Europe is in chaos, but we’re here to talk about it all, as long as the wifi holds out! This week, we’re chatting about Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez’s call for a snap election in light of his country’s recent housing demonstrations and a host of other controversies roiling Madrid. Please note: this podcast was recorded before news broke on Wednesday night of the death of Maricarmen Abascal, the 87-year-old whose eviction sparked Spain’s massive housing protests.

This week, we’re attempting to solve some tricky problems. How can the EU tackle the ballooning housing crisis? Can we revive a cinema industry on death’s door? And how on earth can we get bureaucrats to communicate like human people in order to really, truly get something done? We’re unpacking plans for a new Affordable Housing Act and Macron’s attempt to save le cinéma, and we’re also getting an exclusive from the EU’s Directorate General of Memes, Satire, and Sober Fun, a.k.a. Fabio Mauri, the meme-maker who loves nothing more than to poke fun at Europe’s policymakers on Twitter and Instagram. You’ll laugh, you’ll cry, et cetera.

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? 

Producers Katz and Wojciech join Katy and Dominic for a very special announcement from The Europeans. 

Swedish oat milk company Oatly says it's on a mission to defeat the almighty dairy industry and save the planet. To do that, it claims it needs to grow into a massive corporate success — and it’s willing to take on controversial investments to get there.