The first Blender podcast aired on January 14, 2011. To celebrate 52 uninterrupted episodes, our four hosts -- Grant Podelco, Daisy Sindelar, Bruce Jacobs, and Pavel Butorin -- look back at their favorite stories, interviews, and musical selections from the past year.

An up-close-and-personal look at the human rights situation in Uzbekistan, plus the tale of the torture inflicted on a 15-year-old newlywed Afghan girl.

Test your knowledge with our 2011 current events contest featuring questions about news from the regions we cover.

In this year-ender edition of The Blender, we look at three hot spots, Afghanistan, Belarus, and Azerbaijan and talk to our service directors about the major developments of 2011.

In Episode 49, we indulge our love for proverbs with a zesty inaugural round of The Blender Proverb Quiz and explore the popularity of the expression "Dogs bark, but the caravan rolls on."

Eyewitness histories as we mark the 20th anniversary of the end of the Soviet Union. Plus, surf rock from St. Petersburg and "Sesame Street" makes its debut in Afghanistan.

In The Blender this week, a closer look at the storming of the British Embassy in Tehran and long-standing tensions behind the diplomatic blowup, a legal victory for long-oppressed transgender males in Pakistan, and a fascinating discussion of literature’s role in Russia’s relations with the Caucasus.

In Episode 46 of The Blender, we sit down with our own Bohdan Andrusyshyn, a.k.a. Danchyk, the American-born singer who won legions of fans in Belarus for choosing to sing in their vanishing native language. Danchyk takes us from his early days as a darling of New York's Ukrainian and Belarusian immigrant communities to his first performance in Minsk in 1989 -- and shares some great music, in Belarusian and English, along the way.

In Episode 45 of The Blender, we sit down with Dr. Tomicah Tillemann, a senior adviser to U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, to find out why Washington is trying to be more civil. We also introduce you to RFE/RL's Farshid Manafi, just voted AIB's International Radio Personality of the Year, and to Dan Telegin, Russia's post-punk, lo-fi genius.

In Episode 44 of The Blender, a talk with "Wall Street Journal Asia" columnist Sadanand Dhume about the differences in violent, radical Islam from Pakistan to Indonesia; a report from Ingushetia on allegations of human rights violations by security services; and a closer look at accusations that Vladimir Putin had many affairs and beat his wife when working in East Germany in the 1980s.

In Episode 43 of The Blender, we look at how a growing culture of violence is destroying traditional ways of life in the North Caucasus republic of Daghestan. Plus, the challenges ahead for the new Kyrgyz president, and U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's plans for using the Internet to forge links with ordinary people in Iran.

In Episode 42, we profile celebrated dancer David Hallberg, the first American to be welcomed into the Bolshoi Ballet. Plus, a look at Yury Luzhkov, the colorful former Moscow mayor who spoke frankly to RFE/RL and now finds himself immersed in legal woes, and a presidential vote in Kyrgyzstan stained by a grisly murder.

The Blender this week has an interview on a new book about Lee Harvey Oswald's time spent in Minsk, a discussion with the granddaughter of Josip Broz Tito about her grandfather's legacy and her efforts to heal ethnic divisions in the former Yugoslavia, and a feature on the first outdoor rock festival in Afghanistan in 35 years.

Kosovo's president stands firm on Serbia. Plus, when pronunciation goes bad, and an interview with "The Guardian" newspaper's former Moscow correspondent Luke Harding.

In Episode 39, going to jail in Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan simply for reporting the truth; harvesting marijuana by horseback in Central Asia; the 9/11 generation confronts the horror of war; plus Moldova's Ethno Jazz Festival.

In Episode 38 of The Blender, a closer look at the televised blow-up between Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and his finance minister; a Pakistani TV star talks about women's rights and her on-air clash with a castigating cleric; and we examine a physics experiment that could undermine Einstein's famous theory.

Episode 37 of The Blender is dedicated to dictators. We find out from Alastair Smith, one of the authors of "The Dictator's Handbook," why bad behavior is almost always good politics.

In Episode 36, we speak with Brian Viglione of The Dresden Dolls about Afghanistan's first rock music festival since 1975. Plus, author Jonathan Kay takes a hard look at 9/11 conspiracy theories.

Episode 35 of The Blender explores memory and consequence, as it examines lives around the world affected by the events of September 11, 2001, and other tragedies like it.

Director Renny Harlin's latest movie is about the Russo-Georgian war of 2008 and is called "5 Days of Hell," but as one reviewer noted, it feels like an eternity if you're in the audience. Plus, Jamie Kirchick in Libya, psychedelic rock from Iran, and the world's 6th billionth person, once celebrated, now lives in poverty.

In Episode 33 of "The Blender," we look at the challenges Libya's rebel leaders face in getting the country back on its feet. The U.S. special envoy to Afghanistan and Pakistan talks about the best ways to challenge extremism in the region. And we have a report on the terrible impact the Taliban have had on women's rights and the music culture of Pakistan's Swat Valley.

Russian opposition leader Boris Nemtsov reminisces about the August 1991 events in Russia and reflects on what went wrong across post-Soviet states after the fall of the empire. RFE/RL's Armenian, Ukrainian, and Uzbek broadcasters visit with host Pavel Butorin to discuss their countries’ efforts -- or lack thereof -- to break away from the Soviet past.

In Episode 31 of The Blender, we celebrate the Islamic holiday of Ramadan with a very special Afghan dinner to break the daylong fast observed by Muslims throughout the holy month. Join us for a sumptuous meal of mung-bean soup, meat dumplings, and Afghan pilaf, as we discuss the significance of Ramadan and secrets to surviving -- and even enjoying -- daylight hours with no food or water.

In Episode 30 of "The Blender," we talk with the authors of the critically acclaimed book "The 27s: The Greatest Myth of Rock and Roll," in the wake of the death of soul singer Amy Winehouse, who performed her last-ever concert in Belgrade on June 18. We also visit an 11-year-old Bosnian soccer phenom, shake our heads at a proposed new law in Belarus, and chill out to some Moldovan and Georgian jazz.

Sergei Magnitsky was investigating a tax fraud case connected to Russian officials when he was arrested on allegedly trumped up charges. He later died in prison under harsh conditions. We speak to Bill Browder, an investor who has been campaigning to hold Russian officials accountable for Magnitsky's death. Plus: the finest gothic harp you'll ever hear.