Eurovision Song Context

Episode 85: Eurovision 2026 w Suzie: The Good, The Bad, and the Absolute Hell Not

May 4th, 2026  |  1 hr 5 mins

aidan bella, akylas ferto, boy george eurovision, cosmo tanzschein, esc 2026, essyla dancing on the ice, eurovision 2026, eurovision commentary, eurovision entries, eurovision favorites, eurovision flops, eurovision guilty pleasures, eurovision podcast, eurovision rankings, eurovision reactions, eurovision review, eurovision song contest 2026, eurovision songs, felicia my system, linda lampenius liekinheitin, lion ceccah solo quiero más, look mum no computer eins zwei drei, monroe regarde, sarah engels fire, satoshi viva moldova, senhit superstar, simón paloma rumba, soren torpegaard lund, vanilla ninja too epic to be true, veronica fusaro alice

This week’s episode is a late-night Eurovision catch-up with Suzie from Euro Riffs, as we go through this year’s entries with zero structure and very strong opinions.

We cover the songs we love, the ones that might grow on us, and the ones that absolutely should not be anywhere near the final. Along the way: Switzerland’s “too good for Eurovision” moment, Moldova doing what Moldova always does, staging worries, guilty pleasures, and one entry that sparks a full-on rant.

If you’ve been listening to the 2026 lineup and trying to figure out what actually works, this is the unfiltered version.

Episode 79: (Part 2) Zero Stars, Nul Points: June Thomas on Failure, Cynicism, and Eurovision

January 7th, 2026  |  55 mins 17 secs

all’s fair, ambition, criticism, cultural criticism, cultural failure, culture, cynicism, esc, eurovision, eurovision analysis, eurovision flops, eurovision song contest, go-jo, jeangu macrooy, jendrik, june thomas, lucy mangan, media criticism, music competition, olly alexander, one star reviews, outward podcast, pop culture, remember monday, slate, taste and identity, television criticism, the waves podcast, working podcast, zero points, zero star reviews

In this episode, Bradley is joined by writer and longtime Slate culture critic June Thomas for a conversation about criticism, failure, and what it means for a work to be “truly bad.” They explore the difference between a one-star work and a zero-star work — the kind of cultural object that isn’t just unsuccessful, but “fascinatingly, existentially terrible.” This leads into a discussion of Lucy Mangan’s Guardian review of All’s Fair and questions about ambition, tone, intentionality, and when something collapses under its own concept.

From there, they bring these ideas into the world of Eurovision, using several entries — from joyful chaos to critically praised underperformers — as case studies in how audiences and critics respond to risk, camp, sincerity, and cynicism. Together they ask whether it’s better to flop than be forgotten, why some failures linger while others vanish, and what Eurovision reveals about our tastes, expectations, and the strange afterlives of cultural failure.

Episode 78: (Part 1) Zero Stars, Nul Points: June Thomas on Failure, Cynicism, and Eurovision

January 7th, 2026  |  56 mins 19 secs

all’s fair, ambition, criticism, cultural criticism, cultural failure, culture, cynicism, esc, eurovision, eurovision analysis, eurovision flops, eurovision song contest, go-jo, jeangu macrooy, jendrik, june thomas, lucy mangan, media criticism, music competition, olly alexander, one star reviews, outward podcast, pop culture, remember monday, slate, taste and identity, television criticism, the waves podcast, working podcast, zero points, zero star reviews

In this episode, Bradley is joined by writer and longtime Slate culture critic June Thomas for a conversation about criticism, failure, and what it means for a work to be “truly bad.” They explore the difference between a one-star work and a zero-star work — the kind of cultural object that isn’t just unsuccessful, but “fascinatingly, existentially terrible.” This leads into a discussion of Lucy Mangan’s Guardian review of All’s Fair and questions about ambition, tone, intentionality, and when something collapses under its own concept.

From there, they bring these ideas into the world of Eurovision, using several entries — from joyful chaos to critically praised underperformers — as case studies in how audiences and critics respond to risk, camp, sincerity, and cynicism. Together they ask whether it’s better to flop than be forgotten, why some failures linger while others vanish, and what Eurovision reveals about our tastes, expectations, and the strange afterlives of cultural failure.