Danube Institute Podcast

Can great powers have catastrophic blind spots? In this episode we talk with Edward Luttwak, a historian of grand strategy and a strategist who counts many governments among his clients. In his 2013 book The Rise of China vs. the Logic of Strategy, Dr. Luttwak coined the phrase “great state autism” to describe Russia, China, and the United States. For more of his analysis, see “Limitless Empire” in London Review of Books, and “The Clue China is Preparing for War” in Unherd.

Joanna Williams and Viv Regan join the podcast to discuss the current fashion for appealing to 'lived experience' in debate. They explain how a deference to identity allows an often privileged minority to present themselves as victims and silence opposition. In the media, universities and the workplace, hurt feelings routinely justify censorship, and those who cry loudest about their suffering can wield considerable power. How has this situation come about? And how can the importance of free speech be reasserted? Is it fair to brand a younger generation ‘snowflakes’? Is being offended really all that empowering?

Maria Engström joins the podcast to discuss Russia's 'dark conservatism': it's origins in 19th century European thought; its core tenets; and its relevance today, both in the context of the Ukraine war, and political trends in both Russia and the West.

In a special episode of Reflections from Budapest, dedicated to the remembrance of the Hungarian victims of the Holocaust, we asked László Bernát Veszprémy, a journalist and historian about his book titled Bereft of Council: The Jewish Leadership in Hungary and the Holocaust, 1944-1945 which was published this year. In our conversation, we talked about the Jewish leadership of Hungary during and after the Holocaust. To conclude, we discussed the present-day situation of the Hungarian Jewish community and different perceptions of anti-Semitism in Hungary.

In this special episode of Reflections from Budapest Sáron Sugár, a researcher at the Danube Institute asked her colleagues Prof. Jeffrey Kaplan distinguished research fellow, Logan West visiting fellow, and Virág Lőrincz researcher, about their findings and experiences of their two-week-long fieldwork trip in Iraqi Kurdistan. We talked about the current and past challenges of Christians in Iraqi Kurdistan, with a special emphasis on how the violence of ISIS affected Christian women and families and their current challenges in the post-ISIS era. We concluded with a discussion about the worrying future of Christians in Iraq. 

In this episode of Reflections from Budapest, we asked Jonathan Andrews, Middle East Monitor for the Persecution Intelligence Unit of Global Christian Relief and writer of several books dealing with the situation of Christians in the Middle East. In our conversation, we talked about the challenges of those Christians living in Middle Eastern countries who chose to convert from Islam to Christianity and the situation of Christian communities in Lebanon and Sudan. We concluded by discussing how the mass migration of Christians from the Middle East to Western countries affects the future of Christian communities who chose to remain in the region. 

In this episode of Reflections from Budapest, we asked David Curry, the president and CEO of Global Christian Relief, an international ministry that advocates for those persecuted for their Christian faith. In the second part of our conversation, Mr Curry explained the situation of Christian communities in Egypt, Sudan, and Lebanon. We concluded by discussing how the Israeli-Palestinian conflict impacts Christians in Israel and the West Bank.  

In this episode of Reflections from Budapest, we asked David Curry, the president and CEO of Global Christian Relief, an international ministry that advocates for those persecuted for their Christian faith. In the first part of our conversation, Mr Curry shared how he was called to dedicate his life to supporting Christians in the most oppressive countries in the world and how Brother Andrew van der Bijl founded the worldwide known organization Open Doors. He also explained the situation of Christians in need in the Middle East, Africa and Europe. We concluded by discussing the Western world's responsibility in addressing the underlying causes of violence and discrimination against Christian communities worldwide.

Dr. Brittany Pheiffer Noble joins David Martin Jones and Rod Dreher to discuss the role of the Orthodox Church in post-communist Russian political life, and the thought of Alexander Dugin, a far-right philosopher considered by some to be influential on Putin.

In this episode of Reflections from Budapest, we asked Juliana Taimoorazy, who is the founder and president of the Iraqi Christian Relief Council, leading international advocate and 2021 Nobel Peace Prize nominee, about the situation of Christian communities in Iraq. In our conversation, Ms Taimoorazy shared her connection as an Assyrian Christian to Iraq and her experiences with the Iraqi Christian communities. She also explained the current and past challenges of Iraqi Christian women, men, children and families. We concluded by discussing the worrying future of Christian communities in Iraq.