After going through a really difficult time during the country’s long economic crisis, the Greek property market is booming, but that's creating a whole new set of problems. High rental and purchase prices are pricing out much of the local population as foreign investors snap up apartments and entire buildings in pursuit of profits. Host Nick Malkoutzis is joined by Stelios Bouras, a journalist who covers real estate and other economic issues for the Business Daily, to discuss a range of issues linked to the new conditions in the housing market - rising prices, a revival of construction and th ..read more

In the wake of the Covid pandemic, the European Union launched the Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF) - a package of around 700 billion euros to help member states recover from the economic impact and build for the future. Greece's portion of these funds is considered vital for the country's efforts to overcome the effects of its long economic crisis, as well as the disruption caused by the pandemic. The Greek government dubbed its RRF-related scheme "Greece 2.0", claiming it would help transform the country. A couple of years in, how is Greece 2.0 performing? Has it had a transformative e ..read more

Phoebe and Nick are back to examine the contrasting images of Greece abroad and how they sit side by side. A few months ago, rating agencies started to restore the investment grade for Greece's sovereign debt - more than a decade after it was lost. It was a reflection of the growing confidence that markets have in the political situation, the government's policy choices and the country's prospects. However, while this has been happening, there has been growing concern about the rule of law and effectiveness of justice in Greece. There have been several debates about these issues in the Europea ..read more

In February 2023, a freight train and a train carrying dozens of passengers crashed in Tempe, central Greece, killing 57 people. A year on from Greece's deadliest train accident, many questions remain unanswered and doubts are growing about whether the truth will ever come to light regarding what caused the disaster. Opposition parties and relatives of the victims, many of whom were university students, feel that the Greek authorities are preventing a proper investigation into the incident, while also dodging their responsibility. In fact, an opinion poll (Alco) published just after this episo ..read more

Five years ago SYRIZA was in power in Greece, but it is currently languishing in third place in the opinion polls and the nascent leadership of Stefanos Kasselakis is being constantly buffeted by internal disputes. In this episode, Phoebe Fronista and Nick Malkoutzis set out how the left-wing party ended up in this uncomfortable position. Nick also speaks to MacroPolis co-founder Yiannis Mouzakis and features editor Georgia Nakou about Kasselakis's unusual approach and the recent stormy party conference, which almost resulted in another leadership contest. Useful links Kassalekis goes from bla ..read more

Phoebe Fronista and Nick Malkoutzis return after a prolonged absence to discuss what's behind Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis's political dominance in Greece and whether things are more complex than they look. Their discussion was prompted by a piece Nick wrote recently for The Agora on MacroPolis's website after listening to Mitsotakis speak at the World Economic Forum in Davos, where the Greek PM shed light on the political strategy that has helped his centre-right New Democracy party comfortably see off its opponents. As Nick and Phoebe discuss, this success cannot be separated from the ..read more

This episode of The Agora involves a departure from our normal format as we mark 10 years since MacroPolis was launched. During that time, so much has happened in Greece: The debt crisis, political turmoil, social upheaval, the migration crisis, diplomatic breakthroughs and impasses, and natural disasters. So, with the help of 10 friends and colleagues, we looked back on their most memorable moments of the last decade in Greece. Thanks to Alexandra Voudouri, Georgia Nakou, Omaira Gill, Jens Bastian, Marcus Walker, Yiannis Palaiologos, Megan Greene, Joanna Kakissis, Nikos Skoutaris and Mariange ..read more

Storm Daniel hit Greece in early September, leading to almost 20 deaths and widespread destruction, as well as recriminations about whether there had been sufficient warnings and anti-flood works. The villages and communities of Mount Pelion were among the worst affected by the extreme weather. Tourists and locals lost their lives, infrastructure was damaged, buildings were demolished and businesses had to close. To start of series 5 of The Agora, we spoke to Joel von Trapp, an American architect who has been living and working in Pelion for many years. Joel spoke to us about how the area, whi ..read more

For our final episode of the fourth series of The Agora, we take a look at what is happening just across the Aegean from Greece, where Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is back for a third term and already prompting questions about whether he is shifting his foreign policy. In the wake of the recent NATO summit, where he withdrew objections to Sweden joining the military alliance, but also seemed to gain concessions, especially in relation to the supply of F-16 jets from the USA, analysts are trying to work out what we can expect from the Turkish leader. This issue is very relevant to Gre ..read more

On the night of June 14, a fishing boat called the Adriana, packed with hundreds of migrants who had paid traffickers to get them from Libya to Italy, sank in the deep waters of the Mediterranean, about 90 kilometers southwest of the town of Pylos in the Peloponnese. It was one of the worst tragedies of its kind ever witnessed in Greece and Europe. What makes the Pylos shipwreck such a standout case, though, is that it seems this tragedy could have been avoided. A series of reports by international and local media suggest that the Greek coast guard, and possibly the EU border agency, Frontex ..read more