Rent Freeze #3: Don't Spend It

Are you faking your details on restaurant sign-in sheets? Now the police are requisitioning venue contact lists for non-health-related investigations. About 20,000 corona deniers marched through Berlin on Saturday, showing that covidiots aren't only found in the US. At the same time, police brutally cracked down on a left-wing demo in Neukölln. Hasenheide parties have become international news. Maisie was at a small gathering in the park and witnessed the policing strategy of banning bass frequencies. Concerned citizens are cleaning up the dirty park each Monday. If you've been to a party, perhaps you should lend a hand. Berlin's city districts should open controlled party zones in public spaces. And the government should pay 50% rent of all struggling nightclubs. Those are the recommendations from an unlikely source - Berlin's CDU party. Will it win them any votes? This episode was presented by Joel Dullroy, Maisie Hitchcock and Jöran Mandik. No live show this month due to weather and tear gas.

4 Aug 202033min

Why does the German media still use racist cliches, and focus on race in stories about coronavirus outbreaks? We meet Gilda Sahebi, journalist for Taz and Neue Deutsche Medienmacher*innen. She tries to help educate newsrooms about persistent casual racism. Follow Gilda at https://twitter.com/GildaSahebi Can you film racist incidents and put them online? Only if you blur the faces, warns Joe von Hutch, a writer and lawyer. Joe says white allies should put their bodies on the line to protect people of colour at demonstrations. He's also publisher of Daddy Mag: www.daddy.land The mask law has been toughened - it now carries a €50 fine. More people are now observing it, although police aren't widely issuing fines. The lesson for lawmakers - don't pass a law without a punishment attached. With clubs still closed, regular parties are happening in the parks, with little police intervention. Joel wonders if we're entering a period of fatalism - corona realism? Bumper car, dodgem car, or autoscooter? We're recording in an old rink once used for fairground vehicles. It's part of the Haus der Statistik, a huge abandoned building coming back to life as a creative community space. More at https://hausderstatistik.org Some other podcasts we recommend: Secret Place Berlin: https://open.spotify.com/show/3I1iO7xciEjb2Pme5vtTe7 Friends and Girls: https://podcasts.apple.com/de/podcast/friends-and-girls/id1445078782 The Low Season: http://thelowseason.podbean.com Thanks to all our supporters! You can donate to keep us going here: http://www.radiospaetkauf.com/donate/

6 Juli 20201h 8min

This mini episode features Daniel Stern interviewing artist Aram Barthall about his recent installation "Unlock Life" which utilizes remnants of the recent bike share boom. Find out more about at Aram Bartholl at https://arambartholl.com and see the exhibit until the 16th of August at https://www.kunstraumkreuzberg.de. Additionally: We are happy to announce that we will return to live recording with an audience on Saturday July 4th at 3pm - detailed announcement coming soon. Thanks to our recent sponsors! We're using your donations to buy new audio equipment for our future live shows. You can become a supporter here: http://www.radiospaetkauf.com/donate/

29 Juni 202016min

Almost everything is open again, but the crisis isn't over. 30% of Berlin workers are now jobless or on Kurzarbeit suspension. Many cafes, shops and big businesses have closed. Maisie tells us about job hunting following her return to Berlin. Corona rule confusion continues. Masks must be worn in supermarkets but not gyms. Customers mask up in shops but not staff, but in restaurants it's the other way around. And now a court has invalidated some of the fines handed out for non-distancing. The BVG's sporadic automatic door opening policy is also confusing. Joel's annoyed about touching dirty buttons unnecessarily. Do some drivers forget sometimes, or are they on a door-opening strike? Amid anti-racism rallies in Berlin, a new law has been passed. It's now easier for victims of racial profiling to lodge complaints. Officials can't discriminate you for any reason - including poor German language skills. With concerts still banned, there's only one way to enjoy live music. Dan attended an individual performance by violinist Diana Tischenko, organized by 1:1 CONCERTS. Find out more at http://1to1concerts.de Thanks to our recent sponsors! We're using your donations to buy new audio equipment for our future live shows.

8 Juni 202056min

Berlin starts counting the cost of the shutdown. Business tax revenues have plummeted by 90%. Who's going to pay the bill? Are we going back to the dark days of "saving till it squeals"? This week' status: Mask compliance is at about 90%. Public transport use is at 50%. Restaurants are open, but only until 10pm: they're demanding an extra hour of trading. 400 people are in hospital with the virus. After Berlin's successful project of converting roads to temporary Spielstraßen, play streets, Dan and Maisie come up with other ways we can replace cars: dining streets, gym streets, coworking streets. Construction of the Wippe is about to begin. The monument to reunification will be a giant moving platform in front of the Stadtschloss. Opponents are using the coronavirus crisis as a new reason to try to scrap it. What's a fair punishment for a driver who kills a cyclist? License lost forever, or just three months? We discuss a recent sentencing.

24 Maj 202043min

Berlin is days away from the great restart.Restaurants, pools, hotels and kitas will soon open again under new rules. But there's no return in sight for the things some people liked about Berlin the most - drinking, smoking, partying and then recovering in cinemas. What will Berlin look like after this involuntary rehab? The Club Commission is requesting that clubs and bars be allowed to operate open air areas until midnight, with guests wearing masks. Clubs want to use public spaces, such as parks and squares. No luck so far. Pools are due to reopen from May 25, but it's unclear how they'll cap numbers. Are we heading for a world of online registrations, timed tickets and digital queues? Where will that leave people without internet access and skills? The mask requirements are being expanded to more public spaces, but still without penalties. Compliance has been patchy, and seems to be decreasing. How is your rage factor at seeing unmasked rebels?

10 Maj 20201h 4min

Berlin is emerging from its lockdown hibernation. Shops are open again, but some of us have lost the will to consume. Restaurants are still closed. They're bearing the cost of the government's strategy of transmitting a message of abnormality. Joel says restaurateurs should be compensated for lost profits, not just costs. Simple masks will be obligatory on public transport from Monday. But the BVG says it can't enforce the rule and is worried about vigilantism. Maisie gives a review of your face-covering options. Trying to evade the lockdown? Jöran's got some advice for you: "People who are circumventing the rules, trying to make everything normal - you're missing out on the chance of a lifetime to experience quarantine. You'll look back and say - 'I didn't really live through that." This episode was presented by Daniel Stern, Maisie Hitchcock, Jöran Mandik and Joel Dullroy. Support us with a donation! http://www.radiospaetkauf.com/donate/

25 Apr 20201h 7min

Berlin police ask snitches not to block the emergency hotline 110 with coronavirus kontaktverbot reports. They'd prefer to use drones to control people. New fines are in place: it could cost you €10 if you leave the house without a reason (or a creative response). The Financial Times reports on illegal 'raves' in Berlin costing €100 a head. We can't prove they didn't happen, but the story smells like a fabrication to us. Let us know if you went to one of these top-secret warehouse raves. E-scooters have almost disappeared from Berlin's streets. Only one company with 700 e-scooters remains active: at the peak, there were five companies with 15,000 scooters. Many shared bike companies are also withdrawing. One is just rebranding - Lidl Bike will revert to the name Call-A-Bike. The €5000 Soforthilfe coronavirus grants have gone out to freelancers, but some are worried they could be prosecuted for wrongly receiving the cash. The rules changed half-way through the process. Recipients will soon get an e-mail asking them to review their eligibility, and could be asked to pay the money back. This episode was presented by Daniel Stern, Maisie Hitchcock, Jöran Mandik and Joel Dullroy. Help us pay our server costs! We now accept one-time donations: http://www.radiospaetkauf.com/donate/

12 Apr 202048min