Decades From Home - A Podcast About Germany

It’s been a tough week for Dili, first Producer Simon axed her favourite segment, then she suddenly became a surrogate mother to a nest full of baby pigeons. Luckily Nic is here to support her, if by support you mean talk about the progress of England in the Women’s World Cup.Sticking with football, the arrival of Harry Kane, England captain and newly minted Bavarian, gives us a chance to ask how the tabloids will react to seeing Kane in Lederhosen. We also suggest some things to see and do for new arrivals to the south of Germany, as well as some things to actively avoid. We also find some time to chat about the importance of rubbish disposal in Germany, and why most arguments between neighbours seem to happen when throwing stuff away.For those of you looking to support Ukraine or the many refugees currently fleeing the conflict, please take a look at these different charities and consider donating if you can.Ukraine Crisis Media Centre - A list of different donation pages to help the Ukrainian military response.Disaster Emergency Committee - Ukraine Humanitarian Appeal Save the ChildrenÄrzte ohne GrenzenTheme tune courtesy of Kloß mit Soß

On the show this week:In a first for the podcast, we have a live audience watching the pod this week, sadly it’s only a family of pigeons that have taken up residence on Dili’s balcony. Avian squatters aside, we talk about dodgy pavements and why the infrastructure in Germany seems so patchy.We bring you an update on the Women’s World Cup, and commiserate with Nic as 50% of his hopes of celebrating a World Cup victory go up in smoke, and try and find a new team for Producer Simon to support. New rules for asylum seekers are being proposed by the German government, we discuss what will change and whether new policing powers are a draconian overstep.One of Europe’s largest music festivals went ahead in Germany last week, despite people having to be dug out of the mud after torrential downpours. We discuss festival toilets and whether we could handle camping in the rain. We finish on the German Foreign Office dealing with parody Twitter accounts.For those of you looking to support Ukraine or the many refugees currently fleeing the conflict, please take a look at these different charities and consider donating if you can.Ukraine Crisis Media Centre - A list of different donation pages to help the Ukrainian military response.Disaster Emergency Committee - Ukraine Humanitarian Appeal Save the ChildrenÄrzte ohne GrenzenTheme tune courtesy of Kloß mit Soß

On the show this week:Some recent listener feedback at Nic’s expense delights Dili no end, as does the return of her Fruit Corner, where she once again puts her co-host to the ultimate test. We discuss a weekend spent wandering botanical gardens and visiting museums, and we ask what’s the best way to spend your summer holidays.The truth behind one of Germany’s favorite banana brands shocks Dili, but she’s quickly distracted by Nic’s update on the Women’s World Cup as we commiserate with producer Simon on the recent exit of New Zealand. On the topic of football and Producer Simon’s homeland, we discuss the story of the Spanish team leaving their training camp due to boredom, and ask whether we felt the creep of ennui when we first arrived in Germany. We finish the show with an initiative by one of Germany’s discount supermarkets to educate customers on the environmental impact of their favourite products. For those of you looking to support Ukraine or the many refugees currently fleeing the conflict, please take a look at these different charities and consider donating if you can.Ukraine Crisis Media Centre - A list of different donation pages to help the Ukrainian military response.Disaster Emergency Committee - Ukraine Humanitarian Appeal Save the ChildrenÄrzte ohne GrenzenTheme tune courtesy of Kloß mit Soß

On the show this week:After a weekend of fun at Nürnberg’s annual Badentreffen open air festival, Nic is still recovering from too many pints of…fun? We talk about one of Germany’s best festivals, and some weird interactions with the locals. We also recap the opening games of the Women’s World Cup, especially the goal bonanza for Germany, and ask whether anyone can really tell the difference between a lioness and a wild pig. The arrival of the Sommerloch in Germany means there’s very little news coming out of Berlin as Germany’s politicians all go on holiday, but where do government ministers go on holiday? We discuss the potential for a political holiday house share in France, Chancellors raving at the Ballermann, and why making bold political decisions during summer is a bad idea. We also find some time to discuss low-fi solutions to posting on social media, and a potential ban on junk food advertising that could be introduced by the end of the year. Articles mentioned on the show:Majority of Germans support planned advertising restrictions for sweetsFor those of you looking to support Ukraine or the many refugees currently fleeing the conflict, please take a look at these different charities and consider donating if you can.Ukraine Crisis Media Centre - A list of different donation pages to help the Ukrainian military response.Disaster Emergency Committee - Ukraine Humanitarian Appeal Save the ChildrenÄrzte ohne GrenzenTheme tune courtesy of Kloß mit Soß

On the show this week:After challenging Nic to expand his horizons, we introduce a new segment to the show: Dili’s Fruit Corner! Finally Dili can force Nic to eat a variety of fruit under the pretence of making a podcast, and maybe, just maybe, he might enjoy it….probably.Since Dili is on summer holidays, and Nic is nearing his own, we bring you some recommendations with our first DFH Summer Reading List. Dili takes us through some of her finds in a famous second hand bookshop in Frankfurt, while Nic shares his favourite books from the last few months. We also discuss the vitriol faced by the first Trans politicians in the Bundestag, and we finish with a preview of the Women’s World Cup in Australia & New Zealand. For those of you looking to support Ukraine or the many refugees currently fleeing the conflict, please take a look at these different charities and consider donating if you can.Ukraine Crisis Media Centre - A list of different donation pages to help the Ukrainian military response.Disaster Emergency Committee - Ukraine Humanitarian Appeal Save the ChildrenÄrzte ohne GrenzenTheme tune courtesy of Kloß mit Soß

On the show this week:We sweat through this week’s show, and consider relocating the recording to the basement, where Nic can spend some quality time with his spider friends. We’re hot under the collar not only because of the summer sun, but also from discussing the average German propensity for public nudity at the swimming pool. Is this the final step on the path to integration?Dili continues her quest to make Nic eat fruit, and she kicks off by challenging him to eat gooseberries, and also pronounce the word correctly. We discuss a German joke on Twitter that got out of hand very quickly, and why German sarcasm can be dryer than your average desert. We discuss the curious word “Hammelsprung” and what jumping sheep have to do with the inner workings of the Bundestag, and we finish on a story about warring neighbours at the Tegernsee.For those of you looking to support Ukraine or the many refugees currently fleeing the conflict, please take a look at these different charities and consider donating if you can.Ukraine Crisis Media Centre - A list of different donation pages to help the Ukrainian military response.Disaster Emergency Committee - Ukraine Humanitarian Appeal Save the ChildrenÄrzte ohne GrenzenTheme tune courtesy of Kloß mit Soß

On the show this week:We kick things off with a discussion on the changes to Elterngeld in Germany which will see couples earning over €150,000 become ineligible for state support. Is this progress or regression, should we really feel bad about excluding wealthy people from tax-funded benefits, and how might it affect gender roles?A social media post from a husband leaving his wife to look after four children while he holidays in Tenerife leads us to a debate on parental responsibility, and whether we can judge people’s ability to parent from social media posts. How should parenting be balanced between partners?We finish on an initiative in Berlin to test illegal drugs without involving law enforcement in the hopes of protecting people from overdoses and dangerous additives. Is this promoting the use of drugs or pragmatic thinking? Articles MentionedParenting at a distance Was ist wirklich in den Drogen?For those of you looking to support Ukraine or the many refugees currently fleeing the conflict, please take a look at these different charities and consider donating if you can.Ukraine Crisis Media Centre - A list of different donation pages to help the Ukrainian military response.Disaster Emergency Committee - Ukraine Humanitarian Appeal Save the ChildrenÄrzte ohne GrenzenTheme tune courtesy of Kloß mit Soß

On the show this week:Living in Germany presents unique challenges, not all them are entirely predictable, such as fighting an 8 year old for a seat on the train. Dili may not have known she was about to throwdown with a small child, but she’s never been one to shrink from a confrontation. We discuss confronting unruly kids, another Bavarian Volksfest, and an invasion of hornets.With Germany still suffering from a heatwave, we look at government advice for keeping cool, and why putting your pants in the freezer is an alternative to air conditioning. We also turn our attention to the recent electoral success of the AfD in Thuringia, and the ramifications of the first district administrator from the far right party.We finish on a happier note as Nic attempts to educate Dili on the wonders of football in the run up to EURO 2024, starting with choosing a name for the tournament’s new mascot. For those of you looking to support Ukraine or the many refugees currently fleeing the conflict, please take a look at these different charities and consider donating if you can.Ukraine Crisis Media Centre - A list of different donation pages to help the Ukrainian military response.Disaster Emergency Committee - Ukraine Humanitarian Appeal Save the ChildrenÄrzte ohne GrenzenTheme tune courtesy of Kloß mit Soß

As your two hosts attempt to not melt in the heat, we discuss the how the sunny weather seems to bring out all the smokers in Germany. Despite being a reformed smoker, Nic has some sympathy for his nicotine stained former brethren; Dili on the other hand has no time for them whatsoever. Where is it still acceptable to light up, and is one of those places a Biergarten?From complaints about smoking to complaints in general, do Germans really complain that much and is it actually so bad? We ponder this question and whether there’s a difference between British moaning and German complaining, and if one is more practical than the other.We finish the show on the topic of multilingual relationships and how speaking another language can make someone a more attractive proposition. We also look at how people in long term multilingual relationships develop their own languages, and whether it’s easier for people to move to Germany when their partner already lives there.For those of you looking to support Ukraine or the many refugees currently fleeing the conflict, please take a look at these different charities and consider donating if you can.Ukraine Crisis Media Centre - A list of different donation pages to help the Ukrainian military response.Disaster Emergency Committee - Ukraine Humanitarian Appeal Save the ChildrenÄrzte ohne GrenzenTheme tune courtesy of Kloß mit Soß

On the show this week:Summer might have brought us some lovely weather in Germany, but it’s also exposed Dili to some maddening behaviour from her neighbours. From constant watering of their lawn, to burning random pieces of plastic, the warmer the weather, the hotter is Dili’s rage.Aside from enjoying German summer activities, we also have come to appreciate our newly discovered powers of prediction; sadly our newfound skills make for depressing news. We also discuss whether challenging objectionable social media content can ever be beneficial, or is it better to simply ignore it.We finish on the story of Germany’s first AI church service, can the mind of the internet teach us anything about the human soul?For those of you looking to support Ukraine or the many refugees currently fleeing the conflict, please take a look at these different charities and consider donating if you can.Ukraine Crisis Media Centre - A list of different donation pages to help the Ukrainian military response.Disaster Emergency Committee - Ukraine Humanitarian Appeal Save the ChildrenÄrzte ohne GrenzenTheme tune courtesy of Kloß mit Soß