Radio Spätkauf | radioeins

The Berlin Mietendeckel experiment is finished. The city’s revolutionary attempt to freeze rental prices for five years, and reduce overpriced leases, has been killed off by Germany’s highest court. The decision has unleashed a political storm. Everyone is angry - but who will voters punish? The R2G parties who tried to regulate rents? Or their opponents, the CDU and FDP who successfully derailed the project? We make the case for why each side is to blame. There’s a big bill to pay, as hundreds of thousands of Berliners now face back-payments, higher rents and permanent shadow contracts. We’ll run the numbers on the potential local economic crisis that could follow. What hope is there left for affordable housing? And what can the rest of the world learn from Berlin’s short-lived rental revolution? The experiment is over. Now it’s time to analyze the results.

Berlin finally has an overnight curfew - but not really: we can go out alone from 9pm to 5am. We need a negative test to go shopping - but not really: grocery and household shopping is exempt. We ask - what's the point of making rules with so many holes? Matilde says Germany's leaders are like bad parents scared of disciplining their children. Berlin vaccine centers are throwing away unused doses. People are being turned away due to paperwork. Hotlines are failing. Staff can be fired for being flexible. Joel asks - isn't it better to vaccinate the wrong people than nobody? Matilde found a doctor giving left-over vaccines to anyone who shows up. Why can't the rest of Germany be so practical and sensible? A terrifying concrete building with a horrible history is threatened with destruction: the Mäuserbunker in Lichterfelde. Two architects want to save it. Turns out it's a fantastic example of form and functionality. Berlin has several amazing examples of Brutalism. Felix Torkar and Gunnar Klack tell us why we should love concrete. People of colour are reporting violent and humiliating experiences while having tickets checked on public transport. Journalist Anne-Marie Harrison has been following the campaign @BVGWeilWirUnsFürchten which details stories of abuse by ticket controllers. Black Womxn Matter are petitioning the city government to reform the BVG's handling reports of discrimination and violence. The BVG responded, saying it checks all complaints and deals with ticket controller issues through labour law. Thanks to our co-host Matilde Keizer! You can hear her German-language podcasts here: MUGPU (matilde und georg Produzieren Unterhaltung).

Who stole the snow from a Berlin park? A local newspaper has been investigating one of the winter's cruelest possible crimes. Parents at Parkaue think a disgruntled local might have cleared a popular toboggan hill of snow. We read the Berliner Zeitung's in-depth investigation. Should we have gone walking on the ice? After ten days of minus temperatures, half of the city went out onto the canals. But no Berlin authority is willing to say if the ice is safe. The police spent days flying helicopters over frozen lakes telling people to move on. Several people fell through the ice. One man died trying to swim under the ice layer. Hairdressers will reopen on March 1 under the latest pandemic lockdown measures. Schools will start returning from February 22, starting with youngest students. Schools are planning to give students self-administered virus tests. There's no word yet on when small shops, gyms, bars or restaurants might open. Mayor Michael Müller says he hopes normalcy might return after Easter (April 4). BER needs a financial injection of €3.5 billion - enough for an entire new airport. The Tagesspiegel reported on a leaked document from the airport's supervisory committee warning of a huge hole in the budget. In other airport news, Flughafen Schönefeld, rebranded as BER Terminal 5, is due to close on Feburary 23 due to the dramatic drop in air traffic. We talk about our favourite Schönefeld memories. In sports news, Berlin’s newest Bundesliga team, FC Union Berlin, has officially overtaken Hertha Berlin in terms of fan numbers. Union is also ahead of Hertha on the league table (9th vs 15th). The latest issue of Lola Mag is out now, with an article by Joel. You can get a copy by picking one up in a park. Follow Lola to find out where: https://www.instagram.com/LOLAmagberlin/ Or you can order one on their website: https://lolamag.de Thanks to our co-host Matilde Keizer! You can hear her German-language podcasts here: MUGPU (matilde und georg Produzieren Unterhaltung) https://www.buzzsprout.com/854239 Schamlos: https://play.acast.com/s/schamlos Radio Spaetkauf is produced by Joel Dullroy, Jöran Mandik, Daniel Stern and Maisie Hitchcock. This episode was made with support from RadioEins, Berlin’s public broadcaster.

Jöran sits down with Eli Wenzel-Fisher, a caretaker at a Berlin retirement home to talk about vaccinations arriving at the residence and getting vaccinated himself. Getting vaxxed - how does it work? What is it like? And what is the atmosphere like at the home? We get Eli’s detailed report.

With the new medical mask rule in force, will the Querdenkers now start wearing banned fabric masks? What about people who can't afford the expensive masks? Should prices be regulated to stop profiteering? Already some bars, cafes, restaurants and other cultural spaces have closed down during the pandemic. Our friends at Lola Mag are starting to document these closed culture spaces. Know of a shuttered spot? Send details to hello@lolamag.de BER workers are suffering from electric shocks from baggage scanning machines. More than 60 cases have been recorded. The workers' union wants the new terminal closed until the problem is fixed. What's it like to be a teacher in a Berlin school these days? We meet Ryan Plocher, a US emigrant who teaches in Neukölln, and is active in the GEW trade union. He says teachers think schools should be closed until they're made safe, explains why so many schools are in terrible condition, and tells how expensive fireproof Nazi curtains made him get active in the union. Dan invites Radio Spaetkauf listeners to watch a free live show Saturday the 30th .https://www.comedycafeberlin.com/event/whoopsie-doopsie-doo-iv/ Thanks to guest co-host Carmen Chraim! You can find her podcast People of Carmen here: https://peopleofcarmenpodcast.buzzsprout.com Radio Spaetkauf is produced by Joel Dullroy, Jöran Mandik, Daniel Stern and Maisie Hitchcock. This episode was made with support from RadioEins, Berlin’s public broadcaster.

Jöran ushered in the new year with jelly donuts, Joel an ice cold swim and Dan watched the ZDF livestream. All were pleased with their experiences. Hospital on the water Urban Krankenhaus gets positive reviews from the team, though recent expansions ignore the buildings aesthetic and surroundings. How was Berlin's NYE with fireworks sales banned? : 862 fire crew call-outs, 43 in 'verbotszonen', and 211 fires; 10 victims in ER, 2 hands partially amputated, one Brandenburg man killed by self-made rocket; one Neukölln supermarket destroyed by stored fireworks. Those numbers are about half of last year's. How many fewer fireworks were fired? The Frankfurter Allee air quality station measured one third as much particle pollution. The rubbish collection company BSR said 130 meters of fireworks trash was collected, also about one third the volume of last year. If it was like this every year, we'd have nothing to complain about. Christmas is long gone, but the trees are yet to be picked up. 350.000 of them per year according to the BSR. This year, they will begin their tree-pick-up rounds on January 7. They ask to remove all decorations from the tree when putting them out on the street. Even if you have a little baby tree. Don’t put them in the bio-bin - they can’t be used for biogas-production. The collected trees will be shredded and burnt for the production of heating energy. The lockdown is set to continue. With about 30% of intensive hospital beds occupied by COVID-19 patients, and a boost in testing numbers expected after the holidays. Kitkat Club continues to attract huge crowds with its €25 test. And the 'queerdenkers' keep protesting, dancing in a conga line on Alexanderplatz singing about how we need a little virus. Maisie tweeted: "It’s funny how Holocaust denial is illegal here but Corona denial isn’t. Why aren’t they banned outright? Because they don’t use hate speech?" Public transport tickets have gone up to €3 for a single journey; in Paris it's €1.90. New S-Bahn trains are on the tracks, with flat windscreen windows, giving them a futuristic vibe. To see them take the S47 between Spindlersfeld and Hermannstraße. Initially there are only ten of the new vehicles on this route. More will be added in 2022. The new trains have air conditioning, a new door signal, faster acceleration and deceleration. But no USB chargers, as was once promised. You’re going to be seeing a lot more shared electric mopeds on the streets: The company Emmy plans to put 800 more of its red scooters. Joel questions why he only needs a class B European driver's license to use one, and how much is the fish? Much of Berlin has already seen and mocked the “Psychometric WG” . Do they deserve less ridicule or should they be condemned for an embrace of villainous cyborgishness? At €800-€1000, their rent is definitely over the Mietendeckel limits (which also apply within WGs). If you want to report them or any other suspected overcharging landlord to the city government for investigation, here’s the link. Click link under "Online-Abwicklung": https://service.berlin.de/dienstleistung/330040/standort/123904/ 2021 is an election year, which Radio Spaetkauf is excited to report on. But who should we run for office this year? Give Juri another shot despite only garnering 66 votes last time, or run a new candidate? Perhaps Carmen, our recent guest host? Should we really campaign or would that only degrade the democratic process? Maisie says thanks for the messages, they have been wonderful. If you, your business, or organization is interested in starting your own podcast get in touch with the Radio Spaetkauf team. We’ll make sure you have a unique concept that will keep your audience engaged and help you expand your following. hallo@radiospaetkauf.com Thanks to all our donors! Support Radio Spaetkauf with a one time or ongoing donation at radiospaetkauf.com/donate.

Why can't Germany finally ban fireworks? The failure to prohibit the use of rockets on NYE shows the pandemic response still isn't being led by science, we say. Many shops are closed, and alcohol outdoors is banned. Berlin is preparing for vaccinations, but unless you're over 80 you probably won't get one for quite a while. We're joined by guest co-host Gilda Sahebi, a journalist and doctor. Gilda is part of Neue Deutsche Medienmacher, a network that promotes greater diversity in Germany's very white media industry. Follow Gilda's here: https://twitter.com/gildasahebi Gilda's network helped write a handbook for Berlin's city government that discourages the use of racist and exclusionary language. For example, city officials have been told to not use the term "Ausländer", but rather "Einwohnende ohne deutsche Staatsbürgerschaft". Dan says making such phrases cumbersome should encourage us to question whether we even need to say them at all. The BVG has a new voice. An actor with a gender neutral tone will read station announcements. Will the BVG also please finally hire a native English expert to check their translations? This new platform announcement is both bad and dangerous: "Please keep distance to each other." Please don't!

We’re joined by guest co-host Carmen Chraim! Listen to her podcast People of Carmen. Joel shares his experience of having coronavirus: it’s hard to get tested, and contact tracing is no forensic investigation. Luckily more private testing clinics have opened, including at BER and Kitkat Club. With Christmas markets cancelled, the whole city has become a distributed glühwein markt. Joel and Jöran went on a tour of Neukölln’s weihnachts windows. Can we expand the variety of hot drinks on offer please? But glühwein is unlikey to save the hospitality sector. A survey by Bars of Berlin found 75% of their members expect to go out of business by 2021. Restaurants are operating on about 40% of their usual trade. The U5 extension is finished, connecting Hauptbahnhof to Alexanderplatz. It was only 20% over budget and 3 years late. But Friedrichstraße U6 station has closed – Berlin has a ghost station once again. Do we need an U-Bahn extension to BER? And at BER... Schönefeld airport is closing. The building now called Terminal 5 will shut its doors March for at least a year due to low traffic. Suddenly Berlin has three abandoned airports. Thanks for the lovely messages for Maisie – she really appreciates them.

This month residents of Berlin should experience the biggest collective rent reduction in history. About 340,000 residents - one in six - may be eligible for a rent cut under the Mietendeckel, Berlin’s radical new housing policy. But landlords are doing their best to stop it. On November 23 landlords must reduce rents to regulation levels or face fines of €500,000. Tenants can check if they're paying too much at this website: http://www.mietendeckel.berlin.de And they can report cheating landlords to the city government here: https://service.berlin.de/dienstleistung/330040/ Anyone who gets a rent reduction should save the money, as they might have to pay it back. The Mietendeckel is being challenged in Germany's constitutional court, with a ruling expected in mid-2021. Jöran Mandik explains the court process - and the judges' red robes. Rent Freeze is produced and presented by Joel Dullroy, Maisie Hitchcock, Jöran Mandik and Daniel Stern. Music by Tom Evans. Artwork by Jim Avignon. Produced in partnership with RadioEins, Berlin's public broadcaster.

First some difficult news: Maisie is in hospital being treated for a rare type of cancer. She is trying to stay positive and says: “Hello to everyone. I’m working on coming back ASAP!” You can send her a personal message via: hallo@radiospaetkauf.com. We’re back in partial lockdown, with all hospitality and cultural venues closed. More than 70 such businesses are trying to sue to stay open, with little hope. They can apply for 75% of their usual monthly income. Will they be scared to ask for money, after the legal recriminations for those who took the last coronavirus support package? Here’s where you find out more about Überbrückungshilfe Unternehmen: https://bit.ly/3lfadHk Where have people been catching COVID-19? Berlin’s health department has released statistics: 55% at home, 15% in hospitals and care homes, 4% in ‘free time’, 3.5% at work, 2.5% at school – and only 2.1% in restaurants. Tegel Airport has finally closed. Dan interviews Ben, a flight attendant who was on one of the last flights out of the hexagonal terminal. This episode was presented by Joel Dullroy, Daniel Stern and Jöran Mandik, and brought to you by RadioEins, Berlin's public broadcaster.

Every Berliner knows the new airport is about to open. But few know about the disasters that could happen next. We’re here to explain. Masie, Joel and Jöran take part in a test of the new terminal and find it functional, if a bit dull. We meet the only hero in the BER saga – Engelbert Lütke Daldrup, the airport’s fourth CEO, and the one who finally finished the job. He’s a bureaucratic nerd who visited the building site on weekends to check on progress. And he has a penchant for prose when talking about his airport: “In the evenings, when the sun disappears behind the horizon, or when airplanes with their landing lights are touching down at Schönefeld… I don’t want to call it romantic, but there are special moments.” But just as BER was turning the corner, COVID-19 has slashed air traffic by 70% and put a huge hole in an already shaky budget. Critics say the pandemic is masking a passenger capacity crunch. Can the airport really handle all of Berlin’s travellers? We’ll only know after the crisis. How will BER pay the bills? We talk to business professor Hans Georg Gemünden from the Techniches Universität, who says the airport company has used accounting tricks to hide serious financial problems, and predicts it will go bankrupt in several years. Should BER open at all? Environmental activists from Am Boden Blieben (Stay On The Ground) will blockade the airport to protest unnecessary air travel. They propose a frequent flyer tax to discourage jetsetting. Radio Spaetkauf urges you to support any of the many charities rescuing people from drowning in the Mediterranean. We all deserve a good and safe life, no matter where we are born. European governments are acting immorally, but some people are trying to save lives. Donate to: Sea-Watch: http://www.sea-watch-org Mare Liberum: https://mare-liberum.org/ Alarm Phone: https://alarmphone.org/ Sea Eye: https://sea-eye.org/ Or any other Mediterranean rescue organization. How To Fuck Up An Airport is presented by Radio Spaetkauf and RadioEins. Producer: Joel Dullroy Presenters: Joel Dullroy, Maisie Hitchcock, Jöran Mandik and Daniel Stern Music: Ducks! Artwork: Jim Avignon

Almost everything is open again, but the crisis isn't over. 30% of Berlin workers are now jobless or on Kurzarbeit suspension. Many cafes, shops and big businesses have closed. Maisie tells us about job hunting following her return to Berlin. Corona rule confusion continues. Masks must be worn in supermarkets but not gyms. Customers mask up in shops but not staff, but in restaurants it's the other way around. And now a court has invalidated some of the fines handed out for non-distancing. The BVG's sporadic automatic door opening policy is also confusing. Joel's annoyed about touching dirty buttons unnecessarily. Do some drivers forget sometimes, or are they on a door-opening strike? Amid anti-racism rallies in Berlin, a new law has been passed. It's now easier for victims of racial profiling to lodge complaints. Officials can’t discriminate against you for any reason - including poor German language skills.

Berlin starts counting the cost of the shutdown. Business tax revenues have plummeted by 90%. Who’s going to pay the bill? Are we going back to the dark days of “saving till it squeals”? This week’ status: Mask compliance is at about 90%. Public transport use is at 50%. Restaurants are open, but only until 10pm: they’re demanding an extra hour of trading. 400 people are in hospital with the virus. After Berlin's successful project of converting roads to temporary Spielstraßen, play streets, Dan and Maisie come up with other ways we can replace cars: dining streets, gym streets, coworking streets. Construction of the Wippe is about to begin. The monument to reunification will be a giant moving platform in front of the Stadtschloss. Opponents are using the coronavirus crisis as a new reason to try to scrap it. What’s a fair punishment for a driver who kills a cyclist? License lost forever, or just three months? We discuss a recent sentencing.

Put that picnic blanket away, and don’t dare drink a beer in the park. Berlin's signature freedoms are being restricted. How far is too far? Should you cancel your gym membership, or keep paying to help businesses survive? And Tegel Airport may soon fall victim to the virus crisis. Berlin police are busy patrolling parks and shutting down candlelit dinners in 'spreadeasies.' We debate the morality of flouting the rules for a bit of fun. Are you tech-savvy and want to help build community solutions for the crisis? Dan interviews Victoria Boeck from Hack The Crisis. You can sign up or suggest a solution here: https://hackthecrisis.citylab-berlin.org/ Berlin freelancers and small business owners suffering financially can now apply for various grants and loans. Here's where you apply for the Corona Zuschuss: https://www.ibb.de/de/wirtschaftsfoerderung/themen/coronahilfe/corona-liquiditaets-engpaesse.html Here's how you apply for ALG 2 (Hartz IV): https://www.arbeitsagentur.de/en/unemployment-benefitii Schreiben und Lernen have posted a helpful podcast in English about help for freelancers: https://soundcloud.com/literaturszene This episode was presented by Jöran Mandik, Joel Dullroy, Daniel Stern and Maisie Hitchcock.

"The time for partying is over," Berlin's health senator Dilek Kalayci said, announcing the shut down of the city. Berlin's government has enacted the widest restriction of liberties since the war as it struggles to combat the Coronavirus pandemic. Hosts Daniel Stern, Joel Dullroy and Jöran Mandik record an unscheduled episode in an empty room. Our correspondent in Maisie Hitchcock joins us via Skype to tell us about pre-lockdown England. Noah Telson from the Comedy Cafe Berlin tells us about shutting down his business for a month. What's life like in quarantine in Berlin? We talk via Skype with comedian Ben Maclean. Worried about your health? Call the Berlin Corona Hotline: 030 90 28 28 28. Don't go out seeking a test.

Berlin’s rent freeze has begun, but nobody seems to know what’s going on. Landlords and tenants alike are confused about what to do next. Rents are now capped at the rate paid in June 2019 – all increases since then are invalid. New contracts can’t exceed about €9.80 a square meter – half as much as many advertised prices. And landlords face fines of half a million euros for cheating. On this episode we go inside Berlin’s parliament to hear the moment the rent freeze law was passed. Supporters and opponents gave fiery speeches in a rowdy session, which ended with politicians voting to suspend the free market for rental property for five years. We hear what landlords think about the new law. Some are devising ways to cheat – by renting to ignorant foreigners: “Those who screw their landlords are old Germans.” Despite the threat of huge fines, some don’t think the city has the resources to prosecute them. And what should tenants do if they hope for a rent decrease? Lawyer Daniel Halmer from Wenigermieter.de says they should start adding three magic words to their rent transfers: “Zahlung unter Vorbehalt.” It means paid with reservations, and gives tenants the right to to try to claim back overpayments at a later date. Rent Freeze is produced and presented by Joel Dullroy, Maisie Hitchcock, Jöran Mandik and Daniel Stern. Artwork by Jim Avignon. Music by Tom Evans and Ducks!. Recorded by Stephan Lindner. Rent Freeze is a production of Radio Spaetkauf and radioeins.

What happens when an entire city of 3.5 million residents stops paying rent increases for the next five years? Welcome to Rent Freeze, a podcast about Berlin’s rental revolution. Berlin is about to introduce the Mietendeckel, a law that will freeze rents for five years, cap new rental contracts at a maximum price, and allow some tenants to claim a rent reduction. Supporters say it will be the best thing to happen to the city since the fall of the Wall. But investors and landlords are outraged. They say the reforms will scare off businesses, leave houses unbuilt and in disrepair, and feed a grey market for off-the-books rental as desperate Berliners try to find a flat. On this episode we talk to Daniel Halmer of Wenigermiete.de about why the existing rent controls haven't worked. Rent Freeze is produced by Joel Dullroy, Maisie Hitchcock, Jöran Mandik and Daniel Stern. Rent Freeze is a production of Radio Spaetkauf and radioeins. More at www.radiospaetkauf.com

Berlin police have registered 74 accidents involving e-scooters since June. Almost all of the riders were drunk. There are now 9000 e-scooters in the city. Berlin has installed its 100th free public drinking fountain. Another 100 will be added over the next year - for 3.7 million residents. Crossing the road will become more leisurely as the city plans to increase the 'green light' phase by up to 50%. But it will take 10 years to adjust all the traffic signals. Another big Berlin building project is running over budget: the Museum der Moderne. The price tag has gone up from €200M to €450M - and construction hasn't even started yet. Listen to our full-length live shows by subscribing to our other podcast feed here: https://apple.co/2vd5hdy This episode was presented by Joel Dullroy and Daniel Stern, and brought to you by radioeins.

Berlin now has 750 millionaire residents - twice as many as in 2016, according to the Finanzamt. The majority live in the city's west. More live in Kreuzberg than Prenzlauer Berg. Strangely, the Finanzamt defines a millionaire as someone with over €500,000 in income and assets - a hang-over from the Deutschmark days, as DMs are worth half as much as Euros. The former German royal family wants its castles back. The remaining Hohenzollerns are relatives of the Nazi-supporting Kaiser Wilhelm II, who abdicated in 1918. His descendants are trying to claim compensation from the states of Berlin and Brandenburg, including artworks from museums, and Schloss Cecilienhof in Potsdam, where they want to live rent-free. Berlin has introduced a rent freeze. All rents will be capped at their current level for five years, backdated to mid June. Landlords who breach the cap face huge fines. The city is now also talking about introducing rent controls for commercial properties to protect shopkeepers.  Electric scooters have been here only a few weeks, and already we’ve had at least 20 registered accidents. One man lost a few teeth in a crash. A woman was stopped in a park in Prenzlauer Berg rolling along with her dog on a lead. Several have been caught extremely drunk. Drivers are not allowed on the sidewalk, can't take passengers, and can't leave the scooter blocking a footpath. The public transport network has declared that you need to buy a bicycle ticket if you bring an e-scooter on to a bus or train. They've been banned from Tempelhofer Feld. Join us for our next live recording! It takes place on stage at the Lakeside Film Festival, a weekend of outdoor movies and music by a lake in the woods. Find out more at www.lakesidefilmfestival.com Never heard our hour-long live shows? Then you should subscribe to our OTHER podcast feed (this one only plays the short shows). You can find our long shows here:  https://apple.co/2vd5hdy

Berlin now has two top level football teams after FC Union jumped up to the Bundesliga by winning a play-off match. FC Union started back in the DDR. Their die-hard fans actually helped rebuild the stadium in Köpenick with their own hands. Maybe they could help finish BER? Enjoying the heat? Spare a thought for horses pulling tourist carriages in the city center. New rules now apply - carriage operators have to stop if air temperature in the shade reaches 30 degrees Celsius. There’s been another attempt to crack down on the food sellers in Thai Park. Police and Ordnungsamt officers raided the park on a recent Saturday. But a district official revealed it was all for show. Arne Herz from the CDU said: “We don’t want to ruin the market, we just want to show the residents that we’re doing something.” Get ready for a rent increase letter. Berlin’s landlords association has advised its members to try to increase rents by as much as possible before June 17. That’s because the city government is working on a new law that would freeze everybody’s rent for the next five years. Landlords are terrified, and are racing to squeeze out one last rent rise first. Residents are being advised not to agree to any rent increase without consulting a renter’s association first.