SURVEY: Share your feedback on Sweden in Focus JOIN THE LOCAL: Podcast listener offer __ In the latest episode of our Sweden in Focus podcast, host Paul O’Mahony is joined by regular panelists Becky Waterton, Richard Orange and James Savage. After weeks of deliberation the Moderate Party leader Ulf Kristersson told the parliamentary speaker on Friday he was finally ready to form a new government. Assuming he survives a vote in the Riksdag on Monday, Kristersson is expected to become prime minste...
Oct 15, 2022•36 min•Season 4Ep. 12
SURVEY: Share your feedback on Sweden in Focus JOIN THE LOCAL: Podcast listener offer __ In the latest episode of our Sweden in Focus podcast, host Paul O’Mahony is joined by The Local's Becky Waterton , Richard Orange and James Savage , as well as three people affected by the migration agency's work permit renewal delays . Tune in for to hear all about: how you can lose your driving licence in Sweden ; a worthy Swedish Nobel prizewinner ; the right-wing bloc's intention to ditch plans for a hig...
Oct 08, 2022•32 min•Season 4Ep. 11
SURVEY: Share your feedback on Sweden in Focus JOIN THE LOCAL: Podcast listener offer __ In the latest episode of our Sweden in Focus podcast, host Paul O’Mahony is joined by Handelsbanken chief economist Johan Löf, as well as The Local's Becky Waterton , Richard Orange and James Savage . On our radar this week we have: Cinnamon Bun Day , a sweet staple of the Swedish dietary calendar; a roundup of the week's post-election wrangling ; discussion of the Baltic Sea blasts that caused serious damag...
Oct 01, 2022•30 min•Season 4Ep. 10
SURVEY: Share your feedback on Sweden in Focus JOIN THE LOCAL: Podcast listener offer __ In this week's episode of our Sweden in Focus podcast, host Paul O’Mahony is joined by Le Monde's Scandinavia correspondent Anne-Francoise Hivert , as well as The Local's Becky Waterton , Richard Orange and James Savage . Tune in as we chat about what the rest of world makes of Sweden’s recent election result , and after weeks of non-stop election coverage we lighten the tone a bit to talk about mushroom pic...
Sep 24, 2022•44 min•Season 4Ep. 9
SURVEY: Share your feedback on Sweden in Focus JOIN THE LOCAL: Podcast listener offer __ In the latest episode of our Sweden in Focus podcast, host Paul O’Mahony is joined by The Local's Becky Waterton, Richard Orange and James Savage to analyse the election result , discuss likely government constellations , and examine how the Sweden Democrats want to limit the rights of immigrants . With so much on the agenda it's hard to narrow down a recommended reading list but our 2022 Swedish Election se...
Sep 17, 2022•43 min•Season 4Ep. 8
SURVEY: Share your feedback on Sweden in Focus JOIN THE LOCAL: Podcast listener offer __ In this special election episode of our Sweden in Focus podcast, host Paul O’Mahony is joined by The Local's Becky Waterton, Richard Orange, and James Savage, who puts in a post-meeting late appearance. On a day when it appears that the right bloc could be tasked with forming a government (although this is not yet certain), we look at how each of the parties has performed , how significant it is that the far...
Sep 12, 2022•31 min•Season 4Ep. 7
SURVEY: Share your feedback on Sweden in Focus JOIN THE LOCAL: Podcast listener offer __ In the latest episode of our Sweden in Focus podcast, host Paul O’Mahony is joined by The Local's James Savage , Becky Waterton and Richard Orange, as well as Julia Agha, the CEO of the Arabic-language Swedish news service Alkompis . Don't miss Richard and Julia's joint article on why nobody is really to talking to immigrants in this election . __ Here are links to some of the other stories we discuss (and t...
Sep 10, 2022•48 min•Season 4Ep. 6
SURVEY: Share your feedback on Sweden in Focus JOIN THE LOCAL: Podcast listener offer __ In the latest episode of our Sweden in Focus podcast, host Paul O’Mahony is joined by The Local's James Savage , Becky Waterton and Richard Orange . Here are some of the issues we discuss: Swedish party leader Annie Lööf was target of Gotland knife attack What do we know about reports of troll armies and social media manipulation in the Swedish election campaign? What would a Sweden Democrat-backed governmen...
Sep 03, 2022•41 min•Season 4Ep. 5
SURVEY: Share your feedback on Sweden in Focus __ In the latest episode of our Sweden in Focus podcast, host Paul O’Mahony is joined by Stockholm University sociologist Andrea Voyer, as well as regular panelists Becky Waterton and Richard Orange. We also have a chat with Stockholm University journalism professor Christian Christensen about the toxic nature of this year's election campaign. Here are some of the issues we're discussing: What TV shows give a great introduction to Swedish society? F...
Aug 27, 2022•39 min•Season 4Ep. 4
SURVEY: Share your feedback on Sweden in Focus __ In the latest episode of our Sweden in Focus podcast, host Paul O’Mahony is joined by The Local’s James Savage, Becky Waterton and Richard Orange. We also have an interview with the Sweden Democrats' leader, Jimmie Åkesson. In this edition we discuss: How to survive a Swedish crayfish party Integration plans: sensible policies or xenophobic dog whistles? Which Swedish banks give mortgages to foreigners? How much money are Sweden's political parti...
Aug 20, 2022•45 min•Season 4Ep. 3
In the latest episode of our Sweden in Focus podcast, host Paul O’Mahony is joined by The Local’s James Savage, Becky Waterton and Richard Orange. In this edition we discuss: The Sweden Democrats' 'white book' controversy Will the state jump in to help pay spiralling electricity bills? Why a government agency opposes language tests for citizenship For our main topic this week we look at the election pledges that focus on foreigners , particularly in relation to work visas, residency permits and ...
Aug 13, 2022•38 min•Season 4Ep. 2
In the first post-summer break episode of our Sweden in Focus podcast, host Paul O’Mahony is joined by The Local Sweden’s James Savage, Becky Waterton and Richard Orange, as well as the editor of The Local Denmark, Michael Barrett. In this week’s show we’ll take a quick look at the state of play in the opinion polls to see who is likely to form the next government with the election just over a month away. We also chat about the historical and cultural reasons for people taking so much time off w...
Aug 06, 2022•43 min•Season 4Ep. 1
In a special episode of our Sweden in Focus podcast from the Almedalen political week on Gotland, host James Savage is joined by The Local’s Richard Orange, Patrik Kronqvist from the Expressen newspaper and Lorentz Tovatt, climate and environment spokesperson for the Green Party. On this week's show we discuss: The pocket-book election: how will voters react to being told they’re going to get poorer? The incredible disappearing climate election. And doesn’t Sweden want to attract talented foreig...
Jul 08, 2022•40 min•Season 3Ep. 11
SURVEY: Share your feedback on Sweden in Focus __ In the latest episode of our Sweden in Focus podcast, host Paul O’Mahony is joined by The Local’s James Savage, Becky Waterton and regular contributor David Crouch. On this week's show we discuss: Has there been any progress with Sweden's Nato application? Swedish traditions: Seven things that make Sweden magnificently different Why has the Centre Party plummeted in the polls and what can leader Annie Lööf do about it? You can listen to the episo...
Jun 25, 2022•35 min•Season 3Ep. 10
SURVEY: Share your feedback on Sweden in Focus __ In the latest episode of our Sweden in Focus podcast, host Paul O’Mahony is joined by The Local’s James Savage, Becky Waterton and Richard Orange. Richard and Becky are also joined in Malmö studio by special guest Carlos Velasco, a computer programmer from Honduras who explains how Sweden's shimmering statistics tempted him to move here . Also on this week's show: Nooshi Dadgostar and the Left Party's election chances Another fine mess: this week...
Jun 18, 2022•39 min•Season 3Ep. 9
SURVEY: Share your feedback on Sweden in Focus __ In the latest episode of our Sweden in Focus podcast, host Paul O’Mahony is joined by The Local’s James Savage, Becky Waterton and Richard Orange, Emma Löfgren and baby Amanda. This week we turn our attention to a failed attempt by the right-wing opposition parties to oust the justice minister Morgan Johansson , the key role played in his survival as minister by the independent member of parliament Amineh Kakabaveh , and what it all means for the...
Jun 11, 2022•38 min•Season 3Ep. 8
SURVEY: Share your feedback on Sweden in Focus __ In the latest episode of our Sweden in Focus podcast, host Paul O’Mahony is joined by The Local’s James Savage, Becky Waterton and Richard Orange. We also have an interview with the immigration lawyer Pia Lind to discuss the positives and negatives of Sweden's new work permit law, which came into force this week. In this edition we also discuss: What happens when a foreigner gets arrested in Sweden? Do Swedes really not feed their children’s frie...
Jun 04, 2022•35 min•Season 3Ep. 7
SURVEY: Share your feedback on Sweden in Focus __ In the latest episode of our Sweden in Focus podcast, host Paul O’Mahony is joined by The Local's Becky Waterton and Richard Orange as well as David Crouch, author of Almost Perfect and a regular contributor to The Local. We also have an interview with Pernilla Petrelius Karlberg, a lecturer at the Stockholm School of Economics, about the Swedish management style. We also discuss: Turkey's continued resistance to Swedish Nato membership Swedish a...
May 28, 2022•36 min•Season 3Ep. 6
SURVEY: Share your feedback on Sweden in Focus __ In the latest episode of our Sweden in Focus podcast, host Paul O’Mahony is joined by The Local’s James Savage, Becky Waterton and Richard Orange. We also have an interview with Annika Bergman Rosamund , associate professor in political science and international relations at Lund University, about Sweden's history of neutrality. In the week that Sweden submitted its application to Nato we also discuss: Turkey says no Russia's reaction Nordic unit...
May 21, 2022•31 min•Season 3Ep. 5
SURVEY: Share your feedback on Sweden in Focus __ In the latest episode of our Sweden in Focus podcast, host Paul O’Mahony is joined by The Local’s James Savage, Becky Waterton and Richard Orange. We also have an interview with Tove Hovemyr, a public policy expert at the liberal Fores think thank, about attitudes to immigration over the past three decade and the direction Sweden is likely to take after this year's election. In this edition we also discuss: Why Boris Johnson visited Sweden and th...
May 14, 2022•31 min•Season 3Ep. 4
In the latest episode of our Sweden in Focus podcast, host Paul O’Mahony is joined by The Local’s James Savage, Becky Waterton and Richard Orange. We also have an interview with James Pamment from Lund University about how Sweden tackles Russian propaganda. In this edition we also discuss: A word of the day to welcome spring All the latest Nato updates Are housing prices in Sweden set to plummet? For our main topic this week we look at what Sweden is doing to combat Russian disinformation in the...
May 07, 2022•37 min•Season 3Ep. 3
In the latest episode of our Sweden in Focus podcast, host Paul O’Mahony is joined byThe Local’s James Savage, Becky Waterton and Richard Orange. We also have an interview with the Green Party co-leader Märta Stenevi . In this edition we discuss: Christian Democrat leader Ebba Busch’s controversial comments calling for police to open fire on rioters . Is a Swedish Nato application just weeks away? What do Swedes find annoying about their own language? For our main topic this week we look at how ...
Apr 30, 2022•35 min•Season 3Ep. 2
In the latest episode of our Sweden in Focus podcast, host Paul O’Mahony is joined by Swedish journalist Bilan Osman, as well as The Local’s James Savage, Becky Waterton and Richard Orange. In this edition we discuss: Will the government manage to pass its hotly contested spring budget? Sweden’s highest circulation newspaper backs Nato membership Will a new work permit law prevent talent deportations? But our main focus this week is on the riots that took place in several Swedish cities over the...
Apr 23, 2022•26 min•Season 3Ep. 1
In the latest episode of our Sweden in Focus podcast, host Paul O’Mahony is joined by Gunilla Herolf, a Nato expert at the Swedish Institute of International Affair, as well as The Local’s James Savage and Richard Orange. In this edition we look at why Nyamko Sabuni quit as leader of the Liberals and how a change in leadership is likely to affect the outcome of the Swedish election this September. With Nato membership looking increasingly likely for Sweden, we get expert analysis from Gunilla He...
Apr 16, 2022•29 min•Season 2Ep. 6
In the latest episode of our Sweden in Focus podcast, host Paul O’Mahony is joined by Swedish teacher and book publisher Sofi Tegsveden Deveaux, as well as The Local's James Savage and Richard Orange. In this edition we get to grips with why Sweden has so many bomb shelters, where you can find them, and what state they're in. We also look at the results of our poll on how easy or hard it is to learn Swedish and we get some really excellent tips from our guest Sofi on the most important things to...
Apr 09, 2022•36 min•Season 2Ep. 5
In the latest episode of our Sweden in Focus podcast, host Paul O’Mahony is joined Indian dancer and project manager Aradhana Varma and The Local’s Becky Waterton, Richard Orange and James Savage. In this edition our guest Aradhana tells us about her dance group IndiskFika's television adventures as well as what it was like moving from India to Sweden and the cultural differences that took some getting used to. We also discuss the Swedish government's decision to press ahead with plans for an ir...
Apr 02, 2022•33 min•Season 2Ep. 4
In the latest episode of The Local's Sweden in Focus podcast, host Paul O’Mahony is joined by The Local’s Becky Waterton, Richard Orange and James Savage. In this episode we hear from Ukrainian refugees in Malmö, check in on Sweden's Nato debate, and we examine Sweden's plans to send more weapons to help repel the Russian invasion. We also reveal the results of a listener poll on Sweden's rising cost of living and discuss how it's affecting people and what the government is doing to dampen the i...
Mar 26, 2022•31 min•Season 2Ep. 3
In the latest episode of our Sweden in Focus podcast, host Paul O’Mahony is joined by lecturer and author David Crouch as well as The Local’s Becky Waterton, Richard Orange and James Savage. In this episode we discuss how prepared Sweden is to help people fleeing the war in Ukraine. We also examine the results of our listener poll about Swedish for Immigrants classes, and we get tips on learning Swedish from our guests. Finally, we talk to David Crouch about his article this week asking if there...
Mar 19, 2022•34 min•Season 2Ep. 2
In the first episode of the second season of our Sweden in Focus podcast, host Paul O'Mahony is joined by The Local’s James Savage, Becky Waterton and Richard Orange. In the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, we discuss how Sweden is adapting to a new security situation in Europe. We reveal the results of our reader poll on whether Sweden should join Nato. And what about the EU's mutual defence clause? Is it a paper tiger or a concrete promise? And is Sweden's Cold War total defence strategy ...
Mar 12, 2022•33 min•Season 2Ep. 1
In the latest episode of our Sweden in Focus podcast, The Local’s Europe Editor Catherine Edwards, The Local Sweden’s Editor Emma Löfgren and freelance journalist Isabella Anderson discuss Sweden’s new migration law and how it will affect residence permit-holders when it comes into force next week. We also give listeners an update on the current coronavirus situation in Sweden, and reveal the results of our latest poll: Have The Local’s readers adopted the Swedish philosophy of four-week summer ...
Jul 17, 2021•32 min•Season 1Ep. 6
