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 17, 2019
Tuesday Sep 17, 2019
This week we’re heading into the belly of the EU beast to talk about who’s going to be running the show for the next five years. Alberto Alemmano, aka the busiest man in Europe, is here to unpick some controversial decisions by Ursula von der Leyen as she gets ready to take charge in November. Plus, skeletons and Macron portraits.
Send us ideas for new laws! hello@europeanspodcast.com
Help us out by joining our amazingly generous Patreon squad! patreon.com/europeanspodcast
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Tuesday Sep 10, 2019
Tuesday Sep 10, 2019
WE'RE BACK, with a new look for a new season. This week we're catching up on the summer's Italian drama and tackling the delicate question of Nazi relatives. And we're heading to Görlitz, on the German-Polish border, to find out why why so many voters in eastern Germany are putting their faith in the far-right AfD. Our guest is Emily Schultheis, a Berlin-based journalist covering right-wing populism, who spent a month in Görlitz getting into voters' heads.
Read Emily's report for the Institute of Current World Affairs, where she is a fellow, here! Check out her latest piece for The Atlantic! And follow her on Twitter: @emilyrs.
In other news, we have a beautiful new website: europeanspodcast.com.
Help keep us running by joining our generous Patreon supporters: patreon.com/europeanspodcast.
In Amsterdam on September 12? Get tickets for Cine Radio, the glorious international audio event hosted by our new producer Katz Laszlo.
See you next week, it's good to be back.
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Tuesday Aug 06, 2019
Tuesday Aug 06, 2019
... or 'hiphop' in Esperanto. This week we're talking about how the internet shook up the world's most idealistic language, with Federico Gobbo, professor of Esperanto at the University of Amsterdam. We're also talking about the furore over a rapper involved in a Swedish assault case, and the Dutch kid behind one of the most successful beats of all time.
We're taking August off to work on some special episodes, but we'll be back before you know it. Keep your eyes peeled in September for our brand new logo! As a final farewell to its iconic predecessor, we'll be sending out limited edition Angry Macron tote bags to our existing Patreon subscribers to say thanks for the amazing support. Not a member yet? Sign up for our new $20 subscription to get your hands on a piece of podcasting history.
See you in a few weeks!
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Tuesday Jul 30, 2019
Tuesday Jul 30, 2019
Scotland now has the highest rate of drug-related deaths in Europe — even higher than the United States. The shocking statistics have prompted calls in Scotland for a move towards the decriminalisation of drug use, taking the lead from a radical change of approach in Portugal. Portugal went from a full-blown opioid crisis in the 1980s to having one of the lowest rates of drug deaths in Europe today. We called Andreia Alves, a social worker with the Lisbon NGO Crescer, to find how a more humane policy makes her work easier. Also: turtle doves, VIP tour guides, and the art of the Spanish compromise.
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Thanks for listening.
Tuesday Jul 23, 2019
Tuesday Jul 23, 2019
This week we’re talking about what happened when Actress, the electronic musician also known as Darren Cunningham, made British and Dutch politicians debate the meaning of love. We’re also talking about French extravagance, the gentrification of Berlin, and the magic of medicine.
You can find the article Dominic mentioned on the incredibly complex surgery that separated twins Safa and Marwa here.
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Tuesday Jul 16, 2019
Tuesday Jul 16, 2019
We don't call it 'the migrant crisis' anymore. Yet, every day, people attempt the treacherous crossing to reach our shores, and more than 500 people have died trying this year alone. This week we're talking about the politics of fear and the laws of the sea with the Italian migration expert Matteo Villa. We're also talking about rockets, bees and Greece's return to the right.
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Tuesday Jul 09, 2019
Tuesday Jul 09, 2019
This week, the European women steering the ship. Katy and Dominic discuss the case of Carola Rackete, the rescue boat captain who has come to symbolize the moral divide over migration, as well as the nomination of Germany's Ursula von der Leyen and Christine Lagarde to two of the most powerful jobs on the continent. In the meantime, the biggest Czech protests since the fall of communism have been giving the populist billionaire PM Andrej Babiš a run for his money. We ring up Benjamin Roll, one of the young leaders of the growing protest movement.
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Tuesday Jul 02, 2019
Tuesday Jul 02, 2019
What does it mean to be black in Europe? This week's guest Johny Pitts went on a five-month journey around the continent, interviewing black Europeans and exploring his own identity. The result is his brilliant new book, 'Afropean: Notes from Black Europe', which makes the case for a community that crosses borders. Also this week: the role of railways in the Holocaust; whether or not we should talk about Merkel; and a strange reward for good behaviour.
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Thanks for listening.
Tuesday Jun 25, 2019
Tuesday Jun 25, 2019
This week, the strange and rather wonderful story of how the BBC tried (and failed, pretty badly) to create a European soap opera back in the 1990s. Former 'Eldorado' star Kai Maurer reflects on how his unlikely role playing a German beach bum kicked off his acting career and how the show was ahead of its time. Plus: a landmark Spanish court ruling and the ugly realities of European consensus politics. Read the article that sparked Katy's El Dorado obsession here. Should we launch a campaign to get the BBC to bring it back? Send us your thoughts: europeanspodcast@gmail.com Twitter Facebook Instagram Thanks to our supremely generous Patreon supporters. You can help us keep the show running by chipping in here. See you next week.
Tuesday Jun 18, 2019
Tuesday Jun 18, 2019
This week, the increasingly worrying politics of a country with one of the most complicated governments in the world. We're talking to the Bosnian journalist Aleksandar Brezar about troubles that go ignored all too often in Europe and wartime scars that have yet to heal. We're also talking about European countries' varying approaches to regulating what women do with their bodies, and a transatlantic romance that has stood the test of time.
Read Aleksandar's excellent piece in the Guardian and check out his podcast about Southeastern Europe, Sarajevo Calling.
Rachel Kadish's superb piece about the humanity of Anne Frank can be found here, and France 24's in-depth reporting on abortion across Europe is here.
Thanks as always to the supremely generous Patreon donors who are keeping this show running. You can chip in as little as a dollar a month at patreon.com/europeanspodcast.
Thanks for listening.
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