Sweden in Focus – Details, episodes & analysis

We're releasing the podcast earlier than usual this week to bring you up to date information on this week's horrific shooting in Örebro that left eleven people dead. 

We also look at why Sweden’s government wants to make the new citizenship rules retroactive and how applicants are reacting.

In the longer version for Membership+ subscribers we give you the lowdown on sportlov, the annual Swedish school break that sees families leave the cities en masse for the northern slopes and, finally, we dig into why the government is planning to give foreign experts bigger tax cuts.

Host Paul O’Mahony is joined this week by regular panelists Becky Waterton and Richard Orange. 

Here are links to some of the topics discussed in the episode:

• 'Multiple nationalities' among victims in Swedish mass shooting: police
• What we know so far about the Örebro campus attack

• Swedish government to make new citizenship rules retroactive
• UPDATED: Readers' questions answered on Sweden's citizenship reforms

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We start this week with news that broke just before we started recording the episode. The victims of two separate murders in the greater Stockholm region on Wednesday were revealed to be, in the first killing in Husby, an uncle of organised crime chief Rawa Majid and, in Södertälje, Salwan Momika, who was behind a quran-burning spree in 2023. Coming at the end of a record month for explosive attacks, how serious is the current crime wave and what's being done to stop it?

We also look at why Sweden’s national security adviser finally resigned and what it means for the government, why a Swedish police tactical unit boarded a ship in the Baltic. And, taking a breaking from the news, we learn how to speak Swedish like a Scanian.

Host Paul O’Mahony is joined this week by regular panelists Emma Löfgren and Richard Orange. 

Here are links to some of the topics discussed in the episode:

• Quran-burner Salwan Momika shot dead in Stockholm
• Social Democrats: Turn all of southern Stockholm into one big stop-and-search zone
• Swedish police warn parents to keep eyes on kids after wave of violence

• Politics in Sweden: Why carelessness isn't the only issue with the PM's 'bästis'

• 'I think it's the Russians': Swedish defence expert on cable sabotage

• 17 dialect words you'll need to know to survive in southern Sweden

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In this week's episode: Sweden’s Lucia tradition, who was Princess Birgitta, what we know about the government’s plan to stall citizenship grants.

• Get Membership+ free for two months

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Host Paul O’Mahony is joined this week by regular panelists James Savage and Richard Orange. 

Here are links to some of the topics discussed in the episode:

• What you need to know about celebrating Lucia in Sweden

• IN PICS: Who was Princess Birgitta, King Carl XVI's outspoken elder sister?

• Swedish government strikes deal to slow down Sweden citizenship awards
• OPINION: Foreigners in Sweden deserve fair and transparent citizenship rules
• Swedish citizenship slowdown 'very sketchy', says top Social Democrat

Sign up now and get early, ad-free access to a full-length episode of the Sweden in Focus podcast every weekend, as well as Sweden in Focus Extra every Wednesday.

Please visit the link that applies to you and get a 40% discount on Membership+

• For signed-in members: Upgrade to Membership+
• For new members: Get Membership+ 

Read more about Membership+ in our help centre.

Already have Membership+ but not receiving all the episodes? Go to the podcast tab on your account page to activate your subscription. 

Become a member at https://www.thelocal.se/podcasts/podcast-offer?tpcc=padlock.

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In the latest episode of our Sweden in Focus podcast, host Paul O’Mahony is joined by panelists James Savage, Becky Waterton and Emma Löfgren. 

This week we take a closer look at what makes a Swedish Easter. 

• Witches and herring: Seven traditions that reveal it's Easter in Sweden
• PODCAST: 65,000 bomb shelters, a Swedish teacher's tips, and Easter insults
• 'Ash fart', 'fat pig' and 'long lazy': a guide to Sweden's Easter insults

We discuss a new court ruling allowing demonstrators to burn the Quran, as well as terrorism arrests connected to the right-wing extremist Rasmus Paludan’s Quran-burning demo outside the Turkish embassy in Stockholm. 

• Sweden arrests five over suspected terror plot linked to Quran burning
• Swedish court: Police wrong to refuse permission for Quran burning
• PODCAST: Why Sweden experienced its worst riots in decades
• ‘Police should have stopped Koran-burning demos after the first day’

We examine a new survey that shows a majority of Swedes prioritize security over democracy. 

• ARCHIVE - OPINION: To protect Sweden’s democracy, trust is not enough

Finally, and with the help of journalist and author Johan Wicklén, we delve into Swedish attitudes to drugs and how likely the country is to liberalize its policies. 

• ARCHIVE - Is Sweden's zero-tolerance approach to drugs a failing model?
• How to argue without losing your Swedish friends

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In the latest episode of our Sweden in Focus podcast, host Paul O’Mahony is joined by panelists James Savage, Becky Waterton and Richard Orange. 

This week we kick off with a few current talking points in Sweden: the weather's still bitterly cold but at least the Easter break is coming up; why a post-match football interview sparked a racism row; and should Sweden follow Denmark's lead on Brexit Brits?

• What changes in Sweden in April 2023?

As food prices hit record highs we look at why a price war has finally broken out in Sweden's supermarkets. 

• Swedish grocery giants to cut prices on hundreds of items

We discuss why Hungary is still keeping Sweden waiting on Nato as Finland forges ahead.

• Hungary calls on Sweden to address ‘grievances’ to end Nato spat

We talk about how comfortable Sweden is with nudity and whether attitudes have changed over time.

• How to get naked in Sweden without embarrassing yourself

And finally we dig into a report this week from Sweden's climate watchdog predicting that government policies will cause emissions to increase for the first time in two decades.

• Swedish government’s new climate policies ‘will lead to rising emissions’

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In the latest episode of our Sweden in Focus podcast, host Paul O’Mahony is joined by panelists James Savage, Becky Waterton and Richard Orange. 

This week we’re talking about why the Swedish state may soon find itself in court over its alleged climate inaction. 

• Swedish court to hear young people’s climate lawsuit against the state

After our chat with crime reporter Diamant Salihu a few weeks ago we go deeper on Swedish gangster rap and look at how close some of its most successful practitioners are to the gang violence they depict. 

• ‘Supply and demand, motherfxxker!’: The real violence behind Sweden’s gangster rap
• INTERVIEW: ‘Everybody in Sweden who buys cocaine should know the money is used to buy bullets’

We’ll give you some background on Chris O’Neill, the British-American husband of Princess Madeleine as the couple prepare to move back to Sweden. 

• The difficulties of moving to Sweden as a non-EU spouse… even if you marry a Swedish princess
• ARCHIVE: A look at Swedish royal fiancé Chris O’Neill

We have an interview with the United States’ ambassador to Sweden, Erik Ramanathan, about his impressions of Sweden and the strength of the countries’ bilateral relationship. 

And, finally, we’ll see what the forecast is like for the Swedish property market, and why foreigners are busy snapping up summer homes. 

• ‘New era’: Swedish bank warns interest rate could hit five percent
• Foreign buyers snap up cheaper Swedish holiday homes
• Seven gorgeous Swedish holiday homes for less than a million kronor
• How to get the best rate on your mortgage in Sweden

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In the latest episode of our Sweden in Focus podcast, host Paul O’Mahony is joined by panelists Becky Waterton and Richard Orange. 

In this week’s episode we discuss how the fallout from the recent banking sector turmoil might affect savers in Sweden. 

• How safe is your money in a Swedish bank account?

What’s going on with Nato? Are Hungary and Turkey are going to let Finland and Sweden in?

• ‘Increased chance that Finland joins NATO before Sweden’: PM

Is it time to dispense with ‘de’ and ‘dem’ in written Swedish and instead embrace ‘dom’? 

• DE/DEM: Is Sweden about to carry out its biggest language reform in 50 years?

In a week when the Christian Democrats’ party secretary was fired after another senior figure in the party filed a police report against him, we look at how the scandal has played out so far and how the party has handled it. 

• Swedish MEP comes forward as accuser in Christian Democrat ‘me-too’ case
• LIST: Sweden’s biggest seven ‘me-too’ cases

In the latest instalment of our ambassador series, we have an interview with Canada’s ambassador to Sweden, Jason LaTorre.

We also look at who’s who in the the Skarsgård acting dynasty before rounding off with tips for some of our own favourite Swedish films. 

• SKARS-GUIDE: Who’s who in Sweden’s Skarsgård acting dynasty?

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In this special bonus episode of the Sweden in Focus podcast, we hear more from our guest Jonathan Leman, a researcher with the Expo Foundation, which monitors and exposes far-right extremism in Sweden. 

Host Paul O’Mahony is also joined by panelists James Savage, Becky Waterton and Emma Löfgren.

In this episode we continue our chat about the far-right Sweden Democrats' interactions with the more extreme fringe of the nationalist movement. 

We discuss the Sweden Democrats' increasing climate scepticism and their intervention to block LGBTQ cultural events. We also talk about the party's stance on Russia's invasion of Ukraine and whether their renewed ties to the far-right alternative media ecosystem represents a security threat. 

• EXPLAINED: Why the Sweden Democrats are still a far-right party
• ‘It’s incredible: We have effectively got through the Sweden Democrat migration policy’

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In the latest episode of our Sweden in Focus podcast, host Paul O’Mahony is joined by guest Jonathan Leman from the Expo Foundation, as well as panelists Becky Waterton, Emma Löfgren and James Savage. 

In this week’s episode we discuss why two lay judges (nämndemän) resigned after a highly controversial court ruling that hinged on an interpretation of the word snippa.

• How Sweden's lay judge system works

With tax declaration season soon upon us we’ll provide some handy tips to get you through it.

• KEY DATES: The deadlines you need to know for Swedish tax season
• Nine key things you need to know about your Swedish tax return
• Your Swedish tax return: 11 ways to get money back

We’ll also talk about how food prices in Sweden just keep on rising to new record levels and how you can save money.

• ‘They’re making us so poor’: Swedish food prices hit record high
• Seven ways to save money on food and drink in Sweden

In the latest instalment of our ambassador series, we have an interview with Taiwan’s representative to Sweden, Klement Gu.

Finally, for our main topic today we chat to Jonathan Leman about how and why the far-right Sweden Democrats have become more radical since being welcomed in from the cold by the parties now in government. 

• What a new report tells us about far-right extremism in Sweden
• ‘The Sweden Democrats no longer need to worry about how they appear’

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In the latest episode of our Sweden in Focus podcast, host Paul O’Mahony is joined by panelists Richard Orange, Emma Löfgren and James Savage. 

This week we have a brief chat about the Northern Lights, which were visible all over Sweden last weekend.

• SWEDEN IN PICTURES: Your best Northern Lights snaps

We then talk about Turkey resuming Nato talks with Sweden and whether Hungary might put a spanner in the works.

• Finland to join Nato without Sweden if Turkey gives go ahead
• Hungary’s president Orbán says MPs ‘unenthusiastic’ about Sweden Nato bid

We discuss the fallout from the tragic story of the Stockholm chief of police, who was found dead in his home last week.

• Police chief Mats Löfving found dead

We look into why Sweden is still importing gas from Russia more than a year after the full-scale invasion of Ukraine. 

In the latest of our series of interviews with ambassadors, we get the lowdown on Australian-Swedish relations from Australia’s Ambassador Bernard Philip. 

Etiquette expert Sofia Larsson explains how she answers readers who complain that there’s too much English spoken in Sweden, and our panelists discuss how important they think it is to learn Swedish. 

• Sweden in Focus episode (April 9th 2022) featuring a Swedish teacher’s tips

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