Ben Smith has been watching the Eurovision Song Contest since 2008, blogging/podcasting about it since 2011, and a part of its digital press center since 2021. He has deep thoughts about the ways improvements in streaming media in the last decade have made the contest more of a truly global event, and can also do a tight five on Norway’s selection process. He lives in Somerville, MA and can be found more generally at goodatinter.net.
Ben Smith has hosted 304 Episodes.
-
Episode 307: Can't Stop the Music
August 18th, 2026 | Season 9 | 38 mins 47 secs
austria, bulgaria, switzerland
The Eurowhat AV Club finishes out the 1980 Disco Musical Trilogy (which includes The Apple and Xanadu) with CAN’T STOP THE MUSIC.
Spoiler: We would like to stop the music...
-
Episode 306: Xanadu
August 4th, 2026 | Season 9 | 35 mins 23 secs
australia, austria, bulgaria, united kingdom
The Eurowhat Movie Club celebrates the legacy of Olivia Newton-John’s film career with a detour into roller disco classic(?) Xanadu. And OH BOY do we have questions...
-
Episode 305: American Song Contest Revisited Part 2
July 21st, 2026 | Season 9 | 1 hr 27 mins
albania, austria, bulgaria, canada, italy, latvia, sweden, ukraine
The instantly-doomed American Song Contest really did seem like a good idea at the time: 56 states and territories competing for the hearts and minds of the public on NBC. The execution was not great, but we were pot-committed back in 2022 when we covered this pale imitation of Eurovision. What lessons can be learned before Asia tries its hand at the ESC formula?
-
Episode 304: American Song Contest Revisited Part 1
July 7th, 2026 | Season 9 | 1 hr 35 mins
albania, austria, bulgaria, sweden
The instantly-doomed Great American State Fair was supposed to bring together all 56 US states and territories. What if there was a song contest that did that? NBC tried it in 2022 and we watched it all.
-
Episode 303: Scopitone
June 16th, 2026 | Season 9 | 29 mins 42 secs
austria, france, italy, united kingdom
Scopitone was a video jukebox from the 1960s that featured short clips that could be considered proto-music videos. Ben discusses the history, production, and cultural impact of the medium while Mike delights in the off-model nature of the content.
-
Episode 302: Notes on Camp
June 2nd, 2026 | Season 9 | 30 mins 34 secs
austria, belgium, iceland, ireland, latvia, moldova, san marino, sweden
What is "Camp"? In 1964, literary critic Susan Sontag investigated this question in her culture-defining essay "Notes on Camp". We discuss how the concept of Camp applies to Eurovision, other forms of pop culture, and our day-to-day lives.
-
Episode 301: BOOM Bangaranga
May 19th, 2026 | Season 9 | 1 hr 1 min
australia, austria, belgium, bulgaria, denmark, france, germany, israel, lithuania, united kingdom
Better late than never: let’s talk about Eurovision 2026. We’ll discuss what happened in Vienna, what this means for the Contest going forward, and share our post-confetti plans. Also: BULGARIA?!
-
Episode 300: Tu cara me suena
May 12th, 2026 | Season 9 | 32 mins 51 secs
austria, israel, spain
Spain has been ride-or-die for Eurovision since debuting in 1961. In this episode, we’ll be taking a look at how Spain’s original approach to the Contest may have informed their decision to not attend the festivities in Vienna for the first time in 65 years.
-
Episode 299: Going Dutch
April 28th, 2026 | Season 9 | 24 mins 28 secs
austria, israel, netherlands, slovenia
Eurovision is an expensive enterprise, and the Netherlands has been one of the Contest’s largest financial supporters. In this episode, we’ll be taking a look at the financial impact of Netherland’s absence from Eurovision 2026.
-
Episode 298: Hvala, Ne
April 14th, 2026 | Season 9 | 36 mins 10 secs
austria, bosnia & herzegovina, croatia, israel, slovenia
Slovenia has struggled to find momentum and consistency on the Eurovision scoreboard. In this episode, we take a look at how rule changes—especially around who qualifies—has impacted Slovenia’s ability to succeed at the Contest.
-
Episode 297: Icy Reception
March 31st, 2026 | Season 9 | 40 mins 22 secs
austria, iceland, ireland, israel
Iceland's television broadcaster RUV turns 60 this year and 2026 is also their 40th anniversary of entering Eurovision. We take a look at why it took 20 years for Iceland to join the party, how the country helped push the Contest into a more modern mode, and why they won't be in Vienna this year.
-
Episode 296: All Kinds of Everything
March 17th, 2026 | Season 9 | 39 mins 58 secs
austria, ireland, israel, monaco, spain, united kingdom
Boycotts, jury overhauls, technological shifts, major protests, religious and political violence, hot pants... Ireland had a lot to deal with when it hosted Eurovision for the first time in 1971.