The Europeans The Europeans

We're on a summer break right now, but here's something to put in your ears while we're away. To celebrate the beautiful visual animation of 'Mohamed' winning Germany's prestigious CIVIS Prize, we're re-releasing the original audio podcast, one of our all-time favourite episodes.



'Mohamed' is a story about a young man living in limbo while trapped in a labyrinth of bureaucracy. You can watch the animated version here on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jAg-fJcU0iw&t=2s 



This was the fourth episode in our series This Is What A Generation Sounds Like: intimate stories from young Europeans across the continent.



Producers: Katz Laszlo and Mohamed Bah

Art Direction & Motion Design: Studio Mélody Da Fonseca

Motion Design & Illustration Assistants: Andréa Reille & Rafaelle Fillastre

Mixing and Mastering: Wojciech Oleksiak

Sound design: Katz Laszlo

Editor: Katy Lee

Editorial support: Dominic Kraemer and Wojciech Oleksiak



Music: I Wish I Knew How it Would Feel To Be Free, covered by Bahghi; Ancore une Staggione by Bottega Baltazar; Blurry by Curtis Cole; Kongo by Trio Particular; Coco Bread by Wearethegood; Mas Feliz Del Mundo by Ofir Atar; Fandanguillo also by Ofir Atar; No One Is Out Here by Yehezkel Raz. Theme music by Jim Barne. SFX from Freesound.org.

This series is co-produced with Are We Europe and made in cooperation with the Allianz Foundation.

Once upon a time, European powers drew up borders in Africa as part of their colonisation of the continent. These days the EU is increasingly interested in those borders again — including the idea of placing its own agents there to stop migrants heading towards Europe. This week we hear from investigative journalist Andrei Popoviciu about how EU funds are being used to police West African borders, often with a disturbing lack of scrutiny. We're also talking about Italy's #10secondi outrage, France's plan to subsidise clothing repairs, and artistic revenge in the 16th century.



FULL EPISODE TRANSCRIPT HERE: https://europeanspodcast.com/episodes/what-is-europe-up-to-on-africas-borders



This is our last episode of the summer but we'll be hard at work until our return in September, preparing episodes for the autumn. 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. 

You can read Andrei's investigation here in In These Times, and we'll post a link to the French version in Le Monde as soon as it's out. You can follow Andrei on Twitter here.  



The episode we made with Andrei last year about EU border agency Frontex can be found here. The graphics Katy mentioned on how Europeans dispose of unwanted clothes can be found here, and the Guardian's exclusive report about Dürer's sassy revenge on his boss is here. 




And if you have a few minutes to spare, we'd be really grateful if you could fill in a quick survey to help us improve the podcast. You can find it here: https://iter.ly/fcmgq 



00:22 Go away, Heatwave Charon

03:41 Bad Week: Italy's 10-second assault case

08:11 Good Week: France's discounts for clothes repairs

18:43 Interview: Andrei Popoviciu on the EU's migration policy in Africa

32:37 Isolation Inspiration: Maro's Tiny Desk Concert and Afropop

36:32 Happy Ending: Revenge on bad bosses, 16th century-style





Producers: Katy Lee and Wojciech Oleksiak

Mixing and mastering: Wojciech Oleksiak

Music: Jim Barne and Mariska Martina

Twitter | Instagram | hello@europeanspodcast.com

How much sway do giant interest groups have over the way our food gets grown? This week we're delving into the murky world of farm lobbying with Thin Lei Win, one of the reporters behind a fascinating investigation into the highly influential Copa-Cogeca group. We're also talking about the mass FOMO outbreak resulting from Threads' absence from the EU and what the hell is going on with Europe's electricity prices right now.



FULL EPISODE TRANSCRIPT HERE: https://europeanspodcast.com/episodes/threads-solar-and-giant-farming-lobbies



We're running a survey to help us improve the podcast! If you've got five minutes to spare, we'd be really grateful if you could answer a few questions here: https://iter.ly/fcmgq 



You can find Lighthouse Reports' investigation into Copa-Cogeca here, with links to their partners' coverage in six languages. You can sign up to Thin's excellent newsletter on food and the climate here. 



This week's Isolation Inspiration: Songs from Spain and microfiber make-up remover cloths.



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. 



00:22 Sunny days watching the Dutch government collapse

04:25 Bad Week: Threads FOMO in Europe

16:42 Good Week: Bountiful solar power

27:45 Interview: Thin Lei Win on the outsized influence of Europe's giant farm lobby

42:08 Isolation Inspiration: Songs from Spain and microfiber make-up cloths

45:38 Happy Ending: Underwhelming but very very old



Producers: Katy Lee and Wojciech Oleksiak

Mixing and mastering: Wojciech Oleksiak

Music: Jim Barne and Mariska Martina

Twitter | Instagram | hello@europeanspodcast.com

How can cartoon dogs help fight Russian disinformation? This week, hybrid warfare expert Robert van der Noordaa gives us a crash course on the #NAFOfellas movement and why Ukraine has been so good at using internet humour since last year's invasion. We're also talking about France's riots and the Dutch king's apology for the Netherlands' role in slavery.



FULL EPISODE TRANSCRIPT HERE: https://europeanspodcast.com/episodes/fighting-putin-one-meme-at-a-time



Robert is an analyst at Trollrensics and tweets here. You can watch the heartwarming video of Jolien Boumkwo running the 100m hurdles here.



This week's Isolation Inspiration: R.M.N., rugelach and sfogliatelle.


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. 



00:22 A big announcement!

04:07 Bad Week: France's riots

17:32 Good Week: The Dutch king's slavery apology

27:13 Interview: Robert van der Noordaa on Ukraine's meme-armed internet warriors

37:41 Isolation Inspiration: RMN, rugelach and sfogliatelle

41:40 Happy Ending: Jolien Boumkwo, champion of our hearts





Producers: Katy Lee and Wojciech Oleksiak

Mixing and mastering: Wojciech Oleksiak

Music: Jim Barne and Mariska Martina

Twitter | Instagram | hello@europeanspodcast.com

Being able to move freely around 27 countries is one of the biggest benefits of living in the EU. In reality, this is pretty hard if you’ve got a disability. This week we speak to Alejandro Moledo, deputy director of the European Disability Forum, about plans to start addressing that. We’re also diving into Greece’s elections and, with the help of producer Katz Laszlo, the decision to halt Iceland’s summer whale-hunting season.



FULL EPISODE TRANSCRIPT HERE: https://europeanspodcast.com/episodes/greeces-elections-whales-and-disability-rights



You can follow Alejandro on Twitter here and find the EDF's podcast mini-series here. The reports Alejandro mentioned can be found here.



This week's Isolation Inspiration: 'The Employees' by Olga Ravn and 'Fanfic' on Netflix. Bonus: best-selling whale song album 'Songs of the Humpback Whale'.


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. 


00:22 Busy busy busy, hot hot hot

02:52 Good Week: Iceland's whales

12:19 Bad Week: Greek leftwingers

22:42 Interview: Alejandro Moledo on the EU's (lack of a) disability policy

34:03 Isolation Inspiration: 'The Employees' and 'Fanfic'

37:57 Happy Ending: A bunch of things to celebrate this Pride Month



Producers: Katy Lee and Wojciech Oleksiak

Mixing and mastering: Wojciech Oleksiak

Music: Jim Barne and Mariska Martina

Twitter | Instagram | hello@europeanspodcast.com

It's easy to feel doomed when it comes to climate change. In her latest book, the Italian political scientist Nathalie Tocci makes the case for cautious optimism about Europe's climate and energy policies. We chat to her this week about the opportunities and challenges of the European Green Deal, as well as how to interpret the death last week of Silvio Berlusconi. We're also talking about a push to ban unpaid internships across the EU, and whether or not we should be blaming Beyoncé for stubbornly high inflation in Sweden.



FULL EPISODE TRANSCRIPT HERE: https://europeanspodcast.com/episodes/beyonc-inflation-and-the-case-for-climate-optimism

Nathalie is the director of the Istituto Affari Internazionali in Rome. You can follow her on Twitter here and find more information about her latest book, 'A Green and Global Europe', here.



We are over the moon that the animated version of our episode 'Mohamed', made with our friends at Are We Europe, has won a CIVIS prize! You can watch the beautiful animation here on YouTube.



This week's Isolation Inspiration: ⁠roasted fennel⁠ and 'The Council of Egypt' by Leonardo Sciascia. 



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. 



00:22 Amsterdam heat and breakfast tears03:44 Good Week: Interns10:49 Bad Week: Beyoncé21:31 Interview: Nathalie Tocci on the case for climate optimism in Europe36:32 Isolation Inspiration: Roasted fennel and The Council of Egypt40:02 Happy Ending: (Everyone's) Free-To-Wear Sunscreen



Producers: Katy Lee and Wojciech Oleksiak

Mixing and mastering: Wojciech Oleksiak

Music: Jim Barne and Mariska Martina

Twitter | Instagram | hello@europeanspodcast.com