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.
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Episodes
Wednesday Jun 10, 2020
Wednesday Jun 10, 2020
Protests over the death of George Floyd have been spreading on this side of the Atlantic, from Britain to Hungary. This week we're talking about what makes the European anti-racism protests different, with the artist and cultural critic Quinsy Gario. We're also talking about Prague's mysterious poisoned suitcase, and a possible post-COVID rail revolution.
Amsterdam protest recording by Katz Laszlo.
Thanks for listening! If you like the show, you can chip in a couple of dollars a month to help us keep making it at https://www.patreon.com/europeanspodcast.
You can also leave us a review at https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-europeans/id1315776736
On hydrogen and pasta: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/27/business/hydrogen-fuel-climate-change.html
Isolation Inspiration: Afropean by Johny Pitts | Whisper of the Heart | Wind of Change
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Wednesday Jun 03, 2020
Wednesday Jun 03, 2020
You can blame Dominic for the pun. This week, as tensions between the United States and China reach fever-pitch, we're asking: does Europe need to pick a side? Tom Wan, Research Director in European Politics at the Global Studies Institute in Hong Kong, is on the line to explain what's at stake in Europe's relationship with China. Also this week: reproductive rights, a badly-behaved prince, and what lies beneath the floorboards.
In memory of Christo: https://www.theatlantic.com/photo/2020/06/photos-works-of-christo/612484/
The Crowd: https://ochentastudio.com/ochenta-stories/2020/5/27/the-crowd
Thanks for listening! If you liked the show and have a couple of dollars spare a month, you can help us keep making it at https://patreon.com/europeanspodcast.
Twitter | Instagram | Facebook | hello@europeanspodcast.com
Wednesday May 27, 2020
Wednesday May 27, 2020
The Italian journalist and travel writer Giovanni Vale is used to writing tourist guidebooks, but usually they're for countries that still exist. We rang him up to ask why he's turned his attention to 'extinguished' countries, starting with the Venetian Republic which sprawled across the Mediterranean for more than a millennium. Also this week: Polish punk and Europe's organic revolution.
Giovanni's guide to the Venetian Republic is available for pre-order here: https://bit.ly/2zB1Rar
Isolation Inspiration:
Rabbit Hole - The New York Times https://www.nytimes.com/column/rabbit-hole
(Although) In Pieces, Yet One - Francesca Vincentie https://inpiecesyetone.com
Inside Politics - all that bond stuff, explained https://bit.ly/2AcEPq6
Thanks for listening. If you like the show, you can help us keep making it by chipping in a few dollars a month at https://patreon.com/europeanspodcast.Twitter | Instagram | Facebook | hello@europeanspodcast.com
Wednesday May 20, 2020
Wednesday May 20, 2020
Less than a fifth of the biographies on Wikipedia are those of women; Rebecca O'Neill is part of a movement to fix that. We talk to her about her quest to write famous Irish women into the Wikiverse, as well as how the site helps minority languages to stay alive. Also this week: Merkel rises above it, and theatre gets political in Albania.
Find Rebecca's Wikipedia tutorials on Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/smirkybec/videos
And on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCME0KIqk13bdfdg_fqqYISA
Thanks for listening! If you'd like to help us keep this podcast running, you can chip in a few dollars a month at https://patreon.com/europeanspodcast.
Twitter | Instagram | Facebook | hello@europeanspodcast.com
Wednesday May 13, 2020
Wednesday May 13, 2020
Last July, a group of fishermen near the coast of Norway were surprised to see a submarine burst out of the water in front of them. A terrible disaster had struck the Losharik, a highly advanced Russian vessel that had been lurking on the seafloor. But what happened? And what was the submarine doing so close to European shores?
This mystery has fascinated the Norwegian journalist Thomas Nilsen, one of the authors of a New York Times investigation into the Losharik disaster. We talked to him about why Russia is so interested in what lies beneath these waters. Spoiler alert: your internet connection depends on it.
Also this week: Finland's basic income experiment, a setback for German homophobes, and graffiti for the green-fingered.
Thomas is the editor of the Barents Observer. Read his New York Times investigation: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/20/world/europe/russian-submarine-fire-losharik.html
We're hosting an Online Pub Quiz for our Patreon supporters this week! To join the fun, you can sign up to support us here: https://www.patreon.com/europeanspodcast
Isolation Inspiration:
Trying: https://youtu.be/nGA_6WTD3vM
Under Milk Wood: https://youtu.be/WJtzOD3KbLM
Thanks for listening!
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Wednesday May 06, 2020
Wednesday May 06, 2020
This week we've got a cultural bonanza for you. We're talking about Poland's Netflix tax and the new drive-in cinema in Vilnius, as well as all the TV and online concerts we've been bingeing on. Plus, a great interview with the French screenwriter Noé Debré about Parlement, the European satire we've been waiting for.
Thanks to all the generous supporters who are helping us keep this podcast running right now. If you have a few dollars to spare a month, you can chip in at patreon.com/europeanspodcast.
Watch Parlement here: https://www.france.tv/series-et-fictions/series-comedies/parlement
Hope@Home: https://www.arte.tv/en/videos/RC-019356/hope-home
Floyd on France: https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=floyd+on+france
Fleabag Live: https://www.sohotheatreondemand.com/show/FleabagFourPound
Thanks for listening.
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Wednesday Apr 29, 2020
Wednesday Apr 29, 2020
This week we bring you: coal, chess, and the circular economy. We speak to Esther Goodwin-Brown of Circle Economy about the economic model that's getting environmentalists all hot and bothered. We're also talking about why Europe's fallen out of love with the black stuff and why chess is getting a revamp. Plus, metal detectors — because what would this podcast be without metal detectors?
Thanks for listening! If you like our show, you can help us keep it running by chipping in a couple of dollars a month at patreon.com/europeanspodcast. Isolation Inspiration:
Frankenstein at the National Theatre https://www.nationaltheatre.org.uk/shows/nt-at-home-frankenstein
Wordsworth 250 https://wordsworth250.org
Parlement https://www.france.tv/series-et-fictions/series-comedies/parlement
That climate litigation thing that Katy forgot about: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/apr/24/dutch-officials-reveal-measures-to-cut-emissions-after-court-rulingTwitter | Instagram | Facebook | hello@europeanspodcast.com
Wednesday Apr 22, 2020
Wednesday Apr 22, 2020
The superstar illustrator Christoph Niemann is on a mission to better understand Europe. 'In Praise of a Normal, Boring Country', the latest installment of his New York Times visual essay series, took him to Estonia. We rang him up in Berlin to talk about his trip and a bunch of other stuff. Also this week: Dominic gets to grips with debt mutualisation, and Katy gets to grips with mittens.
Thanks for listening! If you like our show, you can help us keep making it at Patreon: https://patreon.com/europeanspodcast
Read Christoph's lovely visual essay about Estonia here: https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/03/25/magazine/dispatches-estonia.html
Isolation Inspiration: Sunday Sketching by Christoph Niemann | Unorthodox on Netflix
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Wednesday Apr 15, 2020
Wednesday Apr 15, 2020
There's a bunch of interesting stuff happening in Poland right now, so we rang up our favourite Polish journalist Ania Jakubek to untangle it for us. Also this week: blue tits, volcanoes, mutant enzymes and an Easter panda.
Thanks for listening. If you like our show, you can help us keep making it at https://www.patreon.com/europeanspodcast.
Isolation Inspiration:
Ania's drawings: https://www.instagram.com/amjakubek
Making An Opera: https://www.nporadio4.nl/podcasts/making-an-opera
Are We Europe magazine: https://www.areweeurope.com/
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Wednesday Apr 08, 2020
Wednesday Apr 08, 2020
The Irish writer Mark O'Connell spent three years meeting people who are preparing for the end of the world. At a time when a lot of us have been gripped by a general sense of doom, we had a weirdly reassuring chat about the apocalypse. Also this week: big developments in Central Europe, bouncy pavements, and a celebration of the theremin.
Mark's book, Notes from an Apocalypse, is out on April 14.
This week's Isolation Inspiration: Cross-border romance (http://tiny.cc/jo5nmz listen from 24:50), Field Recordings (https://fieldrecordings.xyz/) and live jazz from Mariska Martina (http://tiny.cc/xr5nmz).
Thanks for listening! If you like the show and have a few euros to spare, you can help us keep making it at patreon.com/europeanspodcast.
Twitter | Instagram | Facebook | hello@europeanspodcast.com