The Europeans | European news, politics and culture
Katy Lee and Dominic Kraemer
The Europeans is a fresh and entertaining weekly podcast about European politics and culture, recorded each week between Paris and Amsterdam with fascinating guests joining from across Europe. This multiple award-winning podcast fills you in on the major European politics stories and other European news of the week, as well as fun and quirky nuggets that have been missed by most media outlets.
Hosted by Katy Lee, a journalist based in Paris, and Dominic Kraemer, an opera singer in Amsterdam, The Europeans covers everything from elections and climate policy to the best new European films and TV shows. We also produce investigative podcasts about everything from the European farming lobby to oat milk. Yes, oat milk.
Katy and Dominic are old friends, and the warmth and intimacy of their conversations will soon make you feel like you’ve known them a long time too. They approach topics with a light and humorous tone that makes The Europeans stand out from other European news podcasts, while remaining journalistically rigorous and meticulously fact-checked. The Europeans has been recommended by The New York Times, The Guardian, Buzzfeed, The Financial Times, and many other outlets.
Katy Lee, a British-French reporter, has written for major outlets including The Guardian, Politico Europe, Agence France-Presse (AFP), Foreign Policy and The New Statesman for more than a decade, covering French and European politics and more recently, climate change. Dominic Kraemer, a British-German opera singer, performs across Europe when he is not co-hosting The Europeans, with roles recently at the Staatsoper in Berlin, the Dutch National Opera and the Münchener Biennale. The Europeans’ team is completed by producers Katz Laszlo in Amsterdam and Wojciech Oleksiak in Warsaw. You’ll hear them joining Katy and Dominic from time to time, particularly during investigative episodes like ‘The Oatly Chronicles’ and ‘The Big-Agri Bully Boys’.
The Europeans’ breezy, informal approach to covering European news has won awards such as a Covering Climate Now award for an episode about the Swiss women who sued their government at the European Court of Human Rights demanding more climate action; Germany’s prestigious CIVIS Media Prize for ‘Mohamed’, an episode that explores the everyday life of a young undocumented man in Amsterdam; and best LGBTQIA+ short at the MiraBan UK Film Awards for ‘Josh and Franco’, the coming-of-age story of a father and son, both gay.
Our guests have included everyone from major figures in European politics such as Alexander Stubb, now the President of Finland, and Roberta Metsola, President of the European Parliament, to star chefs Asma Khan and Christian Puglisi, celebrated illustrator Christoph Niemann, and environmentalist George Monbiot. Since launching in 2017, we’ve talked about everything from elections in France, Italy and many more countries besides, to the politics of halloumi cheese in Cyprus, to why Donald Trump is so hard for TV interpreters to translate.
We pride ourselves on covering European politics, European news and European culture from a pan-European perspective. You’ll often hear stories on The Europeans from parts of the continent that don’t usually receive enough attention from major international media outlets, especially Central, Eastern and Southern Europe.
You might enjoy The Europeans if you also enjoy one of these other podcasts: The News Agents, On the Media, Today in Focus, Inside Europe, The Journal, EU Confidential, The Daily, The Globalist, Reasons to be Cheerful, The Media Show, Power Play, and The New Statesman. Whether you’re already a European news nerd, or simply someone who’d like to be better informed about what’s happening across Europe, The Europeans is the podcast for you.
Support us on Patreon: https://patreon.com/europeanspodcast
Hosted by Katy Lee, a journalist based in Paris, and Dominic Kraemer, an opera singer in Amsterdam, The Europeans covers everything from elections and climate policy to the best new European films and TV shows. We also produce investigative podcasts about everything from the European farming lobby to oat milk. Yes, oat milk.
Katy and Dominic are old friends, and the warmth and intimacy of their conversations will soon make you feel like you’ve known them a long time too. They approach topics with a light and humorous tone that makes The Europeans stand out from other European news podcasts, while remaining journalistically rigorous and meticulously fact-checked. The Europeans has been recommended by The New York Times, The Guardian, Buzzfeed, The Financial Times, and many other outlets.
Katy Lee, a British-French reporter, has written for major outlets including The Guardian, Politico Europe, Agence France-Presse (AFP), Foreign Policy and The New Statesman for more than a decade, covering French and European politics and more recently, climate change. Dominic Kraemer, a British-German opera singer, performs across Europe when he is not co-hosting The Europeans, with roles recently at the Staatsoper in Berlin, the Dutch National Opera and the Münchener Biennale. The Europeans’ team is completed by producers Katz Laszlo in Amsterdam and Wojciech Oleksiak in Warsaw. You’ll hear them joining Katy and Dominic from time to time, particularly during investigative episodes like ‘The Oatly Chronicles’ and ‘The Big-Agri Bully Boys’.
The Europeans’ breezy, informal approach to covering European news has won awards such as a Covering Climate Now award for an episode about the Swiss women who sued their government at the European Court of Human Rights demanding more climate action; Germany’s prestigious CIVIS Media Prize for ‘Mohamed’, an episode that explores the everyday life of a young undocumented man in Amsterdam; and best LGBTQIA+ short at the MiraBan UK Film Awards for ‘Josh and Franco’, the coming-of-age story of a father and son, both gay.
Our guests have included everyone from major figures in European politics such as Alexander Stubb, now the President of Finland, and Roberta Metsola, President of the European Parliament, to star chefs Asma Khan and Christian Puglisi, celebrated illustrator Christoph Niemann, and environmentalist George Monbiot. Since launching in 2017, we’ve talked about everything from elections in France, Italy and many more countries besides, to the politics of halloumi cheese in Cyprus, to why Donald Trump is so hard for TV interpreters to translate.
We pride ourselves on covering European politics, European news and European culture from a pan-European perspective. You’ll often hear stories on The Europeans from parts of the continent that don’t usually receive enough attention from major international media outlets, especially Central, Eastern and Southern Europe.
You might enjoy The Europeans if you also enjoy one of these other podcasts: The News Agents, On the Media, Today in Focus, Inside Europe, The Journal, EU Confidential, The Daily, The Globalist, Reasons to be Cheerful, The Media Show, Power Play, and The New Statesman. Whether you’re already a European news nerd, or simply someone who’d like to be better informed about what’s happening across Europe, The Europeans is the podcast for you.
Support us on Patreon: https://patreon.com/europeanspodcast
Episodes
Mentioned books
Jan 29, 2026 • 56min
A European social network for the WTF era
Katja Diehl, German mobility activist, author and podcaster who campaigns for less car-centric transport, joins to imagine life beyond cars. She discusses rural and suburban realities, why streets need people-first redesigns, gendered blind spots in planning, and how industry skills could shift toward shared, low-emission mobility. Short, practical, and vividly hopeful.
Jan 22, 2026 • 57min
The UK and the EU: best buds again?
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 been a good week for Berliners making Kartoffelsalat, Kartoffelsuppe, Kartoffelknödel, et cetera et cetera, thanks to an initiative that is distributing more than 170 tonnes – TONNES – of potatoes across the German capital. Then we examine a newly leaked “Made in Europe“ proposal that seeks to promote industrial production in the EU (very very fun, we promise).
We’re also joined by Nick Thomas-Symonds, the UK government minister pursuing a post-Brexit “reset“ in relations with the EU, about how the Labour government might help clean up some of the post-Brexit mess. This one goes out to those of you who like to email to remind us that Britain is still Europe. We see you. We read you.
This week’s Inspiration Station recommendations are the Norwegian film Sentimental Value and these 'tasting notes' from a water sommelier.
LISTENER SURVEY: Fear not – we are still seeking responses to our listener survey! It’s not too late to help! It’s simple and really does help us make the show better. Fill it out here and pat yourself on the back afterwards.
Resources for this episode:
4,000 Tonnen, the “great potato rescue operation”
“Record potato harvest is no boon in fries-mad Belgium” – France 24, 29 October 2025
“Den regionalen Erzeugern wird vors Schienbein getreten” – Taz, 15 January 2026
“EU Aims to Fight Industrial Decline With ‘Made in Europe’ Law” – Bloomberg, 17 January 2026
Aurora Notifier app
Joachim Trier’s acceptance speech at the European Film Awards
Veronika the cow, scratching herself
SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER: Other things happened/are happening in Europe this week (🫠) and if you’d like to learn more about them, join us over at our newsletter, GOOD WEEK BAD WEEK.
This podcast was brought to you in cooperation with Euranet Plus, the leading radio network for EU news. But it’s contributions from listeners that truly make it all possible—we could not continue to make the show without you! If you like what we do, you can chip in to help us cover our production costs at patreon.com/europeanspodcast (in many different currencies), or you can gift a donation to a superfan. We'd also love it if you could tell two friends about this podcast. We think two feels like a reasonable number.
Produced by Morgan Childs and Wojciech Oleksiak
Mixing and mastering by Wojciech Oleksiak
Music by Jim Barne and Mariska Martina
YouTube | Bluesky | Instagram | Mastodon | Substack | hello@europeanspodcast.com
Jan 16, 2026 • 56min
ChatGPT is ruining weddings now
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 world” – have we got a guest for you! We’re joined this week by former Icelandic prime minister Katrín Jakobsdóttir, who resigned from office in 2024 in order to run for president and is now enjoying a second life as a successful crime novelist and climate activist. Be still, our hearts. We chatted with Katrín about the security threat that climate change and the current geopolitical instability pose to Iceland; her career in politics; and why she wanted to write fiction (“Doesn’t everybody?” she asked).
Also in this episode: The Mercosur primer of your dreams! And the disconcertingly relatable story of a ChatGPT-informed wedding gone awry. This week’s Inspiration Station recommendations are the 10th edition of the European Review of Books and the Deutsche Welle podcast Delayland.
LISTENER SURVEY: Do you have a moment to help us out? We would be so grateful to hear your thoughts about what we’re doing well and where we can improve. Fill out our short, simple survey here.
Resources for this episode:
“32.7% of EU people used generative AI tools in 2025” – Eurostat, 16 December 2025
“Largest study of its kind shows AI assistants misrepresent news content 45% of the time – regardless of language or territory” – European Broadcasting Union, 22 October 2025
“Thinker, Plaintiff, Merkel, Spy” (our interview with the creators of the European Review of Books) – The Europeans, 3 June 2021
The Weapons to Ukraine fund, AKA Czech initiative A Gift for Putin (Dárek pro Putina)
SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER: Although this episode came out on a Friday, we are a *Thursday* podcast, because who wants to think about the imminent World War III on a Friday? That being said, if you would like to laugh through your tears on Friday, we recommend our newsletter, GOOD WEEK BAD WEEK. It will carry you through a full weekend of existential dread.
This podcast was brought to you in cooperation with Euranet Plus, the leading radio network for EU news. But it’s contributions from listeners that truly make it all possible—we could not continue to make the show without you! If you like what we do, you can chip in to help us cover our production costs at patreon.com/europeanspodcast (in many different currencies), or you can gift a donation to a superfan. We'd also love it if you could tell two friends about this podcast. We think two feels like a reasonable number.
Produced by Morgan Childs, Wojciech Oleksiak and Katz Laszlo
Mixing and mastering by Wojciech Oleksiak
Music by Jim Barne and Mariska Martina
YouTube | Bluesky | Instagram | Mastodon | Substack | hello@europeanspodcast.com
Jan 8, 2026 • 59min
2026: The year Europe gets its act together?
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 Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores was the New Year’s gift that Europe certainly did not ask for, and it raises a host of alarming questions. Among them: Does this move grant a permission slip for Vladimir Putin to encroach even further into Europe? And what does this mean for Greenland?
As we tiptoe into the year ahead with heaps of anxiety about what it might have in store, we wanted to get some perspective from Alberto Alemanno, professor of EU law, founder of The Good Lobby, and longtime friend of the podcast. Alberto always has a smart, fresh perspective on what’s happening on the continent, and despite being jetlagged this week, he certainly did not disappoint.
We’re also talking this week about Bulgaria’s adoption of the euro—a move that comes with some risks, but about which we are cautiously optimistic—and about the 308,000 Greek students who recently lost their student status. This week’s Inspiration Station recommendations are Rosa Balistreri’s song “Curri Cavaddu Miu”, the French-owned streaming platform Qobuz, which offers a potentially more ethical alternative to Spotify, and going to the dentist in other countries (makes more sense if you listen in).
Resources for this episode:
“Hitting record highs: unpacking support for the euro” – European Central Bank, 2025
Alberto’s excellent and information-rich Instagram, LinkedIn, and BlueSky accounts
“Rosa Balistreri” – Enciclopedia Delle Donne
Even more songs by Rosa Balistreri
Instagram post by @patriciana comparing the ethics, content, and costs of various streaming platforms
Stride trepidatiously into the new year with The Europeans in your inbox! Our new newsletter, Good Week Bad Week, comes out on Friday mornings. Sign up here.
This podcast was brought to you in cooperation with Euranet Plus, the leading radio network for EU news. But it’s contributions from listeners that truly make it all possible—we could not continue to make the show without you! If you like what we do, you can chip in to help us cover our production costs at patreon.com/europeanspodcast (in many different currencies), or you can gift a donation to a superfan. We'd also love it if you could tell two friends about this podcast. We think two feels like a reasonable number.
Produced by Katz Laszlo and Morgan Childs
Mixing and mastering by Wojciech Oleksiak
Music by Jim Barne and Mariska Martina
YouTube | Bluesky | Instagram | Mastodon | Substack | hello@europeanspodcast.com
Dec 18, 2025 • 54min
Pavarotti is trapped in an ice rink
This festive gathering brings light-hearted cheer as hosts tackle Denmark's postal service stopping letter deliveries and the quirky saga of Pavarotti's statue in an ice rink. Musicians Jim Barne and Kit Buchan join to explore what makes Christmas music so nostalgic, sharing insights on orchestration and intergenerational sharing. The hosts reflect on their podcast journey and listener support, while recommending holiday favorites. Plus, a whimsical tale of two adventurous owls adds a delightful twist to the celebration.
7 snips
Dec 4, 2025 • 55min
Can the EU make Poland recognise gay marriage?
Angéla Kóczé, Chair of the Romani Studies programme at Central European University, dives into the complexities of anti-Roma discrimination across Europe. She highlights the troubling Hungarian law that marginalizes Roma under the guise of protecting local identity and discusses troubling historical practices like the forcible sterilization of Roma women. Angéla advocates for EU interventions to ensure Roma rights and social inclusion, while also reflecting on the implications of recent LGBTQ+ marriage rulings for Poland. Their conversation is both enlightening and urgent.
7 snips
Nov 27, 2025 • 1h 1min
Europe's climate vibe has shifted. Now what?
Luisa Neubauer, a German climate activist and key figure in Fridays for Future, shares insights on Europe's shifting climate 'vibe'. She discusses the waning momentum for climate action since 2018, the role of fossil fuel lobbying, and how hope can be an active commitment. Luisa also explores the impact of COP decisions on public perception and the importance of grassroots activism. Additionally, the conversation touches on Slovenia's controversial Šutar Law and its implications for the Roma community, making for a compelling and thought-provoking discussion.
Nov 20, 2025 • 49min
How Ireland proved a basic income for artists actually works
In this engaging discussion, John Baker, co-founder of the Equality Studies Centre at University College Dublin, explores Ireland's innovative Basic Income for the Arts pilot. He highlights how providing artists with a guaranteed income has not only boosted their creativity but also enabled them to produce more work while relying less on welfare. Baker also contrasts Ireland's approach with other pilots and discusses the broader implications for universal payments in the face of economic challenges, including job disruptions from AI.
Nov 14, 2025 • 54min
Help! My manager is an algorithm!
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’s been a hectic time in Europe, but we’re happy to be covering it all—or, you know, a sizable sliver of it—starting with Latvia’s potential withdrawal from the Istanbul Convention and the European Parliament’s call for new regulation of algorithmic tech in the workplace. Algorithmic management has made its way into all sorts of industries; we dig into whether or not that’s a good thing and how new legislation might help to protect us all.
Then it’s off to Paris, where tens of thousands of shoppers have already flooded the aisles of the new brick-and-mortar Shein store and thousands of others have been protesting its very existence. That’s not only because of Shein’s environmentally toxic business model but because of the recent appearance of some despicable products on its website—which has led the French government to threaten to ban the fast-fashion giant. To break it all down, we rang up Paris-based fashion journalist Dana Thomas, author of the book Fashionopolis and host of the podcast The Green Dream.
Mentioned in this episode:
‘“Cynical and completely reckless” Latvia has the highest femicide rate in Europe — including Russia. Its parliament just voted to exit a treaty protecting women from violence.’ - Meduza, November 4, 2025
EU study: 37% of employees are monitored for working hours
1 in 4 workplaces make decisions with algorithms
Case studies in algorithmic management
Dana’s book Fashionopolis
Dana’s newsletter, The Style Files
This week's Inspiration Station recommendations are the Rosalía album Lux and the podcast series Where Is Jón?, a co-production of RTÉ in Ireland and RÚV in Iceland.
We don't often have sponsors on this podcast but this week, we do: Patagonia. Three years ago, Patagonia named Earth as its only shareholder. But moving more profits to environmental causes hasn’t made them a perfect company—let alone a sustainable one. Out now is Patagonia's 2025 Work-in-Progress report: the raw truth about where they’re messing up, but also, the latest ways they’re rethinking business as usual. You can check out the report here.
This podcast was brought to you in cooperation with Euranet Plus, the leading radio network for EU news. But it’s contributions from listeners that truly make it all possible—we could not continue to make the show without you! If you like what we do, you can chip in to help us cover our production costs at patreon.com/europeanspodcast (in many different currencies), or you can gift a donation to a superfan. We'd also love it if you could tell two friends about this podcast. We think two feels like a reasonable number.
01:21 Katy's back!
05:33 Bad Week: Latvian politicians
19:08 Good Week: All European workers! (Maybe)
30:48 Interview: Dana Thomas on France's threat to ban SHEIN
46:00 The Inspiration Station: 'Lux' by Rosalía and 'Where is Jón'?
50:46 Happy Ending: Europe's first major elephant sanctuary
Produced by Morgan Childs
Editorial support from Katz Laszlo
Mixing and mastering by Wojciech Oleksiak
Music by Jim Barne and Mariska Martina
YouTube | Bluesky | Instagram | Mastodon | hello@europeanspodcast.com
Nov 7, 2025 • 1h 1min
Drugs policy: Who Does It Best?
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 Best?' producer Wojciech is taking us across the landscape of Europe’s drug policies. From 90s Portugal to the coffee shops of Amsterdam to a little pit stop in Uruguay(!), we’re taking a deep dive into which policies are the sanest and safest on offer.
MASSIVE THANKS: We want to give a HUGE shoutout to everyone who made this series possible. Our generous crowdfunders hit our goal within two months, making it possible for us to do extensive reporting fully independently. Our hearts are beyond full. Thank you.
BOOST THE SHOW: If you liked the series and want to help us spread the good word, we’ve prepared some social media posts that you can download and share. Here they are! We’d be eternally grateful if you influenced your followers with our snappy graphics ✨
DON’T QUIT WHILE YOU’RE AHEAD: If you’re feeling inspired to support The Europeans’ ongoing work, please go to patreon.com/europeanspodcast. You can drop us a few euros or dollars or francs or crowns or whatever the heck ya got.
Additional resources for this episode:
Research on Portugal’s decriminalization success story
Amsterdam’s drop-in center AMOC Zuid
Written, reported and produced by: Wojciech Oleksiak
Editor: Jasmin Baoumy
Editorial support: Dominic Kraemer, Katz Laszlo, Katy Lee, Morgan Childs
Sound design: Jesse Lou Lawson
Mixing and mastering: Wojciech Oleksiak
Music and SFX: Jim Barne, Epidemic, FreeSound.org
Artwork: RTiiiKA
Thanks to everyone who sat down with Wojciech to share their expertise, including Tom Decorte, Katrin Schiffer, Annika Apfel, Malu Salazar, Cedric Chervet, Adam Nowotarski, Peter Sarosi, Ferry, the De Barones crew, Reinoud van Delft, Gośka, Yahya, Leonie, AMOC clients Bouhz and Damian, Breda’s coffeeshop owners. Special thanks go to Leonie, Tom, Łukasz and Michał.
Stay safe out there!
YouTube | Bluesky | Instagram | Mastodon | hello@europeanspodcast.com
00:00:43 Intro: Rockstar life and drugs
00:09:55 Act I: Soft drugs, tolerance and the myth of legal weed
00:23:15 Act II: You gotta regulate that thing!
00:30:43 Act III: Total decriminalization
00:49:05 Act IV: Legalise everything, regulate everything
