Eurovision Song Context
A podcast where we bring in smart people. We talk about smart things, then veer into glitter, wind machines, and geopolitics. Experts. Insight. Eurovision chaos.
Displaying 1 item of Eurovision Song Context with the tag "father ted".
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Episode 89: Define, Then See: Journalist Tony Connolly on Europe's Stereotypes
July 12th, 2026 | 57 mins 29 secs
all kinds of everything, brussels, croatia, cultural identity, dana, don't mention the wars, esc, espresso macchiato, estonia, european stereotypes, european union, eurovision, eurovision song contest, father ted, fawlty towers, geopolitics, ireland, journalism, let 3, mama šč, national identity, podcast, rté, tommy cash, tony connolly, ukraine
"We define, then we see". In this episode, Bradley sits down with journalist Tony Connolly, RTÉ's Europe Editor based in Brussels, to talk about his book Don't Mention the Wars: A Journey Through European Stereotypes. Tony traces where our national stereotypes actually come from, why the brain reaches for them under stress, and how much truth (if any) is buried inside them.
The conversation turns to Eurovision, where stereotyping isn't just cultural shorthand, it's staged. We talk through Dana's "All Kinds of Everything," Ireland's 1970 winner and a reminder of Ireland's early Eurovision dominance; Tommy Cash's "Espresso Macchiato," Estonia's cheeky (and controversial) sendup of Italian stereotypes; and Let 3's "Mama ŠČ!," Croatia's 2023 entry, which used Cold War-era imagery to smuggle a pointed anti-war message onto the Eurovision stage. Plus: the Fawlty Towers line that gave the book its title, and the Father Ted episode that Eurovision itself couldn't have written better.