Butterflies and bullied protesters

Europe's rarest butterfly lives on the outskirts of a single town in North Macedonia. So why is it possible to find specimens of this incredibly endangered animal for sale online for 30 euros? This week we speak to Kiril Arsovski Przo, one of the scientists behind an investigation into this troubling legal loophole. We're also talking about the farcical election in Belarus and Britain's crackdown on climate protesters. 

 

You can watch 'Nature for Sale' here and read more about the investigation here. 

 

Thanks for listening! If you enjoy our podcasts, we'd love it if you'd consider supporting our work in 2025. 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. 

 

This week's Inspiration Station recommendations: 'Earnest Cole: Lost and Found' and 'Murder Mindfully' (Achtsam Morden). 

 

Other resources for this week's episode

 

'Hope for our rarest UK bat' - Bat Conservation Trust, January 27, 2025 https://www.bats.org.uk/news/2025/01/hope-for-our-rarest-uk-bat

 

Zeno Siemens and Jacco Prantl - 'Learning to listen with Gordon Hempton' https://soundcloud.com/thecorrespondent/zeno-siemens-and-jacco-prantl-learning-to-listen-with-gordon-hempton 

 

Invisibilia - 'The Last Sound' https://open.spotify.com/episode/2vPX641oHRo1vetDVl7CeH?si=qu4otcOPTeS4hGyimw5Snw 

 

Producers: Morgan Childs and Wojciech Oleksiak 

Mixing and mastering: Wojciech Oleksiak

Music: Jim Barne and Mariska Martina

 

00:23 Cold dips and the future of memory culture
04:27 Good Week: Aleksandr Lukashenko
12:08 Bad Week: Freedom to protest in the UK
32:11 Interview: Kiril Arsovski Przo on the legal loophole threatening Europe's most endangered butterfly
47:31 The Inspiration Station: 'Earnest Cole: Lost and Found' and 'Murder Mindfully' (Achtsam Morden)
50:59 Happy Ending: Company for the world's loneliest bat

 

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