MCC Brussels Podcast

After the assassination of Charlie Kirk, we expose the hard reality of the free speech crisis; explore how the EU is directly attacking speech with the DSA; and look at why Italy’s migration emergency is the test case no one in European politics can dodge. Polarisation has curdled into contempt. We open with the reaction to Charlie Kirk’s murder, how identity-politics framing dehumanises opponents...

This week: Ursula von der Leyen tries to tighten her grip on Brussels, Macron loses control of France, and Mario Draghi is crowned Europe’s next saviour. Jacob Reynolds, Head of Policy at MCC Brussels, is joined by Pieter Cleppe (Editor, Brussels Report) and MCC Brussel’s Richard Schenk to take apart the week’s biggest stories in Brussels and beyond. Ursula von der Leyen’s State of the Union Speec...

What happens when a union built on bureaucracy tries to talk tough? In this episode of Deep Dives, Professor Bill Durodié dismantles the fantasy at the heart of EU defence policy. His report, The Hollow Flag, exposes the widening gulf between security rhetoric and strategic reality. While Ukrainians fight to defend their homeland, Brussels produces strategy documents no one reads. The EU talks abo...

In this episode of MCC Deep Dives, Dr Norman Lewis joins John O’Brien to discuss his new report Manufacturing Misinformation. The European Commission claims it is protecting “digital safety” and “media responsibility”. In truth, as Lewis shows, it is funding a vast network of projects that aim to control public debate by defining what counts as hate speech and disinformation. Over €650 million has...

This week from MCC Brussels: censorship, surveillance, and speech control — straight from the heart of the EU machine. In this explosive episode, MCC Brussels pulls back the curtain on how Brussels elites are weaponising legislation to crush dissent, rig elections, and rewrite the rules of democracy itself. Filmed inside the European Parliament, Jacob Reynolds is joined by: Dr Norman Lewis, visiti...

Has Britain’s Conservative Party signed its own death warrant? In this uncompromising panel from MCC Feszt, Dominic Cummings, Jacob Reynolds, and Mick Hume ask what went so catastrophically wrong with the British right and what must come next. From the betrayal of Brexit to mass legal migration, from the rise of the Whitehall deep state to the collapse of Conservative identity, this is a frank rec...

In this special episode recorded at MCC Feszt 2025, Jacob Reynolds is joined by Richard Schenk (MCC Brussels) and Philip Pilkington (Hungarian Institute of International Affairs) to unpack some of the most urgent and uncomfortable truths about European politics and the state of Britain today. The EU’s Trade Deal Disaster How Brussels misplayed its hand with Washington — and what it reveals about E...

In this explosive episode of MCC Deep Dives, host John O’Brien sits down with Canadian street activist Billboard Chris and ADF International’s Lois McLatchie to expose the truth about gender ideology, medical transition in minors, and the global institutions funding it. From puberty blockers and irreversible surgeries to WHO capture, government censorship, and the erosion of parental rights, this...

Recorded live at MCC Brussels on 14 May 2025 Trump’s second presidency is well underway — but Europe is still clinging to old illusions. From NATO budgets to Ukraine, tariffs to technocrats, Trump is tearing up the script. The post-Cold War order is collapsing, and Brussels is still pretending it's 2016. For European elites, the message is simple: grow up, pay up, and stop hiding behind Ameri...

Welcome back to the MCC Brussels Podcast. The show that cuts through EU spin with clarity, candour and a firm grip on the national interest. This week, three big stories from the heart of the Brussels bubble. Trump’s Tariffs: Europe’s Free Ride Is Over Trump is back and he’s coming for Brussels. With a 30 percent tariff wall on EU goods, the message is clear. No more trade freeloading. While the E...

Is Schengen Dead? Poland Says Enough. Poland reinstates border checks with Germany and Lithuania, and it’s not alone. Eleven EU countries are quietly building barriers within the so-called borderless zone. Brussels insists all is fine. The facts say otherwise. The dream of “free movement” is crashing into the wall of mass migration and national self-interest. So who’s really defending Europe’s bor...

On this episode of the MCC Brussels podcast: 🇭🇺 Budapest Pride: Hungary vs the Woke West The Pride parade returns to the streets of Budapest — but this is no grassroots celebration. Hungarian authorities warn of ideological colonisation, as global activists target national identity and childhood innocence. Orbán’s Hungary refuses to bend the knee — and Brussels can’t stand it. 🇩🇪 Germany Moves to...

On this episode of the MCC Brussels podcast: 🔥 EU Green Deal in Crisis Von der Leyen pulls the plug on flagship green policy. Farmers revolt, small businesses are strangled, and voters are done with climate extremism. The Green Deal was never sustainable, it was a fantasy cooked up by unelected bureaucrats and corporate lobbyists. Now reality bites. 🇮🇱 Brussels and Israel: Double Standards on Dis...

Israel’s response to Iran, the return of border checks across Europe, and the UK’s grooming gang scandal. MCC Brussels takes on the questions too many avoid. Mick Hume (Editor-in-Chief, The European Conservative) and Agnieszka Kolek (Head of Cultural Engagement, MCC Brussels) join host John O’Brien to discuss: Should Europe stand firmly with Israel after strikes on Iranian military targets? Scheng...

Dutch government collapses, ECHR power grab, Macron censors social media MCC Brussels exposes the political battles shaping the future of Europe. Executive Director Frank Furedi and Brussels Report Editor-in-Chief Pieter Cleppe join Jacob Reynolds to unpack: Why Geert Wilders pulled the plug on the Dutch coalition and what it means for the populist right across Europe. How the European Court of Hu...

Poland’s election shock, Paris riots, Green Deal collapse — Brussels elites are rattled. This week, MCC Brussels takes apart the narratives Europe’s establishment would rather you didn’t hear. Research Fellow Richard Schenk and Agnieszka Kolek join Jacob Reynolds to unpack: The Polish election result and why Polish voters rejected Brussels' liberal elites Why Karol Nawrocki’s landslide is a t...

This week, MCC Brussels takes aim at the EU's carefully managed image. Research Fellow Richard Schenk and  Paul Rougeron join Jacob Reynolds to unpack: * Pfizergate and why Ursula von der Leyen refuses to release the vaccine deal text messages * The growing divide between Hungary and the European Commission over LGBT legislation, NGO funding, and rule of law * The latest attack by Manfred Web...

The Polish election isn’t just close — it’s existential. As Warsaw’s liberal elite scrambles to “close the system", the "complete criminalisation of the right wing opposition in Poland."  Karol Nawrocki stands in their way. Backed by voters tired of corruption, censorship and Brussels meddling, Nawrocki threatens to derail the carefully staged return of Donald Tusk and his coalition...

Antifa disrupted yet another free speech event in Brussels, targeting conservative feminist Alice Cordier, co-founder of Collective Nemesis. Joined by Agnieszka Kolek from MCC Brussels, this explosive episode exposes how progressive elites weaponise identity politics, ignore migrant violence against women, and use Antifa as street enforcers. We also unpack the EU’s obsession with migration numbers...

Antifa thugs try to shut down MCC Brussels again—but we held the line. This week, Jacob Reynolds is joined by James Orr and Richard Schenk to discuss the escalating assault on free speech in Brussels, the rise of Reform UK in the polls, Keir Starmer’s sudden U-turn on immigration, and what Trump’s return means for Europe. We also dive into the culture war over Eurovision and ask: is the West final...

In this blistering polemic, MCC Brussels Senior Research Fellow Dr Maren Thom and Research Fellow Richard Schenk dissect a week of political chaos: Germany’s largest opposition party, the AfD, officially branded “extremist” – for views shared by millions. Chancellor Friedrich Merz humiliated in a failed vote,  forced into a fragile coalition with the SPD. The government’s desperate attempt to win...

What happens when Europe’s ruling class can’t defeat their opponents at the ballot box? In this week’s MCC Brussels podcast we begin in Germany, where the intelligence services have officially branded the AFD as "extremist" – just as a new coalition government struggles to form under Friedrich Merz. Is this militant democracy or just democracy in name only? Next, we turn to Romania, wher...

Join John O’Brien, Head of Communications, and Ashley Frawley, Visiting Research Fellow at MCC Brussels, in this eye-opening episode of Deep Dives. Together, they explore the complex and controversial topic of euthanasia through the lens of a groundbreaking report by MCC Brussels. In this thought-provoking discussion, they tackle critical questions: Does legalising euthanasia truly empower individ...

From Trump and Zelensky’s headline-grabbing encounter at the Pope’s funeral to a massive power outage plunging Spain into darkness, this episode dives into the mounting signs of European decline. We explore how culture wars, green dogma, and bureaucratic drift are reshaping Europe — and leaving its citizens in the dark. 🇻🇦 Papal Funeral Diplomacy We open with the surreal spectacle of global power...

Across Europe, families are cutting back on heating, dreading their next energy bill. How did we end up here? In this episode of Deep Dives, John O’Brien speaks with energy expert James Woudhuysen about his latest report: Lights Out: Is the EU Failing on Energy Policy? They unpack how Europe’s obsession with wind and solar has left households vulnerable, while nuclear, gas, and coal are sidelined....