EU Scream

A new generation of far-right Europeans is deploying slick techniques to avoid being called neo-Nazis. David Ibsen, the executive director of the Counter Extremism Project, says far-right groups in France are among those to have borrowed heavily from a playbook developed in the United States. First, James and Tom discuss Marine le Pen’s refusal to undergo a psychiatric test. If the leader of the French far-right is a little crazy, what kind of crazy is she?

"L.T.H...

James and Tom talk about fighting incivility with incivility after an EU minister slaps down Italy’s Matteo Salvini for migrant-bashing. Respect. Far-right activist Lauren Southern tells her half-million followers she helped save Europe from refugees. James unpacks Southern’s claims — and her antics on the Mediterranean — with Karen Mets of Save the Children...

James talks to a psychologist in Germany confronting one of the most startling strategies used by the far-right: homonationalism. The concept of homonationalism was developed by Jasbir Puar, a professor at Rutgers. It's often used to describe how far-right parties like the Alternative for Germany ally with LGBT community to vilify Muslim immigrants. That's a particular concern for Aileen Kakavand, who counsels LGBT migrants and refugees with Muslim backgrounds...

James is in Amsterdam to pick the brains of Dutchman Frits Bolkestein, a giant of conservative liberalism. Bolkestein reflects on whether his effort to discredit multiculturalism helped lay the ground for populist firebrands like Viktor Orban and Geert Wilders. Bolkestein says he was merely responding to the concerns of citizens "in the pub and in the church." Bolkestein also says it’s time for Mark Rutte, the Dutch prime minister, to take a top European job...