The Beat

The Beat Zürich
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Struggling to follow local news in Zurich? You're not alone. The Beat brings you the story behind the news, unpacking the issues shaping Zurich with the journalists who know them best. Each month, hosts Katarina and Jeanne sit down with local reporters to explore what happened, why it matters, and what it reveals about the city you call home. From housing and childcare to culture, politics and technology, The Beat turns local reporting into conversations you can understand, and join. Get new episodes in your inbox: https://www.thebeatzurich.ch/

Episodes

  1. 27 Aug

    How Zurich’s growth became an immigration debate with Philipp Loser, Tages Anzeiger

    More than 100 years ago, right here in Zurich, a Swiss welfare administrator coined a word for the fear of "too many foreigners." That word shaped a political movement in the 1970s and this year, more than 50 years later, Switzerland voted on capping its population at 10 million. Host Katarina Hagstedt speaks with Philipp Loser, journalist at Tages-Anzeiger and co-author of Heute Abstimmung, about the the century-old roots of Switzerland's immigration debates, and why growth, housing, and belonging keep getting tangled into the same argument. Read Philipp's original article here: https://www.tagesanzeiger.ch/10-millionen-initiative-warum-die-schweiz-so-oft-ueber-einwanderung-abstimmt-213007561941 His book "Heute Abstimmung" : https://www.limmatverlag.ch/programm/titel/heute-abstimmung.html Watch SRF's documentary about the Schwarzenbach era here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4AUtkxUq9M0 Sign up for the next The Beat event here: https://www.thebeatzurich.ch/ The music in this episode came from Blue Dot Sessions.

  2. Trailer

    Welcome to The Beat

    The Beat is a monthly podcast that helps you understand the news stories shaping Zurich. Each episode takes one topic people in Zurich want to understand and explores it with the local journalist who knows it best. Together, we go beyond the headlines to uncover the context, perspectives and conversations behind what's really happening in the city. Think of it as grabbing a beer with the journalist behind the story. Because understanding a city takes more than headlines. It takes context, curiosity and conversation.

  3. 30 Jul

    The Zurich journalists who took on Palantir with Marguerite Meyer, Republik

    A few beers at Idaplatz in Zurich turned into a year-long investigation, and a lawsuit from one of the world's most powerful tech companies. A group of Zurich reporters spent more than a year investigating why Palantir, the controversial US data analytics firm, had failed to win contracts with the Swiss government. After publishing their findings, the company sued. Host Katarina Hagstedt speaks with Marguerite Meyer, one of the journalists behind the investigation, about freedom of information requests, legal pressure, and why investigative journalism matters for everyone living in Zurich. Read the investigation in English here: https://www.republik.ch/2026/02/18/how-tenaciously-palantir-courted-switzerland Watch the SRF documentary here: https://www.srf.ch/play/tv/reporter/video/palantir-und-die-schweiz---zwischen-daten-und-macht?urn=urn:srf:video:feb9338c-8f81-4a78-a7cf-ac99b44fdab3 Learn more about the WAV Research Collective: https://wav.info/ Do you have a tip for one of the journalists of this episode? Get in touch via Linkedin: Adrienne Fichter: ​​https://www.linkedin.com/in/adriennefichter/ Marguerite Meyer: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marguerite-meyer-a828539/ Balz Oertl: https://www.linkedin.com/in/johannesoertli/ Audio from Republik: Alisa Fäh. The music in this episode came from Blue Dot Sessions.

  4. 9 Jul

    The new landlords of Zurich with Dominik Fischer, Tsüri.ch

    When a small independent bookstore and ten families on Bertastrasse receive eviction notices, it reveals a much bigger story about how ownership in Zurich is changing—and what that means for the people who call the city home. Host Katarina Hagstedt speaks with Dominik Fischer, reporter at Tsüri.ch, about one building in Kreis 3 that opens a window onto Zurich's housing crisis. Here is a link to Dominik's original article: https://tsri.ch/a/leerkuendigung-im-kreis-3-buchladen-faellt-der-spekulation-zum-opfer The music in this episode came from Blue Dot Sessions.

  5. 9 Jul

    The end of the Mauch era with Isabelle Heusser, NZZ

    Zurich's mayor, Corine Mauch, led the city for sixteen years. During that time, Zurich became wealthier, more international, and increasingly difficult to afford. Looking back at her time in office turns out to be a surprisingly good way to understand the city we live in today. Host Katarina Hagstedt speaks with Isabelle Heusser, a local politics reporter at NZZ, about how Zurich changed, what "a city for everyone" really meant, and the biggest challenges facing the city's next chapter. Read Isabelle's exit interview with Corine Mauch here: https://www.nzz.ch/zuerich/zuerich-stadtpraesidentin-corine-mauch-ueber-banken-schauspielhaus-und-steuern-ld.1875317 The music in this episode came from Blue Dot Sessions.

  6. 2 Jul ·  Bonus

    Why We Started The Beat

    In this short introduction, Katarina and Jeanne share the story behind The Beat: why they started it, the conversations that inspired it, and why they believe understanding a city takes more than headlines. After speaking to dozens of people across Zurich, they realised many people shared the same experience: they could follow the news, but often missed the context that makes it meaningful. The Beat grew out of that simple idea, to bring listeners the story behind the story through conversations with the journalists reporting on the issues shaping Zurich. Welcome to The Beat.

Trailer

About

Struggling to follow local news in Zurich? You're not alone. The Beat brings you the story behind the news, unpacking the issues shaping Zurich with the journalists who know them best. Each month, hosts Katarina and Jeanne sit down with local reporters to explore what happened, why it matters, and what it reveals about the city you call home. From housing and childcare to culture, politics and technology, The Beat turns local reporting into conversations you can understand, and join. Get new episodes in your inbox: https://www.thebeatzurich.ch/

Information

  • Creator
    The Beat Zürich
  • Episodes
    6
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © The Beat Zürich
  • Show Website
    The Beat