The big story of 2021 in Finland and the rest of the world was still a coronavirus pandemic. But much more happened.
Throughout the year, the All Points North podcast covered the country’s municipal elections, including exclusive, in-depth interviews with the leaders of the Finnish parliamentary parties in English (!).
Nine interviews – from a former leader of an opposition Finn Jussi Halla-aho (February 11) all the way to the Prime Minister of the Social Democrats Sanna Marin (May 27), and everything in between can be found on the APN website.
You can listen to the full podcast on the embedded player here, through Yle Areena, Spotify, Apple podcasts or on your regular podcast player using an RSS feed.
The article continues after the sound.
Obscure internships and the pay gap for foreigners
One of the most listened-to APN episodes of the year plunged students into the sometimes murky world of internships. These arrangements, often advertised as providing valuable real-life work experience, are often a requirement for graduation, but usually offer little or no financial compensation, which can contribute to exploitation in the labor market.
The APN spoke Salla Hakokönkäs a union-funded hotline for summer workers to find out where trainees concerned about exploitation can turn.
We also met Susanna Bairoh, the engineering association TEK, which explained what people can do if they suspect they are underpaid because of their nationality.
Bank headaches and migration delays
This autumn, APN asked why some Finnish banks require customers to pay a hefty deposit to open an account – and why some banks paid it faster than others when closing an account.
Sami Tanskanen The University of Eastern Finland told us that many factors make it challenging for foreign students to set up a bank account.
In April, we talked Charles Mathies, An American researcher living in Finland who sparked a stir on social media about a long wait in Migr, which turned out to be a very short visit. We asked Mathies why he thought his story piqued so much interest.
Climate change
In September, we learned from the author and Yle’s meteorologist Kerttu Kotakorpi how global climate change will affect Finland in the coming yearsspoiler alarm, outlook not good). Then, the following month, we asked an economist at the VATT research institute Marita Laukkanen if Finland were on the right track to meet its ambitious climate targets (spoiler alarm, outlook not good).
Breakfast sports
From 2021 at least, one cannot speak in Finland without mentioning the controversy over the Prime Minister’s head Sanna Marin (SDP) most of the summer – breakfast gate!
The scandal, which focused on breakfast and a cold meal, benefited from a benefit to the Prime Minister and his family to which they may not have been entitled, leading to widespread rage on social media as well as a wealth of media attention.
At the beginning of the summer, we heard from Yle’s political journalist Hannu Tikkala who explained why he thought the public debate on the matter was a good thing.
Covid-19, 20, 21…
Of course, a review of last year would be missing without a discussion of the Covid-19 pandemic. Now, in its almost third year, Covid has paid its toll on people’s health, front-line workers, and the economy – not to mention everyone’s patience.
During the year, we discussed the coronavirus epidemic with many experts, including scientists Pirta Hotulainen which, together with a group of experts, called for a “zero Covid” strategy at the beginning of the year.
At the end of May, he was the CEO of HJK Helsinki Football Club Aki Riihilahti told us of his frustration with the government’s restrictions on the coronavirus, which he described as uneven.
Vaccine researcher at the Institute of Health THL Jonas Sivelä, told us earlier this month that he does not accept the idea of forcing people who are hesitant to take Covid vaccines but prefer a softer approach.
In the end, we heard from Yle’s journalist Satu Miettinenwho told about what he saw in the Covid ward of Päijät-Häme Central Hospital in Lahti.
It may not be the happiest way to end, but that’s where we are.
Happy 2022!
All Yle News and APN wish you, our audience, a very happy and healthy New Year and look forward to contacting you in 2022!
This week’s program was presented, produced and delivered Mark B. Odom and the sound engineer was Anders Johansson. If you have any questions or would like to share your thoughts, please contact us via WhatsApp at +358 44 421 0909, on our Facebook or Twitter accounts or [email protected] and [email protected].
Source: The Nordic Page