The Danish Connection

This week on The Danish Connection: We talk about the crisis at Rigshospitalet, Denmark’s only liver transplant centre, after three surgeons were fired following a dispute with management, leaving just one surgeon qualified to perform the hospital’s 182 annual pancreatic cancer operations. We look at the warning letters from nurses and anaesthetists and why the Danish Health Authority and Cancer S...

This week on The Danish Connection: We break down a new plan to roll out stun guns across police districts after a two-year trial, alongside a nearly 800-million-kroner funding boost from 2027 to expand the police and PET. We look at how the trial went, the human rights concerns already raised and how the new approach compares to police forces across Europe. We unpack Denmark’s biggest-ever data b...

his week on The Danish Connection: We break down the new US-Denmark-Greenland security agreement, signed on September 22nd after nearly two years of escalating tension over Trump's repeated interest in controlling Greenland. We look at what's actually in the deal and how it compares to the original 1951 agreement it updates. We talk about the tragic case of a man setting himself on fire in...

This week on The Danish Connection: We discuss another scandal unfolding for The European Sperm Bank, with new revelations confirming that banks have been blowing past the legal family limit by as much as four times, while the national regulatory authority responsible for monitoring the banks cannot confirm that family limit checks have ever actually been conducted. We also look at Denmark's n...

This week on The Danish Connection: We unpack the long-awaited "spiral case" reports into decades of non-consensual IUD insertions on Greenlandic women and girls — and why the international expert panel split into two conflicting conclusions on whether it amounted to genocide. We discuss PET's warning that Russia has drawn up concrete sabotage plans targeting Denmark, including compa...

This week on The Danish Connection: We unpack Denmark's quiet but significant shift on Ukrainian refugees, as men of military age arriving after June 25th will no longer automatically qualify for protection under the special law introduced in 2022. We look at the EU-wide pressure behind the change, and the uncomfortable reality awaiting men sent back: from forced "busification" to do...

This week on The Danish Connection: We break down Wednesday's heated Folketing debate triggered by Spain's Ceuta crisis, where Mette Frederiksen, Morten Bødskov and Nicolai Wammen faced nearly three hours of questioning from the blue bloc. With calls to suspend Spain from Schengen to old grudges emerging over the handling of the refugee crisis in 2015, we discuss whether this was a genuine...

We look into SAS's massive expansion plans as demand increases and the green aviation agenda dwindles, while the airline industry's own leaders call climate neutrality targets "a castle in the air." We discuss how travel is changing and what impact transport is having on the environment. We unpack the arrest of three Danish teenage boys, aged 15 and 16, charged under Denmark'...

This week on The Danish Connection: We unpack our experience at Roskilde and discuss some of the stories making the headlines this week in relation to the festival, including hidden cameras in areas where women were urinating, sexual assaults and trash issues.  We discuss the fatal assault at a public World Cup screening at Islands Brygge, which resulted in the death of a Swedish man. We talk abou...

This week on The Danish Connection: After months of negotiations following the 2026 election, Denmark finally has a new government. From strict immigration policies, reforms to the pork industry and selective citizenship processes, we break down what is (and isn’t) changing. We are joined by the amazing Nicholas Woolhead who helps us to break it all down. We also look beyond Denmark to the EU’s ne...

This week on The Danish Connection: We discuss a new report on immigrants in Denmark’s labour market, and why so many internationals struggle to get out of the bottom of the wage ladder while Danes rise to the top. With employment numbers rising but job vacancies now falling to their lowest level since the pandemic, we explore what this growing competition means for those trying to enter (and stay...

This week on The Danish Connection: We talk about Denmark's controversial 'ghetto law' which has been brought to the European Court of Justice, with residents of Mjølnerparken arguing that the policy discriminates based on ethnicity. As the case moves to the Danish courts, we look at what is happening in Mjølnerparken now, from gang violence and pressuring renters to leave to broader questions abo...

This week on The Danish Connection: We discuss the train collision in North Zealand that left multiple people injured and raised major questions about safety on Denmark’s local railways. As investigations continue, we talk about how signalling systems work, where they may have fallen short and why experts say a crash like this “should not be possible.” We talk about a recent study that uncovers a...

This week on The Danish Connection: We look at the recent strikes by Wolt couriers in Copenhagen, where riders are demanding better pay and working conditions. As many couriers push back against falling wages and rising costs, we explore what this says about the realities of gig economy work and whether “flexibility” truly exists for those relying on these jobs, especially migrants. We also discus...

This week on The Danish Connection: We unpack the results of Denmark’s election, which has left the country without a clear government and heading into potentially weeks of negotiations. With a fragmented parliament, a weakened governing coalition and the rise of right leaning parties, we look at what the future government might look like and why Denmark’s complicated citizenship process is such a...

This week on The Danish Connection, we talk to the programming team of one of the world’s biggest and best documentary festivals happening right now in Copenhagen – CPH:DOX. We speak with Adam and Lars about the history of the festival, what it’s like to work there and how they narrow hundreds of documentary submissions down to the final programme each year. We also explore some of the inner worki...

Kvindernes internationale kampdag This week we have a special episode highlighting the story of La Grupa – an organisation doing amazing work for Spanish-speaking migrant women here in Denmark. What began as a small community space founded around International Women’s Day six years ago has grown into an NGO helping women to navigate everything from loneliness, language barriers and cultural adjust...

This week on The Danish Connection: Denmark is officially heading into an election after Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen announced voters will go to the polls on March 24. With political parties already positioning themselves and polls pointing to a close race, we unpack why the election was called now and who is in the running so far to become the new Prime Minister. We discuss the bird flu outb...

This week on The Danish Connection: We look into growing political concern over Denmark’s agricultural trainee scheme after a sharp rise in interns arriving from Uganda prompted tighter controls and allegations that the programme risks becoming a source of cheap labour rather than education. New figures reveal that many internationals are leaving Denmark, marking the second-highest level of depart...

If you’ve been dating in Denmark, chances are you’ve used a dating app. For some, dating apps are a ticket to love, a wild night, memorable experiences. For others, they can lead to rejection, heartache and even addiction. To mark Valentine’s Day, we sat down with Erinne Paisley, a PhD Fellow at the University of Copenhagen’s Media Studies research group and a former lecturer in the Department of...

This week on The Danish Connection: We discuss the government’s new deportation reform plan, including plans to use GPS ankle bracelets on foreign nationals with criminal records in departure centres. We also hear from documentary filmmaker and producer Mathilde Kirstein who made a film about one of the most infamous centres, Kærshovedgård. Stay tuned for details about an upcoming screening of her...

This week on The Danish Connection: We discuss the government’s new tax-free food check plan worth 4.5 billion kroner, aimed at helping families, students, pensioners and unemployed people cope with rising prices. We also discuss the uncertainty around whether internationals will be included. We look into why 27 years of efforts to protect Denmark’s drinking water have failed, agricultural lobbyin...

This week on The Danish Connection , we bring you the full Greenland update. Melissa and Rachel discuss Greenland’s colonial past and its path toward self-rule, why Donald Trump has become obsessed with acquiring the world’s largest island, the affect the crisis has had on Denmark’s relationship with the United States, how EU leaders and Nato members have responded and some of the key points from...

Welcome back to The Situation Room – a special bonus series from The Danish Connection presented by Jonas Friis. Jonas is a Danish naval officer with thirteen years of military experience. Aside from that, he is interested in investigating, understanding and speaking about the Danish military and its place in the global defence context. This week, Jonas sits down with Esben Thorseth - a Danish nav...

This week on The Danish Connection : Rachel talks about the disturbing international fertility case linked to the European Sperm Bank in Denmark, where sperm from a single donor carrying a cancer-causing genetic mutation was used to conceive nearly 200 children across Europe. She looks into what this could mean for the future of cross-border fertility treatment and why Denmark plays such a central...