Europe Talks Back

Zoos bring us much closer to wildlife, but their existence is a controversial topic. Go online and it’s easy to find groups that advocate for the closure of zoos, assessing that they do more harm than good to animals.

Complaints usually relate to confinement, the lack of space, unnatural environments and crowded conditions as the main problems against animal well-being. But experts working in zoos think differently. So the question boils down to: are zoos actually beneficial to animals? Do they have a role to play in conservation? And what can we learn from zoos on the impact of human beings on animals still living in the wild?

In this episode, we will investigate these questions with Martin Boye, President of the European Association for Aquatic Mammals, and Kate Werner, Senior Campaign Manager at PETA UK.

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Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode we'll be discussing the results of the recent French legislative elections, which defied the predictions of most analysts. More than that, we'll be discussing the trends that have been shaping France's society for years now, from politics to the media industry. More specifically: what can explain both, the expectations of Marine Le Pen's far-right National Rally party winning these elections, on the one hand, and the final success of progressive parties, on the other hand? The lead guest of this episode is Johan Weisz-Myara, founder and producer at Street Press. Born 15 years ago, Street Press is an independent media organisation which has broadly covered the life of young French citizens in the outskirts, or banlieus, of French metropolitan areas. In relation to the French elections, Street Press launched dozens of investigations into the French far-right over the past year and co-organised the biggest anti-far-right protests in the country, in Paris, ahead of the legislative elections. But, in this episode, we'll also hear from Nikita Rathod, Europod's Social Media Officer. Nikita discusses how she, as a young Indian woman, has been living the runup to the elections, these months.

Tune into episode 14 now!

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In this episode we'll be discussing the the leading form of exploitation affecting persons who fall victim to human trafficking, that is: sexual exploitation. The term sex trafficking (or sexual trafficking), therefore, identifies human trafficking for the purpose of sexual exploitation.

This form of exploitation intersects with social and economic inequalities. Last but not least, conflicts such as the War in Ukraine can become triggers of new waves of exploitation. Along the episode, you'll hear stories from women who had been forced to sex work for over ten years, as well as from professionals, such as Dovilé Vainorė - Executive of the Lithuanian National Association Against Human Trafficking, who are trying to tackle this social plague.

Tune into episode 13 now!

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In this episode we'll be commenting on the results of the EU elections and try to make sense of the results and what this could mean for our future and rights. We'll speak with Quentin Aries, a journalist based in Brussels and the editor of Sphera Network, the first network of independent media in Europe to reinvent the media space and paint a new picture of the continent through impactful, unbiased, raw and authentic stories.

Tune into episode 11 now!

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In this episode, we delve into the crucial role that the EU elections could have in combating racism across Europe. We'll be speaking with two inspiring young activists, Ebu and Zaineb, who bring diverse experiences as women of colour living in different parts of Europe. They'll share their insights on institutional racism, the importance of voting, and the power of youth activism in driving change.

Tune into episode 11 now!

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In this episode we’ll be speaking with 2 experts from the human rights space to unpack what we mean by our digital rights, how they are being protected or violated and who gets to decide what technology is needed for or against whom. Kahina Rabahi representing the European Anti-Poverty Network and Bibbi Abruzzini representing Forus, a global network of civil society organisations — will help us uncover how digitalisation impacts essential services and civic space.

Tune into episode 10 now!

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This episode uncovers the real threat trans- and non-binary persons face, often due to the actions of far-right groups and a climate of hate which can also be traced back to political discourses. We hear from Patricia Reguero, a Spanish journalist from El Salto, and her Greek colleague, Anastasia Vaitsopoulou, who work for the media outlet Propaganda.

Tune into episode 9 now!

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In this episode, we delve into what unites far-right groups in Europe and how they have been capitalising on cultural tools like social media and aesthetics to particularly target and successfully recruit young men and women.

We hear from Michael Colborne, a journalist and researcher with Bellingcat, an investigation journalism organisation based in the Netherlands. His work focuses on the far right where he oversees and leads investigations and trains journalists in digital investigative techniques.

Tune into episode 8 now!

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In today’s episode we'll look into the new generation of student, university and worker led protests that are shaping up across Europe, from France to Poland. And we’ll also discuss how this trend relates to a global narrative change around the future of work.

We'll hear from journalists Samuele Maccolini from the Italian outlet VD News and Maciej Domagała, from the Polish outlet Krytyka Polityczna. We met with them in Budapest, during a live show produced by the Sphera Network project to discuss this topic.

This is the first episode of a special series dedicated to themes relevant to the run-up and context of the upcoming European elections.

Tune into episode 7 now!

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