EU Confidential – Escape the EU Bubble: Expert Summer Book Picks

Date: August 1, 2025
Host: Sarah Wheaton (POLITICO)
Producer/Co-host: Diana Sturris

Overview

This special summer episode of EU Confidential shifts gears from the usual EU policy deep-dives to focus on summer reading. As Brussels heads into vacation mode, host Sarah Wheaton and producer Diana Sturris gather book recommendations from EU insiders, politicians, and listeners—offering a literary escape from the “European bubble.” The episode also features an interview with veteran EU official turned author, Jeroen Reinen, plus the hosts’ own reading picks for the season.

Key Segments and Insights

Setting the Scene: Books Over Briefings

• Sarah Wheaton opens with a nod to listeners on holiday and those still in Brussels. She invites everyone to swap policy memos for novels that inspire, question, and delight.
  • “Maybe even time to read something that isn't a leaked draft of a new impact assessment or, or a policy non paper. So this week we're turning to books, to big ideas, bold imaginations and stories that let us see the world or escape it for just a little while.” (02:00)

Listener & Insider Summer Book Picks

Listener/Colleague Recommendations (03:35–08:10):

• Seb Starcevic (POLITICO Reporter):
  • Bonjour Tristesse by Françoise Sagan
    “Very angsty and French, yet transportive and summery. Perfect beach read if you're lounging on a cabana in Cannes with an aperol spritz or just wish you were.” (03:35)
• Mitzi Clifton (UK Tech Reporter):
  • Killing Thatcher by Rory Carroll
    An inside story of the 1984 IRA bombing, praised for combining historical depth and true crime readability.

Kayakallas, EU’s Top Diplomat (Voice Note, 05:21):

• Do Not Disturb by Michela Wrong (Rwanda post-genocide history)
• The Great Game by Peter Hopkirk (Central Asian espionage)
• The Situation Room by George Stephanopoulos (US presidential crises)
• Autocracy, Inc. by Anne Applebaum
  “I think there’s really food for thought for everybody.” (06:25)

Glenn Micallef, EU Commissioner for Youth & Culture (07:12):

• I Giorni di Vetro by Nicoletta Verna
  • Story of a woman born at the rise of Italian fascism; winner of the EU Prize for Literature.
• Dakli Leil Ihaliktite by Pierre Meilaq
  • Maltese short stories, also prize-winning.

Jessica Rosenkranz, Swedish Minister for EU Affairs (08:10):

• Human Acts by Han Kang
  “Han Kang manages to describe death as something more vivid and alive than anyone else. It's a brutal reading, but you won't be able to stop. And I can assure you it's a break from the Brussels bubble.” (08:36)

In-Depth: Interview with Jeroen Reinen – Author of Big in Brussels (08:52–18:53)

Sarah Wheaton interviews Jeroen Reinen, longtime EU official and new author.

Motivation and Origins (09:47–11:27)

• Jeroen’s origin story: dreamed of being a Brussels lobbyist; career took him to the European Parliament.
• "In the end, what makes your career or not is if you manage to make Brussels your home." – Jeroen Reinen (10:51)

Generations in the EU “Bubble” (11:34–12:29)

• Three types of Brussels arrivals:
  1. The idealists (founders)
  2. Their children (cosmopolitans, e.g., Ursula von der Leyen)
  3. The “opportunity-seekers” like himself
• “My time in the parliament has actually made me a lot more idealistic about everything we do.” (12:16)

Life and Challenges in Brussels (13:08–15:49)

• Key tip: “Don’t give up. ... Maybe it's not directly your dream job, but it will give you the chance to basically explore Brussels and explore what you actually enjoy and keep an open mind.” (13:08)
• Distinct challenges:
  • Loneliness & Temporariness
    • Frequent turnover makes relationships transient.
    • “Every time when people leave, it hurts. ... You start to invest less. Not because you choose to, but to protect yourself.” (14:42)

Making Brussels “Home” (15:49–16:15)

• “The moment you have really chosen, okay, this is my future ... it makes it more fun and gives also a dimension to your life here.” (15:49)

On POLITICO’s Impact (16:03–16:48)

• Crediting the Brussels Playbook and POLITICO for “making Brussels sexy.”
  • “What Politico has done has really brought the politics to the bubble by making it ... more confrontational, to show also the people behind the scenes who make the decisions.” (16:15)

How Brussels Has Changed (17:14–18:03)

• From integration optimism to “crisis managers”:
  • “We have become a bit from builders to more crisis managers. ... Europe’s slogan could have been, what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.” (17:14)

Jeroen's Personal Book Pick (18:12)

• The Kindly Ones by Jonathan Littell:
  • Explores how ordinary people are drawn into evil; a stark reminder about the fragility of democracy.

More Summer Reads from the “Bubble” (20:11–26:21)

• Petra (Listener):

  • Taten Drang (Urge for Action) by Theresia Tugelhofer – A novel about young Europeans in Brussels navigating ambiguity.

• Jordan Dahl (Mobility Reporter):

  • The Spy Who Came in From the Cold by John Le Carré – Classic Cold War espionage with psychological twists.

• Anne McAvoy (Head of Audio, POLITICO):

  • Perfection by Vincenzo Latronico –
    “Beautifully observed ... an absolutely brilliant picture of a generation.” (21:52–23:01)
  • Quote:
    “Life carried on as normal. They worked, they attended openings, they partied. But they had glimpsed within themselves ... a flakiness and a vanity they could not now unsee.” (22:32)

• David Gere (Retired EU Official, 23:48):

  • Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf (100th anniversary)
    “A real treat with subtlety and brilliance in every line, all against the background of the disaster of the First World War.”

• Frank Furedi (Executive Director, MCC):

  • Common Sense: A Political History by Sophia Rosenfeld – Explores how “everyday wisdom” shapes politics.
  • I Want to Go Home, But I'm Already There by Roisin Lanigan – Dark humor and social satire in today’s housing crisis.

• Sonia Dean (Editor, POLITICO):

  • The Redbreast and The Kingdom by Jo Nesbø (Nordic noir)
    • “Chilling, spectacular stuff.”
    • “Stephen King said it was so suspenseful and original he couldn't put it down.”

The Hosts’ Own Book Recommendations (26:45–33:24)

Diana Sturris:

• The Empusium by Olga Tokarczuk
  • “A horror story … set in Poland in a little spa town in 1913. ... She bends the borders of genre and you end up with something completely new and amazing.” (26:55)
• Tell Me Everything by Elizabeth Strout
  • “A story about storytelling … also crime, a murder. It’s really fantastic.” (28:45)

Sarah Wheaton:

• There Lives a Young Girl in Me Who Will Not Die by Tove Ditlevsen (Poetry)
  • “Poems that stare into the surfaces that seduce and deceive us … life tastes of ash and is bearable.” (29:30)
• Notes from a Big Country / I'm a Stranger Here Myself by Bill Bryson
  • Reflections returning to the US after 20 years away—especially poignant with recent political shifts.
• H is for Hawk by Helen MacDonald
  • “Partly a meditation on grief … a sort of nature writing story about birds and falconry … just riveting.” (32:27)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On loneliness in Brussels:
  “It's loneliness. It's not so easy to make new friends. ... Often they leave after two years, then you have to start over again. ... The temporariness that people live in.” – Jeroen Reinen (14:42)
• On finding your path:
  “Try to find jobs the first two years. And maybe it's not directly your dream job, but it will give you the chance to basically explore Brussels.” – Jeroen Reinen (13:08)
• On literature and the bubble:
  “We said, hey, we’re gonna give you a break. But instead we’re just giving people this… if you’re like me, every time I hear about a book, I need to read that before I die. And then I just end up feeling totally inadequate.” – Sarah Wheaton (29:04)

Timestamps – Key Segments

| Timestamp | Segment | |-----------|-----------------------------------------------------| | 02:00 | Theme intro: Reading beyond the Brussels bubble | | 03:35 | First listener recommendations (Seb Starcevic, etc) | | 05:09 | Listener voice notes – EU officials and diplomats | | 08:52 | Interview: Jeroen Reinen, author of Big in Brussels| | 13:08 | Top tips for making it in Brussels | | 14:42 | Distinct challenges of EU career/life | | 16:15 | POLITICO’s impact on the Brussels “bubble” | | 17:14 | How politics and the “bubble” have changed | | 18:12 | Jeroen’s personal book pick | | 20:11 | More listener and reporter book picks | | 21:52 | Anne McAvoy’s Berlin-set novel recommendation | | 23:48 | Mrs. Dalloway at 100 | | 24:28 | Frank Furedi’s books on common sense and satire | | 25:30 | Sonia Dean’s Norwegian crime fiction picks | | 26:45 | Diana & Sarah’s own book recommendations | | 29:30 | Sarah’s poetry recommendation | | 32:27 | Sarah’s H is for Hawk reflection |

Tone & Atmosphere

• Warm, convivial, slightly tongue-in-cheek—honest about the Brussels grind while celebrating the joy (and necessity) of escaping through stories.
• Emphasis on diversity of reading: classics, new fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and even Nordic noir.
• Acknowledgment of the challenges and joys that come with both public service and cosmopolitan, transient lifestyles in Brussels.

Summary

This episode of EU Confidential is a literary love letter to listeners, EU insiders, and anyone needing to mentally escape the grind—if only for a summer. The wide-ranging book recommendations cover European history, global politics, existential novels, spy thrillers, poetry, Nordic noir, and stories that mirror the complex, shifting identities of those in Brussels and beyond. Through personal stories, candid advice, and an open invitation to keep the reading list growing, Wheaton and her guests remind us that sometimes the most profound perspectives come not from think tanks or policy docs, but from books read in the summer sun.