EU Scream

Tom interviews Proud Bear , the masters of political satire who are turning the logic of Brexit on its head. Lukas and Andrei – not their real names – masquerade as Russian military intelligence officers who helped swing the vote for Brexit. In reality, Proud Bear want to highlight the need for a full inquiry into suspected Russian meddling. Brexiteers promised to take back control from the EU. Ja...

A new generation of far-right Europeans is deploying slick techniques to avoid being called neo-Nazis. David Ibsen , the executive director of the Counter Extremism Project, says far-right groups in France are among those to have borrowed heavily from a playbook developed in the United States. First, James and Tom discuss Marine le Pen’s refusal to undergo a psychiatric test. If the leader of the...

James and Tom talk about fighting incivility with incivility after an EU minister slaps down Italy’s Matteo Salvini for migrant-bashing. Respect. Far-right activist Lauren Southern tells her half-million followers she helped save Europe from refugees. James unpacks Southern’s claims — and her antics on the Mediterranean — with Karen Mets of Save the Children. Far-right Internet trolls have used a...

James talks to a psychologist in Germany confronting one of the most startling strategies used by the far-right: homonationalism. The concept of homonationalism was developed by Jasbir Puar , a professor at Rutgers. It's often used to describe how far-right parties like the Alternative for Germany ally with LGBT community to vilify Muslim immigrants. Homonationalism is a critical lens for ana...

James is in Amsterdam to pick the brains of Dutchman Frits Bolkestein , a giant of conservative liberalism. Bolkestein reflects on whether his effort to discredit multiculturalism helped lay the ground for populist firebrands like Viktor Orban and Geert Wilders. Bolkestein says he was merely responding to the concerns of citizens "in the pub and in the church." Bolkestein also says it’s...