Section Archive One on One
Rudy Linka – a guitar virtuoso bringing world renowned musicians to Czech cities and towns with Bohemia Jazz Fest
The world-renowned jazz guitar player Rudy Linka was born in Prague but
moved to Sweden at a young age. After half a decade there he left for the
US, and has been living in New York for nearly a quarter of a century. In
recent years, however, Rudy has been home in the Czech Republic every
summer, organising the Bohemia Jazz Fest, a great free event which brings
world class jazz musicians to a number of Czech towns and cities. We met at
Café Slavia, one of the haunts of his teenage years. More
Slovenian philosopher Slavoj Žižek on social unrest, fall of communism, and Miloš Forman films
The Slovenian thinker Slavoj Žižek has been described as the most
dangerous philosopher in the West. He criticizes global capitalism and
warns of the dangers it presents for today’s democracy. Slavoj Žižek
recently arrived in Prague to launch a Czech translation of his latest
book, entitled First Tragedy Then Farce. Czech Radio’s Petr Dudek spoke
to Slavoj Žižek during his Prague visit, and first asked him about his
view of the Occupy Wall Street movement in the US. More
Anna Marešová, the designer of award-winning Whoop De Doo sex toys
More than 180 designs by secondary school and university students from
around the Czech Republic competed in the 20th annual National Student
Design Awards that were handed out in Prague last week. The main prize went
to Anna Marešová, a post-graduate student at the UJEP university in
Ústí nad Labem, for a set of vibrators called Whoop De Doo. The sleek,
hypermodern sex toys, complete with chargers, charmed the jury which
appreciated the author’s innovative and daring approach. In this edition
of One on One, Anna Marešová talks about her award-wining Whoop De Doo
vibrators, her inspiration and some of her other work. I first asked her
whether the award came as a big surprise. More
Alice Nellis – leading Czech filmmaker returns with Perfect Days
With dramas like Eeeny Meeny, Little Girl Blue and Mamas and Papas, Alice
Nellis has become one of the best-known Czech filmmakers of her generation.
The director and screenwriter, who is 40, is now back at the box office
with Perfect Days, a comedy adapted from the stage. More
Lawyer Edward Fagan: Czech authorities “sadly mistaken” about what they are facing
The high-profile US reparations lawyer Edward Fagan is waging a battle with
the Czech authorities over bonds issued in 1924 by the town Karlovy Vary.
Mr Fagan made his name in the 1990s when he successfully sued Swiss banks
on behalf of Holocaust victims for more than a billion US dollars; he now
says he is one of the owners of the Karlovy Vary bonds that were never
fully paid off, and whose total value would now amount to some 500 million
dollars. But Czech officials say these bonds expired a long time ago, and
when the media-savvy lawyer showed up at Karlovy Vary town hall and at the
Czech Finance Ministry, no one was willing to meet with him More
Paul Day – owner of Prague’s newly opened and much praised Asian fusion restaurant Sansho
Paul Day was born and raised in Stafford, in the UK’s West Midlands,
where he started working as a butcher, his first food industry job. After
working in two Michelin-starred restaurants in London, the chef came to
Prague and has recently opened a restaurant of his own, Sansho. In its
first weeks of being open, the Asian fusion restaurant quickly became the
one place everyone was talking about – and now, Sansho is fully booked
most days – even at lunch. I met the chef at the restaurant, where he
told me about the flavors that fascinate him, how Prague’s dining scene
differs from London’s, and what first sparked his interest in food and
cooking. More
Freddie Botur – Retired NY tennis entrepreneur with deep Czech roots
Freddie Botur, who was born Vratislav Botur, fled Czechoslovakia in 1948,
shortly after taking part in a student march to Prague Castle aimed at
preventing the Communists from seizing power. The ambitious young émigré
eventually ended up in New York, where he became a successful developer and
owner of tennis clubs, including the well-known Tennisport on the banks of
the East River. More
Rachel Kanarowski – at just 30, editor of a major glossy magazine
Rachel Kanarowski has the kind of job that must make her the absolute envy
of her peers. At only 30, she is the editor-in-chief of the Czech version
of InStyle, a major international women’s magazine. At the magazine’s
offices, we discussed shopping in Prague and the Czech take on style. But
first Kanarowski described the unlikely sounding way in which the
opportunity to enter the business arose, and how she made the most of that
chance. More
Jakub Mareš – pioneering the co-working centre concept in the Czech Republic
Jakub Mareš is one of the operators of the Hub, Prague’s biggest
co-working centre. They are a new kind of shared working environment where
people whose main tool is their notebook computer can rent a desk for as
many hours a week as they need. Located in a former printing factory in the
Smíchov district, the Hub features a large open office space, meeting
rooms, a bar and lounge area, and even a summer terrace. When we spoke
there recently, I asked Mareš (30) why he and his colleagues had launched
the project in Prague, and why now. More
Roma rights advocate Gwendolyn Albert on anti-Romany rallies, poverty and the government’s strategy in combating social exclusion
The Czech Republic recently saw an outbreak of tensions between the
country’s Romany minority and parts of the majority population. People in
the isolated northern Bohemian region of Šluknov began holding anti-Romany
rallies to protest a growing crime rate in the region; the government
reacted by sending in the police but also by adopting a plan to tackle the
issue of Romany exclusion and impoverishment. To discuss these and other
issues, Radio Prague spoke to Gwendolyn Albert who for the past 15 years
has been working with the Romany advocacy group, Romea. More
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