x

75% of people globally want unbiased news (Pew Research) but are concerned they're not getting that.

Get balanced coverage with Symby. See how stories are covered across diverse outlets and spot when one side covers a story the other skips.

PODCAST

Sweden in Focus

Sweden in Focus is The Local’s weekly podcast where we discuss the big news and talking points in Sweden as well as explore and explain the issues that impact life in the country. We also answer your essential questions and look ahead at what’s coming up.In each episode presenterPaul O’Mahonychats about the most important news and must-know information with The Local Sweden’sJames Savage,Emma Löfgren,Richard OrangeandBecky Waterton. They are frequently joined by other expert commentators. Become a

news news commentary

All Episodes

23:34

Why is the Sweden Democrats' 'immigration map' not...

Sweden in Focus ·

2025/11/15

In this week's episode we talk about a new map that shows just how successfully we immigrants are managing to take control of Sweden.We also put faces to the names of some of Sweden’s most popular brands.For Membership+ subscribers we uncork the results of a reader survey about the Swedish sense of humour.We also get into why it will no longer be possible to drop in for a visit to your local Migration Agency contact centre.Finally, we examine why language tests for citizenship applicants might not

en

3:24

How good is your Swedish vocabulary? - Quiz 14

Sweden in Focus ·

2025/11/12

Can our panelists pass the vocabulary section of högskoleprovet, the Swedish university entrance exam?Host Paul O’Mahony is joined this week by The Local's Richard Orangeand James Savage.Can you tell your lenses from your lentils? Have you heard the term på måfå?And what's a show trial in Swedish?READ ALSO:SWEDISH TEST: Can you pass the vocab part of Sweden's version of the SAT?What you need to know about applying to university in SwedenThe seven stages of learning Swedish every foreigner goes

en

14:37

Sweden's divorce rate not Europe's highest – but more...

Sweden in Focus ·

2025/11/08

In this week's episode we talk about how many people get divorced in Sweden and what the experience has been like for readers of The Local.We also look at international flights: why are there more flights than before out of Stockholm and why is it so expensive to fly from Gothenburg? Also,who are all those people in the photos in the arrivals hall at Arlanda Airport?For Membership+ subscribers, we examine what detainees are saying about conditions inside Sweden’s immigrant detention centres.And with

en

3:36

How good is your Swedish vocabulary? - Quiz 13

Sweden in Focus ·

2025/11/05

It's quiz time again in this week's episode of Sweden in Focus Extra for Membership+ subscribers.Can our panelists pass the vocabulary section of högskoleprovet, the Swedish university entrance exam?Host Paul O’Mahony is joined this week by The Local's Becky Waterton and James Savage.Get Membership+ to listen to all The Local's podcastsSweden in Focus Extra is a podcast for The Local's Membership+ subscribers.Sign up to Membership+ now and get early, ad-free access to a full-length episode of the

en

17:06

Why many Swedes feast on goose blood in November

Sweden in Focus ·

2025/11/01

In this week's episode we talk about why Sweden is paying Somalia to accept citizens deported from Sweden and whether the political scandal is helping or hurting the government.We also explain why a lot of Swedes will be eating goose blood soup to celebrate St Martin’s Day.For Membership+ subscribers we discuss why a growing number of Swedish towns are refusing to help the government with its plan to encourage more people who came to Sweden as refugees to leave the country.Finally, we’ lift the lid

en

4:00

How good is your Swedish vocabulary? - Quiz 12

Sweden in Focus ·

2025/10/29

This week's episode of Sweden in Focus Extra for Membership+ poses some seriously tricky Swedish language questions.It’s time again to learn some Swedish as our panelists try their hand at the tricky vocabulary section of högskoleprovet, the Swedish university entrance exam.Host Paul O’Mahony in Stockholm is joined this week by The Local's Becky Watertonand James Savage.Get Membership+ to listen to all The Local's podcastsSweden in Focus Extra is a podcast for The Local's Membership+

en

19:03

Does it matter if Sweden's foreign football manager...

Sweden in Focus ·

2025/10/25

In this week's episode we talk about Sweden’s new men’s football manager Graham Potter and we ask how good his Swedish is.We dig into a survey of readers of The Local asking how people found their jobs in what has become a very difficult country to find work.For Membership+ subscribers we’ll look ahead to what to expect from next week’s autumn school break and the Halloween and All Saints holidays.And finally we examine the latest citizenship news after the Migration Agency announced that it will

en

5:37

'We belong to this city': Malmö hummus bar owner...

Sweden in Focus ·

2025/10/22

When the hummus bar he founded really started to take off, Ibra Idrees employed his parents and brought them to SwedenBut his mother and father now face deportation after the Migration Agency rejected his mother’s work permit.In his conversation with The Local’s Becky Waterton, Idrees explains how he developed Hummusson into one of Malmö best-loved haunts and how the establishment's family-made hummus ended up on supermarket shelves.But mostly he talks about why he thinks the Migration Agency

en

14:16

How hatred and threats are undermining Swedish democracy

Sweden in Focus ·

2025/10/18

In this week's episode we talk about last weekend’s rowdy party leader debate and what it tells us about next year’s election.We also dig into some insights from readers of The Local on what prompted people to pack their bags and move to Sweden.For Membership+ subscribers, we discuss accusations that politicians are using xenophobic language to describe pro-Palestinian protestors.And finally we hear whether readers of The Local agree with the old cliché of Sweden being one of the most sexually

en

37:03

'We're not in a labour market in Sweden, we're in...

Sweden in Focus ·

2025/10/15

Sweden is one of the worst countries in Europe when it comes to providing job opportunities for educated foreigners, according to an investigation last year by Lighthouse Reports and media outlets including the Financial Times.The study found for example that Sweden had the second-worst employment gap for college-educated migrants and that 68 percent of immigrants educated abroad were overqualified for their job.In this week’s episode The Local’s contributor Amélie Reichmuth speaks about this issue

en

4:50

'We're not in a labour market in Sweden, we're in...

Sweden in Focus ·

2025/10/15

Sweden is one of the worst countries in Europe when it comes to providing job opportunities for educated foreigners, according to an investigation last year by Lighthouse Reports and media outlets including the Financial Times.The study found for example that Sweden had the second-worst employment gap for college-educated migrants and that 68 percent of immigrants educated abroad were overqualified for their job.In this clip from Sweden in Focus Extra, The Local’s contributor Amélie Reichmuth speaks

en

17:08

What's too expensive in Sweden (and what do you miss...

Sweden in Focus ·

2025/10/11

In this week's episode we talk about the politics behind Sweden's planned new salary threshold for work permit holders.We also look at what readers of The Local always make sure to do when they’re back visiting the countries they moved from.For Membership+ subscribers we discuss the Swedish government’s controversial plan to lower the age of criminal responsibility from 15 to 13.Finally, we’ve been trying to get answers on who will potentially be affected by a proposal to withdraw permanent

en

4:58

Volvo engineer leaves Sweden for Brazil after 'mean...

Sweden in Focus ·

2025/10/08

In this clip from the latest episode of Sweden in Focus Extra, The Local's Nordic editor Richard Orange interviews José Naves Moura Neto, a Brazilian software engineer.Neto, who was working at Volvo, moved back to Brazil last month after his 19-year-old son was ordered to leave Sweden just weeks after graduating from high school.'We are devastated': Volvo engineer’s family forced out of Sweden by teen deportation lawREAD ALSO:Sweden proposes tighter rules on self-sufficiency for family

en

19:34

Bilingual schools under fire from Sweden's education...

Sweden in Focus ·

2025/10/04

In this week's episode we talk about bilingual English-Swedish schools in Sweden and why they’re under fire from the authorities.We also discuss the pros and cons of rail travel in Sweden after the launch this week of a multi-billion kronor plan to improve Sweden’s railway network.For Membership+ subscribers we examine the government’s controversial plan to revoke permanent residency from more than 100,000 people.Finally we find out how people in Sweden spend their time online after the publication

en

6:20

Sweden’s teen deportation problem ‘extremely easy’ to...

Sweden in Focus ·

2025/10/01

In this week’s episode The Local's Nordic editor Richard Orange interviews the Gothenburg-based immigration lawyer Tomas Fridh.Many of The Local’s readers have been directly affected by a law that has led to the young adult children of permanent residency applicants being forced to leave Sweden unless they’re able to fully provide for themselves.When the government recently proposed new family reunification rules they indicated that this would effectively put an end to teen deportations.While he

en

24:16

What's in the Swedish right's radical new plan (apart...

Sweden in Focus ·

2025/09/27

In this week's episode we talk about whether immigrants will soon have to sign a contract promising to follow Swedish norms, and what's in the Swedish right's radical new plan for the next four years if it wins the 2026 election?We also examine reactions to a bumper budget and its impact on voters.For Membership+ subscribers we have updates on the issue of the Migration Agency not accepting some passports as a valid form of ID.Finally, we look at what readers of The Local have been telling us about

en

5:54

'A big impact': How important is your name when...

Sweden in Focus ·

2025/09/24

In this clip from Sweden in Focus Extra, The Local's Nordic editor Richard Orange chats with Moa Bursell, a sociologist from Mälardalen University who specialises in ethnic discrimination on the labour market.Richard caught up with the researcher recently for an article about why some immigrants change their names to sound more Swedish.The immigrants who make their names more Swedish by adding -ssonThey also talk about how big a role ethnicity plays in the chances of getting called for a job

en

20:18

Are anti-immigrant attacks in Sweden getting the...

Sweden in Focus ·

2025/09/20

In this week's episode we talk about anti-immigrant attacks in Stockholm and why a government minister won’t answer questions in parliament on how much he knew about his son’s involvement, until recently, with an extremist group alleged to be behind the attacks.We’ll also discuss the Swedish language and how the words we use every day gradually creep into how we speak English.Host Paul O'Mahony is joined this week by regular panelists James Savage and Richard Orange.Here are links to some of the

en

6:27

'I've never even jaywalked in Sweden'

Sweden in Focus ·

2025/09/17

In this clip from Sweden in Focus Extra, The Local's Richard Orange talks to Masoud Jamshidian, a solutions architect from Iran who is facing deportation from Sweden as a result of an insurance error made by his employer.'Like prison for stealing a bag of chips': IT architect faces deportation from SwedenDeportations of this kind are often referred to in the Swedish media as kompetensutvisningar, or talent deportations. They used to be relatively commonplace but a 2017 court case was supposed to

en

14:32

What's in Sweden's 'absolutely shameless' new budget?

Sweden in Focus ·

2025/09/13

In this week's episode we talk about Sweden’s expansive new budget and how it’s likely to affect our pockets – and next year’s election.We'll also help hone your Swedish language skills as we explain the subtle but all-important differences between different words for the English ‘put’.For Membership+ subscribers we look at the fallout after Sweden’s civil defence minister was pursued in the street by angry pro-Palestinian protestors.And we examine how Sweden is planning to make it harder for the

en

222 results

Similar Podcasts

Expres Ráno

Expres FM

PBS News Hour - Full Show

PBS NewsHour

CD Voice

China Daily

Israel Today: Ongoing War Report

Noa Levi

Jeffrey Epstein: The Coverup Chronicles

Bobby Capucci