Radio and Politics in Czechoslovakia (Rosamund Johnston)

What does radio tell us about state socialism and the post-1945 history of Czechoslovakia? In this episode, Rosamund Johnston (RECET) tells Jelena Đureinović (also RECET) about radio and politics in socialist Czechoslovakia, highlighting the role of radio reporters and reception among listeners and discussing the contemporary implications of the study of Cold War radio.

 

Rosamund Johnston is a postdoctoral researcher at RECET. She is the author of Red Tape: Radio and Politics in Czechoslovakia, 1945-1969, published by Stanford University Press. She also co-authored one book of public history, Havel in America: Interviews with American Intellectuals, Politicians, and Artists, released by Czech publisher Host in 2019. Her work has appeared in Central European History, the Journal of Cold War Studies, East Central Europe, Harvard Ukrainian Studies, Scottish newspaper The National, and on public broadcaster Czech Radio. She is currently researching the global history of Czechoslovakia between 1954 and 1994 through its arms trade.