If the winter blues have got you down, these two things might lift your spirit: (1) the Christmas section at your local Lidl, and (2) the news that a same-sex marriage in one EU country must be recognised in another. But how this ruling is going to be implemented across the bloc—especially in the countries where there are no civil partnership rights—remains to be seen. This week, we unpack the manifold questions raised by this big-step-in-the-right-direction decision. We also examine the Louvre’s controversial new ticketing policy. Is giving cheaper tickets to Europeans a form of discrimination?

It’s been a hectic time in Europe, but we’re happy to be covering it all—or, you know, a sizable sliver of it—starting with Latvia’s potential withdrawal from the Istanbul Convention and the European Parliament’s call for new regulation of algorithmic tech in the workplace. Algorithmic management has made its way into all sorts of industries; we dig into whether or not that’s a good thing and how new legislation might help to protect us all.

Then it’s off to Paris, where tens of thousands of shoppers have already flooded the aisles of the new brick-and-mortar Shein store and thousands of others have been protesting its very existence. That’s not only because of Shein’s environmentally toxic business model but because of the recent appearance of some despicable products on its website—which has led the French government to threaten to ban the fast-fashion giant. To break it all down, we rang up Paris-based fashion journalist Dana Thomas, author of the book Fashionopolis and host of the podcast The Green Dream.

Childcare policy affects all of us at some point in our lives. And depending on where you live, your country’s parental leave and early-education policies can determine everything from what you do for a living to how you divide household labor to how you plan for your future. Reporters Maja Stepančič and Uršula Zaletelj took a whirlwind trip across Europe to find out which country does childcare policy best. And even if you don’t have kids of your own, we’re pretty sure you’ll enjoy taking the journey with them.

Katz goes back to the drawing board. If the housing crisis is really about wealth inequality, doesn’t the policy we need to fix it… need to address wealth inequality? We go in deep, and what Katz finds makes us wonder: are we even having the right conversation when it comes to the housing crisis? 

Why is your rent so high? What are the policies that created this housing crisis, and what policies can get us out of it? This week we launch the first two parts of our new series, ‘Who Does It Best?’. At a time when many people feel like their governments are not taking care of them, we wondered: how do policies actually shape our daily lives? And are there places getting it right? 

It’s our second week of “cucumber season” programming, and fair warning: we’re really leaning into the late-summer goofiness. This week, we go hard on German gastronomy, with a deep dive into Europe’s declining alcohol consumption and a recap of the utterly absurd row over the origins of Bratwurst.

Because we don’t want you to think we’ve totally lost the plot, we also had a perfectly civilised conversation with Robert Winder, the prolific author and sometime editor of The Independent and Granta whose new book, Three Rivers, comes out next week. Robert spoke with our producer Katz about the waterways that shape Europe as we know it—and about their future in a warming climate.

This year’s Budapest Pride was banned in March under the Orbán government’s contentious “child protection” law. Demonstrators were threatened with hefty fines for participating, and the government said it would employ facial-recognition technology to identify and potentially prosecute those who turned out to take part at the march on 28 June.

Marine Le Pen has been banned from running for the French presidency after this week's bombshell court ruling finding her guilty in a huge embezzlement case. But does she have any chance of a comeback? And could the far-right win the presidency without her? This week we're discussing the earthquake in French politics, as well as Europe's space ambitions. Plus, a delightful interview with Greek podcaster and hungry man Thom Ntinas, about what ancient Europeans ate.  

Georgia's pro-Russian ruling party claims to have won last weekend's election — a fraudulent election, according to a mounting pile of evidence. A country that was once on the path to EU membership is now veering much closer to the Kremlin. Is there any hope left? We ring Anna Gvarishvili, Tbilisi-based journalist and head of the Investigative Media Lab, to unpack what just happened and what might happen next. We're also discussing two suitably scary topics in this Halloween episode: France's money problems, and the noxious substances spewing out of your gas cooker. 

Wine fraud, migration policy and climate litigation: there's something for everyone this week. Back in April, Switzerland's government lost a groundbreaking European court case and was ordered to rewrite its climate policy. Has it actually done that? No, no it has not. We speak to Geneva-based climate lawyer Seb Duyck about whether Switzerland can be forced to change its tune. We're also talking about offshore migrant detention centres, a full-bodied fraud case and the latest sign that AI is coming for podcasters' jobs. 

Arson, vandalism, attacks on NATO vehicles: around Europe, mysterious acts of sabotage have been multiplying. And there's a pattern: the perpetrators were recruited on Telegram via accounts linked to Russian agencies. This week, we hear from Marta Vunš about how she and other journalists went undercover to figure out how this recruitment actually works. We're also asking whether Germany's nausea-inducing opera deserves its scandalised headlines, and why France has been low-key obsessed with a treasure hunt for the past three decades. 

Last week we brought you geopolitics, this week we're bringing you testicles. Why has male contraception remained such an underground idea, despite decades of research? We speak to Paul Labourie, one of a growing number of men (in the francophone world at least) who are turning to DIY contraception devices to take on more of the responsibility in their relationships. We're also talking about the crackdown on Germany's borders and a surprise move by Mussolini's granddaughter. 

We're back from our summer break! Rym Momtaz, the new editor-in-chief of the Strategic Europe blog, is here to catch us up on the main political developments we missed over the summer, from Ukraine to France. We're also talking about Sweden's suggestions for cutting kids' screen time, and a possible crackdown on outrageous concert ticket prices. 

A surprise left-wing election win? In Europe? In 2024? This week, we turn to our resident Parisian journalist to try to get our heads around what just happened in France, as well as what might happen next. We’re also looking at the other big left-wing winners of the week: the UK Labour Party. What might their new government mean for Britain’s relationship with Europe? Plus, Barcelona’s anti-tourist revolt and what may be the world’s toughest crackdown on Airbnb.

Protests by angry farmers have swept across Europe this year. But from country to country, powerful groups have taken these protests over and changed their agenda. Who are these people, and what are they up to?

This week, music and politics collide. We're talking about Greece's plan to enforce quotas for Greek-language lyrics on the radio, and the racist backlash against Aya Nakamura's rumoured booking for the Paris Olympics. Plus, a great interview with Politico's senior climate reporter Zia Weise about the EU's once-trumpeted nature restoration law. Can the EU still claim to be a world leader when it comes to going green?

Last weekend, Parisians voted to triple parking fees for SUVs in a bid to remove some of the city's more polluting vehicles. It's just one of many policy ideas that are being tested out in European cities to clean up the air we breathe — but how bad is the problem really, and can we really fix it? This week we ring up Oliver Lord from the Clean Cities Campaign to find out. We're also talking about the exhausting antics of Viktor Orbán and some juicy Italian art theft allegations.

Once upon a time, European powers drew up borders in Africa as part of their colonisation of the continent. These days the EU is increasingly interested in those borders again — including the idea of placing its own agents there to stop migrants heading towards Europe. This week we hear from investigative journalist Andrei Popoviciu about how EU funds are being used to police West African borders, often with a disturbing lack of scrutiny. We're also talking about Italy's #10secondi outrage, France's plan to subsidise clothing repairs, and artistic revenge in the 16th century.

How can cartoon dogs help fight Russian disinformation? This week, hybrid warfare expert Robert van der Noordaa gives us a crash course on the #NAFOfellas movement and why Ukraine has been so good at using internet humour since last year's invasion. We're also talking about France's riots and the Dutch king's apology for the Netherlands' role in slavery.

Last week, dozens of NATO peacekeepers were injured after violent protests broke out in northern Kosovo. What is going on, and why do Kosovo's problems seem so hard to fix? This week we dig into the deeper context behind the unrest with political analyst Agon Maliqi. We're also talking about why much of Europe is antsy about who's going to be steering the EU next year, and a bizarre dispute in the art world.