Asparagus, lesbian family rights and Viktor Orbán’s latest power plays: like all good meals, this podcast episode is perfectly balanced. German food writer Ursula Heinzelmann joins us to explain the ‘Spargelzeit’ phenomenon that sees foodies going nutty for asparagus at this time of year. We’re also taking a look at LGBTQ rights in Italy and unpacking the Hungarian government’s plans to ‘starve and strangle’ civil society. Can Orbán be stopped?

The world is in flux. What's Europe's place in it, exactly? This week, we're bringing you something different: a big, sprawling conversation with leading European historian Timothy Garton Ash. Can anything good come from Trumpism for this continent? What can be done to stop autocrats like Viktor Orbán from undermining the EU from the inside? And does it matter if we talk about different things when we talk about Europe? 

We've got a veritable smörgåsbord for you this week on The Europeans, from human rights in Hungary to the sorry tale of two Danish sustainability influencers whose eco-resort business went spectacularly wrong. We discuss why Viktor Orbán is concentrating so much effort on bullying the LGBTQI community at a time when Hungary has major problems to fix, and whether anything can be done to stop him. Plus, Daria Verbytska calls in from Kyiv to explain how an army of volunteer online sleuths helps Ukrainian authorities use open-source intelligence to fight back against Russia.

From Turkey to France and the UK, Iranians who've challenged the regime at home have often sought safety in Europe. But how safe are these dissidents, really? This week we speak to Fariba Nawa, host of 'Lethal Dissent', a fascinating new podcast series that investigates Iran's efforts to silence those in exile on European soil and beyond. We're also talking about Denmark's remarkable mass rewilding plan, and Slovakia's nationalist crackdown on the use of Hungarian and other minority languages. 

One Hungarian family. One piece of land. Two very different visions. 

Fewer expensive car chases, more moody shots and ambiguous endings: movies made in Europe are often very different from those made in the US. But Europe's more arty film output isn't just a product of our culture — it has a lot to do with how the industry is financed. This week, we're asking: why is European cinema the way it is, and should we be trying to change it?

Hungary has seen its biggest anti-government protests in years over the past couple of weeks. But just how dangerous is this moment for Viktor Orbán? This week our favourite Hungarysplainer Viktória Serdült joins us to decipher the scandal that has shaken his government. We're also talking about the legalisation of gay marriage in Greece (finally!) and a Dutch court case that could have far-reaching consequences for the war in Gaza.

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.

In Part 1, you learned how illiberal regimes have used the political tools at their disposal – and their rich friends – to turn the media outlets of democratic European countries into propaganda machines. In Part 2 we’re exploring the legal tools needed to complete the job and talking to local journalists who found themselves on the receiving end of these takeovers. Finally, we’re asking: how can you stop a wannabe autocrat doing this in *your* country?

It’s a playbook that’s been used by illiberal governments across Central and Eastern Europe: muzzling the media until it resembles little more than propaganda. But how exactly does one go about dismantling the free press, in a democratic country within the European Union?