Spaßbremse

The far-right Alternative für Deutschland party is surging across Germany and the CDU seems increasingly willing to cooperate with them. Is the "firewall/Brandmauer" taboo of working with the radical right finally crumbling? To answer this, Ted speaks with historian Ned Richardson-Little (@HistoryNed) about the postwar history of the far right in both East and West Germany. They discuss how the AfD emerged and evolved and speculate about how its role in German politics might change in the coming years. -Read the AfD's most racist comments here: https://www.dw.com/en/afd-leaders-and-their-most-offensive-remarks/g-37651099 -Check out Ned's writing here: https://historyned.blog/about/ -Weep at the latest polling here: https://www.wahlrecht.de/umfragen/ We also have a LIVE SHOW October 14th at noon in Berlin. More details to follow. -- Support Spaßbremse on Patreon here: https://www.patreon.com/spassbremse Co-hosted by Ted (⁠@ted_knudsen⁠) and Michelle (⁠@shhellgames⁠). Edited by Nick of @cornerspaeti Follow Spaßbremse on Twitter (@spassbremse_pod). Music by Lee Rosevere. Art by Franziska Schneider.

Ted is joined by historian Quinn Slobodian to discuss his latest book, "Crack up Capitalism," including how his recent work on economic "zones" relates to his earlier thinking on neoliberalism and the tensions between capitalism and democracy. They also discuss the microstate of Lichtenstein and the rise of the far right in Germany. You can buy Quinn's latest book here: https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250753892/crackupcapitalism And read his interview in the New Statesman here: https://www.newstatesman.com/the-weekend-interview/2023/04/quinn-slobodian-interview-fantasies-fever-dreams-neoliberalism -- Support Spaßbremse on Patreon here: https://www.patreon.com/spassbremse Co-hosted by Ted (⁠@ted_knudsen⁠) and Michelle (⁠@shhellgames⁠). Edited by Nick of @cornerspaeti Follow Spaßbremse on Twitter (@spassbremse_pod). Music by Lee Rosevere. Art by Franziska Schneider.

Talk is heating up of an impending split in the German Left Party, Die Linke. Sahra Wagenknecht, who has long been a controversial figure in the party, is now openly considering forming a breakaway party. On this episode, we have Loren Balhorn of Jacobin Germany and the Rosa Luxemburg Stiftung on to discuss what this would mean for the Die Linke and the potential new party. Ted and Loren also go beyond the recent developments in the party to give more context for the party rift and discuss how the divide could play out, both for Die Linke and the German political landscape more broadly. They also look at the new CDU-SPD government in Berlin and the changes it's bringing. Subscribe to hear all of our premium episodes here Or give a one-time donation via PayPal (knudsenedward@gmail.com) here Loren's Jacobin piece on the party divisions Loren's NLR piece on the Berlin election Quinn Slobodian and William Callison's Dissent article on the "Aufstehen" movement German Jacobin piece on the prospects of a Wagenknecht party -- Co-hosted by Ted (⁠@ted_knudsen⁠) and Michelle (⁠@shhellgames⁠). Edited by Nick of @cornerspaeti Follow Spaßbremse on Twitter (@spassbremse_pod). Music by Lee Rosevere. Art by Franziska Schneider.

With the finals of this year's Eurovision Song Contest taking place this evening, we thought it would be a perfect time to reflect on the weird and sometimes surprising political and cultural history of the world's most-watched non-sporting event. Ted is joined by Kat Friege, a modern European historian at the University of Oxford. For some more info about Eurovision, check out this article that Isaac wrote last year: https://xtramagazine.com/culture/music/eurovision-geopolitics-queer-trans-representation-222579 -- Co-hosted by Ted (⁠@ted_knudsen⁠) and Michelle (⁠@shhellgames⁠). Produced by Isaac (⁠@wuermann⁠). Follow Spaßbremse on Twitter (@spassbremse_pod). Music by Lee Rosevere. Art by Franziska Schneider.

Ted interviews Arne Semsrott of Freiheitsfonds, a bail fund for people who have been imprisoned for riding public transit without a ticket. Check out the Freiheitsfonds website for more info: https://www.freiheitsfonds.de/ We encourage you to donate if you can! -- Co-hosted by Ted (⁠@ted_knudsen⁠) and Michelle (⁠@shhellgames⁠). Produced by Isaac Würmann (⁠@wuermann⁠). Follow Spaßbremse on Twitter (@spassbremse_pod). Music by Lee Rosevere. Art by Franziska Schneider.

Ted talks to transport researcher Giulio Mattioli about recent transit-related German news, including Germany’s recent efforts to block a measure ending the sale of internal combustion engine cars at the EU-level. You can read more about that here.  For more from Giulio, you can follow him on Twitter: ⁠@giulio_mattioli⁠. Following the interview, we consider a recent article in Der Spiegel that says, come on, give the FDP a break! (Spoiler: we will not be giving the FDP a break.) You can check out that article for yourself here.  -- Co-hosted by Ted (⁠@ted_knudsen⁠) and Michelle (⁠@shhellgames⁠). Produced by Isaac Würmann (⁠@wuermann⁠). Follow Spaßbremse on Twitter (@spassbremse_pod). Music by Lee Rosevere. Art by Franziska Schneider.

We're talking about something a bit different on this episode, and about a time period much earlier than we usually discuss: the witch trials of early-modern Germany. Why? Because it's Witchy Zeit in Germany!  Carnival/Fasching/Fastnacht just happened last month and at the end of April is Walpurgisnacht, also known as Hexenbrennen (witch burning). Michelle and Isaac give a bit of background about these witchy festivals at the start of the episode, before getting into an interview with Dr. Laura Kounine, lecturer in early modern history at the University of Sussex. Dr. Kounine published her book Imagining the Witch: Emotions, Gender and Selfhood in Early Modern Germany in 2018, and has some fascinating insights into the experiences of being put on trial for witchcraft during this period.  You can find more from Dr. Kounine on Twitter: @LauraKounine To learn more about Fasching and Walpurgisnacht, check out these articles we cited:  Fasching: Tracing the Roots of South Germany's 'Dark Carnival' in The Local  Are You Reading for Walpurgisnacht, Germany's Night of Witches? in The Local -- Co-hosted by Ted (@ted_knudsen) and Michelle (@shhellgames). Produced by Isaac (@wuermann). Follow Spaßbremse on Twitter (@spassbremse_pod). Music by Lee Rosevere. Art by Franziska Schneider.

Here's a preview of our latest premium episode, where Ted talks about tanks! Specifically, he laments the anglophone media's gratuitous hand-wringing over Germany's alleged reluctance to adequately support Ukraine. To listen to the full episode, support us on Patreon: www.patreon.com/spassbremse -- Co-hosted by Ted (@ted_knudsen) and Michelle (@shhellgames). Produced by Isaac (@wuermann). Follow Spaßbremse on Twitter (@spassbremse_pod). Music by Lee Rosevere. Art by Franziska Schneider.

The whole team's back together again to discuss the upcoming repeat election happening in Berlin on Sunday, February 12.  Here's a link to the candidates' debate that we reference throughout the episode: https://www.rbb24.de/politik/hintergrund/livestream-ihre-wahl-kandidatencheck-berlin-abgeordnetenhaus.html  You can check out the latest polls and coalition possibilities here: https://interaktiv.tagesspiegel.de/lab/wahl-wiederholung-abgeordnetenhaus-2023-umfragen-prognosen-analysen-ergebnisse-wahlkarten/ And for some more background to the repeat election, check out this article from Deutsche Welle: https://www.dw.com/en/berlin-gears-up-to-repeat-botched-elections/a-64621620 -- Co-hosted by Ted (@ted_knudsen) and Michelle (@shhellgames). Produced by Isaac (@wuermann). Follow Spaßbremse on Twitter (@spassbremse_pod). Music by Lee Rosevere. Art by Franziska Schneider.

We're joined by journalist Ruairi Casey to talk about the evacuation of the climate protest in Lützerath earlier this month, and what it can tell us about climate politics in Germany. Read the piece Ruairi wrote on this subject here: www.lrb.co.uk/blog/2023/january/in-luetzerath For more from Ruairi, follow him on Twitter: @Ruairi_Casey -- Co-hosted by Ted (@ted_knudsen) and Michelle (@shhellgames). Produced by Isaac (@wuermann). Follow Spaßbremse on Twitter (@spassbremse_pod). Music by Lee Rosevere. Art by Franziska Schneider.