Radio Spaetkauf Berlin

Are you one of four million EU citizens living in Germany? Now's your chance to vote in the European Parliament elections. We decipher the street posters. Maisie explains why photos of chin-scratching men win more votes. Konrad Werner joins us. Listen to his podcast Meghan's Megacan: https://apple.co/2AtuB27 We speak with Joanna Bronowicka from Democracy in Europe (Diem25), who want to reform Brussels and create a 'green new deal' for Europe: https://bit.ly/2PzNx5y Why are people lying down on Berlin’s streets and blocking traffic? Extinction Rebellion's Robbie Morrison tells us about the movement of people willing to get arrested to force climate change action: https://extinctionrebellion.de Berlin has over 300 football clubs playing in ten leagues. We talk to Ben Ferry, Andy West and Andy Sager of Bloody Hell Magazine. They follow local games, which are far more exciting than major league matches: more red cards, pitch invasions, streakers and decent food. Want to join other Radio Spaetkauf listeners at a l

RS presents a pilot of a podcast series created by Joel Dullroy and his colleagues at DW. Well, Actually questions common assumptions and reveals surprising perspectives through exceptional stories. Unfortunately this podcast series did not make it past the pilot stage. But we thought the story of Lukas and his struggle with the church, state and his mother was too good to waste. Well Actually was produced by Elizabeth Schumacher, Mara Bierbach, Cristina Burack and Joel Dullroy at DW in Bonn.

Why does the BVG allow its U-Bahn stations to be used as heroin hotspots? Several stations seem to have been abandoned to drug dealers and addicts. Schönleinstraße is the centre of the problem. The BVG says it sends security guards there regularly, but we've rarely seen them. What's to be done? Forget Brexit, things are getting interesting in Berlin! The conflict between renters and landlords is getting serious. A campaign to seize corporate-owned apartments starts on April 6. Signatures will be collected for the Deutsche Wohnen & Co Enteignung campaign. Supporters say it would cost €18 billion, and could be funded by rental payments alone. Opponents say would cost double. The mayor Michael Müller is against it, saying it would be a "fatal signal to businesses" - which, of course, is the whole point of the campaign. Find out more at https://www.dwenteignen.de Lawyer Daniel Hamler from Wenigermiete joins us to talk about how he's helping Berliners cut their rent by hundreds of euros a month. His website he

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 October 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

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 H

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

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 o

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.

Pedestrians in Berlin have had enough of being overrun by both cars and bikes. They're campaigning for better sidewalks and street crossings. We talk to a pedestrian activist who is hopping mad about being walked over: Roland Stimpel from FUSS, the Organization for Pedestrian Protection. Is Mauerpark a beloved cultural hotspot or a noisy nuisance? Authorities are threatening to seize and destroy instruments if buskers don't pipe down. We meet Karla from Save Mauerpark, who says only a handful of complainants are trying to limit the freedom of thousands of Berliners. Diesel vehicles could soon be banned from several main streets in Berlin. An environmental protection group sued the city because of the high levels of pollution that breach European Union regulations. A court found Berlin must take drastic action to lower particle emissions. But Angela Merkel's coalition is taking the side of the auto industry and trying to avoid diesel bans. The BVG's public taxi app Berlkönig is now operating 24/7 and expanding

We record live at Floating University, a temporary structure built over a hidden resevior near Hasenheide. Dan describes it as "Burning Man meets Waterworld." Gang war breaks out on the streets of Berlin. A crime boss has been shot dead at Tempelhof Park on a Sunday afternoon. Have police stirred up a hornet’s nest as they crack down on criminal clans? Have you tried the new BVG weekend shuttle service Berlkönig? The public taxi vans will pick you up and drop you off almost anywhere for as little as €4. Berlin's garden colonies are under threat as investors try to replace flowers with flats. We interview garden owner Trevor Sears from the campaign Da Wächst Was (Something's Growing Here). He tells us why Kleingarten are important for the city, and how you can get one. What should you do if an architect visits your apartment building asking to take photos? It's usually the first sign your owner wants to sell or renovate. Green Party representative Georg Kössler tells us five things you can do to halt a rent in

TV series Babylon Berlin is searching for 3000 extras, but bearded men need not apply. You must be over 1.86 meters tall and be prepared to get a 1920s haircut. Maisie is thrilled about the mass make-over of Berlin blokes. Sign up at Agentur Filmgesichter. The Berlin Wall is being rebuilt to create a totalitarian theme park in Mitte. The art project Dau will submit visitors to mild oppression and screen lengthy films. It will run from from October 12 til November 9, when the "Wall" will be demolished. Couldn't they use it to patch up the East Side Gallery? Algae is blooming in Berlin lakes post-heatwave. But don't worry, it's still safe to swim. The Berlin health authorities have tested the water and found no deadly blue-green algae. Meanwhile, Alternativ für Deutschland leader Alexander Gauland is now pushing a new and rather bleak right-wing position, acknowledging the reality of climate change but saying humans can't do anything about it. Is this the start of 'climate change realism' - to borrow from Mark

Our annual outdoor recording at the Mobile Kino Lakeside Film Festival at Klingemühle in Brandenburg. Now in its fifth year, the event many improvements - a new name, a new stage, more guests and more fun all round. Like playing card games while camping? Our guest Julia Weiss tells us what it's like to work for a card game company. Julia is the lead writer for Cards Against Humanity, as well as a cast member on the podcast The Improvised Star Trek. "If our goal is to live in a post-capitalist space future, watch Star Trek," Julia says. Caroline's review of Star Trek: "A lot of ambient music and three-dimensional board games." Berlins's garden plots are being targeted by property speculators. Investors are snapping up Kleingarten hoping the city will allow them to build apartments. One such investor is an alleged crime gang from Neukölln. Police recently seized 77 of their properties worth €9.2M, including garden plots. It's alleged the real estate was bought with the proceeds of a spectacular bank robbery. Te

Berlin’s scorching summer is breaking records. Earlier this week the city experienced its hottest night ever, with a minimum of 25°C. The city’s trees are suffering, and residents are being asked to go out and water them. U-Bahns are getting noisier, as there's no moisture to lubricate between the metal wheels and tracks. The drains are stinking, so the water authority is putting “drain deodorant” down the pipes. The pools are all at capacity. But Berlin has only 48 public drinking fountains to help citizens rehydrate. A Berlin man who tried to become a police officer had his application rejected because he failed a drug test. A blood sample showed he had THC in his system. Undeterred, he took the matter to court, unsurprisingly rejected his case. The S-Bahn is trialling automatic doors to improve punctuality. All doors will pop open at stations between Ostkreuz and Hauptbahnhof from 6am to 8am. Instead of 24 people pushing 24 buttons, one person pushes one button. Why haven’t they ever done this before? This

A Berlin man who has been in a coma for four months has been identified because someone recognized a photograph of his house keys. The 74-year was found unconscious in a Wilmersdorf park after apparently having an accident while jogging in March, carrying only his keys. A police operation to test all the locks in the area failed. Publishing a photo of his keys worked. It seems Berliners prefer to memorize the grooves of their keys rather than look their neighbours in the eye. The first of Berlin's many bike sharing company has gone bust. O-bike has filed for bankruptcy in its home country Singapore. In some cities, the bikes have been sold to a collection company and are being taken from the streets. But it’s not clear what will happen to the 700 bikes left in Berlin. One bicycle activist has created a website called Librebike.info calling for people to liberate the left-behind bicycles by hacking the locks. The S-Bahn wants to improve punctuality by introducing express trains that skip a couple of stops on t

Are you paying too much rent? Probably: 70% of Berlin landlords are illegally overcharging, says lawyer Daniel Halmer of WenigerMiete.de. He’s offering a no-win no-fee service to fight your landlord for a rent reduction. He’s helped people save up to €600 a month. Tricks landlords use include overstating apartment size by up to 30%. Everybody who has rented an apartment in the last three years could win a rent decrease. Berlin could soon get public electric grills – thanks to a very unexpected source of money – East Germany’s stolen millions hidden in Swiss bank accounts. The DDR leaders stashed state money abroad as the socialist state collapsed. Now it’s coming back. The Mitte district wants to use it to put coin-operated grills in Monbijou Park. Maisie thinks it could be used for better purposes. The Breitscheitplatz Christmas Market truck attack in 2016 might have been prevented if Berlin police weren’t so obsessed with trying to evict anarchist squatters. A Berlin parliamentary inquiry has heard that pol

A video of black people being kicked out of KFC at Alexanderplatz raises question. Is it illegal to call police racist? Can police delete videos from your phone? We've got the answers. Support group Reachout says the incident was clearly racist. The police say they were following KFC's request. KFC is standing by their actions. Want to get fit while cleaning the city? Try plogging, a Swedish sport that combines jogging with trash collection. A meetup group is plogging through the Grunewald forest on June 9. Why have so many kids started using the latest shared bike company Ofo? Is it because their system accidentally allows anonymous endless free rides? Perhaps they can all join in the ADFC cycle demo on June 3 through the center of the city. This episode was presented by Joel Dullroy and Daniel Stern, and brought to you by RadioEins.

What will it take to get Berliners to pickup trash - the offer of a free beer, perhaps? The Big Görlitzer Clean Up happens on July 7. Organizer Lubomila Jordanova from the group Plan A tells us how they plan to incentivise volunteer cleaners. Empty flats in Neukölln? They do exist. Unfortunately they're being kept empty on purpose. Activists squatted several buildings to protest, but were promptly evicted. In some cases, flats are left unrented by speculators who prefer to wait for prices to rise rather than rent to problematic tenants. This case involved a publicly-owned building left empty because of slow bureacracy. Dan's search for a kindergarten for his child is going badly. It's not all his fault - Berlin has a shortage of kita spots. Thousands of people protested againt the kita crisis. Dan tells us the rumours he's heard on the playground - parents offering to help kitas cheat the system to earn more from government, for example. This episode was recorded live at the Comedy Cafe Berlin on Sunday May 2

Sick of cars parking in bike lanes? Write own parking tickets during Falschparker Aktionswoche, which starts on May 28. Illegal parkers are fined just €20 in Berlin if caught, while the EU average is €100. You can use an app called Wegeheld to report drivers to the authorities, if you don’t mind being called a Spießer. Trees in Berlin parks are being wrapped in white webs by an invasion of oak processionary moth caterpillars. Watch out for their bristles - they contain a toxin which irritates the skin and causes respiratory problems. The trees should recover in a few weeks, though. Karneval der Kulturen is on again this weekend all around Kreuzberg 61, but it might be the last year it’s held there due to rising security costs. If you don’t like crowds, try the Berlin Mural Festival, held on walls across the city. Our next live show is on 6pm, Sunday May 27. We’re back at the Comedy Cafe Berlin. This episode was presented by Joel Dullroy and Daniel Stern, and brought to you by RadioEins.

A special live recording of the fourth and (maybe) last episode. Take a tour of all four of Berlin’s under-construction, out-of-use, falling-apart and over-capacity airports. Each has had a part to play in the story of how Berlin fucked up an airport. At BER, we hear the airport company's side of the story: damn high regulations got in the way, they say. Tempelhof is closed, Tegel is operating precariously, and only socialist-built Schönefeld is muddling through. The end is in sight - October 2020. But even now Berlin is planning to double BER's floorplan and build a new government terminal. BER critic Dieter Faulenbach da Costa tells us the building is rotten to the core and should be scrapped. "I am convinced this airport can never open. They should pray for a miracle." We are joined on stage by Martin Delius, the former Pirate Pary politician who led the Berlin parliamentary investigation into BER. Who was responsible for BER? All Berliners, he says. We ignored warning signs and re-elected incompetent poli

Chris Dercon has resigned from the Volksbuehne Theater, just six months into the job, and following a lot of fuss over his appointment. It seems he had failed to secure enough sponsorship money to pay the bills. Joel says he wasn't given a fair chance. Konrad says he was always wrong for the job. The AFD tried to shut down Berghain, complaining about the strange hours, sex and drugs, bad music and exclusive door policy. The AFD representative Sybille Schmidt used to run a punk club. The party later backed down from the proposal. The U-Bahn network has a special alarm system in the case of a flash flood in the tunnels. It could have to be activated if a skyscraper being built on Alexanderplatz breaks the water table and floods 17 stations on the U2, U5 and U8 lines. Züruck schwimmen, bitte. It's garden season, but if you want a kleingarten plot on the edge of town you'll have to wait three years. There are already 12,000 people on a waiting list for one of 70,000 gardens. Come to our live recording of the next