The Europeans | European news, politics and culture Podcast By Katy Lee and Dominic Kraemer cover art

The Europeans | European news, politics and culture

The Europeans | European news, politics and culture

By: Katy Lee and Dominic Kraemer
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The Europeans is a fresh and entertaining weekly podcast about European politics and culture, recorded each week between Paris and Amsterdam with fascinating guests joining from across Europe. This multiple award-winning podcast fills you in on the major European politics stories and other European news of the week, as well as fun and quirky nuggets that have been missed by most media outlets. Hosted by Katy Lee, a journalist based in Paris, and Dominic Kraemer, an opera singer in Amsterdam, The Europeans covers everything from elections and climate policy to the best new European films and TV shows. We also produce investigative podcasts about everything from the European farming lobby to oat milk. Yes, oat milk. Katy and Dominic are old friends, and the warmth and intimacy of their conversations will soon make you feel like you’ve known them a long time too. They approach topics with a light and humorous tone that makes The Europeans stand out from other European news podcasts, while remaining journalistically rigorous and meticulously fact-checked. The Europeans has been recommended by The New York Times, The Guardian, Buzzfeed, The Financial Times, and many other outlets. Katy Lee, a British-French reporter, has written for major outlets including The Guardian, Politico Europe, Agence France-Presse (AFP), Foreign Policy and The New Statesman for more than a decade, covering French and European politics and more recently, climate change. Dominic Kraemer, a British-German opera singer, performs across Europe when he is not co-hosting The Europeans, with roles recently at the Staatsoper in Berlin, the Dutch National Opera and the Münchener Biennale. The Europeans’ team is completed by producers Katz Laszlo in Amsterdam and Wojciech Oleksiak in Warsaw. You’ll hear them joining Katy and Dominic from time to time, particularly during investigative episodes like ‘The Oatly Chronicles’ and ‘The Big-Agri Bully Boys’. The Europeans’ breezy, informal approach to covering European news has won awards such as a Covering Climate Now award for an episode about the Swiss women who sued their government at the European Court of Human Rights demanding more climate action; Germany’s prestigious CIVIS Media Prize for ‘Mohamed’, an episode that explores the everyday life of a young undocumented man in Amsterdam; and best LGBTQIA+ short at the MiraBan UK Film Awards for ‘Josh and Franco’, the coming-of-age story of a father and son, both gay. Our guests have included everyone from major figures in European politics such as Alexander Stubb, now the President of Finland, and Roberta Metsola, President of the European Parliament, to star chefs Asma Khan and Christian Puglisi, celebrated illustrator Christoph Niemann, and environmentalist George Monbiot. Since launching in 2017, we’ve talked about everything from elections in France, Italy and many more countries besides, to the politics of halloumi cheese in Cyprus, to why Donald Trump is so hard for TV interpreters to translate. We pride ourselves on covering European politics, European news and European culture from a pan-European perspective. You’ll often hear stories on The Europeans from parts of the continent that don’t usually receive enough attention from major international media outlets, especially Central, Eastern and Southern Europe. You might enjoy The Europeans if you also enjoy one of these other podcasts: The News Agents, On the Media, Today in Focus, Inside Europe, The Journal, EU Confidential, The Daily, The Globalist, Reasons to be Cheerful, The Media Show, Power Play, and The New Statesman. Whether you’re already a European news nerd, or simply someone who’d like to be better informed about what’s happening across Europe, The Europeans is the podcast for you. Support us on Patreon: https://patreon.com/europeanspodcastAssociation The Europeans Political Science Politics & Government Social Sciences
Episodes
  • Where are the Zohran Mamdanis of Europe?

    Where are the Zohran Mamdanis of Europe?
    Apr 9 2026
    A few weeks back, we asked you to weigh in on a question that’s been on our mind a lot lately: Who are the Zohran Mamdanis of Europe, and when, pray tell, are they going to give our beloved, ailing continent a much-needed shake-up? As it turns out, that’s a complicated question. This week’s guest, Brussels-based journalist Dave Keating, says that the decks are stacked against insurgent outsiders like the New York mayor – yet we need them more than ever. We had a long-overdue chat with Dave about what might be preventing a charismatic, insurgent figure on the left from taking off in the EU, and we also talked about a few of the leaders you wrote in to share with us. (Of course, keep us posted of any changemakers cropping up in your country at hello@europeanspodcast.com.)We’re also talking about a controversial new law in Germany introducing voluntary military service in the country for men under the age of 45. We recorded this segment a few hours before the news that young men will not have to seek permission for long stints abroad after all; you can read updated reporting here. We also unpack Netflix’s failed legal challenge to EU regulations that led to a flood of funding for European TV and film production. A burning question has now been answered: yes, the US streaming giant really does have to set aside a decent budget for francophone Belgian content.This week’s Inspiration Station recommendations are the viral videos emerging from Zara Larsson’s tour and Juhani Karila’s book Summer Fishing in Lapland, brought to our attention by listener Monika.Resources for this episode:Dave Keating’s websiteDave’s book The Owned ContinentUK Green Party leader Zack Polanski on the BBC’s Political Thinking“Why a legal challenge by Netflix and Disney in Belgium could have huge implications for European producers” - Screen Daily, 14 May 2025“Forget Netflix — YouTube is our main rival, top French broadcaster says” - Politico Europe, 3 April 2026“Reading for a star: Meet the Portuguese teenager influencer helping kids to pick up books” - Euronews, 18 March 2026Can’t get enough of us? Of course you can’t! For more of The Europeans, subscribe to our newsletter, Good Week Bad Week. New issues land in your inbox every Friday.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. You can also donate via our website if you prefer. And finally: we'd also love it if you could tell two friends about this podcast. We think two feels like a reasonable number.Produced by Katy Lee and Wojciech OleksiakMixing and mastering by Wojciech OleksiakMusic by Jim Barne and Mariska MartinaThe Europeans is proudly produced using Europe’s own Hindenburg.YouTube | Bluesky | Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ | Mastodon⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ | Substack | hello@europeanspodcast.com
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    1 hr and 9 mins
  • Can a group of strangers solve Europe’s biggest problems?

    Can a group of strangers solve Europe’s biggest problems?
    Apr 2 2026

    If you got a knock on your door from someone inviting you to Brussels to hash out some EU policies…you’d think it was a scam, right? Us, too. At least, that was the case until last week, when our producer Wojciech went to report on a European Citizens’ Panel, an event designed to allow 150 randomly selected Europeans to weigh in on some of the EU’s thorniest problems. This week we’re taking a deep dive into the ins and outs of what seems like the nerdiest game show ever. How do these panels work? What do they actually achieve? And crucially, are they worth the cost?

    Resources for this episode:

    • European Citizens’ Panels
    • EU Citizens’ Engagement Platform

    Maybe you’re tuning in this week and thinking, “Wait, where’s Good Week, Bad Week?” To that we say: Have you heard about our newsletter? GOOD WEEK BAD WEEK is available for free on Substack and offers everything you love about the podcast, plus a few extra memes and internetty things. Try it; we think you’ll like it.

    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. You can also donate via our website if you prefer. And finally: we'd also love it if you could tell two friends about this podcast. We think two feels like a reasonable number.

    Reported, written, and produced by Wojciech Oleksiak

    Editorial support by Katy Lee and Dominic Kraemer

    Audio editing by Morgan Childs

    Mixing and mastering by Wojciech Oleksiak

    Music by Jim Barne, Mariska Martina and Blue Dot Sessions

    The Europeans is proudly produced using Europe’s own Hindenburg.

    YouTube | Bluesky | Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ | Mastodon⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ | Substack | hello@europeanspodcast.com
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    46 mins
  • The end of Orbán?

    The end of Orbán?
    Mar 26 2026
    It has been 16 years since Viktor Orbán’s Fidesz party assumed power in Hungary – and it might have begun to feel like things could never change. But with a parliamentary election just around the corner, there’s now a glimmer – a hint! a twinkle! – of hope that the EU's most illiberal government could finally be on its way out. This week, we’re devoting the entire episode to the April 12 elections: what’s certain, what remains to be seen, and most importantly, what’s at stake. And to make sense of it all, we’re joined by two Budapest-based friends of the podcast: the novelist Krisztián Marton, and Viktória Serdült, reporter at HVG, one of the last surviving bastions of independent journalism in Hungary. “At last, a figure has emerged who could wrench power from Viktor Orbán in Hungary” – Viktória Serdült for The Guardian, 18 December 2024Paul the Octopus on WikipediaKrisztián Marton on InstagramViktória Serdült on X This week’s Hungary-themed Inspiration Station recommendations are the song “Tizenhat” by Elefánt, the documentary The Trap, and the FT series The Orbán System. MISS OUR NORMAL PROGRAMMING? This week’s edition of our newsletter, Good Week Bad Week, has you covered. Subscribe over here to learn what’s been going on beyond Hungary’s borders (the good, the bad, the silly). 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. You can also donate via our website if you prefer. And finally: we'd also love it if you could tell two friends about this podcast. We think two feels like a reasonable number. Produced by Morgan Childs, Wojciech Oleksiak and Katz Laszlo Mixing and mastering by Wojciech Oleksiak Music by Jim Barne and Mariska Martina The Europeans is proudly produced using Europe’s own Hindenburg. YouTube | Bluesky | Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ | Mastodon⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ | Substack | hello@europeanspodcast.com
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    47 mins
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