The Sobremesa Podcast

The Sobremesa Podcast
The Sobremesa Podcast

The Sobremesa Podcast is about modern-day Spanish society, politics and history, without the stereotypes. Please donate at to make the podcast sustainable: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/thesobremey

  1. Spanish Politics: The Year in Review 2024

    3 DAYS AGO

    Spanish Politics: The Year in Review 2024

    It has been a year of near constant parliamentary deadlock for Spain's left-leaning government but also one of strong economic growth in comparison to other eurozone economies. Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez's Socialist Party won the Catalan elections in May and were once again the largest social democratic force in Europe after June's European parliament elections. Yet Sanchez and PSOE have also be subject to a long string of judicial investigations - most of which seem politically motivated. Yet beyond the headlines of these cases, and with the government’s legislative agenda largely blocked, the country’s acute housing crisis and the difficult clean up operation after the floods in Valencia are both ongoing in the background. To discuss the year’s political event Alan and Eoghan are joined by Laura Seoane and Joe Haslam, a professor at IE University. I hope you enjoy our discussion. Please consider supporting the podcast during our end of year fundraising drive at: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/thesobremey

    1h 16m
  2. Michael Eaude on Spain's Reckoning with Its Past

    DEC 9

    Michael Eaude on Spain's Reckoning with Its Past

    This week Eoghan talks to the author and journalist Michael Eaude. Michael is the author nine books, including ‘Catalonia, a Cultural History’, ‘Triumph at Midnight of the Century - A Critical Biography of Arturo Barea’ and ‘Sails and Winds - A Cultural History of Valencia’. And during the last 25 years he has also worked as a self-described "necrologist",  writing some 70 obituaries for The Guardian on leading cultural and political figures from Spain’s 20th century. He as now just published his first novel - ‘The Bones in the Forest’ - available from Clapton Press. As with his celebrated non-fiction work, the novel deals with Spain’s reckoning with its recent past and the country’s cultural and historic fault lines as the action jumps back and forth between the revolutionary 1930s and then the early 2000s.  If you like what we are producing, please consider making a donation at our Buy Me a Coffee page here - ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.buymeacoffee.com/thesobremey⁠

    1h 5m
  3. Barcelona's Hidden Civil War Monuments

    NOV 27

    Barcelona's Hidden Civil War Monuments

    This week writer and tour guide Nick Lloyd brings Catherine on a a more atypical historical route of Barcelona to uncover the lesser known layers to the city’s history. They start at Estació de França, a historic train station not far from the city’s port where the International Brigades arrived to Spain. They then walk down to Ciutadella Park, where Barcelona’s zoo is located to discuss the haunting effects the war had on the animals and the origins of the park. They finish at Pompeu Fabra University, a building that still bears the scars of fascist bombings and which was known during the Civil War as the Karl Marx Barracks. As always, if you like what we are producing, please consider making a donation to our buy me a coffee page or leave a review where you listen to your podcasts. https://buymeacoffee.com/thesobremey

    36 min
  4. Stories Left in Stone: Tales from Cáceres Extremadura

    NOV 18

    Stories Left in Stone: Tales from Cáceres Extremadura

    Writer and musician, Troy Nahumko, joins Alan to discuss his new book Stories Left in Stone, Trails and Traces in Cáceres, Spain. They discuss the old town of Cáceres, a UNESCO world heritage site, Game of Thrones, the world's oldest handprint, cave art and regional politics. You can buy Troy's book here If you like what we are producing, please consider making a donation at our Buy Me a Coffee page here - ⁠⁠⁠https://www.buymeacoffee.com/thesobremey Troy Nahumko (1973, Edmonton, Canada) left Canada at an early age. First as a traveling musician around the United States and Europe, then as a writer and teacher in countries as diverse as Yemen, Azerbaijan, Libya and Laos. He has published travel pieces in newspapers and magazines around the world and was awarded the Mercedes Calles y Carlos Ballestero prize for an article that was published both in Toronto and London. His most recent work includes his bi-weekly opinion column in the HOY, the Mid-Spain section of the recent Lonely Planet guide and he has just published his first book, Stories Left in Stone, Trails and Traces in Cáceres, Spain.

    59 min
  5. Anger and Rage in Valencia after the Floods

    NOV 11

    Anger and Rage in Valencia after the Floods

    130,000 people protested in Valencia last Saturday demanding regional premier Carlos Mazón resign from his post for his disastrous management of the floods which devastated the area two weeks ago. The death toll stands at 223 people while hundreds of thousands of others have had their homes and places of work gutted. Eoghan spoke to journalist Leah Pattem about the protests and the ongoing recovery and clean up operations in Valencia. Leah is the founder of https://madridnofrills.com/

    40 min
  6. Mass Deaths in Valencia after Flooding and Political Failure

    NOV 2

    Mass Deaths in Valencia after Flooding and Political Failure

    Last Tuesday evening as thousands of people were commuting home from work and many others continued at their jobs in supermarkets, cinemas, factories, beauty shops and restaurants, unprecedented flash floods hit the Valencia region. That morning at 8am the Spanish Met office issued its highest warning level of maximum red, warning of extreme danger. But the right-wing regional government of Carlos Mazon failed to issue a civil protection alert to residents’ mobile phones until 8.15 pm that evening (a full 12 hours later)- by which time the worst of the flooding had already hit. Serious questions are being raised about Mazon’s disastrous emergency management as rescue operations continue amid mass destruction and death. The death toll currently stands at 207 but is likely to rise substantially in the coming days while it remains far from clear when any degree of normal life can return to the region. Today on Sobremesa podcast we talk about the tragic events this week along Spain’s Eastern coast and the political failures and fallout from the floods.

    45 min
  7. Spanish Crowds - Carnaval, Fiestas and Protests

    OCT 25

    Spanish Crowds - Carnaval, Fiestas and Protests

    This week Eoghan talks to author and journalist Dan Hancox about his new book 'Multitudes: How Crowds Made The Modern World’. It is a fascinating exploration of the collective joy and emancipatory  potential of different forms of mass gatherings while also tracing the obsession of elites and the forces of law and order in policing, delegitimizing and suppressing crowds. Throughout Multitudes Dan returns to examples of the exuberance and potency of Spanish crowds - from Cadiz Carnaval to the 2012 general strike in Madrid. If you like what we are producing, please consider making a donation at our Buy Me a Coffee page here - ⁠⁠⁠https://www.buymeacoffee.com/thesobremey

    1h 4m
  8. Inside Opus Dei - From Francoism to Trump

    OCT 17

    Inside Opus Dei - From Francoism to Trump

    This week Eoghan talks to financial journalist Gareth Gore. In his new book Opus: The Cult of Dark Money, Human Trafficking, and Right-Wing Conspiracy inside the Catholic Church Gore opens the lid on the extremist, reactionary sect Opus Dei. Opus was initially set up against the tumultuous backdrop of 1930s Spain and went to play a leading role in the Francoist dictatorship - both in education and then in 1957 with the appointment of three of its members to cabinet. Gore traces how Opus went from Francoist Spain to playing a vanguard role in reactionary movements globally in recent decades - with its network of influence and patronage in Washington reaching its peak during Trump's 2016 presidency.  If you like what we are producing, please consider making a donation at our Buy Me a Coffee page here - ⁠⁠⁠https://www.buymeacoffee.com/thesobremey

    1h 8m
See All (113)

4.7
out of 5
11 Ratings

About

The Sobremesa Podcast is about modern-day Spanish society, politics and history, without the stereotypes. Please donate at to make the podcast sustainable: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/thesobremey

Information

  • Creator
    The Sobremesa Podcast
  • Years Active
    2020 - 2024
  • Episodes
    113
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © The Sobremesa Podcast
  • Show Website
    The Sobremesa Podcast

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