Inside Europe

The original European current affairs podcast from Germany’s international broadcaster. Bringing you expert analysis and on-the ground reporting from the European capitals and beyond. Join host Kate Laycock and DW’s network of seasoned correspondents for your weekly dose of euro-politics and culture. Published every Thursday.

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100 episodes
Updated Thursday
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Episodes100

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Jun 19, 2025 · 55 min
Inside Europe 19 June 2025
An “Alternative Economies” special, featuring concrete examples of European experiments with rethinking business as usual… ranging from the reformist, to the downright radical.
Jun 13, 2025 · 54 min
Inside Europe 12 June 2025
“We took democracy for granted…. don’t make the same mistake!”: an interview with Klára Dobrev MEP, leader of Hungary’s Democratic Coalition Party and former Vice President of the European Parliament. Plus: the cost of climate change, Valencia after the floods and rebuilding quake-struck Hatay.
Jun 5, 2025 · 55 min
Inside Europe 5 June 2025
Political earthquakes in Poland and the Netherlands, France’s crypto entrepreneur kidnappings, Russia doubles down on traditional gender roles, Ian Urbina feels the pull of the ocean, a haven for migrants near Rome’s central station, and the uplifting story of the Spanish Refugee National Football Team.
May 29, 2025 · 55 min
Inside Europe 29 May 2025
Released RFE journalist Alsu Kurmasheva on her colleague Farid Mehralizada, who is facing a 12 year prison sentence in Azerbaijan. We meet some of the young people on trial in Turkey following the recent crackdown on dissent, and take a look at the Franco-US relationship in the run up to D-Day.
May 22, 2025 · 54 min
Inside Europe 22 May 2025
On the show this week: Poland’s presidential elections reveal a country on a knife-edge, Exercise Hedgehog in Estonia and the Baltics’ hybrid warfare fears. Plus a Hungarian spy ring, Icelandic intrigue, Swiss bunkers, and Syrians returning home from Europe. A security special packed with stories from the frontlines of Europe’s shifting geopolitics.
May 15, 2025 · 55 min
Inside Europe 15 May 2025
Romania goes to the polls in the final round of high-stakes presidential elections, Albania's Edi Rama sails to victory once again, and the PKK disbands. Later: Pope Leo XIV, Russian volunteers help Ukrainians in Armenia, Eurovision attempts a reset in politically neutral Switzerland, and an adult toy craze that’s perhaps more “constructive” than most…
May 9, 2025 · 55 min
Inside Europe 8 May 2025
Germany’s new chancellor gets off to a bumpy start. Is Google helping Turkey to strangle independent media? And Malta is forced to abandon a lucrative business model. Then a VE Day Special: Nathalie Tocci on Europe, a look at Britain and France’s “coalition of the willing”, and a very personal tour of synagogues in the Netherlands.
May 1, 2025 · 55 min
Inside Europe 1 May 2025
Light in the dark - how people came together during Spain’s energy blackout, plus a very special story of faith, loss and renewal on the ancient Catholic pilgrimage known as “the way”. Later in the show: Could Rome’s colosseum be considered the antecedent to modern day reality TV? And what can the world learn from the Swedish concept of “lagom”?
Apr 24, 2025 · 54 min
Inside Europe 24 April 2025
Kate's away this week, so we're sharing another podcast we love: The Europeans. They've got a veritable smörgåsbord in this episode, from human rights in Hungary to the sorry tale of two Danish sustainability influencers whose eco-resort business went spectacularly wrong. Plus, how an army of volunteer online sleuths is helping Ukraine use open-source intelligence to fight back against Russia.
Apr 17, 2025 · 55 min
Inside Europe 17 April 2025
On this special edition of DW's Inside Europe, we take a break from the news to explore grief as a lens for understanding global events. Author Sarah Jaffe joins host Kate Laycock to unpack how loss—from COVID to deindustrialization—shapes politics, protest, and our shared humanity. A powerful journey through mourning, memory, and hope.
Apr 10, 2025 · 54 min
Inside Europe 10 April 2025
A coalition deal is reached in Germany, France sees opportunities in US academic flight, Turkey’s opposition change tack, and Slovakia gets tough on bears. Also on the show: an iconic opera house fights for survival amidst Berlin’s culture cuts, plus a conversation with Patrick Strickland, author of ‘You Can Kill Each Other After I Leave: Refugees, Fascism, and Bloodshed in Greece.’
Apr 3, 2025 · 54 min
Inside Europe 3 April 2025
Hungary announces it will withdraw from the ICC, Berlin moves to deport four foreign national Gaza protesters, and a French court finds Marine Le Pen guilty of embezzlement. Also: Why aren’t European leaders finding tougher words on Turkey? Can Europe really go it alone? Who will save Radio Free Europe? All that, plus the craziest spy story you ever heard!
Mar 27, 2025 · 54 min
Inside Europe 27 March 2025
Focus on Turkey: on-the-ground reporting and an interview with celebrated journalist-in-exile, Can Dündar. Also: French-Algerian relations, the German Green-Card holder caught up in Trump's immigration crackdown, the record-breaking new Olympics boss, the Democratic Odyssey project, and a brand-new town square.
Mar 20, 2025 · 55 min
Inside Europe 20 March 2025
France's answer to Starlink, North Macedonia's deadly nightclub fire and Germany's break with austerity. All that plus the longest tram in the world, protests in Serbia and Hungary and a star-turn from 100 year old actor and activist, Thelma Ruby.
Mar 13, 2025 · 54 min
Inside Europe 13 March 2025
Environmental lawyer Svitlana Romanko spotlights the role of fossil fuels and minerals in the war in Ukraine. Meet Russian activists still defying authoritarianism after 25 years. Marking 50 years since Franco’s death stirs political tensions in Spain, while German coalition talks raise questions about migration and civil rights. Plus, Latvia’s refugee treatment and Italy’s backyard chicken trend.
Mar 6, 2025 · 54 min
Inside Europe 6 March 2025
War and peace: as Europe braces for an unprecedented rearmament drive, in Turkey, the PKK prepares to lay down its weapons. We’ll also be finding out why Serbian politicians got literal egg on their faces this week, as well as meeting a Spanish photo journalist determined to bring dignity and recognition to the marginalised and forgotten.
Feb 27, 2025 · 54 min
Inside Europe 27 February 2025
Germany after the election: What do the results mean? And how is this playing out with economic decline in the once proud home of Volkswagen? With the third anniversary of the war in Ukraine, we reflect on the relationship between Ukraine, Brussels and Washington. Also, myth busting about Russia's war in Ukraine, a war memorial in Spain and Jehovah's Witnesses facing Russian persecution.
Feb 20, 2025 · 55 min
Inside Europe 20 February 2025
We hit the streets of Berlin this week for an action-packed German Elections Special! Join host, Kate Laycock and political correspondent, Thomas Sparrow, as they tiptoe through the German Parliament buildings, relax in Berlin’s most famous political hang-out, gatecrash a TV news studio, and look back on some defining moments of German political history.
Feb 13, 2025 · 55 min
Inside Europe 13 February 2025
Ahead of German elections, Mark Leonard from the European Council on Foreign Relations reflects on Germany's significance within the wider European project. We investigate the murky world of underwater stealth sabotage. The German town of Meiningen fosters a cultural oasis in the middle of an AfD stronghold. And Alice in Orbanland: AfD leader Weidel pays a visit to Hungary.
Feb 6, 2025 · 55 min
Inside Europe 6 February 2025
Protests in Serbia and elections in Kosovo, the worst mass shooting in Swedish history, and Jens Stoltenberg’s surprise return to Norwegian politics. In the second half: we take a long-form look at migrant experience in Finland, find out how to access Polish nature reserves in a wheelchair, and revel in the squelchy sounds of Scotland’s UNESCO World Heritage peat bog!