Sweden in Focus

This week: Jimmie Åkesson talks about demolishing mosques, the latest on the Tesla strike, Sweden’s Advent celebrations, solutions journalism, and why some criminologists think it’s time for Sweden to ditch zero tolerance on drugs.

Host Paul O’Mahony is joined this week by The Local's Emma Lögren and Richard Orange.

Here are links to some of the stories we discuss:

• Inside Sweden: How will the Tesla strike end?
• Tesla sues Swedish state agency over number plate blockage

• Julmys: How to get into the Christmas spirit like a Swede
• Swedish word of the day: advent

• Seven things we've learned about adding a solutions focus to reporting on migration
• As Europe comes out of lockdown, what lessons can be learned from Sweden?

• INTERVIEW: The past, present and future of Sweden's zero-tolerance drug policy

• Sweden Democrat leader calls for mosques to be demolished
• Why Sweden's far-right leader is showing his radical side
• Why the Sweden Democrats are still a far-right party
• LISTEN: How the Sweden Democrats are flirting with the extreme right
• ARCHIVE: Islam 'Sweden's biggest threat': far-right leader

• How to handle these 10 maddeningly Swedish passive-aggressive habits

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Host Paul O’Mahony is joined this week by The Local’s Becky Waterton and Richard Orange, and we also have an interview with Northern Lights tour operator Chad Blakley.

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Here are links to some of the stories we discuss:

• How to get tickets for Eurovision in Malmö
• How much can I charge if I rent out my home on Airbnb in Sweden?

• EXPLAINED: What do we know about Sweden’s plans to withdraw permanent residency?

• OPINION: Why Sweden’s flat hierarchy can make people seem boring

• IN DATA: Why do people in Stockholm live the longest lives in Scandinavia?

• ‘I found the American dream in Swedish Lapland’
• How to take the best pictures of the Northern Lights

• Left Party and Sweden Democrat congresses
• How to take the best pictures of the Northern Lights

• Sweden’s central bank leaves interest rate unchanged
• Swedish food prices 26 percent higher than two years ago – which items are worst affected?
• How much will life in Sweden cost you in 2024?

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In this week's episode: practical Swedes, saying hej to strangers, dithering Liberals, Sweden awaits central bank decision, climate movement split over Greta Thunberg's Palestine support, how Swedish attitudes to Israel-Palestine have changed over the years. 

Host Paul O’Mahony is joined this week by The Local’s Emma Löfgren and Richard Orange, and we also have an interview with the author and former ambassador Mathias Mossberg.

Here are links to some of the stories we discuss:

Fitting in

• Ten signs you’re becoming more Swedish than the Swedes

Saying hi

• Swedish city launches campaign to get locals to say ‘hi’

Politics

• Family in focus as Busch kicks off November congresses

Greta Thunberg

• Greta Thunberg slammed over pro-Palestinian statements at climate rally

Israel-Hamas war

• How the Israel-Gaza attacks became party politics in Sweden

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This week on Sweden in Focus: TV history show provokes debate, far-right leader gives speech in Arabic, Sweden's media subsidy system explained, surviving November, and how a wave of international arrests is affect Sweden's gang conflict.

Host Paul O’Mahony is joined this week by The Local’s James Savage and Becky Waterton, and we also have an interview with Expressen’s crime reporter Katrin Krantz.

Here are links to some of the stories we discuss this week:

History of Sweden 

• OPINION: Why are racists in Sweden angry at history?
• ARCHIVE: Who were the first Scandinavians?

Sweden Democrat speech 

• OPINION: Åkesson’s speech may be in Arabic, but it’s for Swedish speakers

Swedish media subsidies 

Mentioned at the end of this article: 

• EXPLAINED: Swedish newspapers and how they work

Swedish November survival

• How to love November in Sweden (no, seriously!)
• Baby, it’s mörv outside: Sweden’s 13th month is here
• Is this Swedish Christmas trend the secret to happiness?
• Heartwarming story about Gothenburg’s public library goes viral

Gangs

• Who’s who in Sweden’s gang conflict?

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In this week's Sweden in Focus we discuss: industrial action hits Tesla and Klarna, fears that new salary requirements for work permit holders will undermine the Swedish labour market model, how an oil spill and new fishing quotas have put the Baltic Sea in focus , and an ill-tempered battle for control of Sweden’s Green Party.

Host Paul O’Mahony is joined this week by The Local’s James Savage and Richard Orange.

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Here are links to some of the stories we discuss this week:

Strikes

• Tesla threatens to bring in strikebreakers as Swedish workers strike
• INTERVIEW: Is Klarna ready for the Swedish model?
• Historic strike called off after Klarna signs collective bargaining agreement

Work permits

• ‘Irresponsible experiment’: Swedish business leader slams higher work permit threshold
• ARCHIVE: Is the Swedish Model the fairest of them all?

Baltic Sea

• Clean-up after Sweden ferry oil spill could last ‘up to a year’

Politics

• Poll misery for the government and the warring Greens
• Is the Green Party’s past to blame for its current problems?

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This week: Halloween, Nato, cable damage in the Baltic Sea, popular TV shows, and we answer readers' questions on Sweden's new salary requirement for work permit holders. 

Host Paul O’Mahony in Stockholm is joined from Malmö by The Local’s Emma Löfgren and Becky Waterton.

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Here are links to stories we discuss this week:

Halloween

• Opinion: What can Sweden learn from embracing the American Halloween tradition?

All Saints

• Swedish word of the day: allhelgonadagen

Nato & Baltic security 

• Turkish president sends Sweden’s Nato application to parliament
• Swedish government: ‘External force’ damaged cable between Sweden and Estonia

Swedish TV series 

• Are Swedes funny? Explaining the many types of Swedish jokes– includes regular panelist Richard Orange‘s opinion on På spåret.
• Swedish reality TV show brings Swedish-Americans back ‘home’

Work permits

• ‘We’re losing the life we built in Sweden’: Work permit holders dread uncertain future
• Who will fill Sweden’s labour gap when immigrants leave?
• Reader question: Can I meet Sweden’s new work permit threshold by working multiple jobs?
• What counts as salary under Sweden's new work permit threshold?

Correction: A previous version of the podcast incorrectly stated that OB-tillägg can never be counted as salary. It can, if it is regular and mentioned in your employment contract. We apologise for the confusion.

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In this week's episode we look at the latest Covid recommendations, how the far-right Sweden Democrats are using their new-found power, why immigrants kickstart so many events in Sweden, and why a terrorist targeted and murdered two Swedish football fans in Brussels. 

Host Paul O’Mahony in Stockholm is joined from Malmö by The Local’s Emma Löfgren and Richard Orange.

Here are links to some of the stories we discuss this week:

Covid-19

• Who should get vaccinated against Covid in Sweden and when?

Immigration 

• EXPLAINED: Sweden’s inquiry on taking asylum rules to EU minimum
• Sweden Democrats: ‘We’ve been too generous on asylum for too long’

Foreigners take the initiative 

• Why Sweden should protect its fantastic popular education organisations
• How can I watch the 2023 Cricket World Cup in Sweden?
• How the Nordics lead Europe in Indian Durga Puja celebrations

Brussels terror attack

• Why were Swedes targeted in the Brussels terror attack?
• Leading Sweden Democrat criticised for Brussels attack tweet
• Brussels gunman served prison time in Sweden

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In this bonus episode of Sweden in Focus, we speak to the Social Democratic former education minister Anna Ekström about Nordic 'folk high schools', budget cuts to study associations, worsening segregation in Sweden's schools, why boys are underperforming, and whether Sweden needs more external grading.

In Saturday’s episode, the former government minister talked about ‘folkbildning’ as a particularly Nordic approach to education. 

Here we continue the conversation as Anna Ekström talks about her roles within the ABF study association, the history of the wider folkbildning movement, and the challenges faced today by the Swedish education system. 

Host Paul O’Mahony is also joined by The Local’s James Savage and Becky Waterton.

Here are links to some related stories, starting with Richard Orange‘s recent article on his own experience with the ABF study association:

• Why Sweden should protect its fantastic popular education organisations

Budget cuts to folkbildning

• Sweden still ‘a land of possibilities’ for foreigners says finance minister

School segregation 

• LISTEN: How can Sweden make its schools less segregated?
• ARCHIVE: What’s behind the rising inequality in Sweden’s schools, and can it be fixed?

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In this week's episode: Foxtrot leader reportedly arrested in Iran, Swedish reaction to Israel-Hamsas war, and lots of reaction to Sweden's new pay threshold for work permits. 

Host Paul O’Mahony is joined by The Local’s James Savage and Becky Waterton, and this week’s guest, Sweden’s former education minister Anna Ekström, who also has a background as a labour law lawyer.  

Here are links to some of the stories we discuss this week:

Gang crime

• How likely is it that Iran hands over Swedish gang leader Rawa Majid?

Israel-Hamas war

• Malmö mayor slams celebrations of attack on Israel
• Foreign ministry to evacuate Swedes from Israel and Palestine

Work permits

• ‘We’re losing the life we built in Sweden’: Work permit holders dread uncertain future
• All The Local’s latest work permit stories

Listeners in Sweden seeking support about mental health about can contact mental health awareness organization Mind or call Sweden’s national health hotline 1177 for help in English.

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