Xavier and the Flamingos

Radio Spätkauf is the Berlin podcast, a half-hour discussion about news, politics and culture from the perspective of the city's international residents. Tonight hosts Maisie and Joel talk about the main topic of the past two weeks; the re-fall of the Berlin wall. Who requested the building of a footbridge, which was the ostensible reason for the wall's partial removal? We play interviews from the main events as they unfolded. Berlin's troubled airport has been lit up like a Christmas tree for months now; the reason? They can't work out how to turn off the lights. U-Bahn tickets are going up again to €2.60 this summer; compare that to the Pirate party's plan for free public transport, which would require €800M funding, or €131 from every Berliner per year. Maisie presents her interview with Victor Grossman, an American soldier who defected to the DDR because he agreed with their political views. Now retired and living on Karl Marx Allee, he told Maisie he didn't regret his decision to move east. The Berlin government is offering a prize if you can come up with an interesting new souvenir for the city. Got any ideas? Send them here: http://www.sei.berlin.de/designwettbewerb We play music from Ideal, as well as Moritz Reichelt from Der Plan. More information about the show at http://www.radiospaetkauf.com

10 Mars 201327min

Should Berlin's international residents feel responsible for the eviction of a Turkish family in Kreuzberg? We talk about what the city's foreign residents should be doing to mitigate the impact of their presence. Our new reporter Andrew visited a demonstration against the eviction and collected interviews from people on the street. We also talk about a petition to prevent development on Tempelhof airfield, which is being eyed off as prize real estate. Then there's the sad story of a bottle collector who jumped onto the S-Bahn tracks to collect a flasche - he should have used the Pfandgeben website instead: www.pfandgeben.de. There's music tonight from Joel's band Skiing: www.skiing.bandcamp.com. Radio Spaetkauf is the Berlin podcast, a fortnightly conversation about local politics, architecture, public transport and culture. More info at www.radiospaetkauf.com.

25 Feb 201326min

Berlin's transport company, the BVG, doesn't like graffiti, so when two filmmakers decided to make a film about trainwriting (graffiti on trains) in Berlin, the BVG managed to get it banned. After two years, the ban has been lifted and the film is now set for general release. We talk to the the men behind 'Unlike U: Trainwriting in Berlin' about their fight to get the film shown. Also on the show: After another PhD plagiarism scandal hits German politics, we discuss whether the country's obsession with academic qualifications is causing politicians to cut corners. And we talk about how the legendary Tacheles has reopened - but not to the public - as well as toxic graffiti, the Berlin robber tunnellers using Facebook to fool the police, and how Berlin's housing crisis may save the much maligned GDR 'Plattenbau.' This episode aired on Sunday February 10 on Berlin's Reboot.fm. This is the MUSIC FREE version. To hear the FULL VERSION, go to http://www.radiospaetkauf.com

9 Feb 201326min

Maisie and Joel discuss the debate over what Berliners call their bread rolls - wecken or schrippen. Joel interviews Tim Edler of Flussbad Berlin, the group who wants to turn a stretch of the river Spree into a public swimming pool. Maisie plays a song from a forgotten East German band that sounds uncannily like the Blade Runner theme. And the pair talk about a ban on new restaurants in trendy streets in Friedrichshain and Kreuzberg.

20 Jan 201321min

The BVG declares that "foreigners can count on goodwill" if caught with the wrong ticket on the U-Bahn. Someone is dropping razorblade-laced meatballs on Berlin footpaths. The airport is out of money and delayed again, and the Staatsoper too; so why does Berlin bother trying to build monumental structures? What changes can you expect in Germany on January 1? A new compulsory TV tax, for starters. Join Maisie and Joel for our end-of-year special.

13 Dec 201229min

Have you witnessed a police raid in Görlitzer Park that only targets black people? Would you be prepared to tell the police to stop racial profiling? One anti-racism group is asking you to do just that. We talk to a Berliner who accidentally took a flight direct from Schönefeld to Tegel, and Joel explains why he's now a fan of the new airport. Two brown bears living in an odd little enclosure near Märkisches Museum may soon be moved to roomier pastures - but with a 480-sq/m central pad, what are they complaining about? The man trying to shut down Berlin's spätkaufs might not have any friends, but he claims he's doing it to restore neighborly interaction. We talk about the motivations of the spätkauf hater from Prenzlauer Berg.

31 Okt 201231min

Bike riders beware! The city is going to double fines for dangerous riding. We list out the new fines - some scary, and some pretty weak actually. What's all the fuss about GEMA? We interview a group trying to set up an alternative music rights collection society in Germany to break GEMA's monopoly. The Prinzenssinnengarten is the latest beloved local cultural institution to face closure. We interview one of the urban garden's founders about why he thinks the city shouldn't sell the land off to developers. And the bubble tea craze is starting to break! We announce the first closure of a bubble tea shop in Neukölln. This is the MUSIC FREE version. To hear full versions, go to: http://www.radiospaetkauf.com

14 Sep 201239min

Negative slurs against tourists and internationals are becoming more common in Berlin. One group is standing up for us new arrivals, and interestingly they come from the German anti-fascist movement. We interview the Hipster-Antifa about why old revolutionaries in Kreuzberg have become so "spiezig" about party tourists. Their theory: a mixture of boredom, jealousy and misdirected anger. Also, we talk about the Berlin mayor's plan to bid for the 2024 Olympic games, and why it is such a terrible idea. This is the MUSIC FREE version of Radio Spaetkauf. To hear the full episode with songs, go to www.radiospaetkauf.com

23 Aug 201237min