The Europeans | European news, politics and culture Doctor Eurovision
We know, we know, not everyone loves Eurovision — but we think you'll enjoy this week's interview even if you're not as nuts about the annual celebration of euro-kitsch as we are. Dr Dean Vuletic is the world's pre-eminent Eurovision historian, and we were delighted to talk to him about how the contest came into being and why it's always been so political. We're also talking about the EU's Russian oil embargo, a row over WWII reparations in 2022, and a first for wind power in the Mediterranean.
We'll be running a Eurovision sweepstake for our Patreon supporters on the night of the finals, May 10! More details soon at patreon.com/europeanspodcast.
Financing Putin's war: you can find the real-time tracker of EU fossil fuel imports here and read the Atlantic Council's research on replacing Russian gas here.
This week's Isolation Inspiration: 'Young Mungo' by Douglas Stuart, the photography of Wolfgang Tillmans, and Russian Doll, Season 2.
02:26 (Tentative) Good Week: The EU's Russian oil embargo
10:24 Bad Week: Italy, Germany, and WWII reparations
15:57 Interview: Dean Vuletic on the history of Eurovision
32:45 Isolation Inspiration: 'Young Mungo', Wolfgang Tillmans and Russian Doll, Season 2
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Producer: Katy Lee and Wojciech Oleksiak
Music: Jim Barne and Mariska Martina
This podcast is part of the Are We Europe family. Find more like-minded European podcasts at areweeurope.com/audio-family.