How to keep going when the world feels broken

This week, we wanted to ask a question that has been in our hearts and on our minds for years: Is it possible to try to make positive change in the world, and still stay healthy and sane? Dutch writer, political philosopher, and “recovering diplomat” Nori Spauwen believes that the answer is yes – even if it’s not always easy to strike the right balance. We chatted with Nori about “healthy” activism and training yourself to feel empowered in response to difficult news. If you’ve been overwhelmed lately (has anyone not?), this is a conversation for you.

 

Also in this week’s episode: a successful European Citizens’ Initiative that will make it easier for European women to procure abortion across borders, and a very Bad Week for Greece’s former finance minister-turned-public intellectual Yanis Varoufakis stemming from a Kylie Minogue concert 36 years ago.

 

Resources for this episode:

 

• Re: Iranians in Europe (documentary)
• My Voice My Choice on Instagram (a masterclass in how to run an online campaign in 2026)
• How to launch a European Citizens’ Initiative 
• Our episode from August 2025 in which Wojciech discusses the Stop Destroying Videogames Europeans Citizens’ Initiative
• Nori’s website
• Her book, Actie! (in Dutch)
• Her podcast, Verzetje (also in Dutch)
• The European Little Owl 

 

This week’s Inspiration Station recommendations are this video recipe for Mezrab soup and Die Erweiterung by Robert Menasse.

 

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This podcast was brought to you in cooperation with Euranet Plus, the leading radio network for EU news. But it’s contributions from listeners that truly make it all possible—we could not continue to make the show without you! If you like what we do, you can chip in to help us cover our production costs at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠patreon.com/europeanspodcast⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ (in many different currencies), or you can gift a donation to a superfan. We'd also love it if you could tell two friends about this podcast. We think two feels like a reasonable number. Produced by Katz Laszlo and Wojciech Oleksiak Mixing and mastering by Wojciech Oleksiak Music by Jim Barne and Mariska Martina Record scratch sound effect by luffy via freesound.org

 

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