Toilets, Sidewalks & Parks - Who Owns Berlin? RSxEAB

Synopsis: A weekend of escapism turns into a confrontation with reality for a group of Berliners, who leave the city to find the countryside is a scary place. Location: A camp ground in the forest next to a lake. Cast: 500 film fans plus Joel, Dan and Michele Guido: https://www.training.comedycafeberlin.com/instructors/michele-guido/ Special Guest: Director Alexandra Semkina. Insta:  https://www.instagram.com/sashkasemkina/ / FB: https://www.facebook.com/alexandra.semkina.3 / Film school: https://www.metfilmschool.de

11 Aug 202253min

It’s pride month in Berlin but a virus outbreak is highlighting how policy makers keep failing the LGBTQi community and shows we learnt nothing from the last pandemic. People are being stigmatized and shamed, the vaccine program is slow - sound familiar? This time it’s monkeypox. We talked to queer activist Pansy about how it is affecting the gay community.  Pansy is hosting an actual DRAG RACE on Tuesday, July 26th in Hasenheide. Find more infos via Pansy’s instagram: https://www.instagram.com/pansypresents/ Meanwhile a new database has been launched to make it easier for all queer people to find the sexual health services right for them. Our new editor Anne-Marie Harrison went out to interview founder Anna Wim about her platform Fluide BLN http://fluidebln.de/ Correction: In the recording, Anna Wim is incorrectly referred to as “she.” Anna identifies as nonbinary and uses “they/them” pronouns. We apologize for the error, and many thanks to Anna for speaking to us about their important work. Also: You might not know it if you don’t drive a car, but the past few weeks Berlin’s roads have become the site of an incredible youth-led protest movement. Hundreds of young people of the Letzte Generation movement have been putting their bodies and clean criminal records on the line by blocking traffic, in some cases glueing their hands to the road, to draw attention to the dire threats of climate change. This has enraged drivers, who have physically attacked the protesters, with police often standing by and doing nothing to stop the assaults. We’ve met one of these incredible activists. https://letztegeneration.de/ And: Berlin schools are in bad shape, there aren’t enough teachers and the ones we do have are overworked. Now international teachers in Berlin are being left out of a scheme to offer better pay and pensions. We talked to Ryan Plocher, a US teacher and active GEW union member, who is helping to plan strikes to try to get better conditions in Berlin schools. https://www.gew-berlin.de/ueber-uns/about-us We’ve recorded this episode live at the wonderful Podfest Berlin, organized by our very own Dan Stern. It was a blast! If you missed it - all recorded podcasts will be published before long. To find out more, head over to https://www.podfestberlin.com/

18 Juli 20221h 14min

Jöran has just started looking for a therapist and can’t believe how impossible it seems. Matilde is in therapy and still gets anxiety recalling her search. On this episode they swap stories and explain the basics about Germany’s mental health system. They talk to several people who’ve done it all before. And they explain the first steps to take. Want to share your story? Write to us here at hallo@radiospaetkauf.com or leave a voice message here. Show Notes: Georg switched health insurers to get timely access to care (he’s now with BKK-VBU). He also frequently called the Berliner Krisendienst: http://www.berliner-krisendienst.de Jöran tried Berlin Institute for Psychotehrapy 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, produced and presented by Matilde Keizer and Jöran Mandik. Additional production and writing by Joel Dullroy and Anne-Marie Harrison. 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/

8 Juli 202251min

This episode was recorded in the dying summer light of the floating university in Berlin; a location that is neither a university nor floating. Luckily, we had Jöran on site to explain the history of this fascinating location.  As everything gets more expensive, could Berlin make life more affordable by offering a basic income of over €1000 a month? This episode features the organisers of an attempt to start an experiment to do just that. Also, you’ve heard of community gardens. What about a community food forest? We meet a group trying to plant an edible biosphere on Tempelhofer Feld. Energy prices are starting to bite and inflation is starting to eat into everyone’s weekly budgets. To combat this the federal government brought in the 9 euro monthly public transport ticket at the beginning of the month. It will run till the end of August. Who’s against it and who’s for it? And why should we all be getting on regional trains to an island in the north of Germany called Sylt. Also on the topic of shortages and price hikes, Mathilde reveals her deep knowledge of beer glass in a welcomed presentation on the current bottle crisis faced by Berlin’s breweries.  We welcome Laura Brämswig from the Grundeinkommen Volksentscheidung campaign to come and talk to us about why we should all sign the petition for another Volksentschiedung giving Berlin the chance to test out a Grundeinkommen. Freya Grote and Liz Eve from the Feld Food Forest collective joined us to explain more about their project to create a food forest on the Tempelhof Airfield.   More Links: Podfest Berlin: Home | PodFest Berlin Social Movements of Berlin (tour guided by Izzy Choksey): https://www.theleftberlin.com/events/political-walking-tour-social-movements-in-berlin/ Too Many Cooks (hosted by Mathilde Keizer): Too Many Cooks - A Comedy Cooking Show - Comedy Café Berlin (comedycafeberlin.com) Donate to Radio Spaetkauf! https://www.radiospaetkauf.com/donate/

7 Juni 20221h 9min

What’s left of revolutionary Berlin? On our outdoor May Day special, we ask author Nathaniel Flakin whether there's still enough activists to keep Berlin interesting. On a weekend when Berlin's mayor Franziska Giffey gott egged, activists squatted an empty hostel and thousands of people joined big marches, Nathaniel says May Day isn't dead yet. Ask your bookshop to stock his new book Revolutionary Berlin - A Walking Guide. As Russia's war rages in Ukraine, Berlin's Green Party wants the city to prepare our U-Bahn stations to use as bomb shelters. But some tunnel experts say the stations aren't deep enough, while old WWII bunkers are now art galleries.   Get ready for a summer of train travel with the €9 nationwide Monatskarte, valid on all local and regional trains. Izzy says the three summer months are usually known as 'car season'. She hopes the experimental period will deliver data to convince politicians to permanently reduce public transport ticket prices. This episode was recorded outdoors in the Tempelhof community garden in the afternoon of May 1, 2022. Hosts:  Izzy Choksey, Matilde Keizer, Jöran Mandik and Joel Dullroy. Support us with a donation! Go to: https://www.radiospaetkauf.com/donate/

2 Maj 20221h 6min

Berlin has welcomed 30,000 new residents as Ukrainian refugees fill the city. We meet Mimi, a volunteer from Wir Packens An. They send boxes to refugees - not just from Ukraine, but those forgotten in other parts of Europe too. You can help by volunteering to fill boxes for a day: www.wir-packens-an.info How is the war affecting Berlin, a city that runs mostly on Russian fossil fuels? Our energy bills are going up, we're getting cheaper public transport, and may soon live under an iron dome missile shield. As coronavirus rules disappear, are Berliners ready to give up their masks? So far many are opting to keep covered up in shops. Right to the City for All, the English speaking arm of the DW Enteignen campaign for an update on what has happened since the referendum. www.dwenteignen.de Email: right2thecity@dwenteignen.de We meet Paul Hanford, who has written a book on the clubbing culture in Berlin since the 90s. We ask what it means when one of the world's richest men is now hanging out in Berlin's basement bars. His book here: https://velocitypress.uk/product/coming-to-berlin-book/ Support us with a donation! Go to: https://www.radiospaetkauf.com/donate/

4 Apr 20221h 19min

The BVG has reinvented the concept of time. Ticket checkers emerge from undercover. Tempelhof art show boycott explained. A huge art exhibition inside Tempelhof airport has gained millions in public funding. But Berlin artists say it’s suspicious. The so-called Kunsthalle Berlin is sponsored by big property investors, won public money without an open process, and doesn’t include Berlin artists. We talk to Zoe Claire Miller about the controversy behind the exhibition. Dog owners in Berlin are terrified of a possible poisoner after at least one dog died in suspicious circumstances. Jöran is among the worried. There’s not one but two apps for people to report possible poisonings - Dogorama and GiftkoderRadar. A climate change protest group called Letzte Generation has been causing traffic chaos in recent weeks by occupying autobahns. Some glued their hands to the asphalt. Angry drivers and BSR rubbish collectors attacked the protesters, then police arrived and charged them with crimes. They’re campaigning for food security, pointing out the risk to humans of climate change. The BVG has altered the concept of time. Instead of displaying ‘mins’ to the next train on digital signs, it’s using the prime symbol: ′ (not an apostrophe). The BVG said it needed to make space for a wheelchair symbol. But does everyone recognize the prime as a sign of the time? Also, BVG ticket inspectors will no longer work undercover, but will wear blue vests to be clearly identified. It’s the end of an era for Berliners trained to spot suspiciously dressed passengers with large pouches. How reliable is your COVID-19 test? Possibly zero percent, according to a website to compare Schnelltests. Matilde and Dan spent the past weeks analysing their analysers: www.schnelltesttest.de Gym members who were charged during the pandemic could get some of their money back. A group lawsuit is suing fitness centres for failing to offer refunds. Join in at: https://www.fitnessstudio-erstattung.de This episode was presented by Izzy Choksey, Matilde Keizer, Joel Dullroy, Jöran Mandik and Daniel Stern.

15 Feb 20221h 1min

Would premium class service encourage more rich people to take public transport? Housing activists score a temporary victory trying to squat an empty building. Why do the moving sidewalks at BER airport not move? New Year’s Eve is effectively cancelled with limits of 200 people for indoor events and a ban on dancing in clubs. Much like last year, fireworks have been restricted but not banned outright. Sales are highly restricted and around 50 areas have been declared fireworks free. Jöran would prefer an outright ban as he now has a dog who will be terrified by the noise. Berlin’s new double-decker buses have gone into service. They have wifi and USB ports, which the BVG says helps reduce vandalism because "The youth are so busy with their phones, that they hardly get any other ideas." Unfortunately the new buses are diesel powered, an anachronistic choice. A recent study published by the World Economic Forum, the Boston Consulting Group and Switzerland’s University of St Gallen suggests the implementation of a “first class” option for Berlin’s public transportation system. According to their models wealthy Berliners currently commuting from low density outlying areas via car would switch to public transportation by €10 bookable seats featuring such luxuries as comfortable seats and reliable internet. We have our doubts. The SPD’s Fraziska Giffey has become Berlin’s first elected woman mayor, but not the first woman to run the city. Louise Schroeder ran the city from 1947 to 48, though she was appointed rather than elected. And East Berlin also had a woman leader, Ingrid Pankraz, for a few days in 1990. These women have been ignored by most media covering Giffey’s election. More than half of BER airport’s travelators (aka moving sidewalks) are out of action. ​​The reason? Most of the travelators and escalators were installed in 2011 and sat unused for almost a decade. The hardware deteriorated, making them unusable. Now they have to be replaced. Thank you to everyone who listens. We appreciate the audience and the community. If you would like to help keep this project viable we appreciate financial support. Become a monthly supporter or make a one time donation at radiospaetkauf.com.

29 Dec 202141min