Recorded March 24, 2024 On this episode of Radio Spätkauf, Izzy, Dan and Matilde take on the month's news from Berlin in English. We touch on the recent UNESCO recognition of Berlin's techno scene, the legalization of weed, controversies surrounding stone statues at the Humboldt Forum, and the pressing issue of affordable housing. Joeran Mandik turns up to tell us about his quest to find Berlin's own Tree of Enlightenment. Izzy dissects Berlin's governing coalition's policies on housing, transportation, bikes and a Maglev train proposal. We consider the three duos vying to lead the SPD. Julian ..read more

This episode of Radio Spätkauf was recorded live February 25th 2024 in Berlin at Noisy Rooms. Hosts Mathilde, Dan and Izzy joined by guest host Pip Roper. Headlines: BVG’s brand new CEO Henrik Falk’plan to clean U8 UBahn stations. Berlinale got off to a contentious start but ended with satisfying wins. Tegel is now welcoming school students to its halls. Tesla faces a setbackin Grunheide. More public transportation strikes are on the way. A leaked government housing report undermines CDU and SPD plans to open up tempelhof to developers. •Michael Efler from Bürgerbergheren Klimaschutz explains ..read more

28th January 2024 recorded live at Zimmer48, with Izzy and Dan plus two guest hosts: Maria Debinska, a research fellow at the Institute for Cultural Inquiry in Berlin and Megan Whittington of German news in English podcast Megan’s Megacan.   Support Radio Spaetkauf: https://www.radiospaetkauf.com/donate/   A bahn-strike started last Wednesday, running six days until the morning of January 29th included the S-Bahn. The rail worker’s union, the GDL, is advocating for a shorter 35-hour work week with full pay,  a wage increase of €555 per month immediately as well as a €3,000 one o ..read more

“I don’t think fear is the right word. I am afraid of the future,” Tim Wechselmann-Cassim of Letzte Generation told us about what he feels when drivers try to run their cars into activists during a street-takeover action. “The worst thing that can happen is that they are going to run me over [...] I wouldn’t be there if I wasn’t already committed to that.”  Who defines what “radical” is? Who gets labeled “radical” and what implications does this have? In this episode of Sticking Point, Anne-Marie and Izzy dive into this question and share some of their personal viewpoints on the kinds of ..read more

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“He saw the remains of his father dug up again.” That was the traumatic experience of one man in a village which was forcibly relocated due to coal mining. It was told to us by Christopher Laumanns, who helped found the group Alle Dörfer Bleiben to fight on behalf of villages threatened by fossil fuel extraction. In Episode 2 of Sticking Point, Izzy and Anne-Marie hear the stories of pain and anger that inspire Germany’s climate movement activists. Tadzio Müller discusses how place-based movements can break through ideology and make things more real, something that Ende Gelände was very effect ..read more

Will Berliners survive the apocalypse? Should we even try? Ben Knight filmed his quest to deal with climate crisis angst. His film "We're All Going To Die" screened at Lakeside Film Festival. Ben joins us for a live recording in the rain. Find a screening here: https://wereallgoingtodiefilm.com/ Berlin's new conservative government passed its first 100 days. They made lots of threats against bicycles, and cancelled 3 of 19 planned bike lanes. Budgets for local councils were cut, threatening services for schools, parks and Christmas markets. How much damage is the CDU-SPD doing, or is their bar ..read more

In this miniseries, Izzy Choksey and Anne-Marie Harrison take a journey through the main waves of Germany's climate movement. We meet the people behind the headlines: from the tactics of the anti-nuclear movement, and activists clambering onto coal excavators in the early 00s, to striking school children and folks gluing their hands onto roads. We find out what motivates activists and why they are willing to turn to increasingly radical means to force change. Episode #1: From Nein Danke Nuclear to Coal Isn’t Sexy Climate activists today are redefining civil disobedience, but how did we get to ..read more

Berlin is about to get conservative. The Christian Democrats have taken control of our once lefty, greeny, progressive and mismanaged city. The new CDU mayor is Kai Wegner, and he’s already off to a bad start. Berlin's parliament took an unprecedented three rounds of voting to elect him, despite his coalition having a majority. That means some within his own ranks aren't happy with him in power, and could cause trouble by refusing to pass legislation. Was the New Election Justified? How did the CDU come to power? They won 28.2% of the vote in the February 2023 re-election. They invited the SPD ..read more

Jöran and Matilde outline the underground market which is making it difficult for psychotherapists to treat patients under public health insurance. But, there’s a work-around to getting psychotherapy covered! Find out what this magic word is on this episode, and read all about it in the current cover story for ExBerliner Magazine.    Want to share your story? Write to us here at hallo@radiospaetkauf.com or leave a voice message here. Terminology: Bedarfsplanung: formal coverage plan made to ensure sufficient health service coverage across Germany, according to the need in each region ..read more