Turkey day and night: music, arts, books, gastronomy, movies. An enjoyable account of social and everyday life and culture of Turkey, from music and arts festivals to gastronomy, archaeology and books.
Açık Radyo has held an important place in Türkiye’s intellectual and cultural life for 30 years. For the past three years, I have been part of this big family through my program, “Anthropocene Conversations.” Being one of over 1300 broadcasters and preparing one of the approximately 1200 archived programs was a great honor for me.
Türkiye mourns 8-year-old Narin Güran, whose lifeless body was found in the southeastern city of Diyarbakır 19 days after her disappearance, a case that has gripped the country and reignited debates about child safety. Narin’s case is not an isolated incident. In the just first half of 2024, 343 children died due to preventable causes
On the morning of August 2, millions of Turkish users found that Instagram had been blocked. By 9:30 PM on August 10, access to the platform was restored. However, the reasons for the block, and the circumstances leading to its lifting, remain shrouded in mystery. One popular theory suggests that the ban was triggered by
The Turkish Grand National Assembly (TBMM) commission commenced discussions over a controversial bill aiming to amend the Animal Protection Law in a marathon session filled with heated debates, protests, and high tension. The bill, known for its potential to introduce “euthanasia” for stray animals, sparked strong reactions from various political factions and civil society groups.
Have you seen the 2010 short animation of Serge Avedikian called “Chienne d’histoire”? It tells the story of 80,000 stray dogs, forcibly rounded up and exiled to a remote island in Istanbul in 1910. The dogs died in a cruel manner with their cries echoing through Istanbul for days. The event known as “Hayırsızada Dog
A severe wildfire has erupted in the rural area between Diyarbakır’s Çınar district and Mardin’s Mazıdağı district, in Türkiye, claiming 11 lives and left many injured. The fire, which started as a stubble burning incident, rapidly grew due to strong winds, engulfing surrounding villages and causing significant casualties and damage, officials announced on June 21.
Will the sciene education surpass scientific education? The title actually reflects a misleading proposition. Both are needed; one is not an alternative to the other. The real question should be about the appropriate dosage within the education curriculum: how much mathematics, physics, chemistry, biology, and economics, which form the foundation of science and technology, should
In our heated debates, when asked, “What is the most important game-changing development in the world today?” some highlight climate change, the sustainability of our planet, and the green transformation in energy. Others point to geopolitical conflicts or the new values of Generation Z. However, there is little objection when we say that “new technologies”
There is a noteworthy yet seldom-discussed issue in Türkiye these days. Turkish Ministry of National Education had the removed Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution from the national education curriculum some years ago. Now, they announced the inclusion of the so-called “theory of creationism” into the new term’s schedule. For approximately seven years, the theory of
There used to be universities in Türkiye. I say ‘used to’ because universities in Türkiye have now become institutions that have lost their value and deviated from their purpose. In my recent interview on my radio program Antroposen Sohbetler (Anthropocene Conversations) on Açık Radio, I hosted journalist journalist Tuğba Tekerek. Our focus in the interview