Podcast
Turan Tales
Hosted by Agnieszka Pikulicka · EN
Turan Tales is a weekly podcast covering underreported stories of people, politics and social change in Central Asia by journalist and author Agnieszka Pikulicka
turantales.substack.com
turantales.substack.com
24episodes
Episodes
Newest firstAll episodes
Episode 36: Why is crypto growing in Central Asia - and who benefits?
Apr 1600:38:15Tap to summarizeThis week, I would like to ask you a very big favour: please fill in a listeners’ survey about Turan Tales to help us improve.For those of you with a Substack account, here is a Substack survey: https://turantales.substack.com/publish/stats/surveys/6783588For those who don’t have one, there's a Google form: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/15cvn9Y3HIAbuDdvmyvnFWrNcgcrDNSYVhnn7aUg-zyE/editAs for this week’s episode, we focus on a fascinating story of cryptocurrencies in Central Asia. Which countries--and why--have opened up to cryptocurrencies? Why is Kyrgyzstan building its own cryptocurrency? And can the crypto market help develop green energy?Joining us is Hugo Estecahandy, a researcher with the Geopolitics of the Datasphere project and coordinator of the “Digital Materialities” working group at the French National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS). Get full access to Turan Tales at turantales.substack.com/subscribe
Transcribe →
Episode 35: Who is crying for Tashiev? The end of Kyrgyzstan's ruling duo
Apr 900:43:26Tap to summarizeIn this episode, we look at the fall of Kyrgyzstan’s ruling duo: President Sadyr Japarov and security chief Kamchybek Tashiev. We discuss how they came to power, why their alliance may be breaking down, and what this tells us about power, patronage, and regional divides in Kyrgyzstan. We also ask who is mourning Tashiev’s fall.Joining us is Aksana Ismailbekova, a Kyrgyz anthropologist and research fellow at the Leibniz-Zentrum Moderner Orient (ZMO), and the author of Blood Ties and the Native Son and Migration and Welfare Austerity (2017). Get full access to Turan Tales at turantales.substack.com/subscribe
Transcribe →
Rainbow Almaty: The end of a queer dream
Apr 300:34:23Tap to summarizeAs Russia’s anti-LGBTQ propaganda law spreads across the region, queer spaces in Kazakhstan’s second-largest city are disappearing – and with them, the city’s creative pulse. Get full access to Turan Tales at turantales.substack.com/subscribe
Transcribe →
Episode 34: Tengrism in Central Asia. From ancient belief to cultural phenomenon
Mar 2600:43:37Tap to summarizeThis week, we focus on Tengrism, the ancient belief system of the Eurasian steppe that has faced centuries of change, from the rise of Islam to Soviet suppression.While its rituals remain part of Central Asian culture and are seeing renewed interest, it is still widely misunderstood.What exactly is Tengrism? And why did Kazakhstan refuse to register it as an official religion?Joining us is Abigail Scripka, a doctoral candidate at the Leibniz Centre for Contemporary History in Potsdam, Germany, who studies Tengrism in Kazakhstan with a particular focus on the period of perestroika. Get full access to Turan Tales at turantales.substack.com/subscribe
Transcribe →
Episode 33: Lessons on independence from the former Soviet republics
Mar 1900:41:44Tap to summarizeMy guest today was born in 1991, the same year the Soviet Union collapsed.A few years ago, he set out to explore what’s happened to the countries it left behind, and whether life beyond Russia’s shadow has brought the freedom and prosperity many hoped for.His name is Joe Luc Barnes, and you might recognise his voice from our audio documentaries.His new book, Farewell to Russia: A Journey Through the Former USSR, is out now in the UK and the US. Get full access to Turan Tales at turantales.substack.com/subscribe
Transcribe →
Episode 32: Kazakh women across centuries. From the yurt to digital resistance
Mar 1200:39:36Tap to summarizeLast Sunday, March 8th, Turan Tales celebrated turning one with its first live podcast and a community gathering in Almaty. We sat down with Kazakh podcaster and feminist Aisulu Toyshibek to talk about women’s rights in Kazakhstan and how the situation has changed over the centuries and in the last few decades.Here is our talk. Get full access to Turan Tales at turantales.substack.com/subscribe
Transcribe →
Episode 31: Why is Kazakhstan rewriting its Constitution?
Mar 500:40:24Tap to summarizeThis week we look at Kazakhstan’s new draft constitution and what it could mean for the country’s future. Our guest is Dmitriy Mazorenko, journalist and co-founder of the Superstructure research centre. Get full access to Turan Tales at turantales.substack.com/subscribe
Transcribe →
Episode 30: Goodbye, old Dushanbe. Hello, AI hub?
Feb 2600:46:14Tap to summarizeOver the past several years, Dushanbe has been on a path toward modernisation. New buildings, many of them Chinese-funded, have dotted the city’s landscape, dramatically transforming its traditional architecture.What has driven this wave of redevelopment? Will it help Tajikistan become the next AI hub in the region, as the authorities hope? And what does it all have to do with environmental degradation, which has made Tajikistan one of the countries most vulnerable to climate change in the world?To answer these and other questions, we are joined by Sher Khashimov, a freelance journalist originally from Dushanbe and the author of numerous articles examining redevelopment and environmental degradation in Tajikistan. Get full access to Turan Tales at turantales.substack.com/subscribe
Transcribe →
Episode 29: The human rights system is in peril. What does it mean for Central Asia?
Feb 1900:43:01Tap to summarizeThis week, we're looking into the newly released 2026 Human Rights Watch report and how a shifting global order is reshaping human rights across Central Asia. We’re joined by Mihra Rittmann, Senior Central Asia Researcher at Human Rights Watch, to unpack key findings related to the region. Get full access to Turan Tales at turantales.substack.com/subscribe
Transcribe →
Good education: The rise and fall of Hizmet schools in Central Asia
Feb 1200:39:17Tap to summarizeThey promised world-class education to a region shattered by the Soviet collapse. Twenty years later, Hizmet schools fell prey to Turkey’s internal conflicts -- and their own secrecy. Get full access to Turan Tales at turantales.substack.com/subscribe
Transcribe →