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Very Finnish Problems

Comedy

What‘s so weird and wonderful about Finland? British writer and Helsinki resident Joel Willans, the creator of Very Finnish Problems, and best-selling author of 101 Very Finnish Problems: The Foreigner’s Guide to Surviving in Finland and More Very Finnish Problems: The even more essential guide, discusses, with a variety of fascinating guests, life in his much-loved, adopted country. Contact: veryfinnishproblems@inktank.fi Produced by Thomas Nybergh / Ink Tank Media

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Location:

Finland

Description:

What‘s so weird and wonderful about Finland? British writer and Helsinki resident Joel Willans, the creator of Very Finnish Problems, and best-selling author of 101 Very Finnish Problems: The Foreigner’s Guide to Surviving in Finland and More Very Finnish Problems: The even more essential guide, discusses, with a variety of fascinating guests, life in his much-loved, adopted country. Contact: veryfinnishproblems@inktank.fi Produced by Thomas Nybergh / Ink Tank Media

Language:

English

Contact:

+358 45 7730 3969

Episodes

Episode 19: When Midsummer is Finland’s best and worst celebration

12/11/2019
Very Finnish Problems creator Joel Willans interviews the minds behind Midsummer Madness, a free Helsinki open-air Midsummer event for 2020. Jeroen Sebrechts and Claire Delhom discuss their personal journeys to Finland from Belgium and France respectively, and explain why Midsummer Madness is a licensed Moomin event, despite featuring zero trolls or Hattifatteners. Co-host Laura Suihkonen shares a very bleak movie recommendation. Contact: veryfinnishproblems@inktank.fi Produced by Thomas...

Duration:00:45:59

Episode 18: When it's December 24th and it still hasn't snowed

11/9/2019
In this episode, Joel Willans, author of the Very Finnish Problems books, discusses journalist Erika Benke’s amazing journey from communist Hungary to the BBC World Service and her recent stories on Finland. Topics include stories on how the climate crisis is tackled northern Finland, and the country’s recent limited trials of Universal Basic Income. Co-host Joe Konderla and Erika present their recent experiences of how London has been utterly ruined by overcrowding. Contact:...

Duration:00:56:33

Episode 17: Wearing 15 layers of clothing to stay warm

10/20/2019
Joel Willans, author of the Very Finnish Problems books, learns how the polluting textile industry is facing much-needed renewal thanks to Finnish innovation. Emmi Berlin from Jyväskylä based wood pulp fiber/textile startup Spinnova brings us unsettling details on the dead ends of fast fashion, while providing an alternative that just might keep us clothed for decades to come. Co-host Joe Konderla points out teachable moments in a UK program which caused the scrapping of perfectly usable...

Duration:01:02:37

Episode 16: When you think life is hard in Finland

6/14/2019
Very Finnish Problems creator Joel Willans chats with Joe Konderla, writer at the Finniot, a blog on adjusting to Finnish quirks. Topics include British imperialism in Wales, Helsinki versus Tampere and overdosing on Moomins. Co-host Thomas Nybergh advises against home ownership and suggests learning Swedish to fast-track Finnish citizenship. Contact: veryfinnishproblems@inktank.fi Produced by Thomas Nybergh / Ink Tank Media Shownotes: Joe’s blog: http://www.thefinniot.com/ Joel’s new book -...

Duration:00:50:45

Episode 15: When your world-leading coffee consumption is a sham

5/18/2019
Joel Willans, captain of Very Finnish Problems, investigates the extraordinary hot beverage habits of his adopted country. Lari Salomaa, from Swedish artisanal coffee and tea brewery Johan & Nyström, joins to spill the beans on the nuances of Nordic caffeine madness, with the help of his book on the subject. Co-host Thomas Nybergh breaks his dystopian entertainment cycle with recommendations of a classic Finnish pop album and an actually uplifting podcast. Contact:...

Duration:00:47:53

Episode 14: When your main exports are spooky hippos and metal music

3/26/2019
Creator of Very Finnish Problems Joel Willans returns with a conversation on how and why Finland is big in Japan with project manager, exports specialist Sami Häikiö. We learn about the strides being made to bring Moomin to the world and the peculiarities of booking metal gigs in Tokyo. Co-host Thomas Nybergh deals with troublesome Nipponese electronics and contributes the bleakest recommendation segment yet. Contact: veryfinnishproblems@inktank.fi Produced by Thomas Nybergh / Ink Tank Media...

Duration:00:59:49

Episode 13: When you don’t get sisu

10/29/2018
This time, Very Finnish Problems creator Joel Willans is joined by Joanna Nylund, author of Sisu: The Finnish Art of Courage, to discuss, as the book title suggests, Finnish resilience. Is sisu somehow a Finnish cultural trait or do Finns mostly benefit from briefly defining a necessary universal way to stay sane while facing hardship? Co-host Thomas Nybergh returns to blame Joel for British imperialism and remains skeptical about how close to nature Finns really are. Contact:...

Duration:01:09:28

Episode 12: When Northern Lights have been seen by everyone except you

8/12/2018
What’s it like to spend most of your time living in the Finnish wilderness? Joel Willans, author and creator of Very Finnish Problems discusses the beauty of Northern nature with explorer and Instagram personality Joonas Linkola. What about extreme heat versus the absurd cold? Co-host Thomas Nybergh wants cell reception in the wilderness and ensures the show ends with reading and listening recommendations. Contact: veryfinnishproblems@inktank.fi Produced by Thomas Nybergh / Ink Tank Media...

Duration:00:59:05

Episode 11: When you don’t like strong women

3/15/2018
What’s different about femininity in Finland? Joel Willans, author and creator of Very Finnish Problems consults lifestyle and travel blogger Varpu Pöyry, of Her Finland. We learn about the perils of gender stereotypes and Varpu’s engineering approach to improving her memory. Co-host Thomas Nybergh is mostly concerned about the social lives of Finnish men. A special guest, Yle News journalist Ronan Browne, also appears briefly while shooting a story about Very Finnish Problems. Contact:...

Duration:00:54:01

Episode 10: When you queue for free buckets and they run out

2/4/2018
Why do Finns stand in line for free buckets? Joel Willans, creator of the Very Finnish Problems social media sensation, chats with Jyrki Kallinen, co-founder of crowdsourced market research service Crowst. We learn the tricks of the trade of getting reliable and comprehensive questionnaire answers from shy people. Co-host Thomas Nybergh wants to pair artificial intelligence with his Facebook rants and makes sure Jyrki recommends some metal music. Contact: veryfinnishproblems@inktank.fi...

Duration:00:52:30

Episode 9: When you can’t figure out which dairy product is milk

11/5/2017
What makes a chatty Brit prefer Finnish silence? In this special episode, renowned Finnish comedian André Wickström interviews Joel Willans, author of 101 Very Finnish Problems, in front of a live audience at the Helsinki Book Fair. We learn about the backstory of Very Finnish Problems, how Joel ended up in Finland and much more. In a bonus segment, co-host and producer Thomas Nybergh reveals his future plans for the show. Contact: veryfinnishproblems@inktank.fi Produced by Thomas Nybergh /...

Duration:00:44:33

Episode 8: Driving for 14 hours and only seeing forest

10/21/2017
Are electric vehicles taking off in Finland? Joel Willans, author of the best-selling book 101 Very Finnish Problems, is joined by Antti Korpelainen of Virta, a car charging services company. Topics include battery technology, long drives to Lapland and more. Co-host Thomas Nybergh is annoyed by misguided bio fuel subsidies and wants the current Finnish government to shove it. Contact: veryfinnishproblems@inktank.fi Produced by Thomas Nybergh / Ink Tank Media Shownotes: Thomas’ article on...

Duration:00:36:18

Episode 7: When the whole country is on ski break and you can’t ski

10/5/2017
Let’s talk ski jumping toddlers. Joel Willans, author of the best-selling book 101 Very Finnish Problems, discusses winter sports and other outdoorsy stuff with former semi-professional ski jumper Jussa Lauhamaa. Co-host Thomas Nybergh is curious about Jussa’s job involving the Sports Tracker app and wearable tech for active lifestyles. Contact: veryfinnishproblems@inktank.fi Produced by Thomas Nybergh / Ink Tank Media Shownotes: Jussa being sporty on Sports Tracker:...

Duration:00:43:10

Episode 6: When your children need to wee after getting dressed for winter

9/24/2017
Joel Willans, creator of Very Finnish Problems and author of the best-selling book 101 Very Finnish Problems, chats with clothing industry activist and sci-fi writer Rinna Saramäki about the evils of the clothing industry. Thomas Nybergh, co-host and producer of the show, is skeptical about ethical consumerism and likes his sci-fi bleak and dystopian. Contact: veryfinnishproblems@inktank.fi Produced by Thomas Nybergh / Ink Tank Media Shownotes: Rinna’s blog (in Finnish):...

Duration:01:00:28

Episode 5: When somebody else is in the lift

8/27/2017
How does elevator awkwardness in Britain differ from the same in Finland? Joel Willans, author of Very Finnish Problems, asks game studies Ph.D. Aki Järvinen essential questions about migrating to the UK. Co-host Thomas Nybergh is curious about the demoscene and where fake money used inside video games ends up. Contact: veryfinnishproblems@inktank.fi Produced by Thomas Nybergh / Ink Tank Media Shownotes: Aki on Twitter: https://twitter.com/aquito Elevators and how they impacted culture:...

Duration:00:43:35

Episode 4: When your winter stroll is ruined by an arriving icebreaker

6/28/2017
What’s the weirdest place Finnish president Urho Kekkonen went fishing? Author Joel Willans is joined by maritime historian Aaro Sahari. The two discuss icebreaker ships and their impact on Finnish 20th century industrialization. Aaro explains how conquering nature with year-round open waterways affected Finnish national pride. Contact: veryfinnishproblems@inktank.fi Produced by Thomas Nybergh / Ink Tank Media Shownotes: Old footage with fearless strolling next to speeding icebreaker:...

Duration:00:51:59

Episode 3: When alcohol is an excuse to go insane

6/16/2017
Who can name the worst Finnish booze? Helsinki resident Joel Willans reads from his upcoming book "101 Very Finnish Problems", and spills the beans on annoying Finnish alcohol laws. Ink Tank writer Thomas Nybergh chimes in with his hazy understanding of deterministic, genetic explanations of alcoholism. Contact: veryfinnishproblems@inktank.fi Produced by Thomas Nybergh / Ink Tank Media Shownotes: "101 Very Finnish Problems", the book:...

Duration:00:31:06

Episode 2: When The Summer Cottage Is Like A Labor Camp

5/4/2017
Are Finnish summer cottages bourgeois forced labor camps? Very Finnish Problems creator and Helsinki resident Joel Willans talks summer annoyances with Ink Tank writer Thomas Nybergh. It’s revealed that Joel doesn’t get to play with the chainsaw and that Thomas hasn’t caught a fish in his entire life. Contact: veryfinnishproblems@inktank.fi Produced by Thomas Nybergh / Ink Tank Media

Duration:00:24:21

Episode 1: How Finnish Winter Tries To Kill You

4/25/2017
Just how deadly is a typical winter in Finland? Very Finnish Problems creator and Helsinki resident Joel Willans discusses survival strategies with Ink Tank writer Thomas Nybergh. We learn that Thomas rarely leaves Helsinki and that Joel feels bad about sucking at winter sports. Contact: veryfinnishproblems@inktank.fi Produced by Thomas Nybergh / Ink Tank Media

Duration:00:38:35