Can Pedro Sánchez unite the global left?

Can Pedro Sánchez unite the global left?

Author: Katy Lee and Dominic Kraemer April 23, 2026 Duration: 52:04

This week, we’ve got a little something for everyone: gambling! Kraftwerk! Blast from the recent US political past Tim Walz! It was a Good Week yet again for Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, the darling of the global left, who threw a party for… the global left. And it was a Bad Week for the legendary German electronic band Kraftwerk, who apparently have been around since 1970(!) and therefore can withstand the occasional bad week. We also caught up with Greek investigative reporter Eurydice Bersi, who was part of a team that uncovered a slew of streamers on places like YouTube and Twitch who’ve been directing their followers to unlicensed gambling sites – and profiting off it.

Eurydice is a reporter with Reporters United, Investigate Europe’s partners in Greece.

This week’s Inspiration Station recommendations are the European Cultural Foundation’s calendar of the smörgåsbord of events coming up in celebration of Europe Day 2026, and the website WhoSampled.com.

UPCOMING BOOK CLUB: Don’t forget to pick up a copy of Vincenzo Latronico’s novella Perfection, which we’ll be discussing with our friends from the European Review of Books right here on 14 May.

Resources for this episode:


We know what you’re thinking: you wish you got more emails. What about more emails from…The Europeans? GOOD WEEK BAD WEEK is the Substack newsletter your inbox craves. Don’t believe us? Subscribe here and see for yourself.

This podcast was brought to you in cooperation with Euranet Plus, the leading radio network for EU news. But it’s contributions from listeners that truly make it all possible—we could not continue to make the show without you! If you like what we do, you can chip in to help us cover our production costs at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠patreon.com/europeanspodcast⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ (in many different currencies), or you can gift a donation to a superfan. You can also donate via our website if you prefer. And finally: we'd also love it if you could tell two friends about this podcast. We think two feels like a reasonable number.

Produced by Morgan Childs and Wojciech Oleksiak

Mixing and mastering by Wojciech Oleksiak

Music by Jim Barne and Mariska Martina

The Europeans is proudly produced using Europe’s own Hindenburg.

YouTube | Bluesky | Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ | Mastodon⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ | Substack | hello@europeanspodcast.com


Every week, Katy Lee and Dominic Kraemer sit down to untangle the stories shaping the continent, moving beyond the headlines to find the human threads within European news, politics, and culture. Their conversations feel like joining two well-informed friends who are genuinely curious, offering clarity on complex political shifts in Brussels one moment and diving into a compelling film from Berlin or a novel from Lisbon the next. This isn't about dry analysis; it's about understanding the forces that define daily life from Dublin to Sofia. In this The Europeans podcast, you'll hear interviews with policymakers, artists, and everyday people, all contributing to a richer, more nuanced picture of a region in constant motion. The tone is engaging and accessible, designed for anyone who feels that Europe's narrative is too often reduced to stereotypes or institutional jargon. By weaving together current affairs with deeper cultural trends, each episode builds a more complete and surprisingly relatable portrait. If you've ever wanted to feel more connected to the ideas and debates circulating across the Channel and beyond, this is a consistent and thoughtful guide.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 100

The Europeans | European news, politics and culture
Podcast Episodes
Small Ex-Soviet Satellite State My Ass [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 43:24
This week, we're heading to a small country with a big bold foreign policy. Czechia, aka the Czech Republic, has won international praise by negotiating a desperately-needed ammunition deal for Ukraine. Why did it succee…
The Portuguese Constitution Is Delicious [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 44:33
Scandal-hit Socialists, a surging far-right, and winners that no one can get excited about — Portugal has just delivered some of this year's trickiest European election results. This week, we ring Politico reporter Aitor…
YOLO, Swiss pensioners [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 45:25
This week: two referendums and some dodgy criminal reforms. We're talking about Swiss voters' decision to treat themselves to bigger pensions, and Slovakia's battle to stop cronyism under populist prime minister Robert F…
Army Boots [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 14:00
In February 2022, as Russian tanks rolled across the border, the writer and historian Olesya Khromeychuk told us the story of the boots she had bought for her brother, serving at the front in eastern Ukraine. This week,…
Orbán’s biggest crisis? [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 39:29
Hungary has seen its biggest anti-government protests in years over the past couple of weeks. But just how dangerous is this moment for Viktor Orbán? This week our favourite Hungarysplainer Viktória Serdült joins us to d…
Two Parallel Polands [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 51:40
Poland's rightwing populists are finally out of power. But what happens now? This week, our producer Wojciech Oleksiak and Warsaw-based journalist Claudia Ciobanu join us to explain why restoring Polish democracy is easi…
Toxic air and toxic politicians [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 43:01
Last weekend, Parisians voted to triple parking fees for SUVs in a bid to remove some of the city's more polluting vehicles. It's just one of many policy ideas that are being tested out in European cities to clean up the…
Why are Europe’s farmers so angry? [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 34:41
From France to Romania, Germany to Bulgaria, angry farmers have been blocking the roads. What's behind this wave of agricultural protests across the continent? This week we're getting to grips with the policies behind th…
What actually happens to Europe’s recycling? [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 45:06
A lot of us are pretty diligent when it comes to throwing our plastic into the dedicated bin. But how much of that stuff actually gets recycled? This week we're digging into the truth behind Europe's trash with Nico Schm…

«1...678910