The Europeans | European news, politics and culture

• What the hell just happened in Romania (and at Eurovision)?

  Romania, Poland, Portugal... and of course, most importantly of all (?), Eurovision. It's been a huge week of voting across Europe! This week we're mostly diving into Romania's election drama with Codruţa Simina, a journalist with an extremely helpful specialism in online misinformation and disinformation. We're also tackling the controversy over Israel's continued participation in Eurovision, as well as the Pfizergate scandal: will we ever get to read the text messages Ursula von der Leyen sent to one of the world's most powerful pharmaceutical bosses?    Codruţa's excellent newsletter, Misreport, can be found here.   Thanks for listening. If you enjoy our podcasts, we'd love it if you'd consider supporting our work. You can chip in to help us cover the weekly research and production of The Europeans at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠patreon.com/europeanspodcast⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ (many currencies are available), or gift a donation to a super fan here. We'd also love it if you could tell two friends about this podcast!   This podcast was brought to you in cooperation with Euranet Plus, the leading radio network for EU news.   This week's Inspiration Station recommendations: The EU's personal carbon footprint calculator and 'Apeirogon' by Column McCann. You can find McCann's conversation with Bassam Aramin and Rami Elhanan, recorded in November 2023, here.   Other resources for this episode:    'Politics by WhatsApp? Even "Pfizergate" won’t end that' - Politico Europe, May 14, 2025   'The maths behind the public votes at Eurovision 2025' - RTE, May 18, 2025   'Wasted love?: broadcasting and fandom at a crossroads after Eurovision 2025' - Catherine Baker, May 18, 2025   'Why doesn't the EBU kick Israel out of Eurovision?' - Overthinking It, May 8, 2025   'Coal produces less than half of Poland’s power for first time' - Notes from Poland, May 13, 2025   00:00:46  An election bonanza hangover 00:06:58  Bad Week: Pfizergate 00:21:50  Good Week (?): Austrian Eurovision winner JJ 00:45:12  Interview: Codruţa Simina on Romania's election drama 01:02:51  The Inspiration Station: The EU's personal carbon footprint calculator, and 'Apeirogon' by Colum McCann 01:07:00  Happy Ending: Is Poland finally kicking its coal habit?   Producers: Morgan Childs and Wojciech Oleksiak Mixing and mastering: Wojciech Oleksiak Music: Jim Barne and Mariska Martina YouTube | Bluesky | Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ | Mastodon⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ | [email protected]  

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• Europe, an unfinished love story

  This week, a not-so-classic 'girl meets boy' story. Başak Layic, storyteller extraordinaire, reflects on what the European Dream looks like from the outside.    This story was recorded live at SPUI25 in Amsterdam as part of 'Europe Up For Grabs?', an event organised for Europe Day 2025 by DutchCulture and the European Cultural Foundation. You can watch a livestream of the whole event here.   You can find out more about Başak's work on her website and follow her on Instagram here.   Thanks for listening. If you enjoy our podcasts, we'd love it if you'd consider supporting our work. You can chip in to help us cover the weekly research and production of The Europeans at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠patreon.com/europeanspodcast⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ (many currencies are available), or gift a donation to a super fan here. We'd also love it if you could tell two friends about this podcast!   This podcast was brought to you in cooperation with Euranet Plus, the leading radio network for EU news.    Producers: Morgan Childs and Katy Lee Mixing and mastering: Wojciech Oleksiak Music: Jim Barne      YouTube | Bluesky | Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ | Mastodon⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ | [email protected]

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• Is a pregnant nun about to crash Poland's election?

  In theory, the government's guy looks set to win Poland's presidential election, making life a hell of a lot easier for Donald Tusk as he attempts to undo eight years of destructive authoritarian rule under the previous rightwing populists. But might a pregnant nun swoop in and change everything at the last minute? For an explanation of this metaphor (and yes, it is just a metaphor), listen in to this week's great interview with Poland's best political YouTubers, Dominika Sitnicka and Agata Szczęśniak. We're also digging into Sweden's plans to crack down on porn influencers, and celebrating the sweeter side of last week's mass blackouts in Spain and Portugal.    Dominika and Agata are reporters at OKO.PRESS and co-hosts of its YouTube show, Program Polityczny (which can be watched with English auto-subtitles).   Thanks for listening. If you enjoy our podcasts, we'd love it if you'd consider supporting our work. You can chip in to help us cover the weekly research and production of The Europeans at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠patreon.com/europeanspodcast⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ (many currencies are available), or gift a donation to a super fan here. We'd also love it if you could tell two friends about this podcast!   This podcast was brought to you in cooperation with Euranet Plus, the leading radio network for EU news.   This week's Inspiration Station recommendations: Terry Pratchett's 'Discworld' (especially the Ankh-Morpork City Watch series), and Carême. Bonus recommendations: 'The Butterfly Effect' and 'The Last Days of August'.   We'll be at two events in Amsterdam for Europe Day on May 9! You can buy a ticket to EuropaNacht at Paradiso here; tickets to the earlier event, at SPUI25, are available here. With many thanks to our friends at the European Cultural Foundation, DutchCulture and De Kiesmannen.   Other resources for this episode:    'In the Madrid power cuts, I saw patience and common sense – but we were woefully unprepared' - María Ramírez, The Guardian, April 29, 2025 https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/apr/29/madrid-power-cuts-blackout-radio-internet    'In case of crisis or war' - Swedish Civil Contingencies Agency (MSB), November 2024 https://rib.msb.se/filer/pdf/30874.pdf   'The EU Commission's survival kits - fearmongering or necessary preparedness?' - Euronews, April 2, 2025 https://www.euronews.com/my-europe/2025/04/02/the-eu-commissions-survival-kits-fearmongering-or-necessary-preparedness   00:00:46 Smoke, bureaucracy and extra outfits: get ready for May in Europe 00:03:51 Good Week: Blackout behaviour 00:22:22 Bad Week: OnlyFans influencers in Sweden 00:38:20 Interview: Dominika Sitnicka and Agata Szczęśniak on Poland's upcoming presidential election 01:03:14 The Inspiration Station: Terry Pratchett's 'Discworld' and Carême 01:07:51 Happy Ending: An off-the-pitch win for Norway's women's team   Producers: Morgan Childs and Katy Lee Mixing and mastering: Wojciech Oleksiak Music: Jim Barne    YouTube | Bluesky | Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ | Mastodon⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ | [email protected]  

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• How to make sense of Europe's place in the world right now

  The world is in flux. What's Europe's place in it, exactly? This week, we're bringing you something different: a big, sprawling conversation with leading European historian Timothy Garton Ash. Can anything good come from Trumpism for this continent? What can be done to stop autocrats like Viktor Orbán from undermining the EU from the inside? And does it matter if we talk about different things when we talk about Europe?    Timothy is Professor of European Studies at the University of Oxford. 'Homelands' is now available in more than 20 languages; you can find all the available editions here.   We'll be at two events in Amsterdam for Europe Day on May 9! We've got two pairs of tickets to give away to the late-night EuropaNacht event at Paradiso. Email [email protected] for a chance to win them. If you're too late, you can buy a ticket here; tickets to the earlier event, at SPUI25, are available here. With many thanks to our friends at the European Cultural Foundation, DutchCulture and De Kiesmannen.   Thanks for listening. If you enjoy our podcasts, we'd love it if you'd consider supporting our work. You can chip in to help us cover the weekly research and production of The Europeans at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠patreon.com/europeanspodcast⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ (many currencies are available), or gift a donation to a super fan here. We'd also love it if you could tell two friends about this podcast!   This podcast was brought to you in cooperation with Euranet Plus, the leading radio network for EU news.   Producers: Wojciech Oleksiak and Morgan Childs Mixing and mastering: Wojciech Oleksiak Music: Jim Barne    YouTube | Bluesky | Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ | Mastodon⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ | [email protected]

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• Hungary's Pride crackdown, Ukrainian sleuths, and 158 barrels of poop

  We've got a veritable smörgåsbord for you this week on The Europeans, from human rights in Hungary to the sorry tale of two Danish sustainability influencers whose eco-resort business went spectacularly wrong. We discuss why Viktor Orbán is concentrating so much effort on bullying the LGBTQI community at a time when Hungary has major problems to fix, and whether anything can be done to stop him. Plus, Daria Verbytska calls in from Kyiv to explain how an army of volunteer online sleuths helps Ukrainian authorities use open-source intelligence to fight back against Russia.   Daria is the executive director and cofounder of the Molfar Intelligence Institute. You can find out about the wider Molfar company on their website and read their investigations here.   This week's Inspiration Station offerings: LA NIÑA and Den stora älgvandringen ('The Great Moose Migration' on Sweden's STV).   Thanks for listening. If you enjoy our podcasts, we'd love it if you'd consider supporting our work. You can chip in to help us cover the weekly research and production of The Europeans at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠patreon.com/europeanspodcast⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ (many currencies are available), or gift a donation to a super fan here. We'd also love it if you could tell two friends about this podcast!        This podcast was brought to you in cooperation with Euranet Plus, the leading radio network for EU news.   Other resources for this episode   'Hungary's ban on Pride has little to do with being gay' - BalkanInsight, March 27, 2025 https://balkaninsight.com/2025/03/27/hungarys-ban-on-pride-has-little-to-do-with-being-gay/   'Anti-spying phone pouches offered to EU lawmakers for trip to Hungary' - Politico Europe, April 16, 2025 https://www.politico.eu/article/lawmakers-offered-anti-espionage-phone-pouches-in-hungary/   00:00:46  Welcome to Europe, land of toxic eggs and tomatoes 00:06:50  Bad Week: Hungary gives constitutional backing to its Pride ban 00:22:59  Good Week (?) for Guatemala-bound tourists 00:44:51  Interview: Daria Verbytska on how OSINT is being used to help Ukraine's fightback against Russia 00:59:55  The Inspiration Station:  LA NIÑA and Den stora älgvandringen ('The Great Moose Migration') 01:03:07  Happy Ending: The amazing cross-border teenagers tackling antibiotic resistance   Producers: Morgan Childs and Wojciech Oleksiak Mixing and mastering: Wojciech Oleksiak Music: Jim Barne and Mariska Martina   YouTube | Bluesky | Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ | Mastodon⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ | [email protected]       

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