The War on Bikes Begins

Cyclists, get ready to ring your bells. The new city government wants to shrink bike lanes, and is turning car-free zones into roads. We hear about the new war on bikes under the CDU transport senator Manja Schreiner.

What hope is there for the referendum that sought to expropriate apartments from big private landlords? We get an update about Deutsche Wohnen und Co Enteignen from our friend Wouter Bernhard.

Do you work for a tech company in Berlin? Do you sometimes wonder if your startup boss is giving you all your rights? Do you know what to do if you think you’re being screwed? To tell us how tech workers can fight for their rights is Yonatan Miller from Berlin Tech Workers Coalition.

Berlin’s former top football Hertha have officially failed and fallen out of the top league. Our sports expert Jöran Mandik tells us about this epic sporting tragedy, and the incredible rise of Berlin’s other team FC Union.

This episode is hosted by Matilde Kaiser, Izzy Choksey, Jöran Mandik, Joel Dullroy and Daniel Stern. Research by Sebastian Filip. Edited by Trevor Silverstein. Thanks to our listeners who support us with a monthly donation via Steady! Please consider contributing here.

Check out athleticgreens.com/spaetkauf now! Try AG1 completely risk-free with a 90-day money-back guarantee, and get a free year’s supply of Vitamin D3+K2 for immune support & 5 convenient travel packs with your first AG1 order! For health information about AG1 and what we have to offer visit: https://athleticgreens.com/spaetkauf

We stress the importance of a varied and balanced diet and a healthy lifestyle. Keep out of reach of children. Not suitable for children and adolescents under 18 years, pregnant or nursing women. Do not exceed the recommended daily intake.

Was Berlin’s Election Stolen?

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 (which won 18.4% of votes) to join in a coalition. Together the CDU and SPD have 46.6% of votes and 82 of 159 seats in parliament. But the previous coalition of SPD, Greens (18.4%) and die Linke (12.2%) together had 49% of votes and taken 90 seats. Put simply, the old R2G (or G2R) coalition could have continued, and would have represented more voters.

Why did the 2023 election happen at all? Joel read the court decision which overturned the previous 2021 ‘marathon’ election and found few facts to support the claim that it was terminally flawed. You can read the verdict for yourself here: https://gesetze.berlin.de/bsbe/document/KVRE008452215

Joel’s take: The 2021 election shouldn’t have been re-run, and the 2023 coalition isn’t democratically supported.

How Berlin is Becoming a Psychedelics Hotspot

Several major medical trials are underway at Berlin’s Charite hospital using psilocybin and MDMA to treating depression and PTSD. And plenty of Berliners are conducting their own experiments with micro-dosing. Our guest is Anne Philippi, host of The New Health Club podcast, which dives into the emerging field of psychedelic therapy. Listen to her show on Apple Podcasts here.

Try Athletic Greens!

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Reference is made to the importance of a varied and balanced diet and a healthy lifestyle. Keep out of reach of children. Not suitable for children and adolescents under 18 years, pregnant or nursing women. Do not exceed the recommended daily intake.

Episode Credits

This episode was recorded live at Selina Mitte: https://www.selina.com/germany/berlin-mitte/

Hosts: Joel Dullroy, Izzy Choksey, Dan Stern. Producers: Anne-Marie Harrison, Sebastian Filip.

Thanks to our listeners who support us with a monthly donation via Steady! Please consider contributing here.

Get Help Berlin: Part 2 – The Magic Word

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.

Gesetzliche Krankenkassen: Statutory health insurance funds, Germany’s publicly-mandated privately-run insurers, covering around 90% of residents. They fund some mental healthcare costs for members.

Kassensitze: An insurance-funded therapy license for therapists.

Kostenerstattungsverfahren: cost reimbursement procedure.

Sprechstunden: Trial sessions.

Types of Therapy:

Psychoanalyse: he original Freudian analysis. You’re on the couch, talking with fairly little pushback from the therapist sitting behind you.

Tiefenpsychologisch fundierte Psychotherapie: your classic talk therapy. An evolution of psychoanalysis, where you sit face-to-face and try to find out where your patterns and issues come from.

Verhaltenstherapie: where you’re working on unlearning patterns and changing your behaviour.

Systemische Therapie: assumes that everything is connected and thus focuses on contextual frames such as family and other relationships rather than the individual.

EMDR: Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing, especially for PTSD.

Show Notes:

Jöran tried Berlin Institute for Psychotherapie and Psychoanalyse (BIPP): https://bipp-berlin.de/

Others went straight to a Hausarzt (a general doctor). But you can get an initial assessment appointment by calling: 116 117.

Credits:

Get Help Berlin is created, written, and presented by Matilde Keizer and Jöran Mandik. Production, writing and editing by Anne-Marie Harrison. Voiceovers by Dan Stern. Music is by Ducks! and Tom Evans. Artwork is by Molly Rose Dyson. This is a production of Radio Spaetkauf, Berlin’s news podcast.

Please support us with a one-off or monthly donation! https://www.radiospaetkauf.com/donate/

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Middle Aged Guys | Guests Jonny Tiernan & Drew Portnoy

Recorded Live on Sunday, March 27, 2023 at Noisy Rooms in Berlin. Guest host Drew Portnoy of 20% Berlin takes us through some political tidbits, his terrifying adventures in Frankfurt, and his thoughts on nudity rules at Berlin pools.

We talk with Jonny Tiernan, the new editor in chief of ExBerliner, about his new job and other changes at the Berlin English language institution.

Stories include the transportation strike, Corona fund fraud, baby eels in our waterways, and an update on the Berlin judge involved in last year’s coup attempt.

King Charles III is coming to Berlin this upcoming Wednesday! Fans can wait in front of the Brandenburger Tor to see the heir of the Sachsen-Coburg and Gotha royal line return home. While here, Charles will be bringing Camila to see an organic farm, meet Ukrainian refugees, and enjoy a state banquet.

Using waste water, a recent study by the European Monitoring Center for Drugs and Drug Addiction showed that Berliners’ cocaine use is up 58 percent since 2018. Crystal meth consumption has also gone up 70 percent and other amphetamines like speed are up by almost 30 percent.

There are updates to a couple of stories familiar to Radio Spaetkauf listeners: The Bundestag recently passed an amendment to the Transfusion Act, making it now explicit that sexual orientation can not be a factor for exclusion on donating blood. In another move towards equality, a woman’s complaint to the State Office for Equal Treatment, Berlin public pools are changing their rules. Every person will now be allowed to swim topless.

This episode ends with Dan covering a story about Berlin’s makeshift trailer parks, which district authorities are threatening to destroy before segueing into a brief rant; questioning the state’s balance in considering the needs of landlords versus tenants.

Sign up for Drew’s 20 % newsletter and follow him twitter or on Instagram. Jonny Tiernan on Insta: https://www.instagram.com/jonnytiernan/

Thank you to everyone who listens. We appreciate the audience and the community. Become a monthly supporter or make a one time donation at www.radiospaetkauf.com/donate/. Thank you.

This episode was produced by Anne-Marie Harrison and Daniel Stern.
Editing by Sebastian Filip.
Script by Anne-Marie Harrison.
Hosts: Matilde Keizer, Anne-Marie Harrison, Daniel Stern, and guest host Drew Portnoy.
Additional contributions by Jöran Mandik and as always the support of Joel Dullroy.

Assistance from https://www.podfestberlin.com/

Recorded live at Noisy Rooms.

Check out athleticgreens.com/spaetkauf now, try AG1 completely risk-free with a 90-day money-back guarantee, and get a free year’s supply of Vitamin D3+K2 for immune support & 5 convenient travel packs with your first AG1 order! For health information about AG1 and what we have to offer, visit: https://athleticgreens.com/spaetkauf

We stress the importance of a varied and balanced diet and a healthy lifestyle. Keep out of reach of children. Not suitable for children and adolescents under 18 years, pregnant or nursing women. Do not exceed the recommended daily intake.

Under A Mirrored Ceiling | Live at Babylon Berlin

Recorded Live at the Babylon Berlin Cinema in Mitte on Sunday, January 22, 2023. 

A brand new year brings Berlin fresh cringe from mayor Franziska Giffey and a reignition of the annual fireworks debate. We look at how racism and feminism might play a role in that conversation. Berlin vs. Hamburg? 25 percent of Germans found Hamburg the “most likable” German city, but which city-state do Radio Spaetkauf hosts prefer? The answer may shock you! (It probably won’t). 

This episode was sponsored by Athletic Greens. Visit http://www.athleticgreens.com/spaetkauf and get a free year’s supply of Vitamin D3+K2 for immune support, 5 convenient Travel Packs and a starter kit with your first AG1 order!

Fresh scandals and new posters leading up to the election redo, who stands to gain and do any deserve us? We chat with Nathaniel Flakin, author of “Revolutionary Berlin” about the election and some of the Berlin actors in the recent coup attempt. His book is published by Pluto Books and his tours can be found at https://revolutionaryberlin.wordpress.com/

Our second guest is Yevhenii Surniaiev, a board member of IWEK e.V. (fb page link), one of the associations that founded the Alliance of Ukrainian Organizations. He gives us some perspective on the new Ukrainian experience of Berlin and Ukraine as well as his suggestions on how to help those displaced and suffering because of the Russian invasion.
Links here:
https://www.medhelpukraine2022.org/
https://plastde.org/spendenaufruf/ 
https://ukr-dim.de/help/

Berlin will, at long last, send to Nigeria 10 artifacts know as “Benin Bronzes”. Hopefully the return of these stolen artworks signals a better reckoning with Germany’s colonial past. 

The online portal queer.de has been sued for “disparaging the memory of the deceased” because of an article they wrote describing the now-deceased Joseph Ratzinger, AKA Pope Benedict the 16th, as being queerphobic. However, the head of the journalist union says there is no violation of the press codex and no obvious insult against the former pope.

In transportation news, it was recently made public that the BVG fired their security company Pütz in November after an assault on a passenger was “the straw that broke the camel’s back,” according to BVG sources. 

It’s hard to believe, but there’s actually some good economic news to kick off this year. Berlin’s economic output rose by about 2.5 percent last year, above the average for the rest of the country.

Berlin Fashion Week kicked off with Mayor Giffey’s embarrassing hype line of “Hey, where are all the Berliners?!” and was later trolled by activists “The Yes Men” who infiltrated the Adidas RealityWear show with models in fake blood “literally wearing the toil of workers on [their] sleeves.” 

Thank you to everyone who listens. We appreciate the audience and the community. Your financial support will help keep this project viable. Become a monthly supporter or make a one time donation at https://www.radiospaetkauf.com/donate/ thank you.

Join Izzy February 4th on a walking tour of Berlin covering social movements.
Political Walking Tour – Social Movements in Berlin – The Left Berlin 
Dan has a new weekly stand up show called “Slingshot” at Two Fellas in Pankow.
Info and reservations at sterndaniel.com 
Matilde is a frequent performer at Comedy Cafe Berlin, catch her there!

This episode was produced by Anne-Marie Harrison and Daniel Stern.
Editing and additional research by Sebastian Filip.
Writing by Anne-Marie, Matilde Keizer and Izzy Choksey. 
Hosts: Matilde Keizer, Izzy Choksey and Daniel Stern.
Additional contributions by Joran Mandik and as always the support of Joel Dullroy. 

Assistance from https://www.podfestberlin.com/ and technical help from https://mobilekino.berlin/

Recorded live at Babylon Cinema in Mitte – a wonderful place to see thoughtfully curated film: https://babylonberlin.eu/ thank you to their wonderful staff!