URSA

Welcome to another issue of URSA, Europe’s audio magazine! In this first section you’ll hear the latest news headlines from Europe, including updates on the current protests in France, Italy’s ban on surrogacy, and how Turkey’s LGBTQI community is fighting against the country’s discriminatory policies. You’ll also hear climate updates, including Finland’s creative method for encouraging textile re...

Issue 19: July 2023 Our first feature comes from the Lecker podcast by Lucy Dearlove (@ dearlucy on Twitter), a series about how food shapes our lives in all sorts of ways. In this segment, you’ll hear a clip from the first installment of her 2021 ‘Kitchens’ series where she speaks with Professor Deborah Sugg Ryan , a design historian to explore what came before the fitted kitchen, and how the con...

Issue 19: July 2023 Summer in Berlin means BBQ! And in this edition of URSA’s Food Segment we discover why so many people around the world adore BBQing. We speak with our international friends about how they BBQ back home, and what dishes they love the most. Jill and Will head to Berlin’s Texas BBQ joint, Lino’s BBQ , in Berlin Wedding and try the tastiest BBQ in the city. We also speak with Lino...

Issue 19: July 2023 In the final section URSA we bring you arts and culture from the heart of Berlin! Jill interviews Ash Smith and Amaan Hassen of Backhaus Projects , an exhibition venue, gallery and community space in Berlin Neukölln. Ash and Amaan share what inspired them to establish their own space, the exhibitions that have showcased at Backhaus, and about their future plans. Next, we hear a...

Welcome to another issue of URSA, Europe’s audio magazine! In this first section you’ll hear the latest news and climate headlines out of Europe, including updates on Serbia’s weapons amnesty, the approaching deadline for Italians to claim reparations from World War II, and the police raids on the Letzte Generation in Berlin. In the second section, you’ll hear two fantastic original pieces: The fi...

Issue 18: June 2023 Our first feature comes from The Rewilding Podcast , a collaboration between James Shooter and Rewilding Europe . Join James as he visits Tour du Valat , a private research institute that owns and manages land on the French Camargue, and speaks with those working to maintain this fantastic landscape. Our second feature is from Jarral Boyd, an Anti-racism, Allyship, and Empowerm...

Issue 18: June 2023 With the promise of sun, fresh papaya salad and an iced coffee sweetened with condensed milk, Will Maidment takes Julia on an adventure to Thai Park. Thai Park was once known as Berlin’s largest street food market, with over 100 stalls and thousands of patrons, but the effects of Covid and the threat of a neighborhood that wants to see them out, has put the future of this corne...

Issue 18: June 2023 In the final section URSA we bring you arts and culture from the heart of Berlin! Berlin’s Karneval Der Kulturen is a three day festival celebrating the diverse cultures represented by the city’s residents, featuring a parade, performances, international cuisine, and much more. Bear Radio producer Denisa Harbuz spoke with Geraldine Hepp, the festival’s co-director to learn more...

Welcome to another issue of URSA, Europe’s audio magazine! In this first section you’ll hear the latest news and climate headlines out of Europe, including updates on the war in Ukraine, energy policies from Germany, strikes in France and some good bicycle news from the streets of London. In the second section, you’ll hear two fantastic original pieces: The first from Disconnected in 2050, a ficti...

Issue 17: May 2023 Our first feature, from Disconnected in 2050 , is from the team of Europod . Disconnected in 2050 follows the life of Ezra, who lives in a metaverse called ‘Infinity.’ One day, she discovers from archived documents that hint at Infinity not being the utopia it portrays itself to be. Our second feature is from a Bear Radio original series: Berlin Bigwigs . As we begin to emerge f...

Issue 17: May 2023 In what can only be described as one of our stranger food experiences, Julia joins foodie Will Maidment in visiting two of Berlin’s favourite pet cafes. One cat cafe, one dog cafe and two humans with not much of a plan other than being there for the experience. We wanted to know; why do people go? What is it like? And is it even about the food at all? Eateries covered in this ep...

Issue 17: May 2023 In the final section URSA we bring you arts and culture from the heart of Berlin! We chat all things Schlager, including Helene Fischer, the genre’s roots, and FKK Schlager parties at SchwuZ with The Local Germany ’s Aaron Gasch Burnett , who recently wrote an article on the German speaking world’s love for Schlager. We also bring you an events calendar featuring Eurovision view...

Welcome to another issue of URSA, Europe’s audio magazine! In this first section you’ll hear the latest headlines out of Europe, including updates on the ongoing protests in France, Germany’s transportation strike, and a Berlin celebrity cameo in the latest John Wick film. You’ll also hear climate updates, including news about a failed climate referendum, solar panels on Switzerland’s railway trac...

Issue 16: April 2023 Our first piece, from producer Sara Cooper, takes us on an audio tour of the Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron, or DESY. As one of the world's leading facilities for particle acceleration, researchers from more than 30 countries come to DESY to better understand physics, radiation, molecular biology and much more. Our second piece comes from Hypertourismos, a podcast by the tea...

Issue 16: April 2023 Spring has sprung! So foodie Will Maidment has brought all things fresh. What does ‘fresh’ mean? According to Will, “it’s a vibe, it’s a feeling! It’s Spring, it’s citrus, it’s green, it’s light, it’s veggies. It’s everything that lifts you.” And what better way to embrace fresh than by visiting the farm-to-table Café-Restaurant, Café Botanico? Take a listen as Jill and Will e...

Issue 16: April 2023 In the final section URSA we bring you arts and culture from the heart of Berlin! First, meet photographer, designer and writer Savannah van der Niet who has organised an intimate evening of poetry in Berlin. She shares her ethos of “poetry for everyone” and how her poetry night has grown from potluck and poetry at her dining table to the open evening of sharing it is today. Y...

Welcome to another issue of URSA, Europe’s audio magazine! In this first section, you’ll be hearing the latest headlines and climate updates from Europe. We discuss developments following the catastrophic earthquake in Turkey and Syria, including how women in war-torn northwestern Syria are acutely affected by the country’s lack of aid and assistance. We also discuss how the UK has banned Lufthans...

Issue 15: March 2023 The first piece comes from producer Sara Cooper, about the discovery of X-Rays. February marked the 100 year anniversary of the death of Wilhelm Conrad Röntgen, the inventor of the x-ray. In this piece Sara explores the history of the x-ray, from its discovery through to how x-rays were used by researchers in the Corona pandemic and more. The second comes from On the Green Fen...

Issue 15: March 2023 Our favourite foodie Will Maidment takes us on quite the adventure, one euro at a time. The aim of the game? Find something to eat for 1 euro, 2 euro, 3 euro, 4 euro and 5 euro. As always, Will and Julia take us on their “Tolkienesque” journey through the city. But where do they end up? Can one still eat on a budget in Berlin? And does beer count as lunch? You’ll have to liste...

Issue 15: March 2023 In the final section URSA, Europe’s audio magazine, we bring you arts and culture from the heart of Berlin! We speak with Maria Binder, whose latest film, Eren, follows the life of Eren Keskin, a Turkish human rights lawyer and defender. Eren has been designated an ‘enemy of the state’ in Turkey and has over 100 court cases lodged against her by Turkish authorities. She faces...

Issue 14: February 2023 Welcome to another issue of URSA, Europe’s audio magazine! You may have noticed something a little different about this issue of URSA - you’re not imagining it, it is now four individual episodes! URSA is, and always has been, a magazine style podcast, and in true magazine style, we’re giving you your choice of section, to digest as and how you please. The content is all fa...

Issue 14: February 2023 Our first piece comes from producer Jill Beytin, who covers the phenomenon of La España vaciada - or ‘Emptied Spain’ - and a community of women in a small town outside of Sevilla who are reinvigorating their community. The second story is a segment from ‘Abandoned City,’ an episode of Bear Radio’s podcast series, Berlin Bigwigs. In the original episode, which came out in ea...

Issue 14: February 2023 Berlin foodie Will Maidment shows us the sweeter side of the city, despite his New Year’s resolution to cut down on sugar… oh well! We discuss the Kreuzberg hub that is Katie's Blue Cat cafe and their mouth watering pastries. We explore the divisive way to put cream and jam on a scone, and what exactly ANZAC cookies are. Will and Julia take us right into the action and shar...

Issue 14: February 2023 In the final section URSA, Europe’s audio magazine, we bring you arts and culture from the heart of Berlin! Jonny Tiernan of LOLA Magazine shares all about the latest exhibitions at CO Berlin , a world renowned photography exhibition space near Tiergarten. You’ll hear about his and Jill’s recent visit to CO, where they spoke with Karolina Wojtas , the winner of the 2022 CO...

Happy New Year from the URSA team! The first episode of 2023 features news headlines on the rescue of the last ‘restaurant bear’ in Albania, and how the Orthodox Church in Ukraine is allowing parishoners to decide when they celebrate Christmas. We also discuss Europe’s climate NIMBYism and how a revived local river in Madrid has brought back visitors, both human and animal, to the area. We then he...