It's that time of year when reindeer start cropping up on all kinds of Christmassy consumer goods, from snowglobes to Advent calendars. But for the indigenous Sámi people of northern Europe, herding these remarkable animals is a way of life — and one that is increasingly under threat. This week we speak to Sámi herder and climate change expert Jannie Staffansson about her community's intimate and profound relationship with reindeer. It's an animal-themed episode this week, so we're also talking about a bee miracle in the Canary Islands, and how a European sheep can somehow be rare and a threat to biodiversity at the same time.

Millions of us have spent this pandemic bingeing on international films and television, transported far away through the magic of the screen. But there's an underappreciated army of workers who make it all possible: the subtitlers. This week we chat to Russian subtitler Max Deryagin about how Netflix has shaken up the industry and why things sometimes get lost in translation. We're also talking about the new Germany, the failures of Britain's asylum policy, and the woman on Romania's new 20 lei banknote.

'Move fast and break things' was Facebook's corporate philosophy in its early days. Europe now wants to do the opposite when it comes to the harmful effects of social media: move fast and fix things. This week we're taking a look at the EU's plan to rein in the tech giants with the help of one of our favourite European tech nerds, Guillermo Beltrà of the Open Society's European Policy Institute. We've also got a special Outer Space edition of Good Week Bad Week.

It’s dawn in the Aegean Sea. A dozen asylum seekers are crammed into a rubber dinghy, hoping to land on the Greek island of Lesbos. They are already within EU waters — and they have the right, under international law, to claim asylum. But a huge ship is blocking their way.

A humanitarian crisis is unfolding at the edge of the EU. Asylum seekers are finding themselves trapped in the forest between Poland and Belarus, caught up in a political game, and literally freezing to death. Marta Górczyńska, a migration lawyer who has been helping some of the new arrivals, explains what's happening on the ground and what international law has to say about this shameful situation. We're also talking about the Council of Europe's hijab fiasco and Italy's mafia maxi-trial. Plus, a tale of cough sweets and generosity.

This week, a story that spans three generations of women: Sara, her mother, and her grandmother. In their collective lifetimes, Albania entered a communist dictatorship; the regime fell; and then there was a transition. And through it all, there was a dish: trahana.

Fit for 55 sounds like a plan to get middle-aged people to exercise, but it is in fact one of the most ambitious climate policies on the planet. But is it enough to make a difference? This week, in collaboration with the Open Society European Policy Institute, our favourite climate explainer Emily Stewart breaks down Europe's plan for us. Is Fit for 55 fit for purpose? And can Europe turn it into a reality without sparking a continent-wide social revolt?

Wondering why everyone is suddenly talking about the prospect of a 'Polexit'? This week we're talking to excellent Polandsplainer Jakub Jaraczewski about why the government in Warsaw has just got itself into a huge legal mess. We're also talking about the downfall of Austria's Wunderkind, why so many young Spaniards live with their parents, and the mysterious power of the European chestnut.

This week we're delving into the Czech PM's secret purchase of a French château, an extremely bold Danish artistic experiment, and, oh yes, Wally the Walrus' tour of the European coastline. Plus, political scientist Arndt Leininger is here to decrypt the German election for us.

It's our first ever live show! Recorded live at the Tolhuistuin in Amsterdam. And what could be a more appropriate discussion than the fact that this city will one day be underwater? We promise that's a less depressing conversation than it sounds, because the person who's here to talk about it is husband of the show Thomas Lamers, a member of the documentary theatre collective . They spent this summer asking an intriguing question: if Amsterdam only has around 250 years left, what should they look like?

This week, Katy’s plunging into the depths of the French Submarine Saga and Dominic’s delving into some tentatively good developments for LGBTQ parents in Europe. Plus, the speech we were all waiting for! Or not. One of our favourite journalists within the Brussels bubble, the Spanish reporter Beatriz Ríos, is here to unravel Ursula von der Leyen's State of the European Union for us.

A year into the protest movement in Belarus, what are things like on the ground? This week we talk to the poet Hanna Komar about her own experience in detention, and the extraordinary "algorithm" of solidarity among women in the movement. We're also talking about Russian gas, Norwegian oil, and the magnificence of Emma Raducanu.

Slovenia, aka Katy's favourite country, is increasingly drawing comparisons with Hungary and Poland when it comes to the state of its democracy. Can this worrying direction of travel be reversed? This week we ring up our favourite Sloveniologist Aljaž Pengov Bitenc to find out. We're also talking about Bulgaria's political rock star, and a shocking attack on a Dutch crime journalist.

Few people talk about bread in such magical terms as Apollonia Poilâne. This week we speak to the head of one of France's most prestigious bakeries about the secrets of sourdough and taking over the family company aged just 18. We're also talking about Iceland's four-day week experiment, a cyberattack that took out hundreds of Swedish supermarkets, and boosting body positivity in Norway.

We tend to talk about freedom of movement within the EU as an abstract concept. In reality, moving to a new place involves a million little moments of awkwardness, sweetness, and human vulnerability. This week, we bring you a story of what freedom of movement actually felt like, for a 14-year-old Romanian moving to Germany.

Streets, cities, train stations: across the continent, they're likely to be named after men. What if the women who shaped Europe were given the recognition they deserve? This week, Katy speaks to the Irish journalist Mary Fitzgerald and Italian writer Francesca Cavallo, co-author of Good Night Stories For Rebel Girls, about a wonderful project which reimagines the Brussels metro map in celebration of brilliant European women. We're also talking about the row over LGBTQ rights at the Euro football tournament, and how unsexy-but-important housing policy brought down Sweden's prime minister.

A whole bunch of plastic objects are about to become illegal across the European Union: everything from coffee stirrers to straws and cotton buds. As we count down to the big day on July 3, we're revisiting last year's special episode about how the EU is even able to make laws like this for 27 countries. This week we're asking: "How the hell do you make an EU law?"

Jens Thoms Ivarsson has one of this continent's most fascinating jobs: chief "rain man" for the city of Gothenburg. We chat to the creative director of Rain Gothenburg about the Swedish city's rather wonderful plan to become the best place in the world when it's raining. Also this week: expensive Finnish breakfasts, accidental asparagus, and why Budapest's plans to build a Chinese university campus have gone down so badly.

This week, a murky spying scandal and a huge climate lawsuit. It seems that our American friends may have been using Denmark's internet cables to spy on European politicians. But how much did Denmark know about it? We're also talking about the landmark Dutch court ruling that could force Shell to drastically cut its carbon emissions. Plus, the European Review of Books! We chat to George Blaustein and Sander Pleij about why they're setting up a new magazine of ideas for the continent.