Turan Tales

Agnieszka Pikulicka

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Latest Episodes

Why does China have an image problem in Central Asia?

8/6/2026 • 39 min

China’s presence is increasingly visible across Central Asia. Chinese-made electric vehicles are becoming more common on the roads, Chinese companies are investing in the local markets, and more young people are choosing to study in China. Yet research by Edward Lemon and Bradley Jardine found that China is viewed less favourably than any other major power in Ce… Play episode

Can Tajikistan fix Central Asia’s water crisis?
Episode 43: Has Islam ever posed a threat to the Uzbek state?
Episode 42: Why Central Asia still needs akyns - the poets who speak truth…
Episode 41: Hashish and survival in rural Kyrgyzstan
Episode 40: Abdulla Qodiriy's "Bygone Days" and the fight for intellectual…
Episode 39: What cinema can tell us about Central Asia
Iya’s lifelines: A Jewish journey to survival in Central Asia
Episode 38: Inside Turan. The Persian legacy in Central Asia
Episode 37: What has become of Russia's Wartime exiles in Central Asia?
Episode 36: Why is crypto growing in Central Asia - and who benefits?
Episode 35: Who is crying for Tashiev? The end of Kyrgyzstan's ruling duo
Rainbow Almaty: The end of a queer dream
Episode 34: Tengrism in Central Asia. From ancient belief to cultural phen…
Episode 33: Lessons on independence from the former Soviet republics
Episode 32: Kazakh women across centuries. From the yurt to digital resist…
Episode 31: Why is Kazakhstan rewriting its Constitution?
Episode 30: Goodbye, old Dushanbe. Hello, AI hub?
Episode 29: The human rights system is in peril. What does it mean for Cen…
Good education: The rise and fall of Hizmet schools in Central Asia
Episode 28: From nomad tents to Soviet walls - The story of Central Asian …
Episode 27: The Tajik-Afghan borderland - What’s going on and how we got h…
Episode 26: The limits of change in the "New Uzbekistan"
Episode 25: Black gold nation - How oil and gas shaped Kazakhstan
Episode 24: Can modern art flourish in Central Asia?
Episode 23: After the elections - Inside the “New Kyrgyzstan”
Episode 22: Who will save Samarkand?
The Unlikely mercenaries: Central Asians fighting Russia’s war
Episode 21: Is Turkmenistan finally opening up?
Episode 20: The past and present of US engagement with Central Asia
Episode 19: Why is Tajikistan fighting witchcraft?
Episode 18: Uyat - Shame made in Central Asia
The Capital: In search of Astana's soul
Episode 17: The most famous Uzbek writer few in Uzbekistan have heard of
Episode 16: What does it mean to be Kazakhstani?
Episode 15: Pop made in the USSR - The sounds of Central Asian estrada
Episode 14: Central Asian ‘first daughters’ - heirs, icons, or leaders?
The girl with the seals: A fight for the Caspian’s last mammals
Episode 13: Post-Soviet nostalgia and colonial legacy in Central Asia
Episode 12: From Elbasy to pensioner. The legacy of Nursultan Nazarbayev
Episode 11: Who’s left to defend Central Asian migrants in Russia?
“What am I, just cattle you can give away?” A nomadic tradition meets mode…
Episode 10: Powering Central Asia - Is nuclear the best bet?
Episode 9: Is Central Asia’s cotton finally becoming ethical?
Episode 8: Whatever happened to Central Asia's "Island of Democracy"?
“Families should be built on love.” The story of a Kyrgyz stolen bride.
Episode 7: Why Tajikistan’s opposition turned to the International Crimina…
Episode 6: What’s behind China’s archaeological digs in Central Asia?
From the alas to the steppe. How Kazakhstan became the go-to destination f…
The Jadids - Muslim modernists purged by Stalin, reclaimed by Uzbekistan

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