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In this week's episode we talk about what a difference it makes when the Swedish media start reporting on immigration policies that force foreign workers to leave Sweden.

We also get into how Sweden has been reacting first to tariff threats and then their withdrawal by US President Donald Trump.

For Membership+ subscribers we look at what readers of The Local are telling us about how their food habits have changed since moving to Sweden.

Finally we discuss why women in Sweden tend to vote left while men lean more to the right.

Host Paul O'Mahony is joined this week by regular panelists Becky Waterton and James Savage.

Here are links to some of the topics discussed in the episode:

• Is Swedish media opinion on migration crackdown finally shifting?
• Swedish Liberal party calls for new agency to handle work permits
• Which new laws affecting foreigners in Sweden will be published this spring?

• How Trump-proof is Sweden's economy?
• Swedish stock market expected to rise after Trump drops tariff threat

• Fika, meatballs and Kalles kaviar: Which Swedish foods habits have you adopted?

• Why do men in Sweden vote for the right and women for the left?

Become a member at https://www.thelocal.se/podcasts/podcast-offer?tpcc=padlock.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Sweden in Focus Extra is a podcast for The Local's Membership+ subscribers.

Sign up to Membership+ now and get early, ad-free access to a full-length episode of the Sweden in Focus podcast every weekend, as well as Sweden in Focus Extra every Wednesday.

Please visit the link that applies to you and get a 40% discount on Membership+

• For signed-in members: Upgrade to Membership+
• For new members: Get Membership+

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In this week’s episode Sweden’s Minister for EU Affairs Jessica Rosencrantz speaks with The Local’s publisher James Savage.

James caught up with the minister on Thursday the 15th of January, a day after Danish and Greenlandic officials attended a meeting at the White House over the future of the Arctic island that US President Donald Trump said the United States wants to acquire.

In the days following this interview Trump announced that the US was planning to impose additional tariffs on eight European countries that sent military personnel to Greenland on Denmark’s request.

Sweden is one of the countries affected and the Swedish prime minister Ulf Kristersson reacted by saying that Europe would not let itself be blackmailed.

Jessica Rosencrantz also speaks in the interview about what the EU can do to bolster its own defensive capability.

And do Sweden’s plans to tighten citizenship requirements make it harder to compete for highly skilled workers with other EU countries.

Tune in to this week's episode for the full interview with Jessica Rosencrantz.

READ ALSO:

• INTERVIEW: ‘Sweden stands fully behind Denmark and Greenland’

Become a member at https://www.thelocal.se/podcasts/podcast-offer?tpcc=padlock.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Sign up now and get early, ad-free access to a full-length episode of the Sweden in Focus podcast every weekend, as well as Sweden in Focus Extra every Wednesday.

Please visit the link that applies to you and get a 40% discount on Membership+

• For signed-in members: Upgrade to Membership+
• For new members: Get Membership+

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In this week's episode we talk about brand new figures from the Migration Agency showing a steep drop in work permit and citizenship approvals in 2025 and we look at what some readers are telling us about why they’re choosing to leave Sweden.

We also dig into the many ways the Swedish language lets us talk about wintry weather.

For Membership+ subscribers we sink our teeth into the Swedish foods with geographical names that have earned official EU protected status from Scanian spettekaka to the polka pigs of Gränna.

Finally we discuss how to choose a school for your child now that the application period is underway.

Host Paul O'Mahony is joined this week by regular panelists Richard Orange and Becky Waterton. The episode also features an excerpt from a conversation with Sweden's migration minister Johan Forssell.

Here are links to some of the topics discussed in the episode:

• Number of people granted Swedish citizenship drops 40 percent
• How Sweden's government ignored warnings when revoking work permit law
• Will deported workers really be able to return to Sweden after just 19 days?
• 'I’m not valued': The reasons foreign residents are leaving Sweden

• 'Pig cold': How to talk about the winter weather in Swedish

• Calf dance and boiled bread: The Swedish foods with EU protection

• How to enrol your child in a Swedish school

Become a member at https://www.thelocal.se/podcasts/podcast-offer?tpcc=padlock.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Sweden in Focus Extra is a podcast for The Local's Membership+ subscribers.

Sign up to Membership+ now and get early, ad-free access to a full-length episode of the Sweden in Focus podcast every weekend, as well as Sweden in Focus Extra every Wednesday.

Please visit the link that applies to you and get a 40% discount on Membership+

• For signed-in members: Upgrade to Membership+
• For new members: Get Membership+

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This week’s episode of Sweden in Focus Extra features an interview with Niels Paarup-Petersen, the Centre Party's immigration spokesperson.

Paarup-Petersen is a Danish-born, Malmö-based politician who became a Swedish citizen in 2010 in order to be able to vote in the country he moved to with his Swedish partner.

The Local's Nordic editor Richard Orange caught up with him recently to get his analysis of what’s likely to happen with Sweden’s many immigration reforms in 2026 and whether immigration will be a big issue for voters in this year’s general election.

READ ALSO:

• 'Let's not kick people out of Sweden who are already contributing'

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Instead of a news roundup Sweden in Focus this week consists of a conversation with a journalist who has contributed several articles to The Local recently charting the immigrant experience.

Faisal Khan ended up in Sweden after life in Afghanistan became "unbearable" for him and his family. It was a country he knew little about but soon came to appreciate. Despite a rise in anti-immigrant rhetoric he's hopeful Sweden can "correct course" and focus on finding solutions to real societal problems without seeking scapegoats.

"I love everything about Sweden. I love its bad weather. I love its bad jokes, even though I don't understand most of them. My body doesn't accept the cold weather but I'm still optimistic," he says.

Become a member at https://www.thelocal.se/podcasts/podcast-offer?tpcc=padlock.

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Join us for an end-of-year quiz as we look back at the stories that shaped Sweden in 2025.

Host Paul O’Mahony is joined this week by The Local's Becky Waterton, Richard Orange and James Savage.

The year kicked off with revelations that Sweden's national security advisor had mislaid highly sensitive documents and ended with the country's right-wing leaders meeting in the Prime Minister's home to hatch plans for election year.

But how much do our contestants remember? And can you outperform them?

Become a member at https://www.thelocal.se/podcasts/podcast-offer?tpcc=padlock.

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