Episode 247: When music defies power. The case of Belarus

In this episode, Adam and Nina are together in Brussels recording the latest updates on the news from the region. The biggest discussion is around the diplomatic flurry over the last week and the remodelled 28-point peace plan between the US, Russia and Ukraine. Adam reflects on the current situation and discusses what might be next. They also discuss Viktor Orban’s visit to Moscow

Later, Nina sits down in Brussels with Peter Vermeersch, a professor of Politics and Eastern European Studies at the University of Leuven (KU Leuven, Belgium), and a writer of essays, reportage, and narrative non-fiction. They discuss his latest book Pollslag (Pulse) and, more broadly, the role of music as a form of resistance against authoritarianism beyond Belarus.

During the interview, Peter mentions several artists featured in this Spotify playlist:
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3YmjGTewBHutfgJWUOASiD?si=jcJ-lu-OSj6dr8csRAf8PA

Pollslag was initially written for a Belgian audience, and Peter is now planning to translate it into English. In the meantime, you can read his non-fiction story about his family to get a sense of his narrative style: https://petervermeersch.craft.me/hbzUOUDh9tgMxI

Peter is also part of the Forum on Central and Eastern Europe at the University of Leuven, which aims to bring insights from the region to Belgian audiences: https://fcee.be

The Forum also produces its own podcast, Studio Central Eastern Europe, offering brief and concise insights into new research on the region for English-speaking audiences: https://soc.kuleuven.be/lines/fcee/fcee-studio/studio-cee

Peter also works as a researcher–photographer. His photographs from Minsk (2016) can be found here: https://vsco.co/petervermeersch/journal/belarus

And read Adam’s op-ed on the Ukraine peace talks via Brief Eastern Europe: https://briefeasterneurope.eu/p/december-1-2025

For our Patrons, Peter stayed on to speak about visual art and Belarusian pro-democracy activism outside of Belarus. The bonus content can be found here: https://www.patreon.com/posts/episode-247-145134701