Spaßbremse Spaßbremse

The economic news from Germany is bad. But is the reality as dire as it's portrayed? To find out if Germany is really the "sick man of Europe" again, Ted speaks with Professor Sebastian Dullien of the Hans Böckler Foundation's Macroeconomic Policy Institute (IMK). They discuss the problems Germany faces and what it needs to do to escape them.

For background, listen to Episode 1 on Hartz IV here and Episode 8 on the Schuldenbremse here. 

Prof. Dullien's podcast is here: https://www.boeckler.de/de/podcasts-22421.htm 

And the Adam Tooze piece Ted referenced at the end is here: https://adamtooze.substack.com/p/chartbook-71-the-inflation-debate 

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Follow Spaßbremse on Twitter (⁠@spassbremse_pod⁠). Music by ⁠Lee Rosevere⁠. Art by Franziska Schneider.

Acknowledging and atoning for the crimes of the Third Reich is now an essential part of Germany's national identity. This process is comparatively straightforward for ethnic Germans, whose family members may have been complicit during the Nazi era. But where does this "emotional social contract" leave post-WWII immigrants to Germany, particularly those of Muslim backgrounds?



To explore these tensions, Ted speaks with Esra Özyürek, professor at Cambridge University, about her recent book Subcontractors of Guilt: Holocaust Memory and Muslim Belonging in Postwar Germany. They discuss the ways in which Muslim-Germans navigate the complex politics of victimhood and perpetration, often in ways that contradict official narratives.

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Support Spaßbremse on Patreon here: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.patreon.com/spassbremse⁠⁠⁠⁠



Co-hosted by Ted (⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@ted_knudsen⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠) and Michelle (⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@shhellgames⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠). Edited by Nick of ⁠⁠⁠⁠@cornerspaeti⁠⁠⁠⁠

Follow Spaßbremse on Twitter (⁠⁠⁠⁠@spassbremse_pod⁠⁠⁠⁠). Music by Lee Rosevere. Art by Franziska Schneider.

What explains Germany's steadfast support for Israel? Even as Israel's response to the October 7th Hamas attacks has drawn increasing international condemnation, Germany has doubled down on support, proclaiming that Israel's security is its Staatsräson and cracking down on speech deemed insufficiently supportive of Israel.

To answer this question from a historical perspective, Ted speaks with Daniel Marwecki, a lecturer at Hong Kong University, about his book Germany and Israel: Whitewashing and Statebuilding. He argues that German support for Israel did not always stem from guilt and the need to atone for historical crimes, but instead from clear-eyed Realpolitik. A German version of the book comes out in early 2024.



-Susan Neiman in the NYRB on Germany, memory culture, and Israel https://www.nybooks.com/articles/2023/10/19/historical-reckoning-gone-haywire-germany-susan-neiman/

-Read Daniel's piece in Le Monde Diplomatique here: https://mondediplo.com/2020/05germany-israel\

-Haaretz on German-Israeli history: https://www.haaretz.com/2015-05-12/ty-article/.premium/the-complicated-israel-germany-love-affair/0000017f-dbbe-d3a5-af7f-fbbe05ad0000?v=1699498553307

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Support Spaßbremse on Patreon here: ⁠⁠⁠https://www.patreon.com/spassbremse⁠⁠⁠



Co-hosted by Ted (⁠⁠⁠⁠@ted_knudsen⁠⁠⁠⁠) and Michelle (⁠⁠⁠⁠@shhellgames⁠⁠⁠⁠). Edited by Nick of ⁠⁠⁠@cornerspaeti⁠⁠⁠

Follow Spaßbremse on Twitter (⁠⁠⁠@spassbremse_pod⁠⁠⁠). Music by Lee Rosevere. Art by Franziska Schneider.

German media and politicians say that the country is experiencing another "migration crisis." But has it ever not been?



To explore the history of migration politics in the BRD, Ted speaks with Lauren Stokes (@laurenstokes), a historian at Northwestern University, about her book Fear of the Family (2022) and article "The Permanent Refugee Crisis in the Federal Republic of Germany" (2019). They discuss the recurring arguments and contradictory policy responses that surround the German migration debate.



-Buy the book here: https://global.oup.com/academic/product/fear-of-the-family-9780197558416?cc=gb&lang=en&



-Read the article here: https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/central-european-history/article/permanent-refugee-crisis-in-the-federal-republic-of-germany-1949/137BEF2AD9044E733AC147E86C62F638

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Support Spaßbremse on Patreon here: ⁠⁠https://www.patreon.com/spassbremse⁠⁠



Co-hosted by Ted (⁠⁠⁠@ted_knudsen⁠⁠⁠) and Michelle (⁠⁠⁠@shhellgames⁠⁠⁠). Edited by Nick of ⁠⁠@cornerspaeti⁠⁠

Follow Spaßbremse on Twitter (⁠⁠@spassbremse_pod⁠⁠). Music by Lee Rosevere. Art by Franziska Schneider.

What is the NATO alliance really for? Grey Anderson's recent book Natopolitanism offers some hints, and the answer is (shockingly) not always what proponents of the Alliance say it is.



On this episode, we speak with Grey—an editor and historian based in New York—about the book, the history of NATO, and what the future of the transatlantic relationship might look like.



Buy his book here: https://www.versobooks.com/en-gb/products/3093-natopolitanism

Read his NLR piece here: https://newleftreview.org/issues/ii140/articles/grey-anderson-weapon-of-power-matrix-of-management

Read his NYT piece here: https://www.nytimes.com/2023/07/11/opinion/nato-summit-vilnius-europe.html

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Support Spaßbremse on Patreon here: ⁠https://www.patreon.com/spassbremse⁠



Co-hosted by Ted (⁠⁠@ted_knudsen⁠⁠) and Michelle (⁠⁠@shhellgames⁠⁠). Edited by Nick of ⁠@cornerspaeti⁠

Follow Spaßbremse on Twitter (⁠@spassbremse_pod⁠). Music by Lee Rosevere. Art by Franziska Schneider.

During a demoralizing year for Twitter, there's been one notable bright spot: the relentless and inspired posting of Austrian economist Gunther Fehlinger (@GunterFehlinger). With political opinions (and matching selfies) ranging from #exRussia and #exChina to the need for Austria to join NATO, Gunther has risen quickly to become one of the world's most legendary commentators on geopolitics (my favorite "NATO is our sunscreen" Tweet is here).



To further explore Fehlinger Thought, we speak with Gunther about how he transformed from a free market economist to one of the most passionate advocates for the expansion of the US-led world order, even daring to cheer on the dissolution of many major world powers. We also chat Balkan food and how to get the best flag pins. Follow him for all this thoughts here: https://twitter.com/GunterFehlinger (also on YouTube).



Listen to Corner Späti's profile of him here: https://www.operationglad.io/247



Get your tickets for our live show in Berlin, (October 14th at noon) here: https://www.podfestberlin.com/event-details/halfdaypass-1014-am.

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Support Spaßbremse on Patreon here: https://www.patreon.com/spassbremse



Co-hosted by Ted (⁠@ted_knudsen⁠) and Michelle (⁠@shhellgames⁠). Edited by Nick of @cornerspaeti

Follow Spaßbremse on Twitter (@spassbremse_pod). Music by Lee Rosevere. Art by Franziska Schneider.