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 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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europeanspodcast@gmail.com
Tuesday Jun 11, 2019
Tuesday Jun 11, 2019
Hands up if you've got a better idea of what's happening in American politics than European politics, despite living on this side of the pond? This week André Wilkens, the new director of the European Cultural Foundation, argues that Europeans need to get better at telling their own story — whether it's in the form of a Hamilton-style hit musical or otherwise. Also: scooter wars, holograms, and when the left gets tough on immigration.
You can read Katy's piece on the arrival of electric scooters in Paris last summer here in the Guardian, and see a holographic elephant here.
If you like the show, you can help us out by giving us five big gold stars on Apple Podcasts, or join our hugely generous Patreon supporters.
Thanks for listening.
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europeanspodcast@gmail.com
Tuesday Jun 04, 2019
Tuesday Jun 04, 2019
We've just elected a bunch of people to represent 500 million of us. But when it comes to the results of the European elections, most of us have been preoccupied with what happened in our own countries. This week we're zooming out to take a look at the continent as a whole with Caroline de Gruyter, the Oslo-based Europe correspondent for the Dutch newspaper NRC. Plus: Ibizagate, part 2; rural PR stunts; and the importance of correctly-spelled tweets.
Many thanks to our Patreon supporters!
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Thanks for listening.
Tuesday May 28, 2019
Tuesday May 28, 2019
Should machines have the power to decide whether a human on the battlefield lives or dies? Ulrike Franke spends her days imagining the wars of the future. We chatted to her about ‘killer robots’ and rogue drones. Plus: a far-right honey-trap and Germany in the age of the influencer.Twitter.com/EuropeansPodInstagram.com/europeanspodcastFacebook.com/europeanspodcasteuropeanspodcast@gmail.com
Many thanks to our Patreon supporters!
See you next week.
Tuesday May 21, 2019
Tuesday May 21, 2019
Katy's never voted in a European election before. This week she tries to make amends by figuring out, finally, what the European parliament is and what MEPs actually do.
The elections are May 23-26 depending on what country you're in. Please vote!
This episode was made with support from the European Cultural Foundation. They support initatives which rethink Europe as an open and democratic space.
Thanks for listening. europeanspodcast.com
Tuesday May 14, 2019
Tuesday May 14, 2019
Countries all around Europe are dealing with the same dilemma: what to do with citizens who went to join ISIS. Tiny Kosovo is alone in opting to bring back a large group of its citizens when other countries are turning their backs. To find out why, Dominic talked to AJ Naddaff, who spent months researching why so many left Kosovo to fight, and the country's humane response to bringing people back.
Over on the western edge of Europe Katy's been chatting to the French writer Maxime Calligaro about why the Brussels bubble is a surprisingly great place to set a crime novel. Maxime and Katy also spoke at the Ancienne Belgique last week about how to make Europe less boring (you can watch it here). Thanks Liveurope for hosting!
Also this week: sheep, bears (you can read about the mystery here in El País) and an attempted coup.
We'll be back next week for a special episode on how the European parliament works and why you should give a damn about the elections. Til then, hit us up online:
PATREON: we're hugely grateful for your donations to help keep the show running!Twitter.com/EuropeansPodInstagram.com/europeanspodcastFacebook.com/europeanspodcasteuropeanspodcast@gmail.com
Tuesday May 07, 2019
Tuesday May 07, 2019
This week, a celebration of the quintessential Renaissance man: yes, it's opera singer Dominic Kraemer with an interview about CHEMICAL ELEMENTS. We're also marking the 500th deathday of some guy called Leonardo who was similarly talented in both the arts and sciences.
In Poland, the art world has gone bananas; in Spain, there's life in socialism yet; and British chemist and YouTube sensation Martyn Poliakoff is here to explain why he wants to turn the periodic table upside down, literally.
In a week when we won a big prize, we want to say thanks more than ever for listening. Particularly huge thanks go to our Patreon supporters. If you want to throw a dollar or so into the tip jar, you can do so at patreon.com/europeanspodcast.
Beat Polish censorship by watching Natalia LL's work here. Love it? Hate it? Let us know:
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Tuesday Apr 30, 2019
Tuesday Apr 30, 2019
This week, European cultural greats past and present. We discuss the good, the bad and the Bauhaus with the American painter Henry Isaacs, who grew up surrounded by many of the key figures from the legendary German art school that marked its 100th birthday this month. And Katy chats to Kurt Overbergh, artistic director of the Ancienne Belgique music venue, about new sounds, immigration and the return of Turkish psychedelia.
In Brussels? Come and see Katy at this great event at the Ancienne Belgique on May 7!
Thanks for listening. If you have a euro or more to throw in the tip jar, the more the merrier at patreon.com/europeanspodcast. You can also help other listeners find the show by leaving us a review here.
Twitter.com/EuropeansPod
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europeanspodcast@gmail.com
Tuesday Apr 23, 2019
Tuesday Apr 23, 2019
This week a brilliant young journalist was shot dead in Northern Ireland, on the 21st anniversary of the Good Friday peace agreement. The senseless death of Lyra McKee is a reminder of a conflict that most in the country have put behind them. Her friend, the writer Susan McKay, is here with a very moving tribute to a remarkable person.
Also this week: a rebellion in London, rising from the ashes in Paris, and the magnificent species that is the European honey bee.
You can follow Susan on Twitter here. Many thanks to BBC Radio Foyle in Derry for recording Susan's tribute for us.
Thanks for listening. If you have a euro or two a month to spare, you can help support the show at patreon.com/europeanspodcast.com.
And if you fancy writing a (flattering) review on Apple Podcasts, you can do so here.
See you next week, Europe. Twitter.com/EuropeansPodInstagram.com/europeanspodcastFacebook.com/europeanspodcasteuropeanspodcast@gmail.com
Tuesday Apr 16, 2019
Tuesday Apr 16, 2019
No, European governments are not handing out 'brothel vouchers' to immigrants; and no, the EU is not trying to ban bendy cucumbers. Euro-myths are as old as the union itself, but with elections just around the corner, setting the record straight feels more important than ever. This week's guest is on the frontlines of the fight against disinformation: Jules Darmanin, the coordinator of a new continent-wide band of fact-checkers. Plus: Julian Assange, Swiss democracy, and the world's greatest neighbours.
You can find the Fact Check EU website here in 11 beautiful languages.
That nice article about our former guest Flavia Kleiner that Dominic was talking about is here, and the Swiss podcast episode that Katy was raving about is available here.
Huge thanks to the incredibly generous people helping us to keep this show running with their donations. You can chip in at patreon.com/europeanspodcast.
Thanks for listening.Twitter.com/EuropeansPodInstagram.com/europeanspodcastFacebook.com/europeanspodcasteuropeanspodcast@gmail.com