The Europeans | European news, politics and culture

Katy Lee and Dominic Kraemer
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Apr 3, 2018 • 35min

April 3: Trash islands and rainbow homes

"Ever wonder where plastic ends up? I have a story I'd like to share." This week on The Europeans, the Irish journalist Naomi O'Leary describes what happened when she visited a remote paradise island in the Caribbean, only to find the entire Western world had got there first: plastic, plastic and yet more plastic. We talk about what Naomi found and what Europe can do to stop it. And we quizzed her about her podcast The Irish Passport too! In Zagreb, Daniel Martinović is on the line to discuss the success of Dugine Obitelji (Rainbow Families), Croatia's first children's picture book showing kids with LGBT parents. Plus: the Netherlands keeps its gas underground; a London embassy keeps Julian Assange off the net; and a tale of redemption for an amateur sculptor in Madeira. Thanks for listening! Let us know what you thought of this week's show: --> facebook.com/europeanspodcast | Twitter: @EuropeansPod | Insta: @europeanspodcast | Email: europeanspodcast@gmail.com
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Mar 26, 2018 • 30min

March 27: French Burgers, Danish Pizza

First up, fantastic news: The Europeans Podcast has been nominated for a prize! Hit play to find out all about it, we are over the moon. What a delicious episode we have for you this week. Michelin-starred chef Christian Puglisi is on the line from Copenhagen to talk about how his heritage has helped him shape cuisine that defies the rules. Born to a Norwegian mother and a Sicilian father, Christian's ideas about where he comes from have changed with time, as have his ideas about food. We hear all about how his hit restaurant Baest has blurred the lines of what makes an 'authentic' pizza by going for freshness first — to the point of making Danish mozzarella — and his ongoing battle to make his restaurants as green as possible. Plus: how the French learned to love burgers; how the world learned to hate Cambridge Analytica; and a German footballer with a huge heart (and lucky blood). europeanspodcast.com | facebook.com/europeanspodcast | @EuropeansPod | Instagram: @europeanspodcast
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Mar 20, 2018 • 27min

March 20: Suzy Menkes and the Beer-Brewing Monks

Katy makes no secret of the fact that she records this podcast in her pyjamas, but she may need to up her game after this week's interview with Vogue's legendary international editor, Suzy Menkes, about the European fashion scene and the death of iconic French designer Hubert de Givenchy. In other news, Dominic comes clean about his traumatic experience as a 12-year-old child star in Siberia and gets mixed up (like everyone else this week) between Slovenia and Slovakia. Plus: happy Finns, clowns, and a PR coup for some beer-brewing Belgian monks. Thanks for listening! If one weekly Europe fix isn't enough, check out our Facebook page where we post all kinds of interesting links from around the continent: https://www.facebook.com/europeanspodcast/ See you next week when we'll have our first-ever Michelin-starred chef on the show! Twitter: @EuropeansPod Instagram: @europeanspodcast 🇪🇺 europeanspodcast.com 🇪🇺
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Mar 16, 2018 • 32min

March 13: The best place for our little sprouts

This week we're imagining a better future for baby Europeans and also what might happen after the nuclear apocalypse. Jennifer Pettersson is Swedish radio maker who's been based in Amsterdam for the last 20 years. She's always loved living in the city — until it came to putting her kids in school there. Dutch kids are famously supposed to be the happiest in the world, but is it really true? Since we're planning for the future we might as look all the way ahead to Doomsday. Katy's been chatting to Asmund Asdal, the coordinator of Norway's Global Seed Vault, which keeps back-ups of the world's grains and seeds for use in case of disaster. Also: good news for young Europeans with wanderlust, bad news for clocks, and some mile-high poetry. Thanks for listening! If you've got a few minutes to spare, we'd love it if you could help us spread the word by leaving us a review on iTunes: https://apple.co/2FtsBva europeanspodcast.com | Twitter: @EuropeansPod | Insta: @europeanspodcast
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Mar 16, 2018 • 29min

March 6: Don’t put salt on every snail

Hello Europe! Your favourite continental podcast is back with everything from salted snails to middle-fingered salutes on the menu. Dominic's been walking on thin ice and Katy's been cocooning; there's good news for Angela Merkel and bad news for press freedom in Slovakia. Eckard Helmers is on the line from Germany to explain why Europe fell in love with diesel cars even though they're poisoning our air. And we're talking English — literally — with Marko Modiano, a linguistics expert in Gävle, Sweden, about how the language is taking on a life of its own in Europe. Don't forget to review, rate and subscribe! 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 europeanspodcast.com Twitter: @EuropeansPod Insta: @europeanspodcast europeanspodcast@gmail.com
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Mar 1, 2018 • 28min

BONUS EPISODE: ALEXANDRA PASCALIDOU

Our first ever bonus episode! We enjoyed our conversation in this week's show with Alexandra Pascalidou so much that we're sharing the whole thing with you. Raised by Greek parents in a working-class Stockholm suburb, Alexandra went on to become a prominent journalist in Sweden. But along with the job came the threats: years and years of horrific threats from neo-Nazis who didn't like the way she stood up for multi-culturalism. Last year, something unexpected happened: a former neo-Nazi got in touch to confess he had tormented her for years, and to say he was sorry. And Alexandra did something even more unexpected: she decided to meet up with her former tormentor for coffee. Katy and Dominic rang Alexandra in Stockholm to discuss her remarkable decision to forgive Martin, and why Sweden needs to take its neo-Nazi threat much more seriously. But along the way they also talk about national identity, the Eurovision song contest, and what it means to be European.
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Feb 26, 2018 • 35min

Feb 27: Making peace with the wolves

Who's afraid of the big bad wolf? Not Alexandra Pascalidou. The Greek-Swedish journalist did something that would scare many of us: after years of threats from neo-Nazis, she invited one of them for a cup of coffee. Alexandra gives us a masterclass in forgiveness — and stay tuned later in the week for a bonus episode featuring her full conversation with The Europeans. But first, actual wolves. After Belgium saw its first in a century, we're taking a look at how different countries across the continent are dealing with 20,000 of the proud predators — and our guest Max Rossberg of the European Wilderness Society argues we need a total rethink. Plus: the monster of Brussels, a monstrous week for Britain's Jeremy Corbyn, and some less monstrous news to cheer us up at the end. Thanks for listening, and don't forget to leave us a review on iTunes if you enjoyed the show! Twitter: @EuropeansPod europeanspodcast.com europeanspodcast@gmail.com
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Feb 19, 2018 • 31min

Feb 20: Olympic gold, Dominic is old, Katy has a cold

We've got two birthdays to celebrate this week. Independent Kosovo is officially 10, and your host Dominic Kraemer is officially old. Congrats to both! As Kosovo marks 10 years since declaring independence from Serbia, we give our man in the Balkans Andrew MacDowall a call to explain the challenges that lie ahead for Europe's youngest country. Meanwhile, Katy's been huddling under a duvet in Paris with a cold this week -- a great excuse to obsess over the Winter Olympics, not least that amazing Scottish invention, curling. Team Finland's Oona Kauste is on the line all the way from South Korea with a staunch defence of the sport against allegations that it 'looks weird', and how she manages to juggle the Olympics with her career as a hairdresser and make-up artist. Plus: out and proud LGBT Olympians, happy news for German commuters, and political truth, Dutch-style. Oh, and a mysterious Finnish tongue-twister. Anyone that solves the mystery gets a gold medal of their very own. We're
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Feb 12, 2018 • 32min

Feb 13: Mi kidney, su kidney

Hello from Paris and Amsterdam! Since we’ve seen a huge rise in listeners this week (welcome!) we’re in a giving mood, so we’re talking about organ donation. As countries across Europe weigh up how to save the most lives, transplant ethicist Greg Moorlock is on the line from Birmingham, England to discuss why Spain sees so many more donations than Germany and whether or not the Netherlands should make giving up our kidneys an ‘opt-out’ affair. And Ania Jakubek in Warsaw is back to explain what’s going on with Poland’s new Holocaust law. Plus: a good (ish) week for Angela Merkel, and a bad one for French fashion designer Christian Louboutin and his famous red-soled shoes. Thanks so much for the lovely reviews you’ve been writing — it’s not too late to add another to help people find the podcast across Europe and beyond! https://t.co/2qmA739cYh Check out our website: https://europeanspodcast.com/ Follow us on Twitter: @EuropeansPod
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Feb 6, 2018 • 30min

Feb 6: Build your own Europe, baby

This week on The Europeans, two interviews about building things from scratch. We speak to in-house IKEA designer Sarah Fager in Älmhult, Sweden, about the philosophy that drove the company’s late founder Ingvar Kamprad to take over the world with his flatpack furniture. And in Milan, Andrea Venzon is on the line to give us the lowdown on the new pan-European political movement he’s just set up, Volt. Plus: gassed monkeys, dabblings in erotica by Jean-Claude Juncker, and a whole lot of oranges. Dominic and Katy are delighted that The Europeans has been listed by the British Podcast Awards in their Podwatch newsletter as one of the top five podcasts that will change your perspective! Join the 40,000 people signed up to their email updates here. In the meantime, a special thanks for helping to spread the word about the podcast. We'd love it if you could leave us a review on iTunes so we can get it plugged into every ear in Europe: https://t.co/M6OuFyn7kk. For more info, v

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