Journeys Through the First Republic
Journeys Through the First Republic, subtitled The Bright and Dark Sides of an Era (planned as a 100-episode series) is a loose sequel to the now legendary Journeys Through Czech History. While building on the original concept, the format has been refreshed with a new creative team and three recurring performers: Jaroslav Plesl, Jana Stryková and Jiří Vyorálek.
The series focuses on the interwar years, but its thematic scope is deliberately broad. It explores political history (including T. G. Masaryk, Edvard Beneš, Karel Kramář, Alois Rašín, the founding of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia, and political life in the Chamber of Deputies), the Sudetenland and the ethnic composition of Czechoslovakia.
Čtěte také
Remarkable women of the era (such as Františka Plamínková, Hana Podolská, Eliška Junková and Milena Jesenská), sport (football, the Olympic Games and boxing), and arts and culture (Karel Hašler, Franz Kafka, Jaroslav Hašek, Karel Čapek, silent-film stars, the avant-garde movement and the Liberated Theatre).
It also examines everyday life in the First Republic, covering topics such as tramping, automobiles, entertainment, from cinemas, cabarets, circuses, theatres and dance halls to the era's favourite sweet treats. Alongside these are more challenging subjects, including the Spanish flu, post-war hunger, prostitution, drugs, the harsh lives of industrial workers and the economic crisis. Individual episodes also go into more specialised themes, such as the aristocracy, criminology, the gendarmerie, archaeology, journalism, cynology and ornithology.
Autor: Ondřej Nováček, Tomáš Pánek, Petra Tanclová, Dušan Radovanovič, Karolína Stegurová, Ivan Malý, Petr Vodička, Jitka Škápíková
Autorský tým: Ondřej Nováček, Tomáš Pánek, Petra Tanclová, Dušan Radovanovič, Karolína Stegurová, Ivan Malý (historické podklady); Petr Vodička, Jitka Škápíková (scénáře)
Vedoucí projektu: Ondřej Nováček
Kreativní producentka a dramaturgyně: Kateřina Rathouská
Dramaturgie: Marcela Hájková, Kateřina Ondroušková
Hudba: David Hlaváč, Jaroslav Pokorný
Zvuk a zvukový design: Roman Kolliner, Tomáš Pernický, Jonáš Rosůlek, Daniel Kordík, Stanislav Abrahám
Účinkují: Jaroslav Plesl, Jana Stryková a Jiří Vyorálek
Režie: Jitka Škápíková, Petr Vodička (Český rozhlas)
Zveřejněné díly: 61 (do konce dubna 2026)
Zveřejněné 2025/2026: 44 (2025), 52 (4/2025-3/2026);
od: 1. 4. 2025
do: 31. 3. 2026
Medium: Český rozhlas Dvojka
The aim is to present the First Czechoslovak Republic as comprehensively as possible, offering multiple perspectives through an engaging format enriched with archival sound recordings from the period. Produced by Czech Radio's Development and Production Department for Czech Radio Dvojka, the podcast is designed to both educate and entertain. Episodes are available without restriction on the Czech Radio website and across major podcast platforms.
In 2025, Journeys Through the First Republic attracted more new subscribers on the mujRozhlas platform than any other Czech Radio programme. Between 2 March 2025 and 31 March 2026, it recorded 883,400 streams and 927,000 downloads. The series is also released on CD by Radioservis and has received an enthusiastic response on social media. Among those who have praised the programme is journalist Erik Tabery, who recommended it on his Facebook profile and published a favourable review in Respekt magazine.
We will be presenting the project at Prix Bohemia Radio
When: Thursday, October 22, 2026 | 9:30 a.m. – 2:00 p.m.
Where: UP Arts Center, Theater Hall – 3rd floor
Entrance: Free admission with accreditation
