I may be completely English by origin, but I am also a committed Czechophile. After several years of occasional visits, I moved to the Czech Republic in 2019, initially to work as a language teacher. Certain global developments the following year made teaching difficult, so I was overjoyed to be given the chance in the summer of 2020 to undertake a PhD with the University of Edinburgh. For three and a half years, I carried out research in the academic field of linguistics, specifically on historical languages. During this time, Prague remained my home, but I had the good fortune to get to experience the delights of Scotland too.
I defended my thesis and completed the PhD in the spring of 2024. All throughout my studies, I developed my passion for public engagement and for sharing linguistics with a general audience. As well as through my writing, this personal mission involved audio adventures into podcasting. These in turn sparked a newfound passion for interviewing guests and creating interesting and entertaining content for listeners. When fate offered me this great opportunity to work for Radio Prague International, which perfectly combines my Czech interests and broadcasting aspirations, I jumped at the chance.
articles by the author
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Memory of Nations Awards honour heroes and witnesses to history in National Theatre ceremony
On Sunday November 17th, within the splendour of the National Theatre in Prague, five individuals were honoured as this year’s recipients of the Memory of Nations Awards.
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Czechia celebrates 35 years since Velvet Revolution and fall of communism
November 17th this year is the thirty-fifth anniversary of the Velvet Revolution, through which Czechoslovakia transitioned into a democratic and capitalist country.
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A 17th-century man for our times: the life and lessons of the Moravian thinker John Amos Comenius
To mark the anniversary of the death of the Moravian thinker John Amos Comenius, Danny Bate spoke to scholar Lenka Pospíšilová about his life and relevance for today.
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Velvet 89: educational new game presents events of 1989 to new generation
Ahead of the thirty-fifth anniversary of the Velvet Revolution, Danny Bate spoke to designer Ondřej Javora, who was behind the graphics of the new game Velvet 89.
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Penny Black, Red Mercury and Blue Mauritius: rare stamps now on display in Prague exhibition
For six days, starting on November 12th, a unique exhibition of rare stamps and other extraordinary historical objects has opened in central Prague.
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Director of CzechTourism on 2024 summer season and beyond
František Reismüller, director of CzechTourism, reflects on the successes and problems of the 2024 summer season, and looks ahead to the future.
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Signal Festival applies for lease of magnificent yet empty Old Town Market
The company behind the popular annual Signal Festival is currently the only applicant for the lease of the Old Town Market (Staroměstská Tržnice).
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Roast goose, new wine and first snows: Czechia celebrates St. Martin’s Day
November 11th is the feast day of St. Martin of Tours, and Danny Bate spoke to diners at one Prague pub especially renowned for its St. Martin’s Day goose.
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404 years since the fateful Battle of White Mountain
November 8th is the anniversary of the Battle of White Mountain (Bitva na Bílé hoře), fought in 1620 just outside Prague, which forever changed the Czech lands.
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British defence attaché Col. Jonathan Kitson on his role, Remembrance Sunday and Poppy Appeal
Ahead of Armistice Day on November 11th, Danny Bate spoke to Colonel Jonathan Kitson, defence attaché at the British Embassy.