Spaßbremse Spaßbremse

In honor of International Worker's Day, this episode features Autumn Chen, designer of the online game "Social Democracy: an Alternate History" to discuss how the late Weimar period could have gone differently--perhaps ending in an SPD or even KPD-led government. They explore this period through the lens of the game and also talk about the role of computer games in history education more broadly.

Thanks to all the Patreon patrons for making this May Day special episode possible. Stay safe out there and happy May Day!

Follow Autumn's game site here: https://red-autumn.itch.io/

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Follow Spaßbremse on Twitter (⁠⁠@spassbremse_pod⁠⁠). Music by ⁠⁠Lee Rosevere⁠⁠. Art by Franziska Schneider. Support us on Patreon here: https://www.patreon.com/spassbremse.

Boeing's myriad crises are well known, but what explains the success of its (relatively) new European rival, Airbus? To find out, Ted speaks with aviation analyst Scott Hamilton about the history of the firm, Germany's role in it, and what has allowed Airbus to overtake Boeing. They also discuss the different approaches toward the aircraft manufacturing business on both sides of the Atlantic and ask what it says about their respective economies. Finally, they explore the future of "sustainable" aviation and the rise of Chinese competition.

Buy Scott's book here: https://www.12spublications.com/

Check out Leeham News and Analysis here: https://leehamnews.com/

Read about Strauß and aviation here: https://aviationtrivia.blogspot.com/2015/05/franz-josef-strauss-bavarian-politician.html

Read Airbus on it's own history: https://www.airbus.com/en/who-we-are/our-history/commercial-aircraft-history/trouble-and-strife-1968-1969

FT on the rise of COMAC: https://www.ft.com/content/19319a2f-b913-4711-a94b-7915248ee67a

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Follow Spaßbremse on Twitter (⁠⁠@spassbremse_pod⁠⁠). Music by ⁠⁠Lee Rosevere⁠⁠. Art by Franziska Schneider. Support us on Patreon here https://www.patreon.com/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.