The Europeans | European news, politics and culture

Why is the EU not acting on Gaza?

This week, we’re dedicating the entire episode to Gaza. We have a lot of questions about the EU’s role in what’s happening there: Why is the EU not suspending trade with, or at the very least banning weapon sales to, Israel? Why is Israel being treated differently than the way Russia has been? And what will inaction mean for the credibility of the EU? 
We put those questions to two esteemed guests: Sven Kühn von Burgsdorff, who served as the EU’s representative to Palestine from 2020 until July 2023, and Shada Islam, Lahore-born, Brussels-based commentator who has recently written some incredibly moving and thought-provoking pieces about the EU’s complicity in the war in Gaza. And we round out the episode with a brief Inspiration Station recommendation: the book Enter Ghost by British-Palestinian author Isabella Hammad.
This podcast was brought to you in cooperation with Euranet Plus, the leading radio network for EU news. But it’s contributions from listeners that truly make it all possible—we could not continue to make the show without you! If you like what we do, you can chip in to help us cover our production costs at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠patreon.com/europeanspodcast⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ (in many different currencies), or you can gift a donation to a superfan. We'd also love it if you could tell two friends about this podcast. We think two feels like a reasonable number.
00:00:46 Introduction: The cucumber season is over00:02:53 What’s been happening in Gaza for the past two years00:06:45 Interview: Sven Kühn von Burgsdorff00:29:00 Interview: Shada Islam00:46: 16 The Inspiration Station: the book Enter Ghost by Isabella Hammad
Producers: Morgan Childs and Wojciech OleksiakEditorial support: Katz LaszloMixing and mastering: Wojciech OleksiakMusic: Jim Barne, Mariska Martina and Morrisella by Blue Dot Sessions (www.sessions.blue).YouTube | Bluesky | Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ | Mastodon⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ | hello@europeanspodcast.com
 

Three Rivers and a Sausage Fight

It’s our second week of “cucumber season” programming, and fair warning: we’re really leaning into the late-summer goofiness. This week, we go hard on German gastronomy, with a deep dive into Europe’s declining alcohol consumption and a recap of the utterly absurd row over the origins of Bratwurst.
Because we don’t want you to think we’ve totally lost the plot, we also had a perfectly civilised conversation with Robert Winder, the prolific author and sometime editor of The Independent and Granta whose new book, Three Rivers, comes out next week. Robert spoke with our producer Katz about the waterways that shape Europe as we know it—and about their future in a warming climate. You can purchase the book here on 28 August. 
This week's Inspiration Station recommendations are the Danish film The Guilty and the audio recordings of Colm Tóibín’s novels Brooklyn and Long Island. Our Happy Ending comes from Helsinki, which managed to go an entire year with no traffic fatalities! You can read more about the milestone achievement here and how they did it here.
This podcast was brought to you in cooperation with Euranet Plus, the leading radio network for EU news. But it’s contributions from listeners that truly make it all possible—we could not continue to make the show without you! If you like what we do, you can chip in to help us cover our production costs at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠patreon.com/europeanspodcast⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ (in many different currencies), or you can gift a donation to a superfan. We'd also love it if you could tell two friends about this podcast. We think two feels like a reasonable number.
00:00:47 Welcome back to cucumber season!00:03:09 Good Week: European livers00:16:29 Bad Week: Bratwurst ensnared in national feud00:31:16 Interview: Robert Winder reconnects us with the poetry of rivers00:44:00 The Inspiration Station: the film The Guilty and Colm Tóibín’s novels Brooklyn and Long Island 00:49:11 Happy Ending: Helsinki successfully stamps out road deathsProducers: Morgan Childs, Katz Laszlo, and Wojciech OleksiakMixing and mastering: Wojciech OleksiakMusic: Jim Barne and Mariska MartinaYouTube | Bluesky | Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ | Mastodon⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ | hello@europeanspodcast.com

Save the games! Preserve the bread! Guard your rabbits!

Welcome back! We’re easing back into the swing of things after our summer holidays with a bit of “cucumber season” fare. It’s our regularly scheduled programming, just a little bit…sillier. 
This week, we take a peek into the world’s first “sourdough library” with Karl De Smedt, head of the Puratos Sourdough Institute. Karl gives us a taste of his unconventional career preserving breadmaking biodiversity and explains why the starters in his library are a little like Europeans themselves. Plus: we learn why the Aalborg Zoo in Denmark is encouraging people to bring in unwanted pets and how Dominic “gave” Daniel Radcliffe his career(!).
You can take a virtual tour of the Puratos sourdough library here and check out Karl on Instagram here.
And if you want to find out more about the Stop Killing Games campaign, watch this video.
This podcast was brought to you in cooperation with Euranet Plus, the leading radio network for EU news. But it’s contributions from listeners that truly make it all possible—we could not continue to make the show without you! If you like what we do, you can chip in to help us cover our production costs at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠patreon.com/europeanspodcast⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ (in many different currencies), or you can gift a donation to a superfan. We'd also love it if you could tell two friends about this podcast. We think two feels like a reasonable number.
This week's Inspiration Station recommendations are two books, Patrick Radden Keefe’s spellbinding history of the Troubles, “Say Nothing,” and the novel “Second Best” by French author David Foenkinos.
00:00:00 First things first: WTF is up with strawberry pasta in Poland?00:04:25 Good Week: The Stop Killing Games movement00:16:01 Bad Week: The pets of Aalborg, Denmark00:25:47 Interview: Karl De Smedt gives us permission to eat more bread00:41:50 The Inspiration Station: “Say Nothing” by Patrick Radden Keefe and “Second Best” by David Foenkinos00:46:57 Happy Ending: Jellyfish believed extinct makes Scottish comeback
Producers: Morgan Childs and Wojciech OleksiakMixing and mastering: Wojciech OleksiakMusic: Jim Barne and Mariska MartinaYouTube | Bluesky | Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ | Mastodon⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ | hello@europeanspodcast.com
 

Hungary's Pride ban goes up in smoke (and glitter)

This year’s Budapest Pride was banned in March under the Orbán government’s contentious “child protection” law. Demonstrators were threatened with hefty fines for participating, and the government said it would employ facial-recognition technology to identify and potentially prosecute those who turned out to take part at the march on 28 June.
Did the ban work? Not in the slightest. In fact, more people than ever in the 30-year history of Budapest Pride showed up to celebrate their rights as LGBTQ+ human beings. 
The massive Pride march brought a glimmer of hope to some Hungarian citizens, including this week’s guest, writer Krisztián Marton. We spoke with Krisztián about the lead-up to the event, the thrill of being on the ground last Saturday, and what might be next for Hungary, now that Viktor Orbán finally has a formidable challenger in Péter Magyar. We also chatted with Dominic’s husband, Thomas Lamers, a philosopher and dramaturg who hit the streets for us, mic in hand. (Thanks, Thomas, we owe you!)
Krisztián Marton is a screenwriter and novelist. You can follow him on Instagram here and read an excerpt in English of his Margó Prize-nominated novel Crybaby here. You can donate to Thomas’s fundraiser to pay some of the fines that may be incurred by Pride attendees here. 
This podcast was brought to you in cooperation with Euranet Plus, the leading radio network for EU news. But it’s contributions from listeners that truly make it all possible—we could not do it without you. If you like what we do, you can chip in to help us cover our production costs at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠patreon.com/europeanspodcast⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ (in many different currencies!), or you can gift a donation to a superfan. We'd also love it if you could tell two friends about this podcast. We think two feels like a reasonable number.
This week's Inspiration Station recommendations: the recent episode of Zakia Sewell’s Radio 6 series Dream Time, “Solstice selections…with Zakia,” and the Ukrainian band The Sixsters, winners of the European Emerging Bands Contest.
00:00:46 A sweltering hello and a tick PSA00:03:44 Bad Week: Venetians overrun by billionaire wedding00:11:45 Good Week: Owners of Danish faces (and their copyrights)00:21:13 Interview: Thomas Lamers on Budapest Pride and Krisztián Marton on the present and future for LGBTQ+ people in Hungary00:49:57 The Inspiration Station: the BBC Radio 6 Dream Time episode “Solstice selections…with Zakia” and the Ukrainian band The Sixsters.00:53:12 Happy Ending: Cannes caps cruise-ship tourism
Producers: Morgan Childs and Wojciech OleksiakMixing and mastering: Wojciech OleksiakMusic: Jim Barne and Mariska MartinaYouTube | Bluesky | Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ | Mastodon⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ | hello@europeanspodcast.com

Toxic chemicals, abortion rights, and a Nazi-era train law

Depending on where you are in Europe, your right to a safe abortion — and reproductive care in general — can vary dramatically. This week, we speak to pioneering abortion activist Rebecca Gomperts about why she's hopeful that we can fight back against these inequalities as well as crackdowns on abortion access in other parts of the world. We're also talking about a rebel campaign in Germany to defeat a draconian Nazi-era law, and some disturbing research into the weedkillers used by many of the farmers who grow our foods.
 
Note: We updated this episode's audio on June 20, 2025. The original version incorrectly stated that glyphosate is sprayed directly on many European crops, which is not the case.
 
You can find out more about Women on Waves here and Women on Web here. Read about the mifepristone study here.
 
Thanks for listening! If you enjoy our podcasts, we'd love it if you'd consider supporting our work. You can chip in to help us cover the weekly research and production of The Europeans at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠patreon.com/europeanspodcast⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ (many currencies are available), or gift a donation to a super fan here. We'd also love it if you could tell two friends about this podcast!
 
This podcast was brought to you in cooperation with Euranet Plus, the leading radio network for EU news.
 
This week's Inspiration Station recommendations: Secrets We Keep (Reservatet) and The Outlaw Ocean Podcast. Bonus entries: Vessel, a 2014 documentary about Women on Waves; A Sense of Quietness, Eleanor McDowall's audio documentary about abortion in Ireland; and Tending Grief by Camille Sapara Barton.Other resources for this episode:
 
'Carcinogenic effects of long-term exposure from prenatal life to glyphosate and glyphosate-based herbicides in Sprague–Dawley rats' - Environmental Health, June 10, 2025
 
'Revealed: Monsanto’s secret funding for weedkiller studies' - The Guardian, March 12, 2020
 
'Europe likely to miss most green targets for 2030' - Politico Europe, February 20, 2025
 
'EWG’s 2025 Shopper’s Guide to Pesticides in Produce' (USA) - Environmental Working Group, June 11, 2025
 
'Here’s why some people still evade public transport fares – even when they’re 50 cents' - The Conversation, February 13, 2025
 
00:00:46  Is it a Smörgåsbord? Is it a charcuterie board? No, it's The Europeans00:04:56  Bad Week: Glyphosate00:21:41  Good Week: Germany's freed fare-dodgers00:35:22  Interview: Rebecca Gomperts on the state of reproductive rights in Europe01:01:46  The Inspiration Station: Secrets We Keep and The Outlaw Ocean Podcast01:07:10  Happy Ending: Beavers are back in Portugal
 
Producers: Morgan Childs and Wojciech OleksiakMixing and mastering: Wojciech OleksiakMusic: Jim Barne and Mariska Martina
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Could Europe switch off big tech's algorithms?

The EU supposedly has some of the world's toughest laws regulating big tech. So why does it still feel like Europeans are being sucked into increasingly polarised online communities, and manipulated during our elections? Can we do anything about it? This week's guest, the Irish internet campaigner Johnny Ryan, argues that a pretty radical solution is within the EU's reach. We're also talking about the Dutch government's collapse, and why bear meat may soon be on the menu in Slovakia. 
 
Johnny is the Director of Enforce. You can follow him on Bluesky here and read his article calling on the EU to switch off social media's algorithms here in The Guardian. A longer version of our interview with Johnny is available on our YouTube channel.
 
Thanks for listening! If you enjoy our podcasts, we'd love it if you'd consider supporting our work. You can chip in to help us cover the weekly research and production of The Europeans at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠patreon.com/europeanspodcast⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ (many currencies are available), or gift a donation to a super fan here. We'd also love it if you could tell two friends about this podcast!
 
This podcast was brought to you in cooperation with Euranet Plus, the leading radio network for EU news.
 
This week's Inspiration Station recommendations: Last One Laughing UK, LOL: Qui rit, sort, and 'The Mars House' by Natasha Pulley. Bonus: our interview in February with Jean Chalaby about the international TV format trade.Other resources for this episode:'Bears stray into political territory in Romania and Slovakia' - BalkanInsight, April 21, 2025
00:00:46  People, politics and peculiarities00:02:45  Good Week: Dutch leftwing and centrist parties?00:22:01  Bad Week: Bear meat on the menu in Slovakia00:36:43  Interview: Johnny Ryan on why Europe's supposedly tough tech regulation isn't nearly tough enough00:55:53  The Inspiration Station: Last One Laughing UK, Qui rit sort and 'The Mars House' by Natasha Pulley01:00:52  Happy Ending: A condom masterpieceProducers: Morgan Childs and Wojciech OleksiakMixing and mastering: Wojciech OleksiakMusic: Jim Barne and Mariska Martina
YouTube | Bluesky | Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ | Mastodon⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ | hello@europeanspodcast.com
 

Is real change coming to Serbia?

Serbia’s government has come under intense pressure since a deadly disaster at Novi Sad’s main railway station last November. Student-led protests have spiralled into a nation-wide resistance movement and for months, Serbians have been speaking out against corruption, a lack of accountability, and a culture of impunity in Aleksandar Vučić’s regime. But if you’re listening to this from Western Europe, or indeed much of the rest of the world, the odd headline is probably all you’ve seen. 
 
What are these protests really about? And what makes them different? This week, an in-depth conversation about what it’s like to be living through a potential turning point in Serbian history.
 
Thanks for listening. If you enjoy our podcasts, we'd love it if you'd consider supporting our work. You can chip in to help us cover the weekly research and production of The Europeans at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠patreon.com/europeanspodcast⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ (many currencies are available), or gift a donation to a super fan here. We'd also love it if you could tell two friends about this podcast!
 
This podcast was brought to you in cooperation with Euranet Plus, the leading radio network for EU news.
 
Co-hosts: Wojciech Oleksiak and Katy Lee
Editorial support: Morgan Childs, Dominic Kraemer and Katz Laszlo
Production, scoring and mixing: Wojciech Oleksiak 
Music by Jim Barne, Mobygratis and Epidemic Sounds
With thanks to Nikola Radić
YouTube | Bluesky | Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ | Mastodon⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ | hello@europeanspodcast.com

Hungary's plight, kids' rights, and Spargelzeit

Asparagus, lesbian family rights and Viktor Orbán’s latest power plays: like all good meals, this podcast episode is perfectly balanced. German food writer Ursula Heinzelmann joins us to explain the ‘Spargelzeit’ phenomenon that sees foodies going nutty for asparagus at this time of year. We’re also taking a look at LGBTQ rights in Italy and unpacking the Hungarian government’s plans to ‘starve and strangle’ civil society. Can Orbán be stopped?
 
You can find out more about Ursula’s work on her website and follow her on Instagram here.
 
Thanks for listening. If you have any spare cash this week, please consider donating to Hungarian civil society groups and independent media outlets before the planned passing of the ‘starve and strangle’ law in mid-June. UNITED for Intercultural Action, the NGO run by our former guest Philip Pollák, would be extremely grateful for your donations; you can also donate to any of the organisations on this list of Hungarian NGOs (get in touch if you have ideas of organisations to add to this list).
 
Still got some spare cash? If you enjoy our podcasts, we'd love it if you'd consider supporting our work. You can chip in to help us cover the weekly research and production of The Europeans at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠patreon.com/europeanspodcast⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ (many currencies are available), or gift a donation to a super fan here. We'd also love it if you could tell two friends about this podcast!
 
This podcast was brought to you in cooperation with Euranet Plus, the leading radio network for EU news.
 
This week's Inspiration Station recommendations: Rita Payés’ Tiny Desk Concert and CMAT.
 
Other resources for this episode:
 
The Convention on the Rights of the Child - United Nations, November 20, 1989
 
Sentenza 68/2025 (Italy’s constitutional court ruling on lesbian couples and IVF) - Corte Constituzionale - May 22, 2025
 
‘A Threat to the Core: Why the New Hungarian Transparency Bill is an Attack on the Foundations of the European Union’ - Verfassungsblog, May 21, 2025
 
00:46 The Europeans: Pouring asparagus straight into your ears
02:49 Good Week: Lesbian mothers in Italy
12:47 Bad Week: Hungary's 'starve and strangle' law
37:10 Interview: Ursula Heinzelmann on the magic of Spargelzeit
49:58 The Inspiration Station: Rita Payés and CMAT
54:10 Happy Ending: Portugal's clever teen media strategy
Producer: Morgan ChildsMixing and mastering: Wojciech OleksiakMusic: Jim Barne and Mariska MartinaYouTube | Bluesky | Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ | Mastodon⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ | hello@europeanspodcast.com

What the hell just happened in Romania (and at Eurovision)?

Romania, Poland, Portugal... and of course, most importantly of all (?), Eurovision. It's been a huge week of voting across Europe! This week we're mostly diving into Romania's election drama with Codruţa Simina, a journalist with an extremely helpful specialism in online misinformation and disinformation. We're also tackling the controversy over Israel's continued participation in Eurovision, as well as the Pfizergate scandal: will we ever get to read the text messages Ursula von der Leyen sent to one of the world's most powerful pharmaceutical bosses? 
 
Codruţa's excellent newsletter, Misreport, can be found here.
 
Thanks for listening. If you enjoy our podcasts, we'd love it if you'd consider supporting our work. You can chip in to help us cover the weekly research and production of The Europeans at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠patreon.com/europeanspodcast⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ (many currencies are available), or gift a donation to a super fan here. We'd also love it if you could tell two friends about this podcast!
 
This podcast was brought to you in cooperation with Euranet Plus, the leading radio network for EU news.
 
This week's Inspiration Station recommendations: The EU's personal carbon footprint calculator and 'Apeirogon' by Column McCann. You can find McCann's conversation with Bassam Aramin and Rami Elhanan, recorded in November 2023, here.
 
Other resources for this episode: 
 
'Politics by WhatsApp? Even "Pfizergate" won’t end that' - Politico Europe, May 14, 2025
 
'The maths behind the public votes at Eurovision 2025' - RTE, May 18, 2025
 
'Wasted love?: broadcasting and fandom at a crossroads after Eurovision 2025' - Catherine Baker, May 18, 2025
 
'Why doesn't the EBU kick Israel out of Eurovision?' - Overthinking It, May 8, 2025
 
'Coal produces less than half of Poland’s power for first time' - Notes from Poland, May 13, 2025
 
00:00:46  An election bonanza hangover00:06:58  Bad Week: Pfizergate00:21:50  Good Week (?): Austrian Eurovision winner JJ00:45:12  Interview: Codruţa Simina on Romania's election drama01:02:51  The Inspiration Station: The EU's personal carbon footprint calculator, and 'Apeirogon' by Colum McCann01:07:00  Happy Ending: Is Poland finally kicking its coal habit?
 
Producers: Morgan Childs and Wojciech OleksiakMixing and mastering: Wojciech OleksiakMusic: Jim Barne and Mariska MartinaYouTube | Bluesky | Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ | Mastodon⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ | hello@europeanspodcast.com
 

Europe, an unfinished love story

This week, a not-so-classic 'girl meets boy' story. Başak Layic, storyteller extraordinaire, reflects on what the European Dream looks like from the outside. 
 
This story was recorded live at SPUI25 in Amsterdam as part of 'Europe Up For Grabs?', an event organised for Europe Day 2025 by DutchCulture and the European Cultural Foundation. You can watch a livestream of the whole event here.
 
You can find out more about Başak's work on her website and follow her on Instagram here.
 
Thanks for listening. If you enjoy our podcasts, we'd love it if you'd consider supporting our work. You can chip in to help us cover the weekly research and production of The Europeans at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠patreon.com/europeanspodcast⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ (many currencies are available), or gift a donation to a super fan here. We'd also love it if you could tell two friends about this podcast!
 
This podcast was brought to you in cooperation with Euranet Plus, the leading radio network for EU news.
  Producers: Morgan Childs and Katy Lee
Mixing and mastering: Wojciech Oleksiak
Music: Jim Barne 
 
 
YouTube | Bluesky | Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ | Mastodon⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ | hello@europeanspodcast.com