Europe's anti-Elon

Back when Elon Musk was challenging Mark Zuckerberg to a cage fight, Eugen Rochko was building an open-source, non-problematic Twitter alternative, completely without fanfare. Last year, the Mastodon founder announced his departure from the head of the social media platform in a candid blog post, citing a growing discomfort with the role and an interest in preserving the site’s decentralised values. But Mastodon lives on, and – full disclosure – we’re all for it. This week, we spoke to Eugen about his dreams for the “fediverse” and about whether his vision for ethical, supervillain-free online communities has a promising future. In fact, we enjoyed the conversation so much that we’re releasing a longer version for supporters of the podcast.

 

Also in this episode: a compromise in Europe’s War on Veggie Burgers and the end of the decade-long Iceland-the-country-versus-Iceland-the-grocery-store dispute.

 

Resources for this episode:

 

• “‘Veggie burgers’ are here to stay. Lab-grown ‘steaks’ never will be.” – Politico, 5 March 2026
• “European consumer insights on the alternative protein sector” – The Good Food Institute Europe, 25 November 2025
• Eugen on Mastodon
• “My next chapter with Mastodon” – Mastodon blog, 18 November 2025
• “The Statues Were Mostly Men or Nude Women. So These Knitters Got to Work.” – The New York Times, 5 March 2026

 

This week’s Inspiration Station recommendations are the Apple TV show Drops of God and the Swiss Android app Nearby Glasses.

 

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Produced by Morgan Childs and Wojciech Oleksiak
Mixing and mastering by Wojciech Oleksiak
Music by Jim Barne and Mariska Martina

 

The Europeans is proudly produced using Europe’s own Hindenburg.

 

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