The Europeans The Europeans
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Each week we trawl the continent of Europe for the most interesting stories to cover and the most fascinating people to interview. This semi-serious, semi-silly, Brexit-free show, from a reporter in Paris and an opera singer in Amsterdam, will make you seem clever to friends and make you feel like you've got two NEW friends in Katy and Dominic. You probably didn't realise you needed a European podcast in your life, but this will fill the gap that you didn't even know was there.
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The regime that ended with a song
It’s the only revolution in world history (that we know of) that began with a Eurovision song. This week, Portugal marks 50 years since the Carnation Revolution ended decades of dictatorship. We speak to Alex Fernandes, author of a new accessible history of the revolution, about the day that changed everything. We’re also talking about the UK’s missed opportunity to give an entire generation fun memories (and skills, but mostly fun memories) and Milan's ice cream uproar.
Thanks for listening! If you enjoy our podcast, we'd love it if you'd consider chipping in a few bucks a month at patreon.com/europeanspodcast (many currencies are available). You can also help new listeners find the show by leaving us a review or giving us five stars on Spotify.
FULL EPISODE TRANSCRIPT HERE: https://europeanspodcast.com/episodes/the-regime-that-ended-with-a-song
Alex’s book, ‘The Carnation Revolution: The Day Portugal’s Dictatorship Fell’ is out now. You can find him on Twitter here and read his article on the music of the revolution here.
Inspiration Station offerings: ‘E Depois Do Adeus’ by Paulo de Carvalho; Grândola, Vila Morena by José Afonso and MARO on tour. Bonus entry: the ‘Feat. NATURE’ playlist.
Other resources for this episode:
‘What is behind the UK’s labour shortage?’ - UK in a Changing Europe, February 2024
‘Percentage of businesses experiencing a shortage of workers in the United Kingdom in 2023, by industry sector’ - Statista, November 2023
‘Nature is an artist! Inside AKQA’s design for mammoth Spotify and UN project, Sounds Right’ - It’s Nice That, April 2024
Instagram | Threads | Twitter | Mastodon | Bluesky hello@europeanspodcast.com -
Why the Swiss women's climate victory is such a big deal
A group of Swiss women, all aged 64 and over, made history last week by winning the first ever climate case heard by the European Court of Human Rights. But what does their victory mean for climate policy across Europe? We ring up international courts reporter Molly Quell to find out. We're also talking about an artistic sense-of-humour failure, a Swedish app controversy, and why Polish kids are particularly big fans of the new government.
Thanks for listening! If you enjoy our podcast, we'd love it if you'd consider chipping in a few bucks a month at patreon.com/europeanspodcast (many currencies are available). You can also help new listeners find the show by leaving us a review or giving us five stars on Spotify.
FULL EPISODE TRANSCRIPT HERE: https://europeanspodcast.com/episodes/why-the-swiss-womens-climate-victory-is-such-a-big-deal
You can find Molly on Twitter here.
This week's Inspiration Station offerings: 'Two Strangers (Carry A Cake Across New York)' - tickets for London's Criterion Theatre; 'Two Strangers' cast recording; the 'Goulash' newsletter.
Producer: Katz Laszlo
Mixing and mastering: Wojciech Oleksiak
Music: Jim Barne and Mariska Martina
Instagram | Threads | Twitter | Mastodon | hello@europeanspodcast.com -
The biggest climate case that ever was
We are re-airing one of our all time favourite episodes following this week's landmark verdict on the biggest climate case that ever was: KlimaSeniorinnen vs. Switzerland. We reported on the case in depth last year, shortly after the hearing. And now, the court rules: KlimaSeniorinnen win!
We usually see young people as the face of climate activism. In this episode, we find out how 2,000 Swiss women, all over the age of 65, took their government to court in a case that could change climate laws across Europe. And along the way, we figure out once and for all how the European Court of Human Rights actually works.
This is a special episode made in cooperation with the Allianz Foundation, one of several podcasts we're making about sustainability with their support. Stay tuned to hear more.
You can find out more about the KlimaSeniorinnen here.
Thanks for listening! If you enjoy our podcast and would like to help us keep making it, we'd love it if you'd consider chipping in a few bucks a month at patreon.com/europeanspodcast (many currencies are available). You can also help new listeners find the show by leaving us a review or giving us five stars on Spotify.
FULL EPISODE TRANSCRIPT HERE: https://europeanspodcast.com/episodes/the-biggest-climate-case-that-ever-was
Reporter and producer: Katz Laszlo
Editor: Katy Lee
Editorial support: Dominic Kraemer and Wojciech Oleksiak
Sound design, mixing and mastering: Wojciech Oleksiak
Music by Jim Barne, Epidemic Sound and Blue Dot Sessions
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Nepo great-great-great-grand-babies
We all know this continent has major issues with social mobility. But having a rich ancestor from *six centuries ago* shouldn't make it more likely that you're rich today... should it? This week we speak to Guglielmo Barone, one of the economists behind some fascinating research into this question in Florence. We're also talking about Ursula von der Leyen's 'jobs for the boys' scandal and the road to a shared European cycling policy.
Thanks for listening! If you enjoy our podcast, we'd love it if you'd consider chipping in a few bucks a month at patreon.com/europeanspodcast (many currencies are available). You can also help new listeners find the show by leaving us a review or giving us five stars on Spotify.
FULL EPISODE TRANSCRIPT HERE: https://europeanspodcast.com/episodes/nepo-great-great-great-grand-babies
Guglielmo is a professor of economics at the University of Bologna. You can find his study on intergenerational mobility in Florence here, and an article he co-wrote about the research here.
This week's recommendations: 'Today in Focus - Should the UK stop arming Israel?' and 'Have You Heard George's Podcast - Francophone Pt. 1'.
Other resources for this episode:
Social mobility in Europe across generations - EU Science Hub
Intergenerational mobility in the UK - Institute for Fiscal Studies'
What is the point of inheritance tax?' - The New Statesman'
Von der Leyen accused of playing favourite over EU SMEs envoy nomination' - EURACTIVThe European Declaration on Cycling
'How safe is walking and cycling in Europe' - European Transport Safety Council Eurobarometer - Mobility and transport, 2019
The Copenhagenize Index'Paris’s Picasso Museum Will Show Work by Françoise Gilot in Permanent Collection Galleries for the First Time' - ARTnews
Producers: Katz Laszlo and Wojciech Oleksiak
Mixing and mastering: Wojciech Oleksiak
Music: Jim Barne and Mariska Martina
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Less Beyoncé, more bouzouki
This week, music and politics collide. We're talking about Greece's plan to enforce quotas for Greek-language lyrics on the radio, and the racist backlash against Aya Nakamura's rumoured booking for the Paris Olympics. Plus, a great interview with Politico's senior climate reporter Zia Weise about the EU's once-trumpeted nature restoration law. Can the EU still claim to be a world leader when it comes to going green?
FULL EPISODE TRANSCRIPT HERE: https://europeanspodcast.com/episodes/less-beyonce-more-bouzouki
You can find Zia on Twitter here and read her reporting here.
The soundtrack to this week's episode: 'Doggy' by Aya Nakamura; 'Zari' by Marina Satti; 'White Foxes' by Susanne Sundfør. Also recommended this week: 'Smoke Sauna Sisterhood' and Utrecht's fish doorbell.
Thanks for listening! If you enjoy our podcast, we'd love it if you'd consider chipping in a few bucks a month at patreon.com/europeanspodcast (many currencies are available). You can also help new listeners find the show by leaving us a review or giving us five stars on Spotify.
00:22 Velkommen til The Europeans podcast!02:23 Good Week: Aya Nakamura10:35 Bad Week: The plan for Greek-language radio quotas22:38 Interview: Zia Weise on the EU's nature restoration law35:15 The Inspiration Station: Susanne Sundfør and 'Smoke Sauna Sisterhood'38:43 Happy Ending: Utrecht's fish doorbell
Producers: Katy Lee and Wojciech OleksiakMixing and mastering: Wojciech OleksiakMusic: Jim Barne and Mariska Martina
Instagram | Threads | Twitter | Mastodon | hello@europeanspodcast.com -
Small Ex-Soviet Satellite State My Ass
This week, we're heading to a small country with a big bold foreign policy. Czechia, aka the Czech Republic, has won international praise by negotiating a desperately-needed ammunition deal for Ukraine. Why did it succeed where others have failed? And why is its government so much less scared of China than most others in Europe? We ring up Jakub Janda, Czech security expert and author of a certain viral tweet, to find out. We're also talking about a glimmer of hope for some of Italy's rainbow families, and the scandal rocking Finnish journalism.
Thanks for listening! If you enjoy our podcast, we'd love it if you'd consider chipping in a few bucks a month at patreon.com/europeanspodcast (many currencies are available). You can also help new listeners find the show by leaving us a review or giving us five stars on Spotify.
Jakub is the director of the European Values Center for Security Policy. You can find him on Twitter here.
Resources for this episode: European Tree of the Year https://www.treeoftheyear.org/
Aamulehti's apology for Matti Kuusela's dabblings in fiction https://www.aamulehti.fi/uutiset/art-2000010312503.html
Jakub's viral tweet https://twitter.com/_jakubjanda/status/1769350483695522197?s=46&t=yPKV1bu1u0kKSIiRrTkIXg
00:22 Once more with feeling03:19 Good Week: Padua's rainbow families09:35 Bad Week: When fact meets fiction in Finland19:52 Interview: Jakub Janda on 'small ex-Soviet satellite states' and Czechia's bold foreign policy36:51 Inspiration Station: A tree scandal special edition41:14 Happy Ending: Germany's extra-relaxed Easter Monday
Producers: Katy Lee and Wojciech Oleksiak
Mixing and mastering: Wojciech Oleksiak
Music: Jim Barne and Mariska Martina
Instagram | Threads | Twitter | Mastodon | hello@europeanspodcast.com
Customer Reviews
My favorite podcast...
Ahh, Europe, "the old continent", my home... The place I never wanna leave. Even though I love traveling and moving, there's no chance I'm leaving this beautiful continent, this beautiful place. One of the mosf wonderful things about Europe is the crazy amount of diversity and beauty. From the beaches of Greece, to the mountains of Sweden, from the villages of Ukraine, to the industrial cities of Britain. With hundreds of languages and stereotypes. From the onion-loving French, to the blonde Russians. But even though there are countless thing making us different, there are even more thing bringing us together. The love for Europe, equality, socialization, architecture, great food, and of course, wine being just some of them. And I love it, I love that I am lucky enough to call myself a European. Having a podcast like this which can inform me about some of the most important things and events happening throughout Europe, while still doing it in a fun and friendly way, without the boring numbers and monotonous voice is one of the most amazing things that have happened to me this past week. I discovered this podcast thanks to a TikTok video I recently watched and I have made a promise to myself to only listen to a single episode a day, starting with your 2017 episodes, just so I don't listen to the whole thing in a week. What I love the most about this podcast is the friendliness of Katie and Dominic and their humorous comments. I love the fact that you bring other Europeans to the show when the topic is their country and that you don't just talk about the biggest and most popular countries, while leaving out Europe's "forgotten" nations. I know that I'm not someone to talk about "being your fan" when there are people who have followed and listened to your podcast since 2017 but you know what? Imma say it, I love you and your podcast. I love everything you do and I'll always be a big fan. To put it simply: I'm a big fan and I really recommend this podcast to anyone who wants to learn something new about Europe, it's nations and people, while having a great time and not feeling like you are in school learning History or Politics... :)