We have on repeat guest Dominik Leusder, researcher at the economic policy thinktank Dezernat Zukunft and the London School of Economics, to react to the developing situation of sanctions on Russia in the wake of the country's invasion of Ukraine last week. Sources referenced on this episode include:  America's Generation Gap on Ukraine by Peter Beinart and Russia's Financial Meltdown and the Global Dollar System by Adam Tooze You can also listen to our previous episode with Dominik here: Zombie-Ideologien und das Inflationsmonster (German economic policy w/ Dominik Leusder) Co-hosted by Ted (@ted_knudsen) and Michelle (@shhellgames). Produced by Isaac (@wuermann). Thank so much to everyone who is 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 a couple 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, in which we try to wrap our heads around the rapid changes to Germany's foreign policy since Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Featuring a short conversation with Julia Wiedemann of Die Linke's foreign policy department which was recorded prior to the invasion. 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 in a few days with part four of our foreign policy series, when Dominik Leusder will join us again to talk about sanctions.

We continue our series on German foreign policy with an interview with Hans Kundnani (@hanshundnani), director of the Europe Programme at Chatham House and author of the book The Paradox of German Power.  On this episode, Hans references two books: Oliver Nachtwey's Die Abstiegsgesellschaft: Über das Aufbegehren in der regressiven Moderne and Peo Hansen and Stefan Jonsson's Eurafrica: The Untold History of European Integration and Colonialism. Ted also references Hans' recent article in The Guardian, called "Europe's reputation as a cosmopolitan haven has been exposed as a mirage."  You can find more of Hans' work on his website: https://hanskundnani.com/ 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 twice monthly available on our main podcast feed, but Patreon supporters will also get access to a couple 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.

On the first episode of our (long-awaited) German foreign policy series, Ted (@ted_knudsen) sits down with Berlin journalist James Jackson (@derJamesJackson) to talk about why the British and American liberals are mad at Germany. They talk about Ukraine, of course, and end with what may be a Spaßbremse first…  Read James’ piece in Jacobin here: https://jacobinmag.com/2022/02/germany-nato-russia-putin-ukraine-tensions-weapons-export-war  Co-hosted by Michelle (@shhellgames) and 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 twice monthly available on our main podcast feed, but Patreon supporters will also get access to a couple 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, where we discuss the changes to East German universities in the wake of reunification. Featuring an interview with Markus Kienscherf, junior professor of sociology at the JFK Institute of North American Studies at FU Berlin. 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 in a few days with another full-length episode for the main podcast feed.

Ted, Michelle, and Isaac answer some listener questions to start off the new year! We will be having our second live show ***tomorrow (Jan. 23)*** with our friends at Corner Späti at Donau 115 in Neukölln. Join us at 7:30 p.m. as we celebrate (mourn?) the death of 2021. For more details, see the Facebook event page: https://fb.me/e/315PJyXpt Some of the sources cited in this episode: Why Germany Needs to Accelerate into the Digital Fast Lane by Guy Chazan for the Financial Times Germany: Four Out of 10 Companies Still Use Fax Machines by Darko Janjevic for Deutsche Welle The Fax is Dead, Long Live the Fax by Brian Hanrahan for Handelsblatt German Village’s Painfully Slow Internet Quickly Becomes a Major Problem by Janosch Delcker Ist unser Fernseher so schlecht, wie alle sagen? By N. Bodgon, M. Niehus and Ch. Seidl for Bild Germany’s Love Affair with Crime Fiction by Thomas Kniesche for Foreign Policy Berlinale Blog: Why is German TV So Crap? by Ben Knight for Exberliner Expats Beware: Germany Uses Dodgy Taxes to Snatch Church Tax by Grace Dobush for Handelsblatt Leaving the Church in Germany: ‘A Liberation’ by Christoph Strack for Deutsche Welle 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 a couple 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.

While we work on putting together some great new episodes for 2022, here's a premium episode we first released on the Patreon back in November to tide you over. On this episode, producer Isaac joins Michelle and Ted to talk about the Nazi history of some notable German companies. You can listen to parts 2 and 3 of this series by subscribing to our Patreon. For some of our sources cited on this episode: Bayer From the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum Victor Grossman in People's World on 22 September 2016: Bayer-Monsanto merger can't erase Nazi chemists' past  Hugo Boss Abridged version of the company's own history, published in 2011 From the BBC on 21 September 2011: Hugo Boss apology for Nazi past as book is published  Dr. Oetker From Deutsche Welle on 22 October 2013: Another German company reveals its Nazi past  Zafar Hassan for VICE on 18 October 2013: Will you boycott Dr. Oetker now you know it has a Nazi history?  Finally, the horrifying photo of the Dr. Oetker headquarters in Bielefeld decked out in a swastika and a portrait of Hitler himself, from Bielefelds-Westliche.de. Music by Lee Rosevere. Art by Franziska Schneider. Follow Spaßbremse on Twitter: @spassbremse_pod.

After a few more mugs of Glühwein, we round out our twelve days of Christmas market scandals with some Schwabenhass and culture wars. Thanks so much to Nathan for joining us on this episode to share his expertise as a local entrepreneur and thought leader. For more of Nathan, you can find him on Twitter at @nthnashma. You can also find his second-hand furniture curation and recommendations at @furnforall.  If you'd like to read up on the scandals discussed in this episode:  Polizei löst illegalen Weihnachtsmarkt auf - über 100 Besucher - https://www.kn-online.de/Kiel/Steuerbetrug-auf-Weihnachtsmarkt-Kiel-Gluehwein-floss-am-Finanzamt-vorbei Weihnachtsmarkt Kiel: Glühwein floss am Finanzamt vorbei - https://www.kn-online.de/Kiel/Steuerbetrug-auf-Weihnachtsmarkt-Kiel-Gluehwein-floss-am-Finanzamt-vorbei "Da ist er ja, der Nazi-Nikolaus!" - https://www.sueddeutsche.de/bayern/muehldorf-da-ist-er-ja-der-nazi-nikolaus-1.3259629 Schwabenhass in Düsseldorf - https://www.stuttgarter-zeitung.de/inhalt.weihnachtsmarkt-vor-breuninger-dependance-schwabenhass-in-duesseldorf.2e7ff1b6-beab-4763-8b22-d79b9b024b8d.html Rassismusvorwurf: Weihnachtsmarkt ohne "Zwarte Pieten" - https://www.tagesspiegel.de/berlin/blackfacing-in-potsdam-rassismusvorwurf-weihnachtsmarkt-ohne-zwarte-pieten/12476260.html Hetze im Netz: Warum heißt der Weihnachtsmarkt jetzt "Lichtermarkt"? - https://www.nw.de/blogs/games_und_netzwelt/21978505_Hetze-im-Netz-Warum-der-Weihnachtsmarkt-jetzt-Lichtermarkt-heisst.html -  We also have an announcement about an upcoming live show! We will be teaming up again with our friends at Corner Späti for a live show on January 9 to celebrate(?) the new traffic light coalition and Scholz cabinet. We had planned on having the show at Donau115, the same bar in Neukölln where we hosted our election night live show, but recent restrictions in Berlin mean we'll likely have to move the event online. Watch this space! - 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 a couple 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.

To celebrate the holiday season in true Spaßbremse style, we convened a panel with Nathan (@nthnashma) to walk you through the twelve days of Christmas market scandals, from selling Glühwein to minors in Frankfurt to tax evasion in Kiel. We were drinking some Glühwein (mit Schuss!) ourselves and as we went through the twelve days we went on more and more tangents, so this episode only gets through days one through six. You can look forward to days seven through twelve of Christmas market scandals on Christmas Day. If you want to read more about the scandals discussed on this episode yourselves:  Glühwein für 13-Jährige! - https://www.bild.de/regional/frankfurt/weihnachtsmarkt/gluehwein-fuer-13-jaehrige-33654140.bild.html Wiener empört über Gebäck-Schwindel auf Weihnachtsmarkt - https://www.heute.at/s/wiener-empoert-ueber-schwindel-gebaeck-auf-weihnachtsmarkt-100174643 Vergaberecht beim Weihnachtsmarkt missachtet - https://www.wz.de/nrw/krefeld/krefeld-vergaberecht-beim-weihnachtsmarkt-missachtet_aid-53940451 Die Konkurrenz der Glühweinkönige - https://rp-online.de/nrw/staedte/duesseldorf/duesseldorfer-weihnachtsmarkt-konkurrenz-der-gluehweinkoenige_aid-64352431  31.000 Euro Miete für Lagerung von Weihnachtshütten - https://www.heute.at/s/wiener-empoert-ueber-schwindel-gebaeck-auf-weihnachtsmarkt-100174643 Der „Romantische Weihnachtsmarkt“ in Regensburg bleibt geschlossen: Söder teilt gegen Veranstalter aus - https://www.merkur.de/bayern/regensburg/regensburg-romantische-weihnachtsmarkt-corona-soeder-gericht-schliessung-veranstalter-zr-91169264.html - 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 a couple 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 fourth premium episode, where we round out our three-part series about German companies during the Third Reich.  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 in a few days with another full-length episode for the main podcast feed.