Iceland Roundup: Tourist Rescued From The Highlands, The Icelandic Version Of DOGE & 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 Heimildin journalist Aðalsteinn Kjartansson, and Grapevine friend and contributor Sindri Eldon to roundup the stories making headlines in recent weeks.

This week, we cover three fatal traffic accidents in just four days in Borgarfjörður, Berufjörður, and Flúðir, exploring the current road conditions and the state of the road system; A tourist was rescued by helicopter after being stuck for three days in a storm in the middle of the Icelandic highlands in March, prompting us to ask: Why?; The new Mayor of Reykjavík has faced harsh criticism from union leaders due to an additional $6,000 she receives monthly for chairing the Icelandic Association of Local Authorities, which meets about twice a month, leading us to discuss whether the Icelandic political class is drifting; Lastly, the new coalition government asked the public how they thought the Icelandic state could cut costs and increase efficiency. The tangible results, released on Friday, show that those on the receiving end of proposed cuts are not happy, and we examine the most vocally unhappy person so far — our Chief Justice.

Watch the video below or listen on your favorite podcast platforms: Spotify, Apple Podcasts and your other podcast platforms of choice.