Radio Spaetkauf – The Berlin News Show

This episode was recorded in the dying summer light of the Floating University in Berlin; a location that is neither a university nor floating. Luckily, we had Jöran on site to explain the history of this fascinating location. 

As everything gets more expensive, could Berlin make life more affordable by offering a basic income of over €1000 a month? This episode features the organisers of an attempt to start an experiment to do just that. Also, you’ve heard of community gardens. What about a community food forest? We meet a group trying to plant an edible biosphere on Tempelhofer Feld.

Energy prices are starting to bite and inflation is starting to eat into everyone’s weekly budgets. To combat this the federal government brought in the 9 euro monthly public transport ticket at the beginning of the month. It will run till the end of August. Who’s against it and who’s for it? And why should we all be getting on regional trains to an island in the north of Germany called Sylt. Also on the topic of shortages and price hikes, Matilde reveals her deep knowledge of beer glass in a welcomed presentation on the current bottle crisis faced by Berlin’s breweries. 

We welcome Laura Brämswig from the Volksentscheid Grundeinkommen campaign to come and talk to us about why we should all sign the petition for another Volksentschiedung giving Berlin the chance to test out a Grundeinkommen.

Fenja Grote and Liz Eve from the Feld Food Forest collective joined us to explain more about their project to create a food forest on the Tempelhof Airfield.  

More Links:

• Podfest Berlin: Home | PodFest Berlin
• Social Movements of Berlin (tour guided by Izzy Choksey): https://www.theleftberlin.com/events/political-walking-tour-social-movements-in-berlin/
• Too Many Cooks (hosted by Matilde Keizer): Too Many Cooks – A Comedy Cooking Show – Comedy Café Berlin (comedycafeberlin.com)
• Donate to Radio Spaetkauf! https://www.radiospaetkauf.com/donate/

What’s left of revolutionary Berlin? On our outdoor May Day special, we ask author Nathaniel Flakin whether there’s still enough activists to keep Berlin interesting. On a weekend when Berlin’s mayor Franziska Giffey gott egged, activists squatted an empty hostel and thousands of people joined big marches, Nathaniel says May Day isn’t dead yet. Ask your bookshop to stock his new book Revolutionary Berlin – A Walking Guide.

As Russia’s war rages in Ukraine, Berlin’s Green Party wants the city to prepare our U-Bahn stations to use as bomb shelters. But some tunnel experts say the stations aren’t deep enough, while old WWII bunkers are now art galleries.

Get ready for a summer of train travel with the €9 nationwide monatskarte, valid on all local and regional trains. Izzy says the three summer months are usually known as ‘car season’. She hopes the experimental period will deliver data to convince politicians to permanently reduce public transport ticket prices.

This episode was recorded outdoors in the Tempelhof community garden in the afternoon of May 1, 2022. Hosts: Izzy Choksey, Matilde Keizer, Jöran Mandik and Joel Dullroy.

Support us with a donation! Go to: https://www.radiospaetkauf.com/donate/

Berlin has welcomed 30,000 new residents as Ukrainian refugees fill the city. We meet Mimi, a volunteer from Wir Packens An. They send boxes to refugees – not just from Ukraine, but those forgotten in other parts of Europe too. You can help by volunteering to fill boxes for a day: www.wir-packens-an.info

Find other ways to volunteer or donate here:

https://www.spendenbruecke-ukraine.de/
https://www.volunteer-planner.org/
https://tubman.network/wordpress/

How is the war affecting Berlin, a city that runs mostly on Russian fossil fuels? Our energy bills are going up, we’re getting cheaper public transport, and may soon live under an iron dome missile shield.

As coronavirus rules disappear, are Berliners ready to give up their masks? So far many are opting to keep covered up in shops.

Right to the City for All, the English speaking arm of the DW Enteignen campaign for an update on what has happened since the referendum. www.dwenteignen.de Email: right2thecity@dwenteignen.de

We meet Paul Hanford, who has written a book on the clubbing culture in Berlin since the 90s. We ask what it means when one of the world’s richest men is now hanging out in Berlin’s basement bars. His book here: https://velocitypress.uk/product/coming-to-berlin-book/

Support us with a donation! Go to: https://www.radiospaetkauf.com/donate/

The BVG has reinvented the concept of time. Ticket checkers no longer go undercover. Tempelhof art show boycott explained. Dog poisoning scare.

A huge art exhibition inside Tempelhof airport has gained millions in public funding. But Berlin artists say it’s suspicious. The so-called Kunsthalle Berlin is sponsored by big property investors, got public money without an open process, and doesn’t include Berlin artists. We talk to Zoe Claire Miller about the controversy behind the exhibition. More here.

Dog owners in Berlin are terrified of a possible poisoner after at least one dog died in suspicious circumstances. Jöran is among the worried. There’s not one but two apps for people to report possible poisonings – Dogorama and GiftkoderRadar.

A climate change protest group called Letzte Generation has been causing traffic chaos in recent weeks by occupying autobahns. Some glued their hands to the asphalt. Angry drivers and BSR rubbish collectors attacked the protesters, then police arrived and charged them with crimes. They’re campaigning for food security, pointing out the risk to humans of climate change.

The BVG has altered the concept of time. Instead of displaying ‘mins’ to the next train on digital signs, it’s using the prime symbol: ′ (not an apostrophe). The BVG said it needed to make space for a wheelchair symbol. But does everyone recognize the prime as a sign of the time? Also, BVG ticket inspectors will no longer work undercover, but will wear blue vests to be clearly identified. It’s the end of an era for Berliners trained to spot suspiciously dressed passengers with large pouches.

How reliable is your COVID-19 test? Possibly zero percent, according to a website to compare Schnelltests. Matilde and Dan spent the past weeks analysing their analysers at: www.schnelltesttest.de

Gym members who were charged during the pandemic could get some of their money back. A group lawsuit is suing fitness centres for failing to offer refunds. Join in at: https://www.fitnessstudio-erstattung.de

This episode was presented by Izzy Choksey, Matilde Keizer, Joel Dullroy, Jöran Mandik and Daniel Stern.