On this week's show our guest is Mikko Kiesiläinen, who heads up the Libera think-tank. Kiesiläinen's pamphlet on revamping higher education in Finland is just off the press, and we ask him whether Finland should abolish its entrance exam system, which is coming under increasing criticism as a historical remnant.
Europe Day was celebrated across the continent this week and roving reporter Ronan Browne took to the streets to find out whether Finns are still keen on the EU. Europe Minister Sampo Terho of the breakaway populist Blue Reform party also weighs in on whether or not Finns should leave the union like the Brits did and Fixit.
We also look at the potential for a conflict of interest in a case where a politician earns big sums in farming and land use subsidies while simultaneously serving as agriculture minister.
Kiesiläinen has the chance to react to listener comments criticising the free pass Finns Party MP Laura Huhtasaari seems to have had following news that her Master's thesis was found to be extensively plagiarised.
This week's news recap looks at the case of a re-offending serial strangler, suspected discrimination against a Finnish-Russian dual national, and the outcome of a hit-and-run case that devastated Helsinki last summer. Designated male and female spaces also made headlines this week, with the 160-year-old Swedish-speaking gentlemen's club Handelsgillet possibly starting to admit female members while a German-American entrepreneur is seeking to launch a women-only island resort in Finland's south-western archipelago.
In health news, Nordic researchers found that quitting alcohol could prevent up to 13,000 cancer cases in Finland over the next 30 years. Meanwhile, Oulu city officials are seeking police action against a 'serial defecator', who terrorised the Raksila swimming hall in Oulu on several occasions in the past month. In entertainment news, Finland's Eurovision representative Saara Aalto made it into the pop contest's Grand Final taking place in Lisbon on May 12.
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This week's podcast was presented by Egan Richardson and Denise Wall with guest Mikko Kiesiläinen. The show was produced by Zena Iovino, reporters were Ronan Browne and Eddy D. Hawkins and our sound technician was Marko Vierikko.
The All Points North podcast is a weekly look at what's going on in Finland. Subscribe via iTunes (and leave a review!), listen on Spotify and Yle Areena or find it on your favourite podcatching app or via our RSS feed.