Brussels Unplugged!

Tom Moylan, after nearly 10 years in the European Commission, decided he wanted to build his immediate community: from Brussels to his home. He founded Moylan Communications, Brussels' policy-driven comms agency; spearheaded work Restless Brussels, to get his fellow citizens involved; and became a father of two, perhaps his toughest and most rewarding challenge.

Lena Eisenreich has visited 85 countries and was present alongside Manfred Weber, the European Parliament's candidate, when Ursula von der Leyen was elected as President of the European Commission. When she unplugs, you can find her at Brussels' open-air music events, or reading War & Peace at Park Josaphat.

Jeroen Reijnen has spent nearly 30 years in Brussels, currently in the Commission, but previously in Parliament with the liberals and Guy Verhofstadt. Building upon his experiences and network, he authored Big in Brussels, his reflection and advice on breaching the city's walls and how to remain within them. Of course, he also tells us how he unplugs!

Bruegel's Rebecca Christie joins me to chat about the possible expansion of ESG to include defence and dual-use technology, and living in Europe as an American. Of course, we also dive into transatlantic relations and how she unplugs.

Suriname's Ambassador to the EU, Gilbêrt van Lierop, joins us to chat about the rich cultural heritage of Suriname, the state of global affairs, the impact of technology on society, the importance of environmental sustainability, and how he unplugs by detoxing from tech 🍻

Fidias just joined the European Parliament, and being 25 he is one of our youngest representatives. He's bringing young life to a bureaucratic institution with his digital native approach. He's also Cypriot and adamant about helping his people - how does he do it? What's the day-to-day in Cyprus? And which cuisine is better, Italian or Cypriot?

Tune in, unplug, and let us know what you think!

For this episode we sat down with Phil Herd, Editor in Chief of "The Brussels Times" the only daily publication in English that covers news in the capital of Belgium.

Phil has over 20 years of experience as correspondent at BBC and with him we talked about Brussels, its safety problems and how the public administration (doesn't) deal with it.

Next, we analyze the core of the Brussels Time journalism and why it is important to connect the city with the many layers of the expat community.

David Timis is an AI expert who focuses on upskilling and re-skilling workers of the most vulnerable sectors. AI has brought disruption and opportunities, together with David we unpack what this means for jobs, education, and organisations.

Don't miss the Brussels Unplugged recommendations for a beer in the Bubble!

Sabina Maria Ciofu is the perfect example of an extraordinary Brussels life. She started her career in the European Parliament, and after many years, she joined the private sector, representing tech companies. Her Brussels life means often being on a plane escaping the city, but it also means canvassing for the local elections, founding the association of senior professionals in digital policy and...running marathons!

Don't miss this very chill and interesting conversation to kick off the new year of Brussels Unplugged!

Brussels Unplugged likes to surprise its listeners and take some unexpected detours from our publishing schedule (and nature). Following the episode with Yanis Varoufakis, we have the pleasure to release another special episode, this time with VOLT/Greens MEP Reinier Van Lanschot.

Our host Pietro sat down with Reinier in the European Parliament to discuss the nature of VOLT, probably the one and only European political party with a revolutionary concept behind.

Don't miss this engaging and interesting conversation!