Toxic chemicals, abortion rights, and a Nazi-era train law

Depending on where you are in Europe, your right to a safe abortion — and reproductive care in general — can vary dramatically. This week, we speak to pioneering abortion activist Rebecca Gomperts about why she's hopeful that we can fight back against these inequalities as well as crackdowns on abortion access in other parts of the world. We're also talking about a rebel campaign in Germany to defeat a draconian Nazi-era law, and some disturbing research into the weedkillers used by many of the farmers who grow our foods.

 

Note: We updated this episode's audio on June 20, 2025. The original version incorrectly stated that glyphosate is sprayed directly on many European crops, which is not the case.

 

You can find out more about Women on Waves here and Women on Web here. Read about the mifepristone study 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: Secrets We Keep (Reservatet) and The Outlaw Ocean Podcast. Bonus entries: Vessel, a 2014 documentary about Women on Waves; A Sense of Quietness, Eleanor McDowall's audio documentary about abortion in Ireland; and Tending Grief by Camille Sapara Barton.

Other resources for this episode:

 

'Carcinogenic effects of long-term exposure from prenatal life to glyphosate and glyphosate-based herbicides in Sprague–Dawley rats' - Environmental Health, June 10, 2025

 

'Revealed: Monsanto’s secret funding for weedkiller studies' - The Guardian, March 12, 2020

 

'Europe likely to miss most green targets for 2030' - Politico Europe, February 20, 2025

 

'EWG’s 2025 Shopper’s Guide to Pesticides in Produce' (USA) - Environmental Working Group, June 11, 2025

 

'Here’s why some people still evade public transport fares – even when they’re 50 cents' - The Conversation, February 13, 2025

 

00:00:46  Is it a Smörgåsbord? Is it a charcuterie board? No, it's The Europeans
00:04:56  Bad Week: Glyphosate
00:21:41  Good Week: Germany's freed fare-dodgers
00:35:22  Interview: Rebecca Gomperts on the state of reproductive rights in Europe
01:01:46  The Inspiration Station: Secrets We Keep and The Outlaw Ocean Podcast
01:07:10  Happy Ending: Beavers are back in Portugal

 

Producers: Morgan Childs and Wojciech Oleksiak
Mixing and mastering: Wojciech Oleksiak
Music: Jim Barne and Mariska Martina

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