In the latest episode of our Sweden in Focus podcast, host Paul O’Mahony is joined by panelists James Savage, Becky Waterton and Richard Orange.  This week we’re talking about why the Swedish state may soon find itself in court over its alleged climate inaction.  Swedish court to hear young people’s climate lawsuit against the state After our chat with crime reporter Diamant Salihu a few weeks ago we go deeper on Swedish gangster rap and look at how close some of its most successful practitioners are to the gang violence they depict.  ‘Supply ..read more

In the latest episode of our Sweden in Focus podcast, host Paul O’Mahony is joined by panelists Becky Waterton and Richard Orange.  In this week’s episode we discuss how the fallout from the recent banking sector turmoil might affect savers in Sweden.  How safe is your money in a Swedish bank account? What’s going on with Nato? Are Hungary and Turkey are going to let Finland and Sweden in? ‘Increased chance that Finland joins NATO before Sweden’: PM Is it time to dispense with ‘de’ and ‘dem’ in written Swedish and instead embrace ‘dom’?  DE/DE ..read more

In this special bonus episode of the Sweden in Focus podcast, we hear more from our guest Jonathan Leman, a researcher with the Expo Foundation, which monitors and exposes far-right extremism in Sweden.  Host Paul O’Mahony is also joined by panelists James Savage, Becky Waterton and Emma Löfgren. In this episode we continue our chat about the far-right Sweden Democrats' interactions with the more extreme fringe of the nationalist movement.  We discuss the Sweden Democrats' increasing climate scepticism and their intervention to block LGBTQ cultural events. We also talk about the p ..read more

In the latest episode of our Sweden in Focus podcast, host Paul O’Mahony is joined by guest Jonathan Leman from the Expo Foundation, as well as panelists Becky Waterton, Emma Löfgren and James Savage.  In this week’s episode we discuss why two lay judges (nämndemän) resigned after a highly controversial court ruling that hinged on an interpretation of the word snippa. How Sweden's lay judge system works With tax declaration season soon upon us we’ll provide some handy tips to get you through it. KEY DATES: The deadlines you need to know for Swedish tax season Nine key things you ne ..read more

In the second part of the interview, host Paul O’Mahony asks Ukraine's ambassador to Sweden, Andrii Plakhotniuk, about how the war has changed the focus of his job as ambassador, what Sweden is doing to facilitate Ukraine’s EU accession talks, how the invasion has affected Ukraine’s Swedish-speaking village Gammalsvenskby, and how Swedish humanitarian aid can help rebuild Ukraine.  DON'T MISS: The Ambassadors: Swedish-Ukrainian relations 'getting stronger every day' How has war changed life for Ukraine’s Swedish-speaking village? EXPLAINED: These are the weapons Sweden is sending to Uk ..read more

In the latest episode of our Sweden in Focus podcast, host Paul O’Mahony is joined by panelists Becky Waterton and Loukas Christodoulou.  This week we talk about why children get a week off school at this time of the year. Swedish word of the day: sportlov We look at why Turkey has softened its stance on Sweden’s Nato application. ‘A welcome message’: Turkey open for new Nato talks with Sweden After a government press conference last week, we examine what progress Sweden is making on work permit reform. NEW: Sweden to hike work permit salary threshold in two stages EXPLAINED: H ..read more

In this special bonus episode of our Sweden in Focus podcast, we hear more from our guest Peter Gerlach, an economist with the Swedish Trade Union Confederation, LO.  Host Paul O’Mahony is also joined by panelists James Savage, Richard Orange and Emma Löfgren. In this episode we continue our chat about the state of Sweden's economy after an EU Commission reporter put the country at the bottom of the class.  We discuss Sweden's upcoming round of wage negotiations, predictions that Sweden is facing a mild recession and what that will entail, how to tackle high energy prices and risin ..read more

In the latest episode of our Sweden in Focus podcast, host Paul O’Mahony is joined by panelists James Savage, Richard Orange and Emma Löfgren. Our guest this week is Peter Gerlach, an economist with the Swedish Trade Union Confederation (LO). We kick off with a chat about the Migration Agency and why the government has decided it wants to replace Mikael Ribbenvik, who has headed the agency for the last seven years.  Head of Sweden's criticised Migration Agency forced out after seven years Then we delve into a story that has had observers scratching their heads for the past couple of ..read more

In the latest episode of our Sweden in Focus podcast, host Paul O’Mahony is joined by panelists James Savage, Richard Orange and Emma Löfgren. The episode also features interviews with Britain's ambassador to Sweden Judith Gough and Becky Waterton meets Sweden's migration minister Maria Malmer Stenergard. First, we talk about why Sweden is warning of an increased terror threat.  Three things we know about the terror threat in Sweden Then we look at a great Swedish word that describes life in Sweden at this time of the year. Swedish word of the day: oxveckorna We chat with the UK ..read more

In this special bonus episode of our Sweden in Focus podcast, we hear more from special guest Diamant Salihu, a crime reporter for public broadcaster SVT and the author of the award-winning book Tills Alla Dör, or Until Everyone's Dead. Host Paul O’Mahony is also joined by panelists James Savage, Richard Orange and Becky Waterton. In this episode we continue our chat about Sweden's gang crime problem.  We discuss the central role of social media and gangster rap, how gangs are recruiting young children, why a younger generation suddenly finds itself in charge, why there are so many dru ..read more