The Bubble (2025)

03/08/2025

👮‍♂️ Spain “feels” safe.

PM Pedro Sánchez recently said that “we have the safest streets, I won’t say in the world, but almost…”

We know there’s still crime in Spain, of course, but compared to cities in the U.S., we get his drift.

🚨The problem? The cops aren’t buying it.

The biggest Policía Nacional union hit back hard:

“The Interior Ministry celebrates a supposed 2.70% drop in the total number of criminal offenses, but deliberately ignores the fact that the most serious crimes — and those that cause the most social alarm — are growing uncontrollably.”

📈 We were intrigued. So we dove into Interior’s data — and found that everyone’s right… and wrong… simultaneously.

✅ Yes, crime overall is down 2.7% since 2017 — especially robbery and petty theft.
❌ But the worst crimes? Way up. Murders rose 13% from 2017 to 2024. R**e: up 277%. Drug trafficking also jumped.

What explains the dramatic rise? 📬 Read the full story at the link in our bio.

02/08/2025

🏖️ Overtourism? Those were the days (joking!)

A series of recent reports from Mallorca paint an unexpected picture: half-empty terrazas and increasingly gloomy waiters across the island tourist mecca.

So what’s the dealio? Prices. Inflation in Spain overall has stayed pretty tame — but in tourist zones, it’s gone off the rails.

British and German tourists — who you may mock for their sunburns and sangría habits, but who power the coasts — are reportedly cutting back. Fewer flights, fewer nights out, and fewer jarras de cerveza.

The joke in Mallorca? It’s cheaper to fly to Bali (yes, as in Indonesia) than to stay in Spain. Problem is… it’s kinda true.

📬 Head to the link in our bio to read why Spain’s becoming a luxury destination for its own people.

And consider becoming a paid subscriber to support our newsletter, so maybe one day we can afford a vacation in Sóller too.

🇪🇸 ❤️

01/08/2025

🍅 Too hot to cook, too fresh to care.

Tomatoes that slay. Melon that smells like summer. Jamón that deserves more than being eaten straight from the fridge (but no judgment).

This week, our resident expert in el arte del veraneo español, Flora Millar, brings you simple, cold, and smugly satisfying recipes for when turning on the stove feels like a crime.

Because you may be sweating through your linen set, but at least your lunch is giving “Mediterranean lifestyle influencer.”

📬 Subscribe to The Bubble to get new summer ideas and what-to-do tips in Madrid, every Friday. For free. And without having to pretend you enjoy cooking in August.

❤️

31/07/2025

The Summer Scandal: Fake Degrees 🎓

It all started with Noelia Núñez, a rising star in the center-right PP and one of its most visible faces on social media.

Núñez, 33, was a party vice-secretary, an Ayuso ally, and a regional MP—until last week, when she quit everything after it emerged she hadn’t actually finished any of the degrees she’d purportedly earned.

After becoming one of the “most hated people” on X, Núñez posted a message admitting to “errors” in her curriculum vitae and insisting there was “no intention to deceive.” She then quit.

In the slowest news week ever, the spotlight quickly turned to everyone else’s CVs, with PP and PSOE politicians accusing each other of faking their degrees.

Listen, it’s July. There’s no legislation, so people dig up dumb scandals. Politicians pretend to be shocked. The press eats it up (what else are we gonna write about?).

And the public? Mostly rolls its eyes at the whole charade.

Read the full story at the link in our bio. And become a paid subscriber to our newsletter if you want to support our journalism (we have those degrees, we promise).

31/07/2025

✈️ What the hell happened?

What started as a disruptive flight from Valencia to Paris has turned into an international media firestorm—with accusations of antisemitism, and denials of discrimination.

It started on July 23, when 47 French Jewish teens and four adult supervisors were booted from a Vueling flight to Paris. A viral video showed a female chaperone being dragged off the plane by Guardia Civil officers.

Vueling and Spanish authorities say the group ignored safety instructions, messed with emergency gear, and disrupted the pre-flight demo. After repeated warnings, the captain called in security and had them removed.

Guardia Civil and passengers say no one was arrested—the chaperone was just restrained after refusing to cooperate.

Israeli media and X accounts—including Israel’s Minister of Combating Antisemitism, Amichai Chikli— called it one of the “most serious antisemitic incidents” in recent memory.

🛑 Let us remind you that things between Israel and Spain right now are not great —especially since Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has publicly accused Netanyahu’s government of committing genocide in Gaza.

📬 Head to the link in our bio to read the full story. And subscribe to get your weekly dose of Spanish news in your inbox, for free.

29/07/2025

🔎 Pedro Sánchez’s government has revived a dusty legislative project to replace Spain’s 1968 Official Secrets Law with a shiny new system for declassification.

The proposal promises automatic unsealing of documents 45 years or older—which means everything before 1981, including the dictatorship and the Transición to democracy after the Generalísimo’s 1975 death, could soon be open to public view.

Maybe don’t celebrate just yet. The bill also includes stiff penalties for anyone who leaks—or even accidentally accesses—classified info, journalists included.

Oh, and one clause lets authorities preemptively shut down the spread of secrets if they deem it “urgent,” opening the door to what some are calling prior censorship.

Hmmm. So, why now? Let us roll out a theory: the Sánchez government announced the declassification just as it’s trying to dissuade voters from looking too closely at the corruption clouds hanging over the PM’s inner circle.

The Trump administration released the MLK Jr. files right as the Orange Guy was trying to distract people from talking about Jeffrey Epstein. Just saying. 🤷

👉 Subscribe to our newsletter for your weekly dose of news, context, and snark to make sense of this beautiful mess we call .

28/07/2025

Fewer homes to rent. Fewer incentives to build. 🫠

Spain is facing a serious housing crisis, and its major cities have seen the number of available apartments drop since the Ley de Vivienda was passed — especially Barcelona, which introduced rent price caps.

Many property owners have pulled their flats from the rental market altogether or shifted them to the black market, creating an even tighter squeeze on available supply.

👉 Swipe to learn how the new law has impacted the city, according to our editor Ian Mount. 
🏗️ And hit the link in bio to read the full feature on our website.

27/07/2025

🥵 Spanish Summertime Hits. Time stretches. The air thickens. One question lingers: Where do you go to beat the heat?

🌞 Luckily, our lifestyle expert Flora Millar shares a personal-cultural reflection on the rituals of Spanish summer—and how to master the fine art of Iberian idleness.

Head to the link in our bio to read the full article, and subscribe for your weekly dose of fashion, lifestyle, TV shows to watch, and the best places to eat, drink, and dance in Madrid! 💃

26/07/2025

🐂 A single word in a news segment has reignited Spain’s long-running (and still unresolved) identity crisis over bullfighting.

Is it art or cruelty? Cultural tradition or outdated relic? And who gets to write the national narrative?

During the nightly news show Teleberri on the Basque Country’s public broadcaster EITB, a segment about the bulls running during Sanfermines ended with the reporter saying they’d be “murdered” later that afternoon.

Whoops. EITB quickly admitted the term was “totally inappropriate” for a news segment.

Despite 78% of Spaniards saying they don’t follow bullfighting, recent polls suggest younger audiences are suddenly being drawn to it.

What about you?

👉 Subscribe to our newsletter for your weekly dose of news, context, and snark to make sense of this beautiful mess we call Spain. (Link in bio.)

25/07/2025

🌞 🐦‍⬛ This is your ultimate Madrid Summer Survival Guide! 
From classic open-air cinema to exhibitions, concerts, and climate shelters, we’ve rounded up the best things to do in the city this season.

💌 Want more weekend plans, foodie tips, stylish cafés, and fashion inspo? Subscribe to our newsletter, your weekly dose of what’s hot (and where to cool down) in the city.

🔖 Save this post for later or share it with your summer crew, because no one should suffer through the scorching Madrid summer without a plan.

25/07/2025

🏆 Come on, chicas. Let’s make it two for two.

This Sunday afternoon, Spain’s women’s football team plays its first-ever final against England, and Madrid is going all in.

The is setting up a massive outdoor screen in Parque de Berlín so you can cheer them on with hundreds of other fans. The vibe is electric and the best part is that it’s absolutely free.

The match kicks off at 6 p.m., but you’ll want to get there early to grab a shady spot and soak in the pre-game buzz. No tickets, no sign-ups—just bring your loudest voice, something red to wear, and maybe a cold drink or two.

If the 2023 World Cup final was any indication (Spain beat England then, too), we’re in for a wild ride. It doesn’t even matter if you’re not a huge soccer football fan, this game is going to be an adrenaline rush.

🖥️ What: UEFA Women’s Euro Final – Spain vs England
📍 Where: Parque de Berlín, Av. de Ramón y Cajal 2, Madrid
📅 When: Sunday, July 27 at 6 p.m.
🎟 Tickets: Free entry, no reservation required

24/07/2025

🕵️ Don’t you just love a good spy story?

Spain’s Interior Ministry reportedly handed a €12.3M contract to Huawei to provide servers for the Guardia Civil’s wiretap system—prompting two U.S. Republican lawmakers to basically yell: “Wait, Spain gave access to its police surveillance network?!”

In their words, has “deep ties” to the Chinese Communist Party and is legally obligated to share whatever info the CCP wants.

So, they warned, China could have backdoor access to a ally’s police wiretap systems—“monitoring Spanish investigations of CCP spies and countless other intelligence activities.” 🫨

🔎 How big a deal is this?

Go to the link in our bio to read why the U.S. is now threatening to limit intel sharing with Spain.

👉 Subscribe to our newsletter for your weekly dose of news, context, and snark to make sense of this beautiful mess we call .

The Bubble

03/08/2025

02/08/2025

01/08/2025

31/07/2025

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29/07/2025

28/07/2025

27/07/2025

26/07/2025

25/07/2025

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24/07/2025

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