Iceland Roundup: Valur & Pollý Visit, Old Horse, Socialists, Pickpockets, Tanks & More

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’s former Editor-in-Chief Valur Grettisson, and Grapevine friend and contributor Sindri Eldon to roundup the stories making headlines in recent weeks.

On the docket this week:

First up is a catch-up with Valur Grettisson, who shares what he’s been doing over the past three years. The conversation quickly turns to the current state of Icelandic journalism; Iceland’s oldest horse, a 36-year-old named Sómi, is now enjoying retirement near Skógar waterfall in South Iceland. His owners report that he still has excellent teeth and hooves. Interestingly, the current Prime Minister is just a year older than Sómi; The Icelandic Socialist Party saw a leadership shake-up over the weekend, as founder and former media mogul Gunnar Smári Egilsson was ousted at a politburo meeting; Controversy has emerged over the aesthetics of newly installed surveillance towers by Hallgrímskirkja, intended to deter pickpocketing in popular tourist areas; In the Reykjanes Peninsula, police chief Úlfar Lúðvíksson resigned last week, delivering a dramatic farewell that included sharp criticism of the national police chief, the Minister of Justice, and others; A Tesla taxi made an unexpected journey into the Icelandic highlands, surprising those who doubted electric vehicles’ ability to handle river crossings; Also featured is the story of an Icelandic farmer who bought a tank in the early 2000s, a reflection on the lost diversity of car design, and a comparison of today’s vehicles to those in the 1995 film Demolition Man; The episode wraps up with coverage of Climeworks, a climate technology story Valur Grettisson has been reporting on for Heimildin.

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