The Europeans

The oil giant Shell is Europe's biggest company — and it's facing an absolutely massive court case over climate justice. This week we speak to Anoek Nuyens, one of the women behind an extraordinary piece of theatre about Shell that laid bare the "crisis of responsibility" at the heart of global climate policy. We're also talking about Russia's opposition protests and the horrifying case of a TikTok challenge gone wrong in Italy. To find out more about This Is What A Generation Sounds Like, the new podcast series we're making with our friends at Are We Europe, check out our website: europeanspodcast.com/call-for-stories-allianz-kulturstiftung. And why not get yourself 50 percent off Are We Europe's excellent new magazine? Enter EUROPEANS at checkout. This week's Isolation Inspiration: Call My Agent, Moonstruck, Dating Amber. Thanks for listening. If you like our podcast and want to help us keep making it, you can chip in a few euros/dollars/pounds a month at patreon.com/europeanspodcast. Producer: Katz Laszlo Assistant producer: Priyanka Shankar Twitter | Instagram | Facebook | hello@europeanspodcast.com

The 'Ndrangheta has become one of the most powerful and dangerous crime syndicates in the world. But how does the mafia actually operate? This week, as a massive trial of suspected   'Ndrangheta members gets underway in Italy, we delve into the inner workings of Europe's organised crime scene with the criminologist Federico Varese. We're also dishing up edible insects, the many European governments on the verge of collapse this week, and the magical power of seagrass. Isolation Inspiration: Federico's fascinating book Mafia Life; French Netflix show Lupin; nepotistic but excellent theatre livestream The end of Eddy. Thanks for listening! If you enjoy The Europeans and want to help us keep making it, we'd be hugely grateful if you'd consider chipping in a few euros/dollars/pounds at patreon.com/europeanspodcast. Edited by Katz Laszlo. Twitter | Instagram | Facebook | hello@europeanspodcast.com

Happy New Year, Europeans and europhiles! We're back with a brand new episode featuring everything from ancient fast food to naughty aristocrats. Since Angela Merkel's party starts choosing her successor this weekend, German journalist Wolfgang Munchau is here to reflect on what kind of a hole the Queen of Europe will leave in our continent. We're also taking a look at Norway's split personality when it comes to the climate, and why Amsterdam cannabis tourism may become a thing of the past. Wolfgang is the director of Eurointelligence. Check out his podcast! This week's cutting-edge Isolation Inspiration: Fleabag (2016), The Bureau (2015), Bridgerton. Thanks for listening! If you like our podcast and want to help us keep making it, you can chip in a few euros/dollars/pounds a week at patreon.com/europeanspodcast. This episode was edited by Katz Laszlo. Twitter | Instagram | Facebook | hello@europeanspodcast.com

For our last episode of the year, we take you to a supermarket in the Dublin suburbs in 2006. We also discuss a string of mysterious explosions at Polish grocery stores in the Netherlands, doing a deal with Viktor Orbán, and the secret to happiness in Europe. This week's beautiful story was written by Richy Craven, read by Darach Ó Séaghdha, and produced by Katz Laszlo. If you enjoyed it, please consider donating to Barnardos. You can check out Darach's podcast, Motherfoclóir, here, and listen to the sweet sounds of Eoghan Ó Ceannabháin and Ultan O'Brien here. Other music from Lena Orsa and Timbre at Freesound. This week's Isolation Inspiration: The Great, Catherine The Great, The Romanovs, Handel's Messiah from VOCES8, To Catch A Thief and ÜberWeihnachten. Thank you so much for listening to The Europeans in 2020. We've loved making the show. If you'd like to help us keep going in 2021, you can chip in a few euros/dollars/pounds a month at patreon.com/europeanspodcast. Twitter | Instagram | Facebook | hello@europeanspodcast.com

Philip recently found out that his classmate was a member of a far-right group. This is what happened when the two of them sat down to talk. This podcast was made possible by our Patreon supporters. If you'd like to help us keep making The Europeans, you can support us here: patreon.com/europeanspodcast. Reporting by Philip Pollak; production by Katy Lee and Dominic Kraemer; editing by Katy Lee; artwork by Rosa ter Kuile; music by Jim Barne. With huge thanks to Natalie Nougayrède and Emily Schultheis for their editorial advice. The original Hungarian audio and an annotated English transcript can be found here (password-protected). Thanks for listening. Twitter | Instagram | Facebook | hello@europeanspodcast.com

This week, the Hollywood-worthy story of Janina Garbień. Her family hid a nine-year-old Jewish girl in their Warsaw home during the war; Janina would later fall in love with an Italian prisoner at a Nazi camp, lose him, and find him again. Ola Cichowlas tells us her grandmother's extraordinary tale. We also talk about a shocking case of police brutality and the controversy over France's security law. Plus, unfortunate village names and the truth about apples. Ola is Moscow correspondent for Agence France-Presse (AFP). You can follow her here and read a beautiful thread about her grandmother here. Katy guest-hosted the first episode of the new UN Women podcast Generations Talk Gender, featuring a conversation between a young Romanian feminist and a long-time activist in Serbia. Check it out here. Thanks for listening! If you enjoy this podcast and would like to help us keep making it, you can chip in a few euros/dollars/pounds at patreon.com/europeanspodcast. This week's Isolation Inspiration: Swedish comedy 'Love and Anarchy', Dutch TV show 'Een programma over de jaren negentig', and this accompanying 90s Eurodance playlist. Twitter | Instagram | Facebook | hello@europeanspodcast.com

Moldova has just elected a pro-EU president, kicking out a favourite of Vladimir Putin's. This week, we wanted to talk to someone about daily life in a country that has seen a huge exodus to the rest of Europe; don't miss our moving conversation with Aliona Rotaru about what it's been like to stay behind. Also this week: naughty Dutch hackers, German glass ceilings, and Croatian winter warmers. Thanks for listening! If you enjoy our podcast and want to help us keep making it, you can chip in a few euros/dollars/pounds a month at patreon.com/europeanspodcast. Check out Are We Europe's beautiful multimedia project featuring Aliona, 'The Drums of Democracy'; read R. Daniel Kelemen's piece in Politico, 'Time to call Hungary and Poland's bluff'; and cosy up with AFP's video on Croatian codpieces. This week's Isolation Inspiration: 'Blindness' at Amsterdam's Royal Theater Carré, and Colette, a documentary from the Guardian. Twitter | Instagram | Facebook | hello@europeanspodcast.com

France has one of the biggest Asian communities in Europe. So why aren't there more Asians on the French screen? This week we talk to Grace Ly, writer and co-host of the hit podcast Kiffe Ta Race, about food, stereotypes, identity, and why it's so hard to talk about racism in France. Also this week: Europe's anti-terrorism balancing act, a round-up of LGBTQ good news, and celeb dad hangouts. Thanks for listening! If you enjoy our show and want to help us keep making it, you can chip in a few euros/dollars/pounds a month at patreon.com/europeanspodcast. You follow Grace here and check out Kiffe Ta Race's crossover episode with Dipsaus, tackling racism in Europe, here. This week's Isolation Inspiration: Sofia Loren's new movie The Life Ahead, the Voila Europe theatre festival, and the BBC podcast Mayday. Twitter | Instagram | Facebook | hello@europeanspodcast.com

This week's podcast is sponsored by Europe Talks. Sign up to have a conversation with a random European here! Now that we are FINALLY turning our attention to other things, this week we bring you the enjoyably chaotic story of Berlin's new airport. Jöran Mandik is one of the co-hosts of How To F#€k Up An Airport, an entire podcast series about the saga. We chatted about too-short escalators, human fire alarms, and scandalous overspending. Also this week: carrier pigeons, Denmark's vegetarian u-turn, and how to punish undemocratic governments. Thanks for listening! If you enjoy our show and want to help us keep running, you can chip in a few euros/dollars/pounds at patreon.com/europeanspodcast. How To F#€k Up An Airport is a series from Berlin's English-language news show, Radio Spaetkauf. Dominic has been listening to this Esther Perel interview. Katy has been watching The Queen's Gambit and enjoying this Twitter thread about the German filming location. Katy is speaking at Bulgaria's Listen Up podcasting festival next week! Get tickets here. Twitter | Instagram | Facebook | hello@europeanspodcast.com

We're steering blissfully clear of the elephant in the global room this week: we're talking about books, sign language, and endemic corruption in Bulgaria. Investigative journalist Nikolay Staykov is here to explain why Bulgarians have protested for more than 100 nights against a government they compare to the mafia. We're also celebrating the Netherlands' life-saving whale sculpture and alternatives to Amazon. Thanks for listening! If you enjoy our podcast and want to help us keep making it, you can chip in a few euros/dollars/pounds at patreon.com/europeanspodcast. You can also leave us a review on Apple Podcasts. Nikolay is the co-founder of Bulgaria's Anti-Corruption Fund. Find out more here. Dominic has been listening to French and Saunders: Titting About. Katy has been watching this meme on repeat and listening to Bilal Göregen. Twitter | Instagram | Facebook | hello@europeanspodcast.com 

This week the journalist Arzu Geybulla is here to help us untangle the conflict that has broken out between Armenia and Azerbaijan; if you're confused about Nagorno-Karabakh, this is the podcast for you. We're also discussing Poland's abortion ban, the Pope's big move on same-sex civil unions, and Europe's latest weird art prank. Thanks for listening! If you enjoyed this podcast and you have a few coins to spare, we'd love it if you'd consider chipping into our fund at patreon.com/europeanspodcast. Arzu recommends Black Garden by Thomas de Waal, as well as updates from Laurence Broers. You can also follow Arzu on Twitter here. Katy is watching Barbarians on Netflix. Dominic is watching Season 2 of Killing Eve. Twitter | Instagram | Facebook | hello@europeanspodcast.com

This week Dominic is furious about the EU vote on whether or not veggie burgers can be called veggie burgers, so we're distracting him with languages. Interpreter extraordinaire Alexander Drechsel is here to discuss the weird English dialect that has developed in Brussels, and whether the EU of the future will be anglophone. Plus, Sarkozy, Sweden's big-spending military, and adorable nuns. Thanks for listening! If you like the show and have a couple of euros / dollars / pounds to spare each month, you can support us at patreon.com/europeanspodcast. Alex is on Twitter @adrechsel, and you can get tickets for his November 18 debate on the role of English in the EU here. Twitter | Instagram | Facebook | hello@europeanspodcast.com

Ok, ok, the title of this episode might be a bit of a stretch, but she WAS prime minister for a day. This week we chatted to 16-year-old Aava Murto about what happened when she got to replace Finland's Prime Minister Sanna Marin for 24 hours.  Also this week: the downfall of Greece's Golden Dawn neo-Nazis, Bulgaria's anti-corruption protests, and Iga Swiatek's brilliant French Open performance. Thanks for listening! If you like our show and want to help us keep making it, you can chip in a few euros / pounds / dollars a month at patreon.com/europeanspodcast. How Norway makes rule of law offenders pay - Politico This week's isolation inspiration: Mary Wollestonecraft - Letters Written in Sweden, Norway and Denmark; Michelle Buteau - Welcome to Buteaupia Twitter | Instagram | Facebook | hello@europeanspodcast.com

We've got a food-themed episode for you this week: bread, meat, and oat milk ethics. We're talking to the documentary-maker Fredrik Gertten about why Swedish vegan company Oatly may be making a deal with the devil. We're also discussing why Subway bread isn't bread (in Ireland at least) and asking why the wurst may be over in Germany. Plus, foul-mouthed parrots. Because everyone needs foul-mouthed parrots. Thanks for listening! If you like our show and want to help us keep making it, you can chip in a few euros / pounds / dollars a month at patreon.com/europeanspodcast.  Watch Fredrik's award-winning documentary Push here, and listen to his podcast here. This week's isolation inspiration: Notes to Self by Emilie Pine; Kidnapping (ARTE). Twitter | Instagram | Facebook | hello@europeanspodcast.com 

This week, the game that unites this continent. We're talking to Eniola Aluko, former England and Juventus striker, about her experience as a black woman in European football. We're also talking about what it's like to recover from a Russian Novichok poisoning; Europe's latest refugee plan; and clever puffins. Thanks for listening! If you'd like to help us keep making The Europeans, you can chip in a couple of euros/dollars/pounds a month to our Patreon fund: patreon.com/europeanspodcast. You can watch Eni speaking at the Forum on European Culture here, and check out her book here. This week's Isolation Inspiration: Hanna, The Vampire Ship, and the latest issue of Are We Europe. Twitter | Instagram | Facebook | hello@europeanspodcast.com