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Are you enjoying this? Are you not? Tell us what to do more of, and what you'd like to hear less of. The Reykjavík Grapevine's Iceland Roundup brings you the top news with a healthy dash of local views. In this episode, Grapevine publisher Jón Trausti Sigurðarson is joined by guest host Ólafur Jóhann Sigurðsson, and Grapevine friend and contributor Sindri Eldon to roundup the stories making headlines in recent weeks. On the docket this week are:  Handball, Handball, Handball The European Men's Handball Championship took place during the last two weeks of January in Norway, Sweden and Denmark, with the final matches being played in Herning, Denmark. The whole of Iceland seems to have been watching, with local media publishing pictures of empty Reykjavík streets during televised broadcasts of the Icelandic team playing. Iceland came 4th overall, loosing to Croatia in a match for the third place.  Icelanders In The Epstein Flies The latest batch of Epstein files released by the US Justice Department, led to some newsprint being spent on the few Icelanders that appeared there, such as former First Lady Dorrit Moussaieff, her husband former president Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson, former CEO of DeCode Genetics, Kári Stefánsson, and cab driver Kristján Jón Karlsson. As far as we know, non of these Icelanders had any real ties with Epstein. Iceland’s Laufey Wins A Grammy Laufey Lín Jónsdóttir, the Icelandic musician and singer, took home her second Grammy for her latest LP A Matter of Time. The also received an Emmy for her 2024 album Bewitched.  Gas Prices & Inflation Inflation in Iceland is now at 5,2%, which is “too damn high”. This may have the result of nullifying recent collective bargaining agreements, which in turn might tip the generally fragile Icelandic economy into turmoil. Iceland’s New Defense Policy. Icelands new defense policy was published last week, being immediately criticized for not taking into account the ongoing changes to the global world order. And what is the defense policy you may ask? It’s the same as the old defense policy, basically non-existent. Tesla’s Fail To Pass Inspections The 2021 model of Tesla’s are now due for their first law stipulated inspections, which they’ve been failing, specifically the Y model, of which 30% didn’t pass inspection in Iceland, whereas in Denmark 45% of that type of Teslas didn’t pass. Support the show ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ SHOW SUPPORT Support the Grapevine's reporting by becoming a member of our High Five Club: https://grapevine.is/high-five-club/ Or donate to the Grapevine here: https://support.grapevine.is You can also support the Grapevine by shopping in our online store: https://shop.grapevine.is ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ This is a Reykjavík Grapevine podcast. The Reykjavík Grapevine is a free alternative magazine in English published 18 times per year, biweekly during the spring and summer, and monthly during the autumn and winter. The magazine covers everything Iceland-related, with a special focus culture, music, food and travel. The Reykjavík Grapevine’s goal is to serve as a trustworthy and reliable source of information for those living in Iceland, visiting Iceland or interested in Iceland. Thanks to our dedicated readership and excellent distribution network, the Reykjavík Grapevine is Iceland’s most read English-language publication. You may not agree with what we write or publish, but at least it’s not sponsored content. www.grapevine.is

Are you enjoying this? Are you not? Tell us what to do more of, and what you'd like to hear less of. The Reykjavík Grapevine's Iceland Roundup brings you the top news with a healthy dash of local views. In this episode, Grapevine publisher Jón Trausti Sigurðarson is joined by Heimildin journalist Aðalsteinn Kjartansson, and Grapevine ad man Örn Elvar Arnarson to roundup the stories making headlines in recent weeks. On the docket this week are:  Trump Confuses Iceland And Greenland In Davos Speech In a long rambling speech in Davos on Wednesday, Trump repeated is demands for territorial sovereignty over Greenland and repeatedly confused Iceland and Greenland. America Tearing Itself Apart The news over the weekend from Minneapolis, where ICE killed the second US citizen in 3 weeks, keeps up the trend of the US descending into chaos, further questioning how countries such as Iceland should tackler their relationship with a country that in the style of a South-American dictatorship in the last century, uses paramilitary forces to kill its own citizens. “A Famous Man With No Experience” The Social Democrats held primaries for upcoming municipality elections in Reykjavík this weekend. The primaries saw current mayor Heiða Björg Hilmisdóttir, loose her bid to front the Social Democrats to former Independence Party member Pétur Marteinsson. Two Restaurants In Skeifan Argue Over Parking Two restaurants in Skeifan in Reykjavík, Istanbul Market and BK Kjúklingur, or actually, the owners of said restaurants, are feuding and threatening legal action because the owner of BK Kjúklingur tends to park his car, across the street, in front of Istanbul Market 900 People Legally Reside In Grindavík The town of Grindavík, formerly the home of 3.700 people, currently has 900 legal residents, but only 400 people actually residing in the town, demonstrating the effects repeated eruptions in the area have had on habitation in the town, whose future still remains somewhat uncertain, with another eruption predicted in the coming months.  A Man Stabbed At Home By Black-clad Intruder, Who Turned Out To Be His Son In Law A man, sleeping naked in his bed, was woken by a black-clad individual who stabbed him. After having fought the intruder off, and thrown him out of his house, he described the man to the police, who picked the black-clad individual up soon after. The black-clad man turned out have Support the show ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ SHOW SUPPORT Support the Grapevine's reporting by becoming a member of our High Five Club: https://grapevine.is/high-five-club/ Or donate to the Grapevine here: https://support.grapevine.is You can also support the Grapevine by shopping in our online store: https://shop.grapevine.is ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ This is a Reykjavík Grapevine podcast. The Reykjavík Grapevine is a free alternative magazine in English published 18 times per year, biweekly during the spring and summer, and monthly during the autumn and winter. The magazine covers everything Iceland-related, with a special focus culture, music, food and travel. The Reykjavík Grapevine’s goal is to serve as a trustworthy and reliable source of information for those living in Iceland, visiting Iceland or interested in Iceland. Thanks to our dedicated readership and excellent distribution network, the Reykjavík Grapevine is Iceland’s most read English-language publication. You may not agree with what we write or publish, but at least it’s not sponsored content. www.grapevine.is

Are you enjoying this? Are you not? Tell us what to do more of, and what you'd like to hear less of. The Reykjavík Grapevine's Iceland Roundup brings you the top news with a healthy dash of local views. In this episode, Grapevine publisher Jón Trausti Sigurðarson is joined by Heimildin journalist Aðalsteinn Kjartansson, and Grapevine friend and contributor Sindri Eldon to roundup the stories making headlines in recent weeks. On the docket this week are:  US Ambassador Makes An Impression US ambassadorial nominee Billy Long, made another joke, endearing him to the Icelandic nation prior to his arrival as ambassador. Last time he made the joke that he had wanted to manage ICE, but had been misheard by Trump and instead appointed ambassador to Iceland. Last week in congress, Billy was overheard joking that he was going to become Iceland’s first governor, instead of ambassador, as Iceland became the USA’s 52nd state. This did not vote well with the Icelandic public, presuming that Greenland would become the 51st state. Attempt At Soliciting Prostitutions Leads MP To Resign Guðbrandur Einarsson, an MP for Viðreisn (the Reform Party), has resigned from Parliament due to an attempted purchase of prostitution in 2012. He was questioned by police at the time but says he was never charged. He decided to step down after local news outlet Vísir planned to report on the case. Greenland Drama Continues In an effort to put pressure on fellow NATO allies in his continued effort of gobbling up Greenland, President Trump put tariffs on all the Scandinavian countries, Germany, France and the Netherlands, but not Iceland. Promoting suggestions that Trump simply forgot Iceland.  Foreign citizens 20% of Iceland’s population Foreign citizens living in Iceland are now 83.950, or just above 20% of the total population. Five years ago, they were 15%. The proportion of foreign nationals living in some municipalities reaches almost 70%, that is 67,4% in Vík í Myrdal, 46% in Skaftárhreppur, and 39% in Bláskógabyggð. All these municipalities are in the South of Iceland, all are popular tourist destinations. According to Statistics Iceland, at least 44% of the people working in the tourism sector, are foreign nationals.  Support the show ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ SHOW SUPPORT Support the Grapevine's reporting by becoming a member of our High Five Club: https://grapevine.is/high-five-club/ Or donate to the Grapevine here: https://support.grapevine.is You can also support the Grapevine by shopping in our online store: https://shop.grapevine.is ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ This is a Reykjavík Grapevine podcast. The Reykjavík Grapevine is a free alternative magazine in English published 18 times per year, biweekly during the spring and summer, and monthly during the autumn and winter. The magazine covers everything Iceland-related, with a special focus culture, music, food and travel. The Reykjavík Grapevine’s goal is to serve as a trustworthy and reliable source of information for those living in Iceland, visiting Iceland or interested in Iceland. Thanks to our dedicated readership and excellent distribution network, the Reykjavík Grapevine is Iceland’s most read English-language publication. You may not agree with what we write or publish, but at least it’s not sponsored content. www.grapevine.is

Are you enjoying this? Are you not? Tell us what to do more of, and what you'd like to hear less of. The Reykjavík Grapevine's Iceland Roundup brings you the top news with a healthy dash of local views. In this episode, Grapevine publisher Jón Trausti Sigurðarson is joined by Heimildin journalist Aðalsteinn Kjartansson, Grapevine Editor-in-Chief Bart Cameron, and Grapevine friend and contributor Sindri Eldon to roundup the stories making headlines in recent weeks. On the docket this week are:  Prime Minister Says She Can Work With Icelandic Populist Party In an interview with Heimildin this weekend, PM Kristrún Frostadóttir discussed many issues, but the attention grabbing issue was her statement that she could work with Miðflokkurinn (Center Party) on immigration issues. Greenland Discussion Continues Iceland’s Prime Minister, US. President and almost everybody else has done little but talk about Greenland during the past week. We try to catch up on that. Icelanders Are The Fattest Of The Nordics In a survey conducted for 2024 and released last December, it turns out that Icelanders are the most overweight of all the Nordics. And out of the 80.000 Icelanders categorized as obese with a BMI over 30, more than 20.000, or 25% are taking GLP-1 drugs, such as Ozempic and Wegovy. We weigh in on the discussion. The US sizes a Tanker In Iceland’s Exclusive Economic Zone Last Wednesday, the US Navy apprehended an oil tanker, presumably on its way to Russia, within Iceland’s Exlusive Economic Zone, but not within its territorial waters.  Icelanders Won’t Be Required To Undergo Medical Exam To Renew Drivers License Until They Turn 75 A new law has been proposed by the People’s Party to move a required medical exam for renewing Icelandic driver licenses from 70 years old to 75 years old.  The Icelandic Word Of The Year Is Paid Parking (i. Gjaldskylda) We discuss the annual choice of “word of the year” in Iceland, which this time around was the word Gjaldskylda, or paid parking, which has led to numerous misunderstandings on social media. Support the show ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ SHOW SUPPORT Support the Grapevine's reporting by becoming a member of our High Five Club: https://grapevine.is/high-five-club/ Or donate to the Grapevine here: https://support.grapevine.is You can also support the Grapevine by shopping in our online store: https://shop.grapevine.is ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ This is a Reykjavík Grapevine podcast. The Reykjavík Grapevine is a free alternative magazine in English published 18 times per year, biweekly during the spring and summer, and monthly during the autumn and winter. The magazine covers everything Iceland-related, with a special focus culture, music, food and travel. The Reykjavík Grapevine’s goal is to serve as a trustworthy and reliable source of information for those living in Iceland, visiting Iceland or interested in Iceland. Thanks to our dedicated readership and excellent distribution network, the Reykjavík Grapevine is Iceland’s most read English-language publication. You may not agree with what we write or publish, but at least it’s not sponsored content. www.grapevine.is

Are you enjoying this? Are you not? Tell us what to do more of, and what you'd like to hear less of. The Reykjavík Grapevine's Iceland Roundup brings you the top news with a healthy dash of local views. In this episode, Grapevine publisher Jón Trausti Sigurðarson is joined by Heimildin journalist Aðalsteinn Kjartansson, and Grapevine friend and contributor Sindri Eldon to roundup the stories making headlines in recent weeks. On the docket this week are:  The Icelandic Annual End-Of-Year Skit Show The last joint cultural event all of Iceland collectively enjoy, to various degrees, takes place on New Years’s Eve. We try to explain what it is.  Greenland and Venezuela  Last night Iceland’s PM Kristrún Frostadóttir wrote on her Facebook “Greenland is a part of the Kingdom of Denmark. Nothing about Greenland without Greenland. Iceland stands in full solidarity behind our friends.”  This morning, Iceland’s Foreign Minister, Þorgerður Katrín Gunnarsdóttir, wrote an Op-Ed on visir.is saying, opening with “It is clear that the international system we have lived with since the end of the Second World War is shaking at its foundations. At work are what can rightly be called the threatening forces of history, generating uncertainty far beyond what we have been accustomed to and creating dangers that would have seemed implausible only a few years ago.”  Both of these statements are responses the USA’s seizure of Venezuela’s president, and Trump’s subsequent comments about taking over Greenland. Gas Prices Drop By A Third The price of gas dropped by a third on the first day of the year, subsequent to changes in how the Icelandic state collects tax from automobiles.  An Icelander Dies On The Front Lines In Ukraine A 51 year old Icelander, Kjartan Sævar Óttarsson, died on the front lines in Ukraine  in and around the 20th of December, according to the man’s brother. Kjartan had travelled to Ukraine on December 7th from Gothenburg Sweden, and neither what he was tasked with on the front lines, nor what lead to his death, has been reported on as of yet. What’s Coming Up In 2026? The show’s host ponder what this new year will bring us. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ SHOW SUPPORT Support the Grapevine's reporting by becoming a member of our High Five Club: https://grapevine.is/high-five-club/ Or donate to the Grapevine here: https://support.grapevine.is You can also support the Grapevine by shopping in our online store: https://shop.grapevine.is ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ This is a Reykjavík Grapevine podcast. The Reykjavík Grapevine is a free alternative magazine in English published 18 times per year, biweekly during the spring and summer, and monthly during the autumn and winter. The magazine covers everything Iceland-related, with a special focus culture, music, food and travel. The Reykjavík Grapevine’s goal is to serve as a trustworthy and reliable source of information for those living in Iceland, visiting Iceland or interested in Iceland. Thanks to our dedicated readership and excellent distribution network, the Reykjavík Grapevine is Iceland’s most read English-language publication. You may not agree with what we write or publish, but at least it’s not sponsored content. www.grapevine.is

Are you enjoying this? Are you not? Tell us what to do more of, and what you'd like to hear less of. The Reykjavík Grapevine's Iceland Roundup brings you the top news with a healthy dash of local views. In this episode, Grapevine publisher Jón Trausti Sigurðarson is joined by Heimildin journalist Aðalsteinn Kjartansson, and Grapevine friend and contributor Sindri Eldon to roundup the stories making headlines in Iceland. In this episode we ponder the main stories of the year so far, answer reader's questions and explain some of the Yule Lads. Top Stories Of 2025 We discuss 2025 top political scandal, top political event, top ecological and geological events, top cultural event, we nominate the "Mess of the Year", the bankruptcy of the year, the rise of right wing politics in Iceland and our favorite tourism related stories of the year.  Audience Questions We answer questions from our audience on subjects such as Christmas gifts, the Icelandic language, traditional Christmas dinners, hikes and forestry. Yule Lads Explained We try our best to explain how having 13 Yule lads works in practice, and how there are actually records of a total of 80 different yule lads and ladies from various parts of Iceland. Then we discuss our favorite Yule lad names. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ SHOW SUPPORT Support the Grapevine's reporting by becoming a member of our High Five Club: https://grapevine.is/high-five-club/ Or donate to the Grapevine here: https://support.grapevine.is You can also support the Grapevine by shopping in our online store: https://shop.grapevine.is ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ This is a Reykjavík Grapevine podcast. The Reykjavík Grapevine is a free alternative magazine in English published 18 times per year, biweekly during the spring and summer, and monthly during the autumn and winter. The magazine covers everything Iceland-related, with a special focus culture, music, food and travel. The Reykjavík Grapevine’s goal is to serve as a trustworthy and reliable source of information for those living in Iceland, visiting Iceland or interested in Iceland. Thanks to our dedicated readership and excellent distribution network, the Reykjavík Grapevine is Iceland’s most read English-language publication. You may not agree with what we write or publish, but at least it’s not sponsored content. www.grapevine.is

Are you enjoying this? Are you not? Tell us what to do more of, and what you'd like to hear less of. The Reykjavík Grapevine's Iceland Roundup brings you the top news with a healthy dash of local views. In this episode, Grapevine publisher Jón Trausti Sigurðarson is joined by Heimildin journalist Aðalsteinn Kjartansson, and Grapevine friend and contributor Sindri Eldon to roundup the stories making headlines in recent weeks. On the docket this week are:  Sigur Rós Join Björk in “No Music For Genocide”, Boycotting Israel “No Music For Genocide” was launched in September this year, and news of Iceland’s Björk joining the boycott made headlines. This means that Sigur Rós music will not be available on streaming platforms in Israel, just like the music of Björk, Lorde, My Bloody Valentine and more. Björk Supports Calls For Iceland Boycotting Eurovision Over the weekend, Björk shared an interview with another local music legend and Eurovision fanboy no. 1, Páll Óskar, where he urged the National Broadcaster RÚV to not participate in Eurovision this year, after news broke that Israel would be allowed to participate in the competition next year, leading countries such as Spain, Netherlands, Ireland and Slovenia to announce they would not participate in the competition in 2026. Politics Gearing Up For Municipality Elections Next Spring A new poll shows that only 2% of the people of Reykjavík want the current mayor, Heiða Björk Hilmarsdóttir, to continue as mayor. Some names have been tossed around for the upcoming elections in Reykjavík, such as Aðalsteinn Leifsson, the former state negotiator, regional Chief-of-Police Úlfar Lúðvíksson, and Gísli Marteinn Baldursson, a veteran of city policies who has been hosting a popular TV show on the National Broadcaster RÚV for years now. Parties like the Center Party, are looking to gain seats in upcoming elections around all of Iceland, cashing in on their good poll numbers recently. Government’s New Transportation Infrastructure Plan Announced To Little Fanfare Last week Iceland’s government announced a new plan for transportation infrastructure in Iceland. The minister responsible for the new transportation plan, Eyjólfur Ármannsson, got a lot of flack for not having read the report the plan is based on. People in the Eastfjords were unhappy, because the next road tunnel project is not planned for that region, an the city of Reykjavík complained that there are now plans to build up infrastructure around the City Airport, which ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ SHOW SUPPORT Support the Grapevine's reporting by becoming a member of our High Five Club: https://grapevine.is/high-five-club/ Or donate to the Grapevine here: https://support.grapevine.is You can also support the Grapevine by shopping in our online store: https://shop.grapevine.is ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ This is a Reykjavík Grapevine podcast. The Reykjavík Grapevine is a free alternative magazine in English published 18 times per year, biweekly during the spring and summer, and monthly during the autumn and winter. The magazine covers everything Iceland-related, with a special focus culture, music, food and travel. The Reykjavík Grapevine’s goal is to serve as a trustworthy and reliable source of information for those living in Iceland, visiting Iceland or interested in Iceland. Thanks to our dedicated readership and excellent distribution network, the Reykjavík Grapevine is Iceland’s most read English-language publication. You may not agree with what we write or publish, but at least it’s not sponsored content. www.grapevine.is

Are you enjoying this? Are you not? Tell us what to do more of, and what you'd like to hear less of. The Reykjavík Grapevine's Iceland Roundup brings you the top news with a healthy dash of local views. In this episode, Grapevine publisher Jón Trausti Sigurðarson is joined by Heimildin journalist Aðalsteinn Kjartansson, and Grapevine friend and contributor Sindri Eldon to roundup the stories making headlines in recent weeks. On the docket this week are:  Icelandic Made A Must For Hospital Staff All staff at Landspítali are expected to be able to speak Icelandic according to the hospital’s newly approved language policy. These requirements will first be applied to nurses, nursing assistants, and medical residents. Better Icelandic proficiency means higher pay. New Hospital Being Built, But Will There Be A Helipad? The most expensive building in Iceland’s history, a new hospital in Reykjavík, will be opened in 2030 according to plans. However, issues remained unsolved regarding a helipad for said hospital. In an interview this weekend, minister of Health Alma Möller told RÚV that the plan is either to build a helipad on top of one of the buildings of the new hospital, or to acquire a plot of land near by the hospital, probably near the BSÍ Bus Terminal, for that purpose.  Two Tourists Rescued  North Of Torfajökull  On Saturday night two tourists, driving god-knows-how  north of Torfajökull in the Icelandic highlands, got their Suzuki Jimny stuck in the river Dalakvísl. The two SARS teams sent to rescue them took eight hours to do so. 40 Years Of TV News On Weekends Over Sýn, which used to be known as Stöð 2 until recently, announced Friday, that the TV news on their station would be no more. The network, founded in 1986 as the first non-state owned TV station, has been facing financial troubles recently, as have many media companies. The announcement , that also brought with it news of layoffs, added to an ongoing discussion about the dire financial straits media companies in Iceland find themselves in. Thanksgiving Is Becoming Popular In Iceland RÚV reported that more turkey is being sold at this time of year than before and that celebrating Thanksgiving seems like it is becoming something Icelanders do, along with celebrating Halloween.  Dorrit Moussaief Mugged In London Former First Lady of Iceland, Dorrit Moussaief, was, according to her own instagram #mugged in #London, this weekend, calling the incident, appropriately, a #crime.  ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ SHOW SUPPORT Support the Grapevine's reporting by becoming a member of our High Five Club: https://grapevine.is/high-five-club/ Or donate to the Grapevine here: https://support.grapevine.is You can also support the Grapevine by shopping in our online store: https://shop.grapevine.is ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ This is a Reykjavík Grapevine podcast. The Reykjavík Grapevine is a free alternative magazine in English published 18 times per year, biweekly during the spring and summer, and monthly during the autumn and winter. The magazine covers everything Iceland-related, with a special focus culture, music, food and travel. The Reykjavík Grapevine’s goal is to serve as a trustworthy and reliable source of information for those living in Iceland, visiting Iceland or interested in Iceland. Thanks to our dedicated readership and excellent distribution network, the Reykjavík Grapevine is Iceland’s most read English-language publication. You may not agree with what we write or publish, but at least it’s not sponsored content. www.grapevine.is

Are you enjoying this? Are you not? Tell us what to do more of, and what you'd like to hear less of. The Reykjavík Grapevine's Iceland Roundup brings you the top news with a healthy dash of local views. In this episode, Grapevine publisher Jón Trausti Sigurðarson is joined by Grapevine Editor-In-Chief Bart Cameron, and Grapevine friend and contributor Sindri Eldon to roundup the stories making headlines in recent weeks. On the docket this week are:  Too Few Physicians In North Iceland It was reported before the weekend, that the Akureyri hospital in north of Iceland was hardly operational because too few physicians currently work there. Three doctors quit because they were overworked. The situation is also connected to how hospitals and health clinics have been staffed over the past decade or so, which is to hire doctors as  short term contractors, a practice which has turned out not to be strictly legal. Staffing generally is a problem in the Icelandic health care system, and the Reykjavík hospitals have been running in an emergency mode for over a year. Half of Municipalities In Iceland Without Policy Towards Disabled People Fifteen years ago, municipalities in Iceland took over responsibility for services to disabled people. Since then, only half of them have even taken up a policy regarding those services. This has in legalistic terms, not been a problem, but just recently Althingi ratified the UN’s Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, which in turn will make some of those lackluster policies regarding disabled persons, illegal. 55% of Icelanders Want An Investigation Of The State’s Special Prosecutor  The office of Special Prosecutor, setup after the 2008 economic collapse, has had tumultuous moments, and now 55% of Icelanders want that particular office, to be investigated. This recalls some parliamentarians interest in investigating the investigation committee that wrote a report for Althingi in 2010, on the reasons for the economic collapse. Investigate the investigation is a perpetual motion machine, of sorts. CEO Of Beloved Hot Dog Stand Shares Questionable Videos On TikTok Local news outlet Heimildin reported on Bæjarins Bestu CEO having reposted a TikTok video which defends the actions of one Adolf Hitler. The CEO in question said he did not remember reposting the video. North Korea Is A Prosperous Country According To One Icelander Last week it saw a report on Icelander Kristinn Hannesson, who visited Nort ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ SHOW SUPPORT Support the Grapevine's reporting by becoming a member of our High Five Club: https://grapevine.is/high-five-club/ Or donate to the Grapevine here: https://support.grapevine.is You can also support the Grapevine by shopping in our online store: https://shop.grapevine.is ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ This is a Reykjavík Grapevine podcast. The Reykjavík Grapevine is a free alternative magazine in English published 18 times per year, biweekly during the spring and summer, and monthly during the autumn and winter. The magazine covers everything Iceland-related, with a special focus culture, music, food and travel. The Reykjavík Grapevine’s goal is to serve as a trustworthy and reliable source of information for those living in Iceland, visiting Iceland or interested in Iceland. Thanks to our dedicated readership and excellent distribution network, the Reykjavík Grapevine is Iceland’s most read English-language publication. You may not agree with what we write or publish, but at least it’s not sponsored content. www.grapevine.is

Are you enjoying this? Are you not? Tell us what to do more of, and what you'd like to hear less of. The Reykjavík Grapevine's Iceland Roundup brings you the top news with a healthy dash of local views. In this episode, Grapevine publisher Jón Trausti Sigurðarson is joined by Heimildin journalist Aðalsteinn Kjartansson, and Grapevine friend and contributor Sindri Eldon to roundup the stories making headlines in recent weeks. On the docket this week are:  Icelandic Language Day Took place on November 16th. The celebrations sometimes felt a bit like a premature wake. Former PM Katrín Jakobsdóttir said in an interview - in English - with The Guardian, “Having this language that is spoken by so very few, I feel that we carry a huge responsibility to actually preserve that. I do not personally think we are doing enough to do that,” her co-author Ragnar Jónasson, in the same interview said “We are just a generation away from losing this language because all of these huge changes”.  Organized Crime Doubles In A Decade A new report released Friday on organized crime in Iceland. So Groups that engage in organized crime are now twice as many as they were ten years ago. These groups often have international connections,  they pray on immigrants, refugees and young people and engage in prostitution, human trafficking, theft, money laundering and drug trafficking. Pets Now Legal In Apartment Buildings Before, if you wanted to keep a pet in an apartment building, you had to ask permission from other residents. This is no longer the case after a new law was passed, leaving many an allergic person, scratching more than their respective heads. Mosquito takeover continues Last week it was reported that more mosquitoes had now been found in Iceland. This time in South Iceland, in a horse stables, and off a different type than those found earlier this fall in Hvalfjörður.  Centre Party embraces “Great Replacement Theory” Snorri Másson of The Centrist Party wrote an Op-Ed for Viðskiptablaðið stating that Icelanders were facing an imminent threat of being replaced by immigration. An article on Visir.is with a picture of Snorri holding one of his kids by at the podium of a Center Party event, then caused a stir.  ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ SHOW SUPPORT Support the Grapevine's reporting by becoming a member of our High Five Club: https://grapevine.is/high-five-club/ Or donate to the Grapevine here: https://support.grapevine.is You can also support the Grapevine by shopping in our online store: https://shop.grapevine.is ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ This is a Reykjavík Grapevine podcast. The Reykjavík Grapevine is a free alternative magazine in English published 18 times per year, biweekly during the spring and summer, and monthly during the autumn and winter. The magazine covers everything Iceland-related, with a special focus culture, music, food and travel. The Reykjavík Grapevine’s goal is to serve as a trustworthy and reliable source of information for those living in Iceland, visiting Iceland or interested in Iceland. Thanks to our dedicated readership and excellent distribution network, the Reykjavík Grapevine is Iceland’s most read English-language publication. You may not agree with what we write or publish, but at least it’s not sponsored content. www.grapevine.is

Are you enjoying this? Are you not? Tell us what to do more of, and what you'd like to hear less of. The Reykjavík Grapevine's Iceland Roundup brings you the top news with a healthy dash of local views. In this episode, Grapevine publisher Jón Trausti Sigurðarson is joined by Heimildin journalist Aðalsteinn Kjartansson, and Grapevine friend and contributor Sindri Eldon to roundup the stories making headlines in recent weeks. On the docket this week are:  Iceland Airwaves 2025 Iceland Airwaves 2025 took place last weekend with hundreds of artist performing over three day in 8 venues in downtown Reykjavík. The Reykjavík Grapevine reviewed every single show. Check out the coverage on our website.  Time Delay Our neighbors in Greenland are changing their clock in order for people to squeeze more sunlight out of the day. This has woken up the discussion in Iceland from a sleep of some years. Should we move the clock, or not? SARS And Racism Iceland’s SARS have been doing their annual fundraising rounds of selling the so called “Neyðarkall” or “Emergency man”. This year the man of emergency brown of color, in memory of one Sigurður Kristofer, who tragically suffered a fatal accident last year, while training with SARS. This has sparked some negative discussions, or at least according to the father of one 19 year old SARS volunteer. Otherwise no report of people complaining about the color of the man of emergency have been reported, but this seems to have sparked enough outrage that the man of emergency has been selling like never before. Berm-in Out The Private Sector, Iceland’s minister of finance, discussed the idea that perhaps the privately owned energy company HS Okra, who’s Svartsengi powerplant has been saved fro lava by very expensive efforts of building berms, paid for by the State, should share in the costs. The CEO of HS Orka has found this suggestion to be “surprising”.  Mexican standoff between Minister of Justice and Chief of Police We reported on questionable and costly outsourcing of the Chief of the Icelandic police last week. What has ensued is a stare down, where Minister Of Justice is hoping the Chief of Police will resign. Which then actually ended while we were recording this show, with the Chief of Police stepping down. Listener’s questions We also answer some of these. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ SHOW SUPPORT Support the Grapevine's reporting by becoming a member of our High Five Club: https://grapevine.is/high-five-club/ Or donate to the Grapevine here: https://support.grapevine.is You can also support the Grapevine by shopping in our online store: https://shop.grapevine.is ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ This is a Reykjavík Grapevine podcast. The Reykjavík Grapevine is a free alternative magazine in English published 18 times per year, biweekly during the spring and summer, and monthly during the autumn and winter. The magazine covers everything Iceland-related, with a special focus culture, music, food and travel. The Reykjavík Grapevine’s goal is to serve as a trustworthy and reliable source of information for those living in Iceland, visiting Iceland or interested in Iceland. Thanks to our dedicated readership and excellent distribution network, the Reykjavík Grapevine is Iceland’s most read English-language publication. You may not agree with what we write or publish, but at least it’s not sponsored content. www.grapevine.is

Are you enjoying this? Are you not? Tell us what to do more of, and what you'd like to hear less of. The Reykjavík Grapevine's Iceland Roundup brings you the top news with a healthy dash of local views. In this episode, Grapevine publisher Jón Trausti Sigurðarson is joined by Heimildin journalist Aðalsteinn Kjartansson, and Grapevine friend and contributor Sindri Eldon to roundup the stories making headlines in recent weeks. On the docket this week are:  Snowpocalypse, Iceland Version Tuesday saw a record snowfall in Reykjavík, for October that is, breaking a record from 1921, with 27 centimeters of snow in one day.  The snowfall resulted in massive traffic disruptions in Reykjavík, both because of the copious amounts of snow, and because  not all drivers had managed to change to winter tires. We used to think Icelanders could drive in snow. That myth has now been shattered. National Police Commissioner Spends 160 Million ISK On “Advice” From A Single Person The National Police Commissioner, Sigríður Björk Guðjónsdóttir, has found herself in potentially job ending circumstances, after RÚV revelled she had been buying the services from a single company over the past 5 years, for 160 million ISK, which is roughly 2.7 million ISK a month.  The company in question, Intra, is a single person operation whose only employee is a Þórunn Óðinsdóttir. The tasks she did ranged from buying office furniture to introducing “lean management” to the police offices, to helping move the office of the Police Commissioner between locations.  Government Announces Housing Policy Plans As often discussed on this podcast, the Icelandic housing market is fucked. Last week the government announced their ideas to “fix” the market. These include; Building 4000 apartments in a new suburb in Reykjavík, deregulating building regulations, giving funding to non-profit, housing companies. The government also plans to tax empty building plots, decrease AirBnB availability, increased taxes on rent and sell of copious amount of state owned real estate.  Fewer Sheep Than Humans In Iceland, For First Time Ever The Icelandic sheep population has dropped by a 100.000 in the past 10 years, meaning that there are now “only” 350.000 sheep in Iceland. This also means that there are fewer sheep than people in Iceland, which has never ever happened before in the history of Iceland. Former Prince Andrew And Naming Royals In Icelandic Iceland has the somewhat idiosyncratic policy of giving fo ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ SHOW SUPPORT Support the Grapevine's reporting by becoming a member of our High Five Club: https://grapevine.is/high-five-club/ Or donate to the Grapevine here: https://support.grapevine.is You can also support the Grapevine by shopping in our online store: https://shop.grapevine.is ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ This is a Reykjavík Grapevine podcast. The Reykjavík Grapevine is a free alternative magazine in English published 18 times per year, biweekly during the spring and summer, and monthly during the autumn and winter. The magazine covers everything Iceland-related, with a special focus culture, music, food and travel. The Reykjavík Grapevine’s goal is to serve as a trustworthy and reliable source of information for those living in Iceland, visiting Iceland or interested in Iceland. Thanks to our dedicated readership and excellent distribution network, the Reykjavík Grapevine is Iceland’s most read English-language publication. You may not agree with what we write or publish, but at least it’s not sponsored content. www.grapevine.is

Are you enjoying this? Are you not? Tell us what to do more of, and what you'd like to hear less of. The Reykjavík Grapevine's Iceland Roundup brings you the top news with a healthy dash of local views. In this episode, Grapevine publisher Jón Trausti Sigurðarson is joined by Heimildin journalist Aðalsteinn Kjartansson, and Grapevine friend and contributor Sindri Eldon to roundup the stories making headlines in recent weeks. On the docket this week are: Snow And Ice Expected All Over Iceland Consider this a weather warning. We’re expecting a lot of snow in Iceland in the next 24-48 hours, with snowfall up to 20-30 centimeters, in the south and east of Iceland, including Reykjavik Stuck In The Highlands (With Your Mom) A mother and son, who arrived in decent weather at Landmannalaugar in the Icelandic highlands this Saturday, woke up yesterday in deep snow, rendering them stuck, far from civilization. They had to be towed from there by SARS.   The Last Criminal Case Following the 2008 Economic Collapse, Resolved. The last Icelandic criminal case in relations to the 2008 banking collapse was resolved in 2021. However, one case in Luxembourg remained and that case was finally finalized with a settlement in a Luxembourg court last week. The case in question, called the Lindsor case, had been under investigation for 15 years and had to do with the bank Kaupthing buying up bonds from Kaupthing’s employees, just days before the bank collapsed in October 2008. The Icelandic Housing Market Freezes Over Following a recent Supreme Court ruling on inflation indexed housing loans, all the major Icelandic banks stopped issuing such loans. The result is, at least temporarily, that very few Icelanders can actually take out a hosing loan. Police raids the wrong address, Twice.  Twice this year, the police entered the wrong house to perform a search. 00:34:30 Question Time We respond to some listeners questions. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ SHOW SUPPORT Support the Grapevine's reporting by becoming a member of our High Five Club: https://steadyhq.com/en/rvkgrapevine/ You can also support the Grapevine by shopping in our online store: https://shop.grapevine.is ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ WHO ARE WE? The Reykjavík Grapevine is an alternative monthly magazine, bringing you all the news and views on I ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ SHOW SUPPORT Support the Grapevine's reporting by becoming a member of our High Five Club: https://grapevine.is/high-five-club/ Or donate to the Grapevine here: https://support.grapevine.is You can also support the Grapevine by shopping in our online store: https://shop.grapevine.is ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ This is a Reykjavík Grapevine podcast. The Reykjavík Grapevine is a free alternative magazine in English published 18 times per year, biweekly during the spring and summer, and monthly during the autumn and winter. The magazine covers everything Iceland-related, with a special focus culture, music, food and travel. The Reykjavík Grapevine’s goal is to serve as a trustworthy and reliable source of information for those living in Iceland, visiting Iceland or interested in Iceland. Thanks to our dedicated readership and excellent distribution network, the Reykjavík Grapevine is Iceland’s most read English-language publication. You may not agree with what we write or publish, but at least it’s not sponsored content. www.grapevine.is

Are you enjoying this? Are you not? Tell us what to do more of, and what you'd like to hear less of. The Reykjavík Grapevine's Iceland Roundup brings you the top news with a healthy dash of local views. In this episode, Grapevine publisher Jón Trausti Sigurðarson is joined by Heimildin journalist Aðalsteinn Kjartansson, and Grapevine friend and contributor Sindri Eldon to roundup the stories making headlines in recent weeks. On the docket this week are:  00:00:55 Overview Of This Weeks Stories 00:04:00 Strange Place Names In Icelandic We discuss a random assortment of strange names of places in Iceland 00:11:00 A Drunk Man Arrested For Taking A Nap On A Coast Guard Ship The police arrested a man who had “taken up residence” in the the Icelandic coast guard ship Thor (Þór) this weekend. No further details were given about the incident. 00:16:50 Iceland And Germany Sign A Defense Agreement On Sunday, Þorgerður Katrín Gunnarsdóttir, Iceland’s Minister for Foreign Affairs, and Boris Pistorius, Germany’s Minister of Defense,  signed a bilateral declaration of intent on defense matters in connection with Pistorius’ visit to Iceland. According to the declaration Iceland will build up infrastructure to accommodate military submarines and aircraft as a part of Iceland’s membership in NATO.  00:21:40 Julian Assange Visits Iceland Julian Assange, the founder of Wikileaks, visited Iceland this weekend and was spotted at Vitabar, having a burger and fries. Assange, who was more or less in detention for 15 years was set free a year ago and now lives in Australia.  00:24:30 Drugs On A Ferry The only ferry to sale to Iceland on schedule, Norræna, which harbors in Seyðisfjörður, east Iceland, has been in the news recently for drugs. At the beginning of September, 7 kilos of cocaine were apprehended in a car on the ferry and two men arrested. Later in September, 15 kilos of Ketamine and 5 kilos of MDMA war found in another car on the ferry. Three people were arrested in the latter case. 00:29:00 52% Think Church And State Should Be Separated A poll conducted recently tells us that 52% of Icelanders think that church and state should be separated. 27% are neither for nor against the motion, and 21% are opposed to separation.  00:39:40 Women’s Strike 50th Anniversary This Friday, October 24th the famous 1975 Women’s Strike turns 50. Tens of thousands are expected to Support the show ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ SHOW SUPPORT Support the Grapevine's reporting by becoming a member of our High Five Club: https://grapevine.is/high-five-club/ Or donate to the Grapevine here: https://support.grapevine.is You can also support the Grapevine by shopping in our online store: https://shop.grapevine.is ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ This is a Reykjavík Grapevine podcast. The Reykjavík Grapevine is a free alternative magazine in English published 18 times per year, biweekly during the spring and summer, and monthly during the autumn and winter. The magazine covers everything Iceland-related, with a special focus culture, music, food and travel. The Reykjavík Grapevine’s goal is to serve as a trustworthy and reliable source of information for those living in Iceland, visiting Iceland or interested in Iceland. Thanks to our dedicated readership and excellent distribution network, the Reykjavík Grapevine is Iceland’s most read English-language publication. You may not agree with what we write or publish, but at least it’s not sponsored content. www.grapevine.is

Are you enjoying this? Are you not? Tell us what to do more of, and what you'd like to hear less of. The Reykjavík Grapevine's Iceland Roundup brings you the top news with a healthy dash of local views. In this episode, Grapevine publisher Jón Trausti Sigurðarson is joined by Heimildin journalist Aðalsteinn Kjartansson, and Grapevine friend and contributor Sindri Eldon to roundup the stories making headlines in recent weeks. On the docket this week are:  00:03:50 Overview Of This Week's Stories 00:04:50 Man Drinking Alcohol At City Library Kicked Out A man was evicted from a library in Reykjavík for drinking alcohol in the library’s bathroom on Friday. The police said that drinking in the library was not good “library etiquette”. 00:10:45 Laxness On His Way Out Of Icelandic College Curriculum Novels by Halldór Laxness, the only Icelander ever to win a Nobel prize, will soon no longer be taught in Icelandic schools  00:26:20 Icelanders Can Now Be Named Mohammed The Icelandic Naming Committee decided on five new names that Icelanders can use this past week. The names in question were Tenchi, Ivy, Ýri, Meryem and Múhameð, which is the Icelandic spelling of Mohammed. 00:33:40 Former Icelandic Popstar And Activist Arrested On The High Seas By Israel Margrét Kristín Blöndal, arrived in Amsterdam this past weekend after having been released from custody by the State of Israel. Margrét, or Magga was arrested last Wednesday along other members of the so called Freedom Fleet, trying to get aid to Gaza by way of the sea. A ceasefire has been declared in Gaza. Also, the foreign minister of Palestine, Dr. Varsen Aghabekian, happened to be in Iceland when the ceasefire was announced. 00:39:30 Two Thirds Of Icelanders Think Iceland Should Not Participate In Eurovision, If Israel Is Allow To Participate A recent poll, conducted this September, 67% of participants said Iceland should rather stay out of Eurovision next year if Israel participates. Younger people were less likely to want Iceland to withdraw in that scenario, while people from outside Reykjavík were likelier than the inhabitants of Reykjavík, to want Iceland to boycott the competition. 00:41:00 The Murder Case That Never Rests In 1974, two men disappeared within 10 months of each other. These men were named Guðmundur and Geirfinnur. The case led to numerous arrests, and finally long time prison sentences. Much doubt has been cast on whether those charged and sentenced were actually guilty.  ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ SHOW SUPPORT Support the Grapevine's reporting by becoming a member of our High Five Club: https://grapevine.is/high-five-club/ Or donate to the Grapevine here: https://support.grapevine.is You can also support the Grapevine by shopping in our online store: https://shop.grapevine.is ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ This is a Reykjavík Grapevine podcast. The Reykjavík Grapevine is a free alternative magazine in English published 18 times per year, biweekly during the spring and summer, and monthly during the autumn and winter. The magazine covers everything Iceland-related, with a special focus culture, music, food and travel. The Reykjavík Grapevine’s goal is to serve as a trustworthy and reliable source of information for those living in Iceland, visiting Iceland or interested in Iceland. Thanks to our dedicated readership and excellent distribution network, the Reykjavík Grapevine is Iceland’s most read English-language publication. You may not agree with what we write or publish, but at least it’s not sponsored content. www.grapevine.is