Hooray for normalised boredom!

This week, we’re attempting to solve some tricky problems. How can the EU tackle the ballooning housing crisis? Can we revive a cinema industry on death’s door? And how on earth can we get bureaucrats to communicate like human people in order to really, truly get something done? We’re unpacking plans for a new Affordable Housing Act and Macron’s attempt to save le cinéma, and we’re also getting an exclusive from the EU’s Directorate General of Memes, Satire, and Sober Fun, a.k.a. Fabio Mauri, the meme-maker who loves nothing more than to poke fun at Europe’s policymakers on Twitter and Instagram. You’ll laugh, you’ll cry, et cetera.

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This week’s Inspiration Station recommendations are the participatory art performance Make Noise taking place in Amsterdam this weekend (with thanks to the Belarusian poet Hanna Komar for calling it to our attention) and the European Citizens’ Initiative Right to Housing! Now and Forever.

Resources for this episode:

• “Macron rallies to save the movies, imperiled by free platforms and generative AI” – Le Monde, 9 September 2026
• “French Box Office Surges Nearly 20% in First Half of 2026 as Local Films and Hollywood Hits Drive Recovery” – Variety, 10 July 2026
• “Malgré une année en demi-teinte avec près de 157 millions d’entrées dans ses salles de cinéma, la France demeure largement le premier marché européen” – Centre national du cinéma et de l'image animée, 30 December 2025
• “The European Affordable Housing Plan” – The European Commission
• “Affordable Housing Act: European hosts need legal certainty too” – Airbnb, 9 September 2026
• Katz Laszlo’s reporting on Europe’s housing policies from our mini-series “Who Does It Best?”
• “Swimming pigs draw tourists to Greek island” – France 24, 11 September 2026
• Adorable swimming piglets via @trident_boats

Co-hosts: Katy Lee and Dominic Kraemer

Producers: Katy Lee and Morgan Childs

Mixing and mastering: Wojciech Oleksiak

Music: Jim Barne and Mariska Martina

Intern: Inês Ruivo

The Europeans is proudly produced using Europe’s own Hindenburg.

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