Last July, a group of fishermen near the coast of Norway were surprised to see a submarine burst out of the water in front of them. A terrible disaster had struck the Losharik, a highly advanced Russian vessel that had been lurking on the seafloor. But what happened? And what was the submarine doing so close to European shores?

This mystery has fascinated the Norwegian journalist Thomas Nilsen, one of the authors of a New York Times investigation into the Losharik disaster. We talked to him about why Russia is so interested in what lies beneath these waters. Spoiler alert: your internet connection depends on it.

Also this week: Finland's basic income experiment, a setback for German homophobes, and graffiti for the green-fingered.

Thomas is the editor of the Barents Observer. Read his New York Times investigation: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/20/world/europe/russian-submarine-fire-losharik.html

We're hosting an Online Pub Quiz for our Patreon supporters this week! To join the fun, you can sign up to support us here: https://www.patreon.com/europeanspodcast

Isolation Inspiration:

Trying: https://youtu.be/nGA_6WTD3vM
Under Milk Wood: https://youtu.be/WJtzOD3KbLM

Thanks for listening!

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