A new survey by the MCC Youth Research Institute has revealed that while Hungarian teens still believe in their childhood dreams, optimism fades with age. By the age of 35–39, only one in three feels their lives match their early aspirations, mirroring trends seen in the United States.
Hungarians are divided over the impact of new technologies, according to a Bosch and Richter survey. While many view innovation as a path to a better quality of life, scepticism remains around areas such as driverless cars and mRNA-based medicines.
Ferenc Sajdik, iconic Hungarian cartoonist behind Pom Pom meséi and A nagy ho-ho-horgász, has died at 95. Born in Germany to Hungarian parents, he discovered his passion for caricature while training as a printing press operator. Over his career, he illustrated 300 books and received Hungary’s Kossuth Prize.
Scientists have created the largest virtual universe to date, containing 3.4 billion simulated galaxies. The model, built for ESA’s Euclid mission, will help unravel the mysteries of dark matter, dark energy, and the large-scale structure of the cosmos.
Ukrainian-born content creator Anna Malygon, known online as maligoshik, turned her country’s suffering into a brand—mixing war-torn backdrops with TikTok and OnlyFans promotion. The 22-year-old lives in a Los Angeles ‘castle’ with a butler, Porsche, and millions in earnings, symbolizing how victimhood has become a commodity while her compatriots still face bombs and suffering.
At an event at MCC Budapest, French author Xavier-Laurent Salvador spoke about the French academic publisher suspending the publication of his book Face à l’obscurantisme woke (In the Face of Woke Obscurantism). Rodrigo Ballester and Leonardo Orlando joined the discussion about the problems with progressivism in European academia.
Former President János Áder discussed the everyday benefits of space research in his Blue Planet podcast, where astronaut Tibor Kapu described the Hunor Hungarian Astronaut Programme as the beginning of something much bigger.
‘As someone with libertarian leanings and a true appreciation of free speech, am I wary of government overreach in the regulation of network television? Yes, of course I am. But do I believe that penalizing companies that use public airwaves to broadcast high-production shows which exclusively mock the opposition to the party they donate to constitutes such overreach? Absolutely not.’
Budapest’s Corvinus University has retained its spot on the QS global ranking of full-time MBA programmes, placing 54th in Europe and within the 151–200 range worldwide. It remains the only Hungarian institution included in the prestigious list.
At Brain Bar 2025, Balázs Hankó and Péter Palasics debated whether tradition or innovation should guide Hungarian higher education, the real value of a diploma, and how universities can compete internationally while nurturing talent at home.
At Brain Bar 2025, Katalin Erdei of Richter Gedeon, school psychologist Virág Varga, and Benedictine monk Izsák Baán discussed why loneliness is rising in modern life, and how different communities can help turn isolation into true belonging.
Budapest’s Keleti Railway Station has reopened after technical delays, gradually resuming traffic. Suburban and regional trains are running from Sunday afternoon, while full operations will restart on Monday morning, MÁV’s CEO announced.
‘When…one of Louis Armstrong’s most brilliant musical partners, or as she was referred to overseas, the “First Lady of Song”, Ella Fitzgerald, visited Budapest for the first time on a leap day, 29 February 1968, the traffic chaos did not repeat itself, but people were hanging even from the chandeliers at the concert held at the Erkel Theatre.’
‘Well-documented 18th-century operations shed light on and explain many aspects of the secret of the Hungarian army’s successes in the 10th century: even with limited numbers, a well-organized team can achieve significant success in enemy territory against a numerically superior opponent.’
Prime Minister Viktor Orbán of Hungary has held a rally for his new Digital Civic Circles (DPK) initiative in Budapest, drawing 11,000 supporters. Positioning DPK as a tool to convert offline strength into online visibility, Orbán framed the movement as a fight for Hungary’s sovereignty against Brussels, social liberalism, and migration, while celebrating Fidesz’s enduring dominance.
In its ‘Beyond the Óperencia’ series, Magyar Krónika is looking at the meeting points of America and Hungary, and at Hungarians in America, from penniless peasants to political emigrants and soldiers of fortune. In this part, let us continue the story of Joseph Pulitzer, who published a series of exposés on dubious transactions surrounding the Panama Canal, for which the federal government sued him.
Bishop Péter Vay was on board the steamship Carpathia when the survivors of the Titanic were rescued.
‘Residents, businesses, and even foreign visitors were catalogued, assessed, and placed under surveillance based on their perceived political reliability. This extensive, decades-long system reflects the regime’s pervasive fear of dissent and its determination to control both people and urban spaces.’
The founding of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences marked the beginning of one of the most inspiring chapters in our national history—the Reform Era. The Hungarian National Museum’s new exhibition, Magic Power — Knowledge. Community. Academy., is rooted in this period, yet it presents the past in a way that gives the greatest weight to the future.
Donald Trump’s legacy split the stage at Brain Bar 2025, where Zoltán Pogátsa slammed him as an opportunist ‘populist clown’, while Jacob Reynolds hailed him as a disruptor who exposed the failures of globalization and elite complacency. The fiery debate showed why Trump remains the most divisive figure in global politics.
Balázs Orbán and Carl Bildt clashed at Budapest’s Brain Bar festival, offering starkly different visions for Europe’s future. While Bildt urged deeper EU integration to confront crises from migration to war, Orbán accused Brussels of centralizing power and undermining sovereignty—echoing Hungary’s longstanding call for new leadership.
Hungary’s Center for Fundamental Rights launched the Just One Bad Choice campaign, warning that migration could undo the nation’s security. Marking the 10th anniversary of the Röszke border clash, leaders stressed that Western Europe’s experience shows how one wrong decision can transform society forever.
‘The sad truth is that most liberal democracies have had it so good for so long that we’ve forgotten that almost nothing worthwhile comes without effort, that freedom has to be defended, and that often enough the alternative to fighting is surrender. Something that Israel has always known; that the Ukrainians have more recently discovered; that the Taiwanese might belatedly be waking up to…’
From 17 to 19 October, Budapest will host the Cinemira Film Festival with screenings, creative workshops, and special programmes for children, teens, and families at the Marczibányi Cultural Center and Cinema City Mammut.
‘Within just 14 months, the US has witnessed both the attempted assassination of a former president and presidential candidate, and the actual assassination of one of the most prominent figures supporting the party in power…Both attacks unfolded before crowds of thousands…No wonder two incidents like those have prompted a change in perspective towards free speech on the right.’
The 5th Danube Institute Geopolitical Summit has concluded with a discussion about the economies and geopolitical significance of Turkic states, such as Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and Türkiye. Balázs Hendrich, Ian Proud, and Yulduzkhon Imomova have shared their expert opinions on the subject.
Hungary’s first drive-through postal service has opened in Nyíregyháza, allowing customers to handle transactions such as bill payments, letter posting, and parcel collection without leaving their cars, offering added convenience and accessibility.
Global trade was in focus for the first panel discussion at Day 2 of the Danube Institute’s Geopolitical Summit. Whether or not these times are ‘the end of globalization’ sparked a fierce debate even among the distinguished speakers. The list of speakers featured Former Prime Minister Tony Abbott of Australia, Former Prime Minister and President Václav Klaus of the Czech Republic, Managing Director for the Janus Forum Darren Spinck, and more.
Hungarian musicians dominated Spotify and YouTube in 2024, with Azahriah and DESH leading both platforms, while global stars barely appeared on local charts, according to a new NMHH study on Hungary’s music streaming habits.
The 5th Danube Institute Geopolitical Summit is currently taking place in Budapest, Hungary. Minister of Defence Kristóf Szalay-Bobrovniczky of Hungary has delivered the keynote address, speaking about such crucial issues of the time as the Russo–Ukrainian war, the Israel–Hamas war, common European defence, and EU enlargement.