The EuroWhat? Podcast: Eurovision News & Reviews
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.
Episodes
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?
📸 NBC
Revisiting the American Song Contest Part 2 Summary
...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.
This episode pulls out some of the best bits from the first half of the series as we consider Eurovision’s next attempt at expanding their brand in Asia later this year.
📸 NBC
American Song Contest Revisited Part 1 Su...
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.
📸 Cover Image by Joe Mabel, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Scopitone Summary
- What is Scopitone? (3:03)
- Scopitone Production in America (8:15)
- The End of the Scopit...
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.
📸 Cover Image by Loyloy Thal from Pixabay
Notes on Camp Summary
- Notes from Future Mike (0:00)
- Episode Intro (1:32)
- Notes on Camp Background (3:26)
- Is Eurovision Camp? (17:16)
- Ca...
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?!
📸 Sarah Louise Bennett | EBU
BOOM Bangaranga Summary
- Were we engaged with the Contest this year? (0:56)
- The Eurovision Brodacasts (6:16)
- First Semi-Final (10:06)
- Second Semi-Final (16:24)
- The Grand Final (28:4...
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.
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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.
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The EuroWhat? Podcast is available wherever you get your podcasts. Find your podcast app to subscribe here.
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.
Hvala, Ne Summary
- Slovenia and the Relegation Era (4:39)
- One Semi to Rule Them All (11:32)
- Semi Finals go to Pot (15:17)
- Slovenia vs. the Televote (25:39)
Subscr...
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.
Icy Reception Summary
- History of Iceland Speedrun Any% (4:51)
- 1986: Iceland Joins Eurovision (19:38)
- Iceland's First Deca...
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.
All Kinds of Everything Summary
- Ireland at Eurovision (0:39)
- The State of Eurovison 1970-1971 (4:33)
- RTE presenting Eurovision in Color (13:53)
- Protests and Politics (22:29)
- Wrapping Up (35:43)
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T...
Romania returns from its Eurovision hiatus this year, hopefully with some things figured out. We review the country's history at the Contest, its qualification troubles, and how their strategy at the contest may be high risk, high reward.
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The EuroWhat? Podcast is available wherever you get your podcasts. Find your podcast app to subscribe here.
Comments, questions, and episode topic suggestions are always...
The semi-final era has not been kind to Poland. Though the country has done okay at Eurovision the last few years, they haven’t reached the heights of their debut entry in 1994. We’ll be doing a deep dive on what worked 30+ years ago and identify where Poland may secretly have its finger on the pulse of what does well at the Contest.
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The EuroWhat? Podcast is available wherever you get your podc...
Finland's UMK is one of the premiere selection shows each Eurovision season, but it didn't start out that way. We explore the evolution of the format and how YLE continues to make the program must see TV.
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The EuroWhat? Podcast is available wherever you get your podcasts. Find your podcast app to subscribe here.
Comments, questions, and episode topic suggestions are always welcome. You can shoot us an emai...
Lithuania isn't exactly a Eurovision powerhouse, but their lengthy selection processes have been showcases for the country's music industry. We take a look at the Baltic nation and how their approach to the Contest may be serving a different purpose than competition.
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The EuroWhat? Podcast is available wherever you get your podcasts. Find your podcast app to subscribe here.
Croatia is very specific about how it chooses to represent itself on the Eurovision stage. We take a look at the country's history at the Contest via its long-running national selection format Dora.
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The EuroWhat? Podcast is available wherever you get your podcasts. Find your podcast app to subscribe here.
Comments, questions, and episode topic suggestions are always welcome. You can shoot us an email or r...
Hey “Everybody”! Estonia and Latvia were the first two new countries to win Eurovision after the EBU expanded its membership in 1993. As we get ready for the Eesti Laul and Supernova selection processes, “I Wanna” take a look at the Contest history of these two Baltic nations.
Baltic Buddies Summary
- Estonia at Eurovision (1:03)
- Join the EuroWhat? AV Club (17:34)
- Latvia at Eurovision (18:45) <...
Bulgaria returns to Eurovision following a three-year absence. We take a look at the country's history at the Contest: a rough start in its initial tenure, a renaissance after its first hiatus, and looking ahead to how Bulgaria's next tenure may go.
Rough Summary
- Selection Season So Far: Moldova, Malta, Luxembourg, Georgia, Israel, Switzerland (0:40)
- Join the EuroWhat? AV Club (4:29)
- Bulgaria's History at Eurovision...
Luxembourg returned to Eurovision in 2024 after a 30-year hiatus. When they left the Contest, they were tied with Ireland and France in having won the most times at 5 wins apiece. We’ll explore Luxembourg’s incredible run and see how they’ve adapted to the modern era as we preview the third edition of the Luxembourg Song Contest.
Bad Lucksembourg Summary
- Luxembourg Stats at Eurovision (1:20)
- Luxemb...
Moldova has returned to Eurovision after a one-year break and has selected 16 songs to compete for a trip to Vienna in May. Malta has also streamlined their process a bit and will select their entrant from among 18 hopefuls. We’ll take a look at the history of these two countries and preview the selections that will be taking place on Saturday, January 17.
Folklore & Rock & Roll Summary
- End of 2025 New...
How do fans cope when the object of their fandom becomes problematic? Dr. Zoë Jay returns to the show to share insights from her research within the Eurovision community about this topic through the Eurovisionaries project. We also discuss ideas for fans who may be approaching 2026 with the mindset of new year, new me, new special interest.
Dr. Zoë Jay
Dr Zoë Jay is a researcher in international politics at the Universit...
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