We're back from our summer break and here to bring you all the European Things that have been missing from your life. This week, the Italian novelist Francesca Melandri on what happened when her beautiful Letter From The Future went viral; we also chat about how Italy deals (or doesn't) with the past. Also this week: theatrical freedom in Hungary, extremely slow music, and a fly-swatting disaster. Francesca is speaking at the Forum on European Culture next week. Get the full programme here: https://cultureforum.eu Thanks for listening! If you like our show and want to help us keep running, you can donate a couple of euros/dollars a month at patreon.com/europeanspodcast. Twitter | Instagram | Facebook | hello@europeanspodcast.com

In this final installment of European love letters, we're travelling from Hungary to Germany, Germany to Russia, and across the border to Norway. We're celebrating the books that stay with us for a lifetime — and books that seem to have a life of their own. And we're heading to the Arctic with an extremely stubborn grandmother. The Chain is presented by Mick ter Reehorst and is a collaboration with Are We Europe as part of the Summer of Solidarity, a pop-up collaborative journalism project. Find out more at https://www.summerofsolidarity.eu. The stories you heard were written by Philip Pollak, Viola Theunissen and Nina Lamparski. Mixing and sound design was by Katz Laszlo, production by Dominic Kraemer, and editing by Katy Lee. Music and sound effects from Blue Dot Sessions and Freesound.org. You also heard the Fourth Movement of Tchaikovsky's Symphony No. 6 in B minor, and Divertimento from his Suite No.1, Op.43, via Musopen. https://europeanspodcast.com | https://www.areweeurope.com

We're hopping from Sweden to France, France to Spain, and Spain to Austria for part two of The Chain, a series of love-letters from Europeans to each other's countries. This week we're climbing a volcano, feasting on chocolate cake, and seeing Europe through a dog's eyes. The Chain is presented by Mick ter Reehorst and is a collaboration with Are We Europe as part of the Summer of Solidarity, a pop-up collaborative journalism project. Find out more at https://www.summerofsolidarity.eu. The stories you heard were written by Julie Lindahl, Sedera Ranaivoarinosy and Marta Santiváñez. Lisa Klevermark was the voice of Ellie. Mixing and sound design was by Katz Laszlo, production by Dominic Kraemer, and editing by Katy Lee. Music and sound effects from Blue Dot Sessions and Freesound.org. The final waltz was Johann Strauss' G’schichten aus dem Wienerwald, played by the Wiener Johann Strauss Orchester. https://europeanspodcast.com | https://www.areweeurope.com

Introducing The Chain: a series of love-letters from Europeans to each other's countries. This week we're hopping from Romania to the Netherlands, the Netherlands to Italy, Italy to Bosnia and Herzegovina. We'll hear about a mountain, a monument from a non-existent country, and a life-changing conversation in a soap shop. The Chain is presented by Mick ter Reehorst and is a collaboration with Are We Europe as part of the Summer of Solidarity, a pop-up collaborative journalism project. Find out more at https://www.summerofsolidarity.eu. The stories you heard were written and recorded by Andreea Sirbu, Thomas van Neerbos and Veronica Tosetti, and produced by Dominic Kraemer, Katz Laszlo and Katy Lee. Music and sound effects from Blue Dot Sessions and Freesound (including Richard Laiepce, antigonia, genghis attenborough, and Katz' own field recordings). https://europeanspodcast.com | https://www.areweeurope.com

In our last episode before a little summer break, we're zooming out and taking a look at the state of Europe with Natalie Nougayrède. The Guardian columnist and former Le Monde editor is spearheading Summer of Solidarity, a collaborative journalism project celebrating human stories across Europe. We chat about the 'othering' of Central and Eastern Europeans and the case for a pan-European media outlet. Also this week: Poland's election, problematic metro names, and the power of bison. We want your stories for our special summer episodes! Find out more: https://europeanspodcast.com/the-chain Explore the Summer of Solidarity, including some great Spotify playlists, at https://www.summerofsolidarity.eu Thanks for listening! If you like the show and want to help us keep making it, you can chip in as little as $2 month at https://www.patreon.com/europeanspodcast. Twitter | Instagram | Facebook | hello@europeanspodcast.com

Why has George Soros inspired conspiracy theories involving everything from the Holocaust to Beyoncé? This week we're talking to Emily Tamkin, author of 'The Influence of Soros', about why the Hungarian-born billionaire is such a source of fascination and controversy. Also this week: Belgium faces its past; Latvia faces Russian 'propaganda' efforts; and Parisian jazz goes solo. Thanks for listening! If you like our show and want to make sure we can keep making it, you can chip in a couple of dollars a month at patreon.com/europeanspodcast. Emily's book is out now: https://www.harpercollins.com/9780062972637/the-influence-of-soros/ 'Russia's RT Network: Is It More BBC or KGB?' - https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/08/world/europe/russias-rt-network-is-it-more-bbc-or-kgb.html 'RT, Sputnik and Russia's New Theory of War' - https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/13/magazine/rt-sputnik-and-russias-new-theory-of-war.html Malin Broman x 8 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KWwLSsfdmNk Floor Is Lava https://www.netflix.com/title/81006858 Twitter | Instagram | Facebook | hello@europeanspodcast.com

Igor Levit, as the New Yorker put it, "Is Like No Other Pianist". This week we chatted to the German-Russian superstar about playing for 15 hours straight, why he staged 50 concerts from his living room, and Germany's ongoing struggle against systemic racism. We're also talking about France's "green wave" and Romania's very expensive super-church. Thanks for listening! If you like the show, you can chip in a few dollars a month to help us keep running at patreon.com/europeanspodcast. Follow Igor on Twitter and Instagram and watch his epic performance of Erik Satie's Vexations here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uu_03mUPgHU Eurovision Song Contest - The Story of Fire Saga: https://www.netflix.com/title/80244088 The Fog of Srebrenica: https://vimeo.com/ondemand/thefogofsrebrenica Twitter | Instagram | Facebook | hello@europeanspodcast.com

This week we're celebrating those moments when Europeans are actually nice to each other. Rafael Loss, data wizard at the European Council on Foreign Relations, is on the line from Berlin to explain why he built an online tool to track solidarity during the C-word crisis. We're also talking about Serbia's elections, Croatian bees, and awake brain surgery. Thanks for listening! If you enjoy the show, please consider a small monthly donation to help keep us running: https://patreon.com/europeanspodcast The Silver Lining, the latest magazine from Are We Europe, is out now! Enter EUROPEANS at the checkout for 30% off: https://www.areweeurope.com/store/the-silver-lining Summer of Solidarity - explore all kinds of European stories here: https://www.summerofsolidarity.eu Check out Rafael's Solidarity Tracker: https://www.ecfr.eu/solidaritytracker On Sweden's sexual consent law - The Local: https://www.thelocal.se/20200616/how-swedens-new-consent-law-led-to-a-75-rise-in-rape-convictions Still Life On The Island: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cg00VY78QdQ&app=desktop Where's Simon? The London Symphony Orchestra: https://lso.co.uk/whats-on/alwaysplaying/digitalactivities/wheres-simon.html Dominic's colleague having awake brain surgery: https://youtu.be/obiARnsKUAo Twitter | Instagram | Facebook | hello@europeanspodcast.com

Communist Bulgaria was home to a furtive cooking craze on a massive scale: women swapping recipes on scraps of paper, with strangers on trams, even at funerals. The historian and writer Albena Shkodrova sees this fascinating phenomenon as a form of subversion; we called her up to ask why. Also this week: Happy Birthday Schengen, an accidental invasion, and an end to Sweden's longest-running murder mystery. Thanks for listening! If you enjoy the show, you can chip in a couple of dollars a month to keep us running at https://patreon.com/europeanspodcast. You can also leave us a ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ review on Apple Podcasts! https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-europeans/id1315776736 Find out more about Albena's forthcoming books, 'Communist Gourmet' and 'Rebellious Cooks': https://www.albenashkodrova.com Who Killed The Prime Minister? - The Guardian https://www.theguardian.com/news/2019/may/16/olof-palme-sweden-prime-minister-unsolved-murder-new-evidence On achève bien les gros - ARTE https://www.arte.tv/fr/videos/086161-000-A/on-acheve-bien-les-gros Lianne LaHavas - NPR Tiny Desk (Home) Concert https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qso4MRfidrw People of Europe - Susan Neiman https://www.facebook.com/debalie/videos/948520485598650 Twitter | Instagram | Facebook | hello@europeanspodcast.com

Protests over the death of George Floyd have been spreading on this side of the Atlantic, from Britain to Hungary. This week we're talking about what makes the European anti-racism protests different, with the artist and cultural critic Quinsy Gario. We're also talking about Prague's mysterious poisoned suitcase, and a possible post-COVID rail revolution. Amsterdam protest recording by Katz Laszlo. Thanks for listening! If you like the show, you can chip in a couple of dollars a month to help us keep making it at https://www.patreon.com/europeanspodcast. You can also leave us a review at https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-europeans/id1315776736 On hydrogen and pasta: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/27/business/hydrogen-fuel-climate-change.html Isolation Inspiration: Afropean by Johny Pitts | Whisper of the Heart | Wind of Change Twitter | Instagram | Facebook | hello@europeanspodcast.com