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 28: From nomad tents to Soviet walls - The story of Central Asian carpets
Jan 2900:36:49Tap to summarizeThis week, we talk about carpets in Central Asia: their history, the differences between various carpet-weaving styles, the roles carpets played in different communities, and how the Soviet Union hijacked the practice of carpet making and transformed it to serve its own purposes.Joining us is Anushe Dust, a Tajik-born founder and editor-in-chief of RugMag magazine, where she uncovers the stories, memories, and secrets woven into carpets from around the world. She’s also a film critic and the curator of Carpets in Films, an ongoing archive of carpets in movies. Get full access to Turan Tales at turantales.substack.com/subscribe
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Episode 27: The Tajik-Afghan borderland - What’s going on and how we got here
Jan 2200:44:40Tap to summarizeThis week, we’re taking a closer look at the Tajik-Afghan border. In the recent months, the area appeared in the media in the context of shootings and armed clashes that costed the lives of at least ten people, according to the AFP.What do recent incidents reveal about security along the Tajik–Afghan border? And how have the relations between Tajikistan and Afghanistan evolved? To answer these questions, we trace the relationship back to the 1990s and the US invasion of Afghanistan.Joining us is Mélanie Sadozaï, a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Regensburg in Germany whose work focuses on cross‑border relations between Central Asia and Afghanistan, in particular the Pamir region. Get full access to Turan Tales at turantales.substack.com/subscribe
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Episode 26: The limits of change in the "New Uzbekistan"
Jan 900:44:57Tap to summarizeThis week is about change - and the lack thereof. We will be looking at Uzbekistan: how the country was shaped during the post-Soviet period under the regime of Islam Karimov, and what has changed since Shavkat Mirziyoyev came to power. How different is the “New Uzbekistan” from the Karimov era?Joining us is Joanna Lillis, a Kazakhstan-based journalist and the author of Silk Mirage: Through the Looking Glass in Uzbekistan, published last November. Get full access to Turan Tales at turantales.substack.com/subscribe
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Episode 25: Black gold nation - How oil and gas shaped Kazakhstan
Jan 100:44:54Tap to summarizeWelcome to the first episode of Turan Tales in 2026! We'll look at the fascinating story of oil and gas in Kazakhstan: the history of the industry, corruption scandals, the environmental damage it likely causes and much more.Joining us is Paolo Sorbello a journalist and researcher based in Almaty, Kazakhstan. He is the English language editor at independent news outlet Vlast.kz where he also hosts Dapter, a podcast about research in Central Asia.Paolo holds a PhD from the University of Glasgow, where he researched Kazakhstan’s oil sector. Get full access to Turan Tales at turantales.substack.com/subscribe
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