Gesamtlänge aller Episoden: 6 days 6 hours 37 minutes
In the final episode before our summer break, we dive into a cheese-based conflict between Greece and Denmark and a homophobic Hungarian law that is finally being challenged by the EU in court. Plus, we ring up Una Hajdari, roaming reporter in the Western Balkans, to try to untangle why North Macedonia has had such a rough ride on its path to EU membership...
Russia's assault on Ukraine is driving a global food crisis, and there are calls for Europe to dramatically increase its own supplies in response. But can we do that without damaging the environment? This week we speak to former EU environment commissioner Janez Potočnik about how to ensure our food security without sacrificing ambitious climate and biodiversity plans. We're also talking about the #UberFiles, Slovenia's move to legalise same-sex marriage, and an extremely old Spaniard...
Ukraine and Moldova have been granted candidate status to join the EU. It's a major moment in the messy process of knitting this continent together — but is a bigger European Union automatically a better one? This week we chat to Dr. Ilke Toygür about what this all means for Ukraine, Moldova and the EU itself. We're also talking about Venice's new entry fee for day-trippers, sexy Swedish waste disposal, and why Greece and Turkey are fighting over a made-up word...
More and more European police forces are using facial recognition technology. Under an EU proposal they'd be able to share access to the millions of images they've collected – creating what critics say amounts to one of the most extensive biometric surveillance systems in the world. This week we speak to Domen Savič, head of Slovenian digital rights NGO Državljan D (Citizen D), about the tricky balance between fighting crime and protecting our privacy...
When Remco Yizhak Cooremans moved home to the Netherlands after many years abroad, the authorities told him something shocking: his son wasn't legally his son. This week, we hear about Dutch plans to bring the law up to date with the realities of 21st-century parenting. We're also talking about Roman trash and minimum wages you can actually live on.
Remco is the chairman of Meer dan Gewenst...
In the EU's complicated efforts to present a united front on Ukraine, Viktor Orbán stands out like a sore thumb. Why is Orbán cosying up to Vladimir Putin? This week, we catch up with longtime Orbán-watcher Viktória Serdült on what game the Hungarian leader might be playing. We're also talking about the toxic row engulfing Germany's documenta fifteen festival, and a gamechanger for annoying customer service calls in Spain...
From Minsk and London, a story about the meaning of freedom. Hanna Komar, a poet, was jailed for her activism in Belarus. This week, she tells us what it’s like to move from a place where people have to fight for basic rights, to a place where people take them for granted. This is the fifth episode in our series This Is What A Generation Sounds Like: intimate stories from young Europeans across the continent. A beautiful visual version of this podcast will be available later this year...
Moldova represents a prime example of social media giants' failure to tackle disinformation in smaller and less wealthy countries — in this case, with hugely dangerous potential consequences. This week we speak to civil society activist Diana Filimon about the propaganda war that Russia has been waging in countries neighbouring Ukraine. We're also talking about Germany's €9 transport experiment, the morality of a lockdown for cats, and scallop discothèques...
Kris de Decker's balcony in Barcelona is nice and sunny. Which is just as well, because a website depends on it. This week we chat to Kris, co-founder of Low-Tech Magazine, about why he built a solar-powered website and how human history can inspire modern environmental solutions. We're also talking about foie gras, faux gras, and bringing EU and non-EU Europe together.
You can check out the solar-powered version of Low-Tech Magazine's website here...
We know, we know, not everyone loves Eurovision — but we think you'll enjoy this week's interview even if you're not as nuts about the annual celebration of euro-kitsch as we are. Dr Dean Vuletic is the world's pre-eminent Eurovision historian, and we were delighted to talk to him about how the contest came into being and why it's always been so political...