On Shifting Ground

Is Extremism Going Mainstream in Europe?

On June 9th, Europe's European Union members voted for their next parliament. The election tends to be a practical and mostly predictable affair, where parties across the continent build centrist coalitions, but major victories for the far-right in countries like France, Germany, and Italy are shaking things up.

In 2023, journalist Julia Ebner joined Ray Suarez to share how she went undercover in the world of online extremists. Ebner revealed how conspiracy theories like QAnon have taken hold in Germany.

In this week’s program, Ebner shares how political extremism has moved mainstream, and how the far-right is upending the elections in Europe.

Guest:

Julia Ebner, author of Going Mainstream: How extremists are taking over

Host: 

Ray Suarez

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Do you ever feel like reality is shifting beneath your feet? Veteran journalist Ray Suarez spent forty years covering elections, civil wars, and pandemics that shaped the way we live. He’s seen entire countries flipped upside down and right side up… and now he’s here to bring a sensible voice to our endless doom-scrolling. Each week, Ray hosts conversations with journalists, leaders and policy experts that explore how people from New Hampshire to New Guinea are navigating our rapidly changing world. A co-production of Commonwealth Club - World Affairs and KQED.