The Sobremesa Podcast: Recent Episodes
The Sobremesa Podcast
The Sobremesa Podcast is about modern-day Spanish society, politics and history, without the stereotypes. Every week we have an update about the ongoing current affairs in Spain. We also have interviews from the world of politics, history, academia and art.
Follow us on Twitter @sobremesacast
2026 marks the centenary of Ernest Hemingway’s novel ‘The Sun also Rises’, which brought Pamplona’s San Fermín festival international fame.
Yet beyond its place in Hemingway’s iconic novel and the yearly international news reports of tourists injured or even dying in the running of the bulls, the fiestas of San Fermín has also served as a symbolic battleground in Navarre's unresolved identity conflict. As the capital of Navarre, Pamplona sits at the intersection of two competing national projects: Basque nationalists regard the region as an inseparable part of the historic Basque homeland, while Navarrese regionalists and Spanish unionists insist on Navarre's distinct political identity and institutions. Every July, those rival visions spill into the festival through disputes over flags, language, official ceremonies and the public symbolism of the encierro.
Today on Sobremesa Podcast we look to go beyond the cliches and instagram posts generated around Sanfermin and look at its deeper cultural, historical and political significance. To do so, I am joined once again by Tulane University’s Brittany Kennedy - an expert in Basque culture.
If you like what we are producing and want to keep the podcast sustainable, please consider donating to our buy me a coffee page. The link is the show notes. Okay, I hope you enjoy my interview with Brittany.
In recent months Pedro Sánchez's government has faced the most sustained judicial offensive of its time in office. Sanchez’s wife has been ordered to stand trial for influence peddling and her passport confiscated because a right-wing judge believed she constituted a flight risk. Meanwhile the prime minister’s brother is now awaiting a verdict in a highly controversial trial for influence peddling and malfeasance that was based entirely on circumstantial evidence. At the same time, Former Socialist prime minister and key Sanchez ally, José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero has also been placed under criminal investigation - after the US Homeland Security Department supplied messages from a cloned phone that suggests he could have lobbied for a pandemic-era loan for a Venezuelan airline.
Lawfare has been a key weapon for the Spanish right in undermining Sanchez’s left-leaning administration over the last 8 years - with its use accelerating particularly after the 2023 Catalan amnesty. But the intervention of the Trump administration adds a new international dimension - with many in the Spanish media and politics believing that the questionable evidence sent by US Homeland Security against Zatatero in March was retaliation for Sanchez’s stance on the war in Iran. It was a move which has certainly killed most of Sanchez’s momentum from his growing international profile and plunged his administration into renewed crisis.
Today on Sobremesa podcast, we discuss the judicial siege that Sanchez, his government and family now find themselves under. And to do so I am joined by IE University’s Joe Haslam.
If you like what we are producing and want to help keep the podcast going, please consider donating at our buy me a coffee page. https://buymeacoffee.com/thesobremey
Let me tell you a story about Lavapiés. Spain's housing crisis has finally come for you. Your home has just been sold to a vulture fund and they want you out. What would you do? The residents at Calle Tribulete 7 came together and set out on a path of resistance, one that would transform them into a Madrid-wide symbol of the battle for housing rights. The documentary Soy Tribulete 7 (I am Tribulete 7) takes us inside the 107-year-old Lavapiés building and into the lives of an extraordinary community whose looming eviction launched the fight of their lives.
This week on Sobremesa podcast, we discuss the new documentary and the housing block behind. To do so, I am joined by the film’s co-director Leah Pattem. Leah is a photo and investigative journsalist and the founder of the blog Madrid No Frills.
Remember if you like what we are producing and want to keep the podcast sustainable going forward, please consider making a donation to our Buy me a Coffee page: https://buymeacoffee.com/thesobremeyTrailer for the documentary: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3wr1hdNO51I
Last month Madrid’s right wing regional premier Isabel Ayuso took it upon herself to travel to Mexico so as to lecture the Mexican public about their own history - as she participated in a homage to the conquistador Hernan Cortes. Proving once again her reputation as a Trumpian figure within the mainstream conservative Popular Party, she even went as far as to insist on her return to Madrid that “Mexico did not exist until the Spanish arrived.”
She and much of Spanish right have form on this. In 2021 as Pope Francis apologised for the Catholic Church’s role in the conquest of the Americas, she responded: “It surprises me that a Spanish-speaking Catholic would speak that way about a legacy like ours, which was precisely to bring Spanish—and, through the missions, Catholicism, and thus civilization and freedom—to the American continent,”
Today on Sobremesa podcast we talk about Spain’s other memory war, that is: The Spanish right’s revisionist crusade to revindicate the supposed civilizational mission associated with the conquest of the Americas. To do so I am joined by the historian Juan José Ponce Vázquez, of The University of Alabama.
Please remember if you like what we are producing, consider making a donation to our buy me a coffee page:
https://buymeacoffee.com/thesobremey
Pablo Picasso’s Guernica is probably the most well known painting of the 20th century, and has become a universal symbol of the horrors of war. But it has also been the subject of renewed controversy in recent weeks in Spain - over a yet another request by the Basque government for the painting to be displayed at least temporarily in Bilbao. The current request comes ahead of the 90th anniversary of the bombing that the painting evokes - when during the Civil War the Nazi Condor Legion unleashed a relentless aerial assault on the Basque town.
The long-running debate over moving the painting to the Basque Country centres on competing claims, with Basque sovereignists arguing that it should be displayed in the same location as the events it commemorates, against Spanish government’s insistence it remain at Museo Reina Sofía in Madrid for reasons of conservation and national heritage. Today on Sobremesa, we discuss the controversy and the relationship between the work’s power and universality and the concrete, historical atrocity inflicted on Gernika the town.
To do so Eoghan is joined by Brittany Kennnedy, Senior Professor of Practice at Tulane University’s Department of Spanish and Portuguese. Brittany is the author of Between Distant Modernities: Performing Exceptionality in Francoist Spain and the Jim Crow South.
Please remember if you like what we are producing, consider making a donation to our buy me a coffee page:
https://buymeacoffee.com/thesobremey
With the announcement from deputy prime minister Yolanda Diaz that she would not be standing as a candidate in next year’s general election, Spain’s radical left currently looks leaderless and increasingly fragmented.
In this context, attention has turned towards Gabriel Rufian as a potential new left-wing figurehead. Yet there is one major issue: Rufian, a charismatic,working class Catalan MP is also pro-independence. Indeed, eight years ago he was one of the most visible faces in the Spanish parliament representing the attempted unilateral push for Catalan independence.
Please remember if you like what we are producing, please consider making a donation to our buy me a coffee page:
https://buymeacoffee.com/thesobremey
On this episode Alan is joined by Gregorio Alonso, Associate Professor in Hispanic History at the University of Leeds. We explore the 1812 Cádiz Constitution, a landmark document born in a time of siege and upheaval.
Gregorio takes us through the tensions between liberalism and Catholicism, the shaping of Hispanidad, and how these ideas influenced Spain and the loss of its empire. This conversation uncovers how faith, freedom, and imperial identity collide in one of Spain’s most fascinating historical documents .
Please donate at to make the podcast sustainable:https://www.buymeacoffee.com/thesobremey
Hours after the United States and Israel bombed Iran on Saturday morning, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez released a statement which read: “We reject the unilateral military action of the United States and Israel that entails an escalation and contributes to a more uncertain and hostile international order...We demand immediate de-escalation and full respect for international law." He also condemned the Iranian retaliation missile and drone attacks on neighbouring Arab states.
Apart from the Norwegian foreign minister’s condemnation, Sanchez stood alone among European leaders in his willingness to call out US-Israeli aggression. Indeed as he attended the Goyas film awards on Saturday night, he told reporters: ““We are witnessing a violation of international law…Violence only produces more violence.”
To do so Eoghan is joined by Bécquer Seguín - associate professor of Hispanic Studies at John Hopkins University and who covers Spanish current affairs for the Nation Magazine. Just to note our discussion was recorded on Friday 27th of February - the day before the US-Israeli military aggression against Iran.
Please remember if you like what we are producing, please consider making a donation to our buy me a coffee page:
https://buymeacoffee.com/thesobremey
Today's guest is historian Helen Graham, who discusses her research into the brutal prison system under Francoist dictatorship. Her work shows how mass incarceration after the Spanish Civil War was only one part of a much wider system of control and surveillance — one that reached beyond prison walls into families, communities, and everyday life, shaping how millions of people experienced dictatorship.
Helen Graham is Professor Emerita of Modern European History at Royal Holloway, University of London, and the recipiant of the Walter Benjamin International Memorial Prize 2025-6. Amongst other works, she is the author of ‘The Spanish Republic at War 1936–1939’, The Spanish Civil War: A Very Short Introduction (a new edition of which is out this summer) and the forthcoming ‘After the Spanish civil war: the twentieth century through five antifascist lives’
Please remember if you like what we are producing, please consider making a donation to our buy me a coffee page:
https://buymeacoffee.com/thesobremey
Helen's essay on prisons: https://pure.royalholloway.ac.uk/en/publications/not-recognizing-the-political-analysing-francos-long-dictatorship/
Also the trailer for film we discuss, Modelo 77: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y1e-NJObVFQ
And the documentary: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SKVktmqsx4Q&rco=1
In this episode of The Sobremesa Podcast, Alan McGuire and Eoghan Gilmartin are joined by Barcelona-based Italian journalist Tiare Gatti Mora. they discuss Spain’s relationship with Palestine and Israel.
The conversation explores the political and moral dynamics behind Spain’s arms embargo, its efforts to help stop the genocide in Gaza, and the possible calculations shaping Pedro Sánchez’s stance on Palestine. This, of course, takes into account Spain's membership of NATO, its relationship with the Trump administration and European politics.
Later they also compare Spain’s position with Italy’s response to the crisis, reflecting on how both countries’ left movements and governments have engaged with the question of solidarity.
This episode offers a deep, timely analysis of how the European left have acted, and what its limitations are, when responding to one of the biggest war crimes of our time.
If you want to help make the podcast more sustainable and help us pay for the programs we need to produce the podcast, please consider buying us a beer! The link is here
In this episode of The Sobremesa Podcast, we explore the complex and often contradictory history of Catalonia under Franco with historian Dr. Andrew Dowling.
We unpack how the Francoist regime initially crushed Catalan language and culture, only to later co-opt selective elements for its own purposes — reshaping Catalan identity under authoritarian rule.
We also examine the uncomfortable truths of the period: the early support of the Catalan upper class for the Franco regime, and how this changed in the face of growing repression and political decay.
As the dictatorship entered its final, violent phase, a surprising alliance emerged — Catalan communists and the Catholic Church working together to organise resistance and push for democratic change.
This episode is about memory, identity, collaboration, and struggle — and how Catalonia’s past continues to shape its present.
🎙️ Support The Sobremesa Podcast
We love making The Sobremesa Podcast — bringing you deep dives into Spanish politics, culture, and history with voices you might not hear elsewhere.
But here’s the truth:
We have no external funding.
We’re entirely volunteer-run — researching, writing questions, recording, editing, and promoting each episode ourselves.
Your support helps us cover the basics:
🎧 Recording platforms
🎛️ Editing software
If you value independent, grassroots media that brings Spain to a wider audience — please consider donating to our Buy us a Coffee page. Even a few euros make a real difference and keep us going.
We do this because we care — but we can’t do it alone.
Gracias siempre for listening and supporting us.
This week's guest is historian Nicolás Sesma whose book on the francoist dictatorship, ‘Ni Una, Ni Grande, Ni Libre’, was named by El País as one of the top ten books published in Spanish in 2024.
The book offers a brilliant re-telling of the four decades of the Francoist regime, placing particular emphasis on how a changing international context impacted its development. It also interrogates and dismantles many of the cliches and received truths around the dictatorship - such as its supposed transformation into a milder or softer dictatorship in its later decades.
Nicolás is Professor of Spanish History and Civilization at the Université Grenoble Alpes.
If you like what we are producing, please consider donating to out Buy Me a Coffee page: https://buymeacoffee.com/thesobremey
Ten days ago Spanish prime minister Pedro Sánchez’s Socialist Party was rocked by a major corruption scandal - when the party’s head of organization Santos Cerdan became implicated in a massive graft operation involving the Spanish construction giant Acciona.
The case has called into question Sánchez’s political judgement and credibility - in what is the most serious crisis of his seven year stint as head of government. It also brings to mind the worst crony capitalist practices that have plagued Spanish institutions for decades.
To discuss the political importance of this scandal, Alan and Eoghan are joined by Joe Haslam, professor at IE University. And please remember if you like what we are producing and want more, think about supporting us at our buy me a coffee page here: https://buymeacoffee.com/thesobremey
In this special live episode, recorded at the launch of The Last Days of Alicante, Alan McGuire is joined by Eoghan and a close audience of family and friends to discuss his debut poetry collection. The conversation explores the themes behind the book, from tracing the scars of the Spanish Civil War in modern-day Spain to the life and legacy of Miguel Hernández. With audience questions and reflections, this intimate event celebrates poetry, memory, and resistance.
You can buy a copy of the book here
It is also available on other websites and in various independent bookstores.
The publisher is Culture Matters culturematters.org.uk
If you like what we produce, and want more, please think of contributing and making the podcast sustainable going forward:
https://www.buymeacoffee.com/thesobremey
In this episode, historian Pablo Sánchez León joins Alan to explore the powerful and often disturbing alliance between the Catholic Church and the Franco regime. We go beyond the conventional narrative of the Spanish Civil War to uncover how the conflict functioned as a modern Catholic holy war — framed not just as a political struggle, but as a divine crusade to purify Spain.
We discuss how anti-clerical violence was weaponised by Francoist propaganda to dehumanise Republicans as non-Spanish, even non-human, casting them as enemies of the faith rather than political opponents. Pablo explains how this fusion of religion and repression ultimately turned inward, contributing to the regime’s long-term instability.
We also look at how these narratives still shape Spain’s political memory today, and why the Church’s complicity — and later dissent — remains an unresolved part of the democratic transition.
If you like what we produce, and want more, please think of contributing and making the podcast sustainable going forward:
https://www.buymeacoffee.com/thesobremey
2025 marks the 50th anniversary of the death of Francisco Franco and Sobremesa Podcast is launching a series of episodes examining in detail and from various angles Francoism and the dictatorial regime built during his 40 year rule over Spain from the end of the Civil War in 1939 to his death in 1975.
To start the series, we are delighted to be rejoined by renowned historian and biographer Paul Preston who discusses his monumental biography of Franco, offering a fascinating psychological portrait of the dictator and talking to Eoghan and Alan about the paradoxes of the Gallego’s personality.
If you like what we produce, and want more, please think of contributing and making the podcast sustainable going forward:
https://www.buymeacoffee.com/thesobremey
Last Monday at around 12.30 in the afternoon, the Iberian peninsula suffered the worst blackout in Europe over the last decades as 55 million people in Spain, Portugal and parts of south-west France were left without electricity for hours. In Madrid’s metro alone, there were 150,000 people travelling on the network when the power went and they were forced to evacuate while many high-speed trains were left stranded in the middle of nowhere on a hot late April day.
To discuss the political fallout from last Monday’s national outage in more detail, Alan and I are joined by Ben Wray, a Basque based journalist whose work has appeared in Wired Magazine, Jacobin and The National.
If you like what we produce, and want more, please think of contributing and making the podcast sustainable going forward:
https://www.buymeacoffee.com/thesobremey
Semana Santa is is one of the most important holidays of the year in Spain, with the main focus being on the popular processions organized by religious brotherhoods, or cofradías. Today on Sobremesa Podcast Alan and Eoghan are joined by the anthropologist Carlos Cañete to talk about both the oppressive and emancipatory sides of Semana Santa as a religious and cultural institution.
Carlos is a tenured researcher at the Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas and was the Edward Said fellow at Columbia University from 2020-2022.
Donate here ⬇️
https://www.buymeacoffee.com/thesobremey
In this episode of The Sobremesa Podcast, Alan speaks with Alberto Corsín Jiménez, anthropologist and author of Free Culture and the City: Hackers, Commoners, and Neighbors in Madrid, 1997–2017. They explore how the principles of free software, Creative Commons, and hacker culture shaped Madrid’s urban activism—especially in the lead-up to and aftermath of the 15M movement. From the Pardo Media Lab to the reimagining of public space as an open and shared resource, this conversation looks at how free culture became a political and spatial experiment.
What does it mean to claim a free city in an era where everything comes with a price tag? And what lessons can we take from these movements as digital and urban space become increasingly privatized? Tune in for a deep dive into the intersection of technology, activism, and urban commons.
If you enjoy the podcast and want to help cover production costs, consider buying us a coffee. Your support helps keep these conversations going. Every contribution makes a difference!
Donate here ⬇️
https://www.buymeacoffee.com/thesobremey
Spain’s housing crisis has returned, but unlike 2008, there’s no financial collapse—just rising rents, increasing evictions, and a housing market that feels out of reach for many. What’s driving this crisis, and what can be done to address it?
In this episode of The Sobremesa Podcast, Alan speaks with Dr. Koldo Casla, a Senior Lecturer in International Human Rights Law at Essex Law School, to explore the roots of Spain’s housing problems. They discuss how the current crisis differs from 2008, the impact of policy and speculation, and whether housing should be recognised as a fundamental social right.
A crucial conversation on one of Spain’s most urgent issues.
If you enjoy the podcast and want to help cover production costs, consider buying us a coffee. Your support helps keep these conversations going. Every contribution makes a difference!
Donate here ⬇️https://www.buymeacoffee.com/thesobremey
Image used under Creative Commons, author Barcex
Last weekend saw the European far-right once again converge on Madrid as Vox hosted a summit of party leaders from the European Patriots group. Already acting as an active lobby for Musk in the EU parliament to ensure there is no regulation of social media, the far-right grouping are jubilant at their prospects for the next 4 years after the election of Trump.
That Vox’s Santiago Abascal was named president of the Patriots’ grouping last year was further evidence of how the Spanish far-right tend to punch above their electoral weight on the international stage. To discuss last Saturday’s event and Vox’s place within the global far-right, I am joined by Connor Mulhern. Connor is a campaign strategist and the lead researcher at the ‘Reactionary International’ investigative project - an initiative from the Progressive International to map out how the far-right operates globally.
You can find the project's published work here: https://reactionary.international/
And join its Telegram group here: https://t.me/reactionaryinternational
Please also consider donating to our Buy Me a Coffee Page here: https://buymeacoffee.com/thesobremey
This week writer and tour guide Nick Lloyd brings Catherine on a a more atypical historical route of Barcelona to uncover the lesser known layers to the city’s history.
They start at Estació de França, a historic train station not far from the city’s port where the International Brigades arrived to Spain. They then walk down to Ciutadella Park, where Barcelona’s zoo is located to discuss the haunting effects the war had on the animals and the origins of the park. They finish at Pompeu Fabra University, a building that still bears the scars of fascist bombings and which was known during the Civil War as the Karl Marx Barracks.
As always, if you like what we are producing, please consider making a donation to our buy me a coffee page or leave a review where you listen to your podcasts. https://buymeacoffee.com/thesobremey
This week Eoghan talks to author and journalist Dan Hancox about his new book 'Multitudes: How Crowds Made The Modern World’. It is a fascinating exploration of the collective joy and emancipatory potential of different forms of mass gatherings while also tracing the obsession of elites and the forces of law and order in policing, delegitimizing and suppressing crowds.
Throughout Multitudes Dan returns to examples of the exuberance and potency of Spanish crowds - from Cadiz Carnaval to the 2012 general strike in Madrid.If you like what we are producing, please consider making a donation at our Buy Me a Coffee page here - https://www.buymeacoffee.com/thesobremey
It has been a year of near constant parliamentary deadlock for Spain's left-leaning government but also one of strong economic growth in comparison to other eurozone economies. Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez's Socialist Party won the Catalan elections in May and were once again the largest social democratic force in Europe after June's European parliament elections. Yet Sanchez and PSOE have also be subject to a long string of judicial investigations - most of which seem politically motivated.
Yet beyond the headlines of these cases, and with the government’s legislative agenda largely blocked, the country’s acute housing crisis and the difficult clean up operation after the floods in Valencia are both ongoing in the background.To discuss the year’s political event Alan and Eoghan are joined by Laura Seoane and Joe Haslam, a professor at IE University. I hope you enjoy our discussion.
Please consider supporting the podcast during our end of year fundraising drive at:
https://www.buymeacoffee.com/thesobremey
This week Eoghan talks to the author and journalist Michael Eaude. Michael is the author nine books, including ‘Catalonia, a Cultural History’, ‘Triumph at Midnight of the Century - A Critical Biography of Arturo Barea’ and ‘Sails and Winds - A Cultural History of Valencia’.
And during the last 25 years he has also worked as a self-described "necrologist", writing some 70 obituaries for The Guardian on leading cultural and political figures from Spain’s 20th century.
He as now just published his first novel - ‘The Bones in the Forest’ - available from Clapton Press. As with his celebrated non-fiction work, the novel deals with Spain’s reckoning with its recent past and the country’s cultural and historic fault lines as the action jumps back and forth between the revolutionary 1930s and then the early 2000s.
If you like what we are producing, please consider making a donation at our Buy Me a Coffee page here - https://www.buymeacoffee.com/thesobremey
Writer and musician, Troy Nahumko, joins Alan to discuss his new book Stories Left in Stone, Trails and Traces in Cáceres, Spain. They discuss the old town of Cáceres, a UNESCO world heritage site, Game of Thrones, the world's oldest handprint, cave art and regional politics.You can buy Troy's book here
If you like what we are producing, please consider making a donation at our Buy Me a Coffee page here - https://www.buymeacoffee.com/thesobremeyTroy Nahumko (1973, Edmonton, Canada) left Canada at an early age. First as a traveling musician around the United States and Europe, then as a writer and teacher in countries as diverse as Yemen, Azerbaijan, Libya and Laos. He has published travel pieces in newspapers and magazines around the world and was awarded the Mercedes Calles y Carlos Ballestero prize for an article that was published both in Toronto and London. His most recent work includes his bi-weekly opinion column in the HOY, the Mid-Spain section of the recent Lonely Planet guide and he has just published his first book, Stories Left in Stone, Trails and Traces in Cáceres, Spain.
130,000 people protested in Valencia last Saturday demanding regional premier Carlos Mazón resign from his post for his disastrous management of the floods which devastated the area two weeks ago. The death toll stands at 223 people while hundreds of thousands of others have had their homes and places of work gutted.
Eoghan spoke to journalist Leah Pattem about the protests and the ongoing recovery and clean up operations in Valencia. Leah is the founder of https://madridnofrills.com/
Last Tuesday evening as thousands of people were commuting home from work and many others continued at their jobs in supermarkets, cinemas, factories, beauty shops and restaurants, unprecedented flash floods hit the Valencia region.
That morning at 8am the Spanish Met office issued its highest warning level of maximum red, warning of extreme danger. But the right-wing regional government of Carlos Mazon failed to issue a civil protection alert to residents’ mobile phones until 8.15 pm that evening (a full 12 hours later)- by which time the worst of the flooding had already hit.
Serious questions are being raised about Mazon’s disastrous emergency management as rescue operations continue amid mass destruction and death. The death toll currently stands at 207 but is likely to rise substantially in the coming days while it remains far from clear when any degree of normal life can return to the region. Today on Sobremesa podcast we talk about the tragic events this week along Spain’s Eastern coast and the political failures and fallout from the floods.
This week Eoghan talks to financial journalist Gareth Gore. In his new book Opus: The Cult of Dark Money, Human Trafficking, and Right-Wing Conspiracy inside the Catholic Church Gore opens the lid on the extremist, reactionary sect Opus Dei. Opus was initially set up against the tumultuous backdrop of 1930s Spain and went to play a leading role in the Francoist dictatorship - both in education and then in 1957 with the appointment of three of its members to cabinet.
Gore traces how Opus went from Francoist Spain to playing a vanguard role in reactionary movements globally in recent decades - with its network of influence and patronage in Washington reaching its peak during Trump's 2016 presidency.
If you like what we are producing, please consider making a donation at our Buy Me a Coffee page here - https://www.buymeacoffee.com/thesobremey
The island of El Hierro is at the centre of the Canary Islands’ current surge in irregular migration, receiving 13,000 refugees and immigrants this year – 2,000 more than its total residents. As hundreds die every month on the passage from West Africa to the popular tourist islands, the Spanish right are now weaponising the issue.
Leader of the far-right Vox Santiago Abascal denounced what he characterised as the “mass-scale invasion” of El Hierro by “illegal migrants” while conservative media outlets dubbed it “the Lampedusa of the Atlantic”, in reference to the Italian migration hotspot where a state of emergency was declared last year. “The far-right want to turn El Hierro into a symbol of division but they won’t succeed,” insists Amado Carballo, head of social affairs in the island’s local administration.
This week Eoghan and Catherine discuss the humanitarian tragedy on the Canaries and its politicization by the far-right. Please also see Eoghan's article: https://bylinetimes.com/2024/10/02/canary-islands-el-hierro-migrant-crossings/If you like what we are producing, please consider making a donation at our Buy Me a Coffee page here - https://www.buymeacoffee.com/thesobremey
Jim Jump, the editor of the poetry anthology "Poems from Spain: British and Irish International Brigaders on the Spanish Civil War", joins Alan to discuss the collection of poems that stretch the length Spanish Civil War and after. All poems were written by men and women participating in the International Brigades. They cover the lives of the poets themselves, recite poetry from the book and discuss why it was so prominent in the war.
The collection can be brought from the publishers Lawrence and Wishart's website here
If you like what we are producing, please consider making a donation at our Buy Me a Coffee page here - https://www.buymeacoffee.com/thesobremey
On the eve of the Spanish Civil War in July 1936, Barcelona was set to host the Popular Olympic games. Bringing together athletes from around the world under the banner of anti-fascism, the event was meant to take place just weeks before the Nazi Olympics in Berlin. Yet as the athletes gathered for the opening ceremony, the military coup was launched, in turn, leading to revolution in the city's streets.
In this podcast, Catherine talks to James Stout, author of 'The Popular Front'. Barcelona and the 1936 Popular Olympics', about the organisation of the event, the nature of popular sport in Catalonia, and how the Popular Olympics can be seen as both one of the first casualties of the Spanish Civil War and also one of the first great examples of international anti-fascist solidarity and cooperation.If you like what we are producing, please consider making a donation at our Buy Me a Coffee page here - https://www.buymeacoffee.com/thesobremey
Berna León, Javier Carbonell and Javier Soria join Alan to discuss to discuss the book La desigualdad en España (Inequalities in Spain) published by Lengua de Trapo.
The book includes a prologue from Thomas Piketty and over 30 - international and national - experts examine inequalities in Spain, from the historical and ongoing causes to symptoms and possible cures. The three editors discuss how the book came about and some of the Spanish specifics when it comes to inequalities.
You can get the book here
If you like what we are producing, please consider making a donation at our Buy Me a Coffee page here: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/thesobremey
This week Eoghan is joined by journalist Richard Fitzpatrick to discuss Spain’s incredible victory at the European Championships in Germany. Energised by its two daredevil wingers, Lamine Yamal and Nico Williams, Spain won all seven matches at the tournament, while playing wonderful attacking, flowing football.
Yet if Yamal and Williams offered the world another, more multicultural image of Spain, the team also visualised a number of important social contradictions too.
Richard contributes to a number of outlets and newspapers, such as the BBC, The Irish Examiner and The New York Times. He is also the author of El Clásico: Barcelona v Real Madrid, Football’s Greatest Rivalry.
If you like what we are producing, please consider making a donation at our Buy Me a Coffee page here: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/thesobremey
Matthew Machin-Autenrieth, an Ethnomusicologist from the University of Aberdeen, joins Alan to discuss the world famous dance from Spain.
They discuss the origins of the musical genre, the different components of the songs, the regional and national politics that have shaped how flamenco is seen over the world and how it has been used as a form of protest by groups such as Flo6x8. Matthew also gives some tips on how to get into flamenco.
If you enjoy what we produce then please give us a review on your preferred podcast platform and consider donating to our buy me a coffee fund to help the podcast be more sustainable.
https://www.buymeacoffee.com/thesobremey
Heidi Backes joins Alan to discuss the haunted houses, silent spaces and traumatic memories often seen in post-Franco gothic fiction, such as in Carlos Ruiz Zafón's international bestseller The Shadow of the Wind.' Her new book Spectral Spainlooks at how Gothic literature has become a leading genre in contemporary Spain - one capable of confronting the traumatic memories of the country's past.
If you enjoy what we produce then please give us a review on your preferred podcast platform and consider donating to our buy me a coffee fund to help the podcast be more sustainable.
https://www.buymeacoffee.com/thesobremey
Books mentioned in the episode:
Adelaida García Morales: "Aunt Águeda" ("La tía Águeda") and "Elisa's Secret" ("El secreto de Elisa")Julio Llamazares: "The Yellow Rain" ("La lluvia amarilla")Ana María Matute: "Uninhabited Paradise" ("Paraíso inhabitado")Carlos Ruiz Zafón: "Prisoner of Heaven" ("El prisionero del cielo")
More about her book hereHeidi Backes examines haunting as the perfect motif for Spanish authors to portray the tension between modernity and the imposition of a nationalized tradition throughout the twentieth century—noting not just the trauma of the civil war and the resulting dictatorship of Franco, but also the continuing and widespread disenchantment during and after the transition. It is a study of multiple manifestations of individual and collective trauma in texts written after the transition, which will assist readers’ understanding of the relationships between Gothic fear, trauma, and spectrality.
Link to publisher's site https://www.uwp.co.uk/book/spectral-spain/
Alan is joined by the podcast's new co-host Laura Seoane, together they talk with political philosopher Tim Syme about the results of the European election, Yolanda Diaz's resignation, the breakthrough of Se Acabó la Fiesta (SALF) and what a rightward shift means for the European Union.
If you enjoy what we produce then please give us a review on your preferred podcast platform and consider donating to our buy me a coffee fund to help the podcast be more sustainable.
https://www.buymeacoffee.com/thesobremey
This week Eoghan talks to researcher and sociologist Iago Moreno about the evolution of online politics in Spain from the techno-optimist vision of the 15M movement in 2011, with its promise of networked democracy, to the rise of the contemporary fachosfera - the far-right and reactionary online eco-system. Iago also talks about the emergence of a new extremist platform to the right of Vox, Se acabó la fiesta, led by reactionary influencer Alvise Pérez.
If you enjoy what we produce then please give us a review on your preferred podcast platform and consider donating to our buy me a coffee fund to help the podcast be more sustainable.
https://www.buymeacoffee.com/thesobremey
This week Catherine talks to historian Brendan Von Briesen about how the organisation of skilled labour in medieval Barcelona, in the form of journeyman's guilds, can be seen as the foundation of the city's later labour and trade union movement.
This week Eoghan is joined by historian Andrew Dowling to discuss yesterday's historic Catalan election, which saw a definitive end to the decade long push for independence known as the procés.
For the first time since 2012, the pro-independence parties failed to secure a majority of seats in the new parliament. As the Socialists secured historic gains, the progressive nationalist vote collapsed, with the incumbent ERC suffering heavier than expect losses as the centre of gravity within the independence bloc also shifted right towards Junts. Yet, it remains far from clear what the exact makeup of the next the Catalan government will be.
If you enjoy what we produce then please give us a review on your preferred podcast platform and consider donating to our buy me a coffee fund to help the podcast be more sustainable.
https://www.buymeacoffee.com/thesobremey
This week Alan is joined by culture critic and researcher Anita Fuentes to discuss Spanish celebrities and politics.
Should celebrities use their platforms to stand up for injustices like the genocide in Palestine and a recent revival in the Spanish MeToo movement?
Furthermore, Rosalia is often claimed to have a progressive image, but is she? From real estate to cultural appropriation much would indicate that she isn't. We look at the reality behind the image of Spain's largest international star today.
If you enjoy what we produce then please give us a review on your preferred podcast platform and consider donating to our buy me a coffee fund to help the podcast be more sustainable.
https://www.buymeacoffee.com/thesobremey
After announcing last Wednesday that he was considering stepping down as Spanish prime minister, Pedro Sánchez announced this morning he was staying in the job so to fight for "the democratic renewal" of the country. In a move straight out of his favourite TV series Baron Noir, he has orchestrated another theatrical gesture or 'golpe de efecto' so as to rally the Left and upend the current terms of political debate in Spain. If he has regained the initiative, the question is how long will this last?
This week Eoghan is joined by journalist Ben Wray to discuss last night's Basque elections, which saw historic gains for pro-independentist left EH Bildu - with the new Basque parliament being the most nationalist in 40 years. But Ben argues that this does not mean that independence is any closer but in fact the results reinforces Pedro Sanchez's centrality within the current governing arrangement in Spain.
Please consider supporting the podcast at:
https://www.buymeacoffee.com/thesobremey
This week Eoghan and new co-host Catherine Howley talk to Richard Baxell about his new book 'Forged in Spain' which vividly recounts the lives of the extraordinary men and women who left their families and friends across Britain to risk their lives in the Spanish Civil War.
Richard is a historian and former Research Fellow at the London School of Economics and is currently the International Brigade Memorial Trust's historical consultant. 'Forged in Spain' is available to buy from Clapton Press: https://theclaptonpress.com/forged-in-spain-richard-baxell/
Please consider supporting the podcast at:
https://www.buymeacoffee.com/thesobremey
This week's guest is Paul Preston, one of the foremost historians of the Spanish Civil War. Eoghan talked to Paul about his new book 'Perfidious Albion', which is out today from Clapton Press and which turns the spotlight on Britain’s crucial but often overlooked involvement in the war. Preston argues that the country's policy of non-intervention was a crucial factor in the outcome of the war and reflected "the barely disguised sympathy of the Conservative government of Great Britain" for the military rebels.
Buy a copy of the book here: https://theclaptonpress.com/perfidious-albion-britain-and-the-Spanish-civil-war/Please consider supporting the podcast at:
https://www.buymeacoffee.com/thesobremey
Eoghan is joined by Christopher James Evans to discuss his new book 'Los Leones: The Unique Story of Athletic Club Bilbao', which is out this month. It looks at Athletic's century long history and the development of its Basque-only footballing philosphy, which makes it stand out as a unique among the great clubs in world football.
Please consider supporting the podcast at:
https://www.buymeacoffee.com/thesobremey
Yesterday's Portuguese general election saw a surge in support for the far-right Chega party, which tripled its vote share from six to eighteen percent while the governing Socialist Party saw a steep fall in support. To analyse the results, Eoghan is joined by journalist Joana Ramiro - whose work has appeared in The New Statesman, The Guardian and Novara Media.
Please consider supporting the podcast at:
https://www.buymeacoffee.com/thesobremey
This week on Sobremesa podcast we are discussing this month’s 85th anniversary of La Retirada, which saw 500,000 people flee Catalunya and into France as Franco's fascist forces occupied Barcelona. Eoghan speaks to graduate war historian and podcast host Uma Arruga i López about La Retirada and and the experience of Spanish Republicans as exiles in France.
Please consider supporting the podcast at:
https://www.buymeacoffee.com/thesobremey
Aaron Shulman joins Alan to discuss his book The Age of Disenchantments: The Epic Story of Spain's Most Notorious Literary Family and the Long Shadow of the Spanish Civil War. Here he explores Spain's chaotic 20th century via the lense of the larger-than-fiction Panero family.
They discuss the cult classic documentary El desencanto (1976), which portrays the family at the peak of the country's transition from dictatorship to democracy. With the ghost of the patriarchal father remaining off-screen, some have come to see this film as a metaphor for the nation following the death of Franco. Aaron also tells us how their lives continued after the film and what become of them. Donate to make the podcast sustainable: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/thesobremey
Eric Calderwood, Associate Professor of Comparative and World Literature at the University of Illinois, joins Alan to discuss his new book On Earth or in Poems: The Many Lives of al-Andalus (Harvard University Press).They talk about how various groups such as feminists, Palestinians and directors making Ramadan soap-operas are all turning to the memory of al-Andalus and using it in different ways. You can buy the book here
The Sobremesa Podcast has grown so much in 2023. We released 26 episodes on topics ranging from Spain's general election to the Civil War and on to Spanish cinema, Gaudi and anarchism and Al Ándalus. Please help us continue to grow and make the podcast sustainable in the coming year by supporting us here: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/thesobremeySpotify Playlist from Eric: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5QrhqjTPPUt515FZcPriCl?si=ff2ae88ccf5b4861
Further reading of interest:
- Abu-Lughod, Lila. Do Muslim Women Need Saving? Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 2013.
- Bennison, Amira K. The Almoravid and Almohad Empires. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 2016.
- Calderwood, Eric. Colonial al-Andalus: Spain the Making of Modern Moroccan Culture. Cambridge: The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 2016.
- Calderwood, Eric. On Earth or in Poems: The Many Lives of al-Andalus. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 2023.
- Civantos, Christina. The Afterlife of al-Andalus: Muslim Iberia in Contemporary Arab and Hispanic Narratives. Albany: SUNY Press, 2017.
- Darwish, Mahmud. Once astros: Poesía. Trans. María Luisa Prieto González. Madrid: Agencia Española de Cooperación Internacional, 2000.
- Elinson, Alexander E. Looking Back at al-Andalus: The Poetics of Loss and Nostalgia in Medieval Arabic and Hebrew Literature. Leiden: Brill, 2009.
- Manzano Moreno, Eduardo. “Qurtuba: Algunas reflexiones críticas sobre el califato de Córdoba y el mito de la convivencia.” Awraq 7 (2013): 225-246.
- Martínez Montávez, Pedro. Al-Andalus, España, en la literatura árabe contemporánea. Málaga: Arguval, 1992.
- Menocal, María Rosa. The Ornament of the World: How Muslims, Jews, and Christians Created a Culture of Tolerance in Medieval Spain. New York: Back Bay Books, 2002.
- Scott, Rachel, AbdoolKarim Vakil, and Julian Weiss, eds. Al-Andalus in Motion: Travelling Concepts and Cross-Cultural Concepts. London: King’s College London CLAMS, 2021.
This week Eoghan is joined by Bécquer Seguín to talk about his new book 'The Op-Ed Novel'. The book examines how many of Spain's most renowned writers over the last thirty years have combined novel writing with publishing regular op-ed columns in El País.
As Almudena Grandes, Javier Cercas, Antonio Muñoz Molina, Fernando Aramburu and Javier Marías engaged in public debates about Spain's past and its contemporary ills across the opinion pages of the country's paper of record, their own literary work increasingly took on political themes - with controversies first stirred in El País running over into the pages of their novels.
Bécquer Seguín is Assistant Professor of Iberian Studies at John Hopkins University and a regular contributor to The Nation magazine.The Podcast has grown so much in 2023 and we released 26 episodes on topics ranging from Spain's general election to the Civil War and on to Spanish cinema, Gaudi and anarchism and Al Ándalus. Please help us continue to grow and make the podcast sustainable in the coming year by supporting us here: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/thesobremey
2023 was the year of Pedro Sánchez living dangerously - from July's surprise snap election to his wager on a Catalan amnesty law so as to secure a further term in office. Alan and Eoghan are joined by Professor Joe Haslam from IE business school to discuss the year's events.
The Podcast has grown so much in 2023 and we have released 25 episodes on topics ranging from Spain's general election to the Civil War and on to Spanish cinema, Gaudi and anarchism and Al Ándalus. Please help us continue to grow and make the podcast sustainable in the coming year by supporting us this holiday season: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/thesobremey
2023 has been another great year for Spanish cinema. Eoghan sits down with Anita Fuentes to discuss some of the best films coming out of Spain over the last 12 months, including: 20.000 especies de abejas, As bestas, Matria and Las chicas están bien. Anita also recommends Spanish series La Mesías.The Podcast has grown so much in 2023 and we have released 26 episodes on topics ranging from Spain's general election to the Civil War and on to Spanish cinema, Gaudi and anarchism and Al Ándalus. Please help us continue to grow and make the podcast sustainable in the coming year by supporting us this holiday season: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/thesobremey
Anita Fuentes is a La Caixa Doctoral Fellow and is researching TikTok misogyny at the Complutense university in Madrid.
After weeks of tension, uncertainty and violent protests, Spain has a new progressive coalition government as prime minister Pedro Sanchez won an investiture vote today in the Spanish parliament. Eoghan sat down with Sumar MP Txema Guijarro a few hours after the vote to discuss the events of recent weeks, the Catalan amnesty deal and where the country's left goes from here.
Please donate here to make the podcast sustainable into 2024: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/thesobremey
Miguel Hurtado is a human rights activist and clergy sex abuse survivor. He sits down with Alan to discuss the recent report from the Spanish government that estimates 440,000 people in the country have been victims of sexual abuse by the Catholic church. They discuss the methodology and content of the report and later the reaction. They also discuss Spain's recent changes in child protection and its flaws along with the need to abolish the statute of limitations when it comes to child abuse.
Please donate here to make the podcast sustainable into 2024: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/eoghangilm8
In today's episode Eoghan is joined by historian Andrew Dowling to discuss the ongoing efforts to form a government in Spain, with negotiations currently centred on the possibility of a sweeping amnesty law for the Catalan independence movement. Pro-independence Junts' pragmatic turn since September suggests a confidence and suppy deal can reached to give Pedro Sanchez 4 more years in Moncloa but internal rivalries within the independence movement could complicate issues.
Please donate here to make the podcast sustainable into 2024: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/thesobremey
Freelance journalist James Badcock has reported on the numerous scandals of Juan Carlos closely over the years from dodgy dealings to his mistresses. He has even interviewed Juan Carlos's ex-lover Corinna. James joins Alan to discuss Leonor's recent elevation to heiress, Felipe's battles and, of course, the playboy king himself. This is the sordid story of the modern Spanish Royal family.
Please help us continue to grow and make the podcast sustainable in the coming year by supporting us this holiday season: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/thesobremey
Carlos Delclós is a Professor of Sociology at the Autonomous University of Barcelona. He joins Alan to clarify what gentrification is and is not, what different types of gentrification there are and how they have had an effect on Spain's biggest city and tourist destination Barcelona.
Joana Ramiro joins Alan to discuss the changing cityscape of Lisbon and Porto. As a Portuguese journalist living in the UK, Joana was shocked when she went back to her home city for 6 months during the first COVID-19 lockdown. Following several articles on the changes taking place, specifically regarding housing, Joana sits down with Alan to explore the causes and responses to this simmering crisis.
Related articles:
https://staging.tribunemag.co.uk/2021/03/a-letter-from-lisbon
https://jacobin.com/2023/03/portugal-lisbon-porto-rent-increases-housing-crisis
Alan is joined by David from Secret Kingdoms English book shop in barrio de las Letras, Madrid. They talk about some unusual books in English about Spain.
Books discussed:
Miguel de Cervantes - The Banks of Algeas/ The Great Sultana
María de Zayas y Sotomayor - Exemplary Tales of Love and Tales of DisillusionMaria Dueñas- a Vineyard in Andalusia
Salvador Dali, Marx brothers - Giraffes on Horseback Salad
Gerald Brenan - South of Granada/ Spanish Labyrinth / The Literature of the Spanish People
Almudena Grande - Ages of Lulu/ The Frozen Heart
Ben Lerner - Leaving the Atocha Station
Brett Hetherington- Slow Travels in Unsung Spain (20th Sept)Tim Parfitt - Barcelona connection/ A Load of Bull
https://thesecretkingdoms.net/
This week Eoghan is joined by independent journalist Leah Pattem to discuss the fallout from Spanish Football Federation chief Luis Rubiales' alleged sexual assault of Jenni Hermoso at the World Cup final and why most international coverage is ignoring a crucial player in this story: Spain's powerful feminist movement.
Mahmoud Roshdy joins Alan to discuss an alternative way of teaching and looking at the history of Arabic Spain. With 8oo years of history, this new approach makes for interesting listening when compared to the average history class.
Alan and Eoghan also discuss the Women's World Cup and what is happening politically after the elections.
Photo by Mahmoud Hosny Roshdy
This week Eoghan sits down to talk to Dr. Brittany Kennedy from Tulane University about the two contemporary Spains. On August 17th the new speaker of the Spanish parliament recognised the right for MPs to intervene in the Congreso using the three minority languages of Spain: Catalan, Basque and Gallego - thus ensuring the state's democratic institutions better reflected the diverse and plurinational nature of the country. At the same time, Spain has also witnessed a reactionary wave over the last 5 years, in which authoritarian right-wing populisms have drawn on the symbols and elements of the past to articulate a revitalised exclusionary nationalism. Eoghan and Brittany discuss these two interconnecting phenomenon, as well as Spain's women's World Cup team, Cola Cao ads and why it might be okay to like Semana Santa!
This week Eoghan is joined by Vicente Rubio-Pueyo to discuss how last month's general election results fit into the wider political context of Spanish politics since the 2008 financial crisis. Vicente also explains why he believes Pedro Sánchez can be compared to the figure of Adolfo Suárez in Spain's last conjunctural crisis during the country's transition to democracy.
Alan and Eoghan are joined by sociologist Carlos Delclós and journalist Tiare Gatti Mora to discuss the fallout from last Sunday's general election. The polls suggested a clear right-wing victory for PP and Vox but it never materialised. Now could we see a new progressive coalition or are we facing new elections by Christmas?
This week Alan and Eoghan are joined by political analyst Iago Moreno to discuss the pre-campaign to July's general election in Spain. They discuss Vox's particular brand of right-wing populism, Pedro Sanchez's attempts to regain momentum and Sumar's chances after a difficult left-unity deal. While the right currently have the edge in polls, it is far from clear if it can secure a clear governing majority. The election is too close to call!
After a sweeping right-wing victory in local and regional elections last Sunday, prime minister Pedro Sanchez called a surprise general election for July. Professor Andrew Dowling joins Alan and Eoghan to discuss the latest developments.
With Spain's new housing law being approved in Congress last month, the current local and regional election campaign has come to be dominated by the question of housing. As rents continue to soar and a new generation of Spaniards find themselves locked out of home ownership, the left-wing coalition government are promising a raft of measures aimed at guarenteeing the right to housing. But in a country with a particularly dysfunctional approach to housing, centred predominately on private ownership in highly financialized markets, how are serious are its plans? To discuss these issues Eoghan sits down to talk with sociologist Carlos Delclós, lead author of a new report from the Future Policy Lab: 'Vivienda para vivir: de mercancía a derecho'.
Dan Hancox joins Alan to discuss his 2013 book The Village Against the World.
10 years on prominent mayor Juan Manuel Sanchez Gordillo will not stand for re-election in 2023's local elections. He is standing down from his post after 44 years of public service. How did the village get here and where is it going? Alan and Dan discuss these questions and more in this episode of the Sobremesa Podcast.
Book Description from Verso Books. You can buy it here.
One hundred kilometres from Seville lies the small village of Marinaleda, which for the last thirty-five years has been the centre of a tireless struggle to create a living utopia. This unique community drew British author Dan Hancox to Spain, and here for the first time he recounts the fascinating story of villagers who expropriated the land owned by wealthy aristocrats and have, since the 1980s, made it the foundation of a cooperative way of life.
Today, Marinaleda is a place where the farms and the processing plants are collectively owned and provide work for everyone who wants it. A mortgage is €15 per month, sport is played in a stadium emblazoned with a huge mural of Che Guevara, and there are monthly 'Red Sundays' when everyone works together to clean up the neighbourhood. Leading this revolution is the village mayor, Juan Manuel Sánchez Gordillo, who in 2012 became a household name in Spain after heading raids on local supermarkets to feed the Andalusian unemployed.
As Spain's crisis becomes ever more desperate, Marinaleda also suffers from the international downturn. Can the village retain its utopian vision? Can Sánchez Gordillo hold on to the dream against the depredations of the world beyond his village?
This week Eoghan speaks to political analyst Mario Ríos about the current reorganization of the Spanish left around deputy prime minister Yolanda Díaz's new Sumar [Unite] platform and the divisions this is creating among the organizations within the current left space. Mario teaches political science at the University of Girona, is an advisor to Catalunya en Comú and a regular contributer to Público newspaper.
This week Alan and Eoghan sit down with Jim Jump, Chair of the International Brigade Memorial Trust, to talk about his father's experience in the Brigades, the 85th anniversary of the Battle of the Ebro and why he thinks the story of the international volunteers who went to Spain in the 1930s still fascinate and resonate today. They also discuss the work of the IBMT.
This week's guest is writer, historian and guide Catherine Howley. Catherine runs the Spanish Civil War Walking Museum tours with Nick Lloyd in Barcelona and has written extensively on Barcelona's architecture and working-class history. In this episode she talks to Eoghan about the historicial context in which Antoni Gaudí designed his iconic buildings in the city and how that context and the ideology of the Catalan ruling class is reflected in the work of this reactionary genius.
Steven Marsh joins Alan to give an overview of Spanish film. They touch on the autobiographical film written by Franco, how Ken Loach inspired 90's cinema and the legacies of prominent Spanish directors such as Pedro Almodóvar and the late Carlos Saura.
Originally from the UK Steven Marsh is a specialist on Spanish film. Before coming to the US he lived in Madrid for many years. He is the author of two monographs and an edited anthology. He is currently writing two books: one on contemporary Spanish politics (provisionally titled "The Rule of Law in the Age of Crisis: Judicial Politics, the Left, and the Case for Radical Justice in Contemporary Spain"), the other on filmic form in the work of Spanish, Portuguese and Latin American filmmakers.
Publications
Spanish Cinema Against Itself: Cosmopolitanism, Experimentation, Militancy
Popular Spanish Film Under Franco: Comedy and the Weakening of the State
Simon Deefholts from The Clapton Press joins me to discuss the memoirs of Kate Mangan and Jan Kurzke, which until recently had been languishing in a Dutch archive only accessible to professional historians. Here he recounts the love story that can be found in Kate's memoir (but not in Jan's!) and how with the help of historians and Kate and Jan's daughter Charlotte, they were able to publish both works. We also discuss some more memoirs which the press have rereleased in the past few years.
You can buy all the books mentioned here: https://theclaptonpress.com/
Eoghan is joined by Irish journalist Brendan Boyle to talk about the innovative urban model of his adopted home city of Pontevedra, which has largely eliminated the use of private cars. Traffic in the city of 65,000 has been reduced by 97 percent under current mayor Miguel Anxo Fernández Lores . Brendan also compares his pre-pandemic life in hectic Madrid with his new one in Galicia. His latest work can be found at his blog: https://brendyboyle.medium.com/
Nerea joins Alan to discuss why she is standing as a candidate for Izquierda Unida in for the regional parliament of Extremadura. Here they talk about some of the other factors around the 'empty Spain' and Extremadura in particular.
Alan and Eoghan are joined by IE University's Joe Haslam to discuss the year in Spanish politics - from Pablo Casado's political assassination in February to Pedro Sanchez creating his own luck in the Christmas lottery. Also a shout out to Popular Party MP Alberto Casero who voted mistakenly in favour of the coalition's labour reform, thus tipping the majority in favour of the legislation and saving the government from a potentially fatal parliamentary defeat. He tried to blame the electronic voting system but then made the same mistake again in September!
Jose Armengol, Professor of English at Castilla La Mancha University, joins Alan to discuss how masculinity and aging have changed in their form of representation in Spanish literature and film. Eoghan and Alan also discuss a closely related polemic that includes the Ministry of Equality and Minister Irene Montero.
Alcarràs, Cinco lobitos (Lullaby), En los márgenes (On the Fringe), El Agua, As bestas and Modelo 77 - 2022 has been a great year for Spanish cinema. Eoghan sits down with La Base's Anita Fuentes to review the year in film and discuss the impact a new generation of women and feminist directors are having on cinema in Spain.
Anita Fuentes is also the host of the English language Security In Context podcast :https://open.spotify.com/show/3hIPIuuHDMcr6br147HXTr
Anita's interview with En los márgenes director Juan Diego Botto for La Base is available here: https://open.spotify.com/episode/4eO5ewPuMZFuhLL2AA96ma?si=C0zncS6VTpWYsmx2033JmA
In the wake of the recent climate protest at the Prado museum in Madrid, as well as the use of the museum for a dinner during this summer's NATO summit, Eoghan sit down with art historian Almudena Cros to discuss the relationship between the iconic gallery and politics. Cros argues that the Prado itself needs to become much more open to critical approaches to art history and explore the complex relationship between power, patronage and its collection, which represents one of the greatest in the tradition of European oil painting.
Details of Almudena's tours can be found here: https://www.acrossmadrid.com/en/
This week Eoghan talks to Sebastiaan Faber about Spain’s best known contemporary novelist,Javier Marías, who died aged 70 in Madrid in September and who was the author of 15 novels including Todas Las Almas, Corazón Tan Blanco and Berta Isla.
Andrew Dowling joins Alan to discuss his latest book A New History Of Catalonia (2022, Routledge)
Andrew Dowling is Reader in Spanish History at Cardiff University and researches the history and politics of Catalonia. He has previously published The Rise of Catalan Independence: Spain’s Territorial Crisis with Routledge in 2018 and Catalonia since the Spanish Civil War: Reconstructing the Nation (Sussex Academic Press, 2012).
Catalonia: A New History revises many traditional and romantic conceptions in the historiography of a small nation. This book engages with the scholarship of the past decade and separates nationalist myth-history from real historical processes. It is thus able to provide the reader with an analytical account, situating each historical period within its temporal context. Catalonia emerges as a territory where complex social forces interact, where revolts and rebellions are frequent. This is a contested terrain where political ideologies have sought to impose their interpretation of Catalan reality.
This book situates Catalonia within the wider currents of European and Spanish history, from pre-history to the contemporary independence movement, and makes an important contribution to our understanding of nation-making.
Get it here from the publisher's website.
This week Spain's progressive coalition unveiled its budget for next year aimed at dealing with the cost of living crisis. Eoghan sat down with sociologist Carlos Delclós to analyse the package of measures that were agreed by the country's progressive coalition and to discuss what it says about Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez's party political strategy as we enter a big election year.
This week Spain's progressive coalition unveiled its budget for next year aimed at dealing with the cost of living crisis. Eoghan sat down with sociologist Carlos Delclós to analyse the package of measures that were agreed by the country's progressive coalition and to discuss what it says about Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez's party political strategy as we enter a big election year.
Eoghan is back and he joins Alan in recounting some of their favourite news stories from the summer.
Max Ferrar joins Alan to discuss his project which links the effects of globalism on the modern day image and shape of the Catalan independence movement. Here they specifically discuss the effect mass tourism has had on the movement and the physical area of Girona itself.
If you have any suggestions for episodes or want to be a guest on the podcast get in touch at the.sobremesa.podcast@gmail.com
Often when you read, watch or hear about the International Brigades, the United Kingdom and sometimes Ireland, are lumped together into one big group. In this episode Fraser Raeburn joins me to discuss how the 'Scottish context' was different. We talk about Aid for Spain and the ideological and political context that convinced so many Scots to joined the brigades to fight fascism in Spain.
Fraser's book is called Scots and the Spanish Civil War: Solidarity, Activism and Humanitarianism. (Edinburgh University Press)
Following the retreat of republican forces at the end of the Spanish Civil War, many people become refugees in France and North Africa. Whilst some would later return, many men of fighting age who had been in the Republican army could not. This is their story from how they ended up in refugee camps in the south of France to being members of the British army including members of the SAS.
Sean Scullion is currently writing a book on this topic. He also gives battle field tours and speaks on the subject at public events.
Spain's Democratic Memory Law is passed by parliament after nearly 2 years of gruelling negotiations. The law aims to protects the rights of Franco's victims to truth and justice and includes a raft of advances but also runs up against major limits. Eoghan is joined by doctoral student Tom Wardle, a researcher into the country's historical memory movement from the University of Southampton, to discuss the new law and its background.
This week's guest is sociologist Nicole Iturriaga who Eoghan talked to about her new book 'Exhuming Violent Histories: Forensics, Memory and Rewriting Spain's Past'. The book provides a detailed case study of Spain’s best-known historical memory organization, the Association for the Recovery of Historical Memory which since 2000 has been responsible for exhuming many of Spain's Franco-era mass graves. In the book, Nicole argues that part of the association's success has been due to its use of a depoliticised approach, i.e. using forensic science and family testimony, rather than overtly political arguments, to force the issue of Francoist state terror back onto the public agenda. It is available to buy on amazon (including in a very reasonable ebook version): https://www.amazon.es/gp/product/B094YXN968/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_hsch_vapi_taft_p1_i0
Felicity Hughes joins Alan in the real world to discuss the origins of Lavapies in Madrid and some interesting places that you would normally have just walked past.
Felicity Hughes is a professional writer and editor based in Madrid. Her work has appeared in a variety of different publications including Lonely Planet, The Guardian and Wire magazine. The Making of Madrid is a pet project that was born out of a desire to get to know her adoptive city better and share her passion for its history with other inquisitive individuals.
The Blog: https://themakingofmadrid.com/
Her husband's petition: https://www.change.org/p/paremos-la-cesi%C3%B3n-gratuita-en-usera-de-un-terreno-valorado-en-millones-de-a-la-iglesia
In this week's episode we talk about the brutal killing of 37 migrant people at the hands of Moroccan security services along the border of the Spanish enclave of Melilla, as well as discussing the fallout from the results of the Andalusian elections.
As Spain's most populous region Andalusia heads to the polls this Sunday, we preview this crucial regional election and ask if a likely right-wing victory points to a wider reactionary shift in the country more generally.
This week Eoghan speaks to academic Deborah Madden and journalist Laura Seoane about the feminist policies being advanced by Spain's coalition government, concentrating particularly on the country's new active sexual consent law (known as 'only yes is yes'). We also talk about how the debates among different strands of the country's feminist movement are playing out at cabinet, with major differences emerging on trans rights, prostitution and menstrual leave.
Nathen Jones joins Alan to discuss his research and book on the other special relationship between Tony Blair and Jose Maria Aznar. His book The adoption of a pro-US foreign policy by Spain & the United Kingdom: José María Aznar and Tony Blair's personal motivations and their global impact looks at how the modernisers of their day worked hand in hand on issues such as the EU and Iraq, but also shared similar outlooks on their respective parties and countries.
Nathan Jones is a lecturer in Politics in the Division of Politics and International Relations at Nottingham Trent University. He specialises in comparative European politics, party politics, elections and electoral systems, voter behaviour, and public opinion.
This week Eoghan talks to Nick Lloyd about his book 'Forgotten Places: Barcelona and the Spanish Civil War'. The discussion ranges from George Orwell's Homage to Catalonia and the strategic dilemmas facing the Republican side during the 1936-9 conflict to the contrasting experiences of the war in Madrid and Barcelona.
You can find more information about the Nick's Civil War tours at his website: https://thespanishcivilwar.com/
In Spain this week there has been a lot of discussion around the age of gaining consent to get an abortion, should you need your parent's consent if you are between 16-18? This law says no. Internationally we have seen headline after headline talking about 'period leave' but unlike the Daily Mail says it is not unlimited.
Deb Madden is a feminist academic who joins Alan do discuss the history of the law, the wider global fight for women's rights and why Spain stands at the forefront of the global feminist movement.
The ‘Catalangate’ espionage case has rocked Spanish politics over the last month and has led to the sacking of the country's head of intelligence. The scandal, which involves the use of Pegasus spyware against Catalan and Basque independentists, also raises serious questions around the democratic deficiencies of Spain's post-Franco constitutional regime.
In this episode Alan and Eoghan discuss the fallout from the crisis.
Karl Qualls joined Eoghan and Alan to discuss his book Stalin's Niños: Educating Spanish Civil War Refugee Children in the Soviet Union
Here they talk about how the 3,000 Spanish children ended up in the USSR and what happened during their childhood there. They also speak about the education they received and why they were considered hero children in the eyes of the Soviet Union. They also explore why it was important for them to keep their Spanish culture but also develop a Soviet way of thinking. Finally, they explore what we can learn from this in the context of today's war in Ukraine.
You can buy the book here
Luke Bowe, a PhD candidate from New York University, talks to Alan about the cultural depictions of Asturias via the medium of novels, short stories and film. Asturias often gibes of two images: natural and peaceful or working class and industrial. Here they explore how these myths and identity were portrayed and the connected contradictions that go with them.
Alan and Eoghan (the new co-host!) discuss recent events linked with Pedro Sanchez and Western Sahara, the last part of Africa to have not been through the decolonization process that Spain is still responsible for. We talk about how it is related to Spain's monarchy and the history of its occupation.
Following this Eoghan interviews Sahrawian journalist Nazha Elkhalidi for further discussion on this geo-political issue.
Cristina Faciaben is the Secretary of International, Cooperation & Migrations at CCOO, Spain's largest workers' union. She joins me to discuss the changes to the law that regulates all work in the country. In 2012 we saw some controversial changes some of which have been reversed this year. We also discuss the fiasco at the vote in congress.
Welcome back to the Sobremesa Podcast in 2022!Karlo Basta is a politics lecturer at Edinburgh University and his book the Symbolic State is out now. Here we discuss multi nation states and the four examples he has analysed in his book of course with an emphasis on Spain and Catalonia. Hope you enjoy it and Feliz Año a todos!
Xan Lopez from Contra el Diluvio, (a green think tank without money) talks with me about ecology and the problems specific to Spain. We also discuss ecological movements and of course green politics. Check out his group's blog for more infohttps://contraeldiluvio.es/
Ben Wray is a freelance journalist leading Brave New Europe’s Gig Economy Project. He joins me to explain how the Riders law came about in Spain, and why it is needed. Ben also explains some of the problems that there have been on the way.
The Sobremesa Podcast has slowed down for August like the rest of Spain. But here is some summer listening for you, no matter where you are!Sebastiaan Faber, professor of Hispanic studies at Oberlin College, joins me to discuss his latest book Exhuming Franco What is left of Francisco Franco's legacy in Spain today? Franco ruled Spain as a military dictator from 1939 until his death in 1975. In October 2019, his remains were removed from the massive national monument in which they had been buried for forty-four years. For some, the exhumation confirmed that Spain has long been a modern, consolidated democracy. The reality is more complicated. In fact, the country is still deeply affected—and divided—by the dictatorial legacies of Francoism.In one short volume, Exhuming Franco covers all major facets of the Francoist legacy today, combining research and analysis with reportage and interviews. This book is critical of Spanish democracy; yet, as the final chapter makes clear, Spain is one of many countries facing difficult questions about a conflictive past. To make things worse, the rise of a new, right-wing nationalist revisionism across the West threatens to undo much of the progress made in the past couple of decades when it comes to issues of historical justice. Available now in all good book stores and in e-book form.Sebastiaan Faber, professor of Hispanic studies at Oberlin College, is the author of several books, including Memory Battles of the Spanish Civil War and Exile and Cultural Hegemony: Spanish Intellectuals in Mexico, 1939–1975 (both published by Vanderbilt University Press).
Sorry this episode is a bit late but I have covid!Recorded two weeks ago, Nerea Fernández Cordero, Co-coordinadora at IU Exterior (Izquierda Unida), and political journalist Eoghan Gilmartin join me to discuss the coalition party called Unidas Podemos. We talk about how it came to be and where it goes from here that their founding leader has left politics, and now that they are part of the first left wing coalition since the second republic.
Following last weeks news on the pardon of the 9 Catalan political prisoners, jailed following the referendum in 2017, I discuss the issue with Andrew Dowling, a lecturer in Catalan and Spanish history. If you want to hear more about this issue, take a listen to our previous episodes on the matter.
Dr Mercedes Peñalba-Sotorrío, a lecturer and researcher from Manchester Metropolitan University, joins me to discuss the relationship between Nazi Germany and Spain before, during and after WW2.
Her research involves looking at how Nazi propaganda inside Spain which influenced the country's foreign and domestic policy during the time. We also discuss the concept of neutral countries and how the relationship with Germany changed as the war advanced.
With the communidad elections less than a week away Caroline Gray and Eoghan Gilmartin both join me to discuss the political earthquake that led to the elections and why this election is about more than just the capital.
This week, the European Super League launched but it hasn't gone smoothly. In the UK all 6 big teams were forced to pull out by their fans, the media and even Boris Johnson. Here in Spain the reaction has been very different. Tommy Hay joins me to discuss the issues behind this league and the Spanish reaction to it.
Tommy Hay is a football commentator here in Spain. He is the presenter of Speaking Football on Vaughan radio, co-host of the Get Spanish Football News podcast, and he also appears on the show Aprende inglés para futbolistas on Radio MARCA
Sonia Cuesta joins me to discuss the treatment of sexual minorities by the Spanish state during the late period of the Francoist dictatorship.
Sonia Cuesta Maniar is a doctoral research student at St Antony’s College, University of Oxford. Her research focuses on the relationship between Francoist repressive practices and accelerating socio-political change in the 1960s and 1970s Spain. More broadly, she is interested in the history of memory, violence, and repression.
Feminism is huge movement in Spain, but why?
Gender violence is a polemical topic in Spain. Dr Deborah Madden joins me to discuss how, in recent years, there have been several high-profile cases of rape that have brought about needed reforms to the Spanish law. This, along with a number of femicides in the country, has brought gender violence into the public domain.
Dr Deborah Madden is a Leverhulme Postdoctoral Researcher at the Instituto de Investigaciones Feministas, Universidad Complutense de Madrid. Her research interests centre on the intersection of culture, politics and history in twentieth-century Iberia, with a particular focus on feminist and leftist politics. Current projects include research into representations of the Spanish Civil War in popular culture, the intersection of feminist and memory politics and bio-politics in contemporary Spain.
In recent years feminism has boomed in countries such as Argentina and Mexico. Likewise, in Europe the movement has been most active in the south, mainly in Italy and Spain. Since 2018, when the first massively followed International Women Strike took place, the movement hasn´t stop growing, and its effects are beginning to be felt. What are some of today’s discussions in Spanish feminism? and where was Spanish feminism before 2018?
I am joined by researcher Elia Romera-Figueroa to discuss the history of Spanish feminism, past and present debates within the movement and where it is going.
Happy International Womens' Day!! ¡Feliz y combativo 8 de marzo!
Elia Romera-Figueroa is a PhD candidate at Duke University. Her research focuses on female singers from the 1950s until the late 80s in Spain. She studies the engagement of protest singers with Second-Wave Feminists movements. At Duke she has been a graduate fellow at the Social Movements Lab directed by Michael Hardt and Sandro Mezzadra. Her latest publication is focus on the memory of the Spanish Civil War in contemporary music and its titled “Voiced Postmemories: Rozalén’s “Justo” as a Case Study of Singing, Performing, and Embodying Mourning in Spain”.
The Spanish government recently announced 11 billion euros for small, medium sized companies in the hard-hit tourism sector. Will it be enough? And what is the longer term plan for the Spanish economy?
In the longer term, Spain has seen the need to reform its economy as the current model, heavily reliant on tourism, is unreliable. Many in the country also want self employment red tape cut and costs reduced.
Joe Haslam joins me to explain the long term cultural and systematic problems Spain faces in reforming itself into a country of start ups.
We also discuss 'Spain Entrepreneurial Nation' the new 10 year plan to set out by the government to help start ups in Spain grow.
Joe Haslam is the Executive Director of the Owners Scaleup Program at IE Business School in Madrid, Spain. This is a program specially designed for small and medium sized companies that want to scale. He is also the presenter of the High Impact Online Program "Scaleup! How to Successfully Manage Growth" and the Academic Director of the Global Scaleup Program, a joint course offered by IE with the American University of Beirut. In the International MBA, he teaches an award winning elective called "Scaling Up Your Startup".
Article discussed: Spain’s ten-year plan to put startups in the economic driving seat
https://techcrunch.com/2021/02/23/spains-ten-year-plan-to-put-startups-in-the-economic-driving-seat/
Nationalism has made a comeback in the 21st century and Spain is not exempt.
Often people mistake Spain for a large country, when in fact it is a large block of several regional identities. Famously, the Catalan independence movement has highlighted this fact and also caused a rise in the national Spanish identity.
However this is not a new phenomenon. Spain's regional identities have challenged Spanish nationalists desired unity since at least the 19th century
Whilst the regional identities often get along well together, this has not always been the case. During Franco's era, regional identities were suppressed, and following his death the rise of ETA in the Basque country and beyond came to overshadow any talk of the Basque identity.
Maria Reyes Baztán, a researcher from Warwick University, joins me to explain the history of Basque nationalism and the origins of the anti-colonial rhetoric they still use to this day.
Andrew Dowling joins me again to discuss the Catalan election results.
We also discuss and analyse the protests/riots that have followed the arrest of Spanish rapper Pablo Hasel.
On Sunday the 14th February, Catalonia will go to the polls, this time to elect a regional government.
This is the second regional election since the October 2017 independence referendum. The first in December 2017 was called by then Spanish President Mariano Rajoy, in that election the biggest party Cuidudanos won the most seats but could not form an administration. A regional government was formed by independence forces JuntsxCats/ERC/CUP. Quimm Torra was elected as regional president.
In the April 2019 general election, Torra went against Spanish election rules. After many long judicial battles, Torra was dismissed as regional premier and forced to call regional elections. These are those elections.
Since the 2017 elections much has changed in Catalan politics and national politics. Both are intertwined and can effect each other.
Here is my interview with Andrew Dowling. A lecturer at Cardiff University and author of the book The Rise of Catalan Independence Spain’s Territorial Crisis. Here he explains recent developments in Catalan politics and the build up to these elections.
Vicente Rubio-Pueyo is a Spanish academic based in New York.
In the second part of my interview with him we discuss Spanish nationalism and the rise of far right party Vox.
Vicente Rubio-Pueyo is a Spanish academic based in New York and member of Minim, a municipalist observatory.
He sat down with me to discuss modern day Spanish municipalism and the effect it has had on politics and the cities it governed.
In this episode of the Sobremesa podcast I interview Caroline Gray. Here we talk about territorial politics of both the left and right in Spain since the financial crisis.
Caroline Gray is Lecturer in Politics and Spanish. She specialises in the politics of Spain and wider Europe, focusing on territorial politics and party systems. She is the author of Territorial Politics and the Party System in Spain: Continuity and Change since the Financial Crisis (Routledge, 2020).
10 years ago in 2011, Spain went through a crisis of representation. Until then, Spain had been praised as exceptional for its peaceful transition from dictatorship to democracy in the late 1970’s. Yet with the arrival of economic problems, that soon changed. On an international scale, the world was still struggling in the aftermath of the 2007-8 financial crisis. The Great Recession had begun. In Europe, the Eurozone debt crisis was underway. By 2011, Greece and Ireland had already had their first bailouts and at the beginning of the year Spain’s neighbour Portugal would also request help from the EU as it could not meet the targets it was set. Spain would be next. Struggling with the growing economic crisis, the PSOE government, led by Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, would make unpopular reforms to both the labour laws and pension system in late 2010.
In the wake of the Arab Spring, Spain started to mobilise against what a good deal of people felt was an unrepresentative democracy, heavily dominated by the Popular Party and the PSOE. Small groups protesting specific issues from the young who felt they had not future to the elderly fighting pension reforms, these movements would soon start organising together for a more representative and participatory democracy. Come May 15th 2011, a huge protest through the centre of Madrid made up of these groups, would kick start the biggest political changes in the country since the transition. The 15-M movement was born.
In this episode of The Sobremesa Podcast, I talk with Cristina Flesher Fominaya, the Editor-in-Chief of the journal Social Movement Studies, co-founder of the open access social movements journal Interface, and author of the book Democracy Reloaded: Inside Spain’s Political Laboratory from 15-M to Podemos. Here we talk about how the 15-M Movement came about, what they were doing in the Sol camp, and how it would change the political landscape that we have come to know today.
In this one-off special episode, I discuss brexit with two Brits that live in Spain. One voted leave and the other voted remain. Here is why.
Richard Thompson lives in Sant Joan in Mallorca. He is a business owner and local town councillor with Assemblea per Sant Joan. We talk about voting remain and the stereotypes of Brits in Spain.
Timothy Appleton has lived in Madrid for 15 years. He is a lecturer in the Camilo José Cela University, editor of the magazine #lacanemancipa and author of the book “Escupir en la iglesia: un sí de izquierdas al Brexit”, (“Spitting in church: a left-wing yes to Brexit”) Here we talk about his book and why he would still vote leave.
Happy New Year!!
Here I got to interview author and former Financial Times Spain correspondent Tobias Buck. We talk about corruption, austerity, Rajoy, Podemos and Catalonia.
At the end of the episode I also talk about my plans for the podcast in 2021.
Merry Christmas from all at The Sobremesa Podcast!
In this two part episode I spoke with Danny and Jim from the Anarchist Book Club Podcast.
We go all the way from the meaning of anarchism, its founding in Spain and further in this very exciting episode.
I learnt loads talking with both the guys. Please make sure you take a listen to their podcast and if you want to know more you can buy their books.
In this two part episode I spoke with Danny and Jim from the Anarchist Book Club Podcast.
We go all the way from the meaning of anarchism, its founding in Spain and further in this very exciting episode.
I learnt loads talking with both the guys. Please make sure you take a listen to their podcast and if you want to know more you can buy their books.
"Spain’s Left Is Winning the Battle for Welfare — But Not the War on Neoliberalism"
This is the name of Eoghan and Tommy's new article available at jacobin.com. Here we discuss their take on Spain's first budget since Rajoy.
We discuss where Podemos is making gains and where the PSOE and EU are too. I hope you find this interesting take on the budget helpful. Please head on over and read their article for the full story.
CROSSOVER TIME!!
The Sobremesa Podcast has teamed up with the When in Spain podcast. Paul Burge has been running his podcast for the last 2 years and covers a whole range of things related to Spain. From pueblos to Hemmingway, it is all in there. Here I interviewed Paul about tourism and the image of Spain, both from the outside and the image of the country that Spaniards have. If you want to hear Paul interview me about the EU covid fund and the future of Spanish politics, head on over to the When in Spain podcast to hear it.
In this episode of the Sobremesa podcast, I chat with journalist and political researcher Jorge Tamames about the history and current state of populism in the USA and Spain. Jorge's book 'For The People: Left Populism in Spain and the US' concentrates on left wing populism. Here he explains the conditions that led to the rise in Podemos and Bernie Sanders, and their differences. Later we discuss Podemos inside the government, republicanism, right wing populism and what covid-19 might mean for populism in the future.
This week the Sobremesa Podcast talks with Sophie Gonick from New York University about her up and coming book: Dispossession and Dissent.
We talk about how she documented the birth of the Plataforma de Afectados por la Hipoteca (PAH) (Platform for People Affected by Mortgages), and she also explains the housing crisis that went with it. We later talk about housing policy and why council houses in Spain aren't really a thing
In this episode of the Sobremesa Podcast, I talk to an old friend about an ongoing problem.
Doctors in Spain are threatening to strike from the 28th of October over a new law passed by the government. This law is to help increase the number of staff. So what is the problem?
Giles Tremlett joins me on the Sobremesa Podcast to discuss his latest book: The International Brigades. Fascism, Freedom, and the Spanish Civil War.
In this interview we cover how the book came about, the historical context in which the book is set, and the story of the Brigades.
This week saw the end of the political jousting between the central government and the Madrid regional government. This reached a climax on Friday
Further court developments this week threaten to eat away at the coalition government's sense of legitimacy. This forms part of a larger ongoing investigation that has seen the presentation of the deputy PM go from being an aggrieved or injured party to one in which he may now figure as an accused party, following on from the judge's request to open an inquiry into Pablo Iglesias' role within the complex case.
Tommy Greene, a political journalist, joins me to discuss it further.
Madrid has been placed in (partial) lockdown once again. In this episode I explore how this come about in two very different interviews.
Firstly, I speak with Sara Soto, Secretary of the Young Socialists of Vallecas. Here we talk about how the response to lockdown on the 18th September and the effects it has had over the past two weeks. We also discuss some of the inequalities that were already in the area but have been made worse by the pandemic.
Following on from this I catch up with Simon Hunter from El Pais in English. Here Simon tells me about the Que podcast; we also discuss the management of the pandemic from several points of view, and lastly we discuss the newest celebrity in Spain: James Rhodes.
This week (28/9/20) Eoghan Gilmartin joins me. As a political journalist based in Madrid, he has been covering the stories as they have unfolded.
Here we talk about the more immediate stories of the day such as the management of the virus in Madrid and the future for Spanish politics.
Later, we then go on to explore how this situation has come about, and how the quick politicisation of the pandemic has played out on a national level for both the left and right.
In 2007, the Spanish government passed the historical memory law to address issues from the country's past. Since then the law has been starved of funding and criticised as not going far enough. The new coalition government has put forward a new law named the Democratic Memory. This law will look at exhumations of mass graves, education, prosecutions and the Valley of the Fallen. It is set to be brought before parliament this week. Tom Wardle joined me to discuss the proposals.
In a special edition of Sobremesa, I interview researcher and Phd candidate Alícia Hernàndez Grande. Here she explains the history behind the independence movement and Diada, the national day of Catalonia. She also shares her observations from the 2017 referendum and where the Catalan identity comes from.
In this episode I interview Professor Sandie Holguin about the regional identities in Spain and how they interact with the national identity. We also discuss the EU and how it forms a part of the political scene in Spanish politics today.
Before the Interview I share an update on current Spanish affairs
In this episode of Sobremesa we get an update on the national situation and an interview with cultural and intellectual historian Professor Sandie Holguin.
Here we talk about the construction of the national identity which in recent years has increased in its popularity.
Here we look at how the EU recovery fund came about and what the effect might be on Spain.
Pilot podcast about modern Spanish society. This episode is about the up and coming regional elections and Fernando Simon.