In this episode of Media & Society, together, we look at how social trust, political culture, and media freedom shape the way people in Latvia and Estonia believe — or stop believing — in the systems that govern them. Our guests, Professor Marju Lauristin from University of Tartu and Professor Inta Mieriņa from University of Latvia, reflect on decades of social change in the Baltics and share what data — and lived experience — reveal about trust, polarization, and the fragile bond between people and power.   The podcast series is hosted by Līga Ozoliņa, a PhD student at Rīga Stradiņš University and a researcher at the Social Sciences Research Centre. Theme song: Jeremy Blake, Science Montage, Youtube audio library The podcast series is recorded at Rīga Stradiņš University’s multimedia studio and is produced as part of the Researcher Grant 'Making Sense of Media: A Non-Media-Centric and Open-Ended Approach to the Study of Media-Related Experiences and Perceptions' (No. RSU-ZG-2024/1-0007), which is carried out under the project 'RSU Internal and RSU with LSPA External Consolidation' (No. 5.2.1.1.i.0/2/24/I/CFLA/005). The project is funded by the European Union’s Recovery and Resilience Facility and the state budget. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or European Commission. Neither the European Union nor the European Commission can be held responsible for them.