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 Dec 03, 2019
Tuesday Dec 03, 2019
This week we travel to the heart of the continent to ask: who is Ursula, and should you give a damn about her?
This special episode was made with help from the European Cultural Foundation, who support projects that promote Europe as an open and democratic space.
Liked the show? Please leave us a review or help keep us going by chipping in to our Patreon fund at patreon.com/europeanspodcast.
Thanks for listening.
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Tuesday Nov 26, 2019
Tuesday Nov 26, 2019
Europe's museums are facing growing calls to give back treasures stolen during the colonial era. But what about colonial hand-me-downs that can be found in ordinary households? Elliot Ross, who covers Everyday Colonialism for The Correspondent, is here to explain why this ugly part of our past is still very much a part of our present. We're also talking about a scandal that has been rocking Iceland and nuggets of good news for the planet.
You can follow Elliot on Twitter here and check out his work for The Correspondent here.
Thanks for listening! If you like the show, please leave us a review to help other people find us!
And if you're feeling extra generous, you can chip in to our Patreon fund to help us keep the show running at patreon.com/europeanspodcast.Twitter | Instagram | Facebook | hello@europeanspodcast.com
Tuesday Nov 19, 2019
Tuesday Nov 19, 2019
For this special episode, we're taking you inside Herstedvester, a maximum-security prison in Denmark.
Herstedvester houses prisoners with serious mental health issues, as well as those who are considered a danger to others. Lene Bech Sillesen went to meet some inmates who are facing a choice with drastic consequences.
This is the first in our new series of original reported podcasts, Postcards from Europe, featuring intimate portraits of lives and places across the continent. It was made possible by the European Cultural Foundation, who support initiatives that rethink Europe as an open and democratic space.
A note on this week's show: we do not explore the inmates' crimes in this episode. Our aim is not to vindicate them, but we want to show what life is like for Greenlandic prisoners in the Danish penal system. That said, if you or people close to you have been affected by serious crime in Greenland, you might want to skip this episode.
Hosts: Dominic Kraemer and Katy Lee. Reporter and producer: Lene Bech Sillesen. Editor: Katz Laszlo. Voice actors: Peter Frederik Olsen and Vivi Nielsen. Artwork by La Kingsbeer.
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Tuesday Nov 12, 2019
Tuesday Nov 12, 2019
This week we’re celebrating Europeans who refused to let boundaries get in the way of things. The historian Orlando Figes is here to talk about the continent-crossing lovers at the heart of his new book, the brilliantly-named ‘The Europeans’. The poet Christopher Hütmannsberger reads us a beautiful new work to mark 30 years since the fall of the Berlin Wall. Plus, wild borders and the Gentle Revolution.
Thanks to our amazing Patreon supporters for keeping us going! You can chip in at patreon.com/europeanspodcast.Twitter | Instagram | Facebook | hello@europeanspodcast.com
Thanks for listening.
Tuesday Nov 05, 2019
Tuesday Nov 05, 2019
This week, the fight for Romania's forests. Two of the country's forest rangers have been suffered brutal deaths since September. Who would do such a thing? The answer may lie in the lucrative illegal trade for wood in Romania, home to more than half of Europe's remaining primeval forests. Environmental activist Gabi Paun is here to explain why protecting trees has become so dangerous. We're also talking about Belgium's first female PM and wounded French pride.
You can find out more about Gabi's activist group, Agent Green, here.
Like the show? You can chip in to help us keep it running at patreon.com/europeanspodcast.
Thanks for listening!
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Tuesday Oct 29, 2019
Tuesday Oct 29, 2019
Renia's diary spent decades locked in a bank vault. Like many teenagers, she had used it to vent about stupid fights with her friends and to record the thrill of her first kiss. And when the war came, she used it to document the relentless killing of Jews in the town where she lived. Ania Jakubek is on the line from Warsaw to tell us the extraordinary story of Renia Spiegel, and why it stayed unknown for so long. We're also talking about promising signs that Europeans are becoming less bigoted. Oh, and there's a dog.
You can read Ania's article about Renia here. For beautiful drawings, you should also follow Ania on Instagram.
If you, like Dominic's mum, would like to get your hands on a limited edition Angry Macron tote bag, consider signing up for our Patreon top tier! All donations big and small are very welcome at patreon.com/europeanspodcast.
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Thanks for listening.
Tuesday Oct 22, 2019
Tuesday Oct 22, 2019
This week, the female writers that Europe forgot. Carme Font Paz is leading a fascinating project aimed at uncovering the scribblings of European women from centuries ago and giving them their rightful place in the literary canon. Plus, Poland's election, posthumous comedy and why the EU won't be expanding east any time soon.
You can find out more about Carme's project here.
Thanks for listening! If you liked the show, please give us five big gold stars on Apple Podcasts or help us grow by chipping in on Patreon.
See you next week.
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Tuesday Oct 08, 2019
Tuesday Oct 08, 2019
This week, the fight for LGBT rights in Poland. A horrible pattern has been repeating itself in Polish cities: far-right thugs turning up to hurl eggs, bottles, blows and insults at Pride protesters. Our guest, the poet and novelist Jacek Dehnel, is on the line from Warsaw to reflect on what bishops and politicians have to do with it, as well as why there are reasons for hope. Plus, nitrogen and warm-hearted drug smugglers.
You can read Jacek's account of what happened at the Pride march in Białystok here in the Guardian. His novel Lala and the first volume of the murder mystery series co-written with his husband, Mrs Mohr Goes Missing, are now available in English along with his poetry collection Aperture.
Enjoying the show? Join the generous souls helping us to make it better at patreon.com/europeanspodcast.
You can also help out by leaving us a (nice!) review on Apple Podcasts.
Thanks for listening!
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Tuesday Oct 01, 2019
Tuesday Oct 01, 2019
This week, the beauty of the Irish language. Our guest is Darach Ó Séaghdha, whose wonderful book and podcast are a celebration of a language that may only have about 74,000 daily speakers but is very much alive and kicking. Also: the right to be forgotten, the Ukrainian side of the Trump impeachment inquiry, and treasures hidden in plain sight.
Check out Darach's book, 'Motherfoclóir: Dispatches from a Not So Dead Language' and his podcast of the same name. And follow @TheIrishFor if you know what's good for you.
Thanks as always to the hugely generous Patreon supporters who are keeping this show going. You can sign up at patreon.com/europeanspodcast.
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Tuesday Sep 24, 2019
Tuesday Sep 24, 2019
How does a city of little more than 50,000 permanent residents deal with an annual stampede of 25 million tourists? Venice is an extreme example of the growing scourge of overtourism across Europe. We talk to one of the residents organising a fightback, Elena Riu of the Gruppo 25 aprile. Also this week: #ClimateStrike, Rammstein and skydiving in your nineties.
Thanks as always to the amazing Patreon supporters keeping this show going: patreon.com/europeanspodcast
Hit us up at our shiny new email address! hello@europeanspodcast.com
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