Pro-Palestinian encampment at Columbia University. Eurovision 2024.

NIKITA PAYUSOV/Middle East Images/AFP via Getty Images; LAURIE DIEFFEMBACQ/Belga/AFP via Getty Images/Getty Images

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NIKITA PAYUSOV/Middle East Images/AFP via Getty Images; LAURIE DIEFFEMBACQ/Belga/AFP via Getty Images/Getty Images

Pro-Palestinian encampment at Columbia University. Eurovision 2024.

NIKITA PAYUSOV/Middle East Images/AFP via Getty Images; LAURIE DIEFFEMBACQ/Belga/AFP via Getty Images/Getty Images

Pro-Palestinian protests have been popping up at universities around the world, and in the last few days things have escalated at a number of those campuses. Columbia University called on police to shutdown the encampment on their university lawn and 300 people were arrested. At University of California Los Angeles, about 200 pro-Israel counter-protestors raided a pro-Palestinian encampment. To get first hand accounts of the protests, Brittany talks to two student journalists: Shaanth Nanguneri, an undergraduate reporter at the UCLA, and Claire Davenport, a graduate reporter at Columbia University in New York.

Then, Eurovision may seem like a quaint, quirky event to Americans but it’s a huge cultural event that easily surpasses the Super Bowl in terms of global viewership. And for an apolitical event, Eurovision can teach us a lot about geopolitics. This year, all eyes are on Israel, which is not European but has been a competitor since the 70s. With Israel’s ongoing conflict in Gaza, there’s a lot of politicking for and against its inclusion at the song contest. Brittany chats with Eurovision scholar Paul David Flood about Israel’s controversial song and dance at Eurovision… and why Americans might want to pay attention.

This episode was produced by Barton Girdwood and Liam McBain. It was edited by Jessica Placzek. Our executive producer is Veralyn Williams. Our VP of programming is Yolanda Sangweni.