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
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.
Twitter | Instagram | Facebook | hello@europeanspodcast.com
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
Twitter | Instagram | Facebook | hello@europeanspodcast.com
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/
Twitter | Instagram | Facebook | hello@europeanspodcast.com
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
Wednesday Apr 01, 2020
Wednesday Apr 01, 2020
In this time of crisis, many, many people are watching marbles roll down miniature race tracks. We talk to Dion Bakker, one of the Dutch brothers behind the hit marble-racing YouTube channel that's filling the void left by cancelled sports events. We also catch up with atmospheric physicist Meganne Christian, who spent a year in Antarctica, to hear her tips on surviving isolation. Also this week: Viktor Orbán's terrifying power grab, and trees, lots of trees.
Like the show? If you have a couple of spare dollars to spare each month, you can help us keep making it at patreon.com/europeanspodcast.
Thanks for listening!
Twitter | Instagram | Facebook | hello@europeanspodcast.com
Wednesday Mar 25, 2020
Wednesday Mar 25, 2020
Calming things are much needed this week, so we're talking about lakes and we're talking about dogs. Our guest is the poet and author Kapka Kassabova, whose latest book To The Lake is a beautiful account of life on the borders of Greece, Albania and North Macedonia. We're also celebrating cleaner skies, human-canine relationships, and putting booze to good use.
Thanks to the amazing people who support this podcast on Patreon, especially in these uncertain times. If you have a couple of dollars to spare each month, you can chip in at patreon.com/europeanspodcast.
Watch Dominic's latest opera here!
Thanks for listening.
Twitter | Instagram | Facebook | hello@europeanspodcast.com
Wednesday Mar 18, 2020
Wednesday Mar 18, 2020
The show goes on. This week, aside from bringing you some positivity from around the continent, we're talking to someone who turned something terrible into something empowering. Emma Holten was 20 years old when nude photos of her were leaked onto the internet without her consent. We gave her a call in Copenhagen to hear about her inspiring fightback. Also this week: good dogs and good decisions in Spain and Greece.
You can follow Emma on Instagram here and Twitter here.
Thank you to the generous supporters who keep this show going! You can pledge just $2 a month or more at patreon.com/europeanspodcast.
Thanks for listening.Twitter | Instagram | Facebook | hello@europeanspodcast.com
Wednesday Mar 11, 2020
Wednesday Mar 11, 2020
This week, the distances travelled in search of love and safety. The Finnish novelist and playwright Saara Turunen has written beautifully about what it's like to navigate a relationship between Helsinki and Barcelona. We chat to her about European culture clashes and what feminism looks like in the two countries she lives between. Plus, Europe's failed refugee policy, magical taps, and ill-chosen words by a billionaire populist (no, not that one).
Saara's piece appears in Europa28, a collection of writing by European women which comes out on March 12.
Read the New York Times investigation on how oligarchs milk EU farming subsidies here.
Fancy seeing Lysistrata in Dortmund on March 23 or Greentea Peng in Lisbon on April 23? We have free tickets! Tag us in a post alongside @liveurope for your chance to win.
Thanks for listening. If you like the show and have a couple of spare dollars a month, you can help keep us running at patreon.com/europeanspodcast.Twitter | Instagram | Facebook | hello@europeanspodcast.com