Countries all around Europe are dealing with the same dilemma: what to do with citizens who went to join ISIS. Tiny Kosovo is alone in opting to bring back a large group of its citizens when other countries are turning their backs. To find out why, Dominic talked to AJ Naddaff, who spent months researching why so many left Kosovo to fight, and the country's humane response to bringing people back. 

Over on the western edge of Europe Katy's been chatting to the French writer Maxime Calligaro about why the Brussels bubble is a surprisingly great place to set a crime novel. Maxime and Katy also spoke at the Ancienne Belgique last week about how to make Europe less boring (you can watch it here). Thanks Liveurope for hosting! 

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, European cultural greats past and present. We discuss the good, the bad and the Bauhaus with the American painter Henry Isaacs, who grew up surrounded by many of the key figures from the legendary German art school that marked its 100th birthday this month. And Katy chats to Kurt Overbergh, artistic director of the Ancienne Belgiquemusic venue, about new sounds, immigration and the return of Turkish psychedelia.

This week a brilliant young journalist was shot dead in Northern Ireland, on the 21st anniversary of the Good Friday peace agreement. The senseless death of Lyra McKee is a reminder of a conflict that most in the country have put behind them. Her friend, the writer Susan McKay, is here with a very moving tribute to a remarkable person.

Also this week: a rebellion in London, rising from the ashes in Paris, and the magnificent species that is the European honey bee. 

No, European governments are not handing out 'brothel vouchers' to immigrants; and no, the EU is not trying to ban bendy cucumbers. Euro-myths are as old as the union itself, but with elections just around the corner, setting the record straight feels more important than ever. This week's guest is on the frontlines of the fight against disinformation: Jules Darmanin, the coordinator of a new continent-wide band of fact-checkers. Plus: Julian Assange, Swiss democracy, and the world's greatest neighbours.  

This week, a little glimmer of hope from central Europe in the form of a new Slovakian president who refuses to fight dirty. And a little glimmer of the future in the form of our guest, bionic woman and tech journalist Mimi Billing, one of a growing number of Swedes to have got themselves... microchipped? Plus: Russian whale jails, a decades-old French mystery, and germs at the opera.

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.

After the week it's been, we could all do with a break from the present. This week, we're venturing into Europe past -- about six thousand years ago, to a time when mysterious stone structures were springing up all around the continent. Today we call them megaliths, and there's a lot we still don't know about them. But one woman has been on a quest to work out how these extraordinary monuments spread around Europe. Archaeologist Bettina Schulz Paulsson is on the line from Gothenburg to talk about how early Europeans were exchanging knowledge and culture a good few millennia before the EU was invented. Also: a reverse art heist, a blow for the anti-vaxxers , and how to say no to big business. 

This week The Europeans are heading underground to the nearest bunker. Julie McDowall, Cold War writer and expert on all things atomic, is on the line from Glasgow to talk about how different countries in Europe planned for nuclear war and what it’s like to visit Chernobyl, three decades after the disaster. We also talk about the woman shaking up Estonian politics, questionable ethics in Italian opera, and Slovenian sandwiches.

This week we're talking about transgender rights in Europe with the author and activist CN Lester, whose wonderful book Trans Like Me gets its mainstream paperback release on Thursday. And on a continent where young people mostly stayed at home for the last elections, Mick ter Reehorst calls in to explain why he's launched a new campaign, #ProveThemWrong, to get out the youth vote in May. Plus: winter bacon, sticking it to the homophobes, and a mile-high culture clash between France and the Netherlands.

This week, the kid from Hamburg who grew up to become one of the most powerful forces in global fashion. Karl Lagerfeld built not one but three hugely successful brands. After his death last week at the age of 85, we're exploring the flaws, quirks and legacy of this complicated man with the help of Fiachra Gibbons, culture editor at Agence France-Presse and long-time observer of 'the Kaiser'. We also discuss Europe's rising problem with anti-Semitism, some good news for Serbia's gay first couple, and how to make it big in Finland.

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's guest is ten years old and one of the fiercest, smartest people we've ever had on this podcast. Lilly Platt calls in from Zeist in the Netherlands to tell us why she's helping to lead the tens of thousands of children across Europe striking to demand action on climate change. And from skipping school to skipping the queue, anti-money laundering expert Laure Brillaud is here from Brussels to cast a light on the murky world of 'golden visas' for sale in Europe. Plus: positive pop, bad meat, and one very happy cellist. 

This week, two Kraemers for the price of one! Dominic's brother, BBC political nerd Daniel Kraemer, is here to explain why Britain has the weirdest parliament in Europe. Don't worry, we kept the B-word chat to a minimum. Plus: Macron and Merkel's Duolingo pact, Ronaldo's millions, and the kindest grandma on the continent. 

This week, smart Finns and a very smart bear. Computer scientist Teemu Roos is on the line from Helsinki to explain why Finland is trying to educate its population en masse about artificial intelligence. And our Woman in Warsaw Ania Jakubek is back with the tale of a Polish wartime hero who just happened to be... a bear. Plus: Greek drama, Satanic tourism, and how to make the internet a nicer place. 

This week, the need for more buzz around Europe: the bee kind, and the excitement kind. Our very special guest to round off the year (and keep Katy company while Dominic was rolling around on the floor) is the Dutch writer Joris Luyendijk, who despite having been named Bad News reporter for De Correspondent has more hope than you might think for this continent as we roll into 2019. Trigger warning: there's a mention or two of the b-word as we talk about why Europe ain't so boring and the mysteries of the British psyche. Plus: Powerfrauen; an all-too-human robot, and the fight to save our pollinators.

This week on The Europeans, two passionate defences of liberty, the political and the sexual. Renowned Hungarian rights defender Márta Pardavi is on the line from Budapest to talk about what it's like fighting with the increasingly authoritarian government of Viktor Orbán. And Paulita Pappel calls in from Berlin to chat about her work as a feminist pornographer. Plus: France's road rage, Luxembourg's road delight, and the greatest ever reason to uncork a bottle of wine.

A special show marking A WHOLE YEAR OF THE PODCAST! Extra brilliant guests are here to help us mark this very narcissistic edition of anniversary annexe/commemoration corner. Flavia Kleiner, whose Operation Libero has been waging a quietly successful war against rightwing populism in Switzerland, calls in from Zurich with some lessons for the rest of Europe. And Andrea Chalupa is here to discuss her new film Gareth Jones, about a courageous Welsh journalist's battle to tell the truth about the famine her grandfather survived in Ukraine 85 years ago. Plus: vote-buying, espionage, and a few splashes of prosecco.

This week, the story of one of Europe's strangest art heists keeps getting stranger; the fate of Poland's judges keeps getting more complicated; and a teacher in one of France's poorest towns refuses to give up on her kids. Juliette Perchais is on the line to talk about what it's like teaching in one of her country's toughest schools and how she traveled the world to bring back the best educational ideas out there.