On Friday’s edition of the program, 16 January 2026, we devoted extended coverage to current affairs, drawing on the front pages of newspapers and online media. We then spoke by phone with Stavros Arachovitis, former Minister of Rural Development and Food, agronomist, and senior member of SYRIZA–Progressive Alliance, about what is set to change under the EU–Mercosur agreement—both in economic terms and in relation to food and agriculture—as well as the agreement’s broader provisions.
The first hour concluded with Ivana Djordjevic and the international news.
In the second hour, we connected by phone with the Dodecanese and spoke with Fiori-Anastasia Metallinou, astrophysicist at the National Observatory and National Coordinator for Astronomy Outreach of the International Astronomical Union, about the conference taking place on Symi on 17 and 18 January, focusing on the Antikythera Mechanism, Hipparchus of Rhodes—the ancient astronomer—and the sponge divers of Symi, the local heroes who took part in the maritime research that led to its discovery.
In the final part of the program, before the sports news with Michalis Ladopoulos, we welcomed into the Voice of Greece studio Maria Manousaki, the internationally acclaimed Greek violinist, born in Johannesburg, who now divides her time between Athens, her homeland of Crete, New York, and other parts of the world where she performs. The occasion was her live appearances these days at the Half Note Jazz Club. Together with her, we listened to three tracks from her latest album, “Behind Closed Doors”.