Understanding Europe is a new podcast series produced by the Maastricht Diplomat, in collaboration with CERiM. Throughout the 10 episodes, Charelle and Brendan will interview experts from CERiM to dig deeper into the various research done on the EU, but also on Europe at large.  The monthly podcast series aims to contextualize and unpack local dynamics within EU member states but also international dynamics between EU and its neighboring regions.

In this pilot episode, All About CERiM, Brendan and Charelle interview the Co-director Dr. Giselle Bosse, Associate Professor in EU external relations at FASoS, to talk about the who, the how, the what, and the why of CERiM.

Sources mentioned in the episode: 

1- Youtube link to the Euro-Arab Conversation Lecture Series.

2- To register for the JM Lecture with EVP Margrether Vestager on the 8th of November, click here.

3- CERiM website

4- CERiM Instagram

In the third and final episode of Roo & Simon's series Abducted Art & Cultural Theft, they are joined by Neil Curtis the Head of Museums and Special Collections at the University of Aberdeen. Neil discusses his expertise and experience of the process to repatriate a Benin Bronzes back to its ancestral home in the Benin City, located in present day Nigeria as well as the importance of learning from our shared history and making connections. Neil also shares his thoughts on the treatment of human remains in museums and the controversial argument for museums to represent encyclopaedias of the world.

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In this episode, Victoria and Jane discuss Hollywoods perpetuation of the fear mongering propaganda against an already marginalised group… SHARKS. Together they outline current laws on the protection of marine biodiversity while simultaneously arguing over Victoria’s rational fears of alligators.

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Building on the themes of power and authority from previous episodes, Victoria and Lucrezia present the third episode in their series The Red Line. Together they discuss the potential factors which lead to persistent cases of sexual abuse within the Catholic Church, from hierarchy and access to the debate regarding the doctrine of strict clerical celibacy.

Check out Lucrezia's article on the blue & yellow blog of the ECA 

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In the second episode of Roo & Simon's series Abducted Art & Cultural Theft, they are joined by police expert Leonie Bouwknegt to discuss her efforts to tackle art organised crime here in Limburg, as well as how these lucrative pieces of art are used as pawns in the illegal drug trade. Leonie discusses her operations to police the illicit trading of stolen cultural artefacts at TEFAF, the international art fair that happens here in Maastricht annually in June. 

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In this episode, Jonathan reports live from France where the people are choosing a new President and new Members of Parliament. They are joined by Professor Bruno de Witte to give their take on how the French constitution works and discuss how the 2022 elections can reshape French politics. After five years of centrist rule, France is at a turning point: the far-right is stronger than ever, and the left is finally showing signs of unity. 

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In this special episode, guest hosts Alexander Safi and Ginevra Figini from the UNSA's Development Committee are joined by Dragomir Radoytsev, a policy officer at an EU energy organisation, to shed light on the UN's Sustainable Development Goal 7: affordable and clean energy. Together they discuss what the EU is currently doing to make the EU carbon neutral through the Green Deal, the role of energy in this transition, and what we can do as individuals to contribute to a cleaner future.

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This is the second episode in Victoria & Lucrezia's series The Red Line. Together they discuss the institutional role of the Church from the international and European Union perspective. A distinction is made between the temporal state power exercised by the Vatican City and the spiritual sphere of influence enjoyed by the Holy See. This discussion forms part of a larger conversation revolving around the various sources of the Church’s power and authority in order to later analyse the way such power and authority can be wielded in an abusive manner, ultimately leading to a staggering number of sexual abuse cases involving members of the Catholic clergy.

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In this special episode Paula is joined by Professor Elissaveta Radulova, an Associate Professor in the Department of Political Science at Maastricht University, and Emili Stefanova, Head of Marketing at the UNSA, to discuss how and why their home country Bulgaria is currently experiencing a transformation process. By exploring their first-hand experiences, political insights and explanations, this podcast aims to make people outside of Bulgaria aware of the tremendous changes that have been happening in Bulgarian politics and society for more than two years now.

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In this episode Roo and Simon launch their new series “Abducted Art & Cultural Theft” where they will be interviewing experts to discuss the modern fight for the restitution of cultural artefacts and the illicit trafficking of looted objects. In their first episode they will be joined by Professor Donna Yates, an Associate Professor in the Department of Criminal Law and Criminology at Maastricht University to talk about her research on the global trade of trafficking culture. Together they unpack how these historical and cultural artefacts are effecting a web of organised crime that connects the theft at heritage sites to the elite market of stolen global art.

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