Where are the Zohran Mamdanis of Europe?

A few weeks back, we asked you to weigh in on a question that’s been on our mind a lot lately: Who are the Zohran Mamdanis of Europe, and when, pray tell, are they going to give our beloved, ailing continent a much-needed shake-up? As it turns out, that’s a complicated question. This week’s guest, Brussels-based journalist Dave Keating, says that the decks are stacked against insurgent outsiders like the New York mayor – yet we need them more than ever. We had a long-overdue chat with Dave about what might be preventing a charismatic, insurgent figure on the left from taking off in the EU, and we also talked about a few of the leaders you wrote in to share with us. (Of course, keep us posted of any changemakers cropping up in your country at hello@europeanspodcast.com .) We’re also talking about a controversial new law in Germany introducing voluntary military service in the country for men under the age of 45. We recorded this segment a few hours before the news that young men will not have to seek permission for long stints abroad after all; you can read updated reporting here . We also unpack Netflix’s failed legal challenge to EU regulations that led to a flood of funding for European TV and film production. A burning question has now been answered: yes, the US streaming giant really does have to set aside a decent budget for francophone Belgian content. This week’s Inspiration Station recommendations are the viral videos emerging from Zara Larsson’s tour and Juhani Karila’s book Summer Fishing in Lapland , brought to our attention by listener Monika. Resources for this episode: Dave Keating’s website Dave’s book The Owned Continent UK Green Party leader Zack Polanski on the BBC’s Political Thinking “Why a legal challenge by Netflix and Disney in Belgium could have huge implications for European producers” - Screen Daily, 14 May 2025 “Forget Netflix — YouTube is our main rival, top French broadcaster says” - Politico Europe, 3 April 2026 “Reading for a star: Meet the Portuguese teenager influencer helping kids to pick up books” - Euronews, 18 March 2026 Can’t get enough of us? Of course you can’t! For more of The Europeans,

You can listen to Where are the Zohran Mamdanis of Europe? online on Radio and Podcast. Open the player on this page to stream the available audio.

Where are the Zohran Mamdanis of Europe? is an episode from The Europeans by Katy Lee and Dominic Kraemer.

This episode is 01:08:35 long.

This episode was published on Apr 9, 2026.

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