The Europeans | European news, politics and culture

When will Europe get the trains it deserves?

If you’ve ever wondered where all the affordable night trains are, or struggled to book tickets for an international journey, or spent hours of your one wild and precious life petitioning for compensation for a significantly delayed trip (*takes deep breath, collects self*)... let us introduce you to Jon Worth. This prolific train watcher and commentator is behind a new European Rail Passengers’ Union that is pushing for easier cross-border transit and may even help to resolve some people’s personal cross-border nightmares. Jon thinks Europe’s train travellers deserve better, and we tend to agree.
 
Find out about the European Rail Passengers' Union here. Subscribe to his newsletter here, and check out his posts on Mastodon here. 
 
Also in this week’s episode: the latest in all those big moves to get European youth off of social media, and an Olympics opening ceremony broadcast debacle for the ages. And some crime-fighting llamas. This week’s Inspiration Station recommendations are Rosalía making a tortilla de patatas and the Spanish TV series Los Años Nuevos.
 
Resources for this episode:
 
“'I feel free': Australia's social media ban, one month on” – BBC, 9 January 2026
“Children should be at least 16 to access social media, say MEPs” – European Parliament, 26 November 2025
“France: TikTok still steering vulnerable children and young people towards depressive and suicidal content” – Amnesty International, 20 October 2025
Winter Olympics chaos at Italian broadcaster RAI (in Italian)
Mariah Carey’s performance at the opening ceremony in Milan 
“Herd of crime-fighting llamas ‘make citizen’s arrest’ of man fleeing police” – @itvnews, 11 February 2026 
 
Talk of social media bans getting you down? Keep the screen time going with our newsletter, GOOD WEEK BAD WEEK. We recommend it for anyone over the age of 16 looking to level up their scrolling. Subscribe here; it’s good for you!
 
This podcast was brought to you in cooperation with Euranet Plus, the leading radio network for EU news. But it’s contributions from listeners that truly make it all possible—we could not continue to make the show without you! If you like what we do, you can chip in to help us cover our production costs at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠patreon.com/europeanspodcast⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ (in many different currencies), or you can gift a donation to a superfan. We'd also love it if you could tell two friends about this podcast. We think two feels like a reasonable number.Produced by Katz Laszlo and Wojciech OleksiakMixing and mastering by Wojciech OleksiakMusic by Jim Barne and Mariska Martina
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What do the Epstein files reveal about Europe’s elite?

It has been an absolutely Awful Week for everyone who has been paying attention to the latest release of the Epstein files, both on this continent and around the world. We’re taking a look at what the documents reveal about Europe’s rich and powerful and whether any overdue reckonings might come out of the horrific revelations. On the brighter side: we also discuss a sitting president who does NOT want to be handed the Nobel Peace Prize. A win for us all!
 
Our guest this week is journalist Salsabil Fayed, co-author of the recent Follow the Money investigation “U.S. donors bankroll Europe’s policy ideas through think tanks”. (Gulp.) What does it mean that some of the biggest American tech companies are financing some of the work of some of the most influential think tanks on this side of the Atlantic? Salsabil spells it all out.
 
This week’s Inspiration Station recommendations are Fairphone and not looking at your phone in the morning. So…go out and touch grass. (But catch up on your podcasts first.)
 
Resources for this episode:
 
“Moldovan president rejects Nobel Peace Prize nomination, says Ukrainian POWs deserve it instead” – Yahoo! News, 6 February 2026
“Holding the Line Between Democracy and Putin | President of Moldova, Maia Sandu” – The Rest is Politics, 11 January 2026
“Los ‘miles de fallos’ que exponen a las víctimas de los papeles de Epstein” – El Pais, 4 February 2026
“A survivor on the Epstein files – podcast” – The Guardian, 5 February 2026 
Soundos el Ahmadi sets the record straight about misogynist violence on Flemish TV – De Afspraak, 7 February 2026
“U.S. donors bankroll Europe’s policy ideas through think tanks” – Follow the Money, 23 October 2025
“Podcast | The hidden U.S. influence on Europe’s policymaking” – Follow the Money, 10 December 2025
“US pressure revives call for powerful EU tech regulator” – Politico Europe, 18 January 2026 
Screen time increases risk of dementia – Brankele Frank on Brainwash, January 2026 (In Dutch)
“Digital dementia in the internet generation: excessive screen time during brain development will increase the risk of Alzheimer's disease and related dementias in adulthood” – Journal of Integrative Neuroscience, 28 January 2022 
 
Are you a visual learner rather than an auditory one? We got you. Here’s our new newsletter. (Almost) all of what you like from the weekly podcast, but…quieter. It’s nice. Try it.
 
This podcast was brought to you in cooperation with Euranet Plus, the leading radio network for EU news. But it’s contributions from listeners that truly make it all possible—we could not continue to make the show without you! If you like what we do, you can chip in to help us cover our production costs at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠patreon.com/europeanspodcast⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ (in many different currencies), or you can gift a donation to a superfan. We'd also love it if you could tell two friends about this podcast. We think two feels like a reasonable number.Produced by Morgan Childs and Wojciech Oleksiak
Editorial support from Katy LeeMixing and mastering by Wojciech Oleksiak
Music by Jim Barne and Mariska Martina
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The Europeans: Ask Us Anything

A very special bienvenue to this very special episode of The Europeans! This week, the entire team gathered in person in a swanky studio in Paris to answer some of your burning questions, from “How do you stay sane when you’re immersed in the news?” to “Is there a favourite bird?” (i.e. the simple to the deeply complex). Plus: Wojciech’s dream of being a “failed sportsman”, the unvarnished truth about the team’s vegan/teetotaling façade, and… The Europeans Matchmaking Agency?!
 
We’ll be back with a regular episode next week. In the meantime, subscribe to our cheeky new newsletter! If you like this here, we think you’ll enjoy that there.
 
Resources for this episode:
 
“A 24-year-old Frenchman shows up at hospital with a World War I shell lodged in his rectum” – El País, 2 February 2026
A heartwarming TikTok compilation of running owls
 
This podcast was funded by our listeners. If you like what we do, you can chip in to help us cover our production costs at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠patreon.com/europeanspodcast⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ (in many different currencies), or you can gift a donation to a superfan. We'd also love it if you could tell two friends about this podcast. We think two feels like a reasonable number.Produced by Katy LeeMixing and mastering by Wojciech OleksiakMusic by Jim Barne and Mariska Martina
 
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A European social network for the WTF era

By popular demand (and thanks to Dominic’s singing schedule), our silly, brilliant Luxembourger-in-chief Nina Lamparski is back in the hosting chair – and she’s brought her longstanding grudge against Elon Musk with her. Musk has made a real dog’s breakfast of that app we all used to like, and his AI assistant, Grok, seems designed for maximum awfulness. Can the European-made social media platform “W” provide an ethical alternative to X? We break it down. Plus: 10 European countries have committed to building a power grid in the North Sea that would become the world’s largest reservoir of clean energy, an ambitious move that happens to come on the back of some annoying comments from the American president at Davos. Next time someone calls you a loser, just give ‘em the windmill.
 
Our guest this week is Katja Diehl, Hamburg-based mobility activist, author, and host of the German-language podcast She Drives Mobility. If you, too, believe that you should have the right to a life without cars, you’ll enjoy hearing from her just as much as we did. 
 
SEND US YOUR Qs! WE’LL GIVE YOU OUR As! Next week we’re recording a special episode of The Europeans, and we’re seeking listener questions. Got something you’re dying to know about? Drop us a line – or better yet, a voice memo – at hello@europeanspodcast.com. 
 
LISTENER SURVEY: Are you the sort of person who listens to podcasts and thinks, “I have notes”? Now’s your time to shine! Fill out our survey and give us the performance review we’ve been waiting for! (It really won’t take long, and we’ll be very grateful.)
 
This week’s Inspiration Station recommendations are That Glasgow Witch and the song “Qanoruna isigivinga?" by Greenlandic singer-songwriter Tûtu.
 
Resources for this episode:
 
“EU risks new energy dependence as US could supply 80% of its LNG imports by 2030” – Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis, 19 January 2026
International Energy Agency overview of Europe’s natural gas supply
“European Electricity Review 2026” – Ember, 22 January 2026
 
This podcast was brought to you in cooperation with Euranet Plus, the leading radio network for EU news. But it’s contributions from listeners that truly make it all possible—we could not continue to make the show without you! If you like what we do, you can chip in to help us cover our production costs at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠patreon.com/europeanspodcast⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ (in many different currencies), or you can gift a donation to a superfan. We'd also love it if you could tell two friends about this podcast. We think two feels like a reasonable number.Produced by Katz Laszlo and Morgan ChildsMixing and mastering by Wojciech OleksiakMusic by Jim Barne and Mariska Martina
 
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The UK and the EU: best buds again?

You’d be forgiven for forgetting that Europe is bigger than Davos this week, but we’ve got three great stories to remind you. First up: it’s been a good week for Berliners making Kartoffelsalat, Kartoffelsuppe, Kartoffelknödel, et cetera et cetera, thanks to an initiative that is distributing more than 170 tonnes – TONNES – of potatoes across the German capital. Then we examine a newly leaked “Made in Europe“ proposal that seeks to promote industrial production in the EU (very very fun, we promise). 
 
We’re also joined by Nick Thomas-Symonds, the UK government minister pursuing a post-Brexit “reset“ in relations with the EU, about how the Labour government might help clean up some of the post-Brexit mess. This one goes out to those of you who like to email to remind us that Britain is still Europe. We see you. We read you.
 
This week’s Inspiration Station recommendations are the Norwegian film Sentimental Value and these 'tasting notes' from a water sommelier.  
 
LISTENER SURVEY: Fear not – we are still seeking responses to our listener survey! It’s not too late to help! It’s simple and really does help us make the show better. Fill it out here and pat yourself on the back afterwards.
 
Resources for this episode:
 
4,000 Tonnen, the “great potato rescue operation” 
“Record potato harvest is no boon in fries-mad Belgium” – France 24, 29 October 2025
“Den regionalen Erzeugern wird vors Schienbein getreten” – Taz, 15 January 2026
“EU Aims to Fight Industrial Decline With ‘Made in Europe’ Law” – Bloomberg, 17 January 2026
Aurora Notifier app
Joachim Trier’s acceptance speech at the European Film Awards
Veronika the cow, scratching herself
 
SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER: Other things happened/are happening in Europe this week (🫠) and if you’d like to learn more about them, join us over at our newsletter, GOOD WEEK BAD WEEK. 
 
This podcast was brought to you in cooperation with Euranet Plus, the leading radio network for EU news. But it’s contributions from listeners that truly make it all possible—we could not continue to make the show without you! If you like what we do, you can chip in to help us cover our production costs at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠patreon.com/europeanspodcast⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ (in many different currencies), or you can gift a donation to a superfan. We'd also love it if you could tell two friends about this podcast. We think two feels like a reasonable number.Produced by Morgan Childs and Wojciech OleksiakMixing and mastering by Wojciech OleksiakMusic by Jim Barne and Mariska Martina
YouTube | Bluesky | Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ | Mastodon⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ | Substack | hello@europeanspodcast.com
 

ChatGPT is ruining weddings now

If you are the sort of person whose New Year’s resolutions read something like: “(1) Shoot for the moon, (2) Do what you love, (3) Change the world” – have we got a guest for you! We’re joined this week by former Icelandic prime minister Katrín Jakobsdóttir, who resigned from office in 2024 in order to run for president and is now enjoying a second life as a successful crime novelist and climate activist. Be still, our hearts. We chatted with Katrín about the security threat that climate change and the current geopolitical instability pose to Iceland; her career in politics; and why she wanted to write fiction (“Doesn’t everybody?” she asked).
 
Also in this episode: The Mercosur primer of your dreams! And the disconcertingly relatable story of a ChatGPT-informed wedding gone awry. This week’s Inspiration Station recommendations are the 10th edition of the European Review of Books and the Deutsche Welle podcast Delayland. 
 
LISTENER SURVEY: Do you have a moment to help us out? We would be so grateful to hear your thoughts about what we’re doing well and where we can improve. Fill out our short, simple survey here.
 
Resources for this episode:
 
“32.7% of EU people used generative AI tools in 2025” – Eurostat, 16 December 2025
“Largest study of its kind shows AI assistants misrepresent news content 45% of the time – regardless of language or territory” – European Broadcasting Union, 22 October 2025
“Thinker, Plaintiff, Merkel, Spy” (our interview with the creators of the European Review of Books) – The Europeans, 3 June 2021
The Weapons to Ukraine fund, AKA Czech initiative A Gift for Putin (Dárek pro Putina)
 
SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER: Although this episode came out on a Friday, we are a *Thursday* podcast, because who wants to think about the imminent World War III on a Friday? That being said, if you would like to laugh through your tears on Friday, we recommend our newsletter, GOOD WEEK BAD WEEK. It will carry you through a full weekend of existential dread.
 
This podcast was brought to you in cooperation with Euranet Plus, the leading radio network for EU news. But it’s contributions from listeners that truly make it all possible—we could not continue to make the show without you! If you like what we do, you can chip in to help us cover our production costs at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠patreon.com/europeanspodcast⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ (in many different currencies), or you can gift a donation to a superfan. We'd also love it if you could tell two friends about this podcast. We think two feels like a reasonable number.Produced by Morgan Childs, Wojciech Oleksiak and Katz LaszloMixing and mastering by Wojciech Oleksiak
Music by Jim Barne and Mariska Martina
 
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2026: The year Europe gets its act together?

We are returning from our winter holidays feeling refreshed, renewed, and optimistic about 2026. Ha ha ha ha! No, but seriously, Trump’s capture of Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores was the New Year’s gift that Europe certainly did not ask for, and it raises a host of alarming questions. Among them: Does this move grant a permission slip for Vladimir Putin to encroach even further into Europe? And what does this mean for Greenland? 
 
As we tiptoe into the year ahead with heaps of anxiety about what it might have in store, we wanted to get some perspective from Alberto Alemanno, professor of EU law, founder of The Good Lobby, and longtime friend of the podcast. Alberto always has a smart, fresh perspective on what’s happening on the continent, and despite being jetlagged this week, he certainly did not disappoint.
 
We’re also talking this week about Bulgaria’s adoption of the euro—a move that comes with some risks, but about which we are cautiously optimistic—and about the 308,000 Greek students who recently lost their student status. This week’s Inspiration Station recommendations are Rosa Balistreri’s song “Curri Cavaddu Miu”, the French-owned streaming platform Qobuz, which offers a potentially more ethical alternative to Spotify, and going to the dentist in other countries (makes more sense if you listen in).
 
Resources for this episode:
“Hitting record highs: unpacking support for the euro” – European Central Bank, 2025
Alberto’s excellent and information-rich Instagram, LinkedIn, and BlueSky accounts 
“Rosa Balistreri” – Enciclopedia Delle Donne 
Even more songs by Rosa Balistreri
Instagram post by @patriciana comparing the ethics, content, and costs of various streaming platforms 
 
Stride trepidatiously into the new year with The Europeans in your inbox! Our new newsletter, Good Week Bad Week, comes out on Friday mornings. Sign up here.
 
This podcast was brought to you in cooperation with Euranet Plus, the leading radio network for EU news. But it’s contributions from listeners that truly make it all possible—we could not continue to make the show without you! If you like what we do, you can chip in to help us cover our production costs at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠patreon.com/europeanspodcast⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ (in many different currencies), or you can gift a donation to a superfan. We'd also love it if you could tell two friends about this podcast. We think two feels like a reasonable number.Produced by Katz Laszlo and Morgan Childs Mixing and mastering by Wojciech Oleksiak
Music by Jim Barne and Mariska Martina
YouTube | Bluesky | Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ | Mastodon⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ | Substack | hello@europeanspodcast.com

Pavarotti is trapped in an ice rink

It’s that time of year when we gather together with friends from near and far, indulge in seasonal treats, and take a lighthearted look at the stories that are rounding out these past 12 wild months. It’s our annual Christmas extravaganza (🎄🎁🧑‍🎄✨ etc)! And in case you weren’t able to attend the party live over Zoom, not to worry – there’s plenty of revelry to be had in this episode.
 
This week we discuss two of the lighter news items to cross our messy Q4 desks: the fact that Denmark’s national postal service, PostNord, will soon cease to send letters or postcards, and the rather awkward saga surrounding a statue of opera legend Luciano Pavarotti that has been encased in an ice rink. Then we catch up with Jim Barne, a musician who made his name composing the theme music for a little podcast called The Europeans (wink, blush) and has just opened a smash-hit Broadway show, Two Strangers (Carry A Cake Across New York). Jim and his Two Strangers co-creator, Kit Buchan, are here to answer a burning question of Dominic’s: what is it, exactly, that makes Christmas music so Christmasy?
 
In the spirit of the holidays, here’s something a little more serious: sometimes it’s hard to believe that an independent podcast like ours has been able to find so many wonderful listeners across the world who have made it possible for us to keep going and growing over the years. You can hear a bit about how far we’ve come over the course of 2025 in this episode. But suffice to say, your generosity is an enormous gift that we don’t take lightly. Thank you.
 
If you don’t yet support the podcast but you’d like to help us keep making it, you can chip in to help us cover our production costs at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠patreon.com/europeanspodcast⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ (in many different currencies). Or you can gift a donation to a superfan this Christmas! We'd also love it if you could tell two friends about The Europeans. We think two feels like a reasonable number.
 
This week’s Inspiration Station recommendations came from listeners! Attila recommended the recent Catalan film Molt lluny (Away), Anna loved the book When the Cranes Fly South by Swedish author Lisa Ridzén, and Stephen plugged Simon Kuper’s memoir Impossible City: Paris in the Twenty-First Century.
 
Watch Christiani Pitts and Sam Tutty performing ‘Under the Mistletoe’ here.
 
Our final newsletter of 2025 will be out tomorrow. Click here to get it in your inbox. 
Produced by Morgan Childs and Wojciech OleksiakMixing and mastering by Wojciech OleksiakMusic by Jim Barne and Mariska Martina00:00  Light on the carp, heavy on the Lithuanian liquor05:01  Good Christmas: Danish memorabilia collectors15:22  Bad Christmas: An operatic ice rink blunder22:52  The state of The Europeans' finances in December 202528:35  Interview: Jim Barne and Kit Buchan on the secrets of Christmas song-writing46:46  The Inspiration Station: 'Molt lluny (Away)', 'When the Cranes Fly South' and 'Impossible City'50:43  Happy Ending: Owls livin' it large in Spain
 
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Can the EU make Poland recognise gay marriage?

If the winter blues have got you down, these two things might lift your spirit: (1) the Christmas section at your local Lidl, and (2) the news that a same-sex marriage in one EU country must be recognised in another. But how this ruling is going to be implemented across the bloc—especially in the countries where there are no civil partnership rights—remains to be seen. This week, we unpack the manifold questions raised by this big-step-in-the-right-direction decision. We also examine the Louvre’s controversial new ticketing policy. Is giving cheaper tickets to Europeans a form of discrimination?
 
Our guest this week is Angéla Kóczé, chair of the Romani Studies programme at Central European University. Angéla recently wrote a compelling article for Verfassungsblog in response to a troubling new Hungarian law. We caught up with her to discuss Europe’s long history of anti-Roma discrimination, including decades of forcible sterilisation of Roma women.
This podcast was brought to you in cooperation with Euranet Plus, the leading radio network for EU news. But it’s contributions from listeners that truly make it all possible—we could not continue to make the show without you! If you like what we do, you can chip in to help us cover our production costs at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠patreon.com/europeanspodcast⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. An extra incentive to support us this week: on December 15 at 2030 CET, we'll be recording the final episode of the year on Zoom at a very fun live show just for our supporters. We'd love to have you with us!
 
This week’s Inspiration Station recommendations are the 2022 film Woman on the Roof and the very cool website Mapping Diversity, which reveals just how many streets in your European city were named after women (spoiler: probably very few).
 
ICYMI: We’ve launched a newsletter! Get a fuller picture of who’s had a good week and who’s had a bad week in Europe each Friday in GOOD WEEK BAD WEEK. You can sign up at europeanspodcast.substack.com.
 
Other resources for this episode:
 
“How significant was an EU ruling on same-sex marriage?” – RTÉ, 30 November 2025
“Poland will implement EU court order to recognise same-sex marriages, says justice minister” – Notes from Poland, 26 November, 2025
“L’établissement public du musée du Louvre et son fonds de dotation” - French auditors’ report on the Louvre’s finances, 6 November, 2025
“Contrat à 15 000 euros, commanditaires « à l’accent slave », van blanc… Les secrets du casse du siècle au Louvre” - the juiciest French reporting on the investigation into the Louvre heist. Le Parisien, 25 November, 2025
“Multilingualism protects against accelerated aging in cross-sectional and longitudinal analyses of 27 European countries” – Nature Aging, 10 November 2025 
Produced by Katz Laszlo and Morgan ChildsEditorial support from Wojciech OleksiakMixing and mastering by Wojciech OleksiakMusic by Jim Barne and Mariska Martina
 
00:46  Two radically different solutions for beating the winter blues04:52  Good Week: A landmark gay marriage ruling in the EU17:32  Bad Week: The Louvre's new ticketing system33:08  Interview: Angéla Kóczé on how Roma people are experiencing the rise of the far-right48:54  The Inspiration Station: 'Woman On The Roof' and MappingDiversity.eu52:46  Happy Ending: Duolingo could protect you from ageing
 
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Europe's climate vibe has shifted. Now what?

It hasn’t been a Good Week for the climate since, er, 1820-something? And it wasn’t last week, either. But it is a good week for The Europeans, because we’re joined by Luisa Neubauer, one of Germany’s best-known climate activists. Luisa recently wrote a terrific piece for The Economist about Europe’s climate “vibe shift”. We got her insights on what has caused the greenlash and what we ought to be doing about it. It’s a thoughtful, self-reflective, heartening conversation we think you’ll enjoy. 
 
We’re also talking about Brussels’ proposed “military Schengen” agreement, which would allow EU member states to move troops and equipment across borders relatively swiftly. (You don’t want to know how sluggish things are now.) And we’re taking a look at Slovenia’s troubling new “Šutar Law”, a security bill that is widely understood to target the Roma minority.
 
In other news… The Europeans are launching a newsletter! If you want to hear more about what happened in Europe over the past week and find out what we left on the podcast-cutting-room floor, subscribe to GOOD WEEK BAD WEEK over on Substack. New issues hit inboxes on Friday mornings.
 
And someone else has a new newsletter, too. Our very own Katy Lee has just published the first issue of Millefeuille, an English-language newsletter “for Parisians who are bad at local news”. If you fall in the middle of the Europeans podcast–Francophile Venn diagram, subscribe here.
 
This week’s Inspiration Station recommendations are two newly resurfaced works by Johann Sebastian Bach (here and here) and Carlo Rovelli’s book about the physics of time, The Order of Time.  And if you, too, are in the market for a novella to help you knock out your 2025 reading goals, Dominic likes Claire Keegan’s Small Things Like These. 
 
Other resources for this episode:
 
“The surreal 45-day trek at the heart of Nato’s defence” - Financial Times, 17 November, 2025 
“Commission moves towards ‘Military Schengen' and transformation of defence industry” - European Commission press release, 19 November, 2025 
“Why you probably should not re-gauge railways in Europe” - Jon Worth, 30 September, 2025
“Slovenia’s ‘Šutar Law’ Sets a Dangerous Precedent for Europe” - Roma Foundation for Europe, 18 November, 2025
“Romani Activists Fear Collective Punishment & Discrimination as Slovenia Passes New Security Bill" - European Roma Rights Centre, 7 November, 2025
 
This podcast was brought to you in cooperation with Euranet Plus, the leading radio network for EU news. But it’s contributions from listeners that truly make it all possible—we could not continue to make the show without you! If you like what we do, you can chip in to help us cover our production costs at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠patreon.com/europeanspodcast⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ (in many different currencies), or you can gift a donation to a superfan. We'd also love it if you could tell two friends about this podcast. We think two feels like a reasonable number.Produced by Morgan Childs Editorial support from Katz LaszloMixing and mastering by Wojciech OleksiakMusic by Jim Barne and Mariska Martina
 
YouTube | Bluesky | Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ | Mastodon⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ | Substack | hello@europeanspodcast.com