It’s dawn in the Aegean Sea. A dozen asylum seekers are crammed into a rubber dinghy, hoping to land on the Greek island of Lesbos. They are already within EU waters — and they have the right, under international law, to claim asylum. But a huge ship is blocking their way. This week we are looking at the phenomenon of pushbacks: illegal efforts to push people back across a border so that they cannot claim asylum. And we’re looking at mounting evidence that the EU’s border agency, Frontex, has witnessed or even participated in these pushbacks. We recommend that you check out Lighthouse Reports' investigations on Europe's borders. This episode was produced as part of Sphera, a collective of independent European media. Find out more at sphera-hub.com. Thanks for listening. If you enjoy our podcast and would like to help us keep making it, we'd love it if you'd consider chipping in a few euros / dollars / pounds a month at patreon.com/europeanspodcast. You can also help new listeners find the show by leaving us a review. This podcast is part of the Are We Europe family. Find more like-minded European podcasts at areweeurope.com/audio-family. Reporter and producer: Andrei Popoviciu Editorial support: Katz Laszlo, Katy Lee, Dominic Kraemer, Wojciech Oleksiak Senior producer: Katz Laszlo Sound design: Andrei Popoviciu and Wojciech Oleksiak Editor: Katy Lee Mixing: Wojciech Oleksiak Music: Jim Barne, Bluedot Sessions, Artlist.io Sound effects: Freesound.org

A humanitarian crisis is unfolding at the edge of the EU. Asylum seekers are finding themselves trapped in the forest between Poland and Belarus, caught up in a political game, and literally freezing to death. Marta Górczyńska, a migration lawyer who has been helping some of the new arrivals, explains what's happening on the ground and what international law has to say about this shameful situation. We're also talking about the Council of Europe's hijab fiasco and Italy's mafia maxi-trial. Plus, a tale of cough sweets and generosity. We have some tickets to give away to see some great musical acts, courtesy of our friends at Liveurope! Check out our Instagram and Facebook page for a chance to win tickets to see Priya Ragu in Amsterdam on November 18 and Viagra Boys in Lille on November 23. This episode was produced as part of Sphera, a collective of independent European media. Find out more at sphera-hub.com. Thanks for listening! If you enjoy our podcast and would like to help us keep making it, we'd love it if you'd consider chipping in a few euros / dollars / pounds a month at patreon.com/europeanspodcast. You can also help new listeners find the show by leaving us a review. Producers: Katy Lee and Wojciech Oleksiak Senior producer: Katz Laszlo 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. Twitter | Instagram | Facebook | hello@europeanspodcast.com

This week, a story that spans three generations of women: Sara, her mother, and her grandmother. In their collective lifetimes, Albania entered a communist dictatorship; the regime fell; and then there was a transition. And through it all, there was a dish: trahana. This is the third episode from our series This Is What A Generation Sounds Like: intimate stories from young Europeans across the continent. A beautiful visual version of this podcast, as well as the previous episode, ‘Denisa’, will be available soon! In the meantime, check out the first visual podcast in this series: Josh and Franco. This series is produced with Are We Europe and made in cooperation with Allianz Kulturstiftung, an independent not-for-profit cultural foundation committed to strengthening cohesion in Europe using the tools of art and culture. Find out more at kulturstiftung.allianz.de. Producers: Katz Laszlo and Sara Assistant producer: Priyanka Shankar Editor: Katy Lee Sound design: Katz Laszlo Editorial support: Dominic Kraemer, Katy Lee and Wojciech Oleksiak Music: Era e Feminise, by Elina Duni; Song of Emigration, by Women’s Choir from Permet; Tana, by Saziso; Ka Nje mot e gjysem viti, by Elina Duni Quartet; Jonuzi Me Shoket by Vaome Kaba; Ballerina by Yehezkel Raz; Mëmëdheu by the Peter Pan Quartet; Jim Barne. SFX from Freesound.org. Thanks for listening! If you enjoy our podcast and would like to help us keep making it, we'd love it if you'd consider chipping in a few euros / dollars / pounds a month at patreon.com/europeanspodcast. You can also help new listeners find the show by leaving us a review. This podcast is part of the Are We Europe family. Find more like-minded European podcasts at areweeurope.com/audio-family. Twitter | Instagram | Facebook | hello@europeanspodcast.com

Fit for 55 sounds like a plan to get middle-aged people to exercise, but it is in fact one of the most ambitious climate policies on the planet. But is it enough to make a difference? This week, in collaboration with the Open Society European Policy Institute, our favourite climate explainer Emily Stewart breaks down Europe's plan for us. Is Fit for 55 fit for purpose? And can Europe turn it into a reality without sparking a continent-wide social revolt? You can follow Emily on Twitter here and find out more about OSEPI's work here. This episode was produced and sound designed by Wojciech Oleksiak, with editorial support from Katy Lee, Dominic Kraemer and Katz Laszlo. Music by Jim Barne and Blue Dot Sessions. Thanks for listening! If you enjoy our podcast and would like to help us keep making it, we'd love it if you'd consider chipping in a few euros / dollars / pounds a month at patreon.com/europeanspodcast. You can also help new listeners find the show by leaving us a review. This podcast is part of the Are We Europe family. Find more like-minded European podcasts at areweeurope.com/audio-family. Twitter | Instagram | Facebook | hello@europeanspodcast.com

Wondering why everyone is suddenly talking about the prospect of a 'Polexit'? This week we're talking to excellent Polandsplainer Jakub Jaraczewski about why the government in Warsaw has just got itself into a huge legal mess. We're also talking about the downfall of Austria's Wunderkind, why so many young Spaniards live with their parents, and the mysterious power of the European chestnut. Jakub is a research coordinator at Democracy Reporting International. You can follow him here on Twitter. This week's Isolation Inspiration: the Earthshot Prize on Saturday, October 16, and 'On Time And Water' by Andri Snær Magnason. You can also watch his video for TED here. This episode was produced as part of Sphera, a collective of independent European media. Find out more at sphera-hub.com. Thanks for listening! If you enjoy our podcast and would like to help us keep making it, we'd love it if you'd consider chipping in a few euros / dollars / pounds a month at patreon.com/europeanspodcast. You can also help new listeners find the show by leaving us a review. Producers: Katy Lee and Wojciech Oleksiak Senior producer: Katz Laszlo 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. Twitter | Instagram | Facebook | hello@europeanspodcast.com

This week we're delving into the Czech PM's secret purchase of a French château, an extremely bold Danish artistic experiment, and, oh yes, Wally the Walrus' tour of the European coastline. Plus, political scientist Arndt Leininger is here to decrypt the German election for us. For excellent German politics nerdery you can follow Arndt on Twitter here, and for a Pandora Papers deep-dive into Andrej Babiš and his French château, head to the ICIJ. This week's Isolation Inspiration: Anna Learns A New Language; Darknet Diaries Got a better name for our Isolation Inspiration segment? Answers on a postcard please: hello@europeanspodcast.com This episode was produced as part of Sphera, a collective of independent European media. Find out more at sphera-hub.com. Thanks for listening! If you enjoy our podcast and would like to help us keep making it, we'd love it if you'd consider chipping in a few euros / dollars / pounds a month at patreon.com/europeanspodcast. You can also help new listeners find the show by leaving us a review. Producers: Katy Lee and Wojciech Oleksiak Senior producer: Katz Laszlo 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. Twitter | Instagram | Facebook | hello@europeanspodcast.com

It's our first ever live show! Recorded live at the Tolhuistuin in Amsterdam. And what could be a more appropriate discussion than the fact that this city will one day be underwater? We promise that's a less depressing conversation than it sounds, because the person who's here to talk about it is husband of the show Thomas Lamers, a member of the documentary theatre collective Collectief Walden. They spent this summer asking an intriguing question: if Amsterdam only has around 250 years left, what should they look like? This week's Isolation Inspiration: Beautiful World, Where Are You by Sally Rooney and The Hidden Life of Trees. You can also watch a video about Collectief Walden's Eiland project here and listen to their podcasts here. Thank you so much to the Lieven and the whole team at the Podcastfestival for having us, and to Katz Laszlo, Mick ter Reehorst and Stefano Montali for their help on the night. And thank you for listening. If you enjoy our podcast and would like to help us keep making it, we'd love it if you'd consider chipping in a few euros / dollars / pounds a month at patreon.com/europeanspodcast. You can also help new listeners find the show by leaving us a review. Music: Jim Barne, Ed Bahonie and Mariska Martina This podcast is part of the Are We Europe family. Find more like-minded European podcasts at areweeurope.com/audio-family. Twitter | Instagram | Facebook | hello@europeanspodcast.com

This week, Katy’s plunging into the depths of the French Submarine Saga and Dominic’s delving into some tentatively good developments for LGBTQ parents in Europe. Plus, the speech we were all waiting for! Or not. One of our favourite journalists within the Brussels bubble, the Spanish reporter Beatriz Ríos, is here to unravel Ursula von der Leyen's State of the European Union for us. We can’t wait to see some of you at our first-ever live show in Amsterdam on Friday! For those of you who can’t join us, don’t fear – a recording will be dropping in your feeds next week. It’ll be a little earlier than usual, so look out for it on Monday or Tuesday. This week's Isolation Inspiration: The Hill Where Lionesses Roar; A Poisoning You can follow Beatriz on Twitter here and read about Italy’s one-euro homes here. This episode was produced as part of Sphera, a collective of independent European media. Find out more at sphera-hub.com. Thanks for listening! If you enjoy our podcast and would like to help us keep making it, we'd love it if you'd consider chipping in a few euros / dollars / pounds a month at patreon.com/europeanspodcast. You can also help new listeners find the show by leaving us a review. Producers: Katy Lee and Wojciech Oleksiak Senior producer: Katz Laszlo 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. Twitter | Instagram | Facebook | hello@europeanspodcast.com

A year into the protest movement in Belarus, what are things like on the ground? This week we talk to the poet Hanna Komar about her own experience in detention, and the extraordinary "algorithm" of solidarity among women in the movement. We're also talking about Russian gas, Norwegian oil, and the magnificence of Emma Raducanu. You can read Hanna's article, 'Sisterhood behind bars', here. This week's Isolation Inspiration: Lykke Li and Robyn on Song Exploder; The Book of Reykjavik. There are still a few tickets left for our first ever live show, in Amsterdam on September 24! Grab one here. This episode was produced as part of Sphera, a collective of independent European media. Find out more at sphera-hub.com. Thanks for listening! If you enjoy our podcast and would like to help us keep making it, we'd love it if you'd consider chipping in a few euros / dollars / pounds a month at patreon.com/europeanspodcast. You can also help new listeners find the show by leaving us a review. Producers: Katy Lee and Wojciech Oleksiak Senior producer: Katz Laszlo 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. Twitter | Instagram | Facebook | hello@europeanspodcast.com

We're back from our summer break with an enticing idea: what would happen if we only worked four days a week? Far from spelling economic disaster, the Portuguese economist Pedro Gomes argues it would boost the economy and our well-being at the same time. We chat to him about his excellent new book, 'Friday Is The New Saturday: How A Four-Day Week Will Save The Economy'. We're also talking about naughty European banks, a lucky Neapolitan scratchcard, and — of course! — the return of ABBA. We're doing our first ever live show at the Podcastfestival in Amsterdam on Friday, September 24! The show starts at 7pm. Get your tickets here. You can check out the EU Tax Observatory's report on banks and tax havens here. This week's Isolation Inspiration: Malta and the El Hiblu 3; Bandigou de Melun. This episode was produced as part of Sphera, a collective of independent European media. Find out more at sphera-hub.com. Thanks for listening! If you enjoy our podcast and would like to help us keep making it, we'd love it if you'd consider chipping in a few euros / dollars / pounds a month at patreon.com/europeanspodcast. You can also help new listeners find the show by leaving us a review. Producers: Katy Lee and Wojciech Oleksiak Senior producer: Katz Laszlo 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. Twitter | Instagram | Facebook | hello@europeanspodcast.com