Latest Podcasts - Island Talks

Nicosia Uncut – Episode 62: UNSG Special Representative Colin Stewart answered your questions (7/8/2025)

In this special episode of Nicosia Uncut, UN Secretary General's outgoing Special Representative and Head of UNFICYP Colin Stewart responded questions by Andromachi Sophocleous and Kemal Baykalli, as well by the podcast audience. Is UN part of the status-quo in Cyprus? What is his assessment for the future? Do we need to revise the job-description of the UN in Cyprus? What is his biggest legacy? Is UN biased? His views about civil society in Cyprus? Should we set up citizens' assemblies? What about the international players? A future where opposing politicians are working together under the same roof? What…

Terra Nullius Cyprus – Episode 31: Australian director, writer & producer screens The Veto in Cyprus. Meet Tim Slade (30/7/2025)

Read more about the article Terra Nullius Cyprus – Episode 31: Australian director, writer & producer screens The Veto in Cyprus. Meet Tim Slade (30/7/2025)

Cyprus is filled with big hearts and big emotions – a hot, sleepy island, with hot tempers! On the surface it looks ‘normal’, but below the surface are many layers, filled with history – both beautiful and painful. An island full of amazing people, with incredible stories, doing amazing things. Join social and political analyst Costa Constanti to meet Cyprus and those who live there. In the 31st episode of Terra Nullius Cyprus, meet Tim Slade. He is an Australian film and television director, writer and producer whose work spans both documentary and drama. His acclaimed films have screened…

KaleidHERscope – Episode 53: Renowned women’s rights activist Mary Akrami on protecting the most vulnerable Afghan women (22/7/2025)

Read more about the article KaleidHERscope – Episode 53: Renowned women’s rights activist Mary Akrami on protecting the most vulnerable Afghan women (22/7/2025)

Renowned women’s rights activist and head of Afghan Women's Network International Mary Akrami speaks with despair, vulnerability and realism to Magda Zenon on kaleidHERscope about Afghanistan, about losing everything within 24 hours on the day Kabul fell on August 15, 2021, about being flown out of Kabul with nothing except the clothes on her back and starting over in the US and about protecting the most vulnerable Afghan women.

Terra Nullius Cyprus – Episode 30: Australian Cypriot poet, writer, actor and women’s activist. Meet Koraly Dimitriadis (16/7/2025)

Read more about the article Terra Nullius Cyprus – Episode 30: Australian Cypriot poet, writer, actor and women’s activist. Meet Koraly Dimitriadis (16/7/2025)

In the 30th episode of Terra Nullius Cyprus, meet Koraly Dimitriadis. She is a Melbourne-based Cypriot-Australian poet, writer, actor, and performer known for her fearless and provocative exploration of themes such as cultural and religious repression, identity, feminism and diaspora. She gained national attention in Australia with her bestselling poetry collection Love and F**k Poems, first self-published as a zine in 2011 and later as a book, which has since been translated into Greek and celebrated internationally. Her subsequent works include the poetry books Just Give Me The Pills and She’s Not Normal, as well as her 2024 debut short story collection The Mother Must Die. Dimitriadis is recognised for her compelling live performances, literary activism, and for turning her poetry into theatre and film. Her work, shaped by her Greek-Cypriot heritage and upbringing in Melbourne, has appeared widely in print and broadcast media across the globe. She’s currently on a literary tour of Europe and Cyprus. Check out www.koralydimitriadis.com

Nicosia Uncut – Episode 61: The Divided Island – “The generational trauma is real and profound” (16/7/2025)

On the 51st anniversary of 1974 events, Andromachi Sophocleous and Kemal Baykalli host Cey Sesigüzel and Andreas Tokkallos, co-producers of "The Divided Island" documentary at Nicosia Uncut podcast. These two British-Cypriot filmmakers of Two Fresh Productions are hailing from both communities and they featured real stories of Cypriots from various generations. The work is a striking contrast to the official narratives and propaganda of sides and provides humanitarian stories from the past in the first part, and a vision for the future in the second. The documentary that won the Best Documentary Feature at South London Film Festival, features James Ker-Lindsay, Andrekos Varnava, Sylvia Zacharia, Yaşar Ismailoǧlu, Tom Fortis-Mayer, Christina Pavlou, Suleyman Camgoz, Nick Yiannoullou, Sevgül Uludaǧ, Serife Gül, Ipek Özerim, and Nicosia Uncut producers Andromachi Sophocleous and Kemal Baykalli. It can be watched at: https://vimeo.com/ondemand/thedividedisland

Garip Zamanlar – Bölüm 63: Matcha çayı – zamanın süzgecinden geçen yeşil içecek (11/7/2025)

Garip Zamanlar'ın bu bölümünde Evren İnançoğlu, Kemal Baykallı ve Sertaç Sonan çay-kahve ikilemini, çaycıların gazabını, ahir zamanların içeceği Matcha çayını, kahve içmeden ayılamayanları, Michel Houellebecq'in sıradışı yapıtlarını, Elon Musk'ın yeni siyasi partisini, borsayı ve bilimum hisse senetlerini (dikkat: yatırım yavsiyesi değildir), Sezen Aksu'nun son albümünü, K-pop ve Kore dalgasını, Alizade'nin Garip Zamanlar'a konuk olma ihtimalini ve ekibin sonraki seyahatlerini konuştular.

Nicosia Uncut – Episode 60: Special guest Nilgün Arısan Eralp – Will Turkey and Greece finally solve their differences ? (10/7/2025)

Read more about the article Nicosia Uncut – Episode 60: Special guest Nilgün Arısan Eralp – Will Turkey and Greece finally solve their differences ? (10/7/2025)

In this epsiode of Nicosia Uncut, Andromachi Sophocleous and Kemal Baykallı host Nilgün Arısan Eralp, Director of European Union Institute of TEPAV, a leading policy and research centre in Türkiye. Latest state of affairs in Turkish-Greek political dialogue; how will this affect the Cyprus problem? Is it possible to talk about repositioning of the EU towards Turkey? Should we expect Turkey to play an upgraded role in a possible new defence architecture in Europe? Is the EU turning a blind eye to the democratic backsliding in Turkey? What is Turkey's vision towards Cyprus? Is Israel against a power-sharing mechanism in Cyprus? What should we expect from the upcoming Turkish Cypriot elections?

KaleidHERscope – Episode 52: Marzia Babakarkhail, a former Afghan judge, & her journey defending the rights of women/children (4/7/2025)

Read more about the article KaleidHERscope – Episode 52: Marzia Babakarkhail, a former Afghan judge, & her journey defending the rights of women/children (4/7/2025)

Qazi (Judge)Marzia Babakarkhail, a former Afghan family court judge and lifelong advocate for women’s rights, speaks to Magda Zenon on kaleidHERscope about her journey defending the rights of women and children, about surviving two Taliban assassination attempts and about being a voice for Afghan women, especially female judges and prosecutors who face persecution under the Taliban.

Garip Zamanlar – Bölüm 62: Paris-Berlin-Roma üçlemesi (30/6/2025)

Kıbrıs'ın en uzuk soluklu Türkçe podcastı Garip Zamanlar'da Evren İnançoğlu, Kemal Baykallı ve Sertaç Sonan Avrupa'nın lokomotifi üç ülkenin başkentlerine yaptıkları ziyaretleri; Sertaç'ın ailesiyle birlikte yaptığı son Disneyland Paris ziyaretini, Kemal'ın son Berlin gözlemlerini ve havalimanındaki tomografi cihazlarının film fotoğrafçılığı üzerindeki olumsuz etkisini, Almanya şehirlerinde Türkçe konuşulmasını, içinde bulunduğumuz çılgınlık çağını, Meloni'yi, Trump'ı, Avrupa değerlerini, Evren'in podcast'ın sosyal medya kanallarında yaptığı mini anketi, haset duygusunu konuştular. Seyranbağları dolmuşuna selam olsun: Nazar etme ne olur, çalış senin de olur!

KaleidHERscope – Episode 51: Entrepreneur & author Despo Pavlou speaks about finding your voice (23/6/2025)

Entrepreneur and author Despo Pavlou, speaks to Magda Zenon on kaleidHERscope about growing up in South African, about the definition of normal and about finding your voice.