Rockets, recipes and Le Pen(itentiary)

Rockets, recipes and Le Pen(itentiary)

Author: Katy Lee and Dominic Kraemer April 3, 2025 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-right win the presidency without her? This week we're discussing the earthquake in French politics, as well as Europe's space ambitions. Plus, a delightful interview with Greek podcaster and hungry man Thom Ntinas, about what ancient Europeans ate.     Thom is the host of The Delicious Legacy podcast. Find it here, or wherever you're listening to this.    Thanks for listening. After some rather troubling financial news this week, this independent podcast needs your support more than ever. If you enjoy our work, we'd love it if you'd consider supporting us. You can chip in to help us cover the weekly research and production of The Europeans at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠patreon.com/europeanspodcast⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ (many currencies are available), or gift a donation to a super fan here. We'd also love it if you could tell two friends about this podcast!      This podcast was brought to you in cooperation with Euranet Plus, the leading radio network for EU news.   This week's Inspiration Station recommendations: @forkranger on Instagram and 'How Stockholm Stuck' from Radiolab.   00:33 Damn clocks
03:43 Good Week: Marine Le Pen's enemies
20:36 Bad Week (?): The Spectrum rocket launch
33:59 Interview: Thom Ntinas on what the Ancients ate
46:27 The Inspiration Station: @forkranger and 'How Stockholm Stuck'
49:55 Happy Ending: The best place to lose your wallet   Producers: Morgan Childs and Wojciech Oleksiak  Mixing and mastering: Wojciech Oleksiak Music: 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
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…
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…
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…