Russia's mysterious sabotage campaign

Russia's mysterious sabotage campaign

Author: Katy Lee and Dominic Kraemer October 17, 2024 Duration: 45:56
Arson, vandalism, attacks on NATO vehicles: around Europe, mysterious acts of sabotage have been multiplying. And there's a pattern: the perpetrators were recruited on Telegram via accounts linked to Russian agencies. This week, we hear from Marta Vunš about how she and other journalists went undercover to figure out how this recruitment actually works. We're also asking whether Germany's nausea-inducing opera deserves its scandalised headlines, and why France has been low-key obsessed with a treasure hunt for the past three decades.    Thanks for listening! If you enjoy our podcast, we'd love it if you'd consider chipping in a few bucks a month at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠patreon.com/europeanspodcast⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ (many currencies are available). You can also help new listeners find the show by ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠leaving us a review⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ or giving us five stars on Spotify.      "‘Make a Molotov Cocktail’: How Europeans Are Recruited Through Telegram to Commit Sabotage, Arson, and Murder". You can read the investigation by Delfi, Der Standard, Paper Trail Media and the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project here.   This week's Inspiration Station offering, sponsored by the European Cultural Foundation: Liquid Becomings.    Other resources for this episode:  Trailer: SANCTA | Staatsoper Stuttgart Talk Eastern Europe: Spies, sabotage and Russia-West relations   00:22 The week EU politics got spicy
03:22 Bad Week: Unwell opera-goers
13:54 Good Week: France's mystery treasure-hunt winner
24:38 Interview: Marta Vunš on Russia's shady Telegram recruitment
38:46 The Inspiration Station - The European Cultural Foundation presents: Liquid Becomings
42:45 Happy Ending: Phew! Art saved from the garbage can  

Producers: Morgan Childs and Wojciech Oleksiak 
Mixing and mastering: Wojciech Oleksiak
Music: Jim Barne and Mariska Martina

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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
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