The Final Push
We've been quiet, because we are incredibly busy with the final push of the series. But here comes newsletter 4, to keep you company for the last few weeks as Autumn settles in.
Our ask:
Do you have any contacts that could help us spread the word about the series? Media contacts? A podcast about housing, childcare or drugs? Someone in advertising? Get in touch! We want to reach as many people as possible with the reporting you’ve funded.
Alright, now for some news:
We are deep into refining our scripts, and are in the final rounds of recording our voiceovers. Each script, of course, got too long and detailed in some places, too oversimplified in others, and so the game is to balance out into a middle space - having depth without being confusing. Every round only proves: each episode could be an entire series. One episode on a really complicated policy across an entire continent? And how that policy shapes our daily lives? What were we thinking?! But fear not, we are finding our way through it, and will come out on the other side with lots of discoveries for your ears.
These months mostly look like: scripting and cutting tape. Recording voiceovers. Hearing the drafts for the first time and changing our mind. Fact checking, and changing our mind again. This is often the most intense and labour-intensive time - getting all that reporting into one episode! There are many darlings lying in shreds on the floor.
We usually do a couple of paper drafts, and then at least three rounds of audio drafts. Sometimes along the way, you make a grand discovery, and realise you actually need to change your structure radically. Or you are further in reporting, and hear one or two sentences from an interviewee that you only knew to pay attention to once you’d listened to your own tape a few times. Or you try to explain something complicated and realise along the way that you didn’t quite understand something yourself well enough and need to do further reporting. Initially it’s just the producer and the editor. But at each new draft we involve the co-hosts, and other producers. And then we sent each episode to several test listeners, to hear about our blindspots, what is confusing, what is landing well. It takes a whole hivemind to make something really strong about something this complicated!
We LOVED seeing your feedback for our visuals, our artist RtiiikA felt very motivated by all of the cheering on. The final versions are fabulous.
HOUSING: Katz travelled to Paris to report, and it was quite the rollercoaster. She immediately came down with a 39 degree fever, and spent the first few days sweating in her accommodation and crawling to a French GP. She then braved the streets, only to be ignored by many strangers she tried to speak to, yelled at by gardiens, the people who take care of apartment blocks. Finally, she thought, well, let’s lower the bar, called a spokesperson of a housing union, who interrupted her 30 seconds in to say “I just don’t want to talk to you”. Well, this too is reporting. But the tides turned when she met with a retired architect who had studied the history of social housing in Paris - what a walking encyclopedia of a woman! Hearing about why we even have it in the first place - it completely reframed the way she thought about our current housing crisis. It was like opening a reporting door into Narnia. It led her to brave the economics of housing, and my goodness, the things we’ve learned. We’ve all reckoned with our own housing and finances in a way that we did not see coming. Unsurprisingly, housing policy is close to home for everyone. Our test listeners had very varied reactions - we couldn’t be more curious how you will respond! Katz also got to meet Katy’s very fresh newborn, three days into his life! He’s every bit as street-wise as her first born.
DRUGS: Wojciech is especially loud with his whining about how his story feels like it should be a whole series — and perhaps, he has a point here. Drug laws across Europe are so wildly inconsistent that every sentence he writes comes with the nagging thought: will this make sense everywhere, or will it sound absurd to, say, a Dutch reader? Along the way, he met an extraordinary Hungarian filmmaker and activist who told him about Viktor Orbán’s latest “war on drugs” — a rollback of hard-won progress in how Hungary deals with problematic drug use. A striking turn, especially as much of Western Europe is finally inching toward more humane, progressive policies. All these experiences make him wonder. Will we ever agree on the very basic principles of a pan-European drug policy or are we doomed and forever every country will defend its silo? An answer emerges in his script gradually — more on which, very soon.
CHILDCARE: Uršula and Maja have been exploring countries that make life easier for families. At one point they almost packed their suitcases to move … But then they changed their minds. Hey, have you ever tried packing for toddlers? Not exactly an easy job! So they turned their focus home to Slovenia. There, they met a queer family who shared what it’s really like to raise kids and navigate daily life. It was nice to hear that both mothers received a flower for Mother's Day at the kindergarten. What they found while looking at childcare policies across Europe is that it’s not just about whether a kindergarten spot is available. It’s about the quality of the programmes, educated staff, how much people trust the system, and how society views parents - especially the primary caregiver, who is usually the mum. And that’s where the idea of the motherhood penalty comes in. It’s about slower careers and endless unpaid work, but also about the inner pressure and tough choices caregivers face when trying to prioritize children, work, or society’s expectations.
So, the episodes are very close to landing in your ears! Our sound designer, superstar Jesse Lou Lawson, is hard at work, and we can’t wait to hear what it sounds like.
That’s enough from us! Have any questions or ideas? Please write back!
Love and radio,
Katz, Wojciech, Maja and Uršula
