Scotland now has the highest rate of drug-related deaths in Europe — even higher than the United States. The shocking statistics have prompted calls in Scotland for a move towards the decriminalisation of drug use, taking the lead from a radical change of approach in Portugal. Portugal went from a full-blown opioid crisis in the 1980s to having one of the lowest rates of drug deaths in Europe today. We called Andreia Alves, a social worker with the Lisbon NGO Crescer, to find how a more humane policy makes her work easier. Also: turtle doves, VIP tour guides, and the art of the Spanish compromise.

This week we’re talking about what happened when Actress, the electronic musician also known as Darren Cunningham, made British and Dutch politicians debate the meaning of love. We’re also talking about French extravagance, the gentrification of Berlin, and the magic of medicine. 

This week, a celebration of the quintessential Renaissance man: yes, it's opera singer Dominic Kraemer with an interview about CHEMICAL ELEMENTS. We're also marking the 500th deathday of some guy called Leonardo who was similarly talented in both the arts and sciences.

In Poland, the art world has gone bananas; in Spain, there's life in socialism yet; and British chemist and YouTube sensation Martyn Poliakoff is here to explain why he wants to turn the periodic table upside down, literally. 

This week, like so many other weeks, it's been easy to take a look at the world and think: how did things get so polarised? Ahead of the European elections, the battle lines are already being drawn: nationalists vs globalists, liberals vs conservatives. But a fascinating project is trying to get Europeans from across the political spectrum to actually sit down and talk about their differences. Sebastian Horn, the deputy editor of Die Zeit online, is on the line from Berlin to explain the thinking behind the Europe Talks project. Plus: changing populist fortunes from Budapest to Amsterdam, and the mathematics of soap bubbles.

This week we're stretching the definition of Europe to the limit and travelling all the way down to the French-Italian research base in the Antarctic! By some miracle we managed to Skype the physicist Meganne Christian at the Concordia base about what it's like spending an entire year living in the most isolated place on Earth (albeit with decent Italian cooking). At the other end of the planet: bears, Viktor Orbán's bid to turn Hungarian women into baby-machines, and pop that pisses off the populists.

This week on the Europeans: bacteria, cathedral thinking, and a Spanish drug lord who got too cocky. We're guest-less this week due to illness so this is a mini-show, but we wanted to drop by and say a quick gutentag.

We'll be back with a fully-sized episode next week. Thanks so much for listening.

The Europeans is supported by Future Europe, a podcast from the European Investment Bank. Check it out here: eib.org/future-Europe

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