Euroscopic Podcast Martin Gak and William Glucroft

It’s not long now until citizens of the European Union vote for their next European Parliament and, in turn, the Commission. So it’s a good time for Martin and William to figure out just where they stand on the issues. Voting can be confusing, which is why you can get some help with this handy test. Although we’ll be honest: It leaves a lot to be desired.
Don’t miss an interview with podcast returnee Simon Van Dorpe, an investigative journalist at Follow The Money. He reveals more insights into high-level power plays that can shape, make, and maybe break the EU and its democratic backbone.
And speaking of all those lofty values, EU member states are hardly on the same page when it comes to what to do with Israel and the country’s ongoing onslaught of Gaza. IHL professor Michael Becker joins us from Dublin to share his years of expertise, as more EU countries recognize Palestinian statehood while others strike awkward balances between their political support for Israel and their obligations to international law.
Listen in and stay tuned as we further develop this venture with our partner, EUobserver. We welcome your feedback, so be in touch! You can subscribe hereand get us where your ears go for podcasts:
* Apple Podcasts
* Spotify
* EUObserver
Among other things, Martin Gak writes Inconclusive Thoughts; and William Glucroft writes The ‘Schland. We’d love to see you over there, too!
As a tiny operation, we do our best to spellcheck, factcheck, and contextualize all the information presented in the podcast. But pobody’s nerfect. If you hear something that doesn’t sound right — write! We welcome your feedback.


This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit euroscopic.substack.com

Tech, climate, illiberalism. Any one of those is enough to fill a policymaker’s plate. So why not take on all three at once? It’s actually six, if you listen to Johnny Ryan. He’s on the frontlines of the biggest developments that will alter European way of life as we know it — and in many ways already have. In an extensive interview, Ryan sheds light on the malicious actors and processes that underpin and exploit how we communicate, trade, and vote.
Just before you want to hide under the covers, we also discuss what we can do about it. It turns out, many of the tools necessary are already there. They just need to get used effectively.
Elsewhere on the episode, we can’t ignore the application for arrest warrants against Israeli and Hamas leadership, announced this weekend at the International Criminal Court in The Hague. Regardless how that develops, it’s a doozy. And we are eyeing developments in Georgia, particularly how they make the EU look fairly feckless.
Listen in and stay tuned as we further develop this venture with our partner, EUobserver. We welcome your feedback, so be in touch! You can subscribe hereand get us where your ears go for podcasts:
* Apple Podcasts
* Spotify
* EUObserver
Among other things, Martin Gak writes Inconclusive Thoughts; and William Glucroft writes The ‘Schland. We’d love to see you over there, too!
As a tiny operation, we do our best to spellcheck, factcheck, and contextualize all the information presented in the podcast. But pobody’s nerfect. If you hear something that doesn’t sound right — write! We welcome your feedback.


This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit euroscopic.substack.com

If your kind of music is the sort of derivative spectacle that sounds like something you could have asked ChatGPT for (fwiw, I did that here), then the Eurovision Song Contest is for you. If your kind of values culture seems confused about what artistic expression is for, then you may want to consider a job with the European Broadcasting Union, which puts on the annual event.
At least EVSC gives us plenty to talk about. And we do with EUobserver editor and friend of the pod, Andrew Rettman, as we imagine a world where people vote with as much enthusiasm in elections as they do for woah-oh-oh. If it were up to me, I’d say these Finnish guys for president; at least they were fun. But it seems I am in the minority on that one.
While on the topic of those vaunted European values, we also look at a Eurovision finalist that is going the other way: Georgia. Despite its European Union candidacy and widespread public gaze westward, its leaders thought they might mix things up with a “foreign agents” law. That can’t end well.
Another political surprise: The socialists take Catalonia. Not gonna lie, I did not see that coming. Add to that the double-whammy verdicts against Germany’s Alternative for Germany, and it was something of a good week for progressive and lefty-ish forces across the bloc. Let’s see if they can keep up that momentum as we lumber towards European elections in early June.
For the inside track on what’s up in Brussels, we chat with Hugo Ortiz Dubon, a former ambassador to the EU from El Salvador who’s heading up diplomatic dialogue via The Brussels Times.
Finally: Just as we wrapped up recording, two big European news items broke. Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico was shot in an assassination attempt and, in the Netherlands, Geert Wilders got his right-wing coalition deal. Who will lead it remains TBD.
So, clearly lots already there for next week’s episode. As they say, stay with us!
Listen in and stay tuned as we further develop this venture with our partner, EUobserver. We welcome your feedback, so be in touch! You can subscribe hereand get us where your ears go for podcasts:
* Apple Podcasts
* Spotify
* EUObserver
Among other things, Martin Gak writes Inconclusive Thoughts; and William Glucroft writes The ‘Schland. We’d love to see you over there, too!
As a tiny operation, we do our best to spellcheck, factcheck, and contextualize all the information presented in the podcast. But pobody’s nerfect. If you hear something that doesn’t sound right — write! We welcome your feedback.


This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit euroscopic.substack.com

Germany’s national rail company, Deutsche Bahn, is not known for the most reliable infrastructure — physical or digital. So we rolled the dice running an episode from a high-speed train to Munich. Come along for the ride!
The European Union has bigger problems than delayed trains — and so does Germany. Just weeks ahead of European elections, politicians are coming under attack. We look at what’s behind these incidents — violence begets violence.
Two interviews shed further light on the state of solidarity and cohesion in the European Union. First, literally: Greece-based journalist Konstantina Maltepioti has an in-depth report about EU cohesion policy and what enlarging the bloc might do to it. Martin then speaks to André Wilkens about how a tenuous political situation looks from the world of culture.
Chinese leader Xi Jinping paid the EU a visit for the first time in years, so we have a wrap of that. Plus other stories causing a stir in, to, and from Europe.
Stay with us for some other stories happening around the EU this week, plus an interview with Constance Sommerey and Darian Meacham from the University of Maastricht. They host the university’s podcast, “Woke as Science.”
Listen in and stay tuned as we further develop this venture with our partner, EUobserver. We welcome your feedback, so be in touch! You can subscribe here and get us where your ears go for podcasts:
* Apple Podcasts
* Spotify
* EUObserver
Among other things, Martin Gak writes Inconclusive Thoughts; and William Glucroft writes The ‘Schland. We’d love to see you over there, too!
As a tiny operation, we do our best to spellcheck, factcheck, and contextualize all the information presented in the podcast. But pobody’s nerfect. If you hear something that doesn’t sound right — write! We welcome your feedback.


This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit euroscopic.substack.com

William and Martin continue their criss-crossing of the European political order. With Martin in Vienna, among other places, he got a chance to talk to Luis Moreno Ocampo, a former prosecutor at the International Criminal Court. It’s a well-timed conversation, as speculation has emerged that the ICC could be preparing warrants for top Israeli and Hamas officials.
William was over at the other international court in The Hague — the International Court of Justice, which issued its first ruling in Nicaragua’s case against Germany on allegations of violating the Genocide Convention due to support for Israel. Tl;dr: Germany is basically off the hook, though Nicaragua claims partial credit for pressuring Germany to resume UNRWA funding and easing off weapons deliveries.
Before that, William was in Maastricht for an inside-the-bubble debate between eight of the European Union’s Commission President hopefuls. Or, better said: Seven Spitzenkandidaten and Ursula von der Leyen. The American-style stage performance was an opportunity for the lead candidates of EU parties to profile themselves ahead of elections in June in which European citizens do not directly vote for them.
French President Emmanuel Macron and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán also took to stages recently, promoting their worldviews and wishlist for Europe’s future. In different ways, neither may be all that convincing, leaving Martin and William to ask: Is this it?
Stay with us for some other stories happening around the EU this week, plus an interview with Constance Sommerey and Darian Meacham from the University of Maastricht. They host the university’s podcast, “Woke as Science.”
Listen in and stay tuned as we further develop this venture with our partner, EUobserver. We welcome your feedback, so be in touch! You can subscribe here and get us where your ears go for podcasts:
* Apple Podcasts
* Spotify
* EUObserver
Among other things, Martin Gak writes Inconclusive Thoughts; and William Glucroft writes The ‘Schland. We’d love to see you over there, too!
As a tiny operation, we do our best to spellcheck, factcheck, and contextualize all the information presented in the podcast. But pobody’s nerfect. If you hear something that doesn’t sound right — write! We welcome your feedback.


This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit euroscopic.substack.com

What’s six months among friends? The United States Congress finally voted on more than $60 billion in fresh military aid for Ukraine, finding a way around campaign-year politicking that includes more than a few Russian-friendlier Republicans. That combined with the new billions from European Union should give Ukraine a boost on the battlefield. We shall see.
Given how many Republicans — a majority, in fact — still voted against the bill, Ukraine and its supporters should only be breathing a partial sigh of relief. The next round of money needs might be after November elections, and who knows what American foreign policy will look like depending on the results. That leaves the EU stuck in the unpleasant position it has found itself, trying to lead a dance it was always meant to follow.
Martin’s got some more information on the latest far-right shenanigans around the EU, including a high-level arrest on charges of spying for China. Xi Jinping, however, is no match for our fearless leader — EUobserver’s editor-in-chief Alejandro Tauber, who joins Euroscopic to talk about the site’s brand-new redesign and why it matters as an independent operation in an age of fragmented media.
Plus, Lorenzo Buzzoni tells us about his reporting that has analyzed rural voting habits across the EU. The article he co-authored appeared recently on EUobserver.
Listen in and stay tuned as we further develop this venture with our partner, EUobserver. We welcome your feedback, so be in touch! You can subscribe here and get us where your ears go for podcasts:
* Apple Podcasts
* Spotify
* EUObserver
Among other things, Martin Gak writes Inconclusive Thoughts; and William Glucroft writes The ‘Schland. We’d love to see you over there, too!
As a tiny operation, we do our best to spellcheck, factcheck, and contextualize all the information presented in the podcast. But pobody’s nerfect. If you hear something that doesn’t sound right — write! We welcome your feedback. Facts matter.ds


This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit euroscopic.substack.com