Danny Bate
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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“To Brazil without tickets and stereotypes”: The eleventh Kino Brasil festival kicks off in Prague
A rich programme of film, food, dance and music awaits visitors to this year’s Kino Brasil film festival, which begins on October 15th.
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Slavic fortress in Germany now under Czech ownership
In the German state of Brandenburg, a mighty circular fortress, a replica of a Slavic castle from the ninth or tenth century, has been acquired by a Czech owner.
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The life of Edith Pargeter (Ellis Peters): Murder-mystery novelist and self-taught Czech translator
Edith Pargeter was a writer who achieved fame in Britain for her historical murder mysteries. Less well known was her work as a translator and promoter of Czech literature.
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'Óčko': The dark side to the poppy industry
Over the course of 2024, four people have died after consuming ‘óčko’, a crude drug made from poppies stolen from the country’s poppy fields.
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Senate approves new restrictions on sale of kratom and cannabis-derivative HHC
The Czech Senate has passed new limits on the sale of weaker psychomodulatory substances, including kratom and hexahydrocannabinol (HHC).
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International Engineering Fair in Brno gets presidential visit
The International Engineering Fair has got underway this week in Brno, running from Tuesday 8th to Friday 11th, and enjoyed a visit by President Petr Pavel.
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Signal Festival returns to light up Prague for its eleventh year
Signal Festival, the annual festival of pioneering lightshows across Prague, begins its four-day programme on October 10th.
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The resurrection of Spirála: Unique theatre puts on first performance since 2002 floods
After twenty-two years of closure, the distinct round theatre by Prague’s Výstaviště has reopened under the new name of Nová Spirála.
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Jan Žižka 600 Years: Exhibition and festival in Tábor marks six centuries since the warrior’s death
This week sees the anniversary of the death of the Hussite general Jan Žižka, and the city of Tábor is commemorating the event with an exhibition and a weekend festival.
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The voice of Czech jazz: Celebrating Ondřej Havelka’s seventieth birthday
Today’s Sunday Music Show showcases the music of jazz singer Ondřej Havelka, who turns seventy on October 10th. Havelka has performed with The Melody Makers since 1995.
