Europod • English

After visiting the neighbourhood of El Pinar and the port of Barbate, in this episode we try to understand deeper reasons for why this south-western Spanish port town struggles in changing its status of entry door for hashish into Europe. We discuss the impact of geography, education and, eventually, local politics on Barbate. Sea of Rage is a reportage podcast dealing with the borderless narco-trafficking business as seen from the perspective of ordinary people who live in two towns in Southern Europe: Barbate (Andalusìa, Spain) and Gioia Tauro (Calabria, Italy). Over the past few decades, Barbate and Gioia Tauro have become entry points for hashish and cocaine into Europe. But why have these towns become such pivotal places for drug trafficking? And what does it mean to live, day in day out, next door to such dark and murky businesses?Sea of Rage is an adaptation of the homonymous co-production between Podium Podcast and Chora Media, released in September 2024 under the Spanish and Italian language titles Mar de rabia (Spanish, Podium Podcast) and Mare di rabbia (Italian, Chora Media). Sea of Rage is part of WePod, a collaborative project financed by the Creative Europe program of the European Commission.Art direction: Alexander Damiano RicciReporting on the ground and interview collection: Manu Tomillo (Podium Podcast), Javi Caminero (Podium Podcast) and Francesca Berardi (Chora Media)Original sound design: Elizabeth BuaAdaptation of scripts in English: Alexander Damiano RicciSound editing: Daniel Gutierrez OrtegaOriginal sound theme: Luca Micheli (Chora Media)Cover artwork: Watermelon collective, based on original artwork by Agencia Player and Giulia Mangano (Chora Media)Executive producer: Ana Ribera (Podium Podcast)Project Manager: Henar Leòn (Podium Podcast)Coordination of editorial work and production: Alexander Damiano Ricci.This co-production was financed by the European Union. However, the points of view and opinions shared are the sole responsibility of the authors and do not reflect necessarily the opinions of the European Union. Nor the European Union, nor the authorities and agencies which might have financed this product can be considered responsible for points of view shared through this journalistic and creative work. This podcast was co-produced by Europod.Subscribe to Europod • English for more podcasts and subscribe to our Linkedin and Instagram channels.

In this episode, the team of reporters behind Sea of Rage set foot for the first time in Barbate, Andalusia, South-Western Spain. They meet people from El Pinar, a notorious neighbourhood in town which is known to be a pivotal place for drug trafficking. Sea of Rage is a reportage podcast dealing with the borderless narco-trafficking business as seen from the perspective of ordinary people who live in two towns in Southern Europe: Barbate (Andalusìa, Spain) and Gioia Tauro (Calabria, Italy). Over the past few decades, Barbate and Gioia Tauro have become entry points for hashish and cocaine into Europe. But why have these towns become such pivotal places for drug trafficking? And what does it mean to live, day in day out, next door to such dark and murky businesses?Sea of Rage is an adaptation of the homonymous co-production between Podium Podcast and Chora Media, released in September 2024 under the Spanish and Italian language titles Mar de rabia (Spanish, Podium Podcast) and Mare di rabbia (Italian, Chora Media). Sea of Rage is part of WePod, a collaborative project financed by the Creative Europe program of the European Commission.Art direction: Alexander Damiano RicciReporting on the ground and interview collection: Manu Tomillo (Podium Podcast), Javi Caminero (Podium Podcast) and Francesca Berardi (Chora Media)Original sound design: Elizabeth BuaAdaptation of scripts in English: Alexander Damiano RicciSound editing: Jeremy Boquet, Daniel Gutierrez Ortega and Alexander Damiano RicciOriginal sound theme: Luca Micheli (Chora Media)Cover artwork: Watermelon collective, based on original artwork by Agencia Player and Giulia Mangano (Chora Media)Executive producer: Ana Ribera (Podium Podcast)Project Manager: Henar Leòn (Podium Podcast)Coordination of editorial work and production: Alexander Damiano Ricci.This co-production was financed by the European Union. However, the points of view and opinions shared are the sole responsibility of the authors and do not reflect necessarily the opinions of the European Union. Nor the European Union, nor the authorities and agencies which might have financed this product can be considered responsible for points of view shared through this journalistic and creative work. This podcast was co-produced by Europod.Subscribe to Europod • English for more podcasts and subscribe to our Linkedin and Instagram channels.

Sea of Rage is a reportage podcast dealing with the borderless narco-trafficking business as seen from the perspective of ordinary people who live in two towns in Southern Europe: Barbate (Andalusìa, Spain) and Gioia Tauro (Calabria, Italy). Over the past few decades, Barbate and Gioia Tauro have become entry points for hashish and cocaine into Europe. But why have these towns become such pivotal places for drug trafficking? And what does it mean to live, day in day out, next door to such dark and murky businesses?Sea of Rage is an adaptation of the homonymous co-production between Podium Podcast and Chora Media, released in September 2024 under the Spanish and Italian language titles Mar de rabia (Spanish, Podium Podcast) and Mare di rabbia (Italian, Chora Media). Sea of Rage is part of WePod, a collaborative project financed by the Creative Europe program of the European Commission.Art direction: Alexander Damiano RicciReporting on the ground and interview collection: Manu Tomillo (Podium Podcast), Javi Caminero (Podium Podcast) and Francesca Berardi (Chora Media)Adaptation of scripts in English: Alexander Damiano RicciSound editing: Jeremy Boquet, Daniel Gutierrez Ortega and Alexander Damiano RicciOriginal sound theme: Luca Micheli (Chora Media)Cover artwork: Watermelon collective, based on original artwork by Agencia Player and Giulia Mangano (Chora Media)Executive producer: Ana Ribera (Podium Podcast)Coordination of editorial work and production: Alexander Damiano Ricci.This co-production was financed by the European Union. However, the points of view and opinions shared are the sole responsibility of the authors and do not reflect necessarily the opinions of the European Union. Nor the European Union, nor the authorities and agencies which might have financed this product can be considered responsible for points of view shared through this journalistic and creative work. This podcast was co-produced by Europod.Subscribe to Europod • English for more podcasts and subscribe to our Linkedin and Instagram channels.

Alexis Tsipras: "Angela Merkel did not succeed in making Europe less German but she tried to make Germany more European."In this bonus episode of my question to Angela Merkel, Alexis Tsipras, who was the Greek Prime Minister during one of the most important crises for his country and the EU, tells of his fascinating relationship with Angela Merkel, an adversary, just as much as an attentive counterpart. While he deplores her firmness with regard to budgetary austerity, he also praises her ability to listen, her knowledge of issues and her honesty. He delivers an exhaustive and fascinating portrait of the German Chancellor. Available on EuroPod and on all listening platforms.

This episode bonus of "my question to Angela Merkel" is part of the series War & Peace, by the International Crisis Group, EuroPod's partner. After sixteen years at Europe’s helm, Angela Merkel is stepping down from power. The federal election in September also marked an end to the long-term hold her political party, the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), had had over German politics. Merkel’s likely successor, Olaf Scholz, is now looking to forge a “traffic light coalition” between his Social Democratic Party (the SPD, whose trademark colour is red), the Greens and the Liberals (yellow). While Scholz and his allies have made ambitious commitments to modernise Germany, it remains unclear what, if anything, this portends for foreign policy. Foreign affairs have so far taken the back seat during coalition negotiations, eclipsed by domestic concerns. Still, Germany’s new chancellor will be forced, however reluctantly, to contend with tremendous geopolitical shifts on the continent and further away. This week on War & Peace, Hugh and Olga are joined by Jana Puglierin, Head of the European Council on Foreign Relations’ Berlin Office, to make sense of Germany’s future under a new chancellor. They discuss the deprioritisation of foreign policy, possible sticking points between coalition members, the future of the transatlantic alliance with the United States, and increasingly bitter relations with Russia, Turkey and China. They ask whether Scholz’s chancellorship will chart a new course for Europe, and how Germany and the continent are poised to contend with a world of great-power competition. For more information, explore Crisis Group’s work on Europe and its neighbours by checking out the regional pages on the left-hand side of our website. You can follow Jana’s work on the ECFR website. 

They are both monsters of European political longevity. Jean-Claude Juncker, former President of the European Commission, answered EuroPod’s questions on Angela Merkel's career and legacy. You have already heard some extracts of what he said on “My question to Angela Merkel” and now you can enjoy the full interview by Quentin Ariès, journalist at Cafébabel and EuroPod partner for this podcast series.In this podcast, Juncker recalls:the Greek sovereign debt crisisthe so-called “migration crisis”the Covid-19 pandemicthe Brexit negotiationsMerkel’s role on the world sceneSubscribe on Spotify, Apple Podcasts or your favourite streaming platform to make sure not to miss the next bonuses. You can also find the written version of the interview on EuroPod. Coming up, the full interviews to Alexis Tsipras, François Hollande and more! And if you haven’t already, listen to the series and follow Emilia’s quest for THE perfect question to ask Merkel.

The journey is about to end. Emilia has already walked us through the most pivotal moments of Angela Merkel’s life and political career, including her reaction to the financial crash, the Greek sovereign debt crisis and the rise in migration flows in Europe. However, before deciding on which question to ask Merkel, she also wants to reflect on the way her departure will change politics both in Germany and in the EU. Emilia will tell us about Merkel’s 180° U-turn on the question of European debt. She will share with us the kind words of Alexis Tspiras on her legacy. She will explain to us why she thinks that Angela Merkel is the perfect image of what Europe is today. The guests featured in this episode are:Jean-Claude Juncker, President of the European Commission from 2014 to 2019, previously President of the Eurogroup and Luxembourg’s longest serving Prime Minister.Alexis Tsipras, Prime Minister of Greece from 2015 to 2019 and leader of the Official Opposition since then.Florence Autret, journalist and author of “Angela Merkel. Une Allemande (presque) comme les autres”.To learn more about German foreign policy after Angela Merkel leaves office, check out the podcast of our podcast partner, the International Crisis Group. You can find it on their channels: https://www.crisisgroup.org/europe-central-asia/western-europemediterranean/germany/wp-s3-episode-5But you can also find it on EuroPod:https://www.europod.eu/player/69/war-peace/298/en/s3-episode-5-german-foreign-policy-after-merkel

By now we know all about Angela Merkel’s life and political career up until her famous “Wir schaffen das!”. Now Emilia will tell us all about Merkel switching gears on her Atlanticist side with the arrival of Donald Trump while at the same time being reluctant in taking on the role of leader of the free world after the departure of Obama. We will discover why she was against a referendum on Brexit and learn about her determination to show a firm hand throughout the negotiations which unfolded after the victory of the  “Leave” campaign. The guests featured in this episode are:Jean-Claude Juncker, President of the European Commission from 2014 to 2019, previously President of the Eurogroup and Luxembourg’s longest serving Prime Minister.Eszter Zalan, journalist for the EUObserver.Judy Dempsey, journalist and senior fellow at Carnegie Europe.