The story of amber, the fossil that isn't quite a rock, isn't quite a jewel, yet has shaped trade routes, folklore, craft guilds, and Latvian identity for thousands of years. We'll explore how it was formed, how it travelled from these shores to the tombs of Egyptian pharaohs, how it ended up pinned to the shoulder of traditional Latvian costumes, and how to buy the real thing without getting stung.

Thanks for listening!

Rīga is 825 years old. Join me as we join the big party! We also tell the history of Rīga, not as a chronological listing, but through legends, stories and tales.

Thanks for listening!

There is an object in Latvian cuisine that has outlasted empires and is still in supermarket aisles today. It is small. It is round. And it is very, very sweet. It is a tin of condensed milk. Iebiezinātais piens is nostalgia in a can.

We will trace the history of this product, explore its use in Latvian cuisine and make one of Latvia's most celebrated cakes.

Thanks for listening!

Latvia's maritime history told through stories about its lighthouses. From Hanseatic merchants, through Courland's golden age, to the dark years when the Soviet Union turned the coastline into a military fortress and to today. Three lighthouses highlighted and a road trip!

Thanks for listening!

This is one of the most difficult and important episodes I have recorded: the deportation of over 57,000 Latvians by the Soviet Russian regime in 1941 and 1949. Regarded as genocide and a crime against humanity by the European Court of Human Rights. I tell the story of what happened and how it happened.

Thanks for listening!

The story of a small town in Latvia with a big name. It was renamed after a legendary Latvian ideologue who used to teach there, Krišjānis Valdemārs. It has an award-winning 500-year-old linden tree, a crumbling Baltic German manor house, and a lovely lake. Join me as we visit Valdemārpils.

Thanks for listening!

A 270-year-old balm that is regarded as the national drink of Latvia. Sold in dark clay bottles. Some people love it, some don't. We explore the story and legends surrounding Riga Black Balsam, and hold a tasting with friends.

Thanks for listening!

Ludza is the oldest town in Latvia - a country that has known occupation and catastrophe many times over. It is a town that was once more than half Jewish, whose synagogue survived a fire and a genocide yet is still standing. It is a town whose medieval castle tells a story of crusading ambition and ultimate ruin, and whose lakes still carry the legend of the bewitched princess waiting somewhere beneath the hill. Join me on a trip to Ludza.

Thanks for listening!