The Swiss voice in the world since 1935

Thomas Stephens

Journalist

I write articles on the Swiss Abroad and “Quirky Switzerland” as well as daily/weekly briefings. I also translate, edit and sub-edit articles for the English department and do voiceover work for videos. Born in London, I have a degree in German/Linguistics and was a journalist at The Independent before moving to Bern in 2005. I speak all three official Swiss languages and enjoy travelling the country and practising them, above all in pubs, restaurants and gelaterias.

Schmutzlis

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Swiss oddities

How Swiss festive bad boy Schmutzli cleaned up his act

This content was published on Once upon a time, a mysterious dark-faced figure would enter Swiss homes on December 6, beating and (briefly) abducting children into behaving better. Schmutzli needed an image makeover.

Read more: How Swiss festive bad boy Schmutzli cleaned up his act

Debates

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Debate
Hosted by: Thomas Stephens

Train vs plane: would you take a direct train between London and Geneva?

Eurostar is planning to run direct trains from Britain to Germany and Switzerland from the early 2030s. Would you favour the train over the plane? If not, why not?

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Hosted by: Thomas Stephens

Is your place of origin, your Heimatort, important to you?

Every Swiss citizen has a Heimatort, a place of origin, but many have never visited theirs. What’s your relationship with your Heimatort? What does it mean to you?

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‘No kids’ holidays are booming in Switzerland. Blatant discrimination or a stroke of genius?

Canny tourist operators have realised that many people will pay a premium to remove kids from their holidays. What does this say about society?

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Archived

What do you think of Migros’ decision to consider selling alcohol? How would you vote?

Migros, one of Switzerland’s largest and most popular retailers, is thinking about stocking alcohol after almost a century of abstinence. From the article Retail giant Migros confronts its complicated history with alcohol

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Debate
Hosted by: Thomas Stephens

Is Federer the greatest of all time?

As Roger Federer turns 40, tell us who you think is the best male tennis player ever – and why!

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