It hasn’t been a Good Week for the climate since, er, 1820-something? And it wasn’t last week, either. But it is a good week for The Europeans, because we’re joined by Luisa Neubauer, one of Germany’s best-known climate activists. Luisa recently wrote a terrific piece for The Economist about Europe’s climate “vibe shift”. We got her insights on what has caused the greenlash and what we ought to be doing about it. It’s a thoughtful, self-reflective, heartening conversation we think you’ll enjoy.
We’re also talking about Brussels’ proposed “military Schengen” agreement, which would allow EU member states to move troops and equipment across borders relatively swiftly. (You don’t want to know how sluggish things are now.) And we’re taking a look at Slovenia’s troubling new “Šutar Law”, a security bill that is widely understood to target the Roma minority.
In other news… The Europeans are launching a newsletter! If you want to hear more about what happened in Europe over the past week and find out what we left on the podcast-cutting-room floor, subscribe to GOOD WEEK BAD WEEK over on Substack. New issues hit inboxes on Friday mornings.
And someone else has a new newsletter, too. Our very own Katy Lee has just published the first issue of Millefeuille, an English-language newsletter “for Parisians who are bad at local news”. If you fall in the middle of the Europeans podcast–Francophile Venn diagram, subscribe here.
This week’s Inspiration Station recommendations are two newly resurfaced works by Johann Sebastian Bach (here and here) and Carlo Rovelli’s book about the physics of time, The Order of Time. And if you, too, are in the market for a novella to help you knock out your 2025 reading goals, Dominic likes Claire Keegan’s Small Things Like These.
Other resources for this episode:
“The surreal 45-day trek at the heart of Nato’s defence” - Financial Times, 17 November, 2025
“Commission moves towards ‘Military Schengen' and transformation of defence industry” - European Commission press release, 19 November, 2025
“Why you probably should not re-gauge railways in Europe” - Jon Worth, 30 September, 2025
“Slovenia’s ‘Šutar Law’ Sets a Dangerous Precedent for Europe” - Roma Foundation for Europe, 18 November, 2025
“Romani Activists Fear Collective Punishment & Discrimination as Slovenia Passes New Security Bill" - European Roma Rights Centre, 7 November, 2025
This podcast was brought to you in cooperation with Euranet Plus, the leading radio network for EU news. But it’s contributions from listeners that truly make it all possible—we could not continue to make the show without you! If you like what we do, you can chip in to help us cover our production costs at patreon.com/europeanspodcast (in many different currencies), or you can gift a donation to a superfan. We'd also love it if you could tell two friends about this podcast. We think two feels like a reasonable number.
Produced by Morgan Childs
Editorial support from Katz Laszlo
Mixing and mastering by Wojciech Oleksiak
Music by Jim Barne and Mariska Martina
YouTube | Bluesky | Instagram | Mastodon | Substack | [email protected]
--------
1:01:23
--------
1:01:23
How Ireland proved a basic income for artists actually works
We don’t often get to cover joyful policy news on this podcast, so this week we’re delighted to be discussing that rare thing: a European country that’s investing serious money in culture. For three years, Ireland has been experimenting with paying artists, musicians and other creative workers a basic income. And guess what? The scheme has worked so well that they’re keeping it going. But is the policy all it’s cracked up to be? This week we speak to John Baker, a co-founder of the Equality Studies Centre at University College Dublin and one of the coordinators of Basic Income Ireland, about the logic and limits of Ireland’s Basic Income for the Arts.
In sillier policy news, we’re looking at why Slovakia has been regulating the speed of kids cycling on the pavement. And we’re diving into Ukraine’s massive corruption scandal: what exactly happened, and just how bad is it for Volodymyr Zelenskyy?
You can read interviews with the artists who’ve been receiving Ireland’s Basic Income for the Arts here.
This podcast was brought to you in cooperation with Euranet Plus, the leading radio network for EU news. But it’s contributions from listeners that truly make it all possible—we could not continue to make the show without you! If you like what we do, you can chip in to help us cover our production costs at patreon.com/europeanspodcast (in many different currencies), or you can gift a donation to a superfan. We'd also love it if you could tell two friends about this podcast. We think two feels like a reasonable number.
This week’s Inspiration Station recommendations: ‘Dopamine’ by Robyn, ‘Choke Enough’ by Oklou, ‘West End Girl’ by Lily Allen and ‘La symphonie des éclairs’ by Zaho de Sagazan.
Other resources for this episode
‘The EU Parliament now has a right-wing majority’ - Gulf Stream Blues (Dave Keating’s newsletter), November 14, 2025
‘Rage, panic, and a glimmer of hope in Ukraine as corruption scandal unfolds’ - The Kyiv Independent, November 15, 2025
‘No, there is no ‘speed limit’ for pedestrians in Slovakia’ - Euractiv, October 30, 2025
‘Bratislava built under 4 km of cycle paths last year, leaving cyclists disappointed’ - The Slovak Spectator, April 1, 2025
Produced by Morgan Childs
Mixing and mastering by Wojciech Oleksiak
Music by Jim Barne and Mariska Martina
YouTube | Bluesky | Instagram | Mastodon | [email protected]
--------
48:54
--------
48:54
Help! My manager is an algorithm!
KATY IS BACK! And we are proud to report that her new baby no longer looks like far-right French politician Éric Zemmour. Relief all around!
It’s been a hectic time in Europe, but we’re happy to be covering it all—or, you know, a sizable sliver of it—starting with Latvia’s potential withdrawal from the Istanbul Convention and the European Parliament’s call for new regulation of algorithmic tech in the workplace. Algorithmic management has made its way into all sorts of industries; we dig into whether or not that’s a good thing and how new legislation might help to protect us all.
Then it’s off to Paris, where tens of thousands of shoppers have already flooded the aisles of the new brick-and-mortar Shein store and thousands of others have been protesting its very existence. That’s not only because of Shein’s environmentally toxic business model but because of the recent appearance of some despicable products on its website—which has led the French government to threaten to ban the fast-fashion giant. To break it all down, we rang up Paris-based fashion journalist Dana Thomas, author of the book Fashionopolis and host of the podcast The Green Dream.
Mentioned in this episode:
‘“Cynical and completely reckless” Latvia has the highest femicide rate in Europe — including Russia. Its parliament just voted to exit a treaty protecting women from violence.’ - Meduza, November 4, 2025
EU study: 37% of employees are monitored for working hours
1 in 4 workplaces make decisions with algorithms
Case studies in algorithmic management
Dana’s book Fashionopolis
Dana’s newsletter, The Style Files
This week's Inspiration Station recommendations are the Rosalía album Lux and the podcast series Where Is Jón?, a co-production of RTÉ in Ireland and RÚV in Iceland.
We don't often have sponsors on this podcast but this week, we do: Patagonia. Three years ago, Patagonia named Earth as its only shareholder. But moving more profits to environmental causes hasn’t made them a perfect company—let alone a sustainable one. Out now is Patagonia's 2025 Work-in-Progress report: the raw truth about where they’re messing up, but also, the latest ways they’re rethinking business as usual. You can check out the report here.
This podcast was brought to you in cooperation with Euranet Plus, the leading radio network for EU news. But it’s contributions from listeners that truly make it all possible—we could not continue to make the show without you! If you like what we do, you can chip in to help us cover our production costs at patreon.com/europeanspodcast (in many different currencies), or you can gift a donation to a superfan. We'd also love it if you could tell two friends about this podcast. We think two feels like a reasonable number.
01:21 Katy's back!
05:33 Bad Week: Latvian politicians
19:08 Good Week: All European workers! (Maybe)
30:48 Interview: Dana Thomas on France's threat to ban SHEIN
46:00 The Inspiration Station: 'Lux' by Rosalía and 'Where is Jón'?
50:46 Happy Ending: Europe's first major elephant sanctuary
Produced by Morgan Childs
Editorial support from Katz Laszlo
Mixing and mastering by Wojciech Oleksiak
Music by Jim Barne and Mariska Martina
YouTube | Bluesky | Instagram | Mastodon | [email protected]
--------
53:42
--------
53:42
Drugs policy: Who Does It Best?
Should weed be legalised? What about heroin? Set aside any previously held opinions and prepare a far-out trip! In the final episode of 'Who Does It Best?' producer Wojciech is taking us across the landscape of Europe’s drug policies. From 90s Portugal to the coffee shops of Amsterdam to a little pit stop in Uruguay(!), we’re taking a deep dive into which policies are the sanest and safest on offer.
MASSIVE THANKS: We want to give a HUGE shoutout to everyone who made this series possible. Our generous crowdfunders hit our goal within two months, making it possible for us to do extensive reporting fully independently. Our hearts are beyond full. Thank you.
BOOST THE SHOW: If you liked the series and want to help us spread the good word, we’ve prepared some social media posts that you can download and share. Here they are! We’d be eternally grateful if you influenced your followers with our snappy graphics ✨
DON’T QUIT WHILE YOU’RE AHEAD: If you’re feeling inspired to support The Europeans’ ongoing work, please go to patreon.com/europeanspodcast. You can drop us a few euros or dollars or francs or crowns or whatever the heck ya got.
Additional resources for this episode:
Research on Portugal’s decriminalization success story
Amsterdam’s drop-in center AMOC Zuid
Written, reported and produced by: Wojciech Oleksiak
Editor: Jasmin Baoumy
Editorial support: Dominic Kraemer, Katz Laszlo, Katy Lee, Morgan Childs
Sound design: Jesse Lou Lawson
Mixing and mastering: Wojciech Oleksiak
Music and SFX: Jim Barne, Epidemic, FreeSound.org
Artwork: RTiiiKA
Thanks to everyone who sat down with Wojciech to share their expertise, including Tom Decorte, Katrin Schiffer, Annika Apfel, Malu Salazar, Cedric Chervet, Adam Nowotarski, Peter Sarosi, Ferry, the De Barones crew, Reinoud van Delft, Gośka, Yahya, Leonie, AMOC clients Bouhz and Damian, Breda’s coffeeshop owners. Special thanks go to Leonie, Tom, Łukasz and Michał.
Stay safe out there!
YouTube | Bluesky | Instagram | Mastodon | [email protected]
00:00:43 Intro: Rockstar life and drugs
00:09:55 Act I: Soft drugs, tolerance and the myth of legal weed
00:23:15 Act II: You gotta regulate that thing!
00:30:43 Act III: Total decriminalization
00:49:05 Act IV: Legalise everything, regulate everything
--------
1:00:47
--------
1:00:47
Report from Novi Sad: Can students bring down a regime?
We’re taking a momentary break from “Who Does It Best?” to take a trip to Serbia with producer Wojciech Oleksiak. Wojciech was on the ground in Novi Sad last weekend to report from the massive demonstration marking the one-year anniversary of the tragic accident at the city’s railway station.
And if you’re not following this story, you should be. Much of what’s happening in Serbia is a heartening example of how peaceful demonstrations can really move the needle, even in places where the political situation looks bleak. And Serbia’s leadership has been following a playbook that is increasingly common across Europe and the rest of the world. Even if you don’t live under an illiberal democracy…you might want to get familiar with how they take shape.
If you’re interested to hear more on this evolving story, check out our episode from earlier this year called “Is real change coming to Serbia?”
We’ll be back with the final episode of “Who Does It Best?” on Friday. (Wojciech has had a busy week.)
This podcast was brought to you in cooperation with Euranet Plus, the leading radio network for EU news. But it’s contributions from listeners that truly make it all possible—we could not continue to make the show without you! If you like what we do, you can chip in to help us cover our production costs at patreon.com/europeanspodcast (in many different currencies), or you can gift a donation to a superfan. We'd also love it if you could tell two friends about this podcast. We think two feels like a reasonable number.
Reported, produced, mixed, and mastered by Wojciech Oleksiak. Editorial support by Dominic Kraemer and Morgan Childs. Special thanks go to Filip Djordjević and Mila Dragnić.
Over The Europeans | European news, politics and culture
The Europeans is a fresh and entertaining weekly podcast about European politics and culture, recorded each week between Paris and Amsterdam with fascinating guests joining from across Europe. This multiple award-winning podcast fills you in on the major European politics stories and other European news of the week, as well as fun and quirky nuggets that have been missed by most media outlets.
Hosted by Katy Lee, a journalist based in Paris, and Dominic Kraemer, an opera singer in Amsterdam, The Europeans covers everything from elections and climate policy to the best new European films and TV shows. We also produce investigative podcasts about everything from the European farming lobby to oat milk. Yes, oat milk.
Katy and Dominic are old friends, and the warmth and intimacy of their conversations will soon make you feel like you’ve known them a long time too. They approach topics with a light and humorous tone that makes The Europeans stand out from other European news podcasts, while remaining journalistically rigorous and meticulously fact-checked. The Europeans has been recommended by The New York Times, The Guardian, Buzzfeed, The Financial Times, and many other outlets.
Katy Lee, a British-French reporter, has written for major outlets including The Guardian, Politico Europe, Agence France-Presse (AFP), Foreign Policy and The New Statesman for more than a decade, covering French and European politics and more recently, climate change. Dominic Kraemer, a British-German opera singer, performs across Europe when he is not co-hosting The Europeans, with roles recently at the Staatsoper in Berlin, the Dutch National Opera and the Münchener Biennale. The Europeans’ team is completed by producers Katz Laszlo in Amsterdam and Wojciech Oleksiak in Warsaw. You’ll hear them joining Katy and Dominic from time to time, particularly during investigative episodes like ‘The Oatly Chronicles’ and ‘The Big-Agri Bully Boys’.
The Europeans’ breezy, informal approach to covering European news has won awards such as a Covering Climate Now award for an episode about the Swiss women who sued their government at the European Court of Human Rights demanding more climate action; Germany’s prestigious CIVIS Media Prize for ‘Mohamed’, an episode that explores the everyday life of a young undocumented man in Amsterdam; and best LGBTQIA+ short at the MiraBan UK Film Awards for ‘Josh and Franco’, the coming-of-age story of a father and son, both gay.
Our guests have included everyone from major figures in European politics such as Alexander Stubb, now the President of Finland, and Roberta Metsola, President of the European Parliament, to star chefs Asma Khan and Christian Puglisi, celebrated illustrator Christoph Niemann, and environmentalist George Monbiot. Since launching in 2017, we’ve talked about everything from elections in France, Italy and many more countries besides, to the politics of halloumi cheese in Cyprus, to why Donald Trump is so hard for TV interpreters to translate.
We pride ourselves on covering European politics, European news and European culture from a pan-European perspective. You’ll often hear stories on The Europeans from parts of the continent that don’t usually receive enough attention from major international media outlets, especially Central, Eastern and Southern Europe.
You might enjoy The Europeans if you also enjoy one of these other podcasts: The News Agents, On the Media, Today in Focus, Inside Europe, The Journal, EU Confidential, The Daily, The Globalist, Reasons to be Cheerful, The Media Show, Power Play, and The New Statesman. Whether you’re already a European news nerd, or simply someone who’d like to be better informed about what’s happening across Europe, The Europeans is the podcast for you.
Support us on Patreon: https://patreon.com/europeanspodcast
Netherlands