Best POLITICO Europe Podcasts (2025)

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Escalating trouble – Trump takes on the UN and Europe 33:24

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14m ago33:24

33:24

Trump says Ukraine can win — but should Europe believe him? At a hectic U.N. General Assembly in New York, U.S. President Donald Trump stunned world leaders with a dramatic rhetorical reversal on the war in Ukraine, mocking Russia as a “paper tiger” and urging NATO allies to shoot down Russian aircraft. Host Sarah Wheaton unpacks what this means wi…

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Are we all trapped in a transatlantic Truman Show? 54:22

10m ago54:22

54:22

Can we talk about Trump’s culture war, Putin’s war on inclusivity, and just about everyone’s unwillingness to pay teachers fair wages—and giggle throughout? You better believe it. AFP’s Nina Lamparski is back in the hosting chair, and strap in, listeners, because this week’s show is a *ride.* Our guest this week is the delightful and incisive polit…

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Jourová’s secrets and Putin’s drone tests 42:18

5d ago42:18

42:18

From rule of law battles to inside stories, Věra Jourová looks back on a decade in the Berlaymont. The former European Commission vice president recalls her clashes and alliances in Brussels — from sparring with Frans Timmermans to discovering that Thierry Breton never laughed at her jokes. Now back in Prague as vice rector of Charles University an…

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Should we be worried about Russian drones in NATO’s skies? 51:04

6d ago51:04

51:04

There’s no denying it’s been a pretty dark week, but we’ve got a couple of bright spots for you. What could be a better job than dreaming up ways that Europe could be improved? That’s what this week’s guest, Johanna Fabrin, does each day at the Copenhagen think tank 21st Europe. Ahead of our miniseries Who Does It Best, Dominic sat down with Johann…

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Ursula’s Fight Song — who’s singing along? 38:44

12d ago38:44

38:44

“Europe is in a fight.” With those words, Ursula von der Leyen set the tone for her State of the European Union speech — framing this as Europe’s “Independence Moment.” She proposed sanctions on extremist Israeli ministers over Gaza; floated using frozen Russian assets for Ukraine; and backed calls for a drone wall to protect the bloc's eastern fla…

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Terrible week for ABBA 49:10

13d ago49:10

49:10

The music industry is reeling due to what’s being called the 'largest intellectual property theft in history' — we’ll dig into the fight between Big Tech and the people who make the music. Meanwhile, Sweden’s new cultural canon has people fuming — not least because it leaves out ABBA. We’ll also hear from Der Spiegel’s Gunter Latsch about his chill…

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Why is the EU not acting on Gaza? 49:35

19d ago49:35

49:35

This week, we’re dedicating the entire episode to Gaza. We have a lot of questions about the EU’s role in what’s happening there: Why is the EU not suspending trade with, or at the very least banning weapon sales to, Israel? Why is Israel being treated differently than the way Russia has been? And what will inaction mean for the credibility of the …

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Tyrants are forever: Has Europe missed its moment? 36:20

19d ago36:20

36:20

Under the jackhammers on Schuman, Brussels is filling back up for the rentrée — and the fault lines are showing. Host Sarah Wheaton is joined by colleagues Clea Caulcutt, Nick Vinocur and Paul Dallison to unpack a cliff-edge week: France’s confidence vote on an austerity budget that could topple Prime Minister François Bayrou and push Paris back in…

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Limping through the Trump era: Can Europe lead again? 36:55

1M ago36:55

36:55

From a picturesque mountain resort in Austria, at the European Forum Alpbach, host Sarah Wheaton unpacks fresh threats by the U.S. to hit countries with tariffs over their digital rules — drawing instant reactions from the European Commission’s Sabine Weyand and Nobel laureate Joseph Stiglitz. She then sits down with former Spanish Foreign Minister…

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Three Rivers and a Sausage Fight 52:50

1M ago52:50

52:50

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 l…

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EU's sweaty summer — what you missed (and what matters) 33:18

1M ago33:18

33:18

Just when we thought we could get a break for the summer, geopolitics had other plans. This week on EU Confidential, host Sarah Wheaton is joined by POLITICO colleagues Jordyn Dahl, Gabriel Gavin and Jan Cienski for a catch-up on what moved while the bubble was at the beach. From Alaska to the White House: Did anything real shift on Ukraine beyond …

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Save the games! Preserve the bread! Guard your rabbits! 50:48

1M ago50:48

50:48

Welcome back! We’re easing back into the swing of things after our summer holidays with a bit of “cucumber season” fare. It’s our regularly scheduled programming, just a little bit…sillier. This week, we take a peek into the world’s first “sourdough library” with Karl De Smedt, head of the Puratos Sourdough Institute. Karl gives us a taste of his u…

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Escape the EU Bubble: Expert Summer Book Picks 35:28

2M ago35:28

35:28

This week, we’re taking a breath. EU Confidential is stepping away from summits, trade battles, and late-night trilogues — and turning to something more refreshing: books. Host Sarah Wheaton is joined by audio producer (and self-confessed book nerd) Dionisios Sturis for this special summer reading edition. From sharp political non-fiction to playfu…

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The €2 trillion question: Inside the battle over the EU's budget 38:11

2M ago38:11

38:11

Trillions of euros, almost as many priorities — and just over two years to agree. The European Commission has unveiled its sweeping new seven-year budget proposal, and the fight over where the money goes is already heating up. Host Sarah Wheaton is joined by POLITICO’s Gregorio Sorgi and Bartosz Brzeziński to break down the big winners and losers i…

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No-confidence vote: Is the EU Parliament about to break? 41:47

3M ago41:47

41:47

Ursula von der Leyen survived a motion of censure — but not without sustaining damage. In Strasbourg, tensions within her pro-European coalition burst into the open, with allies accusing her party of flirting with the far right (again) and warning they could soon turn on her. In this bumper episode, host Sarah Wheaton — who made the journey to Stra…

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Boiling in Brussels: Climate fights and Orbán vs. Pride 38:17

3M ago38:17

38:17

Europe baked, the Atomium shut early — and Brussels finally unveiled its long-delayed climate target. Host Sarah Wheaton speaks with POLITICO Climate Reporter Louise Guillot, Chief Foreign Affairs Correspondent Nick Vinocur and EU Politics Reporter Max Griera about the EU’s new 2040 goal: What a 90 percent emissions cut really means, why critics sa…

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Hungary's Pride ban goes up in smoke (and glitter) 55:50

3M ago55:50

55:50

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. Did t…

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Of Daddies and Queens — from Trump to von der Leyen — and who’s really in charge in Europe 35:02

3M ago35:02

35:02

This week’s episode of EU Confidential comes to you from the Europa building in Brussels. We’ve been covering not one but two high-stakes gatherings, starting with NATO’s June 24-25 summit in The Hague, where Donald Trump got the royal treatment. June 26 brought the EUCO summit in Brussels, where the real work began of figuring out how to fund the …

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What’s really behind Europe’s 5% defense push 44:53

3M ago44:53

44:53

As NATO leaders prepare to endorse a dramatic defense spending hike, Europe faces a reckoning: Where will the money come from — and will new tanks mean cuts to pensions? Host Sarah Wheaton speaks with Michelle Haas, a defense analyst at Ghent University and an associate fellow at the Egmont Institute, about how the proposed 5 percent target is land…

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Toxic chemicals, abortion rights, and a Nazi-era train law 1:12:52

3M ago1:12:52

1:12:52

Depending on where you are in Europe, your right to a safe abortion — and reproductive care in general — can vary dramatically. This week, we speak to pioneering abortion activist Rebecca Gomperts about why she's hopeful that we can fight back against these inequalities as well as crackdowns on abortion access in other parts of the world. We're als…

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All about the €€€: How Bulgaria’s euro dreams could become a nightmare 41:38

4M ago41:38

41:38

Bulgaria’s big step toward using the euro is a victory for European unity — but the country itself isn’t united on whether joining the common currency is a good idea. And if Sofia is actually jumping the gun, the risks to the whole eurozone are dire. Izabella Kaminska, POLITICO senior editor and finance expert, joins host Sarah Wheaton to unpack th…

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Could Europe switch off big tech's algorithms? 1:03:34

4M ago1:03:34

1:03:34

The EU supposedly has some of the world's toughest laws regulating big tech. So why does it still feel like Europeans are being sucked into increasingly polarised online communities, and manipulated during our elections? Can we do anything about it? This week's guest, the Irish internet campaigner Johnny Ryan, argues that a pretty radical solution …

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Can Europe’s Trump counterpunch work? Sanctions, tariffs and a MAGA twist. 39:44

4M ago39:44

39:44

Trump is finally facing some resistance. Can Europe seize the moment? This week on EU Confidential, host Sarah Wheaton speaks with Swedish Member of the European Parliament Karin Karlsbro, just back from Washington, about how Brussels is reading the room in D.C. — and whether there’s any real appetite for a “beautiful trade deal” before Trump’s Jul…

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Is real change coming to Serbia? 43:08

4M ago43:08

43:08

Serbia’s government has come under intense pressure since a deadly disaster at Novi Sad’s main railway station last November. Student-led protests have spiralled into a nation-wide resistance movement and for months, Serbians have been speaking out against corruption, a lack of accountability, and a culture of impunity in Aleksandar Vučić’s regime.…

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Between a smack and a hard place — Poland votes, Orbán provokes, and Brussels shows its teeth 32:49

4M ago32:49

32:49

Slaps were exchanged — some literal, some political — and suddenly Brussels isn’t just watching from the sidelines. This week on EU Confidential, we dive into a whirlwind of action across the continent: a presidential toss-up coming up this Sunday in Poland; Brussels turning up the pressure on Hungary over LGBTQ+ rights; and the EU’s rare public re…

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Hungary's plight, kids' rights, and Spargelzeit 56:58

4M ago56:58

56:58

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 unpack…

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Leo Varadkar on Donald Trump, and the EU’s Israel dilemma 38:57

4M ago38:57

38:57

The EU-Israel relationship is at a tipping point. This week on EU Confidential, host Sarah Wheaton breaks down how EU leaders are calling for scrutiny of a long-standing trade agreement between Brussels and Israel, as Gaza faces famine amid an ongoing Israeli military offensive. Rym Momtaz, editor-in-chief of the Strategic Europe blog at Carnegie E…

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What the hell just happened in Romania (and at Eurovision)? 1:09:09

4M ago1:09:09

1:09:09

Romania, Poland, Portugal... and of course, most importantly of all (?), Eurovision. It's been a huge week of voting across Europe! This week we're mostly diving into Romania's election drama with Codruţa Simina, a journalist with an extremely helpful specialism in online misinformation and disinformation. We're also tackling the controversy over I…

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The crown slips: How queen Ursula failed her transparency test 29:32

5M ago29:32

29:32

Those text messages Ursula von der Leyen didn’t want to share? The EU’s top court says that’s not OK. In a win for transparency advocates, Europe’s judges have ruled that the European Commission was wrong to hold back von der Leyen’s text exchanges with Pfizer’s CEO during vaccine contract negotiations. POLITICO health reporter Mari Eccles joins ho…

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Europe, an unfinished love story 17:52

4M ago17:52

17:52

This week, a not-so-classic 'girl meets boy' story. Başak Layic, storyteller extraordinaire, reflects on what the European Dream looks like from the outside. This story was recorded live at SPUI25 in Amsterdam as part of 'Europe Up For Grabs?', an event organised for Europe Day 2025 by DutchCulture and the European Cultural Foundation. You can watc…

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Populist currents and fragile coalitions: Trump’s shadow over Europe 30:53

5M ago30:53

30:53

Europe’s political center is wobbling. Again. In Germany, a dramatic Bundestag vote leaves new Chancellor Friedrich Merz bruised before he’s even begun. In Romania, the first round of the presidential election wipes out the mainstream — and puts a Trump-admiring provocateur on top. EU Confidential breaks down a week of shaken coalitions, rising pop…

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Is a pregnant nun about to crash Poland's election? 1:12:58

5M ago1:12:58

1:12:58

In theory, the government's guy looks set to win Poland's presidential election, making life a hell of a lot easier for Donald Tusk as he attempts to undo eight years of destructive authoritarian rule under the previous rightwing populists. But might a pregnant nun swoop in and change everything at the last minute? For an explanation of this metaph…