Last weekend, Parisians voted to triple parking fees for SUVs in a bid to remove some of the city's more polluting vehicles. It's just one of many policy ideas that are being tested out in European cities to clean up the air we breathe — but how bad is the problem really, and can we really fix it? This week we ring up Oliver Lord from the Clean Cities Campaign to find out. We're also talking about the exhausting antics of Viktor Orbán and some juicy Italian art theft allegations.

FULL EPISODE TRANSCRIPT HERE: https://europeanspodcast.com/episodes/toxic-air-and-toxic-politicians

This week's Inspiration Station offerings: 'Mrs Mohr Goes Missing' by Maryla Szymiczkowa, and The European Tree of the Year 2024.

You can find a video of Vittorio Sgarbi's eyebrow-raising interview on the best account on Twitter, Crazy Ass Moments in Italian Politics.

Thanks for listening! If you enjoy our podcast, we'd love it if you'd consider chipping in a few bucks a month at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠patreon.com/europeanspodcast⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ (many currencies are available). You can also help new listeners find the show by ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠leaving us a review⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ or giving us five stars on Spotify.

Many thanks to our friends at Outside/In for featuring our Oatly mini-series recently. You can find their show ⁠⁠here⁠⁠.

00:22 Coming soon, a podcast entirely about disturbing European children's songs

03:32 Good Week: Ukraine's €50 billion aid deal

12:01 Bad Week: From culture minister to art thief?

37:44 The Inspiration Station: Mrs Mohr Goes Missing and The European Tree of The Year 2024

40:49 Happy Ending: Hooray for the HPV vaccine

Producers: Katy Lee and Wojciech Oleksiak

Mixing and mastering: Wojciech Oleksiak

Music: Jim Barne and Mariska Martina

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