The Danish Connection

This week on The Danish Connection:

We talk about the crisis at Rigshospitalet, Denmark’s only liver transplant centre, after three surgeons were fired following a dispute with management, leaving just one surgeon qualified to perform the hospital’s 182 annual pancreatic cancer operations. We look at the warning letters from nurses and anaesthetists and why the Danish Health Authority and Cancer Society are demanding answers.

We cover the growing backlash on Amager, where plans for a new data centre on a 40,000-square-metre plot sold to Dutch firm Penta Infras has residents worried about noise, water use and an area they thought would stay green. We place it in the context of a wider European revolt against data centres, and discuss the worrying aspects of the AI infrastructure boom.

We mark the end of an era as the government confirms it won’t seek an EU exemption to keep Danish mink farming alive, five years after the 2020 cull that wiped out 15 million animals — meaning the last seven farms and 15,000 mink left must close by 2029.

On a lighter note, we discuss Denmark's growing wine culture and take you on a trip to a vineyard on South Funen, where a warm, dry summer has set the stage for what could be a record wine harvest. Is Denmark actually becoming a wine country?!

As always you can find us on Spotify, Apple Podcasts or by simply clicking the link in bio. Remember - this is your place to share enquiries, opinions and tales of the immigrant experience in Denmark - and we want to hear from you.

Pop us a DM on Instagram or via email [email protected] and let us know if you have a story you would like to contribute. If you liked this episode and think it would be useful for someone you know - please share it with them!

This week on The Danish Connection:

We break down a new plan to roll out stun guns across police districts after a two-year trial, alongside a nearly 800-million-kroner funding boost from 2027 to expand the police and PET. We look at how the trial went, the human rights concerns already raised and how the new approach compares to police forces across Europe.

We unpack Denmark’s biggest-ever data breach, after personal records belonging to roughly 8.8 million people in the CPR register, including deceased and former residents, were accessed through a two-person IT company whose admin accounts were secured with the password “123456.” We trace how the hacker reached out directly to Politiken and what they claim their motives were.

Finally, we discuss a new Climate Atlas report warning that Danish waters are on track to resemble the Mediterranean, with marine heat waves potentially hitting every other day by the end of the century. We look at the disappearance of cod from Danish waters and the invasive species moving in to replace it.

As always, you can find us on Spotify, Apple Podcasts or by simply clicking the link in bio. Remember - this is your place to share enquiries, opinions and tales of the immigrant experience in Denmark - and we want to hear from you.

Pop us a DM on Instagram or via email [email protected] and let us know if you have a story you would like to contribute. If you liked this episode and think it would be useful for someone you know - please share it with them!

his week on The Danish Connection:

We break down the new US-Denmark-Greenland security agreement, signed on September 22nd after nearly two years of escalating tension over Trump's repeated interest in controlling Greenland. We look at what's actually in the deal and how it compares to the original 1951 agreement it updates.

We talk about the tragic case of a man setting himself on fire inside SIRI's Citizen Centre in Valby, which has gone largely unreported. We talk about what SIRI and the Danish Immigration Service actually do, how people mix the two up, and why the pressure of waiting on a permit is something that a lot of immigrants struggle with in Denmark.

Plus, Maria Pagola is back with the next installment of Denmark's unwritten rules. This week she's talking about....trust.

As always you can find us on Spotify, Apple Podcasts or by simply clicking the link in bio.

Remember - this is your place to share enquiries, opinions and tales of the immigrant experience in Denmark - and we want to hear from you. Pop us a DM on Instagram or via email [email protected] and let us know if you have a story you would like to contribute. If you liked this episode and think it would be useful for someone you know - please share it with them!

This week on The Danish Connection:

We discuss another scandal unfolding for The European Sperm Bank, with new revelations confirming that banks have been blowing past the legal family limit by as much as four times, while the national regulatory authority responsible for monitoring the banks cannot confirm that family limit checks have ever actually been conducted.

We also look at Denmark's new crackdown on Airbnb speculation, as the government moves to fine "shadow hotel" operators up to 100,000 kroner per apartment and force platforms like Airbnb and Booking.com to hand over rental data.

We unpack the governments plan for a total ban on mobile phones and private screens in Danish primary and lower secondary schools, announced days after Denmark posted its worst-ever PISA results. We ask whether phones are really the problem, or whether Denmark's strong emphasis on digital classrooms, teacher shortages in schools,and years of school reform are the bigger story.

As always you can find us on Spotify, Apple Podcasts or by simply clicking the link in bio. Remember - this is your place to share enquiries, opinions and tales of the immigrant experience in Denmark - and we want to hear from you.

Pop us a DM on Instagram or via email [email protected] and let us know if you have a story you would like to contribute. If you liked this episode and think it would be useful for someone you know - please share it with them!

This week on The Danish Connection: We unpack the long-awaited "spiral case" reports into decades of non-consensual IUD insertions on Greenlandic women and girls — and why the international expert panel split into two conflicting conclusions on whether it amounted to genocide.

We discuss PET's warning that Russia has drawn up concrete sabotage plans targeting Denmark, including companies tied to military aid for Ukraine, and what this reveals about the scale of the threat facing Danish defence infrastructure.

We talk about the farmers who drove 300 tractors into Copenhagen last week to protest the new nitrogen regulation law, L5, which just passed with a large majority in the Folketing.

Plus: Maria Pagola is back with another season of Stories from the Streets. This time she is uncovering "De uskrevne regler," the unwritten rules of Danish life - the things that nobody tells you about, but everybody is expected to know. Rule number one is.....Silence.

As always you can find us on Spotify, Apple Podcasts or by simply clicking the link in bio. Remember - this is your place to share enquiries, opinions and tales of the immigrant experience in Denmark - and we want to hear from you. Pop us a DM on Instagram or via email [email protected] and let us know if you have a story you would like to contribute. If you liked this episode and think it would be useful for someone you know - please share it with them!

This week on The Danish Connection:

We unpack Denmark's quiet but significant shift on Ukrainian refugees, as men of military age arriving after June 25th will no longer automatically qualify for protection under the special law introduced in 2022. We look at the EU-wide pressure behind the change, and the uncomfortable reality awaiting men sent back: from forced "busification" to documented violence against draft evaders.

We discuss Inger Støjberg and Danmarksdemokraterne's package of 15 proposals targeting what the party calls "Islamic dominance culture" in Danish upper-secondary schools, which includes banning puffer jackets, fasting and headscarves to a proposed 25% ceiling on students with a non-Western background. We talk about how the debate connects to the Islamist group Hizb ut-Tahrir's recent outreach to young Muslims, and unpack who Støjberg is, including her conviction by Denmark's Court of Impeachment.

Plus, we give a shout out to a volunteer-run Copenhagen choir made up of 19 nationalities, who took home a win at the World Choir Games this month.

As always you can find us on Spotify, Apple Podcasts or by simply clicking the link in bio. Remember - this is your place to share enquiries, opinions and tales of the immigrant experience in Denmark - and we want to hear from you.

Pop us a DM on Instagram or via email ⁠[email protected]⁠ and let us know if you have a story you would like to contribute. If you liked this episode and think it would be useful for someone you know - please share it with them!

This week on The Danish Connection:

We unpack Denmark's quiet but significant shift on Ukrainian refugees, as men of military age arriving after June 25th will no longer automatically qualify for protection under the special law introduced in 2022. We look at the EU-wide pressure behind the change, and the uncomfortable reality awaiting men sent back: from forced "busification" to documented violence against draft evaders.

We discuss Inger Støjberg and Danmarksdemokraterne's package of 15 proposals targeting what the party calls "Islamic dominance culture" in Danish upper-secondary schools, which includes banning puffer jackets, fasting and headscarves to a proposed 25% ceiling on students with a non-Western background. We talk about how the debate connects to the Islamist group Hizb ut-Tahrir's recent outreach to young Muslims, and unpack who Støjberg is, including her conviction by Denmark's Court of Impeachment.

Plus, we give a shout out to a volunteer-run Copenhagen choir made up of 19 nationalities, who took home a win at the World Choir Games this month.

As always you can find us on Spotify, Apple Podcasts or by simply clicking the link in bio. Remember - this is your place to share enquiries, opinions and tales of the immigrant experience in Denmark - and we want to hear from you.

Pop us a DM on Instagram or via email [email protected] and let us know if you have a story you would like to contribute. If you liked this episode and think it would be useful for someone you know - please share it with them!

This week on The Danish Connection:

We break down Wednesday's heated Folketing debate triggered by Spain's Ceuta crisis, where Mette Frederiksen, Morten Bødskov and Nicolai Wammen faced nearly three hours of questioning from the blue bloc. With calls to suspend Spain from Schengen to old grudges emerging over the handling of the refugee crisis in 2015, we discuss whether this was a genuine crisis management meeting or a piece of political theatre. We also break down the recent social media collaboration between Italy's Meloni and Mette Frederiksen.

We also dive into Copenhagen Pride 2026 and dive into the history of Pride in Denmark, which traces its roots back to Stonewall and Denmark's own 1971 demonstrations. We discuss the return of major sponsors like Danske Bank, Google and LEGO after 2024's sponsorship exodus over Gaza. We also unpack what it really means for a company to sponsor Pride, and where the line sits between solidarity and "pinkwashing."

We cover Denmark's growing wolf controversy, after a "problem wolf" that had been unsettling residents in West Jutland, including incidents involving children in Nørre Nebel and a runner near Bunken Klitplantage, was tracked down using thermal drones and shot dead near Vestjylland.

As always you can find us on Spotify, Apple Podcasts or by simply clicking the link in bio. Remember - this is your place to share enquiries, opinions and tales of the immigrant experience in Denmark - and we want to hear from you. Pop us a DM on Instagram or via email [email protected] and let us know if you have a story you would like to contribute. If you liked this episode and think it would be useful for someone you know - please share it with them!

We look into SAS's massive expansion plans as demand increases and the green aviation agenda dwindles, while the airline industry's own leaders call climate neutrality targets "a castle in the air." We discuss how travel is changing and what impact transport is having on the environment.

We unpack the arrest of three Danish teenage boys, aged 15 and 16, charged under Denmark's terrorism law over an alleged plot to attack Hadsten School near Aarhus with knives and bombs. We look at PET's warnings about a growing, hard-to-categorise wave of online youth radicalisation and the questions still remaining over why this particular school was chosen.

We discuss the recent migration incident in Ceuta and PM Mette Frederiksen's threat to suspend Schengen agreements with Spain as tensions rise among EU member states.

As always you can find us on Spotify, Apple Podcasts or by simply clicking the link in bio. Remember - this is your place to share enquiries, opinions and tales of the immigrant experience in Denmark - and we want to hear from you.

Pop us a DM on Instagram or via email [email protected] and let us know if you have a story you would like to contribute. If you liked this episode and think it would be useful for someone you know - please share it with them!

This week on The Danish Connection:

We unpack our experience at Roskilde and discuss some of the stories making the headlines this week in relation to the festival, including hidden cameras in areas where women were urinating, sexual assaults and trash issues. 

We discuss the fatal assault at a public World Cup screening at Islands Brygge, which resulted in the death of a Swedish man. We talk about how the assault has reignited debates around crime and immigration and unpack the Prime Minister’s social media post about the incident.

We talk about a new report highlighting the growing number of Denmark’s midwives leaving the profession just a few years after qualifying, raising questions about burnout, working conditions and how long the system can sustain itself. We unpack the latest figures, the human stories behind them and what it means for the future of maternity care in Denmark.

Finally, we discuss the Danish parliament’s decision to introduce a chaplain service for politicians and staff and what its says about the relationship between church and state in Denmark today.

As always you can find us on Spotify, Apple Podcasts or by simply clicking the link in bio.

Remember - this is your place to share enquiries, opinions and tales of the immigrant experience in Denmark - and we want to hear from you. Pop us a DM on Instagram or via email [email protected] and let us know if you have a story you would like to contribute.

If you liked this episode and think it would be useful for someone you know - please share it with them!