The sanctions loophole allowing EU countries to import Russian LNG, the climate knowledge gap left by war, and the EU’s largest rare-earth magnet factory… right on Estonia’s Russian border. Later: inter-European high-speed rail travel, reducing the carbon footprint of cement, French reforestation and UK wine. + LNG report https://shorturl.at/nj93t + Cement report https://shorturl.at/qeXYY + ?maca=en-podcast_inside-europe-949-xml-mrss
Nov 13, 2025•55 min
Youth leaders meet in Munich for the One Young World Summit, the EU resleases its annual Enlargement Report, and Serbia marks a year since the Novi Sad Railway Station disaster. Also: Italy's controversial Messina Bridge project, Spanish paternity leave and Estonian composer Arvo Pärt at 90.
Nov 06, 2025•55 min
General elections put the Netherlands back on a centrist course, Ireland elects a leftwing independent candidate as President, and why European leaders are keen to visit Turkey. Then: the world's largest dance music summit in Amsterdam, classical music's most prestigious prize in Stockholm, and 80 years of the Moomins.
Oct 30, 2025•55 min
In this special "Alternative Economies" edition, we take a break from the news to rethink business as usual. This episode features concrete examples of European business and budget experiments, ranging from the reformist to the downright radical.
Oct 23, 2025•55 min
All you need to know about Laszlo Krasznahorka: the Hungarian winner of the 2025 Nobel Prize for Literature, a gloriously anarchic celebration of an Italian children’s classic, an Icelandic murder mystery set on the Spanish island of Tenerife, poet and musician Matthew McDonald, and a race up a Slovenian mountain, pursued by Tadej Pogacar.
Oct 16, 2025•55 min
Why France is stumbling from one political crisis to the next, a new report on homelessness across Europe, and a Housing First project in the UK. Then: Flotilla activists speak of abuse, what Czechia's political future holds, Dutch feminists reclaim the night, and a Fish and Chips shop with a twist. + FEANTSA report on homelessness: https://tinyurl.com/3uxmxf3t +?maca=en-podcast_inside-europe-949-xml-mrss
Oct 09, 2025•55 min
Elctions relief in Moldova, Czechia goes to the polls, and drone start-ups in Tallinn. Then: ex-French President Sarkozy's verdict, a deep dive into plastic waste exports and their deadly consequences, and how Croatian nationalism got onto the big stage. +Signal Awards: vote for us!: https://tinyurl.com/5y9ra5br + ?maca=en-podcast_inside-europe-949-xml-mrss
Oct 02, 2025•55 min
24 hours in the life of Emmanuel Macron in New York, how far NATO is prepared to go to defend its airspace, and why you should care about the Moldovan elections. Then: Russian training camps in Serbia, a message from the Global Sumud Flotilla to Gaza, the UK's political malaise, a Czech-German history project, and a cheesy festival in Italy.
Sep 25, 2025•55 min
Donald Trump’s controversial state visit to the UK, a closer look at how Spain and the Netherlands are keeping Palestine in the spotlight, and a Swedish Spy Church. Then: new recruits join a military bootcamp outside Paris, an audio-tour of the world of Czech composer Antonin Dvorak and why Turkey's opposition fear the worst. ++ link to the UN report on Gaza: https://shorturl.at/mVIVO ++?maca=en-podcast_inside-europe-949-xml-mrss
Sep 18, 2025•55 min
Anger on the streets across France, the National Rally's Trump problem, and a Danish political scientist's plan to fix "democracy's back door." Then: Lithuania steps up its border controls and an island special on Corsican autonomy, the Outer Hebrides' demographic struggle, and Greenland's tourism.
Sep 11, 2025•55 min
GPS jamming: how worried should Europe be? Pipeline wars: what does the bombing of Russian oil infrastructure mean for Hungary? Confidence vote in France: will this be the end of Bayrou’s government? Parliamentary elections in Norway: what’s on the ballot on September 8th?
Sep 04, 2025•55 min
Chronicle of a death live-streamed, all aboard the Alpbach Express, fear and loathing in the British provinces, Turkey cashes in on the Syrian reconstruction bonanza and an Inside Europe Sports Special featuring Slovenian cycling legend Tadej Pogacar (yes - you heard that right!). **Content warning: our first item contains reference to physical and psychological abuse**
Aug 28, 2025•55 min
EU leaders back Ukraine in DC, what the 39% tariffs mean for Switzerland and Norway’s Momentum festival focusses on sounds. Then: France's first incel to be charged with terrorism and a deep dive into the manosphere.
Aug 21, 2025•55 min
EU diplomacy on behalf of Ukraine, rapprochement between Turkey and Armenia, and European reactions to Israel's war in Gaza. Then: wildfire devastation in southern Europe, a Schindler factory becomes a museum, sustainable aviation and Italy's cartoon icon Pimpa turns 50.
Aug 14, 2025•55 min
Azerbaijan, Russia and Turkey… who’s allied with whom? Radical countryside – are innocuous sounding rural meetings hiding a darker agenda? Plus all the latest on Czechia’s hottest infrastructure debate. Then: welcome to a glorious European summer, complete with river diving, bears, camper vans, and traditional alcoholic beverages. Seeding Reparations research link: https://linktr.ee/seedrep &maca=en-podcast_inside-europe-949-xml-mrss
Aug 07, 2025•55 min
In this special edition, we take a break from the news to explore grief as a lens for understanding global events and as a force for social change. Author Sarah Jaffe joins host Kate Laycock to unpack how personal and communal loss – from COVID-19 and Hurricane Katrina to deindustrialization – shape politics, protests and solidarity. A powerful journey through mourning, memory and hope.
Jul 31, 2025•55 min
A press freedom special with Georgian journalist Tamar Kintsurashvili on the worsening situation for media workers in the country gripped by protests. Also: Natalia Belikova, international lawyer at Press Club Belarus, on how Belarusian exile journalists are fairing. Then, Olga Rudenko, editor-in-chief of the Kyiv Independent, talks about the situation for journalists during the war in Ukraine.
Jul 24, 2025•55 min
30 years since Srebrenica, Hanno Hauenstein on why language matters when reporting on Gaza, Global Rights Compliance President, Wayne Jordash KC, on gathering war crimes evidence in Ukraine, PKK fighters disarm, and a personal account of Kosovo’s past and present.
Jul 17, 2025•55 min
More mayors under arrest in Turkey, and press freedom takes centre stage at the DW Global Media Forum. Later in the show: spotlight on journalists in the post-Soviet space, from pens to protest: a portrait of the Italian cartoonist Gianluca Costantini, and what can Germany learn from Estonia when it comes to digitalisation? ++ Check out Gianluca's drawings: https://www.channeldraw.org/ ++&maca=en-podcast_inside-europe-949-xml-mrss
Jul 10, 2025•55 min
A protest special as we look at recent events in Budapest and Belgrade - two cities experiencing mass-scale demonstrations in defiance of strongman leaders. And, as the UK parliament votes to proscribe Palestine Action, the UN’s Special Rapporteur on Counter-Terrorism and Human Rights outlines his concerns.
Jul 03, 2025•55 min
A NATO Summit special with the view from Turkey, France, Spain and The Netherlands, Security Correspondent Teri Schultz answering listener questions from The Hague and Political Correspondent Thomas Sparrow on Friedrich Merz’s foreign policy gamble. Then: Sami rights, Bezos in Venice and Ye in Bratislava.
Jun 26, 2025•55 min
An “Alternative Economies” special, featuring concrete examples of European experiments with rethinking business as usual… ranging from the reformist, to the downright radical.
Jun 19, 2025•55 min
“We took democracy for granted…. don’t make the same mistake!”: an interview with Klára Dobrev MEP, leader of Hungary’s Democratic Coalition Party and former Vice President of the European Parliament. Plus: the cost of climate change, Valencia after the floods and rebuilding quake-struck Hatay.
Jun 13, 2025•55 min
Political earthquakes in Poland and the Netherlands, France’s crypto entrepreneur kidnappings, Russia doubles down on traditional gender roles, Ian Urbina feels the pull of the ocean, a haven for migrants near Rome’s central station, and the uplifting story of the Spanish Refugee National Football Team.
Jun 05, 2025•55 min
Released RFE journalist Alsu Kurmasheva on her colleague Farid Mehralizada, who is facing a 12 year prison sentence in Azerbaijan. We meet some of the young people on trial in Turkey following the recent crackdown on dissent, and take a look at the Franco-US relationship in the run up to D-Day.
May 29, 2025•55 min
On the show this week: Poland’s presidential elections reveal a country on a knife-edge, Exercise Hedgehog in Estonia and the Baltics’ hybrid warfare fears. Plus a Hungarian spy ring, Icelandic intrigue, Swiss bunkers, and Syrians returning home from Europe. A security special packed with stories from the frontlines of Europe’s shifting geopolitics.
May 22, 2025•55 min
Romania goes to the polls in the final round of high-stakes presidential elections, Albania's Edi Rama sails to victory once again, and the PKK disbands. Later: Pope Leo XIV, Russian volunteers help Ukrainians in Armenia, Eurovision attempts a reset in politically neutral Switzerland, and an adult toy craze that’s perhaps more “constructive” than most…
May 15, 2025•55 min
Germany’s new chancellor gets off to a bumpy start. Is Google helping Turkey to strangle independent media? And Malta is forced to abandon a lucrative business model. Then a VE Day Special: Nathalie Tocci on Europe, a look at Britain and France’s “coalition of the willing”, and a very personal tour of synagogues in the Netherlands.
May 09, 2025•55 min
Light in the dark - how people came together during Spain’s energy blackout, plus a very special story of faith, loss and renewal on the ancient Catholic pilgrimage known as “the way”. Later in the show: Could Rome’s colosseum be considered the antecedent to modern day reality TV? And what can the world learn from the Swedish concept of “lagom”?
May 01, 2025•55 min
Kate's away this week, so we're sharing another podcast we love: The Europeans. They've got a veritable smörgåsbord in this episode, from human rights in Hungary to the sorry tale of two Danish sustainability influencers whose eco-resort business went spectacularly wrong. Plus, how an army of volunteer online sleuths is helping Ukraine use open-source intelligence to fight back against Russia.
Apr 24, 2025•55 min