We're back from our summer break! Rym Momtaz, the new editor-in-chief of the Strategic Europe blog, is here to catch us up on the main political developments we missed over the summer, from Ukraine to France. We're also talking about Sweden's suggestions for cutting kids' screen time, and a possible crackdown on outrageous concert ticket prices. 

This week, we're heading to a small country with a big bold foreign policy. Czechia, aka the Czech Republic, has won international praise by negotiating a desperately-needed ammunition deal for Ukraine. Why did it succeed where others have failed? And why is its government so much less scared of China than most others in Europe? We ring up Jakub Janda, Czech security expert and author of a certain viral tweet, to find out. We're also talking about a glimmer of hope for some of Italy's rainbow families, and the scandal rocking Finnish journalism.

In February 2022, as Russian tanks rolled across the border, the writer and historian Olesya Khromeychuk told us the story of the boots she had bought for her brother, serving at the front in eastern Ukraine. This week, we're sharing her story again.

Last weekend, Parisians voted to triple parking fees for SUVs in a bid to remove some of the city's more polluting vehicles. It's just one of many policy ideas that are being tested out in European cities to clean up the air we breathe — but how bad is the problem really, and can we really fix it? This week we ring up Oliver Lord from the Clean Cities Campaign to find out. We're also talking about the exhausting antics of Viktor Orbán and some juicy Italian art theft allegations.

Ukraine has seen an exodus of foreign journalists in the wake of the terrible conflict in the Middle East. But coverage of the war on this continent remains more crucial than ever. This week we talk to the writer Sasha Dovzhyk about what is happening in Ukraine right now, as well as Ukrainians' complicated feelings around the struggle for international attention. We're also talking about the corruption scandal rocking Portugal's government, and Greta Thunberg's fraught appearance at Amsterdam's huge climate protest.

How can cartoon dogs help fight Russian disinformation? This week, hybrid warfare expert Robert van der Noordaa gives us a crash course on the #NAFOfellas movement and why Ukraine has been so good at using internet humour since last year's invasion. We're also talking about France's riots and the Dutch king's apology for the Netherlands' role in slavery.

We've been glued to the Turkish elections over the past week. But what does Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's victory in the first round mean for the country, and for Europe as a whole? This week we ring up political scientist Ahmet Erdi Öztürk to find out. We're also talking about a big boost in Germany's support for Ukraine, a fake tan controversy, and the teeny tiny bridge behind the Mona Lisa.