EU Confidential

In this episode of our pop-up series on the U.S. elections, hosted by Ryan Heath, we talk about America's battle for racial justice and how it's translating into political action.POLITICO's Brooke Minters and Eugene Daniels break down the key issues for Black voters in 2020, as well as their top concerns, and share their personal experiences — emphasizing the importance of honest dialogue and education when discussing the issue of race.You'll also hear from Derrick Johnson, president and CEO of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), the biggest civil rights organization America.The regular EU Confidential podcast will be back in your feed on Thursday — and Campaign Confidential is with you every Tuesday all the way through to election day. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The EU's new plan to handle migration is in the spotlight — Home Affairs Commissioner Ylva Johansson lays out the package and our podcast panel breaks it down. You'll also hear from Clément Beaune, France's minister of state for European affairs, on Turkey, European hard power and why the EU needs a software update.Ylva Johansson sat down with POLITICO's Andrew Gray on the day she revealed the new plan to tackle one of the most divisive issues facing Europe: migration. Johansson portrayed migration as a management challenge that Europe is eminently capable of mastering: "It's not rocket science," she declared. But does a retreat from mandatory redistribution of asylum seekers around the Continent mean Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has won the argument? Listen to hear Johansson's answer.POLITICO's Matthew Karnitschnig and Jacopo Barigazzi examine what's new and what's not so new in the plan, look at the politics behind the policy and sum up the early reaction from diplomats and capitals around the Continent.Clément Beaune visited our Brussels newsroom this week for a live interview with POLITICO's Rym Momtaz and Maïa de La Baume. You'll hear highlights of their discussion on the podcast — and you can watch the full interview here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode of our pop-up series on the U.S. elections, hosted by Ryan Heath, we talk about how conspiracy theories have moved from the fringes of American political rhetoric to the mainstream.POLITICO reporter Sabrina Rodríguez sheds light on conspiracy theories targeted at Spanish speakers in the crucial swing state of Florida. You can read her full piece: "'This is f---ing crazy': Florida Latinos swamped by wild conspiracy theories." You'll also hear from two candidates, one running for Congress and the other for the U.S. Senate, who subscribe to different conspiracy theories including the QAnon movement, which we'll explore in this episode.The regular EU Confidential podcast will be back in your feed on Thursday — and Campaign Confidential is with you every Tuesday all the way through to election day. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We analyze Commission President Ursula von der Leyen's first State of the European Union speech. And Ronald Gidwitz, the U.S. ambassador to Belgium who's also the acting Representative to the EU, gives us his take on the issues that unite and divide his country and the European Union right now.POLITICO's Andrew Gray, Rym Momtaz and David M. Herszenhorn debate this week's set-piece event in Brussels — von der Leyen's speech on Wednesday to the European Parliament. What did it say about her plans and priorities for Europe, and about her emerging political identity as Commission chief?Ambassador Gidwitz sat down with David earlier this week to talk about issues including trade, China, Nord Stream 2, concerns about the U.S. elections in November and what a second term for Donald Trump could mean for European allies. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode of our pop-up series on the U.S. elections, hosted by Ryan Heath, we talk money — diving into why American elections are so expensive, and how 2020 is stacking up.You'll hear from Elena Schneider, a national political reporter at POLITICO; Democratic strategist Tim Lim; and from Ellen Weintraub, a commissioner on the Federal Election Commission charged with enforcing campaign finance law in federal elections.The regular EU Confidential podcast will be back in your feed on Thursday — and Campaign Confidential is with you every Tuesday all the way through to election day. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A European Commission reshuffle, the European Parliament's decision to skip Strasbourg and new uproar over Brexit all feature in this episode — alongside our interview guest Nick Pickles, Twitter's global policy strategist.POLITICO's Andrew Gray, Rym Momtaz, Matt Karnitschnig and Bjarke Smith-Meyer unpack Ursula von der Leyen's rejig of her top team. The Commission president selected Valdis Dombrovsksis as her new trade chief and nominated Ireland's Mairead McGuinness as financial services commissioner.The panel also debates the European Parliament’s canceled trip to Strasbourg next week due to coronavirus concerns. And POLITICO's Charlie Cooper breaks down the U.K.'s admission that its new Brexit plans would break international law.Nick Pickles, global head of policy strategy and development at Twitter, talks to POLITICO's Melissa Heikkilä. They discuss how Twitter handles political content and if there's a middle way between leaving controversial content online and taking it down. Pickles also talks about what Twitter hopes to see in the Commission's upcoming Digital Services Act and Democracy Action Plan. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this episode of our pop-up series on the U.S. elections, hosted by Ryan Heath, we explore the polarization of American politics and ask one simple question: Why has this happened?You'll hear from Kristen Soltis Anderson, political pollster and co-founder of research firm Echelon Insights, as well as POLITICO's Tim Alberta, who's been covering the Republican Party for over a decade — we talk about his recent piece in POLITICO Magazine, "The Grand Old Meltdown."The regular EU Confidential podcast will be back in your feed on Thursday — and Campaign Confidential is with you every Tuesday all the way through to election day. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A firsthand account of French President Emmanuel Macron's latest diplomatic push in Lebanon; the poisoning of opposition activist Alexei Navalny; and McMafia author Misha Glenny on the political leaders he calls "iron men" — it's a packed episode of EU Confidential to welcome you back from summer holidays.POLITICO's Rym Momtaz sat down with Macron on his plane as they headed to Beirut earlier this week. Rym gives us the inside scoop on the trip and breaks down Macron's risky mission to resolve Lebanon's multiple interlocking crises.POLITICO's Matthew Karnitschnig and Andrew Gray discuss how Germany and Europe will respond now that Berlin has concluded Navalny was poisoned with a nerve agent from the Novichok group.Misha Glenny, author of the nonfiction book McMafia that inspired a big-budget TV thriller series, is our special guest to discuss his latest project: A six-part Audible series, The Rise of the Iron Men.Glenny's definition of the iron men — they're all men, he notes — are populists who came to power thanks to democracy and then set about undermining it.He starts the series with Hungary's Viktor Orbán, before going on to profile Rodrigo Duterte of the Philippines, Turkey's Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Jair Bolsonaro of Brazil, India's Narendra Modi and ... the U.K.'s Boris Johnson. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Our third episode dedicated to the U.S. election, hosted by Ryan Heath, breaks down the 'perfect storm' of issues — a pandemic, voting troubles and foreign interference — that have experts on edge.The last presidential election campaign in 2016 involved huge debates about issues like immigration, power plays over the future direction of the Supreme Court and ethics — remember Hillary Clinton’s emails? In 2020, it’s the election mechanics that are front and center of political debate.Laying out what experts are watching as this election unfolds is Garrett Graff, former POLITICO magazine editor, who recently outlined in the magazine "8 Big Reasons Election Day 2020 Could Be a Disaster." We also check in with disinformation expert Lisa Kaplan, founder and CEO of Alethea Group, about foreign influence tactics in 2020 compared to 2016, and with Ellen Weintraub, a commissioner on the Federal Election Commission charged with enforcing campaign finance law in federal elections. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

EU Trade Commissioner Phil Hogan's resignation, the "golfgate" controversy surrounding his decision and what this means for the European Commission is the hot topic of this week's episode. POLITICO's Rym Momtaz, Matthew Karnitschnig and Christian Oliver walk us through the twists and turns and reveal the real driving forces behind Hogan's decision to bow out.Our featured guest is transatlantic expert Dan Hamilton, who sat down with Matthew Karnitschnig in Berlin to discuss the current state of U.S. relations with Germany and the EU, and what November's presidential election could mean for future relations with Europe and NATO. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices