Category: Podcasts

Berlin is a noisy city, and it’s getting louder. Stats show police cars activated their lights and sirens 158,000 times last year – or more than 400 times a day. That’s a 5% increase on the previous year.

The famous open-air karaoke sessions in Mauerpark can go ahead again after the Pankow authorities reversed their plan to close the event down. Authorities were refusing to issue the regular permits due to nearby construction work. After a public outcry, the authorities backed down. Apparently it wasn’t so hard to move a few fences around after all. Expect the singing to resume sometime around Easter.

The BVG says more than 41,000 square meters of its U-Bahn carriage walls were graffitied last year – 20% more than the previous year. They plan to stick yellow heart stickers on top of graffiti to annoy the vandals.

Our next live show is Sunday March 31 at Comedy Cafe Berlin in Neukölln. Come along! More info here: https://bit.ly/2HKPN83

This episode was presented by Jöran Mandik and Daniel Stern, and brought to you by RadioEins.

What do Berlin’s criminal gangs have to do with the German hip-hop industry? One high profile rapper is living in fear of retribution from a Berlin mafia boss. Our guest Konrad Werner tells us about a recent court case involving rapper Bushido, who has switched gang allegiances. Listen to his own podcast Meghan’s Megacan: https://apple.co/2AtuB27

Why did BVG workers go on strike? Berlin U-Bahn drivers earn around 500 euros less per month than drivers in other German states. And here in Berlin, the S-Bahn drivers earn almost 40 percent more than U-Bahn drivers – that’s over 900 euros a month extra. If you think it’s fair enough, don’t complain the next time the BVG is on strike.

Berlin city collects a lot of data, but doesn’t give much back. For example, They don’t release detailed stats on traffic accidents, which could help planners identify problem spots. Victoria Dykes from the Technologie Stiftung Berlin wants the city to release data and allow others to use it creatively. More at https://bit.ly/2NrRMPy

Haus der Statistik is a giant ruin sitting at the start of Karl Marx Allee near Alexanderplatz. Soon it will be transformed into a public space with art studios, low-cost living and city government offices. We talk to Clemens Weise from the citizen’s initiative helping to plan the new building. More at https://hausderstatistik.org

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Are you one of the 34% of Berliners who enjoy the fireworks free-for-all on New Years Eve? Or one of the 62% who are sick of it? Local Green party politician Georg Kössler says it’s time Berlin regulated the mayhem. He tells us how city’s political system has failed to tackle this annual problem.

Guest Konrad Werner drops in to tell us what’s coming up in German politics in 2019. Three state elections will test Angela Merkel’s ability to stay in power. Listen to his podcast Meghan’s Megacan for more: https://apple.co/2AtuB27

What’s it like to live for almost a year with none of your possessions involuntarily? Tim and Brooke Howard moved to Berlin many months ago, and are still waiting for a shipping company to deliver their goods. They’ve discovered minimalism and curtain-free nudity. Tim is a producer for the podcast Reply All, and is scouting for story ideas. Got a tech problem? Send it his way! https://www.gimletmedia.com/reply-all

Berlin-based shows are currently flooding Netflix and Co. Joel, Maisie and Dan give shallow summaries of Dogs of Berlin, Babylon Berlin and Beat.

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Coliving is booming in Berlin. There are 15 buildings renting serviced rooms with ‘community, flexibility and diversity.’ But are they just overpriced dormitories? Maisie Hitchcock went to find out.

Can we solve the housing crisis by seizing property from private owners? One group is promoting revolution via referendum. We hear from Thomas McGath from Deutsche Wohnung Enteignen. It wants the government to forcibly purchase over 110,000 flats currently owned by large property corporations.

At the same time, residents in Karl Marx Allee are campaigning to save their flats, which are about to be purchased by Deutsche Wohnung, Germany’s biggest property investment company. The city is considering a plan to use the right of first purchase to prevent the deal.

Are you being tricked into watching far-right propaganda? A Berlin computer researcher says yes. Ray Serrato has analysed videos from the Chemnitz hate marches and thinks Youtube is click-baiting everyone.

Dan hosts a Berlin news quiz. Do you know the name of the city’s mayor? Can you guess which U-Bahn stop has the most expensive rents? Which company has a logo featuring three phalluses?

Thanks for listening in 2018!

Billboards have gone up encouraging people to voluntarily leave Germany. The Interior Ministry – run by the CSU’s Horst Seehofer – is offering to pay up to twelve months living expenses back where you came from. The multi-lingual ads have been attacked with paintballs and ‘refugees welcome’ tags. Dan’s take: freedom of movement is good, especially if paid for by the German state, but only if it goes in both directions.

It’s Christmas market season. Festive lights have gone up along Unter den Linden, paid for by Lidl. But the city’s heritage protection department says they are too multi-coloured. Are only white lights allowed now in Berlin?

Berlin will get a new public holiday in 2019 – May 8, also International Women’s Day. It means seven of ten public holidays will occur in the first half of the year.

Come to our next live recording on Sunday December 16. Check our website for location details.

This episode was presented by Maisie Hitchcock and Daniel Stern, and brought to you by RadioEins.
Subscribe to Radio Spaetkauf on iTunes.

Support us with a monthly donation!