About the show
The Eurowhat? Podcast launched in 2018 and features two Americans (Ben Smith and Mike McComb) attempting to make sense of the Eurovision Song Contest. The show tracks national selections and artist announcements, breaks down each year’s songs with a diverse array of guests, and dives into the 65+ years of contest history during the contest off-season, using Eurovision as a lens to analyze what’s happening in pop culture and the world.
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Episodes
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Episode 217: Technical Difficulties
February 6th, 2024 | Season 7 | 44 mins 24 secs
finland, germany, italy, latvia, lithuania, malta, norway, spain, sweden, ukraine
It was a Saturday so Super it stretched into Sunday... not by choice, but Ukraine loves drama. Norway, Spain, and Malta also made their Eurovision picks, Latvia and Sweden kicked off their processes, and Lithuania is almost done with their heats. Oh, and The Draw added some structure to the 2024 Contest.
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Episode 216: Squiggle Line Mouth Face
January 30th, 2024 | Season 7 | 39 mins 31 secs
iceland, ireland, lithuania, luxembourg, malta, norway, romania, spain, sweden, ukraine
Eurovision season clicks into second gear this week with Ireland and Luxembourg making selections, Norway setting its final field, Lithuania's holding its third heat, and Malta, Spain, and Ukraine getting ready to decide. How will The Draw shake up things in Malmö?
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Episode 215: That's SLO Raiven
January 23rd, 2024 | Season 7 | 28 mins 27 secs
austria, denmark, estonia, germany, ireland, lithuania, luxembourg, malta, norway, portugal, romania, serbia, slovenia, sweden
Eurovision calmed down a bit this week with qualifying heats from Lithuania and Norway plus the semi-final for Estonia's Eesti Laul. Slovenia turned up the drama with Raiven's "Veronika" and Austria announced their artist for Malmö. Be warned: this is the last bit of calm until March...
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Episode 214: Floodgates
January 16th, 2024 | Season 7 | 21 mins 26 secs
belgium, cyprus, finland, georgia, ireland, latvia, lithuania, luxembourg, moldova, norway, sweden, ukraine
The search for the next Eurovision winner began officially this week, with Moldova holding auditions, Norway kicking off NRK MGP, and Lithuania launching its new process Eurovizija.lt. Georgia announced their artist, and everybody had to issue a press release the week that Mike is home alone 😱
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Episode 213: Trickle
January 9th, 2024 | Season 7 | 30 mins 43 secs
albania, croatia, finland, ireland, lithuania, moldova, norway, serbia, sweden, ukraine
Eurovision 2024 barely took a break for the holidays! We get caught up on Albania's Festivali i Këngës, the results of the ESC 250 Countdown, and look forward to Moldova, Norway, and Lithuania this coming weekend.
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Episode 212: 37ish
December 19th, 2023 | Season 7 | 36 mins 26 secs
albania, australia, croatia, czechia, finland, germany, israel, italy, luxembourg, netherlands, romania, slovenia, spain, sweden, ukraine, united kingdom
We finally have a (tentative) roster for next year's Eurovision Song Contest! Czechia has selected their entry, artists have been announced for the Netherlands, Slovenia, and the UK, and national final season details are coming into focus. What a way to wrap 2023!
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Episode 211: Allons-y!
December 5th, 2023 | Season 7 | 29 mins 23 secs
azerbaijan, estonia, finland, france, greece, italy, malta, slovenia, spain, sweden, ukraine
FRANCE has jumped the gun and released their song for Eurovision 2024. Greece has announced their artist, a handful of countries have named their contestants for their national finals, and tickets were already on sale... it's barely December? Join us as we peruse Eurovision Song Contest headlines.
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Episode 210: Wilderness
November 21st, 2023 | Season 7 | 39 mins 36 secs
ireland, sweden, united kingdom
We welcome back Alex McMillan to discuss the state of Ireland's Eurovision Song Contest selections and reflect on their historical successes and recent failures. Is Eurosong on the Late Late Show the best selection method? Is Ireland stuck in the nostalgia for their dominance in the 90s? What risks can the delegation take to make a splash in Malmö?
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Episode 209: Millstreet
November 7th, 2023 | Season 7 | 40 mins 19 secs
bosnia and herzegovina, croatia, denmark, greece, ireland, italy, luxembourg, netherlands, slovenia, sweden
It's been 30 years since a small town in Ireland took on the challenge of hosting Eurovision while the concept of Europe was undergoing a transformation. We look back at Millstreet 1993, the accommodation of several new countries wanting to join the party, and... the Bartman?
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Episode 208: Calendaring
October 24th, 2023 | Season 7 | 19 mins 25 secs
albania, armenia, azerbaijan, cyprus, denmark, estonia, finland, germany, iceland, israel, lithuania, malta, norway, san marino, slovenia, sweden
As we continue to wait for the full guest list for Eurovision 2024,: Cyprus announces their artist, a bunch of selection processes release start dates (FRIDAY?!), end dates, and a few name changes (EEK!), plus we start filling out this winter's TV calendar.
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Episode 207: Aline!
October 10th, 2023 | Season 7 | 37 mins 11 secs
denmark, france, ireland, switzerland
Discussing Valérie Lemercier's "freely-inspired" Celine Dion biopic — What do you do if your pop culture idol doesn't sign off on you making a biopic about them? Change their name, tweak some of the facts, and play all the roles so you can make a movie like Aline!
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Episode 206: Obvious Points Klaxon
September 26th, 2023 | Season 7 | 29 mins 22 secs
cyprus, greece, türkiye
Greece and Turkey have had a tense relationship and Cyprus is often in the center of disputes. We take a look at these dynamics and how they may have shifted over the last 50 years at Eurovision.