Radio Spaetkauf Berlin

TV series Babylon Berlin is searching for 3000 extras, but bearded men need not apply. You must be over 1.86 meters tall and be prepared to get a 1920s haircut. Maisie is thrilled about the mass make-over of Berlin blokes. Sign up at Agentur Filmgesichter. The Berlin Wall is being rebuilt to create a totalitarian theme park in Mitte. The art project Dau will submit visitors to mild oppression and screen lengthy films. It will run from from October 12 til November 9, when the "Wall" will be demolished. Couldn't they use it to patch up the East Side Gallery? Algae is blooming in Berlin lakes post-heatwave. But don't worry, it's still safe to swim. The Berlin health authorities have tested the water and found no deadly blue-green algae. Meanwhile, Alternativ für Deutschland leader Alexander Gauland is now pushing a new and rather bleak right-wing position, acknowledging the reality of climate change but saying humans can't do anything about it. Is this the start of 'climate change realism' - to borrow from Mark Fisher's capitalist realism? Wondering why Berlin doesn't have any electric scooters yet? The stand-up scooters are appearing in cities worldwide as investors rush to find the next trend after shared bikes. But in Germany motorized scooters are classified as road vehicles, restricting their use. This episode was presented by Maisie Hitchcock and Joel Dullroy, and brought to you by RadioEins.

Our annual outdoor recording at the Mobile Kino Lakeside Film Festival at Klingemühle in Brandenburg. Now in its fifth year, the event many improvements - a new name, a new stage, more guests and more fun all round. Like playing card games while camping? Our guest Julia Weiss tells us what it's like to work for a card game company. Julia is the lead writer for Cards Against Humanity, as well as a cast member on the podcast The Improvised Star Trek. "If our goal is to live in a post-capitalist space future, watch Star Trek," Julia says. Caroline's review of Star Trek: "A lot of ambient music and three-dimensional board games." Berlins's garden plots are being targeted by property speculators. Investors are snapping up Kleingarten hoping the city will allow them to build apartments. One such investor is an alleged crime gang from Neukölln. Police recently seized 77 of their properties worth €9.2M, including garden plots. It's alleged the real estate was bought with the proceeds of a spectacular bank robbery. Temperatures hit 38.5°C in Berlin on August 9, just short of the record high. The city's street cleaning service plans to spray the roads with water to cool things down - though some think it might make the city more humid and uncomfortable. Hosted by Joel Dullroy, Jöran Mandik and Caroline Clifford.

Berlin's scorching summer is breaking records. Earlier this week the city experienced its hottest night ever, with a minimum of 25°C. The city's trees are suffering, and residents are being asked to go out and water them. U-Bahns are getting noisier, as there's no moisture to lubricate between the metal wheels and tracks. The drains are stinking, so the water authority is putting "drain deodorant" down the pipes. The pools are all at capacity. But Berlin has only 48 public drinking fountains to help citizens rehydrate. A Berlin man who tried to become a police officer had his application rejected because he failed a drug test. A blood sample showed he had THC in his system. Undeterred, he took the matter to court, unsurprisingly rejected his case. The S-Bahn is trialling automatic doors to improve punctuality. All doors will pop open at stations between Ostkreuz and Hauptbahnhof from 6am to 8am. Instead of 24 people pushing 24 buttons, one person pushes one button. Why haven't they ever done this before? This month the new home sharing regulations come into effect in Berlin. You're now allowed to rent out up to 49% of your flat online, but first you have to get a registration number from the Bürgeramt and display it on the various rental portals. Just a week to go until the Mobile Kino Summer Camp - the Lakeside Film Festival in the woods. It's three nights of movies and music under the stars out in Brandenburg. We'll be there recording a live episode of Radio Spaetkauf.

A Berlin man who has been in a coma for four months has been identified because someone recognized a photograph of his house keys. The 74-year was found unconscious in a Wilmersdorf park after apparently having an accident while jogging in March, carrying only his keys. A police operation to test all the locks in the area failed. Publishing a photo of his keys worked. It seems Berliners prefer to memorize the grooves of their keys rather than look their neighbours in the eye. The first of Berlin's many bike sharing company has gone bust. O-bike has filed for bankruptcy in its home country Singapore. In some cities, the bikes have been sold to a collection company and are being taken from the streets. But it's not clear what will happen to the 700 bikes left in Berlin. One bicycle activist has created a website called Librebike.info calling for people to liberate the left-behind bicycles by hacking the locks. The S-Bahn wants to improve punctuality by introducing express trains that skip a couple of stops on the Ring. Stations to be skipped are Halensee and Hohenzollerndamm in the south-west. A trial could start later this month. And a ticket checker has to pay €900 to a passenger in compensation for ripping up his partially invalid ticket. This episode of Radio Spaetkauf was brought to you by Radio Eins, Berlin's public broadcaster.

Are you paying too much rent? Probably: 70% of Berlin landlords are illegally overcharging, says lawyer Daniel Halmer of WenigerMiete.de. He's offering a no-win no-fee service to fight your landlord for a rent reduction. He's helped people save up to €600 a month. Tricks landlords use include overstating apartment size by up to 30%. Everybody who has rented an apartment in the last three years could win a rent decrease. Berlin could soon get public electric grills – thanks to a very unexpected source of money – East Germany's stolen millions hidden in Swiss bank accounts. The DDR leaders stashed state money abroad as the socialist state collapsed. Now it's coming back. The Mitte district wants to use it to put coin-operated grills in Monbijou Park. Maisie thinks it could be used for better purposes. The Breitscheitplatz Christmas Market truck attack in 2016 might have been prevented if Berlin police weren't so obsessed with trying to evict anarchist squatters. A Berlin parliamentary inquiry has heard that police monitoring the alleged truck attacker, Anis Amri, were called of his case in June 2016. They were instead reassigned to focus on left-wing squatters in Rigaer Straße in Friedrichshain, who were illegally evicted from their squat. Amri allegedly went on to join a terrorist cell, undetected. Former justice minister Frank Henkel's ideologial war against hippies had serious consequences. This episode was recorded live ahead of the Mobile Kino open air screening at Insel der Jugend. Hosts are Maisie Hitchcock, Jöran Mandik, Joel Dullroy and Daniel Stern.

A video of black people being kicked out of KFC at Alexanderplatz raises question. Is it illegal to call police racist? Can police delete videos from your phone? We've got the answers. Support group Reachout says the incident was clearly racist. The police say they were following KFC's request. KFC is standing by their actions. Want to get fit while cleaning the city? Try plogging, a Swedish sport that combines jogging with trash collection. A meetup group is plogging through the Grunewald forest on June 9. Why have so many kids started using the latest shared bike company Ofo? Is it because their system accidentally allows anonymous endless free rides? Perhaps they can all join in the ADFC cycle demo on June 3 through the center of the city. This episode was presented by Joel Dullroy and Daniel Stern, and brought to you by RadioEins.

What will it take to get Berliners to pickup trash - the offer of a free beer, perhaps? The Big Görlitzer Clean Up happens on July 7. Organizer Lubomila Jordanova from the group Plan A tells us how they plan to incentivise volunteer cleaners. Empty flats in Neukölln? They do exist. Unfortunately they're being kept empty on purpose. Activists squatted several buildings to protest, but were promptly evicted. In some cases, flats are left unrented by speculators who prefer to wait for prices to rise rather than rent to problematic tenants. This case involved a publicly-owned building left empty because of slow bureacracy. Dan's search for a kindergarten for his child is going badly. It's not all his fault - Berlin has a shortage of kita spots. Thousands of people protested againt the kita crisis. Dan tells us the rumours he's heard on the playground - parents offering to help kitas cheat the system to earn more from government, for example. This episode was recorded live at the Comedy Cafe Berlin on Sunday May 27. Hosts: Jöran Mandik, Joel Dullroy and Daniel Stern.

Sick of cars parking in bike lanes? Write own parking tickets during Falschparker Aktionswoche, which starts on May 28. Illegal parkers are fined just €20 in Berlin if caught, while the EU average is €100. You can use an app called Wegeheld to report drivers to the authorities, if you don't mind being called a Spießer. Trees in Berlin parks are being wrapped in white webs by an invasion of oak processionary moth caterpillars. Watch out for their bristles - they contain a toxin which irritates the skin and causes respiratory problems. The trees should recover in a few weeks, though. Karneval der Kulturen is on again this weekend all around Kreuzberg 61, but it might be the last year it's held there due to rising security costs. If you don't like crowds, try the Berlin Mural Festival, held on walls across the city. Our next live show is on 6pm, Sunday May 27. We're back at the Comedy Cafe Berlin. This episode was presented by Joel Dullroy and Daniel Stern, and brought to you by RadioEins.

A special live recording of the fourth and (maybe) last episode. Take a tour of all four of Berlin's under-construction, out-of-use, falling-apart and over-capacity airports. Each has had a part to play in the story of how Berlin fucked up an airport. At BER, we hear the airport company's side of the story: damn high regulations got in the way, they say. Tempelhof is closed, Tegel is operating precariously, and only socialist-built Schönefeld is muddling through. The end is in sight - October 2020. But even now Berlin is planning to double BER's floorplan and build a new government terminal. BER critic Dieter Faulenbach da Costa tells us the building is rotten to the core and should be scrapped. "I am convinced this airport can never open. They should pray for a miracle." We are joined on stage by Martin Delius, the former Pirate Pary politician who led the Berlin parliamentary investigation into BER. Who was responsible for BER? All Berliners, he says. We ignored warning signs and re-elected incompetent politicians. This episode was recorded live on stage at Prachtwerk Neukölln on Sunday April 29, with audio support from Craig Schüftan from Ducks! 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

Chris Dercon has resigned from the Volksbuehne Theater, just six months into the job, and following a lot of fuss over his appointment. It seems he had failed to secure enough sponsorship money to pay the bills. Joel says he wasn't given a fair chance. Konrad says he was always wrong for the job. The AFD tried to shut down Berghain, complaining about the strange hours, sex and drugs, bad music and exclusive door policy. The AFD representative Sybille Schmidt used to run a punk club. The party later backed down from the proposal. The U-Bahn network has a special alarm system in the case of a flash flood in the tunnels. It could have to be activated if a skyscraper being built on Alexanderplatz breaks the water table and floods 17 stations on the U2, U5 and U8 lines. Züruck schwimmen, bitte. It's garden season, but if you want a kleingarten plot on the edge of town you'll have to wait three years. There are already 12,000 people on a waiting list for one of 70,000 gardens. Come to our live recording of the next episode of How To F#€k Up an Airport. It's on Sunday April 29, 6pm, at Prachtwerk in Neukölln. This episode was presented by Joel Dullroy and Konrad Werner, and brought to you by RadioEins.

Two men who killed a goat in the Hasenheide petting zoo have been sentenced to 10 months in jail. Their lawyer said they were hungry, and argued for leniency as they only took one leg. Also, all meat eaters are animal killers, he said. Another Berlin ban has been overturned by a court. Horses and carriages will be allowed back in front of the Brandenburger Tor, despite the city government's attempt to forbid them. The city's prohibitions on AirBnB, Uber and beer bikes have all been watered down through legal action. Spreepark at Plänterwald is now open for tours. But high levels of arsenic contamination have been found at the formerly abandoned theme park. Still want to jump the fence? As Berlin's unemployment rate falls to half of its 2005 level, Mayor Michael Müller has proposed introducing a "solidarity basic income." Unlike a real basic income, it would oblige recipients to do municipal or social work. Would creative projects like podcasts count? If you want to protest against rising rents, join the Mietenwahnsinn (Rental Madness) demo on April 14 at 2pm, starting at Potsdamer Platz. This episode was presented by Maisie Hitchcock and Joel Dullroy, and brought to you by RadioEins.

How much do Berlin's bottle collectors earn? Our guest Wouter Bernhardt has done the math - it's a measly €150 a month. He thinks it amounts to a form of socially accepted poverty. Wouter is host of the Berlinology podcast. Listen to the full episode of 'The Bottle Collector' here: http://viertausendhertz.de/bln02/ The Berlin Senate has changed the AirBnB law to allow people to rent out their flats as holiday apartments for up to 60 days per year. Starting on May 1, you can obtain a registration number from the Bürgeramt, which must be displayed online. But you still risk getting evicted by your landlord for using your flat for commercial purposes. We talk to Jana Burbach and Niko Schulz-Dornburg, the writers of a new TV series about flat sharing in Berlin. The show is called Just Push Abuba, and it's the first English-language show produced by ZDF. Watch it online at: https://www.zdf.de/serien/just-push-abuba In February, Berlin passed a milestone: the Berlin wall has now been down for longer than it was up (28 years). At the same time, an opinion poll found that Die Linke became the most popular party in Berlin for the first time since 1990. The city's R2G coalition parties (Die Linke, SPD and Die Grünen) would get 57% of the vote. Are they doing a good job? Joel thinks so. Our guest Konrad Werner thinks they could do better. Some Berliners want to dramatically reduce advertising in the city. Berlin Werbefrei is an initiative collecting signatures to trigger a referendum. They propose eliminating ads on public buildings. It would reduce the Berlin's revenue by €31 million annually, or 0.1% of the state budget. Find out more at https://berlin-werbefrei.de

Bike thefts are down 11% in Berlin. Just over 30,000 bikes were reported stolen in the past year, 4000 less than the year before. Has the flood of shared bikes helped? There's been a cherry tree massacre at the Garten der Welt in Marzahn. Seventeen cherry trees were chopped down on Sunday. The kirchbäume were the garden's biggest drawcard each spring during the cherry blossom season. The gardens have been targeted by protests over a plan to have sheep and cattle graze on nearby paddocks. Don't be confused if soon see U3 trains running on the U1 line. The BVG is extending the U3 all the way to Warschauer Straße to increase service frequency. In the past 10 years, passenger numbers have increased by 17%, but there are about 5% less carriages. The Berlin Feminist Film Week is on now with a programme of movies made by women, transgender and queer film-makers. It runs until Wednesday March 14. This episode is brought to you by RadioEins, and presented by Maisie Hitchcock and Joel Dullroy.

Film director Karim Ainouz tells us what life was really like for refugees living in Tempelhof airport. His documentary "Zentralflughafen THF" was filmed in the camp, which recently closed. Could public transport in Germany soon be free? The federal government suggested this as a way of reducing air pollution from diesel cars. What would Berlin be like if dirty cars are banned? Should car manufacturers be made to pay for cheating and lying? Maisie says Berlin's U-Bahns are filling up with more passengers. That might be because the BVG has cut costs and failed to order enough trains. They're now allowing graffiti-tagged carriages to stay on the tracks. This episode was recorded live at the Comedy Cafe Berlin on Sunday February 25, 2018. Hosts: Maisie Hitchcock, Joel Dullroy and Daniel Stern.

BER has been built twice - the first time incorrectly, the second time incompletely. We hear from Marco, an engineer who worked on site. Employees were busy stealing copper instead of fixing the fire system. Some managers got rich taking bribes. Informers had their coffee poisoned. Joel and Jöran drive out to the unfinished BER terminal to inspect the too-short escalators that end with stairs. They were just one of 150,000 mistakes discovered in an audit after the 2012 cancellation. Cables were stuffed together in overloaded enclosures - a fire risk. The sprinkler pipes too small to carry the required water. More than 600 fire walls had to be reconstructed. And the builders forgot to install lightning rods. Even when it's fixed, BER will need another overhaul: "As soon as they open it they have to modernize it," Marco says. "The technology is old standards. New airports are already building in a different way. This is going to be from the beginning an old airport." But finally, heads are starting to roll... the wrong heads. The BER supervisory board fires the only people who know what's going on, creating new chaos. Then they fire the CEO Rainer Schwarz, but bungle the paperwork. Will any politician ever take responsibility? How To F#€k 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

Days away from the planned 2012 opening party, nothing seemed amiss at BER. What was really going on? On this episode, we look at how the airport managers and politicians were messing with the plans, even as construction was underway. They demanded a 70% increase in terminal space to add hundreds of extra shops, and requested special double story boarding gates for the supersized Airbus A380, even though no airline requested it. Instead of a working fire safety system, they planned to hire up to 800 people to act as human fire alarms. Despite multiple warnings, the airport board pushed ahead with opening party plans right up until May 8, 2012, when the first major delay was announced. We meet the man who put a stop to it all - Stephan Loge, the administrator of the Brandenburg building department. Also on this episode, Joel and Jöran visit the Schönefeld S-Bahn station in search of the empty train that runs nightly to the unfinished airport to keep air moving through the tunnels. How To F#€k 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

Germans throw out one truck's worth of good food each minute. SirPlus is a supermarket that sells groceries that are past their best-before date but are still edible. Founder Raphael Fellmer joins us with a basket of typical products from his shelves. You can visit the shop at Wilmersdorfer Staße 59. Or you can order a home delivery box at: http://www.sirplus.de Konrad Werner explains why Germans are terrified of fresh elections. The country still doesn't have a governing coalition and might need to go back to the polls. Joel suggests a policy to add to coalition negations: abolishing the racist term "Schwarzer Peter" (Black Peter) to refer to a trouble-maker. The term has often been used referring to the FDP, which walked out of coalition negotiations. Listen to Konrad's podcast here: http://bit.ly/2zsamzo You might have heard of Berlin's top league football team Hertha BSC. But the city is also home to numerous neighbourhood clubs across seven different football leagues. Bloody Hell Magazine is an English-language blog that celebrates local football teams. Writers Ben, Dave and Alex join us to share their passion. Read more at: http://bloodyhellmagazine.com Iconic Berlin illustrator and musician Jim Avignon joins us to perform live and talk about his new art book, Business As Unusual. He tells us how he managed to rediscover his love for Berlin despite how much it has changed during his 30 years here. Find his book here: http://bit.ly/2hW0jLC This is our last live recording for 2017. Stay tuned for our upcoming spin-off podcast focusing exclusively on the debacle at Berlin Brandenburg Airport BER. Recorded at Comedy Cafe Berlin on Sunday November 26. Your hosts: Jöran Mandik, Maisie Hitchcock, Joel Dullroy and Daniel Stern.

The number of public bikes in Berlin increased to 6200 this week when Chinese company Mobike placed 700 of their orange and silver bicycles on the streets. They're not to be confused with O-Bike, a Singaporean company which introduced 500 yellow-framed bikes just a few weeks earlier. In other cities, Mobike gives users credits for reporting broken bikes, and takes away credits for poor parking and "abandoning the bike when intercepted by police." The Berlin transport department says another three bike sharing companies have expressed interest in operating here. Radio Spaetkauf co-host Jöran Mandik discovered a watery graveyard of Lidl Bikes in the Landwehrkanal near Admiralsbrücke where some hater has been throwing them. Police in Berlin recovered over 100 stolen items formerly belonging to John Lennon. A man has been arrested for allegedly selling the objects, worth an estimated €3 million, via an online auction website. They items were stolen from Yoko Ono by her former chauffeur, and passed on to a fence in Berlin. The auction website's former managers says it didn't know the items were stolen. This Sunday is our very last live show of the year. Jim Avignon, an iconic Berlin illustrator and musician, is our special musical guest. The whole team will be on stage at the Comedy Cafe Berlin in Neukölln. Doors open at 3.30pm, show starts at 4pm, entry is free.

Dodgy Berlin real estate deals have been discovered in the Paradise Papers. According to the Sueddeutsche Zeitung, a company called Phoenix Spree based on the Isle of Jersey has been buying Berlin property, forcing out tenants, putting up the rent, then sending the profits to offshore accounts where they pay little tax. Wondering why rents are going up and where that extra money is going? Now you know. Another trick highlighted in the Paradise Papers are so-called share deals. Investors avoid Berlin's 6% property sales tax by buying shares in companies that own property, instead of the property directly. This trick robs the city of €100 million euros annually, according to the Berlin finance department. The Sony Center was sold for €1.1 billion in October under such a share deal. None of these tricks are illegal. They're simply immoral. The Berlin Police Academy in Spandau is in the headlines. An anonymous letter published in the Tagesspiegel alleged Arabic gang members were being accepted as recruits. A police union spokesman claimed gangs were grooming some of their members to get into the police academy, by holding them back from committing crimes to keep their records clean. Berlin's chief of police, Klaus Kandt, says there's no such infiltration going on. The anonymous claims were fueled by racism toward people from immigrant communities, he said. Hasenheide, Kottbusser Damm, Karl Marx Straße will get bike lanes in spring 2018. They will be up to 2 meters wide, painted bright green, and separated from cars by posts in some places. Berlin getting another bike sharing company. O-Bike will soon place 500 of its yellow bicycles across the city. The city now has 5500 public bikes, and will have at least 9000 by the end of 2018. O-Bike will charge €1 for 30 minutes, €20 a month, or €80 a year - which could be an alternative to buying a bike. Check out the temporary sculpture Monument in front of the Brandenburger Tor. It features three upturned busses, replicating a scene from Aleppo in Syria, where civilians hid behind busses to protect themselves from gunfire during the ongoing civil war. The sculpture will be parked in Berlin until November 26. This episode was presented by Joel Dullroy and Maisie Hitchcock, and brought to you by Radio Eins.

Almost 200 cyclists blocked traffic on Oranienstraße in a protest after a cyclist was doored and seriously injured. O-Straße is the third most dangerous street for cyclists in Berlin. What would happen if we painted our own bike lane? Over 34,000 bicycles worth almost €20 million are stolen annually in Berlin, only 3.5 percent are recovered. Air Berlin's turbulent descent into insolvency has reached its end. At 10.45pm on October 27 the final Air Berlin flight AB6210 from Munich will touch down at Tegel Airport, and the airline will cease to exist.Lufthansa won the bidding war to take over the majority of the bankrupt airline. It will purchase 81 aircraft and take on around 3000 employees and integrate them into its Eurowings brand. Lufthansa will soon carry over 90% of domestic German air traffic. Don't be surprised if ticket prices start going up. Time to take a train? The low-cost rail company Locomore has recently re-launched, offering tickets to Frankfurt and Stuttgart for €9.90. Berlin authorities have cracked down on homeless people camping in Tiergarten, where the murder of a 60 year old woman sparked politicians to claim the park had become lawless. Evictions have taken place in other locations. A homeless camp of around 70 people was cleared out from behind the Berghain nightclub. The Neukölln district council chartered buses to take homeless people back to Romania and Bulgaria. The number of homeless people staying in shelters has risen from almost 8000 in 2013 to over 30,000 in 2016, and an estimated 2000 are sleeping rough on the streets. Rising rents are forcing more Berliners out of their homes. Come along to our next live recording at 6pm, Sunday November 5 at the Comedy Cafe Berlin. This episode of Radio Spaetkauf is brought to you by Radio Eins, Berlin's public broadcaster.

Storm Xavier lashed Berlin with winds of 120 kilometres an hour on October 5. Public transport and flights were cancelled for most of the day, and regional train lines were cut for several days. Five people died from falling trees and car accidents, and 18 flamingos at the Berlin Zoo didn't make it through the storm. How do storms get their names? You can pay €260.61 to name a storm. The money goes to climate research at the Institut für Meteorologie at Berlin's Freie Universität. Sign up for one at http://www.met.fu-berlin.de/wetterpate. Only weeks after Berliners voted to keep Tegel Airport open, Lufthansa has announced it will soon begin operating Boeing 747s at Tegel. Three 747 services will run daily between Tegel and Frankfurt due to high passenger demand following the Air Berlin insolvency. The airline will have to pay a €515 euro penalty per flight to land the noisy jets, none of which goes to the long-suffering residents of Pankow. Following the German national elections, the Friedrichstadt Palast director Berndt Schmidt said supporters of the Alternative für Deutschland party should hand back their tickets. He later said AFD voters were welcome, but might feel uncomfortable in his multi-cultural, multi-sexual, multi-religious theatre. The AFD reacted by calling for Friedrichstadt Palast to lose 12% of its public funding. On Saturday October 7 the theatre was evacuated due to a bomb threat. Among the 1700 audience members were ten AFD supporters who were given tickets by their party.

Comedian and journalist Drew Portnoy tells us about his return to Berlin after several years away. The city has grown by the equivalent of two Bonns in that time and is feeling much fuller. Berlin-based refugee rescue charity Jugend Rettet is in trouble. The organization's boat has been impounded by Italian authorities. Jugend Rettet says they are being bullied out of the Mediterranean. Are you a freelancer in Germany? Our guest Henrietta Mehlis from the SMart freelancers cooperative has some tips. Don't confuse your tax identification number from your tax number - they're different. And don't trust cheap health insurance. She is running a free info session as part of European Freelancers Week at 5pm, 11.09.17, at Betahaus. More info at www.smart-de.org. Berlin is sending 28 representatives to the Bundestag after last week's elections. Here's the breakdown by party: CDU 6; Die Linke 6; SPD 5; Die Grünen 4; AFD 4; FDP 3. The Greens barely held on to Hans-Christian Ströbele's seat after infighting. The CDU's failed mayoral candidate Frank Henkel also failed to win a parliamentary seat. Berlin also voted 56.1% "yes" in the referendum on whether to keep Tegel Airport open. The R2G coalition now has to decide how to react - ignore the non-binding result, or try to please Tegel fans and face huge legal challenges from businesses, residents and environmental activists. Die Linke released a study finding 30% of all flights to Berlin could easily be replaced by train journeys. The offstage drama at the Volksbühne continues. Squatters occupied the theatre demanding that new director Chris Dercon be replaced by a collective directorship. They were evicted after rejecting a compromise to hold their art-action in the Grüne Salon. Dan names and shames a Berlin startup, Your Superfoods, which is begging for volunteers to pack boxes instead of paying for staff. This episode was presented by Maisie Hitchcock, Joel Dullroy and Daniel Stern, and recorded at the Comedy Cafe Berlin.

Tegel Airport fans won a referendum on whether the hexagonal Flughafen should stay open post-BER. The "yes" vote was 56.1%. But it doesn't mean Tegel won't close, as the federal and Brandenburg governments would have to agree. Renovation and residential soundproofing costs could reach a billion euros. Tegel supporters now want an U-Bahn extension as well. The referendum happened on the same day as the German federal election, in which Angela Merkel's CDU won almost a third of votes. Berlin voted differently: here the CDU won almost 23%, and Die Linke came second with about 19%. There were protests in front of the AFD election party at a venue at Alexanderplatz. The far-right party won 12% of votes in Berlin. On September 24, 28,000 runners raced in the Berlin Marathon.Kenya's Eluid Kipchoge won the race for the second time, but missed out on a world record by 35 seconds, The women's race was won Gladys Cherono, also from Kenya. Another runner was Berlin's former state secretary for security, Bernd Krömer from the CDU, who called in sick to a parliamentary inquiry only two days earlier. The popular street food market known as Thai Park was raided last weekend. A squad of police and Ordnungsamt officers shut down the food stalls in Preussenpark in Wilmersdorf. Thai Park is still happening, but more raids are possible. The local CDU councillor said the food market must be either cleared away or legalized. The German Comic Con is on this weekend at Messe Berlin. If you don't like cosplay, come along to the live recording of Radio Spaetkauf at Comedy Cafe Berlin on Sunday October 1, 17.30. This episode was presented by Joel Dullroy and Daniel Stern.

Berlin is a city with over 2.4 million rats. Lately they've been sighted more frequently as heavy rain has flushed them out of the drains. Several playgrounds in the north of the city have been closed due to rodents. A slightly more unusual pest, the invasive red American crayfish, has been seen scuttling along the paths in Tiergarten. More than 3000 crustaceans were caught as part of a recent eradication program. This year's Lollapalooza festival at the Hoppegarten race track ended in S-Bahn chaos. There weren't enough trains to handle the crowds. Trains arrived already full of revellers from an Oktoberfest nearby. Police closed the packed S-Bahn station for several hours. The S-Bahn blamed the festival organizers for not paying for extra trains. Next year Lollapalooza will move to Olympiastadion - the third time it has had to relocate. Want to buy Air Berlin? You'll have to pay more than the current highest bid - half a billion euros. Air Berlin's pilots aren't making things easy for the airline. This week 200 of them called in sick on the same day to preemptively protest the possible pay cut they'll face if Lufthansa takes over. Ryanair has been stirring controversy by paying for election ads for the FDP supporting the pro-Tegel referendum campaign. The giant blue billboards featured Ryanair's logo, which is possibly illegal. The Reinickendorf local council threatened to ban the sponsored ads. The FDP eventually covered up the Ryanair logo with censored stickers. This episode was presented by Maisie Hitchcock and Dan Stern, and brought to you by RadioEins.

Comedian Caroline Clifford signed up as a bicycle food courier to earn extra cash. But she found the income depends on cycle speed and can be €5 an hour or less, especially as customers don't tip. Germany's federal election is on September 24. So far it's a dull campaign. But as Konrad Werner explains, in today's turbulent world a boring election is quite remarkable. Chancellor Angela Merkel "represents the state of the permanent present" that voters in smooth-running Germany desire. Is the Air Berlin bankruptcy being manipulated to favour Lufthansa? Ryanair is accusing the German authorities of helping Lufthansa take over Air Berlin, which would result in them grabbing 95% of the domestic German air travel market. The Tegel referendum is on the same day as the election. To quell concerns about the capacity of the new BER airport, BER's manager has released an expansion plan. BER will grow from 22 to 55 million by 2040, with new terminals. The Tagesspiegel reported that new terminals may be connected with a gondola. A soft opening date of October 2018 has been announced. We update some old stories: The man who kicked a woman down the stairs at Hermannstraße U-Bahn station in December last year was jailed for two years and four months. Our friends at Radbahn crowdfunded €31,000 to help them continue pushing for a bike path under the U1. Volksbühne's new director Chris Dearcon has taken over and will host his first event, a free 10-hour programme in the Tempelhof building on September 10. Dan will be hosting his new show, Line of Fire, every Saturday at 11.30 at the Comedy Cafe Berlin: www.facebook.com/events/506194369728432 Listen to Konrad Werner's podcast News des Nachrichtens: https://soundcloud.com/newsdesnachrichtens

This summer's bad weather is affecting local fruit supply. Yields of regional apples, pears, cherries and plums are down by about 50%, pushing prices up by 15%. In other apple news, there's controversy at the Apfelfest in Guben in south-east Brandenburg. A man is suing the organizer of the Apple Queen competition, claiming the vote was rigged in favour of a female contestant. He said voters were mislead as the winner didn't have a driver's license. English speaking waiters in Berlin are getting on the nerves of CDU politician Jens Spahn, who said they should be able to take orders in German. He also criticized Germans who talk to each other in English as being elitist. Air Berlin has officially filed for bankruptcy after 37 years in operation. Germany's second largest airline has been losing money, passengers and their luggage for years. Now several airlines are fighting to buy the scraps of Air Berlin, which owns some valuable landing spots at key airports. The airline is still operating and tickets are still valid. Come along to our next live recording on Sunday September 3 at the Comedy Cafe Berlin. Caroline is also hosting We Are Not Gemused, a stand-up show on Tuesday September 5 at Sameheads in Neukölln. This episode was presented by Caroline Clifford and Joel Dullroy, and brought to you by Radio Eins, Berlin's public broadcaster.

Meet Diana Arce, host of Politaoke, a cross between karaoke and political speeches. She hosts events where people read topical political rants while the audience boos and cheers. Diana is also part of White Guilt Cleanup, a service for people who don't know how to handle topics of race. Find out more at www.politaoke.com and www.whiteguiltcleanup.com We're live at the Mobile Kino Summer Camp at Klingemühle in Brandenburg, along with the brave folk who took a chance on the weather. There's a referendum coming up on September 24, the same day as the federal election. The question will be: should Berlin keep Tegel airport operating when BER finally opens? The no camp says Tegel will cost too much to renovate. The yes camp says it's necessary due to rising tourist traffic. Does Berlin really need more tourism? The Berlin Senate has finished a new law that ensures bicycle infrastructure will improve. There will be 50,000 new bike parking spots near public transport, including parking boxes. Bike lanes will be widened, a 100km bicycle highway will be opened, and dangerous spots will be fixed. If the Senate fails to deliver, social groups can sue to force them. Joel's got a new society startup idea: "Flat Rate Living - an all-inclusive way of life. All services provided free for 90% of your income." This episode was hosted by Jöran Mandik, Joel Dullroy and Caroline Clifford.

Meet our guest host Caroline Clifford, who will also join us at this weekend's Mobile Kino Summer Camp live recording! Over 210,000 posters are going up on the lampposts for the federal election, happening on September 24. The AFD posters manage to be both racist and sexist: "Burkas? We'd rather bikinis." We doubt they'd really be happy with streets full of half-naked women. What's a souvenir these days? A Berlin court has decided that teapots, cake slicers and cheese graters are not. A kitchenware in Mitte was fined for opening on Sundays: only tourist shops are allowed to do that. Permitted souvenirs include street maps, guidebooks, tobacco, film and camera items. When was the last time anyone bought film? Berlin's cute little squirrels are suffering from a virus that makes wounds grow on their paws. The squirrels can't hold on to trees because their fingers are stuck together. The wounds can be so painful that the poor squirrels sometimes die from shock. The condition has been named the Berliner Eichhörnchenvirus. The abbreviation "späti" has been entered into Germany's respected Duden dictionary. Also going in the dictionary is "Icke." It's all a publicity stunt as dictionaries are in decline. The U1 is running again after a few weeks of repairs, but the U6 and U7 will be affected by repair work at Mehringdamm station that will last until September 3. Join us on Sunday August 13 for a live recording at the Mobile Kino Summer Camp, taking place at Klingemühle, 100km east of Berlin. This episode was hosted by Jöran Mandik, Joel Dullroy and Caroline Clifford.

This Berlin summer continues to be a wash-out, causing floods and public transport delays. Despite the rain, the Weissensee lake in north Berlin is drying up. The operator of Strandbad Weissensee is crowdfunding €90,000 to pay for 40,000 cubic meters of water or 20 Olympic swimming pools. Berlin just had its annual Christopher Street Day pride parade, which celebrated Germany's surprise legalization of gay marriage. But as Joel points out, all things are not well for gays in Berlin. Attacks against LGBTQ increased by 10% in 2016. And gays are banned from donating blood or becoming sperm donors. Time for a new campaign - sperm donor equality! Berlin city government lost a court case against Airbnb, which is partially banned in Berlin. It had tried to force the website to hand over the names of its users, but a court ruled in Airbnb's favour because it is data is controlled from its Irish headquarters. Those illegally renting their whole flats could still get reported by your neighbours or uncovered by the city's team of host hunters. The German air traffic control authority said drones are allowed to be operated in the south-eastern end of Tempelhofer Feld, the former airport. They're not allowed to film or take photos of people without permission. Fans of unusual sports competitions should check out the Beach Völkerball World Cup. Völkerball is a strange cross between volleyball and dodgeball in which two teams of eight try and hit their opponents with a small rubber projectile. It takes place at BeachMitte near Nordbahnhof on Saturday July 29 in Berlin. This episode was presented by Joel Dullroy and Maisie Hitchcock.

Police raid Neukölln houses in search of the missing 100kg gold coin! The case of the spectacular robbery of the Big Maple Leaf coin from the Bode Museum is close to being cracked. Four men have been arrested, including one who worked as a security guard at the museum. The level of detail in the execution led to suspicions that it was an inside job. The Berlin Senate is floating extensions to several U-Bahn lines, including the U9, U1 and U7, which could run all the way to Schönefeld and the new BER airport. This might be because Tegel fans seem to be winning the PR war to keep the old airport open. These extensions would take 15 years, if approved. Fans of British royalty - get your flowers ready. William and Kate Windsor will be in Berlin on July 19. They'll visit the Brandenburg Gate, the Jewish Memorial and a children's charity in Marzahn. Berlin has just endured its most rainy June on record with 193 litres of rain per square meter three times as much as normal, leading to floods across our swampy city. Our next live recording is on August 13 as part of the Mobile Kino Summer Camp, an open air cinema festival in the woods. Go to http://www.mobilekino.de for more details. This episode was presented by Jöran Mandik and Joel Dullroy, and brought to you by RadioEins.

More than 200 Berlin police officers have been sent home from the G20 summit in Hamburg early after some were caught partying in their quarters. They were observed drinking and dancing on tables with their weapons, pissing in a row against a fence, and one couple was seen having sex in public. What might be standard behaviour for some Berliners was not acceptable in Hamburg. Berlin's fascination with its captive bears continues. Two adult pandas have arrived from China. Meng Meng and Jiao Qing will be on display in a fancy new enclosure at the Zoo Berlin from July 7. Berlin's gay pride parade, also known as Christopher Street Day or CSD, is happening on July 22. But there won't be any Alternative CSD in Kreuzberg this year as the organizing team broke apart in a dispute. A replacement DIY picnic on Mariannenplatz was also cancelled after its Facebook event got too popular. This episode was presented by Joel Dullroy and Jöran Mandik.

New York has its Highline Park. Should Berlin have a lowline bike path under the U1 tracks? We interview a team member behind the idea for the U1 Radbahn. There's controversy over plans to rename some streets in Wedding, where a citizen's jury trying to replace German colonialist names somehow selected the name of a slave trader instead. Our guest Kilian Flad tells us about the revisionist history of street names. And our friend Konrad Werner is back to talk about whether Germany has an equivalent to Jeremy Corbyn in the coming federal election.

There's been a spate of mysterious dog deaths around the Tegeler See. The cause is unclear - either a dog hater leaving poisoned food, or a bloom of dangerous blue algae in the water. Swimmers are also advised to avoid the Tegeler See, Berlin's second biggest lake. It has been almost a year since a new law was introduced forcing dog owners to carry a plastic poop bag or face a €35 fine. But so far not a single fine has been issued. The law's vague description of "suitable material" for poop collection could be at fault. There's a debate over whether a crucifix should be placed on top of the dome of the new Stadtschloss, or Humboldt Forum. Another suggestion is to install the word "Zweifel" (doubt) on the building. Joel's preference? No cross, no doubt, no Stadschloss at all. Come along to our next live recording, Sunday June 18, 17.30, at the Comedy Cafe Neukölln. This episode was presented by Jöran Mandik and Joel Dullroy, and brought to you by RadioEins.

Only 26% of Berliners get around by car, a survey found. The rest walk, ride or use public transport. Those who take buses should be aware - the BVG has announced that it is looking for a security company to start checking tickets on buses, starting November 1. That's because the city government wants the BVG to allow passengers to board buses through the rear doors to speed up departures. Berlin's first-league football team Hertha BSC are unhappy with their home ground, the Olympiastadion, which they say is too big to create an energetic atmosphere. Now the mayor Michael Müller says the city would agree to reconstruct the Olympiastadion to extend seats to the edge of the field to keep Hertha happy. It could cost €160 million and push out athletic events. Karneval der Kulturen is on this weekend. The street festival runs from June 2 to 5, while the main parade is on Sunday June 4, moving from Hermannplatz to Yorckstraße. This episode was presented by Joel Dullroy and Daniel Stern, and brought to you by RadioEins.

The new TV series 4 Blocks depicts Arabic criminal networks in Neukölln. But fiction isn't far off fact. We interview 4 Blocks writer Hanno Hackford about the real stories behind the show. You can see the show on TNT, or watch it with English subtitles at Mobile Kino. Are you scared of lakes? Can't join in the summer trips to Brandenburg? Author Jessica J. Lee decided to get over her fear of still water by swimming in a different lake every week, including winter. She joins us to give her tips on how to brave the cold. You can find her articles at: http://www.slowtravelberlin.com/wild-swimming-in-berlin/ Berlin's months-old Lidl Bike shared cycle system has deteriorated quickly due to vandalism, leaving Joel disappointed in his fellow citizens. The new rival Nextbike system has now launched, as have a new category of shared transport - shuttle buses. One shuttle company promises to get you from Rosenthaler Platz to Kottbusser Tor for €0.25. In airport news, Sixt car rental company is being fined €30,000 for interfering in the Tegel referendum by offering €10 vouchers to petition signatories. And the BER boss has taken a philosophical approach to the new airport's delays: "An airport is never finished." This episode was recorded at Comedy Cafe Berlin on May 21, with hosts Jöran Mandik, Maisie Hitchcock, Daniel Stern and Joel Dullroy. Photo by Patrick Dupuis

The official Mietspiegel rent index has been released. Average prices grew by 9.6% in the last two years, twice as much as during the previous review. The Mietspiegel determines how much landlords can charge. The City Hostel in central Berlin has been ordered to shut down because of its ties to North Korea. The hostel is next door to the North Korean embassy, which since 2004 has rented out the building for €38,000 a month. The German Foreign Ministry has ordered the hostel to close or face fines for breaching UN sanctions. The hostel operator says they will fight the order and are still taking bookings. Berlin S-Bahn ticket machines were caught in the global computer virus Wanna Cry. Many ticket machines across the city were malfunctioning for several days due to the malware. Passengers might not have noticed as S-Bahn machines are hard to use at the best of times. A project to make the Spree swimmable is progressing. The Verein Flussbad is installing a 42-meter barge near Museuminsel to test a water filtration system. If all goes to plan, we could be swimming in the Spree by the year 2025. Come along to our next live show on Sunday May 21 at the Comedy Cafe Berlin in Neukölln. Doors open at 17.30, and entry is free. This episode was presented by Joel Dullroy and Maisie Hitchcock, and brought to you by RadioEins.

This year's May Day party/protest attracted 200,000 people to Kreuzberg 36, including 10,000 demonstrators and 5,000 police. But there were hardly any public toilets outside the official Myfest area. Where people supposed to pee? Holding the door open on the S-Bahn can be injurious to your body and wallet. A young man was dragged 50 metres along the Brandenburger Tor train platform after sticking his hand in a closing door. He could also be fined or jailed. A medical research project has applied to distribute marijuana to 25,000 Berliners to test its effects. The Forschungsinitiative Cannabis would give 30 grams of weed a month to each participant. Smokers ignorant about data privacy can register online. But the study probably won't happen since its chief scientist recently quit as the study wasn't scientific enough. This episode was presented by Jöran Mandik and Daniel Stern, and brought to you by RadioEins.

The landmark Neues Kreuzberger Zentrum at Kottbusser Tor will be purchased by the Berlin city government, snatching it from the hands of private investors. The NKZ - the giant 70s construction that bridges Adalbertstraße - will be bought by the city's own housing company Gewobag for €56.5 million. It is the first major example of the government buying back large tracts of housing from the open market to balance property prices. Why is the metal sculpture in front of the Volksbühne Theater about to disappear? Konrad Werner tells us about departing intendant Frank Carstoff's decision to take the circular "Rad" with him when he begrudgingly departs. Listen to Konrad's own podcast News des Nachrichtens: https://soundcloud.com/newsdesnachrichtens Why do the escalators at Kottbusser Tor U-Bahn station run British style, with traffic on the left? Wouter Bernhardt talks about his discoveries on the U1 line. Listen to Wouter's own podcast Walrus and the Bear: http://viertausendhertz.de/walrus-and-the-bear/ Think you're addicted to your smartphone? A group of Berlin activists wants to convince you to put down your Handy. We interview two members of Radikale Anti Smartphone Front: http://rasf.eu/?lang=de Our friends at Mobile Kino are organizing the Berlin Film Nights series. Check it out at: http://www.mobilekino.de This episode was presented by Maisie Hitchcock, Jöran Mandik, Joel Dullroy and Daniel Stern, and recorded on Sunday April 23 2017 at the Comedy Cafe Berlin.

S-Bahn or U-Bahn? Take the U-Bahn if you like free Wi-Fi and fare evading. Figures from the Berlin Senat show the S-Bahn prosecuted over 35,000 repeat ticket cheaters in 2016, three times as many as the BVG. The S-Bahn checked 8.5 million passenger tickets, while the BVG only checked 5 million. Don't try it if you want a career in education. A young Berlin man has been denied a career as a teacher because his potential employer ran a police background check and found he had been caught riding public transport with a fake ticket. A labour court upheld the school's decision. After the spectacular gold coin robbery at the Bode Museum, here's another break-in. On Easter Sunday police responded to an alarm at the Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf Bürgeramt and caught two men in the building, while a third man escaped. Police said the burglars were trying to steal paper forms. Barack Obama will be visiting Berlin and will give a public address at the Brandenburger Tor on May 25. He'll be on stage with Angela Merkel at an event to mark the 500th anniversary since Martin Luther started the protestant reformation. Our next live show is at 17.30 on Sunday April 23 at the Comedy Cafe Berlin in Neukölln. This episode was presented by Joel Dullroy and Daniel Stern, and brought to you by RadioEins.

Berliners will get to vote on whether to keep Tegel open after the campaign to save the airport collected enough signatures to trigger a referendum. But even if Berlin votes yes in September, it doesn't mean that Tegel will actually stay open due to complicated legal reasons. The past March was one of the warmest in recorded history, at an average temperature of 8 degrees. The winter was also unusually warm. Bee-keepers in Berlin and Brandenburg are reporting that 40% of their hives have died as a result, due to the growth of the varroa destructor parasite. Want to take a ride on Berlin's first cable car? Head along to the International Garten Ausstellung, opening in Marzahn on April 13. The 1.5km cable car will transport guests into the garden show, and is free to ride with a ticket to the IGA. It also gives a great view of the socialist Plattenbauten of East Berlin. More here: https://iga-berlin-2017.de If you haven't yet, have a listen to our last hour-long live show. We had a great interview with a restaurant owner who was attacked by anti-gentrification activists in Kreuzberg. Find it on our website: http://www.radiospaetkauf.com This episode of Radio Spaetkauf was presented by Joel Dullroy and Maisie Hitchcock, and brought to you by RadioEins, Berlin's public broadcaster.

Restauranteur Clare D'Orsay is a victim of anti-gentrification violence. She has been unfairly targeted by protesters angry about the potential eviction of Cafe Filou in Kreuzberg. Her restaurant Vertikal is next door. On this show Clare talks about the attacks against her business at the hands of misguided protesters. Clare says she's been spat at, pushed to the ground and had her windows smashed by an organized group for being a foreigner opening a nice looking restaurant. Investors Charles Skinner also joined the show to announce he's reached an agreement with Cafe Filou and will allow them to stay. Mr. Skinner said he decided to renew the contract after appeals from Green party politician Hans-Christian Ströble and Ms. D'Orsay. "In the end we saw reason," Mr. Skinner said. Maisie is one of 480 British citizens trying to apply for a German passport to ensure she can stay after Brexit. Unsurprisingly she's run into bureaucratic hurdles. Mark Whiley from Forward Britain joined the show to talk about what despairing Brits can do to create political pressure back home to try to mitigate the effect of Brexit. Visit http://www.forwardbritain.de This show was recorded live at Comedy Cafe Berlin on Sunday March 19 2017, and was hosted by Maisie Hitchcock, Jöran Mandik, Joel Dullroy and Daniel Stern. Subscribe to Radio Spaetkauf on iTunes: http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/radio-spaetkauf-berlin-podcast/id571999392 Support Radio Spaetkauf by donating a euro a month: https://radiospaetkauf.steadyhq.com/en

Hang on to your wallet on the U6 and U8. Crime stats show they're the hottest U-Bahn lines for pickpockets. While wallet theft is up, crime rates in Berlin have remained stable - not bad, since the city is growing. Bicycle activists have long complained that Berlin's €10 parking fines are too cheap. Now a study has found it costs the city €10.38 to process a parking ticket. Should the city charge more, or give up issuing fines? Strikes are continuing at Berlin airports, where workers are demanding an immediate €1 pay rise per hour, while ground service companies are offering €0.27 a year over three years. Ryanair has escalated the situation by flying in a plane load of Irish strike breakers. Hear more about drama at the BER airport at our next live show at 5.30pm, Sunday March 19 at the Comedy Cafe Berlin in Neukölln. This episode was hosted by Jöran Mandik and Daniel Stern, and presented by RadioEins.

Ever wanted to make a citizen's arrest? Don't try it in Berlin. A local politician attempted to rally an U-Bahn carriage to help detain an alleged pickpocket, but was ignored by his fellow U8 passengers. New fatter U-Bahn carriages are now being rolled out on some lines. The new model type is nicknamed the "Icke." That name has nothing to do with David Icke, the conspiracy theorist whose speaking event was recently cancelled by Berlin's Maritim Hotel, which has declared itself politically neutral. Ever wanted to try out stand-up comedy? Dan is hosting a new open mike called Slingshot! held each Wednesday at Kupfer Bar in Mitte. He'll even give you a few tips. This episode was presented by Maisie Hitchcock and Daniel Stern, and brought to you by RadioEins.

How to make Berlin's buses run faster? The city has set up a taskforce to come up with ideas. One of them is to allow passengers to board on the rear doors to save time. The BVG doesn't like the plan. Our own Dan Stern has a few suggestions for the taskforce, one involving the to-be-constructed Wippe see-saw monument. Two major transport tunnel projects are delayed due to groundwater flooding - no surprise, since Berlin is built on a swamp. The S21 connection between Gesundbrunnen and Hauptbahnhof, and the U5 extension under Museuminsel are both experiencing water problems. Again, Dan has a suggestion - an underground ferry system. Berlin's latest anti-gentrification protest is against the eviction of Cafe Filou, a French bakery in Kreuzberg being kicked out by British investors who don't like the croissants. Could more of these kinds of investors be on their way to Berlin with the planned relocation of Lloyd's bank to the German capital? Radio Spaetkauf is a listener-supported podcast. If you like the show, why not donate a small monthly amount to keep the news coming? Go to: www.radiospaetkauf.com/donate This live show was presented by Maisie Hitchcock, Jöran Mandik, Joel Dullroy and Daniel Stern. Recorded live at Comedy Cafe Berlin on Sunday Feb 19, 2017.

Berlin workers go on strike! Airport staff shut down Tegel and Schönefeld terminals on Feb 8 demanding a pay rise from €11 to €12 hour. Kindergarten staff went on strike on Feb 15, causing every second kita to close. They're seeking equal pay with Brandenburg kita workers, who get up to €400 more per month. Berlin is to get a new monument that is more like an amusement ride. The so-called Wippe, or see-saw, will be a moving platform that is supposed to reflect the motion of democracy. Federal politicians finally agreed to fund the Wippe after years of back and forth. No fixed opening date has been announced. The famous Berghain nightclub will open a new dance floor on March. Called Säule, it will feature dark experimental electronic music, and provide the club with space to squeeze in more guests. Come to our next live show! It's on Sunday Feb 19, 17.30, at the Comedy Cafe Berlin in Neukölln. Entry is free. This episode was presented by Jöran Mandik and Joel Dullroy, and brought to you by RadioEins.

German federal police carried out an undercover sting targeting ticket inspectors on the Berlin S-Bahn. Five inspectors were busted fining tourists and pocketing the cash. If you're caught, ask for inspectors' ID and always get a receipt! Six months in prison for smoking on your balcony? A Hellersdorf woman has been ordered by a court to not smoke outside between 8pm and 6am, or face a fine or jail time. Her 20 cigarettes a night were bothering her neighbour. Fritz is the new Knut. Tierpark's 3-month polar bear cub has been named Fritz, short for Friedrich, which intones peace. He's half Russian. Event tip: Australian musician Darren Cross writes songs inspired by Berlin. He's playing a silent concert at Ofen Bar on Feb 7, where you wear headphones to hear the music. More here: https://www.facebook.com/events/1079325368844281/ This episode was presented by Maisie Hitchcock and Daniel Stern, and brought to you by RadioEins.

How big is Berlin's marijuana market? We interview podcaster Diane Arapovich who investigated the weed economy and found Berlin is the greenhouse of northern Europe, supplying even Amsterdam. Listen to her full German language podcast Die Stadt und Das Gras for more: http://www.radioeins.de/archiv/podcast/die_stadt_und_das_gras.html Was it fair for Andrej Holm to be fired from Humboldt University, just days after resigning under pressure because of his brief Stasi past? Joel and guest Konrad Werner think not. The academic has spent his adult life fighting to make housing affordable for poor people, a career that surely redeems his youthful error. This year marks the end of an era at Berlin's Volksbühne Theater. Long-time intendant Frank Castorf will be replaced by Tate Modern director Chris Dearcon. Konrad Werner explains why the Berlin theater scene is upset over the switch. You've got until summer to get along to Volksbühne and catch one of the last Castorf productions. Radio Spaetkauf needs your support! We're asking our audience to donate at least one euro a month to help us bring you more local Berlin news: https://radiospaetkauf.steadyhq.com/en Thanks to Mobile Kino for giving us free movies. Check out their Xavier Dolan program: https://www.facebook.com/mobilekino/

Berlin's R2G coalition is in crisis after the mayor Michael Müller (SPD) forced the resignation of Andrej Holm, who had been picked by Die Linke as the city's housing secretary. The sociologist was a controversial choice due to his radical anti-investor ideas, and also because when he was 18 years old he trained to become an officer for the Stasi, the secret police of East Germany. Holm has also now been fired from Humboldt University for failing to fully declare his Stasi past. Was it fair? Listen to our next live recording for a full discussion. The KaDeWe department store has been robbed yet again. On January 14 axe-wielding bandits broke through the doors, smashed glass cabinets and stole jewelry. In robbers held up KaDeWe during opening hours and sprayed teargas as they stole €800,000 worth of expensive watches. And in 2009, burglars broke in and stole jewelry worth €2 million. Evidence from a dropped glove led to the arrest of a pair of twins, but neither could convicted as their DNA was too similar. Police discovered the dismembered body of a 90-year old pensioner in the freezer of his apartment in Prenzlauer Berg. The body had been there for ten years. The neighbours said that they complained about a smell coming from the flat, but were ignored by both the building manager and the police. A man has been charged with the pensioner's murder. It's alleged he was making withdrawals from this bank account the whole time. Come along to our show on Sunday January 22, 6pm at the Comedy Cafe Berlin in Neukölln. This episode was presented by Joel Dullroy and Jöran Mandik, and brought to you by RadioEins, Berlin's public broadcaster.

The new year started in Berlin with 16 people hospitalized from fireworks injuries. The number of emergency calls was down by 12%. If you think Berlin was chaotic, in Paris more than 650 cars were set on fire. Last month video footage of a man kicking a woman in an U-Bahn station led to a suspect's arrest. Since then police have been releasing a steady stream of images from attacks and robberies. Previously, they were reluctant to do so for privacy and legal reasons. Even the mayor Michael Müller has changed his mind about video surveillance. He says he's now open to more cameras in public places. The BSR will be collecting old Christmas trees from January 7 until January 20. You can find a full list of districts and dates here: http://bit.ly/2hTqQu4 In case you're wondering what happens to old trees, they get used as biofuel to power the city, and are given to elephants at the zoo to eat. Come along to our next live show on Sunday January 22, 6pm, at the Comedy Cafe Berlin. This show was presented by Joel Dullroy and Daniel Stern, and brought to you by RadioEins.

Following the terrible Christmas market truck incident at Breitscheidplatz, all other markets were told to keep their music down. Does staying quiet actually achieve anything? We're going to carry on enjoying Gluhwein rather than respond with fear. What's changing in Berlin in 2017? We'll get an extra public holiday, pay more for public transport, and get a small raise in hourly rates - unless you're a freelancer. Looking for something to do over the Christmas break? Why not volunteer at a refugee shelter. Find one near you at www.volunteer-planner.org. Thanks for listening to Radio Spaetkauf in 2016! This episode is presented by Joel Dullroy and Maisie Hitchcock, and is brought to you by RadioEins, Berlin's public broadcaster.