You’d be forgiven for forgetting that Europe is bigger than Davos this week, but we’ve got three great stories to remind you. First up: it’s been a good week for Berliners making Kartoffelsalat, Kartoffelsuppe, Kartoffelknödel, et cetera et cetera, thanks to an initiative that is distributing more than 170 tonnes – TONNES – of potatoes across the German capital. Then we examine a newly leaked “Made in Europe“ proposal that seeks to promote industrial production in the EU (very very fun, we promise).

We’re also joined by Nick Thomas-Symonds, the UK government minister pursuing a post-Brexit “reset“ in relations with the EU, about how the Labour government might help clean up some of the post-Brexit mess. This one goes out to those of you who like to email to remind us that Britain is still Europe. We see you. We read you.

This week’s Inspiration Station recommendations are the Norwegian film Sentimental Value and these 'tasting notes' from a water sommelier.

LISTENER SURVEY: Fear not – we are still seeking responses to our listener survey! It’s not too late to help! It’s simple and really does help us make the show better. Fill it out here and pat yourself on the back afterwards.

Resources for this episode:

• 4,000 Tonnen, the “great potato rescue operation”
• “Record potato harvest is no boon in fries-mad Belgium” – France 24, 29 October 2025
• “Den regionalen Erzeugern wird vors Schienbein getreten” – Taz, 15 January 2026
• “EU Aims to Fight Industrial Decline With ‘Made in Europe’ Law” – Bloomberg, 17 January 2026
• Aurora Notifier app
• Joachim Trier’s acceptance speech at the European Film Awards
• Veronika the cow, scratching herself

SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER: Other things happened/are happening in Europe this week (🫠) and if you’d like to learn more about them, join us over at our newsletter, GOOD WEEK BAD WEEK.

This podcast was brought to you in cooperation with Euranet Plus, the leading radio network for EU news. But it’s contributions from listeners that truly make it all possible—we could not continue to make the show without you! If you like what we do, you can chip in to help us cover our production costs at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠patreon.com/europeanspodcast⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ (in many different currencies), or you can gift a donation to a superfan. We'd also love it if you could tell two friends about this podcast. We think two feels like a reasonable number. Produced by Morgan Childs and Wojciech Oleksiak Mixing and mastering by Wojciech Oleksiak Music by Jim Barne and Mariska Martina

YouTube | Bluesky | Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ | Mastodon⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ | Substack | hello@europeanspodcast.com

If you are the sort of person whose New Year’s resolutions read something like: “(1) Shoot for the moon, (2) Do what you love, (3) Change the world” – have we got a guest for you! We’re joined this week by former Icelandic prime minister Katrín Jakobsdóttir, who resigned from office in 2024 in order to run for president and is now enjoying a second life as a successful crime novelist and climate activist. Be still, our hearts. We chatted with Katrín about the security threat that climate change and the current geopolitical instability pose to Iceland; her career in politics; and why she wanted to write fiction (“Doesn’t everybody?” she asked).

Also in this episode: The Mercosur primer of your dreams! And the disconcertingly relatable story of a ChatGPT-informed wedding gone awry. This week’s Inspiration Station recommendations are the 10th edition of the European Review of Books and the Deutsche Welle podcast Delayland.

LISTENER SURVEY: Do you have a moment to help us out? We would be so grateful to hear your thoughts about what we’re doing well and where we can improve. Fill out our short, simple survey here.

Resources for this episode:

• “32.7% of EU people used generative AI tools in 2025” – Eurostat, 16 December 2025
• “Largest study of its kind shows AI assistants misrepresent news content 45% of the time – regardless of language or territory” – European Broadcasting Union, 22 October 2025
• “Thinker, Plaintiff, Merkel, Spy” (our interview with the creators of the European Review of Books) – The Europeans, 3 June 2021
• The Weapons to Ukraine fund, AKA Czech initiative A Gift for Putin (Dárek pro Putina)

SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER: Although this episode came out on a Friday, we are a *Thursday* podcast, because who wants to think about the imminent World War III on a Friday? That being said, if you would like to laugh through your tears on Friday, we recommend our newsletter, GOOD WEEK BAD WEEK. It will carry you through a full weekend of existential dread.

This podcast was brought to you in cooperation with Euranet Plus, the leading radio network for EU news. But it’s contributions from listeners that truly make it all possible—we could not continue to make the show without you! If you like what we do, you can chip in to help us cover our production costs at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠patreon.com/europeanspodcast⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ (in many different currencies), or you can gift a donation to a superfan. We'd also love it if you could tell two friends about this podcast. We think two feels like a reasonable number. Produced by Morgan Childs, Wojciech Oleksiak and Katz Laszlo Mixing and mastering by Wojciech Oleksiak

Music by Jim Barne and Mariska Martina

YouTube | Bluesky | Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ | Mastodon⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ | Substack | hello@europeanspodcast.com

We are returning from our winter holidays feeling refreshed, renewed, and optimistic about 2026. Ha ha ha ha! No, but seriously, Trump’s capture of Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores was the New Year’s gift that Europe certainly did not ask for, and it raises a host of alarming questions. Among them: Does this move grant a permission slip for Vladimir Putin to encroach even further into Europe? And what does this mean for Greenland?

As we tiptoe into the year ahead with heaps of anxiety about what it might have in store, we wanted to get some perspective from Alberto Alemanno, professor of EU law, founder of The Good Lobby, and longtime friend of the podcast. Alberto always has a smart, fresh perspective on what’s happening on the continent, and despite being jetlagged this week, he certainly did not disappoint.

We’re also talking this week about Bulgaria’s adoption of the euro—a move that comes with some risks, but about which we are cautiously optimistic—and about the 308,000 Greek students who recently lost their student status. This week’s Inspiration Station recommendations are Rosa Balistreri’s song “Curri Cavaddu Miu”, the French-owned streaming platform Qobuz, which offers a potentially more ethical alternative to Spotify, and going to the dentist in other countries (makes more sense if you listen in).

Resources for this episode:

• “Hitting record highs: unpacking support for the euro” – European Central Bank, 2025
• Alberto’s excellent and information-rich Instagram, LinkedIn, and BlueSky accounts
• “Rosa Balistreri” – Enciclopedia Delle Donne
• Even more songs by Rosa Balistreri
• Instagram post by @patriciana comparing the ethics, content, and costs of various streaming platforms

Stride trepidatiously into the new year with The Europeans in your inbox! Our new newsletter, Good Week Bad Week, comes out on Friday mornings. Sign up here.

This podcast was brought to you in cooperation with Euranet Plus, the leading radio network for EU news. But it’s contributions from listeners that truly make it all possible—we could not continue to make the show without you! If you like what we do, you can chip in to help us cover our production costs at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠patreon.com/europeanspodcast⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ (in many different currencies), or you can gift a donation to a superfan. We'd also love it if you could tell two friends about this podcast. We think two feels like a reasonable number. Produced by Katz Laszlo and Morgan Childs Mixing and mastering by Wojciech Oleksiak

Music by Jim Barne and Mariska Martina

YouTube | Bluesky | Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ | Mastodon⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ | Substack | hello@europeanspodcast.com