In this week's broadcast, we interview Nadia Calviño, President of the European Investment Bank (EIB). Against the backdrop of the war in the Middle East, and with the EIB having quadrupled its funding for defence-related projects since 2024, Calviño asserts that Europe must "break free from its dependence on fossil fuels" and become autonomous in terms of security and defence as well.

The former Spanish Vice President and Minister for Economy also weighs in on the evolving relationship between Europe and the United States. In her opinion, "there is a seismic shift in the tectonic plates that underpinned the global order" and the European Union is finding its voice in this new scenario. "Our unity is clearly our strength; that is why there is so many wanting to divide us," she says.

We also speak to Blanca Hervás, a rising star in Spanish athletics who recently won two medals at the World Indoor Championships in Poland. Aside from discussing her latest successes, she talks about the implications of becoming an elite athlete and tells us how she has decided to leave her job to focus fully on her sporting career.

Finally, to mark World Health Day this week, we are joined by Dr Manuel Valiente, Head of the Brain Metastasis Group at the Spanish National Cancer Research Centre (CNIO). His team has recently revealed a novel way in which tumours hijack immune cells to alter the brain and spread cancer, a discovery that could be valuable in treating not only brain metastases, but also other conditions.

In this week's broadcast, we delve into the 'ninth art', as Madrid hosted the second edition of its comic book fair last week. We visited the fair and spoke to attendees and exhibitors, including Jesús Marugán, owner of Akira Comics, and to Laura Barrachina, curator of the cultural programme. After the fair, we were joined by Marta Kayser, an author who has just published her first graphic novel, La fábrica de papel, the result of a seven-year investigation into her family history, which has changed both her personal and professional life.

We will also discuss the protection of digital rights, a major concern for governments worldwide due to the rise of artificial intelligence and the risks of social networks. To address these issues, Casa de América recently organized a roundtable discussion in Madrid under the title Digital Rights: A Necessary Dialogue Between the EU and Canada.

During the event, we learnt how these issues are being addressed in Canada from Jeffrey Marder, the Canadian Ambassador to Spain, and Karim Benyekhlef, a professor and the Director of the Cyberjustice Laboratory at the University of Montreal. We also heard the Spanish perspective from Eduard Blasi, a lawyer specialising in digital rights and artificial intelligence.

Finally, we address the war in the Middle East, where Lebanon is facing a new and deadly escalation as Israeli strikes intensify across the country, forcing the Lebanese army to withdraw from several villages in the South. Our collaborator in Lebanon, Elsa Yazbek Charabati, gives us the details.

In this week's broadcast, we take you to Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Madrid, a highly anticipated event in the fashion calendar and a major platform for promoting Spanish creative talent internationally. Following last week's Autumn/Winter edition, we shine the spotlight on the EGO runway, a stage for showcasing emerging talent, which is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year.

Valentina Suárez-Zuloaga, creative director of Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Madrid, highlights the importance of nurturing emerging talent and the many success stories that began on the EGO catwalk, where ten up-and-coming designers had the opportunity to showcase their work this year. We met two of them: Marta Granados, founder of Maison Gracen, and Erik Bruccia, the designer behind Eaftimos. They told us about their creative vision, their sources of inspiration and the challenges in establishing their own fashion brands.

We are also joined by historian Pamela Radcliff, an authority on the history of Modern Spain, who recently presented the assessment '50 Years of Scholarship on the Southern European Democratic Transitions' in Madrid. Professor Radcliff talks to us about this investigation, and also shares her thoughts on recent revelations about the 1981 coup attempt, as well as the surge of revisionist narratives about the Franco dictatorship. She is concerned that 'many people have lost the belief that democracy is making their lives better'.

Ahead of this weekend's Madrid Comic Fair, we also speak to its curator, writer and journalist Laura Barrachina. She gives us a preview of the cultural programme for this edition, which will bring together international authors and feature talks, panel discussions, live podcasts, radio broadcasts, screenings and comic-creation workshops for children and adults.

Finally, we address the war in the Middle East. In Lebanon, the human toll is rising dramatically and cultural sites are being destroyed, as humanitarian organisations warn that Israel is committing war crimes. Our collaborator in Beirut, Elsa Yazbek Charabati, gives us the details.

In this week's broadcast, we analyse the main social changes that Spain has undergone over the last decade. The Centre for Sociological Research (CIS) recently published the fifth volume of 'Spain 2025: Structure and Social Change'. This publication addresses key issues such as demography, inequality, employment, family, politics, migration, and culture.

The project involved 146 experts and was edited by José Félix Tezanos and Constanza Tobío Soler. Tobío, a Professor of Sociology at Carlos III University and recipient of the 2021 National Sociology Prize, joins us to analyse some of the most significant aspects of the evolution of Spanish society over the past ten years.

In addition, we visit an exhibition in Congress commemorating the 1978 Constitution becoming the longest-standing in Spanish history. The display covers the 47-year history of the Magna Carta through photographs from the EFE news agency. It also features artefacts from the congressional archive, including a miniature edition of the Constitution that travelled into space. We had the opportunity to speak with Miguel Ángel Gonzalo, the director of Documentation, Library and Archives of the Spanish Congress, who told us all about it.

Finally, we continue to analyse the conflict in the Middle East and its repercussions for Spain. Israel has announced the launch of ground operations in southern Lebanon, and fighting has already forced around one million people from their homes. Our collaborator in Beirut, Elsa Yazbek Charabati, gives us the details.

In this week's broadcast, we discover the 'Caja de las Letras' ('Box of Letters'), an underground vault beneath the headquarters of the Instituto Cervantes in Madrid which guards a precious treasure: the legacies of great figures from the world of Spanish-language culture.

Luis Marina, Director of International Relations at the institution, shows us around the chamber and explains how creators have deposited their contributions in its safe deposit boxes over the years, deciding when they will be opened. The vault now contains a myriad of unique objects, ranging from songwriter Joaquín Sabina's hat to poet Nicanor Parra's typewriter and the dress worn by actress Ángela Molina in the film 'Las cosas del querer'.

We are also joined by Andrea Stephany Díaz, co-founder and CEO of OncoSwab. This Medtech start-up is developing a method of detecting lung cancer using nasal swabs, similar to those used for testing for COVID. Díaz explains the advantages of combining this innovative, non-invasive test with traditional methods such as CT scans for the early detection of cancer. "We want to make it very easy for patients to recognise the signs that something is wrong," she says.

Finally, we also continue to analyse the conflict in the Middle East and its repercussions. Spain has sent a frigate to Cyprus, but has refused to allow the United States to use the Rota and Morón military bases to launch attacks against Iran. To help us better understand the situation of these bases, and the disagreement between Spain and the US, we are joined by retired Lieutenant General Juan Antonio del Castillo Masete.

Meanwhile, Israeli strikes continue to pound Lebanon. Our collaborator in Beirut, Elsa Yazbek Charabati, reports on the killing of Maronite Catholic priest Pierre El-Rahi, whose death has become a symbol of the nation's grief as the violence intensifies and deepens fears over the country's fragile stability.

In this week's broadcast, we are joined by Iranian political analyst Daniel Bashandeh to discuss the war in the Middle East, following the attack on Iran by the United States and Israel. Against the backdrop of the rift between the US and Spain over our country's stance on the conflict, he believes that "Donald Trump is trying to divide the European Union once again".

With the conflict spreading to Lebanon, where Israeli air strikes have hit several locations across the country, our collaborator Elsa Yazbek Charabati reports from Beirut on the situation there.

Finally, ahead of International Women's Day, we take a look at the history of feminist protest in Spain and we speak to Sociology Professor Capitolina Díaz, who recently won the National Prize for Sociology. A specialist in the sociology of gender and social methods with a gender perspective, Professor Díaz talks to us about the gender gap in caregiving, as well as discriminatory biases in science and the importance of inclusive language.

In this week's broadcast, we look back at the past four years since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, as the conflict enters its fifth year with no ceasefire in sight. To find out more about the current state of the conflict and the ongoing peace negotiations, we are joined by global affairs analyst Michael Bociurkiw.

Mr Bociurkiw, who has been based in Ukraine since before the war began, describes the dire situation there, amid power outages and nightly bombings in the winter cold. On the frontline, he tells us, Ukrainian families are having to make the painful decision to exhume their loved ones and move them to safer ground. "Even the dead have no rest in this war," he says.

On a more cheerful note, we give you a preview of the 40th edition of the Goya Awards, the 'Spanish Oscars', which will take place in Barcelona this weekend. Leading the nominations are 'Los domingos', 'Sirāt' and 'Maspalomas', while US actress Susan Sarandon will receive this year's International Goya Award. Director Gonzalo Suárez, in turn, will receive the 2026 Honorary Goya Award.

One month has passed since the tragic train crash in Adamuz, Córdoba, where 46 people were killed and over a hundred were injured. To find out how survivors and victims' families have been supported in the aftermath of this tragedy, we speak to Cristina Domínguez, a psychologist specialising in emergencies and disasters.

The accident in Adamuz has caused a terrible human tragedy, but also a deep crisis of confidence in the Spanish railway system. We discuss how trust can be restored with María Luisa Moreo, general director of Señor Lobo & Friends and an expert in crisis communication, and Pablo Salvador, a railway engineering specialist and assistant professor at the Universitat Politécnica de Valencia.

Finally, we end our broadcast on a more cheerful note by taking you on a tour of some of the most prominent Carnival celebrations in Spain.