Spaßbremse

Happy (belated) New Year! Here's a short preview of our latest premium episode featuring part two of Ted's interview with Fritz Bartel, Assistant Professor of International Affairs at Texas A&M at the George H. W. Bush School of Government and Public Service, about his new book The Triumph of Broken Promises: The End of the Cold War and the Rise of Neoliberalism. After the interview, Ted and Michelle share some of their reflections.  To listen to the full episode, support us on Patreon: www.patreon.com/spassbremse And make sure to listen to part one of the interview with Professor Bartel if you haven't already! You can find it here: https://spotifyanchor-web.app.link/e/OPdcBUDmKwb  We'll be back soon with some more episodes on the main feed, including a Wahlupdate about Berlin's repeat state election that's coming up next month. -- 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.

Back by popular demand, we’re joined by Nathan to talk about this year’s Christmas market scandals! Check out last year’s two-part episode “The Twelve Days of Christmas Market Scandals” for more holiday drama. This year, we’re discussing six different scandals: 1. Not heeding the energy-saving restrictions https://www.insuedthueringen.de/inhalt.eisenach-trotz-energiekrise-weihnachtsmarkt-ohne-einschraenkungen.c3f15953-26ef-4833-9abf-758482dd6cf4.html 2. Tax evasion and not following the receipt obligations https://www.zeit.de/wirtschaft/2019-12/steuerbetrug-bonpflicht-registrierkassen-haendler-handel-finanzamt?utm_referrer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com%2F 3. Pickpockets in Niedersachsen! https://www.lka.polizei-nds.de/a/presse/pressemeldungen/taschendiebe-unterwegs-auf-weihnachtsmaerkten--polizei-gibt-tipps-114196.html 4. Corrupt allocation of market stalls https://www.welt.de/print/die_welt/hamburg/article11049506/Razzia-in-Rathaus-Korruption-auf-dem-Weihnachtsmarkt.html https://www.sn.at/panorama/oesterreich/marktfahrer-protestieren-gegen-vergabe-der-staende-beim-christkindlmarkt-130281856 5. Nazis https://wo-magazin.de/rechte-nutzen-weihnachtsmarkt-fuer-nazi-propaganda/ https://www.rnd.de/panorama/hakenkreuz-skandal-auf-dem-weihnachtsmarkt-DBVYGVANC6T4MIGQOSVB5E5XGI.html https://www.eimsbuetteler-nachrichten.de/osterstrasse-eimsbuettel-streit-um-nazi-codes-auf-weihnachtsmarkt/ https://www.deutschlandfunkkultur.de/nazi-propaganda-weihnachten-unter-dem-hakenkreuz-100.html 6. Fur being sold at the Weihnachtsmarkt https://www.t-online.de/region/hamburg/id_100093252/hundepelz-skandal-auf-roncalli-weihnachtsmarkt-in-hamburg-stand-musste-schliessen.html Many thanks to Nathan for joining us again this year! You can find him on Twitter if you don’t follow him already: @nthnashma Join us again next year for days 19 - 24 of your Christmas market scandal advent calendar. We’ll also be back in the New Year with some exciting new episodes. Happy holidays! --  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.

Despite the many controversies—from the deaths of thousands of labourers in horrible working conditions to the corrupt bidding process—the 2022 FIFA World Cup is happening now in Qatar. Instead of focusing on the World Cup, we sat down with journalist Dave Braneck to talk about the politics of German soccer/football. Here are some of the sources we referenced on this episode: Too cool for their own good? Union Berlin’s fight to retain their identity by Kit Holden in The Guardian: https://www.theguardian.com/football/2022/sep/16/union-berlin-fight-to-retain-identity-bundesliga-book Fan-Owned Clubs Can Help Democratize Football by Dave Braneck in Jacobin: https://jacobin.com/2021/04/fan-owned-clubs-democratization-football-bundesliga-commercialization Dave Braneck on Twitter: @braneck  -- 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 talks to Fritz Bartel, Assistant Professor of International Affairs at Texas A&M at the George H. W. Bush School of Government and Public Service, about his new book The Triumph of Broken Promises: The End of the Cold War and the Rise of Neoliberalism. It's a fascinating account of how two processes that we agree happened roughly simultaneously—the end of political tensions between the US and the USSR and the rise of neoliberal policies like financialization and austerity—didn’t just happen to overlap, but that they were deeply connected. You can find Professor Bartel on Twitter: @fritz_bartel. You can learn more about his book here: https://www.hup.harvard.edu/catalog.php?isbn=9780674976788 We are posting the first half of Ted's interview with Professor Bartel here on the main feed, and we'll be posting the second half with some commentary from Ted and Michelle over on Patreon very soon. So go check us out on Patreon, if you haven't already: 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.

Ted chats with the hosts of the Eurotrash podcast: Anton Jäger, Postdoctoral Researcher at KU Leuven and Dominik Leusder, Research Director of the LSE Global Economic Governance Commission. The three discuss all things EU, from the union's economic and political crises, the way these crises get talked about in the media, and how things could have gone differently.  You can find Eurotrash on Twitter @eurotrashpod and listen to them wherever you find podcasts. You can find Anton on Twitter @AntonJaegermm and Dominik on Twitter @NewLeftEViews. Dominik is also Spaßbremse's first three-time guest, you can listen to him on Episode 15 where he discusses German economic policy and on Episode 24 where we he discusses German foreign policy. You can also catch Anton and Dominik on a recent episode of The Dig: Europe w/ Anton Jäger and Dominik Leusder We will be posting Part 2 of Ted's conversation with Anton and Dominik, where they dive into greater detail about the Eurozone, on our Patreon shortly.  Co-hosted by Ted (@ted_knudsen) and Michelle (@shhellgames). Produced by Isaac Würmann (@wuermann). -- Thank so much to everyone who has already started supporting us on Patreon! We'll still be publishing full-length episodes twice monthly available on our main podcast feed, but Patreon supporters will also get access to some bonus episodes per month. It's a tough time out there so we totally understand if you don't have the capacity to support right now, but if you're able we'd really appreciate you becoming a subscriber. All the details here: www.patreon.com/spassbremse Follow Spaßbremse on Twitter (@spassbremse_pod). Music by Lee Rosevere. Art by Franziska Schneider.

A short preview of our latest premium episode, which features part two of Ted's interview with economic sociologist Wolfgang Streeck and reflections from Ted and Michelle on the interview.  To listen to the full episode, support us on Patreon: www.patreon.com/spassbremse And make sure to listen to part one of the interview with Professor Streeck if you haven't already! You can find it here: https://spotifyanchor-web.app.link/e/JMY8wAnPiub -- 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 talks with economic sociologist Wolfgang Streeck, emeritus director at the Max Planck Institute for the Study of Societies in Cologne and one of the leading scholars and commentators on European capitalism. In this exciting conversation, they discuss Germany's foreign policy role in Europe at this moment of the so-called "Zeitenwende."  On this main feed episode, we're releasing the first 45 - 50 minutes of the interview. We'll release the final bit of the interview on our Patreon some time next week, where Ted and Michelle will also be sharing some of their reflections on the conversation. You can subscribe to us on Patreon to get access to this segment: www.patreon.com/spassbremse. These contributions are really significant in helping us keep this show going — from helping us get better gear to allowing us to pay a bit for the amazing space where we record — so we really appreciate all the support! Check out some of these recent posts by Professor Streeck for more of his insights:  "Means of Destruction," published on Sidecare on July 2, 2022 "Pipe Dreams," published on Sidecar on September 12, 2022 "The End of the German Empire," published on Brave New Europe on August 28, 2022 "Strategic Desperation," published on Brave New Europe on September 11, 2022 -- 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.

A short preview of our latest premium episode, in which Ted and Michelle dive into the history of Germany's love affair with sparkling water -- or Sprudelwasser, auf Deutsch -- and sample an assortment of bubbly offerings with the most Sprudel-pilled guy out there, Nick from Corner Späti. To listen to the full episode, support us on Patreon: www.patreon.com/spassbremse If you're not able to support us monetarily right now, we totally get it! We'll be back soon with another full-length episode.

We're moving on from trains to talk about what is by far the most dominant mode of transport in Germany: the car. What is it about Germany's history that paved the way for such a pervasive car culture, and what's up with the Autobahn?? Luckily, we have a great guest who recently published a book on exactly these questions. Dr. Conrad Kunze is a researcher at the Research Centre for Sustainability at FU Berlin and author of Deutschland als Autobahn: Eine Kulturgeschichte von Männlichkeit, Moderne und Nationalismus (English translation: Germany as Autobahn: A Cultural History of Masculinity, Modernity and Nationalism).  You can read Conrad's book here: https://www.transcript-verlag.de/978-3-8376-5943-6/deutschland-als-autobahn/ Conrad is also part of an anti-Autobahn climate camp that's taking place **right now** in the village of Gimritz. You can learn more about that initiative here: http://klimacamp-saaletal.de/en/ Co-hosted by Ted (@ted_knudsen) and Michelle (@shhellgames). Produced by Isaac (@wuermann). -- Thank so much to everyone who has already started supporting us on Patreon! We'll still be publishing full-length episodes on our main podcast feed, but Patreon supporters will also get access to bonus episodes. It's a tough time out there so we totally understand if you don't have the capacity to support right now, but if you're able we'd really appreciate you becoming a subscriber. All the details here: www.patreon.com/spassbremse Follow Spaßbremse on Twitter (@spassbremse_pod). Music by Lee Rosevere. Art by Franziska Schneider.

We return from our Sommerpause to talk about one of the things dominating conversations in Germany over the past few months: trains! From inter-Europe rail travel to Deutsche Bahn woes to the 9-Euro-Ticket, Ted goes through it all with Jon Worth, a Berlin-based writer and communications consultant who has been documenting his experience crossing every possible internal European border by train this summer. Follow Jon on Twitter: @jonworth. To learn more about Jon’s cross-border rail experience: https://www.capital.de/wirtschaft-politik/jon-worth--vom-brexit-kritiker-zum-bahn-enthusiast-31978856.html To learn more about the end and potential future of the 9-Euro-Ticket: https://www.spiegel.de/wirtschaft/9-euro-ticket-bundesregierung-streitet-ueber-preis-fuer-nachfolger-a-74230b3c-9492-4bf8-9bb1-818d87a96bf8 To learn more about Bavaria’s reluctance to pay for a successor to the 9-Euro-Ticket: https://www.br.de/nachrichten/bayern/nachfolger-fuer-9-euro-ticket-bayern-will-nicht-zahlen,TGYi8I0 Co-hosted by Ted (@ted_knudsen) and Michelle (@shhellgames). Produced by Isaac (@wuermann). -- Thank so much to everyone who has already started supporting us on Patreon! We'll still be publishing full-length episodes on our main podcast feed, but Patreon supporters will also get access to bonus episodes. It's a tough time out there so we totally understand if you don't have the capacity to support right now, but if you're able we'd really appreciate you becoming a subscriber. All the details here: www.patreon.com/spassbremse Follow Spaßbremse on Twitter (@spassbremse_pod). Music by Lee Rosevere. Art by Franziska Schneider.