On today’s episode we discuss the ins and outs of the European Union and how it structurally, institutionally and ideologically reinforces its own legitimacy through “civil society” within current and prospective member states.

Our guest is Thomas Fazi.

Fazi is the author of the book The European Propaganda Machine: The Dark Side of NGOs, Media and Universities (2026) - (published in Italian).

Book description:

A topic no one talks about: for the first time, the apparatus through which the European Union has built, financed, and implemented a widespread system of control over public discourse is dismantled piece by piece. Through a documented analysis of the flows of money to NGOs, media, and universities, the text shows how European public resources are being used to generate artificial consensus, marginalize dissent, and promote an integrationist ideology presented as neutral and inevitable. What emerges is a portrait of a largely co-opted “civil society,” a structurally dependent media, and an academia transformed into a vehicle for political legitimacy. This investigation raises fundamental questions about the state of democracy in Europe and the increasingly blurred lines between information, activism, and propaganda.
Thomas Fazi is a critically-acclaimed writer and journalist. His books include The Battle for Europe: How an Elite Hijacked a Continent — and How We Can Take It Back (Pluto Press, 2014), Reclaiming the State: A Progressive Vision of Sovereignty for a Post-Neoliberal World (co-authored with Bill Mitchell; Pluto Press, 2017) and The Covid Consensus: The Global Assault on Democracy and the Poor — A Critique from the Left (co-authored with Toby Green; 2023). His latest book, published in Italian, is The European Propaganda Machine: The Dark Side of NGOs, Media and Universities (2026). His articles have appeared in numerous online and printed publications. He is a columnist for the British magazine UnHerd and the American magazine Compact.

Episode music:
”სმა” - მინდა და ვთხრი