Tesla, Turkey, and unnecessary trash
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 Elon Musk's Tesla cars have already plunged in Europe and could now fare even worse thanks to his best bud's trade policies. We're also joined by Turkish political scientist Ezgi Başaran to discuss why President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan is feeling liberated in a time that's been dubbed 'springtime for autocrats' — and whether the huge protests against him could change that. Plus, is Spain's clever new food waste law as good as it sounds?
This episode was recorded on Tuesday night, before the EU's announcement of retaliatory tariffs... and before the White House's announcement of a 90-day pause on higher tariffs for dozens of countries. At any rate, at the time of publication the world economy is still looking decidedly chaotic, so we hope you still find this an enjoyable and useful listen.
INSPIRATION STATION RECOMMENDATIONS
'Criminal Record' (Apple TV). Plus Nina’s bonus recommendations: 'Inspector Ellis' and 'The Bay'.
'Rural Fictions', an essay in The Dial by Bartolomeo Sala.
OTHER RESOURCES FOR THIS EPISODE
Study strengthens link between shingles vaccine and lower dementia risk: https://med.stanford.edu/news/all-news/2025/03/shingles-vaccination-dementia.html
Producer
Katy Lee and Wojciech Oleksiak
Mixing and mastering
Wojciech Oleksiak
Music
Jim Barne and Mariska Martina
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