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APN Podcast: Finland launches contact tracing app--but not in English, yet

Why was Finland likened to a totalitarian state this week and what's preventing some from using the Covid tracing app?

All Points North podcast logo featuring Finland's coronavirus tracing app in use at shopping mall
Image: Henrietta Hassinen / Yle
  • Yle News

Finland is abuzz about the new coronavirus tracing app, but our audience told us the lack of an English-language version for the application at its launch was hampering take-up.

The All Points North podcast discussed the app, along with relations between the prime minister and leading figures in Finnish business, and asked whether spending more on children could pay dividends in the long run.

You can listen to the full podcast via the embedded player here or via Yle Areena, Spotify, Apple Podcasts or your usual podcast player using the RSS feed. Be sure to subscribe to the show wherever you get your podcasts and sign up for the APN newsletter.

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What's stopping foreigners buying flats in Finland? And will Finland spend more on kids to save money in the long run?
Image: Yle News

This week we explore some of the tensions between big business and Finland's left-leaning government following forest company UPM's plans to shutter a profitable paper mill which serves as a major employer.

To raise employment rates, the government wants to encourage young mothers to return to work sooner. We ask how this will pan out and hear from Annica Moore of the Mothers in Business network, which advocates for total gender equality when it comes to reforming the parental leave system.

Meanwhile Henrik Dettmann, who coaches the men's national basketball team, told APN he wants to see the state fund activities for all pupils during the school day to give every kid a chance to have a hobby, regardless of whether parents can afford them.

"Now we’re so dependent on the parents, their education, their understanding and their wallet," he said of the system which excludes children from low-income families.

This week Yle News delved into an illegal phenomenon whereby some apartment sellers draw on defunct housing company rules to prevent foreigners from buying flats.

"First and foremost, the advice is to push back against a seller using this and inform them they’re using a law that was repealed in 1992," reporter Ronan Browne told APN.

Join the conversation!

This week's show was presented by Zena Iovino and Egan Richardson. Our producer was Mark B. Odom and the audio engineer was Tuomas Vauhkonen. Sign up for the All Points North newsletter and if you have any questions or would like to share your thoughts, just contact us via WhatsApp on +358 44 421 0909, on our Facebook or Twitter accounts, or at yle.news@yle.fi and allpointsnorth@yle.fi.