Filling the Sink

Solidarity at Christmas – Charity drives, fundraisers, food banks and toy appeals

Christmas is a time of celebration, of family and friends, of giving and receiving gifts, but it can also be a very lonely and very expensive time of year. Gerard Escaich Folch and Cillian Shields join Lorcan Doherty to look at some of the ways people in Catalonia are giving back this Christmas, including a Red Cross campaign that aims to make sure that no child goes without presents. Ferran Busquets, director of the Arrels Foundation, talks about the importance of the Christmas meals his organization provides for homeless people. This week's Catalan phrase is 'Com més serem, més riurem', which means 'The more of us there are, the more we laugh', or simply, 'The more the merrier'! 

Local elections lowdown – mayoral battles and how foreigners can vote

Catalonia goes to the polls next May 28th but foreigners eligible to vote need to be registered much sooner.
Cristina Tomàs White gives the lowdown on who has the right to vote and how to register.
Cillian Shields chats to Pere Moradell, mayor of Torroella de Fluvià since 1979.
Maxime Van Cleven compares voting rights across Europe and beyond.
Plus a look at some of the intriguing mayoral battles across Catalonia.
This week's Catalan phrase is 'Embolica que fa fort'. Literally something like 'wrap to make strong', it means a situation is becoming more complicated.
Presented by Lorcan Doherty. 

Abortion – the law and the reality in Catalonia

Cristina Tomàs White and Guifré Jordan join Lorcan Doherty to discuss abortion in Catalonia – what the law says, how it could change, and what the reality is like on the ground. Activists Silvia Adalvert from the Associació de Drets Sexuals i Reproductius and Selene Alberich from the Assemblea Vaga Feminista de Les Terres de l'Ebre outline improvements in access and care they would like to see, while one woman, Júlia, shares her experience of seeking an abortion in Catalonia. This week's Catalan phrase is 'no caure els anells'. Literally, 'the rings don’t drop', it is used when someone is not afraid of doing some hard work.

Fatima Ofkir - the young Catalan woman serving a life sentence in Oman

In the summer of 2017, Fatima Ofkir, then 18 years old, made a big mistake. The young Catalan woman was arrested in the Sultanate of Oman accused of drug trafficking. She is currently serving a life sentence in prison but desperately wants to return to her home country.
Cristina Tomàs White and Guifré Jordan join Lorcan Doherty to discuss the case, and we hear from Fatima’s mother Rosario Reyes who shares her anguish and frustration at the lack of developments.
This week's Catalan phrase is 'fer l'orni', which means to turn a blind eye.

Casa Orsola – a symbol of Barcelona’s gentrification debate

Casa Orsola in Barcelona's Eixample neighborhood has become a symbol of the city's struggle with gentrification, as long-term renters find themselves priced out of their homes.
One resident, Basilis, explains his story, while lawyer María José Tarancón outlines the position of the building's new owners, Lioness Inversiones.
Housing rights activists Daniela Lima of the Esquerra de l'Eixample Housing Network and Enric Aragonès of the Sindicat de Llogateres tenants' union give their take.
Presented by Lorcan Doherty with Gerard Escaich Folch and Cristina Tomàs White.
This week's Catalan phrase is 'posar la mà al foc'. Literally 'to put your hand in the fire', it is used when you are very sure of something you say, like 'I swear'. 

So long, sedition – What will criminal code reform mean for Catalan and Spanish politics?

In 2019, nine Catalan pro-independence leaders were found guilty of sedition for their roles in the independence push of 2017. Now, Spanish prime minister Pedro Sánchez has announced that the crime of sedition will be struck from the penal code – a decision set to have a huge impact on Catalan and Spanish politics. Could those convicted politicians – subsequently pardoned but still barred from holding public office - make a return to frontline politics? And could those in exile – including former president Carles Puigdemont – be extradited, or even return voluntarily? Lorcan Doherty is joined by Gerard Escaich Folch and Cillian Shields, with analysis from Jordi Nieva, professor of procedural law at the University of Barcelona. This week's Catalan phrase is 'canviar de camisa'. Literally 'to change shirt', it means to change to change your beliefs. 

Not so wild - Catalonia’s wild boar problem

Catalonia has a pig problem. Numbers of Sus scrofa, the Eurasian wild pig, have shot up in recent years and so too has the potential for conflict with humans. Cristina Tomàs White and Guifré Jordan join Lorcan Doherty to discuss the causes, effects, and possible solutions to the spiraling wild boar population. With Anna Sanitjas, head of Forest Ecosystems and Environmental Management at the Catalan government, Jaume Badia, biology PhD researcher at the University of Barcelona, and Ramon Comes, from the Unió de Pagesos farmers union. Plus, we go searching for boar in the Collserola mountains and get the thoughts of residents there. This week's Catalan phrase is 'fer més mal que un porc solt' - to do more damage than a pig on the loose.  

Feeling the pinch – lowdown on inflation, bills and shopping tips

After a decade of low inflation and low interest rates, price hikes following the Covid-19 pandemic and Russia's war in Ukraine have left many feeling the pinch. Esther Lorente, head of the OCU Consumer Organization in Catalonia, has tips on how to keep your shopping and energy bills down. Cristina Tomàs White and Gerard Escaich Folch join Lorcan Doherty to discuss inflation trends in Catalonia and beyond, and what measures are being taken to bring rising prices under control. Plus, stallholders at Sants Market in Barcelona on how they and their customers are dealing with inflation. This week's Catalan phrase is 'tirat de preu', used to describe something that is cheap. 

Foodie favorites – a guide to (genuine!) Catalan grub

Less paella and sangria and more esqueixada and escalivada – Lorcan Doherty is joined by Cillian Shields and Gerard Escaich Folch to chat about traditional Catalan food. Attendees at Barcelona International Community Day tells us their favorite Catalan dishes. Gerard and Maxime Van Cleven visit Sants Market in Barcelona and talk to stallholders about the kinds of food that locals and visitors buy. This week's Catalan phrase is 'pa sucat amb oli'. Literally bread soaked in oil, it is used to describe something of low quality or little value. 

Bottoms up! - Barcelona’s cocktail bars in World’s Top 10

Flamboyant drinks and clandestine bars, Barcelona’s cocktail scene has stepped up its game, overthrowing London and New York at the World's 50 Best Bars ranking. 
Filling the Sink is celebrating its 100th episode with cocktails! Alejandra Angulo Alonso is joined by Catalan News journalists Cillian Shields and Gerard Escaich Folch to talk about the hottest creative bars in Barcelona that made it to the World's 50 Best Bars ranking, celebrated this month for the first time in the Catalan capital instead of London. 
Join us as we visit the bars featured in the top ten of the list for 2022: Paradiso, first place, Sips in third spot, and Two Schmucks, at number seven. We hear from Gianluca Basso, Paradiso’s manager; Marc Alvarez, Sips’s co-owner; and Pom Modeste, Two Schmucks’ manager. 
We also have a little surprise at the end of the podcast to mark our 100th show! Cheers! 

Government collapse - endgame or new start for independence camp?

Almost a decade of collaboration among the main pro-independence parties ended on October 7 when members of Junts per Catalunya voted to exit the coalition. After years of inspiring huge mobilizations, how did the independence movement get here, and what comes next? 
Alejandra Angulo Alonso is joined by Catalan News editor Guifré Jordan to talk about the new single-party government in Catalonia formed by the left-wing, pro-independence Esquerra Republicana, governing solo with support from just 33 seats of the total 135 in the Catalan parliament.  
We also hear from Doctor of political science at UAB, Ernesto Pascual, on the future challenges of Aragonès’s administration as well as a report from our correspondent Cillian Shields about the slow divorce between the main Catalan pro-independence parties during this term. 
This week's Catalan phrase is ‘Embolica que fa fort’ which means “things are getting even more difficult.”

The unfinished MidCat pipeline – a solution for Europe’s energy crisis?

As Europe faces an uncertain winter amid the energy crisis provoked by the war in Ukraine, Catalan, Spanish and German officials are looking at the MidCat project, an unfinished pipeline that would bring gas from Africa to Europe via Catalonia, as a potential solution to ease the continent's dependency on Russian imports. Alejandra Angulo Alonso is joined by Cillian Shields and Gerard Escaich Folch to talk about this ambitious billion-euro pipeline project that faces political and social challenges before it can be completed. We also hear from Joan Puerta, vice president of Catalonia's Engineers Association's energy committee, and Carol Coll, activist from the environmental group Plataforma Resposta al MidCat. This week's Catalan phrase is ‘a mig gas’, which means “not giving 100% of your efforts to reach a goal.”