The best podcasts on European politics
Podcasting is booming (again) — even when it comes to EU and European. So here is the ultimate list of the best podcasts on EU/European politics.
THANKS to all tweeps who helped me to compile the list. If you know of a *good* podcast on EU politics that is not featured here, please get in touch. I’d be especially interested in including more non-English podcasts.
UPDATE: You can also follow all of the selected podcasts on twitter. We created an aggregator @EUpodcasts that tweets whenever one of the podcasts publishes a new episode!
So here we go — and in no particular order — the best podcasts on EU affairs:
EU confidential with Ryan Heath
Politico’s Ryan Heath is probably the best known journalist in Brussels. A former spokesperson turned journalist, who used to be the man behind Politico’s flagship newsletter EU playbook and is now their political editor. Ryan is a real Brussels insider and does know his stuff. And EU confidential is a testimony to this: Relevant topics, interesting guests and witty comments. What’s not to like?
Paul Adamson in conversation
The E!Sharp founder and Brussels veteran produces one of the longest running podcasts in Brussels. In the podcasts Paul Adamson talks to “personalities that have interesting things to say”. The result is a podcast that ticks all the boxes: It is informal, insightful and fun to listen to.
The Sound of Economics
Bruegel, a think tank dedicated to European economic and monetary issues, produces a podcast looking at the economic side of EU politics. It is an interesting and enjoyable podcast— also for non-economists.
The world in 30 minutes with Mark Leonard
Mark Leonard, director of the European Council on Foreign Relations, explores the big issues in foreign policy and Europe’s role in the world. The show always features an interesting mix of guests and topics. A “must-listen” for anyone interested in EU foreign policy and international politics. Also keep an eye on other ECFR podcasts.
MLex Podcast
MLex is a well known subscription service that provides risk analysis and news on competition and regulatory issues — key issues for anyone who wants to understand what the EU does on a daily basis. The podcast is produced by different teams across the globe — so look out for the EU themed episodes, it’s worth it!
The Europeans Podcast
The lighter side of European affairs. Give it a try. A new generation is discovering what it means to be European and what to make of this thing called EU politics and European culture: “The Europeans is a moderately amusing podcast hosted by Katy Lee, a reporter in Paris, and Dominic Kraemer, an opera singer in Amsterdam. Every week we ring each other up to talk about what’s been going on around the continent — and we ring up all kinds of interesting people in other countries to find out what’s been happening where they are.” Good stuff.
Social Europe Podcast
You probably know the website Social Europe — a progressive online publication. You may have missed their podcast: Henning Meyer, Social Europe’s editor has been producing a clever podcast for quite a while now. Here you find interviews and keynotes from intellectual heavyweights such as Paul Collier, Ngaire Woods or Dani Rodrik. “We discuss cutting-edge thinking on politics, economy and employment & labour with some of the most thought-provoking people around, including Nobel Prize winners and other internationally acclaimed experts.” Interesting, inspiring and always worth a listen!
Centre for European Reform Bulletin
The London-based think tank Centre for European Reform (“The CER is pro-European but not uncritical.”) produces a regular podcast on EU affairs with a special interest in Brexit.
Deutsche Welle Inside Europe
One of the favorite podcasts among my twitter followers. Inside Europe is a one hour weekly news magazine by Deutsche Welle. It is a radio show that is also available as a podcast. As you’d expect, it provides solid reporting on EU politics, diplomacy and culture. A good mix of stories from across Europe.
DLF Europa heute
This is not a classic podcast but a daily radio show on German public broadcaster Deutschlandfunk. It covers all sorts of European topics — from life of farmers in Sweden or Portuguese media debates to politics in Italy and EU summits. If you understand German this is a “must-listen”.
Fokus Europa
Conversations about the European idea. This is the EU-focused podcast of the Green-leaning Heinrich Böll Foundation. A podcast with interesting in-depth interviews — in German.
COSMO punktEU
This new(ish) podcast is produced by the Brussels office of the German public broadcaster ARD. Interesting and informal chats about EU politics as well as an insight into the life of a journalist in Brussels (and the podcast’s tagline is “answers, analysis and anecdotes”). Definitely one to watch — or rather ‘listen to’!
Fog in the channel
A new Brexit podcast. But the other way round: “When the Brits will leave the Continent will be isolated.” says Stefan de Vries, a journalist in Paris. His podcast is about finding an answer as to whether “Europeans are going to survive without their perfidious neighbours across the North Sea.” The first episode is a very well-produced piece of work — hopefully many more will follow!
Brexit Breakdown podcast
A podcast by the the academic team of “UK in a changing Europe”. The topic — you guessed it — is Brexit, Brexit and more Brexit. So if that is your cup of tea you can’t go wrong with Brexit Breakdown.
Brexit Republic
RTÉ’s Europe Editor Tony Connelly looks behind the Brexit headlines. A refreshing Irish perspective on Brexit.
Another Europe is possible
“Another Europe is Possible is an alliance of progressives fighting for an alternative to extreme Tory Brexit.” This is a progressive podcast about Brexit and Europe embedded in the campaign against Brexit — interesting conversations with interesting guests.
CakeWatch
Brexit again — but with an entertaining twist. It’s “otto and the moog’s Great British CakeWatch”. Here you can have your cake and eat it. Two guys in Brussels chat about Brexit, the EU-UK negotiations and why it’s all going wrong. But don’t be mistaken, the two hosts are top experts on EU affairs. This is a Brussels perspective on Brexit and it may help if more people in the UK government would listen to it.
A diet of Brussels
Simon Usherwood is an academic who produced more than 200 podcast episodes on Brexit. Originally launched for the EU referendum back in 2016 but still going strong. It is a no-frills podcast and in each episode Simon discusses one question or one key issue connected to Brexit. Episodes are short and to the point. The archive feels like an audio wiki on Brexit.
EUNow — EU in the US Podcast
A podcast as part of the public diplomacy efforts by the EEAS. It is produced by the EU Delegation in Washington, mainly for an US audience. Topics are varied, but of course there is a focus on EU-US relations.
Evropska Četrt
Everything you ever wanted to know about the EU by were afraid to ask — in Slovenian! “Evropska Četrt (European Quarter) is about making EU sexy/interesting from (and for) a Slovenian perspective. We’d talk with people in the know from across Europe about a hot-button issue or something that related to Slovenia.” The hosts of the podcast are Nataša Briški (@DC43) and Aljaž Pengov Bitenc.
Brysselbubblan
Two Brussels-based Swedish journalists — Sigrid Melchior and Teresa Küchler — produce ‘Brysselbubblan — EU politics with a funny twist’. And they cover everything that matters in the Brussels bubble: the refugees crisis, the debate surrounding the Spitzenkandidaten, Selmayr-gate and the infamous Juncker Bingo — of course all in Swedish!
Europapodden
Europapodden is a weekly podcast produced by the public broadcaster in Sweden. The host is Caroline Salzinger, a well-known journalist and writer. In her podcast she talks with a range of guests about European politics — from Chequers and migration to GDPR and Nord Stream 2.
Huvudstadspodden
Another podcast in Swedish: Three friends in Brussels chat about EU politics, the people behind the headlines — and explain how things work in Brussels. In other words: “Europe, people and power”.
Altinget: Parlamentet
One of the best known EU podcasts in Denmark. Hosted by Brussels-based Journalists Rikke Albrechtsen and Thomas Lauritzen, the podcast focuses on European politics and EU events. From time to time they publish interviews (sometimes also in English) with personalities ranging from the Danish PM to EU commissioners or high-level EU officials.
Europa i Flammer
Two MEPs from different political groups are the hosts of this Danish EU podcast — Jens Rohde from the Social Liberal Party(ALDE) and Christel Schaldemose, a social democrat ( Socialdemokratiet / S&D). Expect some hot debates in the aptly named ‘Europe in Flames’ podcast.
Konrad
A brand new podcast by journalists of the Italian newspaper Il Post. Named after Konrad Adenauer, the podcast will be published on a monthly basis coinciding with the plenaries of the European Parliament.
https://www.spreaker.com/show/konrad-ilpost
Européen de la semaine
Each week RFI’s podcast (in French) introduces us to one European personality. From Markus Söder and Mauel Valls to Dominic Raab and Pedro Sanchez.
Bonjour l’Europe
Every day, a correspondent of RFI tells a story from another European country. This podcast is a testimony to Europe’s cultural and political diversity.
New Eastern Europe Podcasts
“Talk Eastern Europe” and “In Between Europe” are two podcasts hosted by New Eastern Europe and dedicated to political issues facing Central and Eastern Europe.
EPC Podcast
A new podcast by the Brussels-based think tank European Policy Centre: “Stay up to date with this regular podcast on EU affairs. Sounds dry? Don’t worry, we’ll be sure to find something to wet your appetite. Stay tuned, stay fresh, stay informed.” Well, it surely sounds promising!
Leading Views
Friends of Europe, a Brussels-based think tank, launched a new podcast series that offers another perspective on Brussels and European politics: “Leading Views takes you beyond the Brussels Bubble and into the mind of a different type of leader. From politics to the arts and from business to civil society, each guest offers an alternative and fresh view on how to make Europe better.”
EU Scream
A new podcast on Europe and its political extremes. On the podcast James Kanter and Tom Brookes, two Brussels insiders, discuss populism, extremism and how it affects European politics and political debates. It is a very topical and timely podcast — a very welcome addition to Europe’s podcast scene!
In Between Europe
“The podcast discusses politics and current events in Central Europe, bringing you experts and a history minute for each episode.” But this modest self-description does not capture the breadth and depth of this podcast. The two hosts, Zselyke Csaky and Gergely Romsic are both researchers that have a deep historical and political understanding of the region. So expect a diverse podcast that features episodes on memory politics, EU cohesion funds, extremism in Hungary, law and justice in Poland or elections in Slovakia — to name just a few.
Foule continentale par Caroline Gillet
Caroline Gillet’s Sunday podcast discusses Europe and Europeans from a cultural and political perspective.
EuropCom Podcast
The EuroPCom Podcast is a series of interviews conducted at EuroPCom, the European Public Communication Conference organised by the EuropeannCommittee of the Regions in Brussels. So expect a bunch of communications professionals talking about the challenges of how to communicate European issues.
Burst the Bubble
Burst the Bubble is a podcast on European affairs, launched by the students of the College of Europe. They want to “bridge the gap between citizens and EU institutions, by providing comprehensive press reviews, selected focuses and interviews with experts.” And the podcast will be published in English and French on a bi-weekly basis.
EUpodBerlin — Der Europapodcast aus Berlin
A new podcast on all things EU in German — straight outta Berlin and hosted by Manuel Knapp. It is still a bit work in progress but the first couple of promising episodes are out. So tune in if you speak German (or want to learn German ;-)
Green Wave Podcast
Green Wave is the podcast of the Green European Journal (which is a publication by the Green European Foundation). The podcast is covering progressive politics and green ideas from a range of perspectives from across Europe and beyond. So far there have been episodes on the plastic pollution crisis in the UK, the darker side of the renewable energy transition or the future of health care in Europe.
ZOiS Podcast: Roundtable Osteuropa
The Centre for East European and International Studies (ZOiS) is a relatively new research institute in Germany. It focuses on policy relevant academic research on Eastern Europe and launched a new podcast. (in German)
