After a few more mugs of Glühwein, we round out our twelve days of Christmas market scandals with some Schwabenhass and culture wars. Thanks so much to Nathan for joining us on this episode to share his expertise as a local entrepreneur and thought leader. For more of Nathan, you can find him on Twitter at @nthnashma . You can also find his second-hand furniture curation and recommendations at @furnforall . If you'd like to read up on the scandals discussed in this episode: Polizei l...
Dec 25, 2021•2 hr 40 min
To celebrate the holiday season in true Spaßbremse style, we convened a panel with Nathan ( @nthnashma ) to walk you through the twelve days of Christmas market scandals, from selling Glühwein to minors in Frankfurt to tax evasion in Kiel. We were drinking some Glühwein (mit Schuss!) ourselves and as we went through the twelve days we went on more and more tangents, so this episode only gets through days one through six. You can look forward to days seven through twelve of Christmas market scand...
Dec 19, 2021•59 min
A short preview of our fourth premium episode, where we round out our three-part series about German companies during the Third Reich. To listen to the full episode, support us on Patreon: www.patreon.com/spassbremse If you're not able to support us monetarily right now, we totally get it! We'll be back in a few days with another full-length episode for the main podcast feed....
Dec 17, 2021•10 min
This week, Ted ( @ted_knudsen ) interviews TU Dortmund transport researcher Giulio Mattioli about German transport and climate policy in light of the recent traffic light coalition agreement and the COP 26 climate summit. To hear more from Giulio, you can follow him on Twitter: @giulio_mattioli . He also has a recent book chapter out on transport poverty and car dependence . Co-hosted by Michelle ( @shhellgames ) and produced by Isaac Würmann ( @wuermann ). Thank so much to everyone ...
Dec 08, 2021•55 min
What's with the bizarre obsession that some Germans have with Indigenous people from North America? Every year, thousands of Germans gather to dress up and play "Indianer"—or at least their imagined, naive stereotype of what it's like to be a First Nations person—complete with appropriated powwow dances, regalia, and living in tipis. On this episode, Ted, Michelle, and Isaac go through some of the darker history of this phenomenon, and Ted and Isaac interview Drew Hayden Taylor, a Canadian write...
Nov 28, 2021•1 hr
A short preview of our third premium episode, where Ted, Michelle, and Isaac talk about the Nazi history of three more German companies. To listen to the full episode, support us on Patreon: www.patreon.com/spassbremse If you're not able to support us monetarily right now, we totally get it! We'll be back in a few days with another full-length episode for the main podcast feed.
Nov 26, 2021•9 min
To celebrate (???) the traffic light coalition agreement and Christian Lindner's ascension to Finance Minister, we're unlocking our first Patreon Premium episode, in which Ted and Michelle talk us through Lindner's rise to prominence. We also released an episode on Oct. 31 (15 - Zombie-Ideologien und das Inflationsmonster) in which Ted interviews Dominik Leusder from the London School of Economics and Dezernat Zukunft about what a Lindner-led Finance Ministry might look like (god help us all). G...
Nov 25, 2021•52 min
This week, Michelle ( @shhellgames ) digs into the criminalization of abortion in Germany. In a Spaßbremse first, she interviews two (2!!) fantastic guests — Kate Cahoon ( @katecahoon ) of the Bündnis für sexuelle Selbstbestimmung and Stephanie Schlitt ( @StSchlitt ) of Pro Familia. SIGN THE PETITION TO REPEAL §218 Get involved with the “Weg mit 218” campaign: https://wegmit218.de/ To learn more about the Bündnis für sexuelle Selbstbestimmung, you can visit their website: https://www.sexuelle-se...
Nov 13, 2021•53 min
A short preview of our second premium episode, where Isaac joins Michelle and Ted to talk about the Nazi history of some notable German companies. To listen to the full episode, support us on Patreon: www.patreon.com/spassbremse If you're not able to support us monetarily right now, we totally get it! We'll be back next week with another full-length episode for the main podcast feed....
Nov 11, 2021•8 min
Just in time for Halloween, an interview about the biggest boogeyman in Germany: inflation! Ted ( @ted_knudsen ) sits down with Dominik Leusder ( @NewLeftEViews ) of the London School of Economics and economic policy think-tank Dezernat Zukunft to talk about what the aftermath of last month's German elections means for German politics, economics, and the European Union. This episode ties together some ideas and themes discussed in previous Spaßbremse episodes about Hartz IV and the debt brake , ...
Oct 31, 2021•1 hr 8 min
A short preview of our first premium bonus episode, where Michelle and Ted talk about one of the most exciting, innovative, and dynamisch people in German politics: the one and only Christian Lindner, leader of the FDP and likely next German finance minister. To listen to the full episode, support us on Patreon: www.patreon.com/spassbremse If you're not able to support us monetarily right now, we totally get it! We'll be back next week with another full-length episode for the main podcast feed....
Oct 27, 2021•3 min
It's Tee trinken time! Hosts Michelle ( @shhellgames ) and Ted ( @ted_knudsen ) are joined by producer Isaac ( @wuermann ) and friend of the pod Alice ( @aalicerrose ) to talk about Germans' bizarre obsession with alternative medicines such as homeopathy and anthroposophy. The articles referenced on this episode are: - Homeopathy doesn't work. So why do so many Germans believe in it? by Sami Emory in Bloomberg - Ginger root and meteorite dust: The Steiner 'Covid cures' offered ...
Oct 20, 2021•1 hr 24 min
What's behind Die Linke's abysmal 4.9% result in Germany's latest federal election? Michelle ( @shhellgames ) and Ted ( @ted_knudsen ) conduct their own post-mortem with Alex Brentler ( @full_enjoyment ) and Loren Balhorn ( @fraubalhorn ) from Jacobin Germany. Sources: Alex Brentler with an election post-mortem for Die Linke Loren Balhorn on Die Linke's lack of pre-election strategy Quinn Slobodian on the "Aufstehen" movement Produced by Isaac Würmann ( @wuermann ). Follow Spaßbremse on Tw...
Oct 09, 2021•1 hr 17 min
After recovering from their election night hangovers, Spaßbremse hosts Michelle (@shhellgames) and Ted (@ted_knudsen) sit down with Julia (@KMarxiana), Nick (@sternburgpapi) and Ciarán (@ciarandold) from Corner Späti to hash out the results. Why did die Linke do so poorly? Will Christian Lindner finally become finance minister? Will your Deutsche Wohnen-owned apartment be socialized as soon as the Giffey cabinet takes office? You'll have to listen to find out! Produced by Isaac Würmann (@wuerman...
Oct 02, 2021•1 hr 7 min
Hosts Michelle ( @shhellgames ) and Ted ( @ted_knudsen ) are joined by Spaßbremse producer Isaac ( @wuermann ) to go over the final polls and debates before tomorrow's election. Join us tomorrow to watch the results! We'll be hanging out with our friends from the Corner Späti podcast at Donau115 in Neukölln from 17:30. Apparently there will be prizes! For more info, check out the Facebook event page . Follow Spaßbremse on Twitter ( @spassbremse_pod ). Music by Lee Rosevere . Art by Franzis...
Sep 25, 2021•51 min
Ted ( @ted_knudsen ) and Michelle ( @shhellgames ) sit down with Nick ( @sternburgpapi ) and Ciarán ( @ciarandold ) from Corner Späti ( @cornerspaeti ) to break down the major parties in the lead-up to the September 26 elections. Tangents include Armin Laschet's Instagram influencer son and the FDP's bisexual lighting. Produced by Isaac Würmann ( @wuermann ). On election night we'll be hanging out again with the Corner Späti crew, this time for our first live show! Join us at Donau115 in N...
Sep 19, 2021•1 hr 25 min
If you live in Berlin or have visited the city in the past few months, you've undoubtedly seen the purple and yellow posters of the Deutsche Wohnen & Co. enteignen referendum campaign lining the streets of every Kiez. With the referendum vote coming up in less than two weeks (!!), Spaßbremse co-host Michelle ( @shhellgames ) sits down with campaign organizer Thomas McGath ( @tamcgath ) to discuss what expropriating private landlords could mean for Berlin. Ahead of the interview, Ted ( @ted_k...
Sep 15, 2021•1 hr 1 min
What's with the Schuldenbremse and the Schwarze Null? Ted interviews Philippa Sigl-Glöckner ( @PhilippaSigl ), director of the economic policy think-tank Dezernat Zukunft, about German politicians' aversion to running deficits and how that affects people's lives in Germany and beyond. Following the interview, Ted ( @ted_knudsen ) and Michelle ( @shhellgames ) read a piece by Wolfgang Schäuble published earlier this year in the Financial Times so you don't have to. Produced by Isaac Würmann ( @wu...
Sep 08, 2021•1 hr 15 min
On this episode of Spaßbremse, Michelle ( @shhellgames ) and Ted ( @ted_knudsen ) dive into the myth of Angela Merkel, the so-called "leader of the free world." As we enter into the final month before the Sept. 26 election that will choose her successor, let's talk about how Merkel became such a beloved figure around the world, while at the same time forcing through an austerity agenda, dropping the ball on climate policy, and creating a more unequal Germany. Produced by Isaac Würmann ( @wuerman...
Aug 30, 2021•1 hr 2 min
In the final installment of our series of German reunification, Michelle (@shhellgames) and Ted (@ted_knudsen) discuss the ways East Germany continues to be (mis)remembered in popular and political culture. Produced by Isaac Würmann (@wuermann). To read up on some of the finer details discussed in this episode, check out these links: - A Second Life for Socialist Realism by Magdalena Moskalewicz - Judging the Past in Unified Germany by A. James McAdams Music by Lee Rosevere. Art by Franziska Sch...
Aug 24, 2021•43 min
In the third installment of this series, Michelle ( @shhellgames ) and Ted ( @ted_knudsen ) interview American journalist Victor Grossman about his experience defecting to East German in the early 1950s and living through German reunification. Produced by Isaac Würmann ( @wuermann ) with help this week from Tom Wills ( @tomwills ). To learn more about Victor, check out his two books: Crossing the River: A Memoir of the American Left, the Cold War, and Life in East Germany A Socialist...
Aug 13, 2021•59 min
In this second instalment of a three-part series, Michelle ( @shhellgames ) and Ted ( @ted_knudsen ) discuss the economic impacts of Treuhand and the mass privatization of East German enterprises, and challenge the "Aufbau Ost" narrative that positions reunification as the saviour of the East German economy. Stay tuned for the final part of this series, where we'll hear from someone who experienced this moment in history firsthand. Produced by Isaac Würmann ( @wuermann ). Music by Lee Rosevere ....
Aug 08, 2021•40 min
Ted (@ted_knudsen) interviews Alex Brentler (@full_enjoyment) of @jacobinmag_de on the recent flooding, the history of climate politics in Germany, the contradictions of the German Greens, and the prospects for a break from the coal-reliant German energy system. Then, Ted and Michelle (@shhellgames) embark on Spaßbreme's first reading series, dissecting a bizarre take on on why emergency warnings are useless. Produced by Isaac Würmann (@wuermann). Part 2 of our reunification series will air next...
Jul 30, 2021•1 hr 3 min
In this first installment of a three-part series, Michelle ( @shhellgames ) and Ted ( @ted_knudsen ) guide us through the messy months in 1989 and 1990 that resulted in the unified Germany that we know today, and pose the question: Was it really a unification, or rather an annexation? Stay tuned for part two of this series, where we'll hear from someone who experienced this moment in history firsthand. Produced by Isaac Würmann ( @wuermann ). Music by Lee Rosevere . Art by Franziska Schnei...
Jul 23, 2021•35 min
The first episode of Spaßbremse is here, and Michelle ( @shhellgames ) and Ted ( @ted_knudsen ) are discussing Hartz IV—aka Arbeitslosengeld II—the controversial reforms to unemployment benefits introduced by Gerhard Schröder's SPD-Green coalition government in the early 2000s. Produced by Isaac Würmann ( @wuermann ). Music by Lee Rosevere . Art by Franziska Schneider. To learn more about Hartz IV, here are some links to articles and studies cited in this episode: - German Deuni...
Jul 16, 2021•51 min
Hosts Michelle and Ted tell us about what to expect on Spaßbremse, including a fair share of gripes about how Germany is portrayed in English-language media. Music by Lee Rosevere .
Jul 08, 2021•12 min
