The Oscar-nominated Romanian film Collective is enraging and inspiring in equal measure. This week we hear from Răzvan Luțac, one of the investigative journalists who uncovered the vast healthcare scandal at the heart of the film. We're also talking about a fascinating court case brought by young German climate activists, censorship allegations on Italian TV, and a missing finger. Special thanks to Maja and Zoe in Ukraine, Ruben in Switzerland, Leo and Florence in France, Remy in the UK and Raul in Germany for lending us their voices to help us celebrate Europe Day this week. For more Europe Day inspiration, check out europeday.eu. 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. Producer: Katz Laszlo Assistant producers: Andrei Popoviciu and Priyanka Shankar Music: Jim Barne and Mariska Martina The Europeans is part of the Are We Europe family. You can find more like-minded European podcasts at areweeurope.com/audio-family. Twitter | Instagram | Facebook | hello@europeanspodcast.com

This week we're delighted to have an excuse to talk about Dominic's favourite salty cheese. Halloumi has just been recognised as a product unique to Cyprus — something that eurocrats have hailed as a positive step towards reconciliation on the divided Mediterranean island. Is there any truth to that? Cypriot podcaster Natalie Lamprou is here for a great chat about cheese, politics and Cypriot identity. We're also talking about the French mayor running a town from his jail cell, and the German gymnasts taking a stand against sexualisation in sport. This is our first-ever episode as part of Sphera, a new collective of brilliant independent media outlets from across Europe. We are excited to be a part of it! Sign up to follow Sphera on Instagram, TikTok and more: https://linktr.ee/Sphera You can find Natalie's podcast Evris here and read her beautiful piece about Cypriot identity here. This week's Isolation Inspiration: Romanian documentary Collective, virtual reality experience Pollinator Park, and the Feel Good Film Festival. 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. Producer: Katz Laszlo Assistant producers: Andrei Popoviciu and Priyanka Shankar Music: Jim Barne and Mariska Martina This podcast is a proud partner of Are We Europe. If you enjoy beautiful, border-breaking journalism, check out their website and buy their latest magazine. Twitter | Instagram | Facebook | hello@europeanspodcast.com

It's a green-themed episode this week: we're talking about why Germany's Greens are the party of the moment, and taking a look at the environmentalists now running the Danish territory of Greenland. Plus, Katy's been chatting to the Polish artist Joanna Rajkowska about why she put a giant palm tree on a Warsaw roundabout. You can visit the palm tree here and read an interview with Joanna by friend of the show Ania Jakubek here. Joanna's latest work, Rhizopolis, sadly can't be visited right now because of the pandemic, but you can check out this beautiful environmental work on her website. This week's Isolation Inspiration: Anne+ and The Good Life Elsewhere by Vladimir Lorchenkov. 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! Producer: Katz Laszlo Assistant producers: Andrei Popoviciu and Priyanka Shankar Music: Jim Barne and Mariska Martina This podcast is a proud partner of Are We Europe. If you enjoy beautiful, border-breaking journalism, check out their website and buy their latest magazine. Twitter | Instagram | Facebook | hello@europeanspodcast.com

Why are so many British people completely clueless when it comes to understanding Northern Ireland, given that it's part of the UK? After days of rioting in Northern Irish towns and cities, we speak to historian Tim Mc Inerney, co-host of the excellent podcast The Irish Passport, about the strange island-of-Ireland-shaped hole in many Brits' understanding of their own history. We're also talking about Czech vaccines, Spanish vultures, and Brigadier Broccoli, the Swiss army cat. You should all listen to The Irish Passport! Find it in all the usual places, as well as here on their website. This week's Isolation Inspiration: Louis Theroux: Shooting Joe Exotic and "Jemima!" from jingle man Jim Barne and his writing partner Kit Buchan. 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. Producer: Katz Laszlo Assistant producers: Andrei Popoviciu and Priyanka Shankar This podcast is a proud partner of Are We Europe. If you enjoy beautiful, border-breaking journalism, check out their website and buy their latest magazine. Twitter | Instagram | Facebook | hello@europeanspodcast.com

All aboard! We love trains here at The Europeans, but your ability to get around the continent by rail depends a lot on where you live. This week we're chatting to Italian data journalist Lorenzo Ferrari about why Vienna has a ton of international train connections and Albania has... zero. We're also talking about Kosovo's super-popular new female president, the Netherlands' less-popular PM, and a Swiss underwear controversy. You can check out Lorenzo's investigation into the state of international rail in Europe here. This week's Isolation Inspiration: Are We Europe's new magazine and West Cork. 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. Producer: Katz Laszlo Assistant producers: Andrei Popoviciu and Priyanka Shankar Twitter | Instagram | Facebook | hello@europeanspodcast.com

This week, the young Romanian activist who has the patriarchy shaking in its boots. Sofia Scarlat founded Romania's first ever gender equality organisation for teenagers; in a country where the very idea of sex education has come under fierce debate, Girl Up Romania's Instagram account has become a vital source of information for young women. We chat to Sofia about her hopes for a gender equality revolution; we're also talking about the cultural appropriation of Portuguese sweaters, Roman traffic cops, and why it's illegal to call the Polish president a moron. You can check out Sofia's excellent TED Talk here, and read Politico Europe's round-up of where it's illegal to insult the head of state here. This week's Isolation Inspiration: 'Rembrandt in the Blood' from The Daily, and French TikTok accounts Lulucaskip, Maitresse Adeline and Loïc Suberville. 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. Producer: Katz Laszlo Assistant producers: Andrei Popoviciu and Priyanka Shankar Twitter | Instagram | Facebook | hello@europeanspodcast.com

For decades, Eastern Europe has suffered a massive brain drain of people heading abroad in search of opportunity. But something remarkable happened during the pandemic: huge numbers started coming back. Can they be convinced to stay? This week we speak to urban researcher Ognyan Georgiev about his fascinating work tracking Bulgaria's returnees — and we get his predictions for which European cities are going to be the coolest in 20 years time. We're also talking about sexism in German football, Iceland's spectacular volcano eruption, and why Finland has yet again been named the world's happiest country. This week's Isolation Inspiration: Oscar-nominated Romanian film Collective; My Family And Other Animals; and the fabulous music of our Patreon supporter (and newest jingle composer) Mariska Martina: instagram.com/mariskamartina 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. Producer: Katz Laszlo Assistant producers: Andrei Popoviciu and Priyanka Shankar Twitter | Instagram | Facebook | hello@europeanspodcast.com

Pretty much everyone has their face covered in public these days, and yet Switzerland is set to become the latest European country to ban (non-Covid) face coverings in public — including Muslim garments like the niqab and burqa. Given that barely any Swiss women wear these, what exactly is going on here? This week we speak to Inès El-Shikh of the Foulards Violets feminist group about what this referendum campaign has felt like for Muslim women. Also this week: Eurovision! We've been scrutinising the rather threatening lyrics of the Belarusian band kicked out for being too political. Plus, an ancient Roman coffee table and France's reckoning with the past. This week's Isolation Inspiration: White Rabbit Red Rabbit; And Then We Danced; and Are We Europe's delightful recipe cards, a perk of their awesome membership programme. 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. Producer: Katz Laszlo Assistant producers: Priyanka Shankar and Andrei Popoviciu Twitter | Instagram | Facebook | hello@europeanspodcast.com

To mark International Women's Day this week, we speak to one of this continent's most courageous activists: Marta Lempart of the Women's Strike, the movement that that has organised massive street protests in recent months against Poland's incredibly restrictive abortion laws. We're also talking about Berlin's gender-neutral acting prize, Fidesz, and the power of oranges. This week's Isolation Inspiration: "It's A Sin", "African Europeans: An Untold History" and El País' long-read about José Epita Mbombo. 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. Producer: Katz Laszlo Assistant producers: Andrei Popoviciu and Priyanka Shankar Twitter | Instagram | Facebook | hello@europeanspodcast.com

We've got a musical episode for you this week: a Catalan rapper jailed for controversial lyrics and tweets, an ancient French instrument, and some vintage Dutch pop. Plus the historian Timothy Garton Ash is here to explain why he thinks we need a more "polyphonic" Europe. Timothy and his team at University of Oxford want to hear your stories! Take part in their Europe's Stories project here. This week's Isolation Inspiration: Capitani on Netflix, Mangrove on Amazon Prime / the BBC, "Ding-a-Dong" by Teach-In. Thanks for listening! If you like our podcast and want to help us keep making it, we'd be hugely grateful if you'd consider chipping in a few euros / dollars / pounds a month at patreon.com/europeanspodcast. Twitter | Instagram | Facebook | hello@europeanspodcast.com