Sweden in Focus

In this week's episode of the Sweden in Focus podcast, our panelists are talking about fermented herring, the biggest trial in Swedish history, how the 'paradigm shift' in migration policy is affecting foreigners, and the reawakening of a debate on joining the euro. This week host  Paul O’Mahony  is joined by The Local’s  Emma Löfgren  and  Richard Orange,  and we als...

In the latest episode of our Sweden in Focus podcast, host Paul O’Mahony is joined by The Local's James Savage and Becky Waterton, as well as Julia Agha, publisher of the Arabic-language news service Al Kompis.  PODCAST LISTENER OFFER: Become a member of The Local Here are some of the stories discussed: Timeline IN DATES: A short history of Sweden's Quran-burning crisis EXPLAINED: How did a f...

In the latest episode of our Sweden in Focus podcast, host Paul O’Mahony is joined by panelists Richard Orange and Emma Löfgren, while James Savage calls in from Almedalen.  This week we discuss: Airline strike Employers and unions have negotiated a settlement meaning the strike due to start on July 3rd has been called off. Follow the latest updates on our travel news page.  Deadly...

In the latest episode of our Sweden in Focus podcast, host Paul O’Mahony is joined by panelists Richard Orange ,  James Savage , and Becky Waterton. This week we discuss: Russia threat Russia could pose threat to Sweden 'for decades' Lack of diversity in business  How diverse is company leadership in Sweden? Economy latest Swedish economy expected to pick up again 'late this year' Summer...

In the latest episode of our Sweden in Focus podcast, host Paul O’Mahony is joined by panelists Richard Orange ,  James Savage , and Becky Waterton. This week we discuss: Beyoncé Bills, bills bills: Beyoncé blamed for Sweden's inflation disappointment Midsummer The Local's ultimate guide to Midsummer's Eve Smoke-free Sweden How Sweden got close to stubbing out smoking for good   Nato lat...

In the latest episode of our Sweden in Focus podcast, host Paul O’Mahony is joined by panelists Richard Orange ,  James Savage , and Becky Waterton. This week we discuss: Sex lies Fact check: Has Sweden really recognised sex as an official sport? Drought fears IN MAPS: What the drought could mean for Sweden this summer Fire bans as Sweden braces for another week of tinder-dry weather How to s...

In the latest episode of our Sweden in Focus podcast, host  Paul O’Mahony  is joined by panelists  Emma Löfgren ,  James Savage , and  Becky Waterton. This week we discuss: Sweden’s stalled Nato application  Russian ‘spy whale’ turns up in Swedish waters US urges Turkey and Hungary to ratify Sweden’s Nato membership Nato chief ‘confident’ Sweden will become full membe...

In this bonus episode of our Sweden in Focus podcast, host Paul O’Mahony is joined by panelists Emma Löfgren,   Richard Orange, and Becky Waterton for the second part of our interview with Anna Gustafsson, healthcare reporter for the Dagens Nyheter newspaper. Here are a few articles linked to the topics we discuss:  How the Swedish healthcare system works EXPLAINED: What to do if you fac...

In the latest episode of our Sweden in Focus podcast, host Paul O’Mahony is joined by panelists Emma Löfgren ,  Richard Orange , and Becky Waterton, and we also welcome a guest, Anna Gustafsson , a journalist covering healthcare for the Dagens Nyheter newspaper.  In this week's episode we discuss:  Swedish lifestyle trends Five suggestions for the next hyped Swedish lifestyle trend...

In this bonus episode of our Sweden in Focus podcast, host  Paul O’Mahony  is joined by panelists  Emma Löfgren,   Richard Orange,  and  Becky Waterton  for the second part of our interview with  Emma Leijnse,  schools reporter for the Sydsvenkan newspaper and the author of several books on the Swedish school system.  After last week’s episode, Ric...

In the latest episode of our Sweden in Focus podcast, host  Paul O’Mahony  is joined by panelists  Emma Löfgren ,  Richard Orange , and  Becky Waterton,  and we also welcome a guest to the Malmö studio:  Emma Leijnse  is a journalist covering schools and education for the Sydsvenskan newspaper and is also the author of three books on the Swedish school syste...

In the latest episode of our Sweden in Focus podcast, host  Paul O’Mahony  is joined by panelists  James Savage,   Richard Orange,  and  Becky Waterton. In this week’s episode we discuss:  Eurovision fever ‘Almost goddess status’: Sweden’s Loreen tipped to win Eurovision Rail strike Swedish rail strike postponed but Stockholm trains still affected Jimmie Åkesson...

In this bonus episode of our Sweden in Focus podcast, host  Paul O’Mahony  is joined by panelists  James Savage,   Richard Orange,  and  Becky Waterton  for Part 2 of our interview with  Mikael Ribbenvik,  the director general of the Swedish Migration Agency . Topics covered include: Fast-track phase-out Swedish Migration Agency to propose new system fo...

In the latest episode of our Sweden in Focus podcast, host  Paul O’Mahony  is joined by panelists  James Savage,   Richard Orange,  and  Becky Waterton  as well as our guest this week, Mikael Ribbenvik, the director general of the Swedish Migration Agency . This is part one of a two-part interview. Some of the topics we cover include: What’s the current status of...

Tune in for the second part of our interview with Lola Akinmade Åkerström where she talks more about how Sweden can get better at dealing with racism, how frequently she’s confronted with micro-aggressions, the ideas of integration versus assimilation, a tendency in Europe to fetishize and limit black women, what happens when the Swedish concept of lagom is applied collectively, the prospect of he...

Host Paul O’Mahony is joined by panelists James Savage,   Richard Orange, and Becky Waterton as well as our guest this week, author and photographer Lola Akinmade Åkerström. This week's topics: Culture shock These are the worst culture shocks for foreigners coming to Sweden Valborg & May 1st What exactly is Valborg, and where are the best places to celebrate it? Why is May 1st a public holida...

For our second bonus episode this week’s we’re going to listen to the familiar voice of our Nordic editor  Richard Orange  and his recent interview with  Henry Catalini Smith , chairman of the Unionen trade union club at Spotify. The interview was recorded on the 14th of April, a couple of days after Unionen submitted its request to start negotiations with Spotify over the introduct...

In this bonus episode of our Sweden in Focus podcast, host Paul O’Mahony and panelists Richard Orange and James Savage are joined by Sen Kanner , union club chairperson at Swedish financial services company Klarna. Tune in as she tells us more about the process of unionizing a workplace in Sweden, how long it can be expected to take, how the tech sector differs from other industries, how much...

Become a member of The Local __ In the latest episode of our Sweden in Focus podcast, host  Paul O’Mahony  is joined by panelists  James Savage  and  Richard Orange,  as well as our guest this week,  Sen Kanner,  chairperson of the union club at Klarna.  This week Richard tells us about a new TV investigation into alleged large-scale Russian spy activit...

Become a member of The Local __ In the latest episode of our Sweden in Focus podcast, host Paul O’Mahony is joined by Johan Wicklén , a reporter with public broadcaster SVT and the author of a book on Sweden's war on drugs.  Tune in for the second part of a wide-ranging conversation on everything from the history of Sweden’s zero tolerance drug policy to whether our guest thinks Sweden will e...

Become a member of The Local __ In the latest episode of our Sweden in Focus podcast, host Paul O’Mahony is joined by panelists James Savage, Becky Waterton and Emma Löfgren .  This week we take a closer look at what makes a Swedish Easter.  Witches and herring: Seven traditions that reveal it's Easter in Sweden PODCAST: 65,000 bomb shelters, a Swedish teacher's tips, and Easter insults...

In the latest episode of our Sweden in Focus podcast, host Paul O’Mahony is joined by panelists James Savage, Becky Waterton and Richard Orange .  This week we kick off with a few current talking points in Sweden: the weather's still bitterly cold but at least the Easter break is coming up; why a post-match football interview sparked a racism row ; and should Sweden follow Denmark's lead on B...

In the latest episode of our Sweden in Focus podcast, host  Paul O’Mahony  is joined by panelists  James Savage,   Becky Waterton  and  Richard Orange .  This week we’re talking about why the Swedish state may soon find itself in court over its alleged climate inaction.  Swedish court to hear young people’s climate lawsuit against the state After our chat wi...

In the latest episode of our Sweden in Focus podcast, host  Paul O’Mahony  is joined by panelists  Becky Waterton  and  Richard Orange .  In this week’s episode we discuss how the fallout from the recent banking sector turmoil might affect savers in Sweden.  How safe is your money in a Swedish bank account? What’s going on with Nato? Are Hungary and Turkey are go...

In this special bonus episode of the Sweden in Focus podcast, we hear more from our guest Jonathan Leman, a researcher with the Expo Foundation, which monitors and exposes far-right extremism in Sweden.  Host Paul O’Mahony is also joined by panelists James Savage, Becky Waterton and Emma Löfgren. In this episode we continue our chat about the far-right Sweden Democrats' interactions with the...