Filling the Sink

At Easter time, bakery windows across Catalonia are filled with the most spectacular chocolate sculptures. These “Mones de Pasqua” are traditionally given to children by their godparents on Easter Monday, a festive day known as "Dilluns de Pasqua" in Catalonia. Originally simple sweet breads topped with hard-boiled eggs, modern versions have evolved into elaborate chocolate creations, often shaped...

Urban farming is the practice of growing food in cities instead of in rural areas. In this week’s episode of Filling the Sink we investigate the legislation surrounding urban food production and find out how community gardening projects are benefitting residents in unexpected ways. Reporter Gigi Giulia visits two of the leading urban farms in Barcelona, ‘The Rooftop Garden’ and ‘L'Hort del Mercat,...

The term "micropobles" refers to small villages in Catalonia with fewer than 1,000 inhabitants. There are more than 480 micropobles in the territory, representing nearly one-third of all Catalan municipalities, yet they are home to only 2.5% of Catalonia’s population, many of whom are already over 65 years old. Gigi Giulia and Lorcan Doherty join host Beth Cohen to discuss the pros and cons of liv...

Depression is a leading cause of ill health and disability worldwide, according to the World Health Organization. However the stigma surrounding depression often leads patients to suffer in silence, without adequate support from family, friends and healthcare professionals. On this week’s podcast we discuss what depression is, what the major causes are and how it can be treated. Lea Beliaeva Bande...

Barcelona has a growing community of international residents, which for better or for worse is changing the face of the city. This week on Filling the Sink we find out who they are, why they chose this part of the world to start a new life and what impact they are having on the city. Lorcan Doherty sits down with host Beth Cohen to discuss the proliferation of expats in Barcelona. We meet Brian Ro...

On March 14, 2020, Spain entered a state of alarm in the face of the coronavirus health crisis, placing the nation in lockdown and ordering the population to stay at home. Five years later, we look back on the pandemic and analyze the long term effects of Covid-19 in Catalonia, exploring the ongoing presence of the virus and talking to some of the patients and healthcare professionals involved. We...

One of the UN's 17 goals for sustainable development is to achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls. To coincide with International Women’s Day on March 8, we dedicate an episode of Filling the Sink to female entrepreneurs, particularly those in traditionally male-dominated fields such as technology. Lea Beliaeva Bander visits the Mobile World Congress at the Fira de Barcelona to me...

Located at the Barcelona Supercomputing Center, MareNostrum 5 is part of a network of European supercomputers and is used to conduct research in fields such as biomedicine, geophysics, atmosphere, energy, society and economy, providing valuable data to the international scientific community. Gerard Escaich Folch visits the picturesque chapel Torre Girona, where the MareNostrum supercomputer is ins...

Casa Orsola was built in the early 20th century by Italian businessman Joan Orsola; it is a beautiful modernist apartment building, located in the Eixample district in central Barcelona. However, in recent years it has become a symbol of the housing crisis, as tenants have been priced out by real estate speculation. In an unprecedented move, Barcelona City Council and Hàbitat3 are planning to acqu...

The Goya awards ceremony held on February 8 was a testimony to the rising success of Catalan cinema, with prizes, applause and a feeling that Catalonia is one of the driving forces of world-class film production. This week on Filling the Sink we put our finger on the pulse of modern Catalan cinema, look back over its history and analyze future trends. Catalan News journalist Lorcan Doherty highlig...

Barcelona-born Enric Marco was celebrated as a survivor of a Nazi concentration camp, being awarded Catalonia’s highest civil distinction, the Creu de Sant Jordi, publicly sharing his experiences and even representing a survivors’ association. However in 2005 the historian Benito Bermejo discovered that Marco’s life story was a monumental lie. Although he spent time in Germany during World War II,...

Dragon Ball - or Bola de Drac Catalan - was created as a manga, a style of comic or graphic novel, by Akira Toriyama in 1984, and was later made into an animated television programme, also known as an anime. It was the first Japanese series of its kind to be dubbed into Catalan and is etched in the memory of generations of Catalans who grew up watching Son Goku on his quest for dragon balls. We me...

As Donald Trump returns to the White House, new US trading policies are predicted to bring increased tariffs on imports from Europe. On this week’s podcast, reporters Coralie Moreau and Gerard Escaich Folch join host Beth Cohen to discuss the future of the US trade relationship with Catalonia. We talk to Cristina Serradell, director of international trading at Catalonia's Trade and Investment agen...

Saint Anthony, Catalonia’s protector of animals, is honored with a feast day on January 17 every year. The festival is known as Els Tres Tombs, or 'the three laps' in English, and is celebrated in honor of both animals and the saint. This year marks the bicentenary of the Tres Tombs festival in Barcelona. Andreu Bernadàs, president of the Catalan Tres Tombs federation, explains how the organizatio...

A housing cooperative is a property owned by a business or housing association in which the residents gain equity by buying shares. It’s a distinctive form of home ownership which is gaining popularity across Catalonia in the face of the housing crisis. This week on Filling the Sink we take a closer look at the pros and cons of cooperative housing. Catalan News reporter Coralie Moreau explains the...

On December 30, 1924, the first section of Barcelona's city metro was inaugurated, running between Plaça Catalunya and Lesseps. Thousands of Barcelona residents continue to commute daily along this section of what is now line 3, perhaps unaware that they are travelling through tunnels with one hundred years of history. As the metro’s centenary approaches, we dedicate an episode of Filling the Sink...

Spain’s annual Christmas lottery will take place on December 22; it is the biggest and most popular draw of the year and an event of great cultural importance for many Catalan citizens. This week on Filling the Sink we’ll be exploring the history of this festive prize draw and discovering how it is celebrated. The Loteria de Nadal has been celebrated since 1812 and is the second-longest continuous...

As Christmas time approaches and 2024 draws to a close, we’ll be dedicating an episode of Filling the Sink to an annual review, summarizing some of this year’s most important news and taking a look at what is on the cards for Catalonia in 2025. Host Beth Cohen sits down with Catalan News journalist Lorcan Doherty to look back over the major events which happened in 2024 and discuss the best and th...

Catalan is currently spoken by more than 10 million people in four different countries: Spain, Andorra, France and Italy. This week on Filling the Sink we reveal what it’s like to learn Catalan as a foreign language, find out who is studying it and why and discover the importance of our national language.     Catalan News journalist Cillian Shields talks to Catalan teacher, language influencer, an...

On October 29, an isolated upper-level depression affected Spain, causing heavy rain and floods.  One month on, we discuss the tragedy, explore whether Catalonia is prepared for this kind of meteorological phenomenon and question why these slow-moving storm systems are becoming increasingly frequent. Catalan News journalist Oriol Escudé talks to scientists and climate change experts David Pino and...

This Saturday November 23 the Tenant’s Union accompanied by dozens of housing activism organizations have planned a protest in Barcelona to demand a significant reduction in rents. We discuss the housing crisis, analyze the reasons behind rising prices and find out how tenants are fighting back. Host Beth Cohen is joined by Catalan News journalist Cillian Shields to explore how the housing situati...

Everyone loves a good breakfast, and in this week’s episode of Filling the Sink we’ll be investigating two different traditions, the Catalan 'esmorzars de forquilla' versus the international trend of brunch. Over the last few years, brunch bars have opened up all over central Barcelona, particularly in tourist hotspots such as the area around the Sagrada Familia. To find out more about the rising...

November 9 is the tenth anniversary of the 2014 Catalan self-determination vote and to mark the occasion we’ll be looking at the independence push over the last few years. Catalan News Agency journalist Guifré Jordan gives us an overview of the events leading up to the 2014 self-determination vote, the unofficial referendums between 2009 and 2011 and the protests which took place in Barcelona in 2...

Despite its popularity as a recreational drug, cannabis has also been used throughout history to relieve pain and aid relaxation. Beth Cohen and Emma Monròs investigate the uses of this controversial plant in contemporary medicine, discovering its effects, benefits and contraindications. Emma talks to doctor Magí Farré, head of clinical pharmacology at the Germans Trias i Pujol University Hospital...

As All Saints Day approaches on November 1, many Catalan families will be visiting the graves of their loved ones, taking flowers and paying their respects to the dead. To mark the occasion, Beth Cohen and Emma Monrós dive into the history of two of Barcelona’s most iconic cemeteries, Poblenou and Montjuïc. Emma talks to Adrià Terol, cultural manager of the cemeteries in Barcelona, about the histo...