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.
Listen on:
Episodes
Thursday Oct 17, 2024
Thursday Oct 17, 2024
Arson, vandalism, attacks on NATO vehicles: around Europe, mysterious acts of sabotage have been multiplying. And there's a pattern: the perpetrators were recruited on Telegram via accounts linked to Russian agencies. This week, we hear from Marta Vunš about how she and other journalists went undercover to figure out how this recruitment actually works. We're also asking whether Germany's nausea-inducing opera deserves its scandalised headlines, and why France has been low-key obsessed with a treasure hunt for the past three decades.
Thanks for listening! If you enjoy our podcast, we'd love it if you'd consider chipping in a few bucks a month at patreon.com/europeanspodcast (many currencies are available). You can also help new listeners find the show by leaving us a review or giving us five stars on Spotify.
"‘Make a Molotov Cocktail’: How Europeans Are Recruited Through Telegram to Commit Sabotage, Arson, and Murder". You can read the investigation by Delfi, Der Standard, Paper Trail Media and the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project here.
This week's Inspiration Station offering, sponsored by the European Cultural Foundation: Liquid Becomings.
Other resources for this episode:
Trailer: SANCTA | Staatsoper Stuttgart
Talk Eastern Europe: Spies, sabotage and Russia-West relations
00:22 The week EU politics got spicy03:22 Bad Week: Unwell opera-goers13:54 Good Week: France's mystery treasure-hunt winner24:38 Interview: Marta Vunš on Russia's shady Telegram recruitment38:46 The Inspiration Station - The European Cultural Foundation presents: Liquid Becomings42:45 Happy Ending: Phew! Art saved from the garbage can
Producers: Morgan Childs and Wojciech Oleksiak Mixing and mastering: Wojciech OleksiakMusic: Jim Barne and Mariska Martina
Instagram | Threads | Twitter | Mastodon | hello@europeanspodcast.com
Thursday Oct 03, 2024
Thursday Oct 03, 2024
Why is it so hard to talk about climate change in a way that actually makes us... feel something? This week, our producer Katz Laszlo talks to an Icelandic writer who manages against the odds to do just that: Andri Snær Magnason, author of — among many other things — the hit memoir 'On Time And Water'. We're also talking about the German politician alleged to have hired Belarusian political prisoners, and the extraordinary bounceback of Mediterranean turtles.
Thanks for listening! If you enjoy our podcast, we'd love it if you'd consider chipping in a few bucks a month at patreon.com/europeanspodcast (many currencies are available). You can also help new listeners find the show by leaving us a review or giving us five stars on Spotify.
You can find out more about Andri's work here and watch Emergence Magazine's documentary, 'The Last Ice Age', here.
This week's Inspiration Station offerings: 'When I Lived In Modern Times' by Linda Grant and 'Kneecap'.
Other resources for this episode
'Finance minister responds to book VAT backlash, cuts the rate on books' - The Slovak Spectator, 26/09/2024
'«Onion is tasty». Political prisoners work on an onion plantation owned by AfD MP Jörg Dornau' - Reform News, 24/09/2024
'Hanna' - The Europeans, 02/06/2022
'Germany’s far right loves one migrant group: Russian Germans' - Politico Europe, 29/09/24
'Cruinniú na nÓg 2024 - The Spark' - Creative Ireland
'How Germany outfitted half a million balconies with solar panels' - Canary Media, 27/09/2024
00:22 Good job, Slovakia!02:42 Good Week: Mediterranean turtles12:38 Bad Week: Jörg Dornau24:03 Interview: Andri Snær Magnason on how to talk about climate change in a way that makes people Actually Feel Something 44:12 The Inspiration Station: 'When I Lived In Modern Times' and 'Kneecap'48:30 Happy Ending: Germany's mini solar panel bonanzaProducers: Morgan Childs and Katz LaszloMixing and mastering: Wojciech OleksiakMusic: Jim Barne and Mariska Martina
Instagram | Threads | Twitter | Mastodon | hello@europeanspodcast.com
Thursday Sep 26, 2024
Thursday Sep 26, 2024
Are European leaders living in a Barbie-like dreamworld? This week, the idealised fantasy of the EU versus its awkward reality. Far from being a continent of grateful europhiles, a lot of people feel apathetic about the European project at best. Paweł Zerka joins us to discuss why non-white, young and Eastern Europeans feel especially left out of the EU, and what we can do to fix this.
We're also joined by Deutsche Welle's Kate Laycock for a special guest edition of Good Week, Bad Week! We discuss how victory was snatched from the AfD in last weekend's state elections in Brandenburg, as well as the backlash against tax hikes on books in both Slovakia and the Netherlands.
Thanks for listening! If you enjoy our podcast, we'd love it if you'd consider chipping in a few bucks a month at patreon.com/europeanspodcast (many currencies are available). You can also help new listeners find the show by leaving us a review or giving us five stars on Spotify.
You can read Paweł's report here. The European Sentiment Compass is a joint initiative of the European Council on Foreign Relations and the European Cultural Foundation.
Kate is the presenter of DW's Inside Europe. You'll be able to catch Katy and Dominic on the show next week!
Inspiration Station offerings:
'What language does your inner child speak?' - The First 1,000 Days
'How Libraries Thrive' - you can read the whole book online here
Other resources for this episode:
'German far-right AfD song calls for deporting millions - DW News
'Elderly Romanian woman used amber nugget worth over $1 million as a doorstop for decades' - El País
00:22 Insure yourselves, people!04:07 Good Week: Dietmar Woidke (Special edition with Kate Laycock from Deutsche Welle)12:24 Bad Week: Book-lovers in Slovakia and the Netherlands22:00 Interview: Paweł Zerka on the Barbie-like European Union39:13 The Inspiration Station: 'The First 1,000 Days' and 'How Libraries Thrive'43:45 Happy Ending: The world's fanciest door-stop?
Producers: Morgan Childs and Wojciech Oleksiak Mixing and mastering: Wojciech OleksiakMusic: Jim Barne and Mariska Martina
Instagram | Threads | Twitter | Mastodon | hello@europeanspodcast.com
Thursday Sep 19, 2024
Thursday Sep 19, 2024
Last week we brought you geopolitics, this week we're bringing you testicles. Why has male contraception remained such an underground idea, despite decades of research? We speak to Paul Labourie, one of a growing number of men (in the francophone world at least) who are turning to DIY contraception devices to take on more of the responsibility in their relationships. We're also talking about the crackdown on Germany's borders and a surprise move by Mussolini's granddaughter.
Paul is a journalist and photographer based in Brussels. You can find his website here and follow him on Instagram here. You can read Paul's article about heat-based contraception for VICE Belgium here and find out more about Samuel Flambard's workshops here.
This week's Inspiration Station offerings: 'Another Round' and 'The Gullspång Miracle' (available here via the BBC and here via DR).
Thanks for listening! If you enjoy our podcast, we'd love it if you'd consider chipping in a few bucks a month at patreon.com/europeanspodcast (many currencies are available). You can also help new listeners find the show by leaving us a review or giving us five stars on Spotify.
00:23 Not sponsored by any kind of nasal irrigation device03:02 Good Week: Standing up to the far-right in Italy09:50 Bad Week: The Schengen Zone21:19 Interview: Paul Labourie's primer on thermal contraception35:19 The Inspiration Station: 'Another Round' and 'The Gullspång Miracle'38:38 Happy ending: Fewer screens, more desserts
Producers: Morgan Childs and Wojciech Oleksiak Mixing and mastering: Wojciech OleksiakMusic: Jim Barne and Mariska Martina
Instagram | Threads | Twitter | Mastodon | hello@europeanspodcast.com
Thursday Sep 12, 2024
Thursday Sep 12, 2024
We're back from our summer break! Rym Momtaz, the new editor-in-chief of the Strategic Europe blog, is here to catch us up on the main political developments we missed over the summer, from Ukraine to France. We're also talking about Sweden's suggestions for cutting kids' screen time, and a possible crackdown on outrageous concert ticket prices.
Thanks for listening! If you enjoy our podcast, we'd love it if you'd consider chipping in a few bucks a month at patreon.com/europeanspodcast (many currencies are available). You can also help new listeners find the show by leaving us a review or giving us five stars on Spotify.
Strategic Europe is a blog from the Carnegie Europe think-tank. You can find it here, and follow Rym on Twitter here.
This week's Inspiration Station picks: 'Evenings and Weekends' by Oisín McKenna and 'Berlin' by Andris Kuprišs, translated by Ian Gwin.
Other resources for this episode:
'A Different Way to Look at Screen Time' - ParentData, April 2024
If you're feeling brave, you can download Mario Draghi's competitiveness report here.
If you're short on time because you're contributing to European productivity, you can read his summary here.
Waldrapteam, the conservationists working with the northern bald ibis, can be found on Instagram here. You can follow their progress here.
03:10 Bad Week: Ticketmaster14:23 Good Week: Swedish kids26:40 Interview: Rym Momtaz catches us up on the main European political developments of the summer47:44 The Inspiration Station: 'Evenings and Weekends' by Oisín McKenna; 'Berlin' by Andris Kuprišs50:24 Happy Ending: The return of the northern bald ibis
Producers: Morgan Childs and Wojciech Oleksiak
Mixing and mastering: Wojciech Oleksiak
Music: Jim Barne and Mariska Martina
Instagram | Threads | Twitter | Mastodon | hello@europeanspodcast.com
Thursday Aug 15, 2024
Thursday Aug 15, 2024
This week, we're re-releasing another of our all-time favourite episodes to entertain your ears during our summer break. First aired in 2022, it's a story from our long-running series, 'This Is What A Generation Sounds Like', and it takes us to Georgia.
Thanks for listening! We'll be back in September. If you enjoy our podcast, we'd love it if you'd consider chipping in a few bucks a month at patreon.com/europeanspodcast (many currencies are available). You can also help new listeners find the show by leaving us a review or giving us five stars on Spotify.
Producers: Wojciech Oleksiak and Kinga Goc Mixing, mastering and sound design: Wojciech Oleksiak Editorial support: Katz Laszlo, Katy Lee and Dominic Kraemer Music by Casletila. Theme music by Jim Barne
You can find a beautiful visual version of this podcast, produced by our friends at Are We Europe, here.This series was co-produced with Are We Europe and made in cooperation with the Allianz Foundation.
Instagram | Threads | Twitter | Mastodon | hello@europeanspodcast.com
Thursday Aug 08, 2024
Thursday Aug 08, 2024
We're away on our summer break until September, but this week and next week we're re-releasing two of our favourite episodes from The Europeans' award-winning series, 'This Is What A Generation Sounds Like. This week, a story that spans three generations of women: Sara, her mother, and her grandmother. In their collective lifetimes, Albania entered a communist dictatorship; the regime fell; and then there was a transition. And through it all, there was a dish: trahana. This episode first aired in 2021. You can find a beautiful visual version of this podcast, produced by our friends at Are We Europe, here.This series was co-produced with Are We Europe and made in cooperation with the Allianz Foundation.Producers: Katz Laszlo and Sara Assistant producer: Priyanka Shankar Editor: Katy Lee Sound design: Katz Laszlo Editorial support: Dominic Kraemer, Katy Lee and Wojciech Oleksiak Music: Era e Feminise, by Elina Duni; Song of Emigration, by Women’s Choir from Permet; Tana, by Saziso; Ka Nje mot e gjysem viti, by Elina Duni Quartet; Jonuzi Me Shoket by Vaome Kaba; Ballerina by Yehezkel Raz; Mëmëdheu by the Peter Pan Quartet; Jim Barne. SFX from Freesound.org.
Thanks for listening! If you enjoy our podcast, we'd love it if you'd consider chipping in a few bucks a month at patreon.com/europeanspodcast (many currencies are available). You can also help new listeners find the show by leaving us a review or giving us five stars on Spotify.
Instagram | Threads | Twitter | Mastodon | hello@europeanspodcast.com
Thursday Aug 01, 2024
Thursday Aug 01, 2024
It’s our first ever Q&A episode! Katy, Dominic, Katz and Wojciech answer listeners’ questions – from how we make the show, to the episodes we’d make if we were gazillionaires.
We’ve saved a couple of our answers for supporters of the podcast. If you’d like to hear them, we’d love it if you could send a few bucks our way at patreon.com/europeanspodcast (many currencies are available). Thanks so much to everyone who makes our show possible by helping us cover our production costs!
You can also help new listeners find the show by leaving us a review or giving us five stars on Spotify.
Producer: Katz Laszlo
Mixing and mastering: Wojciech Oleksiak
Music: Jim Barne
Instagram | Threads | Twitter | Mastodon | hello@europeanspodcast.com
Thursday Jul 18, 2024
Thursday Jul 18, 2024
One Hungarian family. One piece of land. Two very different visions.
This is the final episode in our long-running series This Is What A Generation Sounds Like, made in cooperation with the Allianz Foundation. You can find the other episodes in the series here.
Thanks, as ever, to the listeners who support this podcast so that we can keep making it. You can chip in at patreon.com/europeanspodcast.
Producers: Katz Laszlo and Luca Borsos
Sound design: Katz Laszlo
Editors: Dominic Kraemer and Katy Lee
Mixing and mastering: Wojciech Oleksiak
Music: Odú, 777, Fa Lenni and O, by Deva; Palinka, by Mónika Lakatos and Hangok Cigány; Zenebuddhizmus by Akkezdat Phiai; Marsh Warbler by Cosmo Sheldrake; Arcade Ride by Vens Adams; BlueDot Sessions and of course our theme music by Jim Barne. SFX from Freesound.org
Instagram | Threads | Twitter | Mastodon | Bluesky hello@europeanspodcast.com
Thursday Jul 11, 2024
Thursday Jul 11, 2024
A surprise left-wing election win? In Europe? In 2024? This week, we turn to our resident Parisian journalist to try to get our heads around what just happened in France, as well as what might happen next. We’re also looking at the other big left-wing winners of the week: the UK Labour Party. What might their new government mean for Britain’s relationship with Europe? Plus, Barcelona’s anti-tourist revolt and what may be the world’s toughest crackdown on Airbnb.
Thanks for listening! If you enjoy our podcast, we'd love it if you'd consider chipping in a few bucks a month at patreon.com/europeanspodcast (many currencies are available). You can also help new listeners find the show by leaving us a review or giving us five stars on Spotify.
This week's Inspiration Station picks: BBC Assignment: 'Germany's AI detectives' and The Europeans on YouTube.
Other resources:
'El malestar por el turismo masivo se traslada a las calles de Barcelona' - La Vanguardia, July 6, 2024'Quelle coalition ? Composez votre majorité absolue avec notre simulateur de coalitions exclusif' - Le Grand Continent, July 7, 202400:22 The return of human co-host Dominic Kraemer03:51 Good Week: Britain's relationship with the EU15:02 Bad Week: Tourists in Barcelona28:16 Interview: Katy on France's surprise election results and what might happen next48:33 Isolation Inspiration: 'Germany's AI detectives' and The Europeans on YouTube51:24 Happy Ending: Climate-resilient cacaoProducers: Wojciech Oleksiak and Katy Lee
Mixing and mastering: Wojciech Oleksiak
Music: Jim Barne and Mariska Martina
Instagram | Threads | Twitter | Mastodon | Bluesky hello@europeanspodcast.com