The Europeans

WE'RE BACK, with a new look for a new season. This week we're catching up on the summer's Italian drama and tackling the delicate question of Nazi relatives. And we're heading to Görlitz, on the German-Polish border, to find out why why so many voters in eastern Germany are putting their faith in the far-right AfD. Our guest is Emily Schultheis, a Berlin-based journalist covering right-wing populism, who spent a month in Görlitz getting into voters' heads. Read Emily's report for the...

... or 'hiphop' in Esperanto. This week we're talking about how the internet shook up the world's most idealistic language, with Federico Gobbo, professor of Esperanto at the University of Amsterdam. We're also talking about the furore over a rapper involved in a Swedish assault case, and the Dutch kid behind one of the most successful beats of all time. We're taking August off to work on some special episodes, but we'll be back before you know it. Keep your eyes peeled in September for our...

Scotland now has the highest rate of drug-related deaths in Europe — even higher than the United States. The shocking statistics have prompted calls in Scotland for a move towards the decriminalisation of drug use, taking the lead from a radical change of approach in Portugal. Portugal went from a full-blown opioid crisis in the 1980s to having one of the lowest rates of drug deaths in Europe today. We called Andreia Alves, a social worker with the Lisbon NGO Crescer, to find how a more...

This week we’re talking about what happened when Actress, the electronic musician also known as Darren Cunningham, made British and Dutch politicians debate the meaning of love. We’re also talking about French extravagance, the gentrification of Berlin, and the magic of medicine. You can find the article Dominic mentioned on the incredibly complex surgery that separated twins Safa and Marwa here. Liked the show? Please give us five big gold stars! Twitter | Instagram | Facebook |...

We don't call it 'the migrant crisis' anymore. Yet, every day, people attempt the treacherous crossing to reach our shores, and more than 500 people have died trying this year alone. This week we're talking about the politics of fear and the laws of the sea with the Italian migration expert Matteo Villa. We're also talking about rockets, bees and Greece's return to the right. Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | Patreon Thanks for listening.

This week, the European women steering the ship. Katy and Dominic discuss the case of Carola Rackete, the rescue boat captain who has come to symbolize the moral divide over migration, as well as the nomination of Germany's Ursula von der Leyen and Christine Lagarde to two of the most powerful jobs on the continent. In the meantime, the biggest Czech protests since the fall of communism have been giving the populist billionaire PM Andrej Babiš a run for his money. We ring up Benjamin Roll,...

What does it mean to be black in Europe? This week's guest Johny Pitts went on a five-month journey around the continent, interviewing black Europeans and exploring his own identity. The result is his brilliant new book, 'Afropean: Notes from Black Europe', which makes the case for a community that crosses borders. Also this week: the role of railways in the Holocaust; whether or not we should talk about Merkel; and a strange reward for good behaviour. Twitter | Instagram | Facebook |...

This week, the strange and rather wonderful story of how the BBC tried (and failed, pretty badly) to create a European soap opera back in the 1990s. Former 'Eldorado' star Kai Maurer reflects on how his unlikely role playing a German beach bum kicked off his acting career and how the show was ahead of its time. Plus: a landmark Spanish court ruling and the ugly realities of European consensus politics. Read the article that sparked Katy's El Dorado obsession here. Should we launch a campaign...

This week, the increasingly worrying politics of a country with one of the most complicated governments in the world. We're talking to the Bosnian journalist Aleksandar Brezar about troubles that go ignored all too often in Europe and wartime scars that have yet to heal. We're also talking about European countries' varying approaches to regulating what women do with their bodies, and a transatlantic romance that has stood the test of time. Read Aleksandar's excellent piece in the Guardian...

Hands up if you've got a better idea of what's happening in American politics than European politics, despite living on this side of the pond? This week André Wilkens, the new director of the European Cultural Foundation, argues that Europeans need to get better at telling their own story — whether it's in the form of a Hamilton-style hit musical or otherwise. Also: scooter wars, holograms, and when the left gets tough on immigration. You can read Katy's piece on the arrival of electric...

We've just elected a bunch of people to represent 500 million of us. But when it comes to the results of the European elections, most of us have been preoccupied with what happened in our own countries. This week we're zooming out to take a look at the continent as a whole with Caroline de Gruyter, the Oslo-based Europe correspondent for the Dutch newspaper NRC. Plus: Ibizagate, part 2; rural PR stunts; and the importance of correctly-spelled tweets. Many thanks to our Patreon...

Should machines have the power to decide whether a human on the battlefield lives or dies? Ulrike Franke spends her days imagining the wars of the future. We chatted to her about ‘killer robots’ and rogue drones. Plus: a far-right honey-trap and Germany in the age of the influencer. Twitter.com/EuropeansPod Instagram.com/europeanspodcast Facebook.com/europeanspodcast europeanspodcast@gmail.com Many thanks to our Patreon supporters! See you next week.

Katy's never voted in a European election before. This week she tries to make amends by figuring out, finally, what the European parliament is and what MEPs actually do. The elections are May 23-26 depending on what country you're in. Please vote! This episode was made with support from the European Cultural Foundation. They support initatives which rethink Europe as an open and democratic space. Thanks for listening. europeanspodcast.com

Countries all around Europe are dealing with the same dilemma: what to do with citizens who went to join ISIS. Tiny Kosovo is alone in opting to bring back a large group of its citizens when other countries are turning their backs. To find out why, Dominic talked to AJ Naddaff, who spent months researching why so many left Kosovo to fight, and the country's humane response to bringing people back. Over on the western edge of Europe Katy's been chatting to the French writer Maxime Calligaro...

This week, a celebration of the quintessential Renaissance man: yes, it's opera singer Dominic Kraemer with an interview about CHEMICAL ELEMENTS. We're also marking the 500th deathday of some guy called Leonardo who was similarly talented in both the arts and sciences. In Poland, the art world has gone bananas; in Spain, there's life in socialism yet; and British chemist and YouTube sensation Martyn Poliakoff is here to explain why he wants to turn the periodic table upside down,...

This week, European cultural greats past and present. We discuss the good, the bad and the Bauhaus with the American painter Henry Isaacs, who grew up surrounded by many of the key figures from the legendary German art school that marked its 100th birthday this month. And Katy chats to Kurt Overbergh, artistic director of the Ancienne Belgique music venue, about new sounds, immigration and the return of Turkish psychedelia. In Brussels? Come and see Katy at this great event at the Ancienne...

This week a brilliant young journalist was shot dead in Northern Ireland, on the 21st anniversary of the Good Friday peace agreement. The senseless death of Lyra McKee is a reminder of a conflict that most in the country have put behind them. Her friend, the writer Susan McKay, is here with a very moving tribute to a remarkable person. Also this week: a rebellion in London, rising from the ashes in Paris, and the magnificent species that is the European honey bee. You can follow Susan on...

No, European governments are not handing out 'brothel vouchers' to immigrants; and no, the EU is not trying to ban bendy cucumbers. Euro-myths are as old as the union itself, but with elections just around the corner, setting the record straight feels more important than ever. This week's guest is on the frontlines of the fight against disinformation: Jules Darmanin, the coordinator of a new continent-wide band of fact-checkers. Plus: Julian Assange, Swiss democracy, and the world's greatest...

This week, a little glimmer of hope from central Europe in the form of a new Slovakian president who refuses to fight dirty. And a little glimmer of the future in the form of our guest, bionic woman and tech journalist Mimi Billing, one of a growing number of Swedes to have got themselves... microchipped? Plus: Russian whale jails, a decades-old French mystery, and germs at the opera. Follow Mimi on Twitter here and read her great article about Swedish body-hacking here! And for more on...

This week, like so many other weeks, it's been easy to take a look at the world and think: how did things get so polarised? Ahead of the European elections, the battle lines are already being drawn: nationalists vs globalists, liberals vs conservatives. But a fascinating project is trying to get Europeans from across the political spectrum to actually sit down and talk about their differences. Sebastian Horn, the deputy editor of Die Zeit online, is on the line from Berlin to explain the...