It's that time of year when reindeer start cropping up on all kinds of Christmassy consumer goods, from snowglobes to Advent calendars. But for the indigenous Sámi people of northern Europe, herding these remarkable animals is a way of life — and one that is increasingly under threat. This week we speak to Sámi herder and climate change expert Jannie Staffansson about her community's intimate and profound relationship with reindeer. It's an animal-themed episode this week, so we're also talking about a bee miracle in the Canary Islands, and how a European sheep can somehow be rare and a threat to biodiversity at the same time.

This week's Isolation Inspiration was brought to you courtesy of Arte. Check out their series Re: European Stories here. Dominic enjoyed this episode on tea farming in Georgia, while Frederic recommends you check out this episode on village shops. You should also check out the latest episode of NPR's Rough Translation podcast! It includes a version of 'Sara', one of the episodes from our mini-series 'This Is What A Generation Sounds Like', co-produced by our very own Katz Laszlo with Adelina Lancianese. This episode was produced as part of Sphera, a collective of independent European media. Find out more at hub.com/">sphera-hub.com.

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Producers: Katy Lee and Wojciech Oleksiak

Music: Jim Barne and Mariska Martina

This podcast is part of the Are We Europe family. Find more like-minded European podcasts at areweeurope.com/audio-family.

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