This Is What A Generation Sounds Like: Sara

This Is What A Generation Sounds Like: Sara

Author: Katy Lee and Dominic Kraemer August 8, 2024 Duration: 27:13

We're away on our summer break until September, but this week and next week we're re-releasing two of our favourite episodes from The Europeans' award-winning series, 'This Is What A Generation Sounds Like. 

This week, a story that spans three generations of women: Sara, her mother, and her grandmother. In their collective lifetimes, Albania entered a communist dictatorship; the regime fell; and then there was a transition. And through it all, there was a dish: trahana. 

This episode first aired in 2021. You can find a beautiful visual version of this podcast, produced by our friends at Are We Europe, here.

This series was co-produced with Are We Europe and made in cooperation with the Allianz Foundation.

Producers: Katz Laszlo and Sara
Assistant producer: Priyanka Shankar
Editor: Katy Lee
Sound design: Katz Laszlo
Editorial support: Dominic Kraemer, Katy Lee and Wojciech Oleksiak

Music: Era e Feminise, by Elina Duni; Song of Emigration, by Women’s Choir from Permet; Tana, by Saziso; Ka Nje mot e gjysem viti, by Elina Duni Quartet; Jonuzi Me Shoket by Vaome Kaba; Ballerina by Yehezkel Raz; Mëmëdheu by the Peter Pan Quartet; Jim Barne. SFX from Freesound.org.

 

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. 


Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ |⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Threads⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ |⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠Twitter⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠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
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…
Big news for The Europeans! [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 17:21
Producers Katz and Wojciech join Katy and Dominic to share a couple of nuggets of exciting news for The Europeans. You can find out all about our new partners at Euranet Plus, a network of radio stations across Europe, h…
Germany's elections: should we freak out or not? [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 45:17
Germany just staged one of Europe's most crucial elections this year. The results are simultaneously shocking and not-shocking: shocking because the far-right made huge gains; not shocking because they are likely to deli…
Euro-defence, euro-booze and euro-TV [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:07:18
This week, the great transatlantic break-up. How can we make sense of the seismic shift in Europe's relationship with the US since Trump took power? What does it mean for Ukraine, and Europe's ability to defend itself fr…
Dark skies, cheap shopping and an EU laser show [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 51:40
Nocturnal tourism is supposedly one of the big travel trends of 2025, and from star-gazing to truffle-hunting, there are plenty of places in Europe to do it. But where is this craving for darkness coming from? This week…
Butterflies and bullied protesters [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 56:18
Europe's rarest butterfly lives on the outskirts of a single town in North Macedonia. So why is it possible to find specimens of this incredibly endangered animal for sale online for 30 euros? This week we speak to Kiril…
The world needs more drag cows [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 47:30
In an otherwise miserable week, this podcast is delighted to bring you a joyful interview with a drag cow. At least, an interview with the person behind the cow: the Swiss artist, performer and animal rights activist Dan…
Russia's gas games [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 50:31
There's been a weird loophole in the war in Ukraine up until now. Nearly three years after Russia's full-scale invasion, Ukraine was still being paid to transport Russian gas for sale to Europe, all while Moscow continue…