In this month’s podcast for Le Monde diplomatique, I speak to Noëlle Burgi about the heavy toll that austerity measures are exacting in her homeland, Greece.

Noëlle, who is a researcher at the Centre Européen de Sociologie et de Sciences Politique (CESSP), Sorbonne University, Paris, describes Athens and Thessaloniki as “dying cities”, in which drug use, mental health problems, domestic violence and prostitution are all on the increase.

Not least of the Greeks’ problems is a feeling of powerlessness as their welfare state becomes hollowed out and their household incomes plummet.

To listen to the interview, click here. And to read Noëlle Burgi’s article, click here.