Europod • English

Pastor Caleb Campbell leads an evangelical church in Phoenix. After Trump’s first election, Caleb became alarmed at rising religious extremism in evangelical spaces. And he should know: before he returned to the church, Pastor Caleb was a neo-Nazi skinhead. One line summary: A Phoenix pastor and former-Neo Nazi skinhead realizes that many of his fellow evangelicals have embraced religious extremis...

The last episode of The Drying Plain looks into the business and economy of renewable energy installations in Serbian citizens' homes. However, throughout the episode, it becomes clear that sustainable development cannot stop at households; it must also be an important consideration in urban planning more broadly. This is not particularly evident in Subotica, located a few kilometres from the Hung...

Despite local protests, CATL Debrecen, one of Europe's largest battery factories, which has been under construction since 2023, may start operations in the coming months, while battery production in Hungary is in a deep slump compared to last year. The factory, worth three thousand billion Hungarian forints, will have an initial production capacity of 40 gigawatt hours, rising to 100 gigawatt hour...

Located 45 minutes by car from the Hungarian border, the Serbian town of Topola in Vojvodina has become notorious in recent years for the stench spreading throughout the area, caused by nearby poultry farms, processing plants and sewage flowing into the local river. This not only makes life miserable for the people of Topola, but is also a chronic source of stress, which is damaging the residents'...

The Asian tiger mosquito appeared in Europe in the 1970s due to increasing global commercial exchanges. This invasive mosquito species now has stable populations in Hungary, where it is finding an increasingly hospitable environment thanks to global warming. Invasive insect species are not only an annoyance and a threat to our health, but also cause damage to agriculture when they appear in large...

In this episode, we look at how climate change is transforming Vojvodina, known for its endless plains and fertile soil. We meet with farmers who are on the front line of climate change. For them, global averages and dire predictions for the end of the century are not abstract concepts, but concrete threats to their livelihoods in the form of increasingly hot, dry and extreme weather conditions.&n...

With the help of scientist György Kroel-Dulay and visual artist Kitti Gosztola, we explore the concepts of climate change and adaptation. What are we talking about when we talk about the environment? What do we actually perceive when we look at the landscape? Do we have useful concepts to describe the characteristics of a changing landscape? The concept of landscape is also associated with many my...

Global temperatures have risen to levels not seen in 125,000 years. Rivers and lakes are drying up. Wildlife is in obvious distress. Invasive pests are taking over. And even the energy transition to reduce emissions is putting a strain on our environment.  These problems, which are becoming increasingly tangible in the The Great Hungarian - or Pannonian - plain, as well as  the potential...

In episode 6 of The Right Kind of Family, we travel to Warsaw, where a group of activists has opened the first clinic offering free access to medical abortion, right in front of the Polish parliament. We will learn about the work of Women Help Women, a group that supports women who want to have an abortion in countries where it is illegal or very difficult to do so. From Warsaw to Budapest, we wil...

In episode 5 of The Right Kind of Family, we tackle the Great Replacement theory, a conspiracy theory that is very present in the politics of far-right parties and has now infiltrated mainstream political debate.  It is yet another piece in the puzzle of discriminatory policies in the name of defending "the natural order". Our reporters will travel to Bag, about 35 km from Budapest, to see ho...

In episode 4 of The Right Kind of Family, our reporters travel back to Spain, a country which has become a model in the development of progressive transgender rights at the national and regional level. In 2023, the Spanish Congress passed the so-called Trans Law, which focuses primarily on allowing individuals to change their name and gender on ID cards without requiring medical reports.&nbsp...

In episode 3 of The Right Kind of Family, we travel to Italy, a country which has become a model for how it has been limiting access to abortion for women in subtle ways.  In fact, the country ruled by Giorgia Meloni's Brother of Italy, represents a playbook for how it is possible to curtail abortions in a context where the Law formally provides free access to it. Starting from Naples, t...

In episode 2 of The Right Kind of Family, our reporters travel to Hungary, a country ruled by Viktor Orban's Fidezs party since 2010. This relatively small central European country has surged to the role of ideological cornerstone for the Political Network for Values and its members.  In particular, our reporters focus on one specific dimension of the policies enacted by the Orban over the pa...

In episode 1 of The Right Kind of Family, reporters Claudia Torrisi, Elsa Cabria, Francesca Berardi and Lili Rutai are in Madrid, in the Spanish Senate. They follow the works of the "VI Transatlantic Summit for Freedom and the Culture of Life", a closed session “in defence of life and the natural family.” The meeting serves also as the sixth international gathering of the Political Network for Val...

" The Right Kind of Family " is a podcast co-produced by El País Audio, Chora Media, Europod, and 444.It was created within the framework of the WePod project, co-funded by the Creative Europe programme of the European Commission. The English version is written and narrated by Lili Rutai Research and fieldwork: Francesca Berardi, Claudia Torrisi, Lili Rutai, Elsa Cabria and Manuel Tomillo Script i...

In the last episode of A Grain of Power, we cast a light on the functioning of the market of grain and wheat at the global level. Until now, this series has focused on the responsibilities of nations and supranational institutions, but in this sixth episode, we focus on the power of private companies and, also, financial markets.  Through 6 episodes, A Grain of Power is a documentary podcast...

After analysing the impact of the lack of grain and wheat on the global South, in the 5th episode of A Grain of Power, we look at the impact an abundance of the same can have on economies. In 2024, farmers’ movements across Europe took the streets of their capitals and Brussels. To some, it looked like the Kremlin had been able to spur these protests through its geopolitics of grain. What was that...

With the fourth episode of A Grain of Power, the reportage trip which started in Ukraine and passed along the Western coast of the Black Sea reaches its final destination. In the Egyptian town of Mansoura and the capital city Cairo, bread maker Zainab and restaurant owner Kamal share their views on the importance of bread in their society. The episode analyses the impact of the shortage of wheat d...

In the third episode of A Grain of Power, the team of reporters behind this documentary travels from Odessa, in Ukraine, towards Istanbul, in Turkey, passing through Constanza, in Romania. The trip sheds light on the impact of the war on Ukraine on the transport infrastructure of grain from Europe to the global South.  Through 6 episodes, A Grain of Power is a documentary podcast that takes y...

The second episode of A Grain of Power brings you to Ukraine. More specifically, we get to know the story of farmers in the Southwestern region of Mykolaiv, where families have suffered the destruction of their fields of wheat through bombs and mines. We also discuss the history of the weaponisation of grain through the voice of historian and professor Steven Kaplan. Through 6 episodes, A Grain of...

The first episode of A Grain of Power starts in Trevignano, near Rome, Italy. It starts with the story of Culetti, a small modern bakery led by Mirko Magnano, who discusses the philosophy behind the business. More than 2000 kilometres away, Zainab describes the visceral relationship between Egyptian people and bread, as well as the challenges the local population encounters to access this essentia...

Through six episodes, A Grain of Power is a documentary podcast that takes you on a journey from the heart of Ukraine to the markets of Egypt, passing through Romania, Italy, and Brussels. It explores how an essential commodity – seeds, wheat, bread – has become a weapon of power, playing a crucial role both in the North and the South. Discover how these resources nourish nations, provoke conflict...

Very recently, Greece learned the meaning of the term SLAPP, short for Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation. It was not because Greeks read it in a book but because several journalists have been targeted by companies with lawsuits because of their investigative reporting and are thus called upon to face powerful giants in courtrooms. As explained during the last episode, this practice ha...

In the context of COVID-19 and its very special circumstances, the Greek government decided to give a huge amount of money, around 20 million euros, to friendly media to promote the messages of Civil Protection to deal with the pandemic. The media outlets that received the money were gathered in the so-called Petsas’ list, named after the respective minister’s last name. The press critical of the...

News manipulation and censorship have been done in many indirect ways, mainly economically. But sometimes, it is crude and overt in Greece: journalists cannot publish what they want, or they might lose their jobs. Even if they wanted to take the risk, the content never reaches the recipient because it is cut off by the editorial staff.  In episode 4, the interviews we hear from fellow journal...