Filling the Sink

The truth about Catalonia's witches and witch-hunts

Sònia Casas from the Barcelona-based history magazine Sàpiens joins Alan Ruiz Terol and Lorcan Doherty to separate fact from fiction when it comes to the story of witch-hunts in Catalonia. As a recent Sàpiens issue dedicated to the subject puts it: They weren't witches, they were women. 
Pau Castell, a historian at the University of Barcelona who has dedicated his career to studying witches, talks about his research.  
Filling the Sink recreates the seventeenth-century trial of Elisabet Cerdana, which took place in the village of Castellterçol in central Catalonia. 

How religious is Catalonia today?

In the space of a generation the religious landscape of Catalonia has changed utterly. The number of atheists, agnostics and non-religious has skyrocketed as the influence of the Catholic Church has waned since the transition to democracy. 
At the same time, Catalonia is becoming more religiously diverse, with migration driving the growth of evangelical congregations and Islam. 
Dr Mar Griera, the director of ISOR (Research in Sociology of Religion) at the Autonomous University of Barcelona, explains the reasons behind Catalonia's rapid secularization.  
Cristina Tomàs White and Cillian Shields join Lorcan Doherty to discuss Catalonia's current religious makeup and look at some of the Easter traditions that are still going strong. 

The crown in crisis: Corruption scandals rock the Spanish monarchy

Spain's royal family has been rocked in recent years by wave after wave of scandal and controversy. The former king, Juan Carlos I, fled to the United Arab Emirates last August amidst ongoing corruption investigations. 
In this episode of Filling the Sink, Swiss journalist Sylvain Besson describes how he broke the story of how Juan Carlos received 100 million dollars from Saudi Arabia and hid them in Switzerland. 
Cristina Tomàs White speaks to Albert Calatrava, one of the writers of The King's Armor (L'Armadura del rei), a book that examines how Spain has protected its scandal-ridden monarchy for the past four decades, turning a blind eye to its sins.  
Guifré Jordan and Alan Ruiz Terol join Lorcan Doherty to discuss the rise and fall of the monarchy's popularity, the current crises engulfing the crown, and whether there could be a republic in the future. 
And with the crown having the lowest approval rating in Catalonia out of any institution – 1.86 out of 10, according to the Center of Opinion Studies (CEO) – Scarlett Reiners asks the people of Barcelona what they think. 

First Catalan nanosatellite in space - small step, giant leap or a load of hot air?

As Catalonia launches its first nanosatellite, science writer and educator Joan Anton Català Amigó joins the Filling the Sink team to talk all things space. 
Catalan Digital Policies minister Jordi Puigneró defends the formation of the Catalan Space Agency and explains that it's clearly not "a Catalan Nasa." 
Alan Ruiz Terol takes a visit to Montsec Observatory and Astronomical Park in western Catalonia, where the nanosatellite – named Enxaneta – will be controlled from after taking off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. 
And with Nasa's Mars Perseverance rover toiling away on the red planet, Dr Carolina Arnau Jimenez tells Cristina Tomàs White how the European Space Agency's research at the Autonomous University of Barcelona could pave the way for humans to follow suit in the future.  
Presented by Lorcan Doherty. 

Covid-19 – impact one year on and hopes for the future

Exactly twelve months on from the declaration of the state of alarm and first lockdown, a look at what's changed, what's stayed the same and what could happen in the months ahead.
Salvador Macip, a doctor, scientist and writer originally from Catalonia and now based at the University of Leicester gives his view on the vaccine rollout, the new variants, and the easing of measures in Catalonia compared to the UK.
Cillian Shields joins Lorcan Doherty to look at the trends in the current coronavirus figures and discuss the upcoming changes to Covid restrictions from March 15 and at Easter.
Cristina Tomàs White reflects on the social and economic impact of the pandemic. 

Gender inequality - at work, at home and during the pandemic

Ahead of International Women's Day on March 8, a look at the ongoing fight for gender equality and the impact the pandemic has had on women. 
Plus, four Catalan women – Núria Obiols Vives, the head of the maritime authority in Tarragona; Helena Guillén Díaz, a livestock farmer in the Pyrenees; Núria Martínez López, a process engineer in the automotive industry; and Montserrat Corominas, a businesswoman in Switzerland – on their experience as women working in sectors traditionally dominated by men.  
Laura Pous, Business and International Editor at ACN (the Catalan News Agency), and Cristina Tomàs White, Catalan News journalist, join Lorcan Doherty in Episode 18 of Filling the Sink
 

The wizard, the vampire and the curse – Dark tales from Barcelona's Old Town

Cillian Shields on the medieval wizard Astruc Sacanera. Still talked about 600 years later, he gave his name to a magical street in the city's Gothic Quarter, Carrer d'Estruc.
Maria Jesús Navarro from CultRuta recounts a dark tale of kidnapped children, of blood and bones and the bourgeoisie. Just over one hundred years ago, Catalan society was gripped when a young girl, Teresita Guitart, went missing. It's the story of Enriqueta Martí, The Vampire of Raval. 
Scarlett Reiners tells of the curse afflicting one of Barcelona's most iconic buildings, the Liceu. Burned down and bombed over the years, are the many disasters that have befallen the famous opera house the result of upsetting some angry monks? 
Presented by Lorcan Doherty. 
CatalanNews.com
Music: Vanishing by Kevin MacLeodLink: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/4578-vanishingLicense: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license

Rapper Hasel jailed and riots on streets – freedom of speech debate spills over

On February 16, the Catalan rapper Pablo Hasel was arrested at the University of Lleida after being sentenced to two years and nine months in jail for two cases of glorifying terrorism and insulting the Spanish crown in his tweets and lyrics. 
His arrest has led to widespread protests in cities and towns across Catalonia and Spain, with dozens of arrests and injuries following clashes between demonstrators and police. 
Cristina Tomàs White and Natacha Maurin join Lorcan Doherty to discuss Hasel's case, a similar one involving the rapper Valtonyc, and the debate around the boundaries of freedom of expression and Spain's controversial so-called 'gag law.' 

Catalan election - winners, losers, and what's next

The Catalan election is over, but how the extremely fragmented results will translate into the next government is up in the air. Episode 15 of Filling the Sink brings you everything you need to know about the election winners, the biggest losers, and what lies ahead.
Held amidst the Covid-19 pandemic, the Catalan election turnout dropped to a historic 53%, but the stakes couldn’t be higher for the next parliament. While the Socialists won the most votes, they tied with Esquerra in number of seats, and pro-independence parties combined surpassed 50% of the vote for the first time. 
Who will lead the next government? Will this be a turning point for the independence movement? And how to explain the stunning rise of the far right, entering parliament for the first time with 11 seats? 
Lorcan Doherty puts these questions to Catalan News deputy editor Guifré Jordan and ACN political reporter Gerard Artigas, and Cristina Tomàs White reports on a nail-biting election night. 

Catalonia's booming videogame industry

Barcelona is a global hub for game developers, with Catalonia accounting for more than half of the industry's earnings in Spain. 
Anna Guxens, an indie developer on her studio's game – The Pizza Situation – which plays on our worst social media habits. Oscar García Pañella of the University of Barcelona on how gaming principles can be applied in the outside world "to make miserable tasks memorable." Jon Davis, the technical director of one of Catalonia's gaming successes – Socialpoint's Monster Legends – on what drew him to the Barcelona tech scene. 
Alan Ruiz Terol joins Lorcan Doherty to reminisce about his past life as a gamer, and discuss the industry's rapid growth and the challenges it faces.

Catalan election – the runners and riders

It's election time. After weeks of uncertainty the courts have confirmed that the Catalan election on February 14 will be going ahead. Episode 13 of Filling the Sink has got everything you need to know about the parties, the polls and the permutations.
Will the independence bloc retain a majority in parliament? Will the far right enter the chamber for the first time? Which party will top the polls and what will the next government look like? 
Lorcan Doherty puts the questions to Catalan News deputy editor Guifré Jordan and ACN political reporter Gerard Artigas. 
And with only 5.3 million entitled to vote in Catalonia, home to around 6.2 million adults, Cristina Tomàs White asks: Who should have a say in a democracy? 

The climate crisis threatening Catalonia

Forest fires, floods, rising temperatures and sea levels: Catalonia is vulnerable to climate change. 
One year on from the destruction caused by Storm Gloria, Cristina Tomàs White and Cillian Shields join Lorcan Doherty to examine the consequences that extreme weather events are having. 
Cristina travels to the Ebre Delta to see how flooding – most recently from Storm Filomena – is affecting both the fragile ecosystem and people's livelihoods.  
Cillian reports on the hidden paradise that has emerged where the River Tordera meets the Mediterranean Sea.