Housing policy: Who Does It Best? - Part 2

Housing policy: Who Does It Best? - Part 2

Author: Katy Lee and Dominic Kraemer October 24, 2025 Duration: 46:11

Katz goes back to the drawing board. If the housing crisis is really about wealth inequality, doesn’t the policy we need to fix it… need to address wealth inequality? We go in deep, and what Katz finds makes us wonder: are we even having the right conversation when it comes to the housing crisis? 

 

If you're curious about where you stand on your country's wealth ladder, you can find the World Bank’s calculator here, which adjusts for things like home ownership. 

 

The intergenerational wealth audit that Molly co-authored, you can find here.

 

You can find one of the OECD’s reports on housing tax in Europe here.

 

You can find Cody’s book on housing shame here.

 

Interested in hearing more radio that looks at how politics gets into our intimate lives? Journalist Anna Sale’s book and podcast “about the things we think about a lot and need to talk about more” have been a huge inspiration.

 

If you want to know your renters' rights, many countries have renters' unions that give (legal) advice. Here's the Dutch one: Woonbond.

 

And most importantly, this series was fully funded by you - our listeners! Our generous crowdfunders hit our goal within two months, and made it possible for us to do extensive reporting fully independently. We couldn’t be more grateful. If you’re feeling inspired to support our ongoing work, please go to patreon.com/europeanspodcast. You can donate as little as 3 euros, less than an overpriced cappuccino! But you can also donate plenty more ;)

 

Want to support us in another way? Please consider telling one or two friends specifically about this episode, and sharing it with them. It is the most effective way for us to reach people!



Written, reported and produced by: Katz Laszlo

Editors: Jasmin Baoumy, Katy Lee

Editorial support: Dominic Kraemer, Morgan Childs, Uršula Zaletelj, Maja Stepančič

Sound design: Jesse Lou Lawson

Mastering: Wojciech Oleksiak

Music and SFX: Jim Barne, Epidemic, FreeSound.org

Artwork: RTiiiKA


Special thanks to: Vera Vrijmoeth, Georgia Walker, Cody Hochstenbach, Molly Broome, Juha Kahila, Ton Heijdra, Marie-Jeanne Dumont, Museum Het Schip, Woonbond, and the many more friends and strangers who talked to us about housing and money.

 

YouTube | Bluesky | Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ | Mastodon⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ | 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
Terrible week for ABBA [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 49:11
The music industry is reeling due to what’s being called the 'largest intellectual property theft in history' — we’ll dig into the fight between Big Tech and the people who make the music. Meanwhile, Sweden’s new cultura…
Why is the EU not acting on Gaza? [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 49:36
This week, we’re dedicating the entire episode to Gaza. We have a lot of questions about the EU’s role in what’s happening there: Why is the EU not suspending trade with, or at the very least banning weapon sales to, Isr…
Three Rivers and a Sausage Fight [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 52:51
It’s our second week of “cucumber season” programming, and fair warning: we’re really leaning into the late-summer goofiness. This week, we go hard on German gastronomy, with a deep dive into Europe’s declining alcohol c…
Save the games! Preserve the bread! Guard your rabbits! [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 50:48
Welcome back! We’re easing back into the swing of things after our summer holidays with a bit of “cucumber season” fare. It’s our regularly scheduled programming, just a little bit…sillier. This week, we take a peek into…
Hungary's Pride ban goes up in smoke (and glitter) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 55:50
This year’s Budapest Pride was banned in March under the Orbán government’s contentious “child protection” law. Demonstrators were threatened with hefty fines for participating, and the government said it would employ fa…
Toxic chemicals, abortion rights, and a Nazi-era train law [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:12:53
Depending on where you are in Europe, your right to a safe abortion — and reproductive care in general — can vary dramatically. This week, we speak to pioneering abortion activist Rebecca Gomperts about why she's hopeful…
Could Europe switch off big tech's algorithms? [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:03:35
The EU supposedly has some of the world's toughest laws regulating big tech. So why does it still feel like Europeans are being sucked into increasingly polarised online communities, and manipulated during our elections?…
Is real change coming to Serbia? [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 43:08
Serbia’s government has come under intense pressure since a deadly disaster at Novi Sad’s main railway station last November. Student-led protests have spiralled into a nation-wide resistance movement and for months, Ser…
Hungary's plight, kids' rights, and Spargelzeit [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 56:59
Asparagus, lesbian family rights and Viktor Orbán’s latest power plays: like all good meals, this podcast episode is perfectly balanced. German food writer Ursula Heinzelmann joins us to explain the ‘Spargelzeit’ phenome…
What the hell just happened in Romania (and at Eurovision)? [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:09:10
Romania, Poland, Portugal... and of course, most importantly of all (?), Eurovision. It's been a huge week of voting across Europe! This week we're mostly diving into Romania's election drama with Codruţa Simina, a journ…