This week's All Points North podcast looks at the debate around coronavirus restrictions in Finland. As the country allows bigger gatherings indoors, some experts have been asking people to start using face masks.
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Also in this week's pod we tackle the Centre Party leadership race, the problems faced by foreign students as they try to reach Finland, and ask wilderness author Jouni Laaksonen where people should go to get a taste of Finnish nature.
"I just love it here!" enthused Laaksonen. "We have vast forests, wilderness areas, lakes, archipelagos, fells We have a proper winter with lots of snow, we have a not too hot summer we have lots of autumn colours, we have aurora borealis, whatever--I just love it here."
Laaksonen said it's great that the pandemic is encouraging people to see what's on their doorstep, rather than jetting off to sunnier climes. But they could be a bit more adventurous.
"I think it's a bit of a problem that so many people go to the most popular places," said Laaksonen. "There are 40 national parks in Finland, but that's only the tip of the iceberg. There are thousands of great places to hike on a marked trail, or to hike to a lean-to or a campfire site. Make a fire and enjoy your peace there. Go, but think — do you have to go to the most popular place?"
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This week's show was presented by Egan Richardson and Ronan Browne. Our producer was Priya Ramachandran D'souza and the sound designer and audio engineer was Laura Koso. 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.