Is America (and Europe) descending into fascism? And can the term ever be applicable outside the specific historical context of interwar Europe? To review the "fascism debate" of Trump I and revisit it given the political shifts in the US and Europe since 2020, Ted speaks with Daniel Bessner of the American Prestige podcast. Danny is a firm "no" and he tries to stop Ted from drifting into the "yes" camp. Listen and decide for yourself.Read Danny's piece in TNR here: https://newrepublic.com/article/170890/does-american-fascism-existFor one of the prominent "yes" voices, see John Ganz here: https://www.unpopularfront.news/p/the-march-on-rome-one-century-laterSee the meme Ted made that (re)started the conversation: https://x.com/ted_knudsen/status/1899556117916573975*****Follow Spaßbremse on Twitter (⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@spassbremse_pod⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠). Music by ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Lee Rosevere⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Art by Franziska Schneider.Support us on Patreon here: ⁠https://www.patreon.com/spassbremse

Support us on Patreon here to listen to the full thing: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.patreon.com/spassbremse⁠****What does "military Keynesianism" portend for Germany and the world? On this subscriber-only episode, Ted breaks down the recent momentous changes in German attitudes toward debt and defense, with Merz's rewriting of the Schuldenbremse and a massive infrastructure and defense fund on the agenda.Listen to Tooze and Pistor here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=whP2OD-VUQc&ab_channel=GlobalThoughtCUSee Ted's TV appearance here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ikRr82K91Uw&ab_channel=Roundtable*****Follow Spaßbremse on Twitter (⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@spassbremse_pod⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠). Written and produced by Ted Knudsen. Music by ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Lee Rosevere⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Art by Franziska Schneider.

Where does the international relations concept of "realism" come from? Can it be useful for promoting a progressive politics? Or does it support a more imperialist worldview? To discuss, Ted speaks with Matthew Specter of UC Berkeley about his book The Atlantic Realists. They discuss how the school of thought formed and what types of foreign policy mistakes it condemns—as well as other sins that it may condone.Buy his book here: https://www.sup.org/books/history/atlantic-realists*****Follow Spaßbremse on Twitter (⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@spassbremse_pod⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠). Music by⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Lee Rosevere⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Art by Franziska Schneider.Support us on Patreon here: https://www.patreon.com/spassbremse

Ahead of the next German federal election on February 23rd, what are the main issues for voters, how is the Left doing, and where does Germany find itself in the world? To explain all this and more, Ted speaks to Ingar Solty, a researcher at the Rosa Luxemburg Stiftung, about what to expect a week from Sunday and beyond.Follow Ingar here:https://x.com/IngarSoltyBuy his book here:https://www.vsa-verlag.de/nc/buecher/detail/artikel/usa-nach-der-wahl/*****Follow Spaßbremse on Twitter (⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@spassbremse_pod⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠). Music by⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Lee Rosevere⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Art by Franziska Schneider.Support us on Patreon here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.patreon.com/spassbremse

What can we learn from Angela Merkel's recently-published memoir, Freiheit/Freedom? To discuss this massive 700-page book, Ted is joined by Dominik Leusder of Eurotrash. This is part 1, reaching from her childhood to her early political career. Subscribe to our Patreon to hear part 2. Listen to our original Merkel episode "Wir schaffen...was?" here: https://spotifycreators-web.app.link/e/jYZlNuSyDQb Follow Dominik here: https://x.com/NewLeftEViews Read Dominik's 2021 Jacobin article on Merkel here and Ted's piece from the same year in Project Syndicate. ***** Follow Spaßbremse on Twitter (⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@spassbremse_pod⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠). Music by ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Lee Rosevere⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Art by Franziska Schneider. Support us on Patreon here ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.patreon.com/spassbremse

How did the Hapsburgs form a massive, multiethnic empire out of some disorganized principalities? Why was Austria-Hungary a thing? Did the Habsburg Empire really collapse because it was an anachronistic "empire of nations?" And is the Habsburg Empire coming back through a dynastic marriage with future "American Caesar," Barron Trump? To get answers to these pressing questions, we speak with Natasha Wheatley of Princeton University about her book The Life and Death of States: Central Europe and the Transformation of Modern Sovereignty. Ted and Natasha discuss the early history of the empire, the pressures of the 1848 revolutions, and legal innovations of the empire, and speculate as to why people are still compelled by monarchical structures. Buy the book here: https://press.princeton.edu/books/hardcover/9780691244075/the-life-and-death-of-states Read her Dial piece here: https://www.thedial.world/articles/news/issue-20/eduard-habsburg-the-habsburg-way-review See the insane Twitter thread about Barron's potential princess wives here: https://x.com/Shahenshah_Chud/status/1789716792325062871 Follow Eduard here: https://x.com/EduardHabsburg and (preferably) Natasha here: https://x.com/natasha_wheatl Thanks so much to everyone who listened to Spaßbremse in 2024! Wishing you a Happy New Year and looking forward to a great 2025 (for the podcast and its listeners at least, if not the world at large). ***** Follow Spaßbremse on Twitter (⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@spassbremse_pod⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠). Music by ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Lee Rosevere⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Art by Franziska Schneider. Support us on Patreon here ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.patreon.com/spassbremse

***this is an unlocked episode from our Patreon, subscribe for more bonus content*** On our first premium bonus episode, Michelle and Ted talk about one of the most exciting, innovative, and "dynamisch" people in German politics: the one and only Christian Lindner, leader of the FDP and likely next German finance minister.  This episode's reading is courtesy of Politico: Christian Lindner - The Radical from their 2018 list of "the 28 people who are shaping, shaking and stirring Europe."  Our boy Lindner's been catching a lot of people's attention lately, and our competitors over at Deutsche Welle beat us to a profile earlier this week. You can check it out (if you must) here: Christian Lindner - The FDP's clever tactician   To see some of the incredible Lindner photos mocked on this episode, check out the biography page on his website. You can find the oft-mentioned TV spot from 1997 about the young Lindner's ad business on YouTube.  Produced by Isaac Würmann. Music by Lee Rosevere. Art by Franziska Schneider. Follow Spaßbremse on Twitter: @spassbremse_pod. Subscribe to our Patreon here: https://www.patreon.com/spassbremse

Happy 18 Brumaire! In the honor of the anniversary and this week's election, Spaßbremse has a "guys who don't like democracy" special with special guest Everett Rummage of the Age of Napoleon podcast. We discuss whether comparisons between Hitler and Napoleon are valid and what any traits they share might say about rightwing strongmen in general. Listen to The Age of Napoleon here: https://ageofnapoleon.com/ ***** Follow Spaßbremse on Twitter (⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@spassbremse_pod⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠). Music by ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Lee Rosevere⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Art by Franziska Schneider. Support us on Patreon here ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.patreon.com/spassbremse

**This is a free preview, subscribe to our Patreon here to hear the full episode: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.patreon.com/spassbremse⁠** ****************** After the disaster at Jena in 1806, how did Prussia recover to defeat Napoleon less than nine years later at Waterloo? What enabled their rise to become the dominant force in the German speaking world? And how did the mythology of the Befreiungskrieg play into subsequent German nationalism? To discuss, Prof. Michael Leggiere comes back on the pod to take us from 1806 to 1871 for part 2 of our series on Napoleon and Germany. Part 3 will discuss the Napoleonic war's legacy during the Third Reich and examine whether parallels between Napoleon and Hitler are accurate. -Read Prof. Leggiere's book on Napoleon and Germany here: https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/napoleon-and-the-struggle-for-germany/4E88DDB613B7258659CF6AF4CB57E4B3 -Read his article on the military campaigns in Germany here: https://muse.jhu.edu/pub/29/article/40473/pdf ***** Follow Spaßbremse on Twitter (⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@spassbremse_pod⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠). Written and produced by Ted Knudsen. Music by ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Lee Rosevere⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Art by Franziska Schneider.

How did Germany go from a chaotic mix of kingdoms and principalities to a unified empire in less than a century? We all know the story of Bismarck, but in this episode Professor Michael Leggiere outlines the ways in which Napoleon Bonaparte--the Corsican-born Emperor of France--was instrumental in forging a unified Germany. This is part one of a three-part series and covers 1789 to 1806. Part 2 will cover 1807 to 1815, and part 3 will conclude. -Read Prof. Leggiere's book on Napoleon and Germany here: https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/napoleon-and-the-struggle-for-germany/4E88DDB613B7258659CF6AF4CB57E4B3 -Read his article on the military campaigns in Germany here: https://muse.jhu.edu/pub/29/article/40473/pdf ***** Follow Spaßbremse on Twitter (⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@spassbremse_pod⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠). Music by ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Lee Rosevere⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Art by Franziska Schneider. Support us on Patreon here ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.patreon.com/spassbremse