The Europeans | European news, politics and culture

Europe is in chaos, but we’re here to talk about it all, as long as the wifi holds out! This week, we’re chatting about Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez’s call for a snap election in light of his country’s recent housing demonstrations and a host of other controversies roiling Madrid. Please note: this podcast was recorded before news broke on Wednesday night of the death of Maricarmen Abascal, the 87-year-old whose eviction sparked Spain’s massive housing protests.

We’re also discussing Russia’s decision to cancel Kanye West’s sold-out concerts in St Petersburg – and various scripts you can borrow if a racist antisemite wants to play a concert in YOUR country. And ahead of Friday’s announcement of this year’s Nobel Peace Prize winner, we’re joined by Haakon Gjerløw, acting director of the Peace Research Institute Oslo, to try to make sense of this controversial prize and who deserves to win it in 2026. Honestly, now feels like a really great time to give peace a chance.

Speaking of reasons to get the wifi sorted… we’re looking forward to our next online listener hangout! If you want to shoot the breeze/commiserate about the state of things with Katy and Wojciech, you’re most very welcome to join us at 6pm CET on Sunday, 18 October. We’ll post a link to join the call on all our social channels an hour before we kick off.

This week’s Inspiration Station recommendations are Carys Davies’ book Clear and Dix pour cent, le film (Call My Agent! The Movie).

Resources for this episode:
“Conflict trends: A global overview, 1946–2025” – the Peace Research Institute Oslo
Haakon’s 2026 Nobel Peace Prize list
“Donald Trump? Please no. Here’s who actually deserves this year’s Nobel peace prize” – The Guardian, 28 September 2026
“‘Like caring for a pet’: the app that lets you know if your neighbourhood tree is thirsty” – The Guardian, 2 October 2026

DID YOU KNOW… we have a newsletter with all the goofiness and good intentions of this podcast? It’s called GOOD WEEK BAD WEEK, it’s free, and thousands of people are lapping it up every Friday morning over on Substack. Come and join them!

Co-hosts: Dominic Kraemer and Katy Lee
Reporter: Inês Ruivo
Producer: Morgan Childs
Senior producer: Katy Lee
Mixing and mastering: Wojciech Oleksiak
Music: Jim Barne and Mariska Martina
Intern: Inês Ruivo

The Europeans is proudly produced using Europe’s own Hindenburg.

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When it comes to the future of AI, we – like seemingly everyone else – have way more questions than answers. Could European legislation do anything to protect us from job losses and “rogue” models? Can the chatbots created on this continent compete with those being developed by the US and China? What would it mean to win (or lose) the “AI race”? And most importantly: how doomed are we?

We put those questions and more to Aleksandra Przegalińska, a Polish AI researcher and philosopher and a fellow at the Center for Labor and a Just Economy at Harvard Law School. Aleksandra is one of the most engaging and entertaining voices we know on this topic, and we walked away from this conversation feeling… dare we say… hopeful? We hope you’ll feel the same.

For most of a decade, small donations from listeners like you have made it possible for us to continue making this fully independent weekly podcast. You can help us ring in our 10-year anniversary next year – and support another decade of non-boring news – by joining us over on Patreon or by donating via our website.

Did you know we have a weekly newsletter, Good Week Bad Week? It often draws on the super fun themes (tech sovereignty, humanity’s demise, etc etc) you heard about in today’s podcast. Sign up here!

Resources for this episode:
Aleksandra on Instagram
“AI Optimism Globally Widespread Despite Uneven Use” – Gallup, 22 September 2026
Aleksandra on Microsoft–Gallup’s AI adoption survey
“Arthur Mensch, CEO of French start-up Mistral AI: 'AI is software. It can be controlled'” – Le Monde, 24 September 2026
“Data Centre Silence” – Lighthouse Reports, 30 September 2026

Co-hosts: Katy Lee and Dominic Kraemer
Senior producer: Katy Lee
Producers: Morgan Childs and Wojciech Oleksiak
Mixing and mastering: Wojciech Oleksiak
Music: Jim Barne and Mariska Martina
Intern: Inês Ruivo

The Europeans is proudly produced using Europe’s own Hindenburg.

Substack | Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ | Mastodon⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ | YouTube | Bluesky | hello@europeanspodcast.com

When it comes to envisioning the future, what’s your type? The Positive? The Negative? The Uncertain? The Disconnected? No, these aren’t characters in a pop group or a teen movie – they’re the four ways of imagining a European future. So says Paweł Zerka of the European Council on Foreign Relations, a three-peat guest and true Friend of the Podcast. Paweł is back once more to walk us through this year’s European Sentiment Compass, “Future Nostalgia: Europe’s Unfinished Song”. Come for the Dua Lipa reference, stay because you’re a polling nerd like the rest of us. We’re also talking about British lawmakers’ quest to figure out why the UK does quite so badly at Eurovision and what the seizure of Nestlé and Auchan’s Russian assets says about the Kremlin’s finances.

You can read this year’s European Sentiment Compass – which is, like us, supported by the European Cultural Foundation – and have fun categorising yourself here.

FREE ON MONDAY NIGHT? Join Katy and Paweł for discussion and documentary-watching in Brussels on 28 September, or Dominic and Wojciech for a little post-truth democracy in The Hague. We have two tickets to give away to the event with Katy and Paweł, courtesy of our friends at Newframes. They’ll go to the first person who emails hello@europeanspodcast.com with TICKETS in the subject line, so get in there quick!

There’s plenty more to our excellent conversation with Paweł. Supporters of the show who are signed up to our private feed can hear the second half of our chat, including the revelation that Poland, of all places, is a surprisingly optimistic corner of Europe. Sign up over here.

Supporters also get lots of cool perks and the warm glow of supporting independent European journalism. So if you haven’t already, get in for the glow!

This week’s Inspiration Station recommendations are Wojciech’s upcoming performance in The Hague(!) and Sorcha Richardson’s new album, “Draw the Outline”.

Resources for this episode:

Leave-Russia.org
"The Russian assets of Nestlé, Auchan and the former Leroy Merlin have been transferred to the management of a company led by an interior ministry general" – Novaya Gazeta, 17 September 2026
“Moose on the loose at Warsaw’s main station brings trains to a standstill” – Notes from Poland, 14 September 2026

Co-hosts: Katy Lee and Dominic Kraemer
Senior producer: Katy Lee
Producers: Morgan Childs and Wojciech Oleksiak
Mixing and mastering: Wojciech Oleksiak
Music: Jim Barne and Mariska Martina
Intern: Inês Ruivo

The Europeans is proudly produced using Europe’s own Hindenburg.

Substack | Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ | Mastodon⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ | YouTube | Bluesky | hello@europeanspodcast.com

This week, we’re attempting to solve some tricky problems. How can the EU tackle the ballooning housing crisis? Can we revive a cinema industry on death’s door? And how on earth can we get bureaucrats to communicate like human people in order to really, truly get something done? We’re unpacking plans for a new Affordable Housing Act and Macron’s attempt to save le cinéma, and we’re also getting an exclusive from the EU’s Directorate General of Memes, Satire, and Sober Fun, a.k.a. Fabio Mauri, the meme-maker who loves nothing more than to poke fun at Europe’s policymakers on Twitter and Instagram. You’ll laugh, you’ll cry, et cetera.

GET IN ON THE ACTION. Don’t just listen – get in on the fun! Did you know that just a small monthly donation to The Europeans helps us keep the good time rolling? AND… Did you know that that small monthly donation comes with cool perks? So much fun! Check us out at ⁠⁠⁠patreon.com/europeanspodcast and see what’s cookin’. You can also make a donation via our website.

This week’s Inspiration Station recommendations are the participatory art performance Make Noise taking place in Amsterdam this weekend (with thanks to the Belarusian poet Hanna Komar for calling it to our attention) and the European Citizens’ Initiative Right to Housing! Now and Forever.

Resources for this episode:
“Macron rallies to save the movies, imperiled by free platforms and generative AI” – Le Monde, 9 September 2026
“French Box Office Surges Nearly 20% in First Half of 2026 as Local Films and Hollywood Hits Drive Recovery” – Variety, 10 July 2026
“Malgré une année en demi-teinte avec près de 157 millions d’entrées dans ses salles de cinéma, la France demeure largement le premier marché européen” – Centre national du cinéma et de l'image animée, 30 December 2025
“The European Affordable Housing Plan” – The European Commission
“Affordable Housing Act: European hosts need legal certainty too” – Airbnb, 9 September 2026
Katz Laszlo’s reporting on Europe’s housing policies from our mini-series “Who Does It Best?”
“Swimming pigs draw tourists to Greek island” – France 24, 11 September 2026
Adorable swimming piglets via @trident_boats

Co-hosts: Katy Lee and Dominic Kraemer
Producers: Katy Lee and Morgan Childs
Mixing and mastering: Wojciech Oleksiak
Music: Jim Barne and Mariska Martina
Intern: Inês Ruivo

The Europeans is proudly produced using Europe’s own Hindenburg.

Substack | Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ | Mastodon⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ | Bluesky | YouTube | hello@europeanspodcast.com

Last week, tech giant Meta reached a settlement in a lawsuit with nearly every state in the US over claims that it had knowingly harmed children with its addictive apps. It was a major turn of events in the growing movement to protect kids online – but what does it mean for those of us on this side of the Atlantic? This week, we’re bringing you a fascinating chat with Leanda Barrington-Leach, the executive director at 5Rights, an international NGO that seeks to protect children’s rights and wellbeing on the internet. We’re also unpicking the CIA chief’s visit to Moscow and the surprisingly effective tariff placed on small parcels from China.

This week’s Inspiration Station recommendations are the proposed euro banknote designs and the Polish HBO series Proud.

You can hear more of our conversation with Leanda over on Patreon.

Resources for this episode:
“China tightens grip on Europe’s car supply chain” – Financial Times, 11 August 2026
“Chinese imports plunge 30% to 40% after EU tax on small parcels” – Euronews, 27 August 2026
“CIA chief used Moscow visit to warn Russia against attacks on NATO allies, helping Iran” – Politico, 26 August 2026

GIVE A LITTLE, GET A LITTLE (OR A LOT). Did you know that just a small monthly donation to The Europeans makes a big difference to our team? Better yet: did you know that that small monthly donation comes with lots of nice perks? Visit us over at ⁠⁠⁠patreon.com/europeanspodcast and see what your pocket money can do for us – and for you. You can also make a donation via our website.

STILL WANT MORE? Subscribe to our newsletter, Good Week Bad Week, and get more European news, culture, and general goofiness in your inbox each Friday. It’s free!

Co-hosts: Dominic Kraemer and Wojciech Oleksiak
Senior producer: Wojciech Oleksiak
Producers: Morgan Childs and Wojciech Oleksiak
Audio editing: Monika Proba
Mixing and mastering: Wojciech Oleksiak
Music: Jim Barne and Mariska Martina
The Europeans is proudly produced using Europe’s own Hindenburg.
YouTube | Bluesky | Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ | Mastodon⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ | Substack | hello@europeanspodcast.com