Eurovision Song Context

Episode 92: Is Opera Dying, or Have We Stopped Thinking? With Katie Glass

October 21st, 2026  |  1 hr 24 mins

Journalism, albania 2012, anne-marie david, arts education, australia 2019, british post office scandal, class, classical music, cultural accessibility, cultural elitism, esc, eurovision, eurovision song contest, eurovision song context, eurovision ticket prices, glyndebourne, go_a, high culture, kate miller-heidke, katie glass, luxembourg 1973, mr bates vs the post office, opera, operatic pop, popular culture, reading, rona nishliu, shum, suus, tu te reconnaîtras, ukraine 2021, zero gravity

In this episode of Eurovision Song Context, Bradley is joined by award-winning British journalist and columnist Katie Glass to explore opera, cultural accessibility, class, education and the changing ways we engage with art.

Katie's recent article for the London Standard argues that opera's ageing audience reflects something bigger than ticket prices: a society increasingly uncomfortable with difficult art, sustained attention and intellectual challenge.

We discuss everything from discovering opera on a date to Glyndebourne's extravagant picnics, the merits of watching performances at home, whether art should be made easier to attract new audiences, and the differences between opera and Eurovision.

Then Katie watches four Eurovision performances, including operatic pop, extraordinary vocal technique, a classic Luxembourg winner and Ukrainian electro-folk.

We finish with Katie's reporting on the British Post Office scandal, and how her work helped inspire the ITV drama Mr Bates vs The Post Office.

Katie is an award-winning feature writer and columnist whose work has appeared in The Times, The Sunday Times, Financial Times, The Telegraph, The Standard and numerous other publications.

Her reporting often examines how major social issues affect ordinary people. Her Sunday Times Magazine investigation into the Post Office scandal helped inspire the television drama Mr Bates vs The Post Office.

Episode 22: (Part 2) Master-pieces

September 12th, 2023  |  58 mins 35 secs

Russia, Ukraine, esc, eurovision, georgia, go_a, jamala, ogae, poland, solovey, stephane & 3g, we don’t want to put in

This episode's guest is Elka Krajewska. She’s an artist, poet, and activist. I'll talk to her about her current life in Warsaw, and her previous live in New York-- where she notably ran the Salvage Art Institute. The Institute famously deals with what remains of fine art that has been seriously damaged, which in insurance circles is called salvage. We’ll talk about the Rodin and Calder sculptures semi-destroyed in the attacks on 9/11, and the fragments of a very famous balloon dog sculpture. Elka’s now working in Warsaw. We’ll talk about Eastern Europe, about where she is now. About the human experience, art, impermanence. We’ll then chat about some iconic submissions from 2020, 2016, and 2009, including Go-A, Jamala, and Stephane & 3G. I always encourage you to go to the showpage at eurovisionsongcontext.fireside.fm and watch the submissions before we talk about them.

One last note, this episode includes 3 swear words that I haven’t edited. Hide your children.

Episode 21: (Part 1) Master-pieces

September 12th, 2023  |  50 mins 13 secs

Russia, Ukraine, esc, eurovision, georgia, go_a, jamala, ogae, poland, solovey, stephane & 3g, we don’t want to put in

This episode's guest is Elka Krajewska. She’s an artist, poet, and activist. I’ll talk to her about her current life in Warsaw, and her previous live in New York-- where she notably ran the Salvage Art Institute. The Institute famously deals with what remains of fine art that had been seriously damaged, which in insurance circles is called salvage. We’ll talk about the Rodin and Calder sculptures semi-destroyed in the attacks on 9/11, and the fragments of a very famous balloon dog sculpture. Elka’s now working in Warsaw. We’ll talk about Eastern Europe, about where she is now. About the human experience, art, impermanence. We’ll then chat about some iconic submissions from 2020, 2016, and 2009, including Go-A, Jamala, and Stephane & 3G. I always encourage you to go to the showpage at eurovisionsongcontext.fireside.fm and watch the submissions before we talk about them.

One last note, this episode includes 3 swear words that I haven’t edited. Hide your children.