Jacob Mikanowski is a Polish-American journalist, writer and academic who's recently published an amazing book on the history of EASTERN EUROPE called "Goodbye Eastern Europe: An Intimate History of a Divided Land."
Jacob and I talk about the origins of Slavs, the surprising role of slavery in early kingdoms, the colourful medieval Slavdom, as well as modern stereotypes and our unique, dark sense of humour.

#easterneurope #balkan #history #easterneuropean #slavs #slavic #yugoslavia #podcast #brutalism #slavicculture #europe #europeanhistory #balkaninfo #medievalhistory

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Jacob's BOOK:
https://www.amazon.com/Goodbye-Easter...

Jacob's Twitter:
  / jmikanowski  

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https://open.spotify.com/episode/6m46...

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Timestamps:
00:00 Intro
02:58 Eastern Europe as something BAD
06:41 Nostalgia for Eastern Europe
17:18 Slavic Stereotypes in the US
23:28 Where do Slavs come from?
30:26 Slavery in Eastern Europe
38:50 Historic diversity in Eastern Europe
55:59 Hotbed for colourful characters
01:06:49 Slavic sense of humour
01:09:37 Eastern Europe today
01:14:52 Eastern European Identity