Top 5 Budacast Podcasts

Some stories remain fresh even if you hear them over and over. With that in mind, Budacast's Nóra Selmeczi offers an entirely subjective estimation of what she believes to be the best episodes of Budacast, Hungary's internet radio show and podcast. What she found was that the shows were incredibly varied, covering almost anything you can imagine in Hungary.

1. Wacky World of Wahorn - Artist András Wahorn has a talent to surprise others with statements like "I don't give a shit about the art world" of "I thought every American would see how talented I was [...] well, that never happened". Wahorn's personality has something essentially Eastern-European to it and this bitter-sweet yet hilarious interview captures it genuinely. He offers his thoughts on being Gábor Csupó's background designer, on coming back to Hungary when he earned US citizenship and on his art and popularity.

2. Budacast on the BBC - Chris Vallance from the BBC experiences the highs and lows of Budapest on a tour, from the New York Café to the seedy underpass at Blaha Lujza square - two places almost next to each other, yet separated by shocking social and cultural differences. This episode has everything about the city from 1,000 forint espressos to religion going through a comeback in the underground passage.

3. Candid Camera - Meet photographer Andrea Anca Strauss who took her first pictures in Kosovo back in 1996 in an unlikely situation. Documenting the Balkan War, people's loss, fate and hope Andrea shows a unique point of view on destruction and its emotional collateral damage. This episode is especially moving and delicate - it's worth listening to it over and over again.

4. Splish Splash (Rudas baths) - The Rudas thermal bath is one of the most traditional baths of Budapest, but the special feature of this Budacast episode is the undercover way the recording was made. Drew practically smuggled it in to the pool area, where the popular actor Győző Szabó can be witnessed accidentally, wearing the same little cloth to cover his private parts as anybody else soaking there. Listen to the sounds, echoes and the insightful commentary on the Rudas Bath.

5. Two Wheels Good - He's a painter, a journalist, host of TV shows, film director, renaissance man Attila Till (AKA 'Tilla') talks about riding his bicycle in the city. People see him on the street and can't believe their eyes. Curious what kind of bike a local celebrity owns? Is it a city bike, BMX or mountainbike? He's always laughing and always has a funny answer. Listen to this hilarious episode of Budacast to hear about him and about the biggest Critical Mass event in the world, not to mention the endless traffic jams in Budapest.