Spaßbremse

In the final installment of our series of German reunification, Michelle (@shhellgames) and Ted (@ted_knudsen) discuss the ways East Germany continues to be (mis)remembered in popular and political culture. Produced by Isaac Würmann (@wuermann). To read up on some of the finer details discussed in this episode, check out these links: - A Second Life for Socialist Realism by Magdalena Moskalewicz  - Judging the Past in Unified Germany by A. James McAdams Music by Lee Rosevere. Art by Franziska Schneider.

In the third installment of this series, Michelle (@shhellgames) and Ted (@ted_knudsen) interview American journalist Victor Grossman about his experience defecting to East German in the early 1950s and living through German reunification. Produced by Isaac Würmann (@wuermann) with help this week from Tom Wills (@tomwills).  To learn more about Victor, check out his two books:  Crossing the River: A Memoir of the American Left, the Cold War, and Life in East Germany A Socialist Defector: From Harvard to Karl-Marx-Allee And check out Victor's Berlin Bulletin on theleftberlin.com.  Music by Lee Rosevere. Art by Franziska Schneider.

In this second instalment of a three-part series, Michelle (@shhellgames) and Ted (@ted_knudsen) discuss the economic impacts of Treuhand and the mass privatization of East German enterprises, and challenge the "Aufbau Ost" narrative that positions reunification as the saviour of the East German economy. Stay tuned for the final part of this series, where we'll hear from someone who experienced this moment in history firsthand. Produced by Isaac Würmann (@wuermann). Music by Lee Rosevere. Art by Franziska Schneider.

Ted (@ted_knudsen) interviews Alex Brentler (@full_enjoyment) of @jacobinmag_de on the recent flooding, the history of climate politics in Germany, the contradictions of the German Greens, and the prospects for a break from the coal-reliant German energy system. Then, Ted and Michelle (@shhellgames) embark on Spaßbreme's first reading series, dissecting a bizarre take on on why emergency warnings are useless. Produced by Isaac Würmann (@wuermann). Part 2 of our reunification series will air next Friday.  To read up on the topics discussed in this episode, check out these links: - Alex's piece in Jacobin Germany: "Neoliberalism Won’t Take Real Action to Stop Climate Change" -Our reading series piece in Deutsche Welle: "Germany's know-it-all attitude after the floods helps no one" -Adam Tooze on the legacy of the Yellow Vest movement in France and the political prospects for climate action in Europe: "Chartbook Newsletter #27 Gilets Jaunes"

In this first installment of a three-part series, Michelle (@shhellgames) and Ted (@ted_knudsen) guide us through the messy months in 1989 and 1990 that resulted in the unified Germany that we know today, and pose the question: Was it really a unification, or rather an annexation? Stay tuned for part two of this series, where we'll hear from someone who experienced this moment in history firsthand. Produced by Isaac Würmann (@wuermann).  Music by Lee Rosevere. Art by Franziska Schneider.  To read up on some of the finer details discussed in this episode, check out these links:  - East Germany's Shock Therapy: An interview with Christa Luft by Max Trecker in Jacobin  - The Economic Anschluss of the GDR by Rachel Knaebel and Pierre Rimbert in Le Monde Diplomatique 

The first episode of Spaßbremse is here, and Michelle (@shhellgames) and Ted (@ted_knudsen) are discussing Hartz IV—aka Arbeitslosengeld II—the controversial reforms to unemployment benefits introduced by Gerhard Schröder's SPD-Green coalition government in the early 2000s. Produced by Isaac Würmann (@wuermann). Music by Lee Rosevere. Art by Franziska Schneider.  To learn more about Hartz IV, here are some links to articles and studies cited in this episode:  -German Deunificaton: An interview with Ingar Solty by Darko Vujica in the Monthly Review -The Low Wage Sector in Germany is Larger than Previously Assumed by Markus M. Grabka and Carsten Schröder for the German Institute for Economic Research -Which is worse? by Adam Tooze in the London Review of Books

Hosts Michelle and Ted tell us about what to expect on Spaßbremse, including a fair share of gripes about how Germany is portrayed in English-language media.  Music by Lee Rosevere.