Inside Europe 16 October 2025

We zoom in on the EU's newly announced emissions reduction targets and two lithium mine projects in Serbia and Portugal facing tough resistance. Then: the battle of olive farmers against solar parks in Spain, the role of Greenland's glaciers in a crucial tipping point, and a trip to the first ever Venice Noir Festival.

The sanctions loophole allowing EU countries to import Russian LNG, the climate knowledge gap left by war, and the EU’s largest rare-earth magnet factory… right on Estonia’s Russian border. Later: inter-European high-speed rail travel, reducing the carbon footprint of cement, French reforestation and UK wine. + LNG report https://shorturl.at/nj93t + Cement report https://shorturl.at/qeXYY + ?maca=en-podcast_inside-europe-949-xml-mrss

Youth leaders meet in Munich for the One Young World Summit, the EU releases its annual Enlargement Report, and Serbia marks a year since the Novi Sad Railway Station disaster. Also: Italy's controversial Messina Bridge project, Spanish paternity leave and Estonian composer Arvo Pärt at 90.

General elections put the Netherlands back on a centrist course, Ireland elects a leftwing independent candidate as President, and why European leaders are keen to visit Turkey. Then: the world's largest dance music summit in Amsterdam, classical music's most prestigious prize in Stockholm, and 80 years of the Moomins.

In this special "Alternative Economies" edition, we take a break from the news to rethink business as usual. This episode features concrete examples of European business and budget experiments, ranging from the reformist to the downright radical.

All you need to know about Laszlo Krasznahorka: the Hungarian winner of the 2025 Nobel Prize for Literature, a gloriously anarchic celebration of an Italian children’s classic, an Icelandic murder mystery set on the Spanish island of Tenerife, poet and musician Matthew McDonald, and a race up a Slovenian mountain, pursued by Tadej Pogacar.

All you need to know about Laszlo Krasznahorka: the Hungarian winner of the 2025 Nobel Prize for Literature, a gloriously anarchic celebration of an Italian children’s classic, an Icelandic murder mystery set on the Spanish island of Tenerife, poet and musician Matthew McDonald, and a race up a Slovenian mountain, pursued by Tadej Pogacar.

Why France is stumbling from one political crisis to the next, a new report on homelessness across Europe, and a Housing First project in the UK. Then: Flotilla activists speak of abuse, what Czechia's political future holds, Dutch feminists reclaim the night, and a Fish and Chips shop with a twist. + FEANTSA report on homelessness: https://tinyurl.com/3uxmxf3t +?maca=en-podcast_inside-europe-949-xml-mrss

Elctions relief in Moldova, Czechia goes to the polls, and drone start-ups in Tallinn. Then: ex-French President Sarkozy's verdict, a deep dive into plastic waste exports and their deadly consequences, and how Croatian nationalism got onto the big stage. +Signal Awards: vote for us!: https://tinyurl.com/5y9ra5br + ?maca=en-podcast_inside-europe-949-xml-mrss

24 hours in the life of Emmanuel Macron in New York, how far NATO is prepared to go to defend its airspace, and why you should care about the Moldovan elections. Then: Russian training camps in Serbia, a message from the Global Sumud Flotilla to Gaza, the UK's political malaise, a Czech-German history project, and a cheesy festival in Italy.