The Europeans | European news, politics and culture
Episodes
Every @#$%ing quirk of the English language
11 Jun 2026
Contributed by Lukas
After a triggering event we’re calling Legislativegate, producer Wojciech has a bone to pick with the English language and all of its irregularities...
The world's funniest superstate?
28 May 2026
Contributed by Lukas
The European Union is many things: an economic powerhouse, an improbably successful peace project, or a bureaucratic hellscape, depending on who you a...
What is life really like for Russians right now?
21 May 2026
Contributed by Lukas
The predictions began soon after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine: the collapse of the Russian economy was imminent. Four years later, it sti...
Do you also have a Monstera in your living room?
14 May 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Vinyl records, coffee table books, low-maintenance pot plants: from Dublin to Dubrovnik, all good hipsters have the same stuff. The Italian writer Vin...
Venice has a Russia and Israel problem
07 May 2026
Contributed by Lukas
‘Art and politics can totally be separated!’ said no one ever – apart from the organisers of the Venice Biennale, a.k.a. the Olympics of the art...
Can Pedro Sánchez unite the global left?
23 Apr 2026
Contributed by Lukas
This week, we’ve got a little something for everyone: gambling! Kraftwerk! Blast from the recent US political past Tim Walz! It was a Good Week yet ...
How did Ukrainians end up sailing in Russia's shadow fleet?
16 Apr 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Shortly after the full-scale invasion of Ukraine began in February 2022, Elon Musk’s company SpaceX swept in to restore internet connectivity to are...
Where are the Zohran Mamdanis of Europe?
09 Apr 2026
Contributed by Lukas
A few weeks back, we asked you to weigh in on a question that’s been on our mind a lot lately: Who are the Zohran Mamdanis of Europe, and when, pray...
Can a group of strangers solve Europe’s biggest problems?
02 Apr 2026
Contributed by Lukas
If you got a knock on your door from someone inviting you to Brussels to hash out some EU policies…you’d think it was a scam, right? Us, too. At l...
The end of Orbán?
26 Mar 2026
Contributed by Lukas
It has been 16 years since Viktor Orbán’s Fidesz party assumed power in Hungary – and it might have begun to feel like things could never change....
Europe's anti-Elon
12 Mar 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Back when Elon Musk was challenging Mark Zuckerberg to a cage fight, Eugen Rochko was building an open-source, non-problematic Twitter alternative, co...
How to keep going when the world feels broken
05 Mar 2026
Contributed by Lukas
This week, we wanted to ask a question that has been in our hearts and on our minds for years: Is it possible to try to make positive change in the wo...
How feminist economics could change Europe
26 Feb 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Imagine what would happen if our political, cultural, and economic leaders began to reconsider what it means to create “value” in Europe. What if ...
When will Europe get the trains it deserves?
19 Feb 2026
Contributed by Lukas
If you’ve ever wondered where all the affordable night trains are, or struggled to book tickets for an international journey, or spent hours of your...
What do the Epstein files reveal about Europe’s elite?
12 Feb 2026
Contributed by Lukas
It has been an absolutely Awful Week for everyone who has been paying attention to the latest release of the Epstein files, both on this continent and...
The Europeans: Ask Us Anything
05 Feb 2026
Contributed by Lukas
A very special bienvenue to this very special episode of The Europeans! This week, the entire team gathered in person in a swanky studio in Paris to a...
A European social network for the WTF era
29 Jan 2026
Contributed by Lukas
By popular demand (and thanks to Dominic’s singing schedule), our silly, brilliant Luxembourger-in-chief Nina Lamparski is back in the hosting chair...
The UK and the EU: best buds again?
22 Jan 2026
Contributed by Lukas
You’d be forgiven for forgetting that Europe is bigger than Davos this week, but we’ve got three great stories to remind you. First up: it’s bee...
ChatGPT is ruining weddings now
16 Jan 2026
Contributed by Lukas
If you are the sort of person whose New Year’s resolutions read something like: “(1) Shoot for the moon, (2) Do what you love, (3) Change the worl...
2026: The year Europe gets its act together?
08 Jan 2026
Contributed by Lukas
We are returning from our winter holidays feeling refreshed, renewed, and optimistic about 2026. Ha ha ha ha! No, but seriously, Trump’s capture of ...
Pavarotti is trapped in an ice rink
18 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
It’s that time of year when we gather together with friends from near and far, indulge in seasonal treats, and take a lighthearted look at the stori...
Can the EU make Poland recognise gay marriage?
04 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
If the winter blues have got you down, these two things might lift your spirit: (1) the Christmas section at your local Lidl, and (2) the news that a ...
Europe's climate vibe has shifted. Now what?
27 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
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, be...
How Ireland proved a basic income for artists actually works
20 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
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 ...
Help! My manager is an algorithm!
14 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
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’...
Drugs policy: Who Does It Best?
07 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
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 B...
Report from Novi Sad: Can students bring down a regime?
04 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
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 ...
Childcare policy: Who Does It Best?
31 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Childcare policy affects all of us at some point in our lives. And depending on where you live, your country’s parental leave and early-education po...
Housing policy: Who Does It Best? - Part 2
24 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Katz goes back to the drawing board. If the housing crisis is really about wealth inequality, doesn’t the policy we need to fix it… need to addres...
Housing policy: Who Does It Best? - Part 1
24 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Why is your rent so high? What are the policies that created this housing crisis, and what policies can get us out of it? This week we launch the firs...
Who Does It Best? - A new miniseries, coming this week
21 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
A new mini-series from The Europeans, landing in this feed later this week. From Paris to Breda, Rome to Reykjavik, ‘Who Does It Best?’ showcases ...
Babiš is back
08 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
It’s been a busy week for European politics, European protests, and European wallabies. In the midst of the madness, we caught up with Kateřina Ša...
Are we all trapped in a transatlantic Truman Show?
25 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Can we talk about Trump’s culture war, Putin’s war on inclusivity, and just about everyone’s unwillingness to pay teachers fair wages—and gigg...
Should we be worried about Russian drones in NATO’s skies?
18 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
There’s no denying it’s been a pretty dark week, but we’ve got a couple of bright spots for you. What could be a better job than dreaming up way...
Terrible week for ABBA
11 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
The music industry is reeling due to what’s being called the 'largest intellectual property theft in history' — we’ll dig into the fight between...
Why is the EU not acting on Gaza?
05 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
This week, we’re dedicating the entire episode to Gaza. We have a lot of questions about the EU’s role in what’s happening there: Why is the EU ...
Three Rivers and a Sausage Fight
22 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
It’s our second week of “cucumber season” programming, and fair warning: we’re really leaning into the late-summer goofiness. This week, we go...
Save the games! Preserve the bread! Guard your rabbits!
14 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Welcome back! We’re easing back into the swing of things after our summer holidays with a bit of “cucumber season” fare. It’s our regularly sc...
Hungary's Pride ban goes up in smoke (and glitter)
03 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
This year’s Budapest Pride was banned in March under the Orbán government’s contentious “child protection” law. Demonstrators were threatened...
Toxic chemicals, abortion rights, and a Nazi-era train law
19 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Depending on where you are in Europe, your right to a safe abortion — and reproductive care in general — can vary dramatically. This week, we spea...
Could Europe switch off big tech's algorithms?
12 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
The EU supposedly has some of the world's toughest laws regulating big tech. So why does it still feel like Europeans are being sucked into increasing...
Is real change coming to Serbia?
05 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Serbia’s government has come under intense pressure since a deadly disaster at Novi Sad’s main railway station last November. Student-led protests...
Hungary's plight, kids' rights, and Spargelzeit
29 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Asparagus, lesbian family rights and Viktor Orbán’s latest power plays: like all good meals, this podcast episode is perfectly balanced. German foo...
What the hell just happened in Romania (and at Eurovision)?
22 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
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 mo...
Europe, an unfinished love story
15 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
This week, a not-so-classic 'girl meets boy' story. Başak Layic, storyteller extraordinaire, reflects on what the European Dream looks like from the ...
Is a pregnant nun about to crash Poland's election?
08 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
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 ...
How to make sense of Europe's place in the world right now
01 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
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 lead...
Hungary's Pride crackdown, Ukrainian sleuths, and 158 barrels of poop
24 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
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 ...
Inside Europe: Exploring Grief
17 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
We're away this week, but you're in good company: our friends at Deutsche Welle (DW), Germany's international broadcaster, are here to fill in for us....
Tesla, Turkey, and unnecessary trash
10 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
We're taking the Schadenfreude approach to the chaos that Trump's tariffs have unleashed upon Europe (and the rest of the world). This week, our favou...
Rockets, recipes and Le Pen(itentiary)
03 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Marine Le Pen has been banned from running for the French presidency after this week's bombshell court ruling finding her guilty in a huge embezzleme...
How would Europe's €800 billion defence plan actually work?
27 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Europe is set to spend an eye-wateringly huge amount of money on building up its militaries over the next few years, after That Guy In The White House...
Should Canada join the EU?
20 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Europe and Canada have a lot in common, from their headaches over Donald Trump to a shared belief in welfare states. If Australia can be a part of Eur...
Putin's African antics, the death of Skype, and a Eurovision c-bomb
13 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Thousands of kilometres from the devastating war it's been waging in Ukraine, Russia has involved itself in a swathe of other conflicts that attract m...
Big news for The Europeans!
11 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Producers Katz and Wojciech join Katy and Dominic to share a couple of nuggets of exciting news for The Europeans. You can find out all about our...
Germany's elections: should we freak out or not?
27 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Germany just staged one of Europe's most crucial elections this year. The results are simultaneously shocking and not-shocking: shocking because the f...
Euro-defence, euro-booze and euro-TV
20 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
This week, the great transatlantic break-up. How can we make sense of the seismic shift in Europe's relationship with the US since Trump took power? W...
Dark skies, cheap shopping and an EU laser show
13 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Nocturnal tourism is supposedly one of the big travel trends of 2025, and from star-gazing to truffle-hunting, there are plenty of places in Europe t...
Butterflies and bullied protesters
30 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Europe's rarest butterfly lives on the outskirts of a single town in North Macedonia. So why is it possible to find specimens of this incredibly endan...
The world needs more drag cows
23 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In an otherwise miserable week, this podcast is delighted to bring you a joyful interview with a drag cow. At least, an interview with the person behi...
Russia's gas games
16 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
There's been a weird loophole in the war in Ukraine up until now. Nearly three years after Russia's full-scale invasion, Ukraine was still being paid ...
Democratic salami and boiling frogs
09 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Between Elon Musk's meddling and Romania's election rollercoaster, the state of Europe's democracies feels a little scary at the start of 2025. This w...
Cold water, warm hearts
11 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
As the winter chill sets in, throngs of Europeans are heading each week to the nearest pond, lake or coastline to dunk themselves voluntarily in free...
The manosphere, the 'TikTok messiah', and 132 hamsters
05 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
We've got a heady mix of Romanian politics, online misogyny and animal-based chaos for you this week. Friend of the show Andrei Popoviciu joins us to...
Has Donald Tusk fixed Poland?
28 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
It's been a year since Donald Tusk took power, filling liberals and progressives in Poland with hope as eight years of rightwing populist rule came to...
The perils of standing up to Iran from Europe
21 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
From Turkey to France and the UK, Iranians who've challenged the regime at home have often sought safety in Europe. But how safe are these dissidents,...
A special announcement from The Europeans
14 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Producers Katz and Wojciech join Katy and Dominic for a very special announcement from The Europeans. We’re incredibly excited to make this ser...
Spain's floods, Moldova's election, and what the kids of Europe are watching
07 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
The world may be transfixed by the US election results, but this was a huge week for news on this side of the Atlantic too. This week we're trying to ...
Is this the end of Georgia's European dream?
31 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Georgia's pro-Russian ruling party claims to have won last weekend's election — a fraudulent election, according to a mounting pile of evidence. A c...
Naughty, naughty Switzerland
24 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Wine fraud, migration policy and climate litigation: there's something for everyone this week. Back in April, Switzerland's government lost a groundbr...
Russia's mysterious sabotage campaign
17 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Arson, vandalism, attacks on NATO vehicles: around Europe, mysterious acts of sabotage have been multiplying. And there's a pattern: the perpetrators...
Using grandma to make people cry about climate change
03 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Why is it so hard to talk about climate change in a way that actually makes us... feel something? This week, our producer Katz Laszlo talks to an Icel...
What do the European Union and Barbie have in common?
26 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Are European leaders living in a Barbie-like dreamworld? This week, the idealised fantasy of the EU versus its awkward reality. Far from being a cont...
Mussolini, testicles, and the Schengen zone
19 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Last week we brought you geopolitics, this week we're bringing you testicles. Why has male contraception remained such an underground idea, despite de...
Swedish authorities say it's fine if you listen to this podcast
12 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
We're back from our summer break! Rym Momtaz, the new editor-in-chief of the Strategic Europe blog, is here to catch us up on the main political devel...
This Is What A Generation Sounds Like: Kinga
15 Aug 2024
Contributed by Lukas
This week, we're re-releasing another of our all-time favourite episodes to entertain your ears during our summer break. First aired in 2022, it's a s...
This Is What A Generation Sounds Like: Sara
08 Aug 2024
Contributed by Lukas
We're away on our summer break until September, but this week and next week we're re-releasing two of our favourite episodes from The Europeans' award...
A Q&A with The Europeans
01 Aug 2024
Contributed by Lukas
It’s our first ever Q&A episode! Katy, Dominic, Katz and Wojciech answer listeners’ questions – from how we make the show, to the episodes w...
'Luca'
18 Jul 2024
Contributed by Lukas
One Hungarian family. One piece of land. Two very different visions. This is the final episode in our long-running series This Is What A Generati...
What happens after France's surprise swing to the left?
11 Jul 2024
Contributed by Lukas
A surprise left-wing election win? In Europe? In 2024? This week, we turn to our resident Parisian journalist to try to get our heads around what just...
Why is European cinema so different from Hollywood?
04 Jul 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Fewer expensive car chases, more moody shots and ambiguous endings: movies made in Europe are often very different from those made in the US. But Euro...
Pigeon murders, the nature restoration law, and Scandinavian family therapy
27 Jun 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Enough politics: we’ve got a nature-themed episode for you this week. Producer Katz Laszlo joins Katy to explain how Austria’s environment ministe...
The most confusing elections of all time?
20 Jun 2024
Contributed by Lukas
The far-right surged but the centre held; somehow the two are true at once. Nearly 100 members of the new European Parliament have yet to tell us whic...
Why give a damn about the European elections?
06 Jun 2024
Contributed by Lukas
They’re the second biggest elections on Earth. For the next four days, 373 million people are eligible to take part in the vote for the European Par...
The Big-Agri Bully Boys
31 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Protests by angry farmers have swept across Europe this year. But from country to country, powerful groups have taken these protests over and changed ...
What's more endangered: wolves or Eurovision?
16 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
This week, the high drama of both European wolf policy and the Eurovision Song Contest. Wolves have made a huge comeback in Europe in recent years. Ho...
Can food labels make us healthier?
09 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Across a fair chunk of Europe, we've grown used to seeing little traffic light symbols on our food packets that supposedly rate the healthiness of o...
The regime that ended with a song
25 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
It’s the only revolution in world history (that we know of) that began with a Eurovision song. This week, Portugal marks 50 years since the Carnatio...
Why the Swiss women’s climate victory is such a big deal
18 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
A group of Swiss women, all aged 64 and over, made history last week by winning the first ever climate case heard by the European Court of Human Righ...
The biggest climate case that ever was
14 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
We are re-airing one of our all time favourite episodes following this week's landmark verdict on the biggest climate case that ever was: KlimaSeniori...
Nepo great-great-great-grand-babies
11 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
We all know this continent has major issues with social mobility. But having a rich ancestor from *six centuries ago* shouldn't make it more likely th...
Less Beyoncé, more bouzouki
04 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
This week, music and politics collide. We're talking about Greece's plan to enforce quotas for Greek-language lyrics on the radio, and the racist back...
Small Ex-Soviet Satellite State My Ass
28 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
This week, we're heading to a small country with a big bold foreign policy. Czechia, aka the Czech Republic, has won international praise by negotiati...
The Portuguese Constitution Is Delicious
14 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Scandal-hit Socialists, a surging far-right, and winners that no one can get excited about — Portugal has just delivered some of this year's tric...
YOLO, Swiss pensioners
07 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
This week: two referendums and some dodgy criminal reforms. We're talking about Swiss voters' decision to treat themselves to bigger pensions, and Slo...
Army Boots
29 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In February 2022, as Russian tanks rolled across the border, the writer and historian Olesya Khromeychuk told us the story of the boots she had bought...
Orbán’s biggest crisis?
22 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Hungary has seen its biggest anti-government protests in years over the past couple of weeks. But just how dangerous is this moment for Viktor Orbán?...
Two Parallel Polands
15 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Poland's rightwing populists are finally out of power. But what happens now? This week, our producer Wojciech Oleksiak and Warsaw-based journalist Cl...
Toxic air and toxic politicians
08 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Last weekend, Parisians voted to triple parking fees for SUVs in a bid to remove some of the city's more polluting vehicles. It's just one of many pol...
Why are Europe’s farmers so angry?
01 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
From France to Romania, Germany to Bulgaria, angry farmers have been blocking the roads. What's behind this wave of agricultural protests across the c...