Do you have time to listen to this podcast? Today we look at how the grip of clock time has become inescapable. The way we view and understand time is at the heart of our economic system - capitalism - and how we are wrecking our health, our communities, and the planet. If we want to radically transform our societies, we need to rediscover time’s c…

We turn to questions of class and workers' rights in how we tackle the climate crisis and the just transition in this week's episode. Gareth Dale explores the history of workers in all kinds of industries making the case for green and ecological transition. Written by Gareth Dale. Read by Julia Lagoutte. Text version: https://www.greeneuropeanjourn…

In this episode, we turn to Vienna, as it aims to tackle a major source of carbon emissions: housing. The Austrian city has led the way for more than a century on social housing. Can it face this new challenge of decarbonising the sector without passing the burden on to its residents? Written by Kaja Šeruga. Read by Julia Lagoutte. Text version: ht…

This week we turn to Israel’s war on Gaza and the internal discussions it has sparked within the climate movement. While some activists argue against taking a position, others believe fighting climate change demands addressing underlying political injustice. Written by Joost de Moor. Read by Julia Lagoutte. Text version: https://www.greeneuropeanjo…

Compared to most other political movements, Greens have a track record of inclusive politics, and have long welcomed refugees and Muslims into their ranks. But without a comprehensive approach to the issue of Islamophobia, Green parties sometimes fall into patterns of institutionalised prejudice. Written by Samir Jeraj. Read by Julia Lagoutte. Text…

This week, we turn to health. More specifically, the new European Health Union. Though a step in the right direction, public health advocates expect more from the EU’s newly established trans-national means to prevent and respond to health risks.

Veganism, the ethical choice, was once born of necessity. Today’s regular omnivore diet was previously a luxury for the wealthy, ill afforded by peasants. Preserving food was a means of subsistence. Can pickling and jamming traditions, now making a comeback, be recognised for their cultural heritage in addition to gentrified sauerkraut and cherry c…

This week's piece is from our new edition, Aligning Stars: Routes to a Different Europe. The Ventotene Manifesto, named after the Italian islet where its authors were imprisoned when they wrote it, is regarded as one of the foundational texts of the European Union, presenting federalism as a way to prevent future wars. Antonia Ferri, with the help …

From dangerous extremists to silly children, how the media portrays climate activists such as Last Generation and Just Stop Oil is the topic of today’s episode. While those taking direct action are accused of alienating policymakers and public opinion, a study of mainstream media in the United Kingdom, Germany, and Italy suggests that the othering …

Housing is the focus in this episode - something we all need but which is increasingly expensive and in short supply, due in large part to the financialisation of the housing market. Meanwhile some renovations to make housing greener end up making rent more costly for those who can least afford it. What’s the solution? Julieta Perucca explains. Wri…

Slovak voters head to the polls on the 30th September for early parliamentary elections. One of the winners looks set to be former Prime Minister Robert Fico - forced out after the 2018 murder of an investigative journalist - and now helped along by alt-right and pro-Kremlin narratives. So what happened? From covid to the war in Ukraine, Zuzana Kep…

10 months on from the start of Italy's new far-right government under Prime Giorgia Meloni from the Brothers of Italy, this episode looks at climate politics in Italy. Direct action environmental protestors and Italy's tumultuous Green parties are not always on the same wavelength - what lies at the heart of this divide, and what can be done? Writt…

Welcome to the podcast and to another piece from our latest edition! The green transition relies on the use of numerous rare minerals. Lithium especially is crucial and Serbia’s reserves of this lightest of metals are coveted. But with a proposed mine catalysing the largest environmental protests in Serbian history, it is clear that local communiti…

Our latest edition is out! And if you've been sweltering in a city this summer, don't miss this episode. Celia Fernández explains how rising temperatures are making European cities increasingly unliveable in the summer months and why where you live and what you earn affects how you experience this. Adaptation measures - increasingly needed - can t…

In Spain, the installation of large renewable energy plants is generating divides - with local populations concerned at the transformation of their homelands on the one hand and a climate that cannot wait on the other. Two new films - Alcarras and As Bestas - have brought these conflicts, which risk undermining the energy transition, to the big scr…

With each report from the UN’s intergovernmental panel on climate change (IPCC), the message is more alarming and the call more strident. Yet somehow, the findings struggle to move governments to action. From ‘climategate’ to the need to cater to conflicting stakeholders, the IPCC may in fact reinforce the status quo - but it could change that by e…

The idea of 'economic insecurity' is vital to understanding how people actually feel about their past, present and future. Put simply, it is the experience or anticipation of economic hardship. Hannah Webster and Toby Murray explore what they call the UK’s current insecurity crisis and the political decisions that led us here. They ask: what kind o…

Russia’s war on Ukraine pushed the world into a food crisis - or that’s how it felt. But this was only the latest tipping point for a global food system already on the edge. Jennifer Kwao explains how the conflict in Ukraine affected people's access to food everywhere, and especially in the Global South, and why the problems go much deeper. Written…

On this International Women's Day, we turn to Africa, where women have a long, rich, and active history of seeing their own liberation and the protection of nature as inseparable and forging ground-breaking campaigns at their intersection. From FOWA in Nigeria and Wangari Maathai in Kenya to today's generation of activists, listen to Anika Jane Dor…

That infinite economic growth is simply not possible on a finite planet seems a truth that is increasingly hard to escape - in some circles. Yet governments continue to organise their countries around the idea that economic growth is good, necessary, and important. Is degrowth the vision that can lay out another way forward - and one that is more j…

Renewable energy cooperatives and/or communities are the focus of our attention this week, and specifically their spread - albeit slow - in Central and Eastern Europe. Tackling three urgent crises in one - climate change, rising energy prices, and the need to find alternatives to Russian gas - renewable energy co-ops are needed today more than ever…

We’ve got a book review for you this week. Konrad Bleyer-Simon unpacks Road to Nowhere. Silicon Valley and the Future of Mobility by Paris Marx which sets out how the egoistic projects of tech billionaires such as Elon Musk have shaped our car-centred transport systems and what a vision centred around the needs of ordinary people would look like. W…

In this episode, we zoom in on Italy again. Join us to unpack the September 2022 elections which led to Italy's most right-wing government since Mussolini. What underlies the rise in support for the party now leading the country: Brothers of Italy? What was missing in the appeals of left and progressive parties to Italian voters? Written by Thomas …

In this episode, we tackle one of the most important questions of the decade. With global disruption and crises set to become the norm, how should Green parties navigate this new age of shocks? How can these tensions, rather than destabilising us, teach us about working together to carve a better future? Join us to find out. This piece is from our …

Welcome back! In this episode, we focus on one of the most important issues facing many of us: the cost of living crisis. It's time to question how we got here, look into the social and political effects of the crisis, and explore alternative ways of organising our society. Hear from young people in Italy and experts who explain why under-35s in It…

It's almost nine months since the start of Putin's invasion of Ukraine. Rarely mentioned in coverage or analysis of the war is the ecological impact of it and how this is playing out today in Ukraine, one of the most heavily industrialised and polluted areas in the world. In this episode, we examine how war affects nature and public health in Ukrai…

COP27 has just kicked off! Despite having official invitations to international climate summits, many young Global South organisers find their visa applications to European countries rejected, sometimes multiples times in a row. This episode looks at this under-explored exclusion which, if left unaddressed, undermines the legitimacy of internationa…

Welcome back! In this episode, we explore the concepts of citizenship and of nation states - two norms which are rarely questioned in Europe today - and how they are evolving in today's world. What do these shifts mean for the millions of people living and working abroad, especially in an era of climate breakdown, and how we can make sure the shift…

On 11 September, Sweden went to the polls to elect a new government. In this episode, we look into what the results might mean for the country, how Swedish politics has gradually shifted to the right and what happens next. Written by Ann-Cathrine Jungar Read by Julia Lagoutte. Text version: www.greeneuropeanjournal.eu/swedish-elections-and-the-main…

In this episode, Luiza Bialasiewicz explains why thinking pandemic geopolitics through the lens of 'health sovereignty' ignores the geographies of vulnerability that connect us all. Published in 29 November 2021 Written by Luiza Bialasiewicz. Read by Julia Lagoutte. Text version: www.greeneuropeanjournal.eu/the-unhealthy-geopolitics-of-a-sovereign-…

Welcome back! This summer has shown - once again - that extreme weather events like heatwaves, droughts, and wildfires are becoming more frequent and intense as a result of the climate crisis. In this episode, journalist Clare Taylor explores what's at stake and what we can do about it. Written by Clare Taylor. Read by Julia Lagoutte. Text version:…

In this episode, we talk all about coal, oil, and gas. When it comes to keeping fossil fuels in the ground, COPs will only get us so far. Peter Newell outlines an alternative approach: A Fossil Fuel Non-Profileration Treaty. Written by Peter Newell. Read by Julia Lagoutte. Text version: https://www.greeneuropeanjournal.eu/the-road-to-a-fossil-fuel-…

We are back. In this episode, we explore how ecology could expand the EU's horizons through the Green Deal. For the European Union, the energy transition offers an economic, social and strategic direction for decades to come. Written by Lucile Schmid. Read by Seden Anlar. Edited by Seden Anlar. Text version: https://www.greeneuropeanjournal.eu/will…

Despite the warnings, the invasion of Ukraine took the world by surprise. As Putin continues his brutal invasion of #Ukraine, journalist Richard Robert takes a much-needed look at how the long history of Russian imperialism is driving and shaping Putin’s war today. Written by Richard Robert. Read by Julia Lagoutte. Text version: https://www.greeneu…

We are back! In the first episode of the new year, we'll be going to Romania where over the past decades, there have been successive waves of protests that have had a defining impact on the country's recent history. So, we look at the path that has led Romania to the politics it has today and where the country's two main Green parties stand. Enjoy!…

This week, we tell the story of how, for one Italian town, democracy is an ongoing struggle for environmental justice and self-determination. A story of democratic exclusion that began with the building of a petrochemical plant on the edge of the town by state-run chemical giant EniChem in the early 1970s. Hear more about the deep scars that have b…

In this episode, we are going to Finland. For over a century, Finland has pioneered women’s representation in politics. But discrimination still casts a long shadow over the country. What can Finland, possibly the most gender-equal country in the world but one that still has many problems, teach us about the long journey from representation to equa…

This week, we are going to the UK! The UK government’s handling of Brexit and the health crisis has been undeniably chaotic and venal. In a bid to distract the public and shore up its own power, the government has sought to exploit cultural issues to the detriment of democratic rights and norms, putting already vulnerable groups further at risk. Gr…

This week, we are going to Italy. In February, Mario Draghi, got sworn-in as Italy's next prime minister and formed a coalition government to end months of political stalemate. However, this coalition doesn't have an easy brief. In this episode, journalist Luca Misculin lays out the challenges that Draghi is likely to face. Written by Luca Misculin…

2021 is Germany's "super election year"! The end of Merkel era, the rise of the Greens, the fallout from the pandemic. Roderick Kefferputz analyses the year ahead in German politics and the latest on the prospects of the German Greens in 2021. Written by Roderick Kefferpütz. Read by Julia Lagoutte. Text version: www.greeneuropeanjournal.eu/germanys…

This week, we talk migration and essential work. Migration has been a dividing line in politics in recent years. But the fact remains that society would not function without the contributions of people from other countries. In this episode, we hear from migrant workers in Greece, Iran, and South Africa on their experiences of #COVID19. Written by C…

The pandemic has exposed many unresolved challenges for older members of society – social care, the digital divide, loneliness - sparking a conversation about ageing societies that is often deferred. In this episode, Christa Möller-Metzger from the European Network of Green Seniors argues it's time for a new generational compromise built around con…

What kind of economy do we want? The Covid-19 pandemic has shown that some economic sectors are more important than others for meeting our basic needs and making a “good life” possible. Alexandra Strickner, Andreas Novy, Leonhard Plank, and Richard Bärnthaler explores new ways of seeing the economy, work, and contribution. Written by Alexandra Stri…

Since the pandemic began, different countries have taken different approaches to the Covid19 crisis. In the last episode of this year, sociologist Jean De Munck maps the different government responses to the health crisis and reveals which system of government is key for a green future. Written by Jean De Munck. Read by Julia Lagoutte. Text version…

In this episode, Peter Newell asks: Has the time arrived for a global green politics? As the debate continues over ideas and visions about what the post-pandemic world could and should look like, it is time for Greens to make the case for a global green politics that lays out a real alternative to current ways of thinking about the economy, securit…

Some said the pandemic had one upside: a chance for the environment to recover. However, such assumptions may be severely misguided. In this episode, Camille Nedelec debunks this myth and explores the ripple effects of the pandemic on plastic production and recycling. Produced by the Green European Journal (www.greeneuropeanjournal.eu). Written by …

This week, we're all about important questions! - How can people believe that the “climate fight” will be won if, at the national level, climate action is only paid lip service? - What kind of state is needed for a successful ecological transition? - What would a Green state look like? All explained in this episode. Produced by the Green European J…

This week, we're going to France. On June 28, the Greens of Europe Ecologie-Les Verts (EELV) confirmed their role as change makers in French politics as the #GreenWave swept through the country in the second round of the local elections. Green-led coalitions now govern several key cities including Lyon, Marseille, Bordeaux, Strasbourg, Besançon, To…

Let's talk about #COVID19 and the economy! As a response to the pandemic, many governments have introduced short-term cash transfers for self-employed and precarious workers. But do these policies bring long-term resilience and security? The argument for a permanent, universal basic income grows stronger. Produced by the Green European Journal (www…

This episode is all about rebellion! Extinction Rebellion erupted in 2018 in the UK. It denounces the political inertia and obfuscation of “truth” that permeate climate change debates. Since then, XR has spread like wildfire and now gathers thousands of activists worldwide. In this episode, Louise Knops explores how the movement channels affect at …