Jöran ushered in the new year with jelly donuts, Joel an ice cold swim and Dan watched the ZDF livestream. All were pleased with their experiences. Hospital on the water Urban Krankenhaus gets positive reviews from the team, though recent expansions ignore the buildings aesthetic and surroundings.

How was Berlin’s NYE with fireworks sales banned? : 862 fire crew call-outs, 43 in ‘verbotszonen’, and 211 fires; 10 victims in ER, 2 hands partially amputated, one Brandenburg man killed by self-made rocket; one Neukölln supermarket destroyed by stored fireworks. Those numbers are about half of last year’s.

How many fewer fireworks were fired? The Frankfurter Allee air quality station measured one third as much particle pollution. The rubbish collection company BSR said 130 meters of fireworks trash was collected, also about one third the volume of last year. If it was like this every year, we’d have nothing to complain about. 

Christmas is long gone, but the trees are yet to be picked up. 350.000 of them per year according to the BSR. This year, they will begin their tree-pick-up rounds on January 7. They ask to remove all decorations from the tree when putting them out on the street. Even if you have a little baby tree. Don’t put them in the bio-bin – they can’t be used for biogas-production. The collected trees will be shredded and burnt for the production of heating energy. 

The lockdown is set to continue. With about 30% of intensive hospital beds occupied by COVID-19 patients, and a boost in testing numbers expected after the holidays. Kitkat Club continues to attract huge crowds with its €25 test. And the ‘queerdenkers’ keep protesting, dancing in a conga line on Alexanderplatz singing about how we need a little virus. Maisie tweeted: “It’s funny how Holocaust denial is illegal here but Corona denial isn’t. Why aren’t they banned outright? Because they don’t use hate speech?”

Public transport tickets have gone up to €3 for a single journey; in Paris it’s €1.90. New S-Bahn trains are on the tracks, with flat windscreen windows, giving them a futuristic vibe. To see them take the S47 between Spindlersfeld and Hermannstraße. Initially there are only ten of the new vehicles on this route. More will be added in 2022. The new trains have air conditioning, a new door signal, faster acceleration and deceleration. But no USB chargers, as was once promised.

You’re going to be seeing a lot more shared electric mopeds on the streets: The company Emmy plans to put 800 more of its red scooters. Joel questions why he only needs a class B European driver’s license to use one, and how much is the fish?

Much of Berlin has already seen and mocked the  “Psychometric WG” . Do they deserve less ridicule or should they be condemned for an embrace of villainous cyborgishness? At €800-€1000, their rent is definitely over the Mietendeckel limits (which also apply within WGs). If you want to report them or any other suspected overcharging landlord to the city government for investigation, here’s the link. Click link under “Online-Abwicklung”: https://service.berlin.de/dienstleistung/330040/standort/123904/

2021 is an election year, which Radio Spaetkauf is excited to report on. But who should we run for office this year? Give Juri another shot despite only garnering 66 votes last time, or run a new candidate? Perhaps Carmen, our recent guest host? Should we really campaign or would that only degrade the democratic process? 

Maisie says thanks for the messages, they have been wonderful.

If you, your business, or organization is interested in starting your own podcast get in touch with the Radio Spaetkauf team. We’ll make sure you have a unique concept that will keep your audience engaged and help you expand your following. hallo@radiospaetkauf.com 

Thanks to all our donors! Support Radio Spaetkauf with a one time or ongoing donation at radiospaetkauf.com/donate. Grab a gift for the Radio Spaetkauf fan in your life at our new merch page, totes, mugs and T-shirts printed in Berlin.

Why can’t Germany finally ban fireworks? The failure to prohibit the use of rockets on NYE shows the pandemic response still isn’t being led by science, we say. Many shops are closed, and alcohol outdoors is banned. Berlin is preparing for vaccinations, but unless you’re over 80 you probably won’t get one for quite a while.

We’re joined by guest co-host Gilda Sahebi, a journalist and doctor. Gilda is part of Neue Deutsche Medienmacher, a network that promotes greater diversity in Germany’s very white media industry. Follow Gilda’s here: https://twitter.com/gildasahebi

Gilda’s network helped write a handbook for Berlin’s city government that discourages the use of racist and exclusionary language. For example, city officials have been told to not use the term “Ausländer”, but rather “Einwohnende ohne deutsche Staatsbürgerschaft”. Dan says making such phrases cumbersome should encourage us to question whether we even need to say them at all.

The BVG has a new voice. An actor with a gender neutral tone will read station announcements. Will the BVG also please finally hire a native English expert to check their translations? This new platform announcement is both bad and dangerous: “Please keep distance to each other.” Please don’t!

This episode was hosted by Jöran Mandik, Joel Dullroy, Daniel Stern and Gilda Sahebi.

We’re joined by guest co-host Carmen Chraim! Listen to her podcast People of Carmen.

Joel shares his experience of having coronavirus: it’s hard to get tested, and contact tracing is no forensic investigation. Luckily more private testing clinics have opened, including at BER and Kitkat Club.

With Christmas markets cancelled, the whole city has become a distributed glühwein markt. Joel and Jöran went on a tour of Neukölln’s weihnachts windows. Can we expand the variety of hot drinks on offer please?

But glühwein is unlikey to save the hospitality sector. A survey by Bars of Berlin found 75% of their members expect to go out of business by 2021. Restaurants are operating on about 40% of their usual trade.

The U5 extension is finished, connecting Hauptbahnhof to Alexanderplatz. It was only 20% over budget and 3 years late. But Friedrichstraße U6 station has closed – Berlin has a ghost station once again. Do we need an U-Bahn extension to BER?

And at BER… Schönefeld airport is closing. The building now called Terminal 5 will shut its doors March for at least a year due to low traffic. Suddenly Berlin has three abandoned airports.

The bill for the police operation to clear the Liebig 34 squat is in: it cost almost €1 million: that’s more than the owner paid to buy the building in the first place. The residents wanted to stay and pay rent, as they had been. The landlord wanted them out. The city sided with the owner.

Thanks for the lovely messages for Maisie – she really appreciates them.

Thanks to all our donors! Support us here: http://www.radiospaetkauf.com/donate

Does your business need a podcast? Hire us to help you produce it! Contact us: hello@radiospaetkauf.com

First some difficult news: Maisie is in hospital being treated for a rare type of cancer. She is trying to stay positive and says: “Hello to everyone. I’m working on coming back ASAP!” You can send her a personal message via: hallo@radiospaetkauf.com

We’re back in partial lockdown, with all hospitality and cultural venues closed. More than 70 such businesses are trying to sue to stay open, with little hope. They can apply for 75% of their usual monthly income. Will they be scared to ask for money, after the legal recriminations for those who took the last coronavirus support package? Here’s where you find out more about Überbrückungshilfe Unternehmen: https://bit.ly/3lfadHk

Where have people been catching COVID-19? Berlin’s health department has released statistics: 55% at home, 15% in hospitals and care homes, 4% in ‘free time’, 3.5% at work, 2.5% at school – and only 2.1% in restaurants.

Tegel Airport has finally closed. Dan interviews Ben, a flight attendant who was on one of the last flights out of the hexagonal terminal.

This episode was presented by Joel Dullroy, Daniel Stern and Jöran Mandik.

A right-wing campaign of neighbourhood terror has been carrying on for years on the streets of Neukölln. For a long time, the police just seemed incompetent. Now there are accusations that some police may have had connections to suspected right-wing attackers. We talk to the Mobile Counsel Against Right-wing Extremism Berlin: www.mbr-berlin.de/

The next coronavirus wave is upon us. The city is well prepared, with lots of available hospital beds. But politicians aren’t taking chances, introducing more mask laws and shutting businesses at 11pm. But are we going back to morality over science?

An update on pop-up bike lanes: the Berlin city government has won an appeal against the AfD’s anti-bike lane court case. The pop-up bike paths are safe for now. There’s also a new initiative to ban cars from the city – Autofreiberlin: http://autofreiberlin.de

One of Berlin’s last real squats, Liebig34, was evicted in a massive police operation. The owner, the Padovicz family and company, owns hundreds of properties. They bought the building for €600,000, and have already collected €580,000 in rent from the residents, who wanted to stay and pay a reasonable rent.

Berlin has a new official logo – a simple black, red and white rectangular box, with san-serif Bauhaus-era font and a bear with no flicking tongue. The cost? €1.26 million euros (without VAT). A lot of money, but some of us think it’s an improvement on the old Be Berlin graphic mess.

Dan recommends listening to the podcast People of Carmen by comedian Carmen Chraim: https://apple.co/35vqMbc

Also, check out Trevor Silverstein’s podcast The Boss: https://apple.co/2ZOtC9v

Does your business need a podcast? Hire us to help you produce it! Contact us: hello@radiospaetkauf.com

Thanks to all our donors! Support us here: http://www.radiospaetkauf.com/donate

The AfD has won a court battle to remove pop-up bike lanes. How can cyclists fight back? We meet Dirk von Schneidemesser from Changing Cities who says we can convince drivers to give up cars if we have better, safer bike paths. Become a supporting member of Changing Cities here: https://changing-cities.org

Football used to be banned for women in Germany. But for ten years the NGO Discover Football has been making soccer more female-friendly and empowering women. We talk to Johanna Small about their yearly football festival. More here: http://www.discoverfootball.de/

Maisie credits Exberliner for their detailed coverage of the Julian Assange show trial. Assange is a journalist threatened with a life in jail for exposing government crimes. Yet the media has abandoned him, focusing on his personality and now-dropped allegations. We should all be concerned about his fate. Follow Exberliner’s court reporting: https://www.exberliner.com/features/julian-assange-trial-2020

Do you have a dinosaur limb lying around in your garden? Better return it to Spreepark at Plänterwald. They are restoring the dinosaurs. The ferris wheel will soon be removed and repaired.

Clubs are reopening with temperature checks, distanced dancing and lots of sanitizer. Grießmühle has a new location, this one with working toilets, they say. Book your visit in advance here: https://griessmuehle.de

This episode was hosted by Daniel Stern, Maisie Hitchcock, Jöran Mandik and Joel Dullroy. Thanks to Trevor Silberstein of The Boss podcast for tech support. Listen to his show here: https://apple.co/2ZOtC9v

Support us with a donation here: http://www.radiospaetkauf.com/donate/

Maisie mingles mit medical misbelievers and miscellaneous misinformed masses. More updates on Coronavirus. Plus Berlin’s building and housing senator has been forced to resign… what does this mean for the rent freeze?

Berlin’s population has fallen for the first time in almost two decades. There are 3.7 million residents registered here. But 7000 moved away since the start of the year. The reason is because of fewer foreigners coming here – only 1000 moved here since the start of the year. Meanwhile 8000 Germans moved away. 

Köpenick is the new “Hasenhain”. That’s Joel’s clever new portmanteau. Police have been shutting down illegal parties in the woods around Köpenick, in Berlin’s east. The latest had 150 people. It was discovered by a police helicopter scoping out the woods.

Friedrichstraße has begun an experiment in car-free living. It has already met with typical resistance but also some success. Will it be given enough time to see the positive effects that bike and pedestrian friendly streets can have on a neighborhood? Plus we discuss the possibility that coronavirus regulations may affect this year’s winter markets.

The recent demonstration against mask regulations and other restrictions related to the pandemic drew a reported 38,000 people including Reichsflag waving “nationalists”, Qanon aligned conspiracy devotees and a menagerie of other groups connected by Querdenken 711. A group of protestors bum-rushed the Reichstag overwhelming the few police stationed in front of it. Maisie tells us what she saw during and after the demonstration. The immediate result of the demonstration is new rules requiring the use of masks during protests of over 100 people. The next Anti-Corona-Rules demo will not take place in Berlin but will instead be moved to Konstanz at the southern border of Germany. 

Numbers in August have been higher than in July with Tuesday seeing 81 new cases. The reproduction number rising 1.14, means that one of the three Corona traffic lights is now yellow. But Berlin hospitalization numbers remain low with 32 people currently being treated, 12 of which are in intensive care.

A few new pandemic related regulations have been put in place: Private gatherings of up to 50 people will have to have a hygiene concept and collect attendee names. Restaurants have to follow slightly stricter rules too, with the requirement for  customer data collection now including those at outdoor seating. A new nationwide rule allows authorities to charge fines of up to €50 for not wearing masks. 

The BVG has reported that 80,000 people have been reprimanded for not wearing masks since July. 470 people have been fined. 223 people claimed they had an exemption from the law. A study by Technisches Univesität has found that wearing a simple fabric mask on public transport can reduce infection risk by up to 50%. They said U-Bahn windows should be open to maximize airflow.

Mohrenstraße will finally be renamed Anton-Wilhelm Amo Straße. After years of petitions and renewed protests since the murder of George Floyd the Mitte Bezirks parliament has finally voted to go ahead with the name change. Anton Wilhelm Amo was an 18th century African born German philosopher.

An update on the corona-zuschuss, the money paid to freelancers and small businesses at the start of the lockdown in April. After a few technical hiccups, the system worked quickly to dispense €1.8 billion euros to over 200,000 recipients. All they had to do was put in a bank number and tax number and click a few boxes. Since then, around 2200 cases of fraud have been opened. An additional 10% of recipients also paid the money back after getting it. In a sign of economic recovery Berlin’s unemployment rate has decreased for the first time since the lockdown; albeit by only 1002 people.

Berlin’s government has seen a few shake ups in recent weeks including the resignation of Katrin Lompscher, and announcements by Health Minister Dilke Kalayci and Education senator Sandra Scheeres that they will not be seeking reelection. Mayor Michael Müller is seeking a seat in the Bundestag but SPD rival Kevin Kuhnert stands in his way.

In other news, Berlin is getting a new museum. The Exilmuseum – dedicated to people who have fled their countries of origin. It’s going to be built behind Anhalter Bahnhof. The old facade of the train station will remain as is. Behind it, a big curved building will be constructed for the museum. 

This episode was presented by Joel Dullroy, Maisie Hitchcock, Daniel Stern and Jöran Mandik. Thank you to our supporters and listeners. Donations help keep the show going and can be made at http://www.radiospaetkauf.com/donate/.

Are you faking your details on restaurant sign-in sheets? Now the police are requisitioning venue contact lists for non-health-related investigations.

About 20,000 corona deniers marched through Berlin on Saturday, showing that covidiots aren’t only found in the US. At the same time, police brutally cracked down on a left-wing demo in Neukölln.

Hasenheide parties have become international news. Maisie was at a small gathering in the park and witnessed the policing strategy of banning bass frequencies. Concerned citizens are cleaning up the dirty park each Monday. If you’ve been to a party, perhaps you should lend a hand.

Berlin’s city districts should open controlled party zones in public spaces. And the government should pay 50% rent of all struggling nightclubs. Those are the recommendations from an unlikely source – Berlin’s CDU party. Will it win them any votes?

This episode was presented by Joel Dullroy, Maisie Hitchcock and Jöran Mandik. No live show this month due to weather and tear gas.