completing a book of personal essays about live in the queer Bosnian diaspora provisionally titled Tetka Theory.What do...
2025-07-2753 minDiasporas SpeakingSrebrenica Genocide 30 Years on | Survival, Loss, and the Ongoing Fight for Justice with Selma JahićSelma Jahić was born in 1988 in Srebrenica and grew up nearby in a village called Blječeva. During the war years from 1992 to 1995, she and her family stayed exclusively in Srebrenica and the surrounding area.In August 1995, Selma came to Vienna after being expelled from Srebrenica in July 1995, a time during which she lost many family members. Since then, she has been living in Vienna. She completed her schooling in Austria and trained as a media designer.She currently works as a content manager for a public institution. In her private life, Selma is very active as an activist an...
2025-07-1144 minDiasporas SpeakingFrom the Margins to the Centre: Reframing Mental Health Through a Community LensFrom the Margins to the Centre: Reframing Mental Health Through a Community Lens with Alberta SinaniAlberta Sinani is a Kosovo-born artist and community psychologist based in Austria. Her work explores themes of migration, intergenerational resilience, and liberation practices within communities. As a Fulbright Student in the U.S., she has focused on immigrant youth mental health and civic engagement—work that inherently demands generational healing as a first step toward sustainable peacebuilding. With a background in political science and social design, Alberta bridges academia, activism, and art to create transformative sp...
2025-06-1342 minDiasporas SpeakingPost-2000 Migration from Serbia: Storming Against Your Government's Political LegacyPost-2000 Migration from Serbia: Storming Against Your Government's Political Legacy with Damnjan Jovanović'sDamnjan Jovanović was born in Montenegro and grew up in Serbia, where he earned a Bachelor of Science in Electrical, Electronic, and Communications Engineering Technology from the University of Belgrade. A passionate technologist, Damnjan is fluent in multiple programming languages and thrives at the intersection of creative work, human connection, and technical problem-solving.Driven by curiosity and a love for engaging with people, he brings energy to every project and finds inspiration in meaningful audience interactions. Outside of work, Damnjan lives by a "family first" philosophy. He...
2025-05-2926 minDiasporas SpeakingAfter all, Eurovision explains everythingAfter all, Eurovision explains everything with Dr Catherine BakerDr Catherine Baker is Reader in 20th Century History at the University of Hull. Her research on narratives of national and European identity in media and popular culture centres on the post-Yugoslav space and its transnational connections, from the Eurovision Song Contest to the region’s place in global politics of race. She is the author of books including Race and the Yugoslav Region: Postsocialist, Post-Conflict, Postcolonial? and Sounds of the Borderland: Popular Music, War and Nationalism in Croatia Since 1991, and The Yugoslav Wars of th...
2025-05-1747 minDiasporas SpeakingSounds of Struggle: Music and Cultural Divides in 1990s SerbiaSounds of Struggle: Music and Cultural Divides in 1990s Serbia with Dr Eric Gordy Dr Eric Gordy is Professor of Political and Cultural Sociology at the School for Slavonic and East European Studies, University College London. His research concentrates on Southeast Europe, especially the states of the former Yugoslavia. He is the author of The Culture of Power in Serbia: Nationalism and the Destruction of Alternatives and Guilt, Responsibility and Denial: The Past at Stake in Post-Milošević Serbia, and editor (with Adnan Efendić) of Meaningful reform in the Western Balkans: Between formal institutions and...
2025-05-0746 minDiasporas SpeakingLiving the Political: Choosing KosovoLiving the Political: Choosing Kosovo with Her Excellency Kosovar Ambassador to the Kingdom of Norway Dr. Nita LuciH.E. Dr. Nita Luci is Ambassador of the Republic of Kosovo to the Kingdom of Norway. She holds an MA and PhD in Anthropology from the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor and assistant professorship in anthropology at the University of Prishtina. Her academic, teaching and research practice, as well as activism, has focused on issues of gender inequalities, social and political movements, and the state.She has published on topics of masculinity, contemporary and...
2025-03-2452 minDiasporas SpeakingGendered experiences in the legal system: refugee and migrant womenGendered experiences in the legal system: refugee and migrant women with Hana MarkuHana Marku is an immigration and refugee lawyer in Toronto, Canada. She practices law at Marku & Lee Immigration and Refugee Lawyers, where she is a principal lawyer alongside her firm partner Damey Lee. She has lived between Canada and Kosova, having gone back and forth a few times. She was formerly a writer, editor, and researcher based in Prishtina, focused on gender equality and transitional justice. She loves chocolate, swimming, reading, and occasionally throwing a rock into the machine of the...
2025-03-1549 minDiasporas SpeakingRaising Political Awareness: The Role of Extracurricular Civic EducationRaising Political Awareness: The Role of Extracurricular Civic Education with Nejra Dedić-DemirovićNon-formal Political Education refers to educational processes and activities that take place outside of regular school instruction, aiming to raise individuals' political awareness and political maturity. It is generally directed at various age groups and target audiences and is offered by different actors such as political foundations, associations, youth organisations, media, or even state institutions.The goal of non-formal political education is to empower people to actively and thoughtfully participate in political processes, to form well-founded awareness on political issues, and to un...
2025-03-0133 minDiasporas SpeakingKosovo and Statehood: The Battle for Recognition and the Fight Against De-recognitionKosovo and Statehood: The Battle for Recognition and the Fight Against De-recognition with Dr Gezim Visoka.Dr Gëzim Visoka is the Associate Dean for Research in the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences and Associate Professor of Peace and Conflict Studies in the School of Law and Government at Dublin City University (DCU). Dr Visoka is a leading international scholar on statehood and state recognition, and post-conflict peacebuilding and statebuilding. His research focuses on the making, remaking, and unmaking of states and peace processes in contemporary world politics. He is the author and editor of 12 published books, over 30 p...
2025-02-2434 minDiasporas SpeakingFraming Post-2000 Kosovo E-Migration: Between the Legacy of War and a New Generation of ProfessionalsFraming Post-2000 Kosovo E-Migration: Between the Legacy of War and a New Generation of Professionals In this episode, we are joined by Dr Vjosa Musliu, who will share her motivations for emigrating from Kosovo and reflect on the period that led to the new journey in Belgium. The existing literature on Kosovar emigration primarily focuses on those who left before or during the 1990s, driven by economic hardships and human rights abuses. However, the post-2000 emigration wave, including those who left Kosovo for education, career advancement, or on spousal visas, still needs to be explored. While it is well-documented...
2025-02-1747 minDiasporas SpeakingNEWBORN: Kosovo and the politics of 'hope'What happens when a place declares independence?How does the political landscape evolve in the aftermath, and how do these shifts affect the people and political figures dealing with the past in that newly independent state?These questions will guide our conversation in February, which coincides with Kosovo's Independence anniversary on the 17th and the parliamentary elections on the 9th.To kick off this mini-series exploring diverse perspectives, primarily from the diaspora, I interviewed Dr Aidan Hehir about his latest book, 'Kosovo and the Internationals: Hope, Hubris, and the...
2025-02-0144 minDiasporas SpeakingQueerness and Faith | Between Tradition and ResistanceNik Jovčić-Sas will be our guest for this episode of Diasporas Speaking.Thank you to Arbër Qerka-Gashi for agreeing to co-host this episode with me. Nik Jovčić-Sas is a British-Serb LGBTQ+ activist, musician, drag queen and Eastern Orthodox Theologian. Their work focuses on the intersection of the LGBTQ+ community and Orthodox Christian theology, history and identity - particularly within Serbia and the Balkans. Over the past 10 years they have participated in some of the largest conferences in the Orthodox Church on queer and trans right...
2025-01-0637 minDiasporas SpeakingBonus Episode: What is your most memorable New Year's Eve celebration?
For many people in the Balkans, where Islam, the Christian Orthodox tradition, and Catholicism coexist, New Year's Eve is the defining end-of-year celebration.
In Albania, the Christmas tree is called 'Bredhi, but it's not necessarily tied to Christmas- it's a symbol of New Year's festivities, a sentiment shared across much of the region.
For members of the Balkan diaspora, celebrating New Year's Eve in their host countries often stirs a mix of emotions: a blend of longing, nostalgia, and joyful celebration. These are bittersweet moments, filled with reflections on the past year...
2024-12-2723 minDiasporas SpeakingBalkan Cuisine in the Diaspora: Exploring Identity Through Culinary TraditionsIn this episode, Irina Janakievska joins us to share her diaspora story, speak about her debut cookbook “The Balkan Kitchen” and explore food traditions in the Balkans and their transformation beyond.From childhood, we become immersed in culinary traditions, where food choices shape and reinforce our social identities.In the diaspora, the act of "food travelling" - preparing, sharing, and consuming Balkan food - fulfils not only physical needs but also deep psychological ones. Food becomes a bridge to memory, evoking personal and collective experiences, whether thro...
2024-12-2250 minDiasporas SpeakingKasetat e Vitit Ri (New Year's Eve Cassettes) - Popular Culture and Diaspora Consciousness
Having lost the right to a cultural archive through colonisation, folklore, which in Kosovo had traditionally served as an instrument to reiterate history, played a crucial role in maintaining and producing a common cultural identity.
Reverberating around Serbian oppression and consequently the ensuing immigration during the 1990s, the imaginary distributed through popular culture articulated in the experience of many Kosovar-Albanian migrants and refugees.
Popular culture with and beyond nationalist narratives served to develop a diaspora consciousness, allowing for a peculiar continuance - traversing the territorial borders between Kosovo and the diaspora.
In this episode, we are joined by Arbnora...
2024-12-0138 minDiasporas SpeakingThe silent(ced) women and mothers - an Interview with my mother Ilirjete Agushi-Kqiku (Albanian)The experiences of women who migrated from Kosovo to the West during the 1990s or earlier remain largely unaddressed or marginalised in current Kosovar-Albanian migration narratives.With this in mind, we will begin periodic conversations with the generation of women who moved to the diaspora with their families or claimed asylum on their own.To begin this series, I interviewed my mother, Ilirjetë Agushi-Kqiku, to share her perspective on migration and the significance of leaving Kosovo with three children, undertaking a three-week journey while pregnant, to shed light on how this experience has shaped Ilirjetë’s li...
2024-11-1527 minDiasporas SpeakingHeteronationalism and Identity | Women and LGBT + communities navigating Albanian Digital SpacesContemporary Albanian identities in both digital and offline spaces are deeply influenced by legacies of war, colonialism, tradition, and modernity.Over the past decade, Albanian social media has increasingly become a platform where heteronormative norms are performed, casting Albanian identity through a heteronationalist lens focused on national heroes and the flag.This idealisation of heteronormative lifestyles reinforces binary notions of gender and sexuality, with digital hetero-activists defending a narrow vision of Albanian identity.An approach that often leads to online hate and violence against marginalised communities and anyone who challenges these norms.
2024-11-0149 minDiasporas SpeakingBonus Episode: Navigating misogyny and racism as an Albanian woman in SwitzerlandBONUS Episode: In response to the current narratives about Albanian women and men in Switzerland, I teamed up with Swiss-Albanian feminists to create this bonus episode, delving deeper into the issues of gender-based violence beyond the attention-grabbing headlines.Globally, one in three women will face gender-based violence, often from a partner, former partner, or family member.In the context of migration, these experiences are frequently compounded by racism, as non-native cultures are often portrayed as inherently "violent". This narrative implies that gender-based violence is problem introduced by migrant communities. A similar pattern...
2024-10-2538 minDiasporas SpeakingAre UK Kosovars the ‘posh spice’ of our diaspora and German-speaking diasporas a ‘different breed’?Are UK Kosovars the "posh spice" of our diaspora and German-speaking diasporas a "different breed"?The evolution of diasporas in host countries is influenced by various factors, including the generation of migrants, the host country’s migration policies and attitudes, language proficiency, and available professional opportunities. These elements also play a role in shaping how diasporas are viewed in their countries of origin. For instance, in Kosovo, attitudes towards the Kosovar-Albanian diaspora in the UK seem more favourable than those towards the diaspora in German-speaking countries such as Germany, Switzerland, and Austria.
2024-10-1528 minDiasporas SpeakingBorder Tongues | 'Searching for Language'Language forms the core of who we are, encapsulating our identity and how we perform it in our socio-cultural spaces. Language, then spoken in a space formerly designed and imagined for a homogenous society in the diasporas, becomes a place of struggle for immigrants. A mirror of exile and the experiences that encapsulate it.In this episode, we will speak with Jonë Zhitia about her essay ‘Nadryw | Sprache fühlen’ (“Feeling Language”).In her writing, Jonë explores language as an antagonism that places her war-refugee and migrant experiences in an ongoing...
2024-10-0138 min
The MachinistMemory and Diaspora | 'Balkanism' and Digital Geographies of Cultural Objects Podcast: Diasporas SpeakingEpisode: Memory and Diaspora | 'Balkanism' and Digital Geographies of Cultural ObjectsPub date: 2024-09-15Get Podcast Transcript →powered by Listen411 - fast audio-to-text and summarization
In recent years, Balkan social media has increasingly focused on diaspora memory and perseverance through a digital inventory of cultural artefacts. Digital maps of meaning-making can reproduce and reshape memory, revealing a complex relationship between knowledge production in the diaspora and the culture of origin. This process is dynamic, reflecting the ongoing negotiation of identity and belonging.
In this episode, we wi...
2024-09-1839 minDiasporas SpeakingMemory and Diaspora | 'Balkanism' and Digital Geographies of Cultural Objects
In recent years, Balkan social media has increasingly focused on diaspora memory and perseverance through a digital inventory of cultural artefacts. Digital maps of meaning-making can reproduce and reshape memory, revealing a complex relationship between knowledge production in the diaspora and the culture of origin. This process is dynamic, reflecting the ongoing negotiation of identity and belonging.
In this episode, we will speak to the Founder of Balkanism, Arbër Qerka-Gashi, about digital archives and explore the nature of memory perseverance in the digital age.
Arbër is a London-based Writer, Curator, Researcher, Visual Artist and Events Producer.
He ho...
2024-09-1539 minDiasporas SpeakingKosovar-Albanian Gastarbeiter Family Histories | Zwischen Mensch und Arbeitskraft
Whilst the Kosovar-Albanian diaspora in Germany makes up the largest group of Kosovars abroad, in comparison to other countries where Kosovar-Albanians have migrated, most scholarship and discourse are concentrated on the 1990s migrants.
In contrast to Turkish migrant workers, little attention has been given to Kosovar-Albanian guest workers and their families who migrated between the 1960s and the early 1980s. Their histories are often shelved under Yugoslav workers; however, Kosovar-Albanian migrant histories were also connoted to discrimination back home and the growing human rights abuses under the Yugoslav regime, thereby requiring particular attention.
The individuals w...
2024-09-0129 minDiasporas SpeakingFirst Things First | Why Diasporas Speaking?This episode highlights why I started this podcast. It gives insight into my migration background and, most importantly, what to expect in the coming episodes. Thanks to Alexia Malaj and Florent Kamberi, respectively, for sharing their perspectives on what living in the diaspora means for them.
2024-08-2013 min