This week Dominic is furious about the EU vote on whether or not veggie burgers can be called veggie burgers, so we're distracting him with languages. Interpreter extraordinaire Alexander Drechsel is here to discuss the weird English dialect that has developed in Brussels, and whether the EU of the future will be anglophone. Plus, Sarkozy, Sweden's big-spending military, and adorable nuns.

We've got a food-themed episode for you this week: bread, meat, and oat milk ethics. We're talking to the documentary-maker Fredrik Gertten about why Swedish vegan company Oatly may be making a deal with the devil. We're also discussing why Subway bread isn't bread (in Ireland at least) and asking why the wurst may be over in Germany. Plus, foul-mouthed parrots. Because everyone needs foul-mouthed parrots.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.