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Poison, puffins and the people's game

This week, the game that unites this continent. We're talking to Eniola Aluko, former England and Juventus striker, about her experience as a black woman in European football. We're also talking about what it's like to recover from a Russian Novichok poisoning; Europe's latest refugee plan; and clever puffins.

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Make Europe Romantic Again

Could Europe do with a 19th-century reboot? This week we're talking to Simon Strauss, millennial star of the German literary world, about why he thinks Romanticism is the future. We also hear about a lovely project he's launched to collect the stories of ageing Europeans. Plus: Ursula's big day, eco-burials, and what Tchaikovsky got in the post.

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The women of Belarus

Women are kicking ass in Belarus right now, and this week we're catching up with the journalist Hanna Liubakova about why — and where the protest movement is going. We're also talking about the fire at Greece's Moria refugee camp and the mess that is Europe's refugee policy. Plus: greener energy choices in Portugal and the French film behind the #CancelNetflix hashtag.

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Italy's past, Europe's future

We're back from our summer break and here to bring you all the European Things that have been missing from your life. This week, the Italian novelist Francesca Melandri on what happened when her beautiful Letter From The Future went viral; we also chat about how Italy deals (or doesn't) with the past. Also this week: theatrical freedom in Hungary, extremely slow music, and a fly-swatting disaster.

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The Chain, part three

In this final installment of European love letters, we're travelling from Hungary to Germany, Germany to Russia, and across the border to Norway. This week we're celebrating the books that stay with us for a lifetime — and books that seem to have a life of their own. And we're heading to the Arctic with an extremely stubborn grandmother.

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The Chain, part two

We're hopping from Sweden to France, France to Spain, and Spain to Austria for part two of The Chain, a series of love-letters from Europeans to each other's countries. This week we're climbing a volcano, feasting on chocolate cake, and seeing Europe through a dog's eyes.

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The Chain, part one

Introducing The Chain: a series of love-letters from Europeans to each other's countries. This week we're hopping from Romania to the Netherlands, the Netherlands to Italy, Italy to Bosnia and Herzegovina. We'll hear about a mountain, a monument from a non-existent country, and a life-changing conversation in a soap shop.

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The Summer of Solidarity

In our last episode before a little summer break, we're zooming out and taking a look at the state of Europe with Natalie Nougayrède. The Guardian columnist and former Le Monde editor is spearheading Summer of Solidarity, a collaborative journalism project celebrating human stories across Europe. We chat about the 'othering' of Central and Eastern Europeans and the case for a pan-European media outlet. Also this week: Poland's election, problematic metro names, and the power of bison.

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George Soros, Explained

Why has George Soros inspired conspiracy theories involving everything from the Holocaust to Beyoncé? This week we're talking to Emily Tamkin, author of 'The Influence of Soros', about why the Hungarian-born billionaire is such a source of fascination and controversy. Also this week: Belgium faces its past; Latvia faces Russian 'propaganda' efforts; and Parisian jazz goes solo.

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The Political Pianist

Igor Levit, as the New Yorker put it, "Is Like No Other Pianist". This week we chatted to the German-Russian superstar about playing for 15 hours straight, why he staged 50 concerts from his living room, and Germany's ongoing struggle against systemic racism. We're also talking about France's "green wave" and Romania's very expensive super-church.

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Love, bees and brain surgery

This week we're celebrating those moments when Europeans are actually nice to each other. Rafael Loss, data wizard at the European Council on Foreign Relations, is on the line from Berlin to explain why he built an online tool to track solidarity during the C-word crisis. We're also talking about Serbia's elections, Croatian bees, and awake brain surgery.

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Recipes for rebellion

Communist Bulgaria was home to a furtive cooking craze on a massive scale: women swapping recipes on scraps of paper, with strangers on trams, even at funerals. The historian and writer Albena Shkodrova sees this fascinating phenomenon as a form of subversion; we called her up to ask why. Also this week: Happy Birthday Schengen, an accidental invasion, and an end to Sweden's longest-running murder mystery.

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Why the Black Lives Matter protests are different in Europe

Protests over the death of George Floyd have been spreading on this side of the Atlantic, from Britain to Hungary. This week we're talking about what makes the European anti-racism protests different, with the artist and cultural critic Quinsy Gario. We're also talking about Prague's mysterious poisoned suitcase, and a possible post-COVID rail revolution.

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The Great Pull of China

You can blame Dominic for the pun. This week, as tensions between the United States and China reach fever-pitch, we're asking: does Europe need to pick a side? Tom Wan, Research Director in European Politics at the Global Studies Institute in Hong Kong, is on the line to explain what's at stake in Europe's relationship with China.

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Guide to a Non-Existent Country

The Italian journalist and travel writer Giovanni Vale is used to writing tourist guidebooks, but usually they're for countries that still exist. We rang him up to ask why he's turned his attention to 'extinguished' countries, starting with the Venetian Republic which sprawled across the Mediterranean for more than a millennium. Also this week: Polish punk and Europe's organic revolution.

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Wikipedia's Missing Women

Less than a fifth of the biographies on Wikipedia are those of women; Rebecca O'Neill is part of a movement to fix that. We talk to her about her quest to write famous Irish women into the Wikiverse, as well as how the site helps minority languages to stay alive. Also this week: Merkel rises above it, and theatre gets political in Albania.

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What is Russia doing at the bottom of the sea?

Last year a terrible disaster struck the Losharik, a highly advanced Russian submarine. But what happened? And what was the submarine doing so close to European shores? This mystery has fascinated the Norwegian journalist Thomas Nilsen, one of the authors of a New York Times investigation into the Losharik disaster. We talked to him about why Russia is so interested in what lies beneath these waters. Spoiler alert: your internet connection depends on it.

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Quarantainment

This week we've got a cultural bonanza for you. We're talking about Poland's Netflix tax and the new drive-in cinema in Vilnius, as well as all the TV and online concerts we've been bingeing on. Plus, a great interview with the French screenwriter Noé Debré about Parlement, the European satire we've been waiting for.

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The Other C-Words

This week we bring you: coal, chess, and the circular economy. We speak to Esther Goodwin-Brown of Circle Economy about the economic model that's getting environmentalists all hot and bothered. We're also talking about why Europe's fallen out of love with the black stuff and why chess is getting a revamp. Plus, metal detectors — because what would this podcast be without metal detectors?

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Normal and Boring

The superstar illustrator Christoph Niemann is on a mission to better understand Europe. 'In Praise of a Normal, Boring Country', the latest installment of his New York Times visual essay series, took him to Estonia. We rang him up in Berlin to talk about his trip and a bunch of other stuff. Also this week: Dominic gets to grips with debt mutualisation, and Katy gets to grips with mittens.

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