Besa Luci in conversation with Gentiana Paçarizi and Aulonë Kadriu. We are leaving behind a year full of developments in Kosovo, the region and beyond. As always, we as journalists find ourselves having to be attentive and responsible for how we talk about what’s happening around us. As this is the last episode of this season of the Other Talking Points podcast and the last week of 2023 we take this moment to reflect on and discuss the work at our magazine. This year, our coverage has...

Besa Luci in conversation with Bertan Selim and Majlinda Hoxha. In this episode, we discuss photography’s storytelling role, capacity to distill complex human realities in a single image, ethical questions faced by photographers and the opportunities and barriers faced by young aspiring artists. Photography is a powerful visual storytelling medium, be it in documentary form or in a more conceptual approach. Photography documents society around us, inviting and often provoking us to notice and...

Besa Luci in conversation with Haris Pašović and Natasha TripneyIn 2022 we published an in-depth article on the theater landscape in Kosovo. Speaking about theater professionals’ arduous working conditions, actor Adrian Morina remarked that “Theater is a mirror of all institutions.” Whether or not theater professionals are supported reveals institutions’ understanding — or lack thereof — of this art form’s significance.. Theaters have always had a dynamic relationship with power structures....

Besa Luci in conversation with Paul Caruana Galizia and Jeta Xharra. In this episode, we talk about threats to journalism and to journalists covering topics that those in power seek to conceal.In his recently published book, “A Death in Malta,” Paul Caruana Galizia says: “Two worlds, corruption and writing about it, collided.” This statement and the entire book refer to the work of his late mother, Daphne Caruana Galizia, the renowned Maltese journalist who was assassinated by a car bomb in...

Besa Luci in conversation with Loic Tregoures and Albert Mecini.If there’s one form of entertainment that can be considered universal, it’s sports. Be it through regular state games, regional matches, or worldwide competitions — sports have long been part of everyday life across the world. However, talking about sports transcends discussions of games, scores, favorite teams or favorite athletes. Sports have long been an intrinsic part of modern societies’ economic and political existence. In...

Besa Luci in conversation with Adelina Rose and Lana Vee.Drag is thriving in our region, both as a form of art and as a tool for radical change. The vibrant art of drag is becoming ever more present in the public sphere. But as drag artists and performers find and claim their space in the public domain, they face constant backlash, resistance and pushbacks. Being strongly linked with celebration of queerness and the LGBTQ+ rights cause, drag artists fight difficult battles in a region that...

Besa Luci in conversation with Kaltrina Krasniqi and Kumjana Novakova. In this episode, we will be talking about contemporary cinematography in the region. The region has always been rich in filmmaking. Each generation of filmmakers, as well as each country, has had its own political and cultural trajectory that played a role in shaping their relationship to cinema. Yet, there are also commonalities, be it in terms of thematic approach, artistic sensibility and language, or the obstacles in...

Besa Luci in conversation with Aida Hozić and Aidan Hehir. In this first episode, we will be talking about political discourses and narratives about the region — how they're constructed, how they relate to political reality, who gets to shape them, and finally, how these narratives end up shaping the region.Since the end of the Yugoslav wars, the dominant frameworks applied to the region have been international development and peace and conflict studies — there's been a focus on...

Should I stay or should I go?In our last episode of the first season of Other Talking Points, we are revisiting the topic of travel.Not long ago, when we recorded our first episode, we talked about travel in the region and what it tells us about our shared past, our current sense of belonging and our understanding of one another. One aspect of the conversation was Kosovars' long isolation, a result of the EU’s visa regime. For years, practically the only places Kosovars could travel to...

Oral history and the reimagining of historical memoryHistorical memory is shaped by what is documented. What we remember or celebrate, what we overlook or forget, is a result of the narratives we choose, or which are chosen for us.The official historical record is always subject to attempts to reveal or conceal different facts or narratives. They often also serve as a site of power-plays, where the strong choose who to glorify (often themselves and their ideological forebearers). Women,...

The Extra Obstacles Confronting Women JournalistsIn this episode, we talk about the experiences of women journalists in Kosovo, Serbia and the broader region. Though women's perspectives and voices are increasingly incorporated into media content, there's been relatively limited discussion about how media outlets are failing women journalists in the workplace. Women have long been aware of the pervasiveness of gender discrimination, but two recent reports have documented the full extent of...

Is there anything new with the Association?In this episode, we talk about the Association of Serb-Majority Municipalities in Kosovo.Arising in 2013 as part of an agreement between Kosovo and Serbia within the EU-mediated dialogue, the Association was promoted as a way to convince Kosovo Serbs to fully enter the Kosovar system, ensure their cultural autonomy and end the Serbian state's parallel structures within Kosovo. Still unimplemented after a decade, it’s long been causing...

Pop culture — commodity or confrontation?Songs, movies, reality shows, video games, news — these products of popular culture shape our society. From the way we interact with others, how we view our own identities, how we dress — it's all influenced by popular culture and mass media.In this episode, we will talk about popular culture and specific cases from the region.Over the last few months, much of Kosovo became captivated with "Big Brother VIP Kosova," the first local edition of the...

Women's Bodily AutonomyIn this episode we talk about how women across the globe are facing setbacks in their struggle for bodily autonomy.One of the ways this is happening is in the banning or restricting of abortion access. In Poland, abortion has been banned since 2020. Though there are supposed to be exceptions in the case of rape, incest or when the health of the mother is endangered, a Polish pregnant woman recently died because doctors refused to perform an abortion that her family...

The Balkan Route, migration and people on the moveMigration is a topic people in the Balkans are far too familiar with. Whether we’re talking about the current economic migration to the West that is draining the region, or the millions who fled their homes in the 1990s due to the break-up of Yugoslavia and the ensuing wars, there’s hardly a single person who doesn’t have some first or second-hand experience with migration.The topic of migration became salient again to the Balkans in 2015,...

Same-sex unionsIn this episode we talk about the legal recognition of LGBTQ+ rights, with a focus on same-sex unions.Securing fundamental human rights across the Balkans is an ongoing challenge, and some groups are more discriminated against than others. In terms of the human rights of LGBTQ+ people, governments across the region often dismiss the fact that queer people are deserving of all the rights and respect as any other citizen.Recent legislative discussions in Kosovo about a new Civil...

Unpaid LaborIn this episode we'll be talking about unpaid labor — about the cleaning, cooking, childcare, eldercare and more that is performed inside the home and in the family and which is not remunerated. Though unpaid, this labor is essential for the functioning of society and for other people's ability to engage in paid labor.What makes the issue of unpaid labor so important is that it is mostly performed by women. This means that women are either expected to stay at home and out of the...

Climate ChangeIn this episode, we’ll be talking about climate change. How vulnerable is our region to the warming of the planet? Are we taking enough measures to address and adapt to climate change?Climate change has been making headlines for years and we have all felt the effects one way or another. As the planet continues to warm, we now have warmer Januaries, snowless winters and drier summers.In summer 2022, heatwaves and droughts left some of Europe's main rivers dry or at their lowest...

GentrificationIn this episode, we look at gentrification in urban spaces in the Balkans.Gentrification is when poor or underserved areas undergo transformations that expand economic activity through the modification, renovation or demolition of existing buildings and infrastructure in a manner that increases property values. Such changes in the urban landscape  often end up displacing existing residents, particularly those living in conditions of socioeconomic fragility. It contributes to...

A Different Approach to Kosovo and SerbiaIn this episode, we look at the ways we talk about the relationship between Kosovo and Serbia.Since 2011, the dominant framework for talking about the relationship between the two countries has been in the context of the EU-mediated dialogue. From time to time, the media might report on cultural cooperation, instances of economic integration or citizen-based initiatives. But such reports are few and far between, and often disappear amid the constant...

Social ProtectionIn this episode, we look at social protection. That is, whether and to what extent countries in the region have social schemes and programs that can meaningfully help the most vulnerable and have a meaningful effect on economic mobility. Access to adequate social protection becomes particularly critical in times of crisis and economic shocks. During the pandemic, we experienced first-hand how essential social protection is. Many people lost their jobs, industry came to a...

Trans livesIn this episode, we explore the lives and political struggles of trans people in the region, a particularly important topic considering that trans identities are often marginalized, misunderstood or rejected. This is not necessarily an experience limited to this region; attempts to keep trans lives in the margins is something occurring globally. Nevertheless, there is a lot of knowledge and documentation of the multilayered histories of trans existence and activist engagement in...

Travel in the regionIn this first episode, we explore the topic of travel in the region. Why and how do we travel? What does it tell us about our shared past, our current sense of belonging, and our understanding of one another?Our guests are Ilir Gashi from Belgrade, who works at the intersection of media, activism, art and technology, and Driton Selmani from Prishtina, a visual artist working in video, installation and photography. Both are travel enthusiasts and have both created...