Rural realities and alternatives to cars

By popular demand (and thanks to Dominic’s singing schedule), our silly, brilliant Luxembourger-in-chief Nina Lamparski is back in the hosting chair – and she’s brought her longstanding grudge against Elon Musk with her. Musk has made a real dog’s breakfast of that app we all used to like, and his AI assistant, Grok, seems designed for maximum awfulness. Can the European-made social media platform “W” provide an ethical alternative to X? We break it down. Plus: 10 European countries have committed to building a power grid in the North Sea that would become the world’s largest reservoir of clean energy, an ambitious move that happens to come on the back of some annoying comments from the American president at Davos. Next time someone calls you a loser, just give ‘em the windmill.

Our guest this week is Katja Diehl, Hamburg-based mobility activist, author, and host of the German-language podcast She Drives Mobility. If you, too, believe that you should have the right to a life without cars, you’ll enjoy hearing from her just as much as we did. 

SEND US YOUR Qs! WE’LL GIVE YOU OUR As! Next week we’re recording a special episode of The Europeans, and we’re seeking listener questions. Got something you’re dying to know about? Drop us a line – or better yet, a voice memo – at hello@europeanspodcast.com. 

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This week’s Inspiration Station recommendations are That Glasgow Witch and the song “Qanoruna isigivinga?" by Greenlandic singer-songwriter Tûtu.

Resources for this episode:

• “EU risks new energy dependence as US could supply 80% of its LNG imports by 2030” – Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis, 19 January 2026
• International Energy Agency overview of Europe’s natural gas supply
• “European Electricity Review 2026” – Ember, 22 January 2026

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Produced by Katz Laszlo and Morgan Childs
Mixing and mastering by Wojciech Oleksiak
Music by Jim Barne and Mariska Martina

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