EU Scream

Tech bros like to blabber about AI and the end of the world. But the more plausible catastrophe they'll unleash is severe inequality and economic distress. As anger and panic grows over the automation of labor, the technology industry is casting around for a new social license to operate. One vogueish idea is some form of Universal Basic Income, or UBI: a regular cash income paid to all, on an individual basis, without means test or work requirement. The most important experiment to date into how a basic income could work was funded by Sam Altman of OpenAI, the organization that developed ChatGPT. One thousand people in the US states of Illinois and Texas were given $1,000 a month obligation free between 2020 and 2023. But Altman's vision for how the new-look social assistance would work is deeply flawed. That's the verdict of Philippe Van Parijs, the celebrated philosopher and author of a landmark book on basic income (Harvard, 2017). Altman's recent proposals, where the public gets a share of a promised AI bonanza in exchange for innovation without limits, would fail to protect the public against the vicissitudes that a basic income is meant to address. In this live recording from the Flagey theater in Brussels, Philippe sets out the history and philosophy of an idea that has stirred thinkers and social-justice advocates for half a millennium, from 16th-century Flanders to 21st-century Silicon Valley. Among the figures featured in the show: Renaissance humanist Juan Luis Vives; Belgian social theorist Joseph Charlier; Louisiana Governor and US Senator Huey Long; bandleader Ina Ray Hutton; economist John Kenneth Galbraith; and Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei. With special thanks to Hywel Jones for musical accompaniment, Paulo Cotrim for production, and Diana Dzjamaldaeva for sound engineering.Support the show

European leaders are failing to pushback against racist messaging from the Trump Administration, signaling their acceptance of a new geopolitics of whiteness. Among the most recent examples is a standing ovation for US Secretary of State Marco Rubio at the Munich Security Conference after he celebrated the colonial era and reprised warnings about a so-called civilizational erasure of Europe by migrants. The stated reason for the clapping in Munich was the softer tone on Europe taken by Rubio compared to that taken by US Vice President JD Vance a year earlier. In reality, the governing elites in Europe have a good deal more in common with the Trump Administration than most would care to admit. For one, Washington and Brussels both are seeking to justify a radical expansion of migration and asylum policies that brutalize large numbers of black and brown people inside and outside their borders. The difference is that the Europeans have historically sought to obfuscate such actions, says Emmanuel Achiri of the European Network Against Racism. By contrast the Trump Administration bluntly advertises its brutality by announcing ICE operations in racialized communities and posting white supremacist memes to official social media channels. In this episode: Emmanuel unpacks the origins of whiteness in Europe and North America; he examines the use whiteness by the Trump Administration as a main plank of US foreign policy; and he explains how violence on Europe's borders is often effectively invisibilized in what amounts to a form of necropolitics.Support the show

Luuk van Middelaar, a historian and founding director of the Brussels Institute for Geopolitics, dives into the evolving landscape of European power dynamics. He emphasizes the urgent need for Europe to shed its ideals in favor of pragmatic survival strategies amid global threats. With Trump’s ambitions regarding Greenland, Luuk discusses strategic military responses and the proposed establishment of a European Security Council. He highlights Europe's historical hesitance shaped by guilt and the imperative for independent military capabilities.

Dave Keating, broadcaster and author of 'The Owned Continent', dives into Europe's troubling reliance on the U.S. He critiques how European leaders have cowered before Trump’s confrontational policies, including the absurdity of NATO being treated as a U.S. protectorate. Keating warns of cultural and military dependency, arguing that it jeopardizes European autonomy. The conversation also touches on the energy crisis, the harmful influence of U.S. tech giants, and the urgent need for Europe to forge its own independent defense capabilities.

Former Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar and LGBTIQ+ rights advocate Rémy Bonny discuss the alarming rise of anti-LGBT campaigns across Europe, fueled by disinformation and funded by extremist networks. Varadkar highlights the void left by declining U.S. support and emphasizes Europe’s responsibility to counteract these threats. Bonny warns of Hungary's prominent role in this crisis and the broader implications for democracy and human rights. They call for urgent EU action against these divisive tactics and stress the interconnectedness of LGBTIQ+ rights with broader democratic freedoms.

Alberto Alemanno, a law professor and founder of The Good Lobby, delves into the controversial shift in the EU towards deregulation, driven by Mario Draghi's influence. He explores how the euphemism of 'simplification' masks a significant reduction in protective regulations, aligning troublingly with US trends. Alemanno warns that omnibus laws undermine due process, risk corporate predictability, and hint at a bigger threat to environmental standards. He questions whether the EU is losing its regulatory power, raising concerns over member states' control and the erosion of confidence in public institutions.

Attila Steiner, Hungary's State Secretary for Energy, dives into the complexities of his country's energy policies. He explains why Hungary continues importing Russian oil despite EU sanctions, citing geographic constraints and infrastructure issues. Steiner discusses new gas contracts and the impact of rising transit fees on alternative pipelines. He also emphasizes the challenges of refinery upgrades and the lack of EU support. With impending elections, he frames energy policy as crucial for national security, while hoping to maintain Hungary's exemption from strict sanctions.

Pavol Szalai, a press freedom advocate from Reporters Without Borders, explores Slovakia's alarming slide into post-truth politics. He discusses the complex political landscape dominated by figures like Robert Fico, and the pervasive misinformation impacting public perception. The podcast highlights the tragic consequences of misinformation, including the murder of journalist Jan Kuciak, and critiques the government's interference in media independence. Szalai also examines the rise of conspiracies and the urgent need for accountability and regulation to protect democratic values.

Cynthia Scharf, a climate advocate and aide to former UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, dives into the urgent issues surrounding climate change and the controversial concept of solar geoengineering. With Europe facing devastating heatwaves, Cynthia discusses the ethical dilemmas of potential technologies to cool the planet. She highlights the need for responsible governance and international cooperation in navigating the complex implications of these technologies. Ultimately, she argues for balancing innovative solutions with rigorous emissions reductions to ensure a sustainable future.

Millions of people in more than a hundred countries march at Pride festivities each year. Attendees come mostly to express support for lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans gender, queer and intersex people — the LGBTQI+ community. And although Pride may be on every continent, there's a swathe of countries where Pride still is not freely celebrated. Take Russia, where a court last decade issued a one-hundred-year ban on Pride events. Or Turkey, where police in recent years have been harassing, attacking and detaining activists and members of the LGBTQ+ community. And then there's Hungary, which is inside the EU but out of step with its laws and values. This year Hungary's illiberal prime minister Viktor Orbán said he intended to stop Pride in the capital Budapest, on the pretext of child-protection. Under-18s are supposedly at risk from so-called displays of homosexuality, displays that themselves were banned four years ago. That's a direct echo of Russia's anti-LGBT statute on Protecting Children and Traditional Family Values signed into law by Vladimir Putin more than a decade ago. This month Hungarian police duly imposed the Budapest ban that Orbán called for. And they added a dystopian touch: facial recognition technology. Attendees identified at Budapest Pride could face fines of 500 euros; they also could face neofascist thugs from far-right splinter groups. But Budapest mayor Gergely Karácsony says this year's event is going ahead this weekend just the same. After all, Budapest has had Pride marches for the best part of three decades. It's also worth recalling that Pride was born out of state repression. The first marches were held in the early 70s in a handful of US cities to mark the anniversary of the Stonewall Riots. That name, Stonewall, comes from a bar, the Stonewall Inn, in New York City's Greenwich Village. The gay and transgender patrons of the Stonewall had grown sick of police harassment and abuse, and their uprising in 1969 still marks a key moment for civil rights movements everywhere. One beneficiary of such hard-won victories is Marc Angel, one of five so-called Quaestors at the European Parliament overseeing matters affecting the chamber's 705 members. Marc is a Socialist from Luxembourg and also co-president of the European Parliament's intergroup on LGBTIQ+ rights. For him, this weekend's Budapest Pride events amount to a protest — a protest against bogus limits on freedom of assembly in Hungary, and a protest against an international anti-gender movement, backed by Russia, supported by US ultraconservatives, and aimed at polarizing societies and weakening democracy.Support the show