How Ireland proved a basic income for artists actually works

How Ireland proved a basic income for artists actually works

Author: Katy Lee and Dominic Kraemer November 20, 2025 Duration: 48:54

We don’t often get to cover joyful policy news on this podcast, so this week we’re delighted to be discussing that rare thing: a European country that’s investing serious money in culture. For three years, Ireland has been experimenting with paying artists, musicians and other creative workers a basic income. And guess what? The scheme has worked so well that they’re keeping it going. But is the policy all it’s cracked up to be? This week we speak to John Baker, a co-founder of the Equality Studies Centre at University College Dublin and one of the coordinators of Basic Income Ireland, about the logic and limits of Ireland’s Basic Income for the Arts. 

 

In sillier policy news, we’re looking at why Slovakia has been regulating the speed of kids cycling on the pavement. And we’re diving into Ukraine’s massive corruption scandal: what exactly happened, and just how bad is it for Volodymyr Zelenskyy? 

 

You can read interviews with the artists who’ve been receiving Ireland’s Basic Income for the Arts here.

 

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. We'd also love it if you could tell two friends about this podcast. We think two feels like a reasonable number.

This week’s Inspiration Station recommendations: ‘Dopamine’ by Robyn, ‘Choke Enough’ by Oklou, ‘West End Girl’ by Lily Allen and ‘La symphonie des éclairs’ by Zaho de Sagazan.

 

Other resources for this episode 

 

‘The EU Parliament now has a right-wing majority’ - Gulf Stream Blues (Dave Keating’s newsletter), November 14, 2025

‘Rage, panic, and a glimmer of hope in Ukraine as corruption scandal unfolds’ - The Kyiv Independent, November 15, 2025

‘No, there is no ‘speed limit’ for pedestrians in Slovakia’ - Euractiv, October 30, 2025

‘Bratislava built under 4 km of cycle paths last year, leaving cyclists disappointed’ - The Slovak Spectator, April 1, 2025


Produced by Morgan Childs

Mixing and mastering by Wojciech Oleksiak

Music by Jim Barne and Mariska Martina

 

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
Europe, an unfinished love story [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 17:53
This week, a not-so-classic 'girl meets boy' story. Başak Layic, storyteller extraordinaire, reflects on what the European Dream looks like from the outside. This story was recorded live at SPUI25 in Amsterdam as part of…
Is a pregnant nun about to crash Poland's election? [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:12:58
In theory, the government's guy looks set to win Poland's presidential election, making life a hell of a lot easier for Donald Tusk as he attempts to undo eight years of destructive authoritarian rule under the previous…
How to make sense of Europe's place in the world right now [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 46:52
The world is in flux. What's Europe's place in it, exactly? This week, we're bringing you something different: a big, sprawling conversation with leading European historian Timothy Garton Ash. Can anything good come from…
Hungary's Pride crackdown, Ukrainian sleuths, and 158 barrels of poop [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:06:27
We've got a veritable smörgåsbord for you this week on The Europeans, from human rights in Hungary to the sorry tale of two Danish sustainability influencers whose eco-resort business went spectacularly wrong. We discuss…
Inside Europe: Exploring Grief [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 54:31
We're away this week, but you're in good company: our friends at Deutsche Welle (DW), Germany's international broadcaster, are here to fill in for us. On this special edition of DW's weekly podcast Inside Europe, the tea…
Tesla, Turkey, and unnecessary trash [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 56:46
We're taking the Schadenfreude approach to the chaos that Trump's tariffs have unleashed upon Europe (and the rest of the world). This week, our favourite Luxembourger Nina Lamparski joins Dominic to explain why sales of…
Rockets, recipes and Le Pen(itentiary) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 53:30
Marine Le Pen has been banned from running for the French presidency after this week's bombshell court ruling finding her guilty in a huge embezzlement case. But does she have any chance of a comeback? And could the far-…
How would Europe's €800 billion defence plan actually work? [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:02:47
Europe is set to spend an eye-wateringly huge amount of money on building up its militaries over the next few years, after That Guy In The White House signalled he's no longer that interested in helping us defend ourselv…
Should Canada join the EU? [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 53:36
Europe and Canada have a lot in common, from their headaches over Donald Trump to a shared belief in welfare states. If Australia can be a part of Eurovision, is there anything stopping us from welcoming our Canadian fri…
Putin's African antics, the death of Skype, and a Eurovision c-bomb [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:00:03
Thousands of kilometres from the devastating war it's been waging in Ukraine, Russia has involved itself in a swathe of other conflicts that attract much less attention: in Africa. Why? This week we speak to Beverly Ochi…