Baltic Ways

Author: FPRI Eurasia Program

Baltic Ways is a podcast bringing listeners insights and interviews from the world of Baltic Studies, hosted by Dr. Indra Ekmanis, Editor of FPRI's Baltic Bulletin. In interviews with experts, the podcast explores the past, present and future of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania and the many ways these three countries on the Baltic Sea impact the politics, history, and culture of the region and beyond. Baltic Ways is brought to you by the Association for the Advancement of Baltic Studies, produced in partnership with the Baltic Initiative at the Foreign Policy Research Institute. The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of AABS or FPRI. fpribalticinitiative.substack.com
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Language: en

Genres: History, Society & Culture

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The Battle for Memory: Populism vs. Pluralism in Public History
Thursday, 30 October, 2025

Baltic Ways presents a bonus episode from our partners at the EUROPAST podcast. The EUROPAST podcast explores Europe’s most pressing challenges of public history, investigating the complex and contested spaces of public memory, memory activism, and best practices for engaging the public in a dialogue about the past.In this episode, hosts Professor Violeta Davoliūtė (Vilnius University, Lithuanian Institute of History) and Professor Dovilė Budrytė (Vilnius University / Georgia Gwinnett College / Vytautas Magnus University) are joined by renowned political scientist Professor Jan Kubik (Rutgers University) to explore the critical intersection of political populism and the misuse of history.Professor Kubik revisits his influential typology of memory actors, focusing on the central conflict between “mnemonic warriors”, who promote a single, binary, and often fictionalized version of the past, and “mnemonic pluralists,” who advocate for complexity, debate, and the inclusion of multiple perspectives.The discussion tackles pressing questions: How do populist movements weaponize historical narratives to create “us vs. them” dichotomies? How does this assault on history sustain authoritarian regimes and threaten democratic institutions? And what is the role of public history in a world where the past has become a battleground?This conversation offers a vital framework for understanding the high-stakes struggle over memory and its central role in the fight to defend democracy today.The podcast series is part of a project that has received funding from the European Union under the WIDERA programme (EUROPAST project, Grant Agreement No. 101079466).Music: Istok Zapad, Whiteheads. ℗ Croatia Records, 2021 Image: Adobe Stock This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit fpribalticinitiative.substack.com