Podcasts to Help You Understand Finland

British expat Mark Wiltshear hosts two podcasts on his website – The Finnish Football Show about his favourite sport and Explore Finland, in which he shares fascinating things he has found out about Finland. Previous topics have included why a church in Närpes has 150 horse stables, why traditional puukko knives were once important in marriage, and how Finnish food influenced American cooking. Some of the history uncovered through his podcast is surprising even to most Finns.

Scandinavian true crime novels have taken over the literary world, and another way to indulge in them is through this podcast, True Crime Finland. It tells the stories of some of the most fascinatingly grizzly crime stories in Finland, along with beautiful art and music and recommendations for similar podcasts.

Joel Willans, author of 101 Very Finnish Problems: The Foreigners Guide to Surviving in Finland shares further discoveries, funny stories, and amazing facts about the country in his podcast, Very Finnish Problems. Episode titles include ‘Driving for 14 hours and only seeing forest’, ‘When your winter stroll is interrupted by an arriving icebreaker’, and ‘How the Finnish winter tries to kill you’. Willans and his guest hosts are incredibly charismatic and will make you laugh and learn something new at the same time.

While the podcast of this business blog focuses mainly on commerce in the Nordic region, it is still essential listening for anybody in business or interested in forming a start-up in Finland or the Nordic region, or if you are looking to invest or tap into the market. On Arctic Startup, guests share insights into topics such as the elements of a successful start-up and how to build a profitable company.

American football (as it is called in Europe), isn’t a hugely popular sport in Finland, at least compared to national favourites such as ice hockey. But this podcast, run by expat American fans of the sport, discuss its small but fanatical appeal in Finland. It contains everything you’d expect from a good sports show – retrospectives on recent games, discussions on players, and thoughts on championship results. Fans of the sport from anywhere in the world should definitely check out the American Football in Finland podcast.

Tabletop gaming is an especially popular hobby in Finland, despite its nerdy connotations, and this blog and podcast has been running since 2007 to discuss the hobby’s latest trends, news, and stories. The archive can be heard on iTunes or through Boardgamegeek.com. While it does again mostly focus on Finland, it is still entertaining for fans of tabletop and card games from anywhere in the world.