The Europeans | European news, politics and culture

Drugs policy: Who Does It Best?

Should weed be legalised? What about heroin? Set aside any previously held opinions and prepare a far-out trip! In the final episode of 'Who Does It Best?' producer Wojciech is taking us across the landscape of Europe’s drug policies. From 90s Portugal to the coffee shops of Amsterdam to a little pit stop in Uruguay(!), we’re taking a deep dive into which policies are the sanest and safest on offer.
 
MASSIVE THANKS: We want to give a HUGE shoutout to everyone who made this series possible. Our generous crowdfunders hit our goal within two months, making it possible for us to do extensive reporting fully independently. Our hearts are beyond full. Thank you.
 
BOOST THE SHOW: If you liked the series and want to help us spread the good word, we’ve prepared some social media posts that you can download and share. Here they are! We’d be eternally grateful if you influenced your followers with our snappy graphics ✨
 
DON’T QUIT WHILE YOU’RE AHEAD: If you’re feeling inspired to support The Europeans’ ongoing work, please go to patreon.com/europeanspodcast. You can drop us a few euros or dollars or francs or crowns or whatever the heck ya got.
 
Additional resources for this episode: 
Research on Portugal’s decriminalization success story
Amsterdam’s drop-in center AMOC Zuid 
 
Written, reported and produced by: Wojciech Oleksiak
Editor: Jasmin Baoumy 
Editorial support: Dominic Kraemer, Katz Laszlo, Katy Lee, Morgan Childs
Sound design: Jesse Lou Lawson
Mixing and mastering: Wojciech Oleksiak
Music and SFX: Jim Barne, Epidemic, FreeSound.org
Artwork: RTiiiKA
 
Thanks to everyone who sat down with Wojciech to share their expertise, including Tom Decorte, Katrin Schiffer, Annika Apfel, Malu Salazar, Cedric Chervet, Adam Nowotarski, Peter Sarosi, Ferry, the De Barones crew, Reinoud van Delft, Gośka, Yahya, Leonie, AMOC clients Bouhz and Damian, Breda’s coffeeshop owners. Special thanks go to Leonie, Tom, Łukasz and Michał.
 
Stay safe out there!
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00:00:43 Intro: Rockstar life and drugs00:09:55 Act I: Soft drugs, tolerance and the myth of legal weed00:23:15 Act II: You gotta regulate that thing!00:30:43 Act III: Total decriminalization00:49:05 Act IV: Legalise everything, regulate everything

Report from Novi Sad: Can students bring down a regime?

We’re taking a momentary break from “Who Does It Best?” to take a trip to Serbia with producer Wojciech Oleksiak. Wojciech was on the ground in Novi Sad last weekend to report from the massive demonstration marking the one-year anniversary of the tragic accident at the city’s railway station. 
And if you’re not following this story, you should be. Much of what’s happening in Serbia is a heartening example of how peaceful demonstrations can really move the needle, even in places where the political situation looks bleak. And Serbia’s leadership has been following a playbook that is increasingly common across Europe and the rest of the world. Even if you don’t live under an illiberal democracy…you might want to get familiar with how they take shape.
If you’re interested to hear more on this evolving story, check out our episode from earlier this year called “Is real change coming to Serbia?” 
We’ll be back with the final episode of “Who Does It Best?” on Friday. (Wojciech has had a busy 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.
Reported, produced, mixed, and mastered by Wojciech Oleksiak. Editorial support by Dominic Kraemer and Morgan Childs. Special thanks go to Filip Djordjević and Mila Dragnić.
 

Childcare policy: Who Does It Best?

Childcare policy affects all of us at some point in our lives. And depending on where you live, your country’s parental leave and early-education policies can determine everything from what you do for a living to how you divide household labor to how you plan for your future. Reporters Maja Stepančič and Uršula Zaletelj took a whirlwind trip across Europe to find out which country does childcare policy best. And even if you don’t have kids of your own, we’re pretty sure you’ll enjoy taking the journey with them.
Maja and Uršula are the hosts of the Slovenian-language parenting podcast Šala za starše, or ‘A Joke for Parents’. You can find their show here.
This series was fully funded by you, our listeners. Our generous crowdfunders hit our goal within two months, making it possible for us to do extensive reporting fully independently. We couldn’t be more grateful. If you’re feeling inspired to support The Europeans’ ongoing work, please go to patreon.com/europeanspodcast. 
Want to support us in another way? Please share this episode with one or two friends who you think might find it interesting. It’s the most effective way for us to reach people!
Additional resources for this episode: 
The Day Iceland Stood Still 
UNICEF report on parental leave and family-friendly policies
Zoe Williams’ Guardian piece “‘These are not numbers – they are people’: what ex-communist Slovenia can teach the world about child poverty”
00:00:43 Introducing Uršula Zaletelj and Maja Stepančič
00:05:52 How childcare made this episode about childcare possible
00:13:55 How Icelandic women went on strike and brought the entire country to a halt
00:17:25 A Swedish toddler trouble
00:21:52 Is it best to raise your child in the shadow of the Eiffel Tower?
00:28:26 The longest parental leave in Europe
00:34:54 Italy: La Famiglia Mulino Bianco
00:42:39 No place like home!
Written, reported and produced by: Uršula Zaletelj and Maja Stepančič
Additional production: Katz Laszlo
Editors: Jasmin Baoumy, Katz Laszlo
Editorial support: Dominic Kraemer, Katy Lee, Morgan Childs
Sound design: Jesse Lou Lawson
Mixing and mastering: Wojciech Oleksiak
Music and SFX: Jim Barne, Epidemic, FreeSound.org
Artwork: RTiiiKA
With thanks to everyone that talked to us for this episode: Mathieu Lefèvre, Ana Marija Sikirić Simčic, Martina Pezer, Petra Klasić, Ivona Ivić Lovrenović, Mojca Dominikovič, Katarina Hovfing, Katy Lee, Stephanie Scherer, Dana Thompson, Richard Thompson, Madalina Ion, Corina Parvu, Alenka Švab, Katarina Bogataj, Carlotta Giordano, Giulia Milan, Letizia Mencarini, Maria Rosaria Gualano and Anne Wiebke Peters.
And a final, heartfelt thanks to the wonderful professionals who looked after Uršula and Maja’s children so they could work on this episode ❤️
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Housing policy: Who Does It Best? - Part 2

Katz goes back to the drawing board. If the housing crisis is really about wealth inequality, doesn’t the policy we need to fix it… need to address wealth inequality? We go in deep, and what Katz finds makes us wonder: are we even having the right conversation when it comes to the housing crisis? 
 
If you're curious about where you stand on your country's wealth ladder, you can find the World Bank’s calculator here, which adjusts for things like home ownership. 
 
The intergenerational wealth audit that Molly co-authored, you can find here.
 
You can find one of the OECD’s reports on housing tax in Europe here.
 
You can find Cody’s book on housing shame here.
 
Interested in hearing more radio that looks at how politics gets into our intimate lives? Journalist Anna Sale’s book and podcast “about the things we think about a lot and need to talk about more” have been a huge inspiration.
 
If you want to know your renters' rights, many countries have renters' unions that give (legal) advice. Here's the Dutch one: Woonbond.
 
And most importantly, this series was fully funded by you - our listeners! Our generous crowdfunders hit our goal within two months, and made it possible for us to do extensive reporting fully independently. We couldn’t be more grateful. If you’re feeling inspired to support our ongoing work, please go to patreon.com/europeanspodcast. You can donate as little as 3 euros, less than an overpriced cappuccino! But you can also donate plenty more ;)
 
Want to support us in another way? Please consider telling one or two friends specifically about this episode, and sharing it with them. It is the most effective way for us to reach people!
Written, reported and produced by: Katz Laszlo
Editors: Jasmin Baoumy, Katy Lee
Editorial support: Dominic Kraemer, Morgan Childs, Uršula Zaletelj, Maja Stepančič
Sound design: Jesse Lou Lawson
Mastering: Wojciech Oleksiak
Music and SFX: Jim Barne, Epidemic, FreeSound.org
Artwork: RTiiiKA
Special thanks to: Vera Vrijmoeth, Georgia Walker, Cody Hochstenbach, Molly Broome, Juha Kahila, Ton Heijdra, Marie-Jeanne Dumont, Museum Het Schip, Woonbond, and the many more friends and strangers who talked to us about housing and money.
 
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Housing policy: Who Does It Best? - Part 1

Why is your rent so high? What are the policies that created this housing crisis, and what policies can get us out of it? This week we launch the first two parts of our new series, ‘Who Does It Best?’. At a time when many people feel like their governments are not taking care of them, we wondered: how do policies actually shape our daily lives? And are there places getting it right? 
 
In Housing Part 1, Katz takes us on a journey through Vienna, Finland, and Paris, looking for Europe’s most ambitious housing policies and what we can learn from them (and maybe even copy?!). But first, Katz and Dominic sit down to face the elephant in the room: money, housing, and inheritance.
 
If you’re curious about where you stand on your country’s wealth ladder, you can find the World Bank’s wealth calculator here. 
 
If you want to know your renters’ rights, many countries have renters’ unions that give (legal) advice. Here is the Dutch one: Woonbond.
 
Interested in hearing more radio that looks at how politics gets into our intimate lives? Journalist Anna Sale’s book and podcast “about the things we think about a lot and need to talk about more” have been a huge inspiration for this podcast.
 
And most importantly, this series was fully funded by you - our listeners! Our generous crowdfunders hit our goal within two months, and made it possible for us to do extensive reporting fully independently. We couldn’t be more grateful. If you’re feeling inspired to support our ongoing work, please go to patreon.com/europeanspodcast. You can donate as little as 3 euros, less than an overpriced cappuccino! But you can also donate plenty more ;)
 
Want to support us in another way? Please consider telling one or two friends specifically about this episode, and sharing it with them. It is the most effective way for us to reach people!
Written, reported and produced by: Katz Laszlo
Editors: Jasmin Baoumy, Katy Lee
Editorial support: Dominic Kraemer, Morgan Childs, Uršula Zaletelj, Maja Stepančič
Sound design: Jesse Lou Lawson
Mastering: Wojciech Oleksiak
Music and SFX: Epidemic & FreeSound.Org, including pneumatic drill by acclivity
Artwork: RTiiiKA
Special thanks to: Vera Vrijmoeth, Georgia Walker, Cody Hochstenbach, Molly Broome, Juha Kahila, Ton Heijdra, Marie-Jeanne Dumont, Museum Het Schip, Woonbond, and the many more friends and strangers who talked to us about housing and money.
YouTube | Bluesky | Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ | Mastodon⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ | hello@europeanspodcast.com
 
 

Who Does It Best? - A new miniseries, coming this week

A new mini-series from The Europeans, landing in this feed later this week. From Paris to Breda, Rome to Reykjavik, ‘Who Does It Best?’ showcases some of Europe’s most successful policies—and offers a few lessons for other countries along the way.

Babiš is back

It’s been a busy week for European politics, European protests, and European wallabies. In the midst of the madness, we caught up with Kateřina Šafaříková of Czech news outlet Seznam Zprávy, who filled us in on the Czech Republic’s recent parliamentary elections. Is the probable next Prime Minister, Andrej Babiš, likely to be an Orbán-esque thorn in the EU’s side, or does he just kinda wanna text with Macron? Kateřina shares her thoughts. We also catch up on the protests that Georgia’s democratic opposition has been staging against the country’s government in Tbilisi and a grassroots victory in Lithuania.
If you’re moved to learn more about what’s going on in Georgia, check out our interview with Anna Gvarishvili in the episode “Is this the end of Georgia’s European dream?” You can also follow some of the initiatives and journalists Wojciech recommends:
Project 64 https://x.com/64project_
George Melashivili https://x.com/geomel_ge
Marika Mikiashvili https://x.com/Mikiashvili_M
Anna Gvarishvili https://x.com/AnnaGvarishvili
You can discover more of Kateřina Šafaříková’s work over here or follow her on Instagram here.
This week's Inspiration Station recommendations are the documentary Pianoforte and the book Dream Count by Chimamanda Ngozie Adichie, courtesy of Patreon member Pia. 
Brace yourselves if you decide you do indeed want to hear the now former Lithuanian minister for culture singing on an episode of the Voice.
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.
00:00:47 Bentornato!00:04:08 Good Week: Lithuania’s cultural sector00:15:15 Bad Week: Georgian democratic opposition 00:28:11 Interview: Journalist Kateřina Šafaříková on last week’s Czech elections00:47:34 The Inspiration Station: The documentary Pianoforte and the book Dream Count by Chimamanda Ngozie Adichie00:52:40 Happy Ending: Massive Der Spiegel wallaby scoop!Producers: Morgan Childs and Wojciech OleksiakMixing and mastering: Wojciech Oleksiak

Are we all trapped in a transatlantic Truman Show?

Can we talk about Trump’s culture war, Putin’s war on inclusivity, and just about everyone’s unwillingness to pay teachers fair wages—and giggle throughout? You better believe it. Nina Lamparski is back in the hosting chair, and strap in, listeners, because this week’s show is a *ride.*
Our guest this week is the delightful and incisive political analyst Paweł Zerka of the European Council on Foreign Relations. Paweł returns to the podcast to tell us why Europe is living in a Truman-Show-style universe directed by Donald Trump and his international team. We pick Paweł’s terrific brain about what our leaders can do to build upon the growing pro-European sentiment (really!) and engage with the US as its peer, not its lackey. Plus: Nina raises a glass of crémant to Luxembourgish teachers, who had what seems to us like a very swanky Good Week. And Dominic awards Bad Week to Eurovision, which seems to be crumbling whilst Russia’s Intervision is back and creepier than ever.
Mentioned in this episode: 
The European Sentiment Compass 2025 from ECF and ECFR, “Reality show: Why Europe must not cave in Trump’s culture war”
culture war”
Europeans jingles composer Jim Barne’s Broadway(!) musical, Two Strangers (Carry a Cake Across New York)
This live blog from Czech Radio’s Zlín service that tracked the movements of Emil the Elk all summer 
This week's Inspiration Station recommendations are Twelve Months of Monastery Soups, a cookbook by Brother Victor-Antoine d’Avila-Latourrette, and Rejected: Designs for the European Flag by Jonas von Lenthe.
 
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.
 
00:00:47 This podcast is co-hosted by a bionic woman00:04:45 Good Week: Luxembourgish teachers00:12:18 Bad Week: Eurovision00:29:09 Interview: Paweł Zerka of the European Council on Foreign Relations00:43:50 The Inspiration Station: The books Twelve Months of Monastery Soups and Rejected: Designs for the European Flag00:50:14 Happy Ending: Central Europe adopts elk mascot Producers: Morgan Childs and Wojciech OleksiakMixing and mastering: Wojciech OleksiakMusic: Jim Barne and Mariska MartinaYouTube | Bluesky | Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ | Mastodon⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ | hello@europeanspodcast.com
 

Should we be worried about Russian drones in NATO’s skies?

There’s no denying it’s been a pretty dark week, but we’ve got a couple of bright spots for you. What could be a better job than dreaming up ways that Europe could be improved? That’s what this week’s guest, Johanna Fabrin, does each day at the Copenhagen think tank 21st Europe. Ahead of our miniseries Who Does It Best, Dominic sat down with Johanna to talk about the group’s “blueprints” for the continent, the importance of optimism, and who, exactly, is going to pay for a fantasy train system that links all of Europe together like a massive metro line. 
And not to be too negative, but…we decided it was a pretty Bad Week for basically all of the western world, thanks to the Russian drone incursion into Poland and Romania. But! It was a Good Week (er, a marginally, “meekly” better week) for the European Union, which is finally—finally—taking some overdue action regarding the war in Gaza. Did Ursula von der Leyen tune into our episode from a couple of weeks ago? We suspect yes. 
You can learn more about what 21st Europe is up to on their website and on Instagram. Also mentioned in this episode: Simply Shada, the new Substack created by the brilliant former Europeans guest Shada Islam and the interview with Finland's President Alexander Stubb. 
This week's Inspiration Station recommendations are visiting countries in transition/The Wojciech Oleksiak Dua Lipa Tour of Pristina* and the David Szalay novel Flesh. *Restrictions apply, see Wojciech for details
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.
Timestamps
00:00:47 Intro: Is it just us or are we all feeling like half-deflated balloons?00:03:17 Bad Week: Russian drone incursion 00:18:05 Good Week: The EU steps up in Gaza war00:32:21 Interview: Johanna Fabrin of 21st Europe00:44:11 The Inspiration Station: Wojciech’s tour of Kosovo and David Szalay’s novel Flesh00:47:41 Happy Ending: Austrian nun convent break-in
Producers: Morgan Childs and Wojciech OleksiakMixing and mastering: Wojciech OleksiakMusic: Jim Barne and Mariska MartinaYouTube | Bluesky | Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ | Mastodon⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ | hello@europeanspodcast.com

Terrible week for ABBA

The music industry is reeling due to what’s being called the 'largest intellectual property theft in history' — we’ll dig into the fight between Big Tech and the people who make the music. Meanwhile, Sweden’s new cultural canon has people fuming — not least because it leaves out ABBA.
We’ll also hear from Der Spiegel’s Gunter Latsch about his chilling investigation into the shadowy world of organ trafficking. And we’ll finish, as always, with something a little lighter: archaeologists in Denmark have been uncovering a kind of Stone Age Atlantis beneath the sea and they’ve been using a funky underwater vacuum to do so.
This week's Inspiration Station recommendations: Addison Rae - 'Headphones On' | Behind the Song and Love in Five Acts by Daniela Krien (translated by Jamie Bulloch)
 
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.
 
Other resources for this week's episode:
No Abba, no meatballs? Sweden’s new cultural canon is a listicle that will soon be forgotten:
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/sep/04/sweden-cultural-canon-abba-ikea-meatballs
 
Since we recorded this episode, a US federal judge has postponed approval of the $1.5 billion Anthropic copyright deal: https://news.bloomberglaw.com/ip-law/anthropic-judge-blasts-copyright-pact-as-nowhere-close-to-done
 
Taskforce recommends prosecution of Mishra for alleged organ trafficking:
https://www.standardmedia.co.ke/health/health-science/article/2001525127/taskforce-recommends-prosecution-of-mishra-for-alleged-organ-trafficking 
 
00:00:47 Introduction: Emoji fuelled marital strife
00:04:26 Good Week: Sweden’s controversial ’cultural canon’
00:13:31 Bad Week: The fight between AI and musicians
00:27:05 Interview: Gunther Latch on Germans going abroad for kidneys
00:40:51 Inspiration Station: ’Headphones On’ and ’Love in Five Acts’
00:46:01 Happy Ending: Denmark’s Stone Age Atlantis
 
Producers: Katz Laszlo, Morgan Childs and Wojciech Oleksiak
Mixing and mastering: Wojciech Oleksiak
Music: Jim Barne and Mariska Martina
Hosts: Nina Lamparski and Dominic Kraemer
 
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