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 using Eurovision as a lens to analyze what’s happening in pop culture and the world.

The EuroWhat? Podcast: Eurovision News & Reviews on social media

Episodes

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • 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?

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • 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

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • 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.