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
Tuesday Sep 28, 2021
Tuesday Sep 28, 2021
It's our first ever live show! Recorded live at the Tolhuistuin in Amsterdam. And what could be a more appropriate discussion than the fact that this city will one day be underwater? We promise that's a less depressing conversation than it sounds, because the person who's here to talk about it is husband of the show Thomas Lamers, a member of the documentary theatre collective Collectief Walden. They spent this summer asking an intriguing question: if Amsterdam only has around 250 years left, what should they look like?
This week's Isolation Inspiration: Beautiful World, Where Are You by Sally Rooney and The Hidden Life of Trees. You can also watch a video about Collectief Walden's Eiland project here and listen to their podcasts here.
Thank you so much to the Lieven and the whole team at the Podcastfestival for having us, and to Katz Laszlo, Mick ter Reehorst and Stefano Montali for their help on the night.
And thank you for listening. If you enjoy our podcast and would like to help us keep making it, we'd love it if you'd consider chipping in a few euros / dollars / pounds a month at patreon.com/europeanspodcast. You can also help new listeners find the show by leaving us a review.
Music: Jim Barne, Ed Bahonie and Mariska Martina
This podcast is part of the Are We Europe family. Find more like-minded European podcasts at areweeurope.com/audio-family.
Twitter | Instagram | Facebook | hello@europeanspodcast.com
Thursday Sep 23, 2021
Thursday Sep 23, 2021
This week, Katy’s plunging into the depths of the French Submarine Saga and Dominic’s delving into some tentatively good developments for LGBTQ parents in Europe. Plus, the speech we were all waiting for! Or not. One of our favourite journalists within the Brussels bubble, the Spanish reporter Beatriz Ríos, is here to unravel Ursula von der Leyen's State of the European Union for us.
We can’t wait to see some of you at our first-ever live show in Amsterdam on Friday! For those of you who can’t join us, don’t fear – a recording will be dropping in your feeds next week. It’ll be a little earlier than usual, so look out for it on Monday or Tuesday.
This week's Isolation Inspiration: The Hill Where Lionesses Roar; A Poisoning
You can follow Beatriz on Twitter here and read about Italy’s one-euro homes here.
This episode was produced as part of Sphera, a collective of independent European media. Find out more at sphera-hub.com.
Thanks for listening! If you enjoy our podcast and would like to help us keep making it, we'd love it if you'd consider chipping in a few euros / dollars / pounds a month at patreon.com/europeanspodcast. You can also help new listeners find the show by leaving us a review.
Producers: Katy Lee and Wojciech Oleksiak
Senior producer: Katz Laszlo
Music: Jim Barne and Mariska Martina
This podcast is part of the Are We Europe family. Find more like-minded European podcasts at areweeurope.com/audio-family.
Twitter | Instagram | Facebook | hello@europeanspodcast.com
Thursday Sep 16, 2021
Thursday Sep 16, 2021
A year into the protest movement in Belarus, what are things like on the ground? This week we talk to the poet Hanna Komar about her own experience in detention, and the extraordinary "algorithm" of solidarity among women in the movement. We're also talking about Russian gas, Norwegian oil, and the magnificence of Emma Raducanu.
You can read Hanna's article, 'Sisterhood behind bars', here.
This week's Isolation Inspiration: Lykke Li and Robyn on Song Exploder; The Book of Reykjavik.
There are still a few tickets left for our first ever live show, in Amsterdam on September 24! Grab one here.
This episode was produced as part of Sphera, a collective of independent European media. Find out more at sphera-hub.com.
Thanks for listening! If you enjoy our podcast and would like to help us keep making it, we'd love it if you'd consider chipping in a few euros / dollars / pounds a month at patreon.com/europeanspodcast. You can also help new listeners find the show by leaving us a review.
Producers: Katy Lee and Wojciech Oleksiak
Senior producer: Katz Laszlo
Music: Jim Barne and Mariska Martina
This podcast is part of the Are We Europe family. Find more like-minded European podcasts at areweeurope.com/audio-family.
Twitter | Instagram | Facebook | hello@europeanspodcast.com
Thursday Sep 09, 2021
Thursday Sep 09, 2021
We're back from our summer break with an enticing idea: what would happen if we only worked four days a week? Far from spelling economic disaster, the Portuguese economist Pedro Gomes argues it would boost the economy and our well-being at the same time. We chat to him about his excellent new book, 'Friday Is The New Saturday: How A Four-Day Week Will Save The Economy'. We're also talking about naughty European banks, a lucky Neapolitan scratchcard, and — of course! — the return of ABBA.
We're doing our first ever live show at the Podcastfestival in Amsterdam on Friday, September 24! The show starts at 7pm. Get your tickets here.
You can check out the EU Tax Observatory's report on banks and tax havens here.
This week's Isolation Inspiration: Malta and the El Hiblu 3; Bandigou de Melun.
This episode was produced as part of Sphera, a collective of independent European media. Find out more at sphera-hub.com.
Thanks for listening! If you enjoy our podcast and would like to help us keep making it, we'd love it if you'd consider chipping in a few euros / dollars / pounds a month at patreon.com/europeanspodcast. You can also help new listeners find the show by leaving us a review.
Producers: Katy Lee and Wojciech Oleksiak
Senior producer: Katz Laszlo
Music: Jim Barne and Mariska Martina
This podcast is part of the Are We Europe family. Find more like-minded European podcasts at areweeurope.com/audio-family.
Twitter | Instagram | Facebook | hello@europeanspodcast.com
Thursday Jul 15, 2021
Thursday Jul 15, 2021
Slovenia, aka Katy's favourite country, is increasingly drawing comparisons with Hungary and Poland when it comes to the state of its democracy. Can this worrying direction of travel be reversed? This week we ring up our favourite Sloveniologist Aljaž Pengov Bitenc to find out. We're also talking about Bulgaria's political rock star, and a shocking attack on a Dutch crime journalist.
This week's Isolation Inspiration: Katla and an update from Death In Ice Valley. You should also check out our interview with Death In Ice Valley host Marit Higraff, from May 2018! Listen here.
You can follow Aljaž on Twitter here and read his blog here.
We're off on a little summer break! We'll be back in September. In the meantime, we think you'll love the visual version of our the first episode in our series This Is What A Generation Sounds Like, Josh and Franco, and the second episode, Denisa.
This episode was produced as part of Sphera, a collective of independent European media. Find out more at sphera-hub.com.
Thanks for listening! If you enjoy our podcast and would like to help us keep making it, we'd love it if you'd consider chipping in a few euros / dollars / pounds a month at patreon.com/europeanspodcast. You can also help new listeners find the show by leaving us a review.
Senior producer: Katz Laszlo
Producers: Priyanka Shankar and Andrei Popoviciu
Music: Jim Barne and Mariska Martina
This podcast is part of the Are We Europe family. Find more like-minded European podcasts at areweeurope.com/audio-family.
Twitter | Instagram | Facebook | hello@europeanspodcast.com
Thursday Jul 08, 2021
Thursday Jul 08, 2021
Few people talk about bread in such magical terms as Apollonia Poilâne. This week we speak to the head of one of France's most prestigious bakeries about the secrets of sourdough and taking over the family company aged just 18. We're also talking about Iceland's four-day week experiment, a cyberattack that took out hundreds of Swedish supermarkets, and boosting body positivity in Norway.
This week's Isolation Inspiration: Apollonia's book Poilâne, Eurocrats Who Look Like Europe (EU Scream), and Sweat.
This episode was produced as part of Sphera, a collective of independent European media. Find out more at sphera-hub.com.
Thanks for listening! If you enjoy our podcast and would like to help us keep making it, we'd love it if you'd consider chipping in a few euros / dollars / pounds a month at patreon.com/europeanspodcast. You can also help new listeners find the show by leaving us a review.
Senior producer: Katz Laszlo
Producers: Andrei Popoviciu and Priyanka Shankar
Music: Jim Barne and Mariska Martina
This podcast is part of the Are We Europe family. Find more like-minded European podcasts at areweeurope.com/audio-family.
Twitter | Instagram | Facebook | hello@europeanspodcast.com
Thursday Jul 01, 2021
Thursday Jul 01, 2021
We tend to talk about freedom of movement within the EU as an abstract concept. In reality, moving to a new place involves a million little moments of awkwardness, sweetness, and human vulnerability. This week, we bring you a story of what freedom of movement actually felt like, for a 14-year-old Romanian moving to Germany.
This is the second episode from our series This Is What A Generation Sounds Like: intimate stories from young Europeans across the continent.
A beautiful visual version of this podcast will be available soon! In the meantime, check out the first visual podcast in this series: Josh and Franco.
This series is produced with Are We Europe and made in cooperation with Allianz Kulturstiftung, an independent not-for-profit cultural foundation committed to strengthening cohesion in Europe using the tools of art and culture. Find out more at kulturstiftung.allianz.de.
Producers: Andrei Popoviciu and Denisa Harbuz
Sound design: Andrei Popoviciu and Katz Laszlo
Editorial support: Katz Laszlo, Katy Lee, Dominic Kraemer and Priyanka Shankar
Music: Sat după sat by Robin and the Backstabbers; Limba Română and Frunzuliță, iarbă deasă by Subcarpați; Lavalamp by Phish Funk; Romcom and Days and Days by Gustav Kemps; The Way To Romania by She Said Destroy!; Chaos at the Spaceship by Out Of Flux; Follow The River by Delnova; Jim Barne. Additional music from Blue Dot Sessions and Artlist. SFX from Freesound.org.
Thanks for listening! If you enjoy our podcast and would like to help us keep making it, we'd love it if you'd consider chipping in a few euros / dollars / pounds a month at patreon.com/europeanspodcast. You can also help new listeners find the show by leaving us a review.
This podcast is part of the Are We Europe family. Find more like-minded European podcasts at areweeurope.com/audio-family.
Twitter | Instagram | Facebook | hello@europeanspodcast.com
Thursday Jun 24, 2021
Thursday Jun 24, 2021
Streets, cities, train stations: across the continent, they're likely to be named after men. What if the women who shaped Europe were given the recognition they deserve? This week, Katy speaks to the Irish journalist Mary Fitzgerald and Italian writer Francesca Cavallo, co-author of Good Night Stories For Rebel Girls, about a wonderful project which reimagines the Brussels metro map in celebration of brilliant European women. We're also talking about the row over LGBTQ rights at the Euro football tournament, and how unsexy-but-important housing policy brought down Sweden's prime minister.
You can explore the Capital of Europe, Women of Europe map here.
This week's Isolation Inspiration: We Are Who We Are (HBO); Lupin (Netflix); Ecotopia (Arte); Are We Europe: The Queer Issue.
This episode was produced as part of Sphera, a brand-new collective of independent European media. Find out more at sphera-hub.com.
Thanks for listening! If you enjoy our podcast and would like to help us keep making it, we'd love it if you'd consider chipping in a few euros / dollars / pounds a month at patreon.com/europeanspodcast. You can also help new listeners find the show by leaving us a review.
Senior producer: Katz Laszlo
Producers: Andrei Popoviciu and Priyanka Shankar
Music: Jim Barne and Mariska Martina
This podcast is part of the Are We Europe family. Find more like-minded European podcasts at areweeurope.com/audio-family.
Twitter | Instagram | Facebook | hello@europeanspodcast.com
Thursday Jun 17, 2021
Thursday Jun 17, 2021
A whole bunch of plastic objects are about to become illegal across the European Union: everything from coffee stirrers to straws and cotton buds. As we count down to the big day on July 3, we're revisiting last year's special episode about how the EU is even able to make laws like this for 27 countries. This week we're asking: "How the hell do you make an EU law?"
Originally released in February 2020, this episode was part of our mini-series Bursting the Bubble, an attempt to explain how EU institutions work in the least boring way possible. Huge thanks to the European Cultural Foundation for funding this series. They support projects that promote Europe as an open and democratic space.
Written and produced by Katz Laszlo, with help from Katy Lee and Dominic Kraemer.
Thanks for listening! If you enjoy our podcast and would like to help us keep making it, we'd love it if you'd consider chipping in a few euros / dollars / pounds a month at patreon.com/europeanspodcast. You can also help new listeners find the show by leaving us a review.
This podcast is part of the Are We Europe family. Find more like-minded European podcasts at areweeurope.com/audio-family.Twitter | Instagram | Facebook | hello@europeanspodcast.com
Thursday Jun 10, 2021
Thursday Jun 10, 2021
Jens Thoms Ivarsson has one of this continent's most fascinating jobs: chief "rain man" for the city of Gothenburg. We chat to the creative director of Rain Gothenburg about the Swedish city's rather wonderful plan to become the best place in the world when it's raining. Also this week: expensive Finnish breakfasts, accidental asparagus, and why Budapest's plans to build a Chinese university campus have gone down so badly.
This week's Isolation Inspiration: "Inside the last matriarchy in Europe", Zero, and "Portrait of a pigeon racer".
You can read about Rain Gothenburg here in The Guardian.
This episode was produced as part of Sphera, a brand-new collective of independent European media. Find out more at sphera-hub.com.
Thanks for listening! If you enjoy our podcast and would like to help us keep making it, we'd love it if you'd consider chipping in a few euros / dollars / pounds a month at patreon.com/europeanspodcast. You can also help new listeners find the show by leaving us a review.
Senior producer: Katz Laszlo
Producers: Andrei Popoviciu and Priyanka Shankar
Music: Jim Barne and Mariska Martina
This podcast is part of the Are We Europe family. Find more like-minded European podcasts at areweeurope.com/audio-family.Twitter | Instagram | Facebook | hello@europeanspodcast.com