Decades From Home - A Podcast About Germany

It’s a week of rather fruity voices as both Nic & Dili have varying degrees of cold, thanks to germ infested children and coughing commuters. Of course, that won’t stop the pod, and we kick things off with a forceful debate over the correct terminology for underwear. We have a number of updates to cover from last week, with listeners providing solid advice on his bakery goblin problems, which may motivate Nic to take his new nemesis to task. We also bring more news on the farmers protests as unions call for renewed demonstrations against the government. We also celebrate the thousands of Germans who took to the streets against the rise of the far-right and the AfD.We finish the show with a look at the progress of the new laws around German citizenship, and discuss how it might change life for thousands of long time residents in the country.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

After a major microphone malfunction last week, Producer Simon is forced to eat a healthy slab of humble pie, much to Dili’s enjoyment. Once the admin is out the way, and Simon has finished crying, we turn to the important issue of Nic’s burgeoning hatred of a particular bakery employee. We also look at some updates on the ongoing farming protests across Germany.We dedicate a large portion of this week’s show to the increasing support for the far-right AfD, and the recent revelations over party members meeting to discuss the racist policy of “Remigration”. We ask why the right-wing continues to see polling success, and how ordinary people might finally be taking the initiative against it. Producer Simon also looks at why thousands of Germans are demanding on AfD be banned from standing for election.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

Well, it’s finally happened, after weeks of low level insults, Dili decides to go on strike. Thankfully that’s a major topic in Germany at the moment, so at least one third of the podcast is on topic. Luckily for Nic and Producer Simon, Dili quickly returns to work, and good thing too since no one else is capable of talking about the world’s first botanical garden. With many areas of Germany facing the possibility of flooding, Producer Simon brings us the curious story about emergency services having to police flood areas to prevent flood tourists from swimming, kayaking, and kite surfing through some of the most dangerous areas. Returning to the theme of strikes, we discuss Germany’s current winter of discontent, as the country comes to a standstill as farmers protest the potential end to diesel subsidies, and Deutsche Bahn workers take to the pickets over pay and working hours. 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

It’s the first podcast of 2024, and we’re all still recovering from an action packed festive couple of weeks. Producer Simon has been enjoying himself a little too much and after a week of almost solid eating, he attempts to podcast via the recovery position. Nic has been fighting off a variety of flus & colds, while nursing his wife and children through their own seasonal sickness. Finally Dili is still traumatised by an unexpected meeting with her nemesis.We pick over the Christmas leftovers and catch-up after a week off from the show, starting with Dili who walks us through her rather horrifying Christmas dinner, and why kissing is an important part of the celebration. With food still on his mind, Producer Simon explains slow cooker practicalities, and the perfect roast potato. We finish on Nic’s ill fated trip to the UK, expensive sausage rolls, and why people who like airports are terrible. 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 2023 begins to make itself scarce, we look back on a year of the weird and wonderful, not only in Germany, but among your podcast hosts. We recap Dili’s short-lived segment on fruit and find exactly who was to blame for vetoing such creative output. We are also once again joined by Nic’s infant son, who is more than happy to offer up his opinions on DfH over the year. It’s not all recriminations though, we go through some of our favourite stories and general highlights from the pod in 2023. We also chat about the things we enjoyed in our own lives through the year, and try to avoid making any bold, and inevitably inaccurate predictions for 2024. 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

It’s almost Christmas which means we throw off the shackles of podcast structure and unleash the festive chaos, although some of us may be more chaotic than others. As Dili and Nic’s baby son compete for who can cause the most on-mic pandemonium, Producer Simon kicks back and enjoys a few beers as all semblance of order crumbles about his ears. It falls to your erstwhile Geordie co-host to enforce some much needed organisation, and what better way to do that than with a festive game! Nic uses all his dad powers of grumpy disappointment to cajole his demob happy colleagues into a jolly game of Would You Rather (German edition).We also discuss Christmas plans, colonial cakes, sexy firefighters, and why competence is the most attractive trait in any partner. 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

After a week of brainstorming, Nic has come up with a new introduction for co-host Dili. Despite his best efforts, the result doesn’t quite land they way he’d hoped, but at least he still has his health, unlike last week. After days of drinking randomly flavoured tea, which is the cure-all for any sickness in Germany, Dili wonders which is the best beverage to recover from a cold and why it has to be mint flavoured.While not drinking tea, Dili has been experimenting at the Christmas market, and this week reports back on her findings. Apparently liver & onions isn’t recommended, which comes as no surprise to Producer Simon who knows there’s only one sensible choice to make when looking for good food: currywurst! We dedicate a good portion of this week’s show to the recent results from the OECD’s Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) study that was released last week. Termed the “PISA Shock”, we discuss whether Germany is overly reliant on a flawed report on global education. 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

Dragging himself from his sickbed, Nic debuts his new smoky radio voice, which frankly isn’t worth the suffering. Sick or not, this doesn’t stop him bringing up Euro 2024, much to Dili’s disappointment. Knowing that one third of the hosting team is close to collapse, Dili takes up the politics beat by discussing the questionable social media use of a certain Bavarian politician. Despite our general rule about not talking about the weather, the extreme snowfall across the south of Germany is hard to ignore. We discuss the politics of snow clearing, why using salt isn’t always the best remedy, and how to cycle effectively in a blizzard.We finish things off with Christmas preparations as we spend some time discussing the merits of mince pies, how not to bake Butterplätzchen, and why more booze isn’t always the right approach to cake baking. 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

After being inspired by talk of Christmas markets last week, Dili decides to sample the delights her own town’s festive offering. While she ponders the right amount of condiments that should go on a bratwurst, Nic is trying to work out how much porridge he can eat after he received a slightly strange advent calendar. We turn our attention to the retirement of Thomas Gottschalk, one of Germany’s most famous TV presenters and longtime host of “Wetten das…?”. We discuss this curious, and incredibly long lived television institution, and attempt to find the Thomas Gottschalks of Sri-Lanka, New Zealand, and the UK.To round things off, Producer Simon & Nic explain the problems of imposing speed limits on German roads, ask why road safety seems such a low priority for so many German politicians, and why German cities are angry about not being able to set their own speed restrictions. 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

No matter how hard you may try, it’s impossible to ignore the imminent arrival of Christmas markets to Germany. While we look forward to the lovely treats on offer, Dili is preoccupied with the availability of roasted chestnuts, and whether they will be better than the ones she’s been making at home. Famous for the largest Christmas market in Germany, we turn to Nürnberg, but less for the festive cheer and more for some sheepy visitors to the city centre.From Christmas cheer to financial blackholes, Nic takes us through this week’s political trauma in Germany after a court ruling created a €60 billion gap in the government annual budget. We discuss how politicians managed to make such a massive error, and why Germany decided a policy of austerity should be enshrined in the constitution. We finish on the topic of books as Simon discusses public bookshelves on the streets of Germany, why The Famous Five shouldn’t be considered a classic, and how free books can boost your language skills. 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