
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! 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: athleticgreens.com/spaetkauf 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.
2 Maj 20231h 10min

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: Psychoanalysis: The original Freudian analysis. Tiefenpsychologische fundierte Psychotherapie: Classic talk therapy, finding out where patterns and issues come from. Verhaltenstherapie: Cognitive behavioural therapy, working on changing your behaviour. Systemische Therapie: A combination of talk therapy and cognitive behavioural therapy. 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/ Subscribe on Apple Podcasts Listen on Spotify
14 Apr 202329min

Middle Aged Guys | Guests Jonny Tiernan & Drew Portnoy
Recorded Live on Sunday, March 27, 2023. Support from AG1 - link for our listeners here: https://athleticgreens.com/spaetkauf Guest host Drew Portnoy of 20% Berlin takes us through some political tidbits, his terrifying adventures in Frankfurt, and his thoughts on who shouldn’t be allowed topless in Berlin pools. We talk with Jonny Tiernan, the new editor in chief of ExBerliner, about changes at the Berlin English language institution. Stories include King Charles III’s visit to Berlin, what scientists are doing with our pee, the transportation strike, and some fond Corona lockdown memories. Learn about Berlin’s efforts to #freethenipple, baby eels in our waterways, and an update one the Berlin judge involved in last year’s coup attempt. Plus, Dan shares what he really thinks about Berlin landlords. 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.
29 Mars 20231h 3min

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 Yevhenii Surniaieva, is 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 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 Nigeria ten 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!
26 Jan 20231h 12min

Something's Fishy | with GEW Union and Zossener48
In our second installment of the Brews and News winter tour we recorded at the Vagabund Brewery in Wedding from Kesselhaus. 1,500 fish died after the giant fish tank in the Radisson Blu exploded out into the street next to Alexanderplatz. We talk through an interesting transport proposal from Green Senator Bettina Jarasch to let bicycles park in car spaces, and another by the Berlin government to ease up immigration laws that could have huge consequences for listeners wanting to become Germans. And we share our best Christmas tips and tricks for those spending the holidays in Berlin. Happy first day of Hanukkah one and all. We check in with pal of the show Ryan Plocher, active with the GEW union, who came on to let us know about the most recent teacher’s strike in Berlin.Twitter: @gew_bund And Yvonne von Langsdorff came on to tell us about how she (and her neighbors) hatched a plan to snatch back the sale of her house from an investor - by buying it but not owning it themselves. InstagramWebsite Community room
20 Dec 20221h 10min

Support Your Local Bar, Not Qatar | Konrad Werner & Lea Beckmann
Its official! Berliners will have to return to the voting booths. Berlin’s constitutional court ruled on Wednesday, that the Senate and Bezirks elections will have to be redone completely. Parties now have 2 months to get their ducks in a row and mount a sort of Sprint-Campaign before the re-election on February 12. Here to tell us all about the ramifications of this decision is friend of the show, frequent Radio Spaetkauf guest and co-host of the wonderful podcast Megan’s Megacan, Konrad Werner. https://twitter.com/megansmegacan https://anchor.fm/megans-megacan Climate activists are keeping busy in Berlin and celebrated a big success this week. Letzte Generation have joined forces with Ende Gelände and Extinction Rebellion to block off traffic to BER and the Klimaneustart 2030 initiative managed to collect around 262,000 signatures—way more than the 170,000 required to get a referendum going! Will we get to vote for decisive climate action on February 12 as well? https://klimaneustart.berlin/ https://letztegeneration.de/ We speak to Lea Beckmann, a lawyer and anti-discrimination expert for the Gesellschaft für Freiheitsrechte, to understand how Berlin law enforcement and Germany’s judicial system are failing people with disabilities in cases of gendered harassment and violence. https://twitter.com/lea_beckmann_ https://www.frauen-gegen-gewalt.de/en/ https://www.weibernetz.de/welcome.html https://bodys.evh-bochum.de/ueber-bodys.html And we discuss how Berlin is reacting to the criticism of the football World Cup in Qatar and what the Berlin Senate is doing about skyrocketing raccoon populations… 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! This episode was recorded live at Two Fellas Brewery in Pankow, so you might hear a little extra background noise. https://twofellas.beer/ Stop by one of our Brews and Berlin News Winter Tour locations. Our next show will be on Dec 18 at Vagabund Brauerei in Wedding. Register for tickets here: https://www.podfestberlin.com/tickets Hosts: Izzy Choksey, Jöran Mandik, Matilde Keizer and Daniel Stern Producer: Anne-Marie Harrison If you like what we do and want us to keep making the show, please support us by subscribing or donating: https://www.radiospaetkauf.com/donate/
20 Nov 202250min

All the F**ks | DW & Co Enteignen, BürgerBegehren Klimaschutz & Turnt Up
One year ago Berliners voted overwhelmingly in support of the Deutsche Wohnen & Co Enteignen referendum to buy back corporate-owned apartments and communalize them. What's happened since? Friend of the show and host of the DW Enteignen podcast “Von Menschen und Mieten” Wouter Bernhardt gives us an update with some exciting news. More here: https://www.darumenteignen.de/en/ Temperatures are falling and fears about heating are on the rise. What if Berliners took control of their district heating system? Michael Efler from BürgerBegehren Klimaschutz e.V. tells us about plans to communalize Berlin’s energy network. They’ve got 14,148 signatures so far. Sign the petition here: https://weact.campact.de/petitions/fernwarme-zuruck-in-berliner-hand-fur-eine-klimafreundliche-und-soziale-warmeversorgung Lucy Alice Thomas tells us about Loom’s Turnt Up Musik Kamp for FLINTA youth aged 16-27 taking place October 24-29. Learn about Turnt Up here: http://atemberlin.com/ Check out the great work Loom is doing here: https://www.loomverein.org Hosts: Izzy Choksey, Jöran Mandik and Daniel Stern Producers: Anne-Marie Harrison and Sebastian Filip If you like what we do and want us to keep making the show, please support us by subscribing or donating: https://www.radiospaetkauf.com/donate/
9 Okt 20221h

Smurf Patrol | Guests: 9EuroFonds & Klimaneustart
Maisie Hitchcock returns as special co-host for an outdoor episode recorded at Floating Berlin. The €9 public transport ticket is dead, but what if Berliners make their own cheap ticket scheme? We meet Mario from 9EuroFonds, a collective ticket insurance system. So far they've raised over €10,000 to pay members' transport fines. More at https://9eurofonds.de Some Berliners are freaking out about the low-heat winter ahead, due to the gas supply crisis. But what should the city really be doing to phase out fossil fuel use entirely? Klimaneustart wants Berlin to become climate neutral by 2030. That's 15 years earlier than the city's current plan. Organizer Jess tells us about the challenges of trying to trigger a referendum. Sign up at https://klimaneustart.berlin Hosts: Maisie Hitchcock, Joel Dullroy, Matilde Keizer, Jöran Mandik and Daniel Stern. Producer: Sebastian Filip. If you like what we do and want us to keep making the show, please support us by subscribing or donating: https://www.radiospaetkauf.com/donate/
13 Sep 20221h 4min