Show Notes
Europe is getting bigger, and so, it seems, are its problems. This week, Katy gives us a report from her home country of France, which for weeks has been embroiled in protests, some of which have brought significant destruction to French buildings and businesses. What began as a series of student demonstrations in early September has grown into a movement that has captured France’s growing anger over its government and the cost of living – grievances that are being echoed in similar protests across many other European countries as well.
Amidst the chaos, some of us have wondered: would a bigger EU be a better EU? To think through the implications of EU expansion, we’re joined this week by Tinatin Akhvlediani, head of the EU Enlargement Programme at the Centre for European Policy Studies. There’s no better person to unpack what EU enlargement would mean for candidate countries and potential candidates, and for the bloc more broadly. (You don’t become known as Tina Enlargement for nothing.)
Have questions about housing and energy policy? We’re taking Qs for EU commissioner Dan Jørgensen! All of our supporters are invited to pitch in to help shape our upcoming episode. To get in on the fun, you can join us over here.
We’re gearing up for the second installment of our book club, co-hosted with our friends over at the European Review of Books. Our next pick is Ece Temelkuran’s book Nation of Strangers: Rebuilding Home in the 21st Century. We’ll be discussing it on 10 December, and if you’ve read the book and have thoughts to share, you’re warmly welcomed to send in your comments via voice memo to [email protected].
Resources for this episode: “Hungary After Orbán” – The BBC’s Documentary Podcast, 13 October 2026 Tina’s latest policy brief for CEPS Tina on LinkedIn Tina on Instagram Video of Finnish chef Tomi Kotilainen breaking the soda-chugging record “Chef chugs 500 ml of his favourite orange soda in just a few seconds to claim record” – Guinness World Records, 14 October 2026
Want more cheeky analysis of the week’s news? Join us over on our Substack, Good Week Bad Week! New dispatches of the newsletter appear on the platform and in your inbox every Friday.
Co-hosts: Dominic Kraemer and Katy Lee Producers: Morgan Childs and Wojciech Oleksiak Senior producer: Katy Lee Mixing and mastering: Wojciech Oleksiak Music: Jim Barne and Mariska Martina Intern: Inês Ruivo The Europeans is proudly produced using Europe’s own Hindenburg. Substack | Instagram | Mastodon | YouTube | [email protected]
More from The Europeans | European news, politics and culture
Europe is in chaos, but we’re here to talk about it all, as long as the wifi holds out! This week, we’re chatting about Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez’s call for a snap election in light of his country’s recent housing demonstrations and a host of other controversies roiling Madrid. Please note: this podcast was recorded before news broke on Wednesday night of the death of Maricarmen Abascal, the 87-year-old whose eviction sparked Spain’s massive housing protests.
When it comes to the future of AI, we – like seemingly everyone else – have way more questions than answers. Could European legislation do anything to protect us from job losses and “rogue” models? Can the chatbots created on this continent compete with those being developed by the US and China? What would it mean to win (or lose) the “AI race”? And most importantly: how doomed are we?
When it comes to envisioning the future, what’s your type? The Positive? The Negative? The Uncertain? The Disconnected? No, these aren’t characters in a pop group or a teen movie – they’re the four ways of imagining a European future. So says Paweł Zerka of the European Council on Foreign Relations, a three-peat guest and true Friend of the Podcast. Paweł is back once more to walk us through this year’s European Sentiment Compass, “Future Nostalgia: Europe’s Unfinished Song”. Come for the Dua Lipa reference, stay because you’re a polling nerd like the rest of us. We’re also talking about British lawmakers’ quest to figure out why the UK does quite so badly at Eurovision and what the seizure of Nestlé and Auchan’s Russian assets says about the Kremlin’s finances.
This week, we’re attempting to solve some tricky problems. How can the EU tackle the ballooning housing crisis? Can we revive a cinema industry on death’s door? And how on earth can we get bureaucrats to communicate like human people in order to really, truly get something done? We’re unpacking plans for a new Affordable Housing Act and Macron’s attempt to save le cinéma, and we’re also getting an exclusive from the EU’s Directorate General of Memes, Satire, and Sober Fun, a.k.a. Fabio Mauri, the meme-maker who loves nothing more than to poke fun at Europe’s policymakers on Twitter and Instagram. You’ll laugh, you’ll cry, et cetera.
Last week, tech giant Meta reached a settlement in a lawsuit with nearly every state in the US over claims that it had knowingly harmed children with its addictive apps. It was a major turn of events in the growing movement to protect kids online – but what does it mean for those of us on this side of the Atlantic? This week, we’re bringing you a fascinating chat with Leanda Barrington-Leach, the executive director at 5Rights, an international NGO that seeks to protect children’s rights and wellbeing on the internet. We’re also unpicking the CIA chief’s visit to Moscow and the surprisingly effective tariff placed on small parcels from China.