The Europeans | European news, politics and culture
The Europeans is a fresh and entertaining weekly podcast about European politics and culture, recorded each week between Paris and Amsterdam with fascinating guests joining from across Europe. This multiple award-winning podcast fills you in on the major European politics stories and other European news of the week, as well as fun and quirky nuggets that have been missed by most media outlets. Hosted by Katy Lee, a journalist based in Paris, and Dominic Kraemer, an opera singer in Amsterdam, The Europeans covers everything from elections and climate policy to the best new European films and TV shows. We also produce investigative podcasts about everything from the European farming lobby to oat milk. Yes, oat milk. Katy and Dominic are old friends, and the warmth and intimacy of their conversations will soon make you feel like you’ve known them a long time too. They approach topics with a light and humorous tone that makes The Europeans stand out from other European news podcasts, while remaining journalistically rigorous and meticulously fact-checked. The Europeans has been recommended by The New York Times, The Guardian, Buzzfeed, The Financial Times, and many other outlets. Katy Lee, a British-French reporter, has written for major outlets including The Guardian, Politico Europe, Agence France-Presse (AFP), Foreign Policy and The New Statesman for more than a decade, covering French and European politics and more recently, climate change. Dominic Kraemer, a British-German opera singer, performs across Europe when he is not co-hosting The Europeans, with roles recently at the Staatsoper in Berlin, the Dutch National Opera and the Münchener Biennale. The Europeans’ team is completed by producers Katz Laszlo in Amsterdam and Wojciech Oleksiak in Warsaw. You’ll hear them joining Katy and Dominic from time to time, particularly during investigative episodes like ‘The Oatly Chronicles’ and ‘The Big-Agri Bully Boys’. The Europeans’ breezy, informal approach to covering European news has won awards such as a Covering Climate Now award for an episode about the Swiss women who sued their government at the European Court of Human Rights demanding more climate action; Germany’s prestigious CIVIS Media Prize for ‘Mohamed’, an episode that explores the everyday life of a young undocumented man in Amsterdam; and best LGBTQIA+ short at the MiraBan UK Film Awards for ‘Josh and Franco’, the coming-of-age story of a father and son, both gay. Our guests have included everyone from major figures in European politics such as Alexander Stubb, now the President of Finland, and Roberta Metsola, President of the European Parliament, to star chefs Asma Khan and Christian Puglisi, celebrated illustrator Christoph Niemann, and environmentalist George Monbiot. Since launching in 2017, we’ve talked about everything from elections in France, Italy and many more countries besides, to the politics of halloumi cheese in Cyprus, to why Donald Trump is so hard for TV interpreters to translate. We pride ourselves on covering European politics, European news and European culture from a pan-European perspective. You’ll often hear stories on The Europeans from parts of the continent that don’t usually receive enough attention from major international media outlets, especially Central, Eastern and Southern Europe. You might enjoy The Europeans if you also enjoy one of these other podcasts: The News Agents, On the Media, Today in Focus, Inside Europe, The Journal, EU Confidential, The Daily, The Globalist, Reasons to be Cheerful, The Media Show, Power Play, and The New Statesman. Whether you’re already a European news nerd, or simply someone who’d like to be better informed about what’s happening across Europe, The Europeans is the podcast for you. Support us on Patreon: https://patreon.com/europeanspodcast
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Episodes
2 days ago
2 days ago
Serbia’s government has come under intense pressure since a deadly disaster at Novi Sad’s main railway station last November. Student-led protests have spiralled into a nation-wide resistance movement and for months, Serbians have been speaking out against corruption, a lack of accountability, and a culture of impunity in Aleksandar Vučić’s regime. But if you’re listening to this from Western Europe, or indeed much of the rest of the world, the odd headline is probably all you’ve seen.
What are these protests really about? And what makes them different? This week, an in-depth conversation about what it’s like to be living through a potential turning point in Serbian history.
Thanks for listening. If you enjoy our podcasts, we'd love it if you'd consider supporting our work. You can chip in to help us cover the weekly research and production of The Europeans at patreon.com/europeanspodcast (many currencies are available), or gift a donation to a super fan here. We'd also love it if you could tell two friends about this podcast!
This podcast was brought to you in cooperation with Euranet Plus, the leading radio network for EU news.
Co-hosts: Wojciech Oleksiak and Katy Lee
Editorial support: Morgan Childs, Dominic Kraemer and Katz Laszlo
Production, scoring and mixing: Wojciech Oleksiak
Music by Jim Barne, Mobygratis and Epidemic Sounds
With thanks to Nikola Radić
YouTube | Bluesky | Instagram | Mastodon | hello@europeanspodcast.com
Thursday May 29, 2025
Thursday May 29, 2025
Asparagus, lesbian family rights and Viktor Orbán’s latest power plays: like all good meals, this podcast episode is perfectly balanced. German food writer Ursula Heinzelmann joins us to explain the ‘Spargelzeit’ phenomenon that sees foodies going nutty for asparagus at this time of year. We’re also taking a look at LGBTQ rights in Italy and unpacking the Hungarian government’s plans to ‘starve and strangle’ civil society. Can Orbán be stopped?
You can find out more about Ursula’s work on her website and follow her on Instagram here.
Thanks for listening. If you have any spare cash this week, please consider donating to Hungarian civil society groups and independent media outlets before the planned passing of the ‘starve and strangle’ law in mid-June. UNITED for Intercultural Action, the NGO run by our former guest Philip Pollák, would be extremely grateful for your donations; you can also donate to any of the organisations on this list of Hungarian NGOs (get in touch if you have ideas of organisations to add to this list).
Still got some spare cash? If you enjoy our podcasts, we'd love it if you'd consider supporting our work. You can chip in to help us cover the weekly research and production of The Europeans at patreon.com/europeanspodcast (many currencies are available), or gift a donation to a super fan here. We'd also love it if you could tell two friends about this podcast!
This podcast was brought to you in cooperation with Euranet Plus, the leading radio network for EU news.
This week's Inspiration Station recommendations: Rita Payés’ Tiny Desk Concert and CMAT.
Other resources for this episode:
The Convention on the Rights of the Child - United Nations, November 20, 1989
Sentenza 68/2025 (Italy’s constitutional court ruling on lesbian couples and IVF) - Corte Constituzionale - May 22, 2025
‘A Threat to the Core: Why the New Hungarian Transparency Bill is an Attack on the Foundations of the European Union’ - Verfassungsblog, May 21, 2025
00:46 The Europeans: Pouring asparagus straight into your ears
02:49 Good Week: Lesbian mothers in Italy
12:47 Bad Week: Hungary's 'starve and strangle' law
37:10 Interview: Ursula Heinzelmann on the magic of Spargelzeit
49:58 The Inspiration Station: Rita Payés and CMAT
54:10 Happy Ending: Portugal's clever teen media strategy
Producer: Morgan ChildsMixing and mastering: Wojciech OleksiakMusic: Jim Barne and Mariska MartinaYouTube | Bluesky | Instagram | Mastodon | hello@europeanspodcast.com
Thursday May 22, 2025
Thursday May 22, 2025
Romania, Poland, Portugal... and of course, most importantly of all (?), Eurovision. It's been a huge week of voting across Europe! This week we're mostly diving into Romania's election drama with Codruţa Simina, a journalist with an extremely helpful specialism in online misinformation and disinformation. We're also tackling the controversy over Israel's continued participation in Eurovision, as well as the Pfizergate scandal: will we ever get to read the text messages Ursula von der Leyen sent to one of the world's most powerful pharmaceutical bosses?
Codruţa's excellent newsletter, Misreport, can be found here.
Thanks for listening. If you enjoy our podcasts, we'd love it if you'd consider supporting our work. You can chip in to help us cover the weekly research and production of The Europeans at patreon.com/europeanspodcast (many currencies are available), or gift a donation to a super fan here. We'd also love it if you could tell two friends about this podcast!
This podcast was brought to you in cooperation with Euranet Plus, the leading radio network for EU news.
This week's Inspiration Station recommendations: The EU's personal carbon footprint calculator and 'Apeirogon' by Column McCann. You can find McCann's conversation with Bassam Aramin and Rami Elhanan, recorded in November 2023, here.
Other resources for this episode:
'Politics by WhatsApp? Even "Pfizergate" won’t end that' - Politico Europe, May 14, 2025
'The maths behind the public votes at Eurovision 2025' - RTE, May 18, 2025
'Wasted love?: broadcasting and fandom at a crossroads after Eurovision 2025' - Catherine Baker, May 18, 2025
'Why doesn't the EBU kick Israel out of Eurovision?' - Overthinking It, May 8, 2025
'Coal produces less than half of Poland’s power for first time' - Notes from Poland, May 13, 2025
00:00:46 An election bonanza hangover00:06:58 Bad Week: Pfizergate00:21:50 Good Week (?): Austrian Eurovision winner JJ00:45:12 Interview: Codruţa Simina on Romania's election drama01:02:51 The Inspiration Station: The EU's personal carbon footprint calculator, and 'Apeirogon' by Colum McCann01:07:00 Happy Ending: Is Poland finally kicking its coal habit?
Producers: Morgan Childs and Wojciech OleksiakMixing and mastering: Wojciech OleksiakMusic: Jim Barne and Mariska MartinaYouTube | Bluesky | Instagram | Mastodon | hello@europeanspodcast.com
Thursday May 15, 2025
Thursday May 15, 2025
This week, a not-so-classic 'girl meets boy' story. Başak Layic, storyteller extraordinaire, reflects on what the European Dream looks like from the outside.
This story was recorded live at SPUI25 in Amsterdam as part of 'Europe Up For Grabs?', an event organised for Europe Day 2025 by DutchCulture and the European Cultural Foundation. You can watch a livestream of the whole event here.
You can find out more about Başak's work on her website and follow her on Instagram here.
Thanks for listening. If you enjoy our podcasts, we'd love it if you'd consider supporting our work. You can chip in to help us cover the weekly research and production of The Europeans at patreon.com/europeanspodcast (many currencies are available), or gift a donation to a super fan here. We'd also love it if you could tell two friends about this podcast!
This podcast was brought to you in cooperation with Euranet Plus, the leading radio network for EU news.
Producers: Morgan Childs and Katy Lee
Mixing and mastering: Wojciech Oleksiak
Music: Jim Barne
YouTube | Bluesky | Instagram | Mastodon | hello@europeanspodcast.com
Thursday May 08, 2025
Thursday May 08, 2025
In theory, the government's guy looks set to win Poland's presidential election, making life a hell of a lot easier for Donald Tusk as he attempts to undo eight years of destructive authoritarian rule under the previous rightwing populists. But might a pregnant nun swoop in and change everything at the last minute? For an explanation of this metaphor (and yes, it is just a metaphor), listen in to this week's great interview with Poland's best political YouTubers, Dominika Sitnicka and Agata Szczęśniak. We're also digging into Sweden's plans to crack down on porn influencers, and celebrating the sweeter side of last week's mass blackouts in Spain and Portugal.
Dominika and Agata are reporters at OKO.PRESS and co-hosts of its YouTube show, Program Polityczny (which can be watched with English auto-subtitles).
Thanks for listening. If you enjoy our podcasts, we'd love it if you'd consider supporting our work. You can chip in to help us cover the weekly research and production of The Europeans at patreon.com/europeanspodcast (many currencies are available), or gift a donation to a super fan here. We'd also love it if you could tell two friends about this podcast!
This podcast was brought to you in cooperation with Euranet Plus, the leading radio network for EU news.
This week's Inspiration Station recommendations: Terry Pratchett's 'Discworld' (especially the Ankh-Morpork City Watch series), and Carême. Bonus recommendations: 'The Butterfly Effect' and 'The Last Days of August'.
We'll be at two events in Amsterdam for Europe Day on May 9! You can buy a ticket to EuropaNacht at Paradiso here; tickets to the earlier event, at SPUI25, are available here. With many thanks to our friends at the European Cultural Foundation, DutchCulture and De Kiesmannen.
Other resources for this episode:
'In the Madrid power cuts, I saw patience and common sense – but we were woefully unprepared' - María Ramírez, The Guardian, April 29, 2025 https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/apr/29/madrid-power-cuts-blackout-radio-internet
'In case of crisis or war' - Swedish Civil Contingencies Agency (MSB), November 2024 https://rib.msb.se/filer/pdf/30874.pdf
'The EU Commission's survival kits - fearmongering or necessary preparedness?' - Euronews, April 2, 2025 https://www.euronews.com/my-europe/2025/04/02/the-eu-commissions-survival-kits-fearmongering-or-necessary-preparedness
00:00:46 Smoke, bureaucracy and extra outfits: get ready for May in Europe00:03:51 Good Week: Blackout behaviour00:22:22 Bad Week: OnlyFans influencers in Sweden00:38:20 Interview: Dominika Sitnicka and Agata Szczęśniak on Poland's upcoming presidential election01:03:14 The Inspiration Station: Terry Pratchett's 'Discworld' and Carême01:07:51 Happy Ending: An off-the-pitch win for Norway's women's team
Producers: Morgan Childs and Katy Lee
Mixing and mastering: Wojciech OleksiakMusic: Jim Barne
YouTube | Bluesky | Instagram | Mastodon | hello@europeanspodcast.com
Thursday May 01, 2025
Thursday May 01, 2025
The world is in flux. What's Europe's place in it, exactly? This week, we're bringing you something different: a big, sprawling conversation with leading European historian Timothy Garton Ash. Can anything good come from Trumpism for this continent? What can be done to stop autocrats like Viktor Orbán from undermining the EU from the inside? And does it matter if we talk about different things when we talk about Europe?
Timothy is Professor of European Studies at the University of Oxford. 'Homelands' is now available in more than 20 languages; you can find all the available editions here.
We'll be at two events in Amsterdam for Europe Day on May 9! We've got two pairs of tickets to give away to the late-night EuropaNacht event at Paradiso. Email hello@europeanspodcast.com for a chance to win them. If you're too late, you can buy a ticket here; tickets to the earlier event, at SPUI25, are available here. With many thanks to our friends at the European Cultural Foundation, DutchCulture and De Kiesmannen.
Thanks for listening. If you enjoy our podcasts, we'd love it if you'd consider supporting our work. You can chip in to help us cover the weekly research and production of The Europeans at patreon.com/europeanspodcast (many currencies are available), or gift a donation to a super fan here. We'd also love it if you could tell two friends about this podcast!
This podcast was brought to you in cooperation with Euranet Plus, the leading radio network for EU news.
Producers: Wojciech Oleksiak and Morgan ChildsMixing and mastering: Wojciech OleksiakMusic: Jim Barne
YouTube | Bluesky | Instagram | Mastodon | hello@europeanspodcast.com
Thursday Apr 24, 2025
Thursday Apr 24, 2025
We've got a veritable smörgåsbord for you this week on The Europeans, from human rights in Hungary to the sorry tale of two Danish sustainability influencers whose eco-resort business went spectacularly wrong. We discuss why Viktor Orbán is concentrating so much effort on bullying the LGBTQI community at a time when Hungary has major problems to fix, and whether anything can be done to stop him. Plus, Daria Verbytska calls in from Kyiv to explain how an army of volunteer online sleuths helps Ukrainian authorities use open-source intelligence to fight back against Russia.
Daria is the executive director and cofounder of the Molfar Intelligence Institute. You can find out about the wider Molfar company on their website and read their investigations here.
This week's Inspiration Station offerings: LA NIÑA and Den stora älgvandringen ('The Great Moose Migration' on Sweden's STV).
Thanks for listening. If you enjoy our podcasts, we'd love it if you'd consider supporting our work. You can chip in to help us cover the weekly research and production of The Europeans at patreon.com/europeanspodcast (many currencies are available), or gift a donation to a super fan here. We'd also love it if you could tell two friends about this podcast!
This podcast was brought to you in cooperation with Euranet Plus, the leading radio network for EU news.
Other resources for this episode
'Hungary's ban on Pride has little to do with being gay' - BalkanInsight, March 27, 2025 https://balkaninsight.com/2025/03/27/hungarys-ban-on-pride-has-little-to-do-with-being-gay/
'Anti-spying phone pouches offered to EU lawmakers for trip to Hungary' - Politico Europe, April 16, 2025 https://www.politico.eu/article/lawmakers-offered-anti-espionage-phone-pouches-in-hungary/
00:00:46 Welcome to Europe, land of toxic eggs and tomatoes00:06:50 Bad Week: Hungary gives constitutional backing to its Pride ban00:22:59 Good Week (?) for Guatemala-bound tourists00:44:51 Interview: Daria Verbytska on how OSINT is being used to help Ukraine's fightback against Russia00:59:55 The Inspiration Station: LA NIÑA and Den stora älgvandringen ('The Great Moose Migration')01:03:07 Happy Ending: The amazing cross-border teenagers tackling antibiotic resistance
Producers: Morgan Childs and Wojciech OleksiakMixing and mastering: Wojciech OleksiakMusic: Jim Barne and Mariska Martina
YouTube | Bluesky | Instagram | Mastodon | hello@europeanspodcast.com
Thursday Apr 17, 2025
Thursday Apr 17, 2025
We're away this week, but you're in good company: our friends at Deutsche Welle (DW), Germany's international broadcaster, are here to fill in for us. On this special edition of DW's weekly podcast Inside Europe, the team takes a break from the news to explore grief as a lens for understanding global events. Author Sarah Jaffe joins host Kate Laycock to unpack how loss — from COVID to deindustrialisation — shapes politics, protest, and our shared humanity. A powerful journey through mourning, memory, and hope.
You can find Inside Europe at pod.link/insideeurope.
The Europeans will be back next week. If you enjoy our podcasts, we'd love it if you'd consider supporting us. You can chip in to help us cover the weekly research and production of The Europeans at patreon.com/europeanspodcast (many currencies are available), or gift a donation to a super fan here.
YouTube | Bluesky | Instagram | Mastodon | hello@europeanspodcast.com
Thursday Apr 10, 2025
Thursday Apr 10, 2025
We're taking the Schadenfreude approach to the chaos that Trump's tariffs have unleashed upon Europe (and the rest of the world). This week, our favourite Luxembourger Nina Lamparski joins Dominic to explain why sales of Elon Musk's Tesla cars have already plunged in Europe and could now fare even worse thanks to his best bud's trade policies. We're also joined by Turkish political scientist Ezgi Başaran to discuss why President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan is feeling liberated in a time that's been dubbed 'springtime for autocrats' — and whether the huge protests against him could change that. Plus, is Spain's clever new food waste law as good as it sounds?
This episode was recorded on Tuesday night, before the EU's announcement of retaliatory tariffs... and before the White House's announcement of a 90-day pause on higher tariffs for dozens of countries. At any rate, at the time of publication the world economy is still looking decidedly chaotic, so we hope you still find this an enjoyable and useful listen.
Thanks for listening. After some rather troubling financial news, this independent podcast needs your support more than ever. If you enjoy our work, we'd love it if you'd consider supporting us. You can chip in to help us cover the weekly research and production of The Europeans at patreon.com/europeanspodcast (many currencies are available), or gift a donation to a super fan here. We'd also love it if you could tell two friends about this podcast!
This podcast was brought to you in cooperation with Euranet Plus, the leading radio network for EU news.
This week's Inspiration Station recommendations: 'Criminal Record' and 'Rural Fictions', an essay in The Dial by Bartolomeo Sala. Nina's bonus recommendations: 'Inspector Ellis' and 'The Bay'.00:33 Moien, a wëllkomm bei den Europäer05:09 Bad Week: Tesla in Europe19:28 Good Week: Spain's new food waste law33:03 Interview: Ezgi Başaran on Turkey's protests49:25 The Inspiration Station: Criminal record and Bartolemo Sala's essay on farming in European fiction54:33 Happy Ending: Hooray for shingles vaccines
Producers: Katy Lee and Wojciech Oleksiak
Mixing and mastering: Wojciech Oleksiak
Music: Jim Barne and Mariska Martina
YouTube | Bluesky | Instagram | Mastodon | hello@europeanspodcast.com
Thursday Apr 03, 2025
Thursday Apr 03, 2025
Marine Le Pen has been banned from running for the French presidency after this week's bombshell court ruling finding her guilty in a huge embezzlement case. But does she have any chance of a comeback? And could the far-right win the presidency without her? This week we're discussing the earthquake in French politics, as well as Europe's space ambitions. Plus, a delightful interview with Greek podcaster and hungry man Thom Ntinas, about what ancient Europeans ate.
Thom is the host of The Delicious Legacy podcast. Find it here, or wherever you're listening to this.
Thanks for listening. After some rather troubling financial news this week, this independent podcast needs your support more than ever. If you enjoy our work, we'd love it if you'd consider supporting us. You can chip in to help us cover the weekly research and production of The Europeans at patreon.com/europeanspodcast (many currencies are available), or gift a donation to a super fan here. We'd also love it if you could tell two friends about this podcast!
This podcast was brought to you in cooperation with Euranet Plus, the leading radio network for EU news.
This week's Inspiration Station recommendations: @forkranger on Instagram and 'How Stockholm Stuck' from Radiolab.
00:33 Damn clocks03:43 Good Week: Marine Le Pen's enemies20:36 Bad Week (?): The Spectrum rocket launch33:59 Interview: Thom Ntinas on what the Ancients ate46:27 The Inspiration Station: @forkranger and 'How Stockholm Stuck'49:55 Happy Ending: The best place to lose your wallet
Producers: Morgan Childs and Wojciech Oleksiak
Mixing and mastering: Wojciech Oleksiak
Music: Jim Barne and Mariska Martina
YouTube | Bluesky | Instagram | Mastodon | hello@europeanspodcast.com