Episodes
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The world may be transfixed by the US election results, but this was a huge week for news on this side of the Atlantic too. This week we're trying to make sense of the cataclysmic floods in Spain, and talking about another presidential election with major consequences — the one in Moldova. Plus, a much-needed palate-cleanser: we're delving into a fascinating report into what European children are watching, and what grown-up film producers can do to make better stuff for kids.Anne Schultka is the project manager of KIDS Regio, which campaigns for the children's film industry in Europe. Rikke Flodin is a partner at PUBLIKUM. You can download the report, 'European Children's Film in Focus', here. This week's Inspiration Station offerings: 'Kapsalon Romy' ('Romy’s Salon') and 'Leto kada sam naucila da letim' ('How I Learned To Fly'). Thanks for listening! If you enjoy our podcast, we'd love it if you'd consider chipping in a few bucks a month at patreon.com/europeanspodcast (many currencies are available). You can also help new listeners find the show by leaving us a review or giving us five stars on Spotify. Other resources for this episode: 'Valencian president downplayed floods while Spain’s rivers rose' - Politico Europe, November 1, 2024 https://www.politico.eu/article/spain-valencia-floods-death-toll-carlos-mazon/'Pumpkin paddling season: Kasterlee's giant pumpkin regatta' - DW News, October 28, 2024 https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=2701632486675304 00:22 A non-US election podcast04:48 Bad Week: Spain's floods24:39 Good Week: Maia Sandu37:26 Interview: Anna Schultka and Rikke Flodin on what the kids of Europe are watching55:00 The Inspiration Station: 'Romy's Salon' and 'How I Learned To Fly'58:19 Happy Ending: Belgium's pumpkin kayak race Producers: Morgan Childs and Katz Laszlo Mixing and mastering: Wojciech OleksiakMusic: Jim Barne and Mariska Martina Instagram | Threads | Twitter | Mastodon | [email protected]
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Georgia's pro-Russian ruling party claims to have won last weekend's election — a fraudulent election, according to a mounting pile of evidence. A country that was once on the path to EU membership is now veering much closer to the Kremlin. Is there any hope left? We ring Anna Gvarishvili, Tbilisi-based journalist and head of the Investigative Media Lab, to unpack what just happened and what might happen next. We're also discussing two suitably scary topics in this Halloween episode: France's money problems, and the noxious substances spewing out of your gas cooker.
This episode was recorded before Wednesday's devastating floods in Spain. You can donate to the Cruz Roja (Spanish Red Cross) relief efforts here. Thanks for listening. If you enjoy our podcast, we'd love it if you'd consider chipping in a few bucks a month at patreon.com/europeanspodcast (many currencies are available). If you're short on cash but still want to support us, it would be amazing if you could leave us five juicy stars, as Dominic put it, on Pocket Casts: https://pocketcasts.com/ratings. This week's Inspiration Station picks: fave dei morti (recipe here) and the Swiss video game Mundaun. Other resources for this episode Search Engine: 'Why is it so hard to tax billionaires? (Part 1)', October 18, 2024 https://www.searchengine.show/listen/search-engine-1/why-is-it-so-hard-to-tax-billionaires-part-1 'They will protest ketchup': Hugh Vuillier's Europe Letter newsletter, October 3, 2024 https://hughvuillier.substack.com/p/french-budget-not-good Universitat Jaume I's study on the health impact of gas stoves, October 28, 2024 https://repositori.uji.es/items/156fbd65-070d-4ca4-9856-9415513d505f 00:23 It's Halloween, but we won't be talking about He Who Must Not Be Named02:15 Good Week: French efforts to tax the super-rich16:42 Bad Week: Gas stove fans24:55 Please rate us on Pocket Casts!26:06 Interview: Anna Gvarishvili on Georgia's elections43:26 The Inspiration Station: Fave dei morti and 'Mundaun'46:08 Happy Ending (?): Norway's teen social media ban Producers: Morgan Childs and Wojciech Oleksiak Mixing and mastering: Wojciech OleksiakMusic: Jim Barne and Mariska Martina Instagram | Threads | Twitter | Mastodon | [email protected] -
Episodes manquant?
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Wine fraud, migration policy and climate litigation: there's something for everyone this week. Back in April, Switzerland's government lost a groundbreaking European court case and was ordered to rewrite its climate policy. Has it actually done that? No, no it has not. We speak to Geneva-based climate lawyer Seb Duyck about whether Switzerland can be forced to change its tune. We're also talking about offshore migrant detention centres, a full-bodied fraud case and the latest sign that AI is coming for podcasters' jobs.
Thanks for listening! If you enjoy our podcast, we'd love it if you'd consider chipping in a few bucks a month at patreon.com/europeanspodcast (many currencies are available). You can also help new listeners find the show by leaving us a review or giving us five stars on Spotify. Seb is a senior attorney at the Center for International Environmental Law. You can follow him on Twitter here. You can listen to our award-winning 2023 episode about the KlimaSeniorinnen case, 'The Biggest Climate Case That Ever Was', here and find the follow-up interview with Molly Quell here. This week's Inspiration Station offerings: 'Swimming in the Dark' by Tomasz Jędrowski, translated by Robert Sudół; 'World Without End' by Christophe Blain and Jean-Marc Jancovici, translated by Edward Gauvin. Other resources for this episode: Ursula von der Leyen's letter to EU leaders on migration, October 14, 2024 https://www.politico.eu/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/15/October-2024-EUCO-Migration-letter.pdf 'What is refugee rentierism? An explainer'. The New Humanitarian, August 14, 2024 https://www.thenewhumanitarian.org/analysis/2024/08/14/what-refugee-rentierism-explainer 00:22 Katy's parents made a podcast06:18 Good Week: Pedro Sánchez19:48 Bad Week: Rich wine-drinkers29:14 Interview: Seb Duyck on Switzerland's failed response to the KlimaSeniorinnen ruling46:26 Inspiration Station: 'Swimming In The Dark' and 'World Without End'51:02 Happy Ending: Luka Modrić, an inspiration for all people in their late thirties Producers: Katz Laszlo and Wojciech Oleksiak Mixing and mastering: Wojciech OleksiakMusic: Jim Barne and Mariska MartinaInstagram | Threads | Twitter | Mastodon | [email protected]
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Arson, vandalism, attacks on NATO vehicles: around Europe, mysterious acts of sabotage have been multiplying. And there's a pattern: the perpetrators were recruited on Telegram via accounts linked to Russian agencies. This week, we hear from Marta Vunš about how she and other journalists went undercover to figure out how this recruitment actually works. We're also asking whether Germany's nausea-inducing opera deserves its scandalised headlines, and why France has been low-key obsessed with a treasure hunt for the past three decades. Thanks for listening! If you enjoy our podcast, we'd love it if you'd consider chipping in a few bucks a month at patreon.com/europeanspodcast (many currencies are available). You can also help new listeners find the show by leaving us a review or giving us five stars on Spotify. "‘Make a Molotov Cocktail’: How Europeans Are Recruited Through Telegram to Commit Sabotage, Arson, and Murder". You can read the investigation by Delfi, Der Standard, Paper Trail Media and the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project here. This week's Inspiration Station offering, sponsored by the European Cultural Foundation: Liquid Becomings. Other resources for this episode: Trailer: SANCTA | Staatsoper StuttgartTalk Eastern Europe: Spies, sabotage and Russia-West relations 00:22 The week EU politics got spicy03:22 Bad Week: Unwell opera-goers13:54 Good Week: France's mystery treasure-hunt winner24:38 Interview: Marta Vunš on Russia's shady Telegram recruitment38:46 The Inspiration Station - The European Cultural Foundation presents: Liquid Becomings42:45 Happy Ending: Phew! Art saved from the garbage can
Producers: Morgan Childs and Wojciech Oleksiak Mixing and mastering: Wojciech OleksiakMusic: Jim Barne and Mariska Martina
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Why is it so hard to talk about climate change in a way that actually makes us... feel something? This week, our producer Katz Laszlo talks to an Icelandic writer who manages against the odds to do just that: Andri Snær Magnason, author of — among many other things — the hit memoir 'On Time And Water'. We're also talking about the German politician alleged to have hired Belarusian political prisoners, and the extraordinary bounceback of Mediterranean turtles. Thanks for listening! If you enjoy our podcast, we'd love it if you'd consider chipping in a few bucks a month at patreon.com/europeanspodcast (many currencies are available). You can also help new listeners find the show by leaving us a review or giving us five stars on Spotify. You can find out more about Andri's work here and watch Emergence Magazine's documentary, 'The Last Ice Age', here. This week's Inspiration Station offerings: 'When I Lived In Modern Times' by Linda Grant and 'Kneecap'.
Other resources for this episode
'Finance minister responds to book VAT backlash, cuts the rate on books' - The Slovak Spectator, 26/09/2024
'«Onion is tasty». Political prisoners work on an onion plantation owned by AfD MP Jörg Dornau' - Reform News, 24/09/2024
'Hanna' - The Europeans, 02/06/2022
'Germany’s far right loves one migrant group: Russian Germans' - Politico Europe, 29/09/24
'Cruinniú na nÓg 2024 - The Spark' - Creative Ireland
'How Germany outfitted half a million balconies with solar panels' - Canary Media, 27/09/2024 00:22 Good job, Slovakia!02:42 Good Week: Mediterranean turtles12:38 Bad Week: Jörg Dornau24:03 Interview: Andri Snær Magnason on how to talk about climate change in a way that makes people Actually Feel Something 44:12 The Inspiration Station: 'When I Lived In Modern Times' and 'Kneecap'48:30 Happy Ending: Germany's mini solar panel bonanzaProducers: Morgan Childs and Katz LaszloMixing and mastering: Wojciech OleksiakMusic: Jim Barne and Mariska Martina
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Are European leaders living in a Barbie-like dreamworld? This week, the idealised fantasy of the EU versus its awkward reality. Far from being a continent of grateful europhiles, a lot of people feel apathetic about the European project at best. Paweł Zerka joins us to discuss why non-white, young and Eastern Europeans feel especially left out of the EU, and what we can do to fix this. We're also joined by Deutsche Welle's Kate Laycock for a special guest edition of Good Week, Bad Week! We discuss how victory was snatched from the AfD in last weekend's state elections in Brandenburg, as well as the backlash against tax hikes on books in both Slovakia and the Netherlands. Thanks for listening! If you enjoy our podcast, we'd love it if you'd consider chipping in a few bucks a month at patreon.com/europeanspodcast (many currencies are available). You can also help new listeners find the show by leaving us a review or giving us five stars on Spotify. You can read Paweł's report here. The European Sentiment Compass is a joint initiative of the European Council on Foreign Relations and the European Cultural Foundation. Kate is the presenter of DW's Inside Europe. You'll be able to catch Katy and Dominic on the show next week! Inspiration Station offerings:'What language does your inner child speak?' - The First 1,000 Days 'How Libraries Thrive' - you can read the whole book online here Other resources for this episode: 'German far-right AfD song calls for deporting millions - DW News'Elderly Romanian woman used amber nugget worth over $1 million as a doorstop for decades' - El País 00:22 Insure yourselves, people!04:07 Good Week: Dietmar Woidke (Special edition with Kate Laycock from Deutsche Welle)12:24 Bad Week: Book-lovers in Slovakia and the Netherlands22:00 Interview: Paweł Zerka on the Barbie-like European Union39:13 The Inspiration Station: 'The First 1,000 Days' and 'How Libraries Thrive'43:45 Happy Ending: The world's fanciest door-stop?
Producers: Morgan Childs and Wojciech Oleksiak Mixing and mastering: Wojciech OleksiakMusic: Jim Barne and Mariska Martina
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Last week we brought you geopolitics, this week we're bringing you testicles. Why has male contraception remained such an underground idea, despite decades of research? We speak to Paul Labourie, one of a growing number of men (in the francophone world at least) who are turning to DIY contraception devices to take on more of the responsibility in their relationships. We're also talking about the crackdown on Germany's borders and a surprise move by Mussolini's granddaughter. Paul is a journalist and photographer based in Brussels. You can find his website here and follow him on Instagram here. You can read Paul's article about heat-based contraception for VICE Belgium here and find out more about Samuel Flambard's workshops here. This week's Inspiration Station offerings: 'Another Round' and 'The Gullspång Miracle' (available here via the BBC and here via DR). Thanks for listening! If you enjoy our podcast, we'd love it if you'd consider chipping in a few bucks a month at patreon.com/europeanspodcast (many currencies are available). You can also help new listeners find the show by leaving us a review or giving us five stars on Spotify. 00:23 Not sponsored by any kind of nasal irrigation device03:02 Good Week: Standing up to the far-right in Italy09:50 Bad Week: The Schengen Zone21:19 Interview: Paul Labourie's primer on thermal contraception35:19 The Inspiration Station: 'Another Round' and 'The Gullspång Miracle'38:38 Happy ending: Fewer screens, more desserts
Producers: Morgan Childs and Wojciech Oleksiak Mixing and mastering: Wojciech OleksiakMusic: Jim Barne and Mariska Martina
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We're back from our summer break! Rym Momtaz, the new editor-in-chief of the Strategic Europe blog, is here to catch us up on the main political developments we missed over the summer, from Ukraine to France. We're also talking about Sweden's suggestions for cutting kids' screen time, and a possible crackdown on outrageous concert ticket prices.
Thanks for listening! If you enjoy our podcast, we'd love it if you'd consider chipping in a few bucks a month at patreon.com/europeanspodcast (many currencies are available). You can also help new listeners find the show by leaving us a review or giving us five stars on Spotify.Strategic Europe is a blog from the Carnegie Europe think-tank. You can find it here, and follow Rym on Twitter here.
This week's Inspiration Station picks: 'Evenings and Weekends' by Oisín McKenna and 'Berlin' by Andris Kuprišs, translated by Ian Gwin.
Other resources for this episode: 'A Different Way to Look at Screen Time' - ParentData, April 2024If you're feeling brave, you can download Mario Draghi's competitiveness report here.If you're short on time because you're contributing to European productivity, you can read his summary here.Waldrapteam, the conservationists working with the northern bald ibis, can be found on Instagram here. You can follow their progress here. 03:10 Bad Week: Ticketmaster14:23 Good Week: Swedish kids26:40 Interview: Rym Momtaz catches us up on the main European political developments of the summer47:44 The Inspiration Station: 'Evenings and Weekends' by Oisín McKenna; 'Berlin' by Andris Kuprišs50:24 Happy Ending: The return of the northern bald ibisProducers: Morgan Childs and Wojciech Oleksiak
Mixing and mastering: Wojciech Oleksiak
Music: Jim Barne and Mariska Martina
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This week, we're re-releasing another of our all-time favourite episodes to entertain your ears during our summer break. First aired in 2022, it's a story from our long-running series, 'This Is What A Generation Sounds Like', and it takes us to Georgia.
Thanks for listening! We'll be back in September. If you enjoy our podcast, we'd love it if you'd consider chipping in a few bucks a month at patreon.com/europeanspodcast (many currencies are available). You can also help new listeners find the show by leaving us a review or giving us five stars on Spotify.
Producers: Wojciech Oleksiak and Kinga Goc Mixing, mastering and sound design: Wojciech Oleksiak Editorial support: Katz Laszlo, Katy Lee and Dominic Kraemer Music by Casletila. Theme music by Jim Barne
You can find a beautiful visual version of this podcast, produced by our friends at Are We Europe, here.This series was co-produced with Are We Europe and made in cooperation with the Allianz Foundation.
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We're away on our summer break until September, but this week and next week we're re-releasing two of our favourite episodes from The Europeans' award-winning series, 'This Is What A Generation Sounds Like. This week, a story that spans three generations of women: Sara, her mother, and her grandmother. In their collective lifetimes, Albania entered a communist dictatorship; the regime fell; and then there was a transition. And through it all, there was a dish: trahana. This episode first aired in 2021. You can find a beautiful visual version of this podcast, produced by our friends at Are We Europe, here.This series was co-produced with Are We Europe and made in cooperation with the Allianz Foundation.Producers: Katz Laszlo and Sara Assistant producer: Priyanka Shankar Editor: Katy Lee Sound design: Katz Laszlo Editorial support: Dominic Kraemer, Katy Lee and Wojciech Oleksiak Music: Era e Feminise, by Elina Duni; Song of Emigration, by Women’s Choir from Permet; Tana, by Saziso; Ka Nje mot e gjysem viti, by Elina Duni Quartet; Jonuzi Me Shoket by Vaome Kaba; Ballerina by Yehezkel Raz; Mëmëdheu by the Peter Pan Quartet; Jim Barne. SFX from Freesound.org.
Thanks for listening! If you enjoy our podcast, we'd love it if you'd consider chipping in a few bucks a month at patreon.com/europeanspodcast (many currencies are available). You can also help new listeners find the show by leaving us a review or giving us five stars on Spotify.
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It’s our first ever Q&A episode! Katy, Dominic, Katz and Wojciech answer listeners’ questions – from how we make the show, to the episodes we’d make if we were gazillionaires.
We’ve saved a couple of our answers for supporters of the podcast. If you’d like to hear them, we’d love it if you could send a few bucks our way at patreon.com/europeanspodcast (many currencies are available). Thanks so much to everyone who makes our show possible by helping us cover our production costs!
You can also help new listeners find the show by leaving us a review or giving us five stars on Spotify.
Producer: Katz Laszlo
Mixing and mastering: Wojciech Oleksiak
Music: Jim Barne
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One Hungarian family. One piece of land. Two very different visions.
This is the final episode in our long-running series This Is What A Generation Sounds Like, made in cooperation with the Allianz Foundation. You can find the other episodes in the series here.
Thanks, as ever, to the listeners who support this podcast so that we can keep making it. You can chip in at patreon.com/europeanspodcast.
Producers: Katz Laszlo and Luca Borsos
Sound design: Katz Laszlo
Editors: Dominic Kraemer and Katy Lee
Mixing and mastering: Wojciech Oleksiak
Music: Odú, 777, Fa Lenni and O, by Deva; Palinka, by Mónika Lakatos and Hangok Cigány; Zenebuddhizmus by Akkezdat Phiai; Marsh Warbler by Cosmo Sheldrake; Arcade Ride by Vens Adams; BlueDot Sessions and of course our theme music by Jim Barne. SFX from Freesound.org
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A surprise left-wing election win? In Europe? In 2024? This week, we turn to our resident Parisian journalist to try to get our heads around what just happened in France, as well as what might happen next. We’re also looking at the other big left-wing winners of the week: the UK Labour Party. What might their new government mean for Britain’s relationship with Europe? Plus, Barcelona’s anti-tourist revolt and what may be the world’s toughest crackdown on Airbnb.
Thanks for listening! If you enjoy our podcast, we'd love it if you'd consider chipping in a few bucks a month at patreon.com/europeanspodcast (many currencies are available). You can also help new listeners find the show by leaving us a review or giving us five stars on Spotify.
This week's Inspiration Station picks: BBC Assignment: 'Germany's AI detectives' and The Europeans on YouTube. Other resources: 'El malestar por el turismo masivo se traslada a las calles de Barcelona' - La Vanguardia, July 6, 2024'Quelle coalition ? Composez votre majorité absolue avec notre simulateur de coalitions exclusif' - Le Grand Continent, July 7, 202400:22 The return of human co-host Dominic Kraemer03:51 Good Week: Britain's relationship with the EU15:02 Bad Week: Tourists in Barcelona28:16 Interview: Katy on France's surprise election results and what might happen next48:33 Isolation Inspiration: 'Germany's AI detectives' and The Europeans on YouTube51:24 Happy Ending: Climate-resilient cacaoProducers: Wojciech Oleksiak and Katy Lee
Mixing and mastering: Wojciech Oleksiak
Music: Jim Barne and Mariska Martina
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Fewer expensive car chases, more moody shots and ambiguous endings: movies made in Europe are often very different from those made in the US. But Europe's more arty film output isn't just a product of our culture — it has a lot to do with how the industry is financed. This week, we're asking: why is European cinema the way it is, and should we be trying to change it? Plus, producer Wojciech Oleksiak joins Katy to discuss Europe's latest far-right alliance and why Kaja Kallas may be glad to be stepping down as Estonia's prime minister. This episode was supported by KIDS Regio. Thanks so much to project manager Anne Schultka for joining us, along with Tamara Kolarić, assistant professor in social sciences at SALIS, Dublin City University.
Thanks for listening! If you enjoy our podcast, we'd love it if you'd consider chipping in a few bucks a month at patreon.com/europeanspodcast (many currencies are available). You can also help new listeners find the show by leaving us a review or giving us five stars on Spotify.
This week's Inspiration Station picks: Euro 2024 and Search Engine: 'Why didn't Chris and Dan get into Berghain?' Parts 1 and 2 Other resources: 'The Hungarian presidency: Let the games begin' - Politico Europe, June 25, 202400:22 Hot in Warsaw, even hotter in Paris02:45 Good Week: Kaja Kallas (and her replacement)12:40 Bad Week: The Mainstream26:05 Interview: Anne Schultka and Tamara Kolarić on how money shapes Europe's film industry43:56 The Inspiration Station: Something called 'football', and Search Engine: 'Why didn't Chris and Dan get into Berghain?' Parts 1 and 248:58 Happy Ending: Dominic's holiday voice noteProducers: Morgan Childs and Katy Lee
Mixing and mastering: Wojciech Oleksiak
Music: Jim Barne and Mariska Martina
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Enough politics: we’ve got a nature-themed episode for you this week. Producer Katz Laszlo joins Katy to explain how Austria’s environment minister went rogue to save the EU’s hugely important nature restoration law; we’re also talking about the German town that just voted to kill all its pigeons. And in the human world: the podcast that brings Scandinavians together in their own languages. Hilde Sandvik takes us behind the scenes of ‘Norsken, svensken og dansken’, a show described as family therapy for neighbouring nations.
Thanks for listening! If you enjoy our podcast, we'd love it if you'd consider chipping in a few bucks a month at patreon.com/europeanspodcast (many currencies are available). You can also help new listeners find the show by leaving us a review or giving us five stars on Spotify.
Hilde is one of the board members of NORD 55, an initiative seeking to build public debate in the Nordic region. You can listen to ‘Norsken, svensken og dansken’ here via NRK.
This week’s Inspiration Station picks: Garden to Grill and ‘Midsummer Night’.
Other resources:
‘Pigeon problems: German town votes to have birds killed, outraging animal rights’ activists’ - Euronews, July 12, 2024
‘How do we survive the media apocalypse?’ - Search Engine, March 15, 2024
00:22 Summer plunges and untranslatable words
04:19 Good Week: Europe's plants and animals
16:17 Bad Week: The pigeons of Limburg
28:43 Interview: Hilde Sandvik on creating Scandinavia's cross-border, multilingual podcast
41:03 The Inspiration Station: 'Garden to Grill' and 'Midsummer Night'
44:52 Happy Ending: Wild times for Windy
Producers: Katy Lee and Wojciech Oleksiak
Mixing and mastering: Wojciech Oleksiak
Music: Jim Barne and Mariska Martina
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The far-right surged but the centre held; somehow the two are true at once. Nearly 100 members of the new European Parliament have yet to tell us which political family they’ll be joining. And as for who’s actually going to be running the EU’s institutions for the next five years – right now, it’s anyone’s guess. How can we make sense of these European elections? Alberto Alemmano joins us to help decipher a momentous, and very confusing, moment in Europe’s democracy.
Alberto is a professor of EU law at HEC in Paris and the College of Europe. You can follow him on Twitter here.
We’ve got a new look! Check out our beautiful new website, designed by the wonderful RTiiiKA, at europeanspodcast.com.
This week’s Inspiration Station offerings: ‘Untold: Power for Sale’ and ‘Under Paris’. You can check out ‘Mixed Signals’, the new podcast from Semafor, here.
This special episode was made possible thanks to the financial support of the Culture of Solidarity Fund, powered by the European Cultural Foundation in collaboration with Allianz Foundation and the Evens Foundation. You can check out the #CulturalDealEU campaign here.
Thanks for listening! If you enjoy our podcast, we'd love it if you'd consider chipping in a few bucks a month at patreon.com/europeanspodcast (many currencies are available). You can also help new listeners find the show by leaving us a review or giving us five stars on Spotify.
Hosts: Dominic Kraemer and Katy Lee
Producer: Katy Lee
Sound design, mixing and mastering: Wojciech Oleksiak
Editorial support: Katz Laszlo
Music: Jim Barne and Blue Dot Sessions
Sound effects: Freesound.org
Artwork: RTiiiKA
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They’re the second biggest elections on Earth. For the next four days, 373 million people are eligible to take part in the vote for the European Parliament. And yet in most EU countries, the prevailing mood is… ‘meh’.
This week, we take on the challenge of convincing you that these elections are anything but meh, with the help of one of our favourite explainers of all things EU, Beatriz Ríos.
You can follow Beatriz on Twitter here and find Politico Europe’s guide on how to vote here.
This special episode was made possible thanks to the financial support of the Culture of Solidarity Fund, powered by the European Cultural Foundation in collaboration with Allianz Foundation and the Evens Foundation. You can check out the #CulturalDealEU campaign here.
Thanks for listening! If you enjoy our podcast, we'd love it if you'd consider chipping in a few bucks a month at patreon.com/europeanspodcast (many currencies are available). You can also help new listeners find the show by leaving us a review or giving us five stars on Spotify.
Hosts: Dominic Kraemer and Katy Lee
Producer: Katy Lee
Sound design, mixing and mastering: Wojciech Oleksiak
Editorial support: Katz Laszlo
Music: Jim Barne and Blue Dot Sessions
Sound effects: Freesound.org (JoeDeshon)
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Protests by angry farmers have swept across Europe this year. But from country to country, powerful groups have taken these protests over and changed their agenda. Who are these people, and what are they up to?
This is a special episode produced in collaboration with investigative journalists from Lighthouse Reports and media partners across Europe.
This podcast was made possible by our generous Patreon supporters. If you enjoy our work, we'd love it if you'd consider chipping in a few bucks a month at patreon.com/europeanspodcast (many currencies are available). You can also help new listeners find the show by leaving us a review or giving us five stars on Spotify.
Read the articles published as part of this investigation:
‘Farmers protest, who gains?’ - Lighthouse Reports https://www.lighthousereports.com/investigation/farmers-protest-who-gains/
‘Bauernschlaue Lobbyisten’ - Taz https://taz.de/Doppeltes-Spiel-des-Agrarverbandes/!6009938/
‘Le lobbying agricole de la FNSEA à la loupe’ - Splann! https://splann.org/lobby-agricole-fnsea/
Reporters: Wojciech Oleksiak, Thin Lei Win, Marianne Kerfriden, Silvia Lazzaris, Elena DeBre and Emmanuel Freudenthal
Producer: Wojciech Oleksiak
Editor: Katz Laszlo
Editorial support: Dominic Kraemer and Katy Lee
Sound design, scoring, mixing and mastering: Wojciech Oleksiak Music: Jim Barne, BlueDot Sessions
Sound effects: Freesound.org (miastodzwiekow, Cosmopolight, Quistard)
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This week, the high drama of both European wolf policy and the Eurovision Song Contest. Wolves have made a huge comeback in Europe in recent years. How can we coexist peacefully with these hungry carnivores? We speak to the social scientist Hanna Pettersson about how humans are living alongside predators in Spain and Sweden. Plus, all the controversy from the most chaotic Eurovision in history, and why Catalans just voted to boot out their separatist government after a decade in power. Hanna is a postdoctoral researcher at the University of York. You can listen to her interview with The Conversation here. This week's Inspiration Station recommendations: 'The Regime' and this accompanying episode of 'Cautionary Tales'; 'There's Still Tomorrow'. 'Lost On Me' was translated into English by Leah Janeczko.
Thanks for listening! If you enjoy our podcast, we'd love it if you'd consider chipping in a few bucks a month at patreon.com/europeanspodcast (many currencies are available). You can also help new listeners find the show by leaving us a review or giving us five stars on Spotify.
Other resources for this episode: 'Why did Ireland give Israel 10 points at the Eurovision?' - RTEAitor Hernández-Morales on the Catalan elections
00:22 Europe needs a new continent-wide public holiday02:38 Bad Week: The European Broadcasting Union20:35 Good Week: Catalonia's Socialists30:03 Interview: Hanna Pettersson on living with Europe's wolves44:45 The Inspiration Station: The Regime and There's Still Tomorrow49:28 Happy Ending: A pioneering law in Belgium
Producers: Morgan Childs and Katy Lee
Mixing and mastering: Wojciech Oleksiak
Music: Jim Barne and Mariska Martina
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Across a fair chunk of Europe, we've grown used to seeing little traffic light symbols on our food packets that supposedly rate the healthiness of our food. But why might Dominic's chamomile tea get a Nutri-Score rating of C, when a diet cola gets an A? And does Giorgia Meloni have a point in claiming that the ratings are biased against Italians? This week we ring up Alie de Boer, an expert on all things food labelling, to demystify the Nutri-Score system once and for all. We're also talking about why Georgia's at a crossroads between Russia and the EU, and why it's such a scary moment in German politics.
Alie is an assistant professor of nutrition and food law at Maastricht University's Venlo campus. You can watch her excellent video about Nutri-Score here.
This week's Inspiration Station offerings: Marina Abramović's new exhibition and Desert Island Discs interview; Gugelhupf.
Thanks for listening! If you enjoy our podcast, we'd love it if you'd consider chipping in a few bucks a month at patreon.com/europeanspodcast (many currencies are available). You can also help new listeners find the show by leaving us a review or giving us five stars on Spotify.
Other resources for this episode:
'Is Georgian Dream Digging Its Own Grave?' - Transitions, May 2024 https://tol.org/client/article/is-georgian-dream-digging-its-own-grave.html
'Are right-wing populists more likely to justify political violence?' - European Consortium for Political Research, March 2024 https://ejpr.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/1475-6765.12668?af=R
'How Italian "food nationalism" has blocked Nutri-Score nutrition labelling system in Europe' - Mediapart, January 2024 https://www.mediapart.fr/en/journal/international/060124/how-italian-food-nationalism-has-blocked-nutri-score-nutrition-labelling-system-europe
00:23 A delicious, digestible bowl of European news
02:52 Good week: Georgia's brave protesters
09:43 Bad week: German democracy
21:10 Interview: Alie de Boer on how those Nutri-Score labels on your food actually work
37:51 The Inspiration Station: Marina Abramović and gugelhupf
42:52 Happy Ending: The European Seagull Screeching Championship
Producers: Morgan Childs and Katy Lee
Mixing and mastering: Wojciech Oleksiak
Music: Jim Barne and Mariska Martina
Instagram | Threads | Twitter | Mastodon | Bluesky [email protected]
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