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“He saw the remains of his father dug up again.” That was the traumatic experience of one man in a village which was forcibly relocated due to coal mining. It was told to us by Christopher Laumanns, who helped found the group Alle Dörfer Bleiben to fight on behalf of villages threatened by fossil fuel extraction. In Episode 2 of Sticking Point, Izzy and Anne-Marie hear the stories of pain and anger that inspire Germany’s climate movement activists.
Tadzio Müller discusses how place-based movements can break through ideology and make things more real, something that Ende Gelände was very effective in doing. While a lot of this work took place on the interpersonal level, activists like Annemarie Botzky from Extinction Rebellion and Clara Duvigneau from Fridays for Future were able to raise public consciousness and force politicians to agree to goals.
But then, the corona pandemic hit. What do climate activists do when they’re not allowed to bring people together on the streets? Botzky and Duvigneau describe how their respective groups have handled the change in momentum. Journalist Paul Hockenos and Jérémie Gagné from the More in Common thinktank help to contextualize their impact.
About Sticking Point:
Izzy Choksey and Anne-Marie Harrison take a journey through Germany’s climate movement in this Radio Spaetkauf series. Sticking Point meets the people inside Germany’s climate movement: from the tactics of the anti-nuclear campaigns, to activists clambering onto coal excavators, striking students and people gluing their hands to roads. We find out what motivates activists and why they are willing  to use increasingly radical means to force change.
Credits:
Editing: Anne-Marie Harrison
Producing: Izzy Choksey and Anne-Marie Harrison
Script: Izzy Choksey and Anne-Marie Harrison
Technical Support: Daniel Stern
Art Work: Daniel Stern
Additional Support: Joel Dullroy
Music: Tom Evans
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Support:
Help us keep making podcasts and mini-series! Donate now.

Will Berliners survive the apocalypse? Should we even try? Ben Knight filmed his quest to deal with climate crisis angst. His film "We're All Going To Die" screened at Lakeside Film Festival. Ben joins us for a live recording in the rain. Find a screening here: https://wereallgoingtodiefilm.com/
Berlin's new conservative government passed its first 100 days. They made lots of threats against bicycles, and cancelled 3 of 19 planned bike lanes. Budgets for local councils were cut, threatening services for schools, parks and Christmas markets. How much damage is the CDU-SPD doing, or is their bark worse than their bite?
Germany's media have started calling Columbiabad a "problem pool" after a scuffle broke out between young men. The pool shut down for a week and the city started demanding visitors show their ID to get in. Was it a racist overreaction? Neo-nazis at other pools don't get national media attention.
Want to install a solar panel on your balcony? The city is offering €500 funding for renters to generate their own power. You need permission from your Hausverwaltung, and can apply here: https://www.ibb-business-team.de/steckersolargeraete
And here's where you can buy a Balkonkraftwerk once your funding is approved: www.sonnenrepublik.de
Want to join in NABU's annual bug count? Sign up here: https://www.nabu.de/tiere-und-pflanzen/aktionen-und-projekte/insektensommer/index.html
This episode is presented by Dan Stern, Joel Dullroy and Ben Knight.

In this miniseries, Izzy Choksey and Anne-Marie Harrison take a journey through the main waves of Germany's climate movement. We meet the people behind the headlines: from the tactics of the anti-nuclear movement, and activists clambering onto coal excavators in the early 00s, to striking school children and folks gluing their hands onto roads. We find out what motivates activists and why they are willing to turn to increasingly radical means to force change.

Episode #1: From Nein Danke Nuclear to Coal Isn’t Sexy

Climate activists today are redefining civil disobedience, but how did we get to young Germans gluing their hands to busy autobahns and throwing soup at art? To understand that, Izzy and Anne-Marie take us back to Germany’s famously effective anti-nuclear movement. Regine Richter of Urgewald, a fossil fuel divestment organization, traces the anti-nuclear movement from the 1970s and climate journalist Paul Hockenos historicizes the climate movement’s modern-day tactics.

By 2014, climate activists took the fight directly to the coal mines. This is how the group Ende Gelände made the movement sexy, says German climate activist Tadzio Müller, by stopping “insane, apocalyptic machines” from pillaging the earth—even if only for a day. Being harassed and humiliated by cops during these occupations is what made Christopher Laumanns forge ahead, growing Ende Gelände and getting the attention of the German press. A new era of climate activism in Germany had dawned.

Credits: 

Editing: Anne-Marie Harrison
Producing: Izzy Choksey and Anne-Marie Harrison
Script: Izzy Choksey and Anne-Marie Harrison
Technical Support: Daniel Stern
Art Work: Daniel Stern
Additional Support: Joel Dullroy
Music: Tom Evans

Listen:

Listen and follow on Spotify
Listen and follow on Apple Podcasts

Support:

Help us keep making podcasts and min-series! Donate now.

Cyclists, get ready to ring your bells. The new city government wants to shrink bike lanes, and is turning car-free zones into roads. We hear about the new war on bikes under the CDU transport senator Manja Schreiner.

What hope is there for the referendum that sought to expropriate apartments from big private landlords? We get an update about Deutsche Wohnen und Co Enteignen from our friend Wouter Bernhard.

Do you work for a tech company in Berlin? Do you sometimes wonder if your startup boss is giving you all your rights? Do you know what to do if you think you’re being screwed? To tell us how tech workers can fight for their rights is Yonatan Miller from Berlin Tech Workers Coalition.

Berlin’s former top football Hertha have officially failed and fallen out of the top league. Our sports expert Jöran Mandik tells us about this epic sporting tragedy, and the incredible rise of Berlin's other team FC Union.

This episode is hosted by Matilde Kaiser, Izzy Choksey, Jöran Mandik, Joel Dullroy and Daniel Stern. Research by Sebastian Filip. Edited by Trevor Silverstein. Thanks to our listeners who support us with a monthly donation via Steady! Please consider contributing here.


Check out athleticgreens.com/spaetkauf now! Try AG1 completely risk-free with a 90-day money-back guarantee, and get a free year’s supply of Vitamin D3+K2 for immune support & 5 convenient travel packs with your first AG1 order! For health information about AG1 and what we have to offer visit: https://athleticgreens.com/spaetkauf

We stress the importance of a varied and balanced diet and a healthy lifestyle. Keep out of reach of children. Not suitable for children and adolescents under 18 years, pregnant or nursing women. Do not exceed the recommended daily intake.

Berlin is about to get conservative. The Christian Democrats have taken control of our once lefty, greeny, progressive and mismanaged city. The new CDU mayor is Kai Wegner, and he’s already off to a bad start. Berlin's parliament took an unprecedented three rounds of voting to elect him, despite his coalition having a majority. That means some within his own ranks aren't happy with him in power, and could cause trouble by refusing to pass legislation.

Was the New Election Justified?

How did the CDU come to power? They won 28.2% of the vote in the February 2023 re-election. They invited the SPD (which won 18.4% of votes) to join in a coalition. Together the CDU and SPD have 46.6% of votes and 82 of 159 seats in parliament. But the previous coalition of SPD, Greens (18.4%) and die Linke (12.2%) together had 49% of votes and taken 90 seats. Put simply, the old R2G (or G2R) coalition could have continued, and would have represented more voters.

Why did the 2023 election happen at all? Joel read the court decision which overturned the previous 2021 'marathon' election and found few facts to support the claim that it was terminally flawed. You can read the verdict for yourself here: https://gesetze.berlin.de/bsbe/document/KVRE008452215

Joel's take: The 2021 election shouldn't have been re-run, and the 2023 coalition isn't democratically supported.

How Berlin is Becoming a Psychedelics Hotspot

Several major medical trials are underway at Berlin's Charite hospital using psilocybin and MDMA to treating depression and PTSD. And plenty of Berliners are conducting their own experiments with micro-dosing. Our guest is Anne Philippi, host of The New Health Club podcast, which dives into the emerging field of psychedelic therapy. Listen to her show on Apple Podcasts here.

Try Athletic Greens!

Check out athleticgreens.com/spaetkauf now, try AG1 completely risk-free with a 90-day money-back guarantee, and get a free year's supply of Vitamin D3+K2 for immune support & 5 convenient travel packs with your first AG1 order! For health information about AG1 and what we have to offer, visit: athleticgreens.com/spaetkauf
Reference is made to the importance of a varied and balanced diet and a healthy lifestyle. Keep out of reach of children. Not suitable for children and adolescents under 18 years, pregnant or nursing women. Do not exceed the recommended daily intake.

Episode Credits

This episode was recorded live at Selina Mitte: https://www.selina.com/germany/berlin-mitte/

Hosts: Joel Dullroy, Izzy Choksey, Dan Stern. Producers: Anne-Marie Harrison, Sebastian Filip.

Thanks to our listeners who support us with a monthly donation via Steady! Please consider contributing here.

Jöran and Matilde outline the underground market which is making it difficult for psychotherapists to treat patients under public health insurance. But, there’s a work-around to getting psychotherapy covered! Find out what this magic word is on this episode, and read all about it in the current cover story for ExBerliner Magazine. 
 
Want to share your story? Write to us here at hallo@radiospaetkauf.com or leave a voice message here.
Terminology:
Bedarfsplanung: formal coverage plan made to ensure sufficient health service coverage across Germany, according to the need in each region.
Gesetzliche Krankenkassen: Statutory health insurance funds, Germany’s publicly-mandated privately-run insurers, covering around 90% of residents. They fund some mental healthcare costs for members.
Kassensitze: An insurance-funded therapy license for therapists.
Kostenerstattungsverfahren: cost reimbursement procedure.
Sprechstunden: Trial sessions.
Types of Therapy:
Psychoanalysis: The original Freudian analysis.
Tiefenpsychologische fundierte Psychotherapie: Classic talk therapy, finding out where patterns and issues come from.
Verhaltenstherapie: Cognitive behavioural therapy, working on changing your behaviour.
Systemische Therapie: A combination of talk therapy and cognitive behavioural therapy.
EMDR: Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing, especially for PTSD.
Show Notes:
Jöran tried Berlin Institute for Psychotherapie and Psychoanalyse (BIPP): https://bipp-berlin.de/
Others went straight to a Hausarzt (a general doctor). But you can get an initial assessment appointment by calling: 116 117.
Credits:
Get Help Berlin is created, written, and presented by Matilde Keizer and Jöran Mandik. Production, writing and editing by Anne-Marie Harrison. Voiceovers by Dan Stern. Music is by Ducks! and Tom Evans. Artwork is by Molly Rose Dyson. This is a production of Radio Spaetkauf, Berlin’s news podcast.
Please support us with a one-off or monthly donation! https://www.radiospaetkauf.com/donate/
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