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.
The EuroWhat? Podcast on social media
Episodes
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Episode 205: Efficiency
September 12th, 2023 | Season 7 | 22 mins 46 secs
belgium, cyprus, germany, malta, sweden, switzerland, ukraine, united kingdom
We get caught up on September 2023 Eurovision Headlines, of which there are a surprising amount. We already have an artist, details on multiple selection processes, and more than 2 dozen countries ready to party in Malmö, Sweden.
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Episode 204: Welcome to Sweden
August 29th, 2023 | Season 7 | 46 mins 15 secs
sweden
From "Waterloo" to "Tattoo", Sweden has been a dominant force in the Eurovision Song Contest for more than 50 years, winning the competition seven times. We dive into the ESC history of next year's host country.
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Episode 203: Iconic
August 15th, 2023 | Season 6 | 36 mins 24 secs
france, iceland, montenegro, serbia, spain, sweden, turkey, ukraine, united kingdom
We say farewell to our host nations by discussing one area where Ukraine and the United Kingdom overlap: iconic runner-up entries. But what does "iconic" mean for Eurovision entries?
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Episode 202: Drought
August 1st, 2023 | Season 6 | 19 mins 34 secs
luxembourg, norway, sweden, ukraine, united kingdom
With one month to go until Eurovision New Year and next year's host city and dates announced, it's been a fairly quiet month for the Contest. We check in with some of the national selection processes that are already casting for the upcoming season.
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Episode 201: Sisu
July 18th, 2023 | Season 6 | 48 mins 29 secs
finland, sweden, ukraine, united kingdom
Finland went all out in supporting their Eurovision entry "Cha Cha Cha" in ways that continue to reverberate weeks after the contest. We spoke with University of Helsinki researcher Zoë Jay and UMK associate producer/"Cha Cha Cha" dancer Matti Myllyaho about Finland's Eurovision 2023 experience.
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Episode 200: PopCon 2023
July 4th, 2023 | Season 6 | 1 hr 13 mins
albania, armenia, australia, belarus, denmark, france, germany, iceland, israel, italy, lithuania, netherlands, russia, san marino, spain, ukraine, united kingdom
In celebration of 200(!) episodes, we're sharing the presentation we gave at this year's Pop Conference entitled: “Let’s Discoteque Right At My Home”: Eurovision, the Pandemic, and Learning to “Open Up” Again
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Episode 199: News Cruise
June 20th, 2023 | Season 6 | 18 mins 27 secs
andorra, cyprus, israel, romania, sweden, united kingdom
Sweden's host city selection process for Eurovision 2024 has been bopping along while everyone is out of office for summer vacation. We get caught up with our mailbag and some of the headlines from the last month.
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Episode 198: Lyrical Vocabulary
June 6th, 2023 | Season 6 | 32 mins 57 secs
germany, ukraine, united kingdom
How does a songwriter interface with the Eurovision experience? "Blood and Glitter" co-writer Anthony J. Brown joins us to discuss his involvement with Lord of the Lost and Germany's 2023 Eurovision entry.
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Episode 197: Debut
May 23rd, 2023 | Season 6 | 31 mins 35 secs
denmark, finland, iceland, romania, sweden, ukraine, united kingdom
Ben has returned from his Eurovision debut in Liverpool, both as an audience member and as part of the in-person press team. He shares stories from his jam-packed trip.
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Episode 196: Stockholm Syndrome
May 16th, 2023 | Season 6 | 28 mins 26 secs
albania, australia, finland, germany, israel, italy, norway, spain, sweden, ukraine, united kingdom
While Ben recovers from Liverpool's Party of the Century, special guest Trip Payne stops by to chat about the 2023 Eurovision Grand Final and the battle between Sweden and Finland.
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Episode 195: Eurovision 2023 Grand Final Preview
May 12th, 2023 | Season 6 | 28 mins 44 secs
albania, armenia, australia, austria, belgium, croatia, cyprus, czechia, estonia, finland, france, germany, israel, italy, lithuania, moldova, norway, poland, protugal, serbia, slovenia, spain, sweden, switzerland, ukraine, united kingdom
Will Finland "Cha Cha Cha" to victory? Will Sweden's Loreen get a "Tattoo" to celebrate a win? Could Ukraine's "Heart of Steel" beat the competition? We recap the Eurovision 2023 Semi-Finals and make our picks for what we think will happen at the Grand Final in Liverpool.
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Episode 194: Internet People
May 8th, 2023 | Season 6 | 34 mins 39 secs
albania, armenia, australia, austria, azerbaijan, belgium, croatia, cyprus, czechia, denmark, estonia, finland, georgia, greece, iceland, ireland, israel, latvia, lithuania, malta, moldova, netherlands, norway, poland, portugal, romania, san marino, serbia, slovenia, sweden, switzerland, ukraine, united kingdom
Ben and Mike met up in person to make their picks on what they think will qualify from the Eurovision 2023 semi-finals. Then we saw rehearsals. Experience both the before and after as we make our best guesses for Tuesday and Thursday.