POLITICO's EU Confidential

Helle Thorning Schmidt, the former Danish PM who's now head of Save the Children International, is our main guest. Host Ryan Heath asks her about tackling populism and who should lead Europe. Ryan also talks to Jaume Duch, who runs communications for the European Parliament and is in charge of spending a whopping €30m to tell people about next year's election. And our podcast panel debates the rights and wrongs of denying the right to dock to the Aquarius, the ship carrying 629 migrants rescued from the Mediterranean.

A blockbuster episode, our 50th, in which three guests from the world of NGOs talk about the joys of their work and their frustrations at dealing with the EU and national governments. Our first 50 episodes featured nine current national leaders, eight European commissioners and lots of other senior politicians: now it’s time to hear from the other side. Jana Hainsworth is the president of Social Platform, a network of 170 NGOs, and secretary-general of one of its members, Eurochild; Patrick Gaspard is the president of the Open Society Foundations, founded by George Soros; and Evelyne Paradis runs ILGA Europe, an LGBTI advocacy group. Also this week, our podcast panel discusses a new generation of politicians who’ve brought the average age of EU leaders under 50 for the first time.

Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon talks to host Ryan Heath in an interview recorded in front of an audience at POLITICO's Brussels HQ. Sturgeon shares her views on Brexit, the chances of Britain remaining in a customs union with the EU, and another Scottish independence vote. Our podcast panel discusses a Ukraine WTF — the faked murder of a journalist — and looks back on the Irish referendum that gave women the right to choose an abortion.

It’s a tech special this week — but you don’t have to be a geek to understand any of it. Host Ryan Heath talks to Tristan Harris, who spent three years as a design ethicist at Google and has been called “the closest thing Silicon Valley has to a conscience.” He’s the co-founder of the Center for Humane Technology, an organization with a bold mission: “to stop technology hijacking our minds.” Ryan also speaks to Paul Jordan of the International Association of Privacy Professionals about Europe’s new blockbuster data privacy regulation, the GDPR. Paul explains what all those messages clogging up our inboxes mean for governments, companies and individuals. Switching from tech fact to tech fiction, Ryan chats to Giuseppe Porcaro, author of a new book, Disco Sour, which presents a dystopian view of the future where politics is governed by a Tinder-style app. And our podcast panelists, Lina Aburous and Alva Finn, debate the big event in Brussels this week: Mark Zuckerberg’s appearance at the European Parliament — and how what should have been an EU Thumbs Up turned into an EU WTF. We also talk about a physical attack on a Greek mayor and the embellished CV of Italy’s likely new prime minister.

We dive right in with two interviews — the first with the EU’s coordinator for combatting anti-Semitism, Katharina von Schnurbein. Then we speak to Martina Larkin, who is heading up a World Economic Forum initiative to support the Balkans. And the podcast panel discusses Europe’s black population and how the Continent is seen from afar.

Host Ryan Heath talks to author Vincent Stuer about his new book, Curb Your Idealism: The European Union as seen from within. Ryan also chats to Luca Jahier, the new president of the European Economic and Social Committee, who says it's time to rediscover passion for Europe. In the final part of the podcast, which contains some strong language (originally used by politicians), Ailbhe Finn and Carmen Paun join Ryan to discuss topics as diverse as the dangers of hot mics and menus that prompt serious self-examination.

Ryan Heath hits the road with Europe’s Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager — darling of Emmanuel Macron and foe of tax cheats and tech giants — to learn about how one Belgian city went from wasteland to strength in diversity. Sound like a campaign trip? Listen to find out how Vestager is handling the pressure to run to be European Commission president in 2019. She talks to EU Confidential about the 2019 election, her political heroes, how she thinks rule of law can be delivered across Europe, and why she never likes to be told what to do. POLITICO’s EU budget reporter Lili Bayer analyzes the newly proposed €1.28 trillion blueprint for 2021-2027. We discuss the winners and losers, and whether the European Commission’s plan to cut funds to countries like Hungary and Poland (if they fail to uphold rule of law to EU standards) has any chance at all of becoming a reality. We’ll also hear from our Brussels Brains Trust — this week it’s Alva Finn and Carmen Paun in the hot seat, debating Holocaust rappers, Daily Mail hypocrisy and the Michelle Wolf/Sarah Sanders furore. And we give a thumbs up to new EU whistleblower protection plans.

Spencer Dale, the former chief economist at the Bank of England who now holds the same position at energy giant BP, is our main guest this week. He looks into Europe’s energy future and discusses the dangers of groupthink in both his current and former jobs. To set the scene, POLITICO reporter Kalina Oroschakoff sketches out the controversies around the EU's energy policies. Ryan Heath hosts the podcast from Washington and links up with regular panelists, Lina Aburous and Alva Finn, to talk about Emmanuel Macron’s visit to the U.S. capital, the political theater over a speck of dandruff, Britain’s migration bungles, and a heartwarming story that links Europe and Australia. We also have — for a change — a positive Dear POLITICO dilemma.

Cécile Kyenge, one of the few black members of the European Parliament, talks to Ryan Heath about the obstacles and abuse she’s faced in her career — and what she wants the EU institutions to do to foster more diversity in their ranks. We also talk to our regular podcast panelists, Lina Aburous and Ailbhe Finn, about Emmanuel Macron’s big moment at the European Parliament, the European Commission giving the green light for membership talks to two more countries and the EU’s role (or lack of it) in the Syrian crisis. And to kick off the podcast, POLITICO reporter Ginger Hervey gives us the inside story on her investigation into sexual harassment at one of the last places you would expect to find it — the EU’s gender equality agency. You can read that story here: https://www.politico.eu/article/sexual-harassment-eu-gender-equality-agency/

Kati Marton, a veteran reporter and author now with the Committee to Protect Journalists, talks to host Ryan Heath about how the reelection of Victor Orbán in Hungary will impact media freedom in Europe. Jan Philipp Albrecht, also known as Mr. Data Protection for his role in the GDPR legislation being enacted in May, chats to Ryan about his work in Parliament. Albrecht also tells us about the dream job he is set to begin soon. The Brussels brains trust, Ailbhe Finn and Lina Aburous, is shell-shocked by a story of sexual harassment in the most unexpected EU institution. They also tackle comments by the U.K.'s Brexit minister David Davis.

Bill Gates, the Microsoft founder and philanthropist, is this week’s main guest. He talks to Ryan Heath about the work of his foundations, the next EU budget and the Oxfam scandal. And we talk to Politico health reporter Carmen Paun about how Gates has shaken up the world of public health — not without criticism. In our Dear Politico advice session, we hear from an assistant to a member of the European Parliament, who says their MEP is using their job to get trips to exotic locations at taxpayers’ expense. We also say EU WTF! about an Italian mayor’s plan to host a Nazi re-enactment and a Greek airline’s special stopover for MEPs — and give a big EU Thumbs Up to the Iberian lynx.

With a year to go until Brexit, we take stock of where things stand and what lies ahead. The European Parliament's Brexit Coordinator, Guy Verhofstadt, talks to EU Confidential's executive producer, Andrew Gray, about the biggest Brexit challenges and how the Parliament is dealing with them. Verhofstadt talks about his plan to avoid a "Swiss nightmare" of too many post-Brexit agreements with the U.K. and warns the border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland may still prove the toughest issue to solve. We also take a peek into Brussels' British expat community to get a sense of their feelings about Brexit, expressed on-stage through the skits, songs and gags of the Brussels Press Revue. The annual show, performed mainly by Brits, has been called the "EU nerd-prom." And the "Dear Politico" advice section helps a listener facing discrimination in the Brussels bubble.

Russia, artificial intelligence and MEPs who are famous for the wrong reasons all feature in this week’s episode. Host Ryan Heath talks to the foreign minister of Lithuania, Linas Linkevičius, about how the EU should handle Moscow, following Vladimir Putin’s re-election and the Salisbury nerve agent attack. Ryan also chats with Janosch Delcker, POLITICO’s recently appointed AI correspondent. The first such correspondent at a major media outlet, Janosch talks about POLITICO’s AI Summit and how artificial intelligence and big data will change the world. Which Members of the European Parliament have made our naughty list? Ryan discusses some of his choices with regular panelists Lina Aburous and Ailbhe Finn, who choose their own favorites. They also talk over some EU WTF moments from the week. Thanks so much to the many listeners who took part in our recent survey. We’re always keen to hear your feedback — you can reach us at podcast@politico.eu.

On this episode Ryan talks to Giorgi Margvelashvili, the president of Georgia who is a doctor of philosophy and was in town for the German Marshall Fund’s Brussels Forum. Following that Michael O’Leary, the gruff CEO and founder of Ryanair, who's discovering his softer side explains why Brexit makes him disappointed and how to solve holiday delays due to air traffic control strikes. Then we’ve got a fun panel with the Brussels brains trust, covering everything from Marine Le Pen’s missteps to our MEP of the Week.

Ryan Heath talks to Marianne Thyssen, the European Commissioner for employment, about how she wants to overhaul EU policies on jobs, education and training to face up to globalization. She also talks about the surprise in the College of Commissioners when Martin Selmayr was nominated as the Commission’s new secretary-general. Lulwah Al Khater, the first female spokesperson for the Qatari ministry of foreign affairs, drops by to tell us about her job and the challenges facing her country. Highlights from the show: Women in the workplace: As we mark International Women’s Day, Thyssen discusses barriers to success for women in the workplace. “If we look into the labor market and in the progress of women, we see that everything is going fine until the moment of children and then … women are penalized in the labor market … [they] don’t have the possibility to reach their full potential in their career,” Thyssen says. Thyssen on Martin Selmayr: The commissioner describes how she felt when she found out about the appointment of the European Commission’s new secretary-general. EU WTF: Our regular Brussels brains trust panelists, Lina Aburous and Ailbhe Finn, talk about the case of a Brussels man convicted for verbal abuse of a female police officer. They also discuss the #MeToo movement. Dear Politico: The panel advises a listener about a housing scam in Brussels. MEP of the week: In this segment, the panelists dive into a box of MEPs’ names and pull out a young farmer and a few unknowns before someone earns the title MEP of the Week. We want to hear from you! Please fill out this survey so we can make EU Confidential better than ever: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/CVD7TDT