The Agora

The long, hot Greek summer is underway. But will it be like the summers we have grown to love or will Covid-19 get in the way again?

The Agora podcast is back: Co-hosts Nick Malkoutzis and Phoebe Fronista launch the third season by trying to find out whether Greece has cause to feel optimistic this summer.

Phoebe speaks to the manager of a private beach in southern Athens to find out if the customers are returning and how his business is coping with another summer blighted by the pandemic.

Nick speaks to MacroPolis co-founder Yiannis Mouzakis about the broader picture for Greece, looking at the expectations not just for the tourism sector, but for the economy as a whole, especially now that EU recovery funds are on the way. 

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Greece has been grappling with the coronavirus for just over a year, sometimes with success but other times less convincingly.

As Greece went past 10,000 Covid-related deaths and prepares to reach 3 million vaccinations this week, The Agora looks back at what's gone right and wrong since Covid-19 first emerged.

Nick Malkoutzis speaks to MacroPolis co-founder Yiannis Mouzakis and features editor Georgia Nakou about the policies adopted since last year to combat the pandemic, but also why Greece is coming out of lockdown now and how the vaccination scheme is going.

Phoebe Fronista spends time with health correspondent Maria-Niki Georganta to discuss what stood out from Greece's experience with the virus.

Phoebe also speaks to Dr Mata Tsikrika, the first woman to be elected president of Greece's pulmonologists, who works at a Covid hospital in Athens. They talk about what life has been like for Greek frontline workers since last year and the excruciating decisions faced by doctors and nurses.

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The behaviour of the Greek police has come under scrutiny, again, following a number of incidents over which officers have been accused of using unnecessary and excessive force.

In this episode, we take a look at why police tactics have triggered public protests, what ails the force and how it can be fixed.

MacroPolis features editor Georgia Nakou speaks to co-host Phoebe Fronista about recent events and what kind of political reactions they have stirred.

Photojournalists Louisa Gouliamaki and Nikos Palaiologos describe their experiences with the police at street level while covering demonstrations.

Finally, Pavlos Eleftheriadis, a professor of Public Law at Oxford University who has also dabbled in Greek politics, explains why he thinks the police's problems mirror those in other parts of the public administration and how some, but not others, are being addressed by the government.

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Greece is celebrating the 200th anniversary of its war of independence, which began in 1821 and allowed Greeks to free themselves of Ottoman rule and oppression, and form their own nation-state.

To mark this occasion, we spoke to Sakis Gekas, the Hellenic Heritage Foundation (HHF) Chair of Modern Greek History at York University in Canada. He told The Agora about where the Greek revolution stands in an international context as well as some of the broader themes to emerge from the momentous events two centuries ago.

We have avoided going into historical detail because this is well served by various documentaries, online events and other podcasts that are currently available. One of those is "The idea of Greece", a seven-part podcast produced by the HHF's History Committee and in which Professor Gekas was involved.

For the second half of this episode, we try to move the conversation forward by talking to Kathimerini columnist Nikos Konstandaras about the Greek revolution's legacy, where Greece stands today and what its future might hold.

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On this episode of The Agora, we check in with the Greek economy again to see how it is performing under the pressure of the coronavirus.

MacroPolis co-founder Yiannis Mouzakis and the site's economics editor Marcus Bensasson explain what the latest GDP figures mean, what sectors of the economy are suffering and how important the upcoming tourism season will be.

We also take a closer look at a Greek export that is thriving despite the pandemic - wine. Co-host Phoebe Fronista sat down with Markus Stolz, a German based in Athens who has been making a success of exporting local products to the USA.

Markus describes what prompted him to leave the world of finance and focus his efforts on making Greek grape varieties popular abroad. He also explains why Covid-19 has not put the brakes on his business.

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Greece is in the grip of a steady stream of claims about sexual harassment, assault and abuse allegedly carried out by men in positions of power.

In this episode of The Agora podcast, hosts Nick Malkoutzis and Phoebe Fronista speak to a range of women about this developing story.

New York Times correspondent Niki Kitsantonis explains how the #MeToo developments began and why they are becoming more complex, and political, as time goes on.

Also, actress Amalia Kavali - from hit Greek TV show Agries Melisses - and dancer Katerina Foti, members of a new initiative called Women in Arts (WOM.A) whose goal is to combat gender discrimination, explain what #MeToo means for them and women in their field.

Finally, Dr Elli Siapkidou, an expert on gender issues, discusses what obstacles Greek women face, what advances have been made and what more needs to be done.

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For the last episode of The Agora podcast in 2020, we examine how Brexit may affect Greece's relationship with the UK.

Naturally, we look at what the UK's departure from the EU means for trade and bilateral relations, but we also delve into the impact on studying and living in the UK.

Hosts Nick Malkoutzis and Phoebe Fronista spoke to Nikos Skoutaris, an associate professor in EU law at the University of East Anglia, about all these issues, as well as his Christmas turkey.

Our second guest, writer Alex Kemp discusses how he left London to discover Greece, its customs, culture and people - all of which he's captured in his book "Here is Greece."

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On a sunny October morning this year, thousands of people crowded outside an Athens courthouse to hear the landmark verdict in the trial of NeoNazi Golden Dawn.

It brought the party's rapid rise during the Greek economic crisis to a halt but did not necessarily signal the end of the far-right's presence in Greece.

Now that some of the dust from the lengthy court proceedings has settled, The Agora co-host Phoebe Fronista speaks to Ioanna Meitani, part of the Golden Dawn Watch team that covered the trial from inside the courtroom, about the historic process.

Also, Nick Malkoutzis speaks to Professor Daphne Halikopoulou from the University of Reading, an expert in the far-right, looks at the bigger picture and explains how Golden Dawn gained such a following and what might happen now that the party is out of the picture.

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Greece has submitted its plans, outlining how it will use the money from the EU Recovery and Resilience Fund (RRF).

The funds that will be pumped into Greece over the coming years should help boost the economy in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic. But the Greek government also sees this money as vital to transforming the economy and the country's infrastructure.

Investment in the green and digital transition are at the top of Greece's list, with these two areas set to receive more than 50 pct of the EU grants available to Athens.

Hosts Nick Malkoutzis and Phoebe Fronista spoke to MacroPolis feature editor Georgia Nakou and WWF economist Olivier Vardakoulias to discuss how much of an impact this money can make and what kind of obstacles Greece could face.

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Over the last few weeks, Greece has not just seen more worrying data on the Covid-19 front, but the forecasts for its economy have also been worsening.

Nick Malkoutzis and Phoebe Fronista discuss where things have gone wrong this year for the Greek economy, particularly in the tourism sector. They hear from a tour operator and hotel owner, who explains why 2020 has been a disaster.

MacroPolis co-founder Yiannis Mouzakis and business reporter Omaira Gill look at this year's numbers and what we can expect in 2021.

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