We've discussed Germany's relationship with Israel and Palestine from several different angles on the show. How can we sum it all up? To offer his perspective, Prof. Dirk Moses outlines the five elements of what he calls the "German Catechism." He and Ted examine its five elements, how it developed, and the ways in which it has evolved after two years Hamas' October 7th attacks and Israel's subsequent assault on Gaza.
-Visit Dirk's webpage here: https://www.dirkmoses.com/
-Read his "Catechism" essay here: https://geschichtedergegenwart.ch/the-german-catechism/
-Read the "Education after Gaza" piece here: https://blnreview.de/en/ausgaben/2025-09/a-dirk-moses-education-after-gaza-after-education-after-auschwitz
(this was a light edit becuase I wanted to get it out quickly so might be rougher than usual. Will be back soon with the start of the "Why does Germany exist?" series.)
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Follow Spaßbremse on Twitter (@spassbremse_pod). Hosted and edited by Ted. Music by Lee Rosevere. Art by Franziska Schneider.
Support us on Patreon here: https://www.patreon.com/spassbremse
Why does Germany exist? The question isn't as simple as it might seem. To answer this massive question—and several related ones—Ted is embarking on a multi-part series that explores how Germany came to be, from the Romans to the Reichsbürgerbewegung and Caesar to the CDU. This short episode introduces the series, with about a dozen more to follow!
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Follow Spaßbremse on Twitter (@spassbremse_pod). Hosted and produced by Ted. Music by Lee Rosevere. Art by Franziska Schneider.
Support us on Patreon here: https://www.patreon.com/spassbremse
What's going on in the corrupt and captivating world of sports? To get an update, Berlin-based journalist Dave Braneck comes back on the pod to discuss the rise of women's football/soccer, various corrupt dealings in the men's game, and why American sports are colonizing Germany.
-Follow Dave here: https://x.com/braneck
-Read Dave's work here: https://www.davebraneck.com/work
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Follow Spaßbremse on Twitter (@spassbremse_pod). Hosted by Ted. Edited by Nick. Music by Lee Rosevere. Art by Franziska Schneider.
Support us on Patreon here: https://www.patreon.com/spassbremse
The politics of memory is everywhere in Germany. To discuss how Germany selectively uses the history of WWII and the Cold War--and how the memories of these events are invoked abroad--Ted speaks with Berlin-based journalist Alexander Wells about the politics surrounding the bombing of Dresden, the DDR and Stasi, and the heroic "dissident." Plus, how Australian tourists in Europe relate to all this.
-Read Alex's pieces on Dresden here, the Stasi here, Aussies in Berlin here, and WWI here.
-Check out his website here: https://sites.google.com/view/ajbwells
-Listen to our past episodes on the "Clean Wehrmacht myth" here, and historical tourism in Berlin here.
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Follow Spaßbremse on Twitter (@spassbremse_pod). Edited by Nick. Music by Lee Rosevere. Art by Franziska Schneider.
Support us on Patreon here: https://www.patreon.com/spassbremse
**UNLOCKED premium episode 40, now available for all listeners. Support us here: https://www.patreon.com/spassbremse**
Germany's material and rhetorical support of Israel has long been unyielding, even in the face of genocide charges from international organizations and other European countries' growing condemnations of it's conduct in Gaza. However, in the last few weeks, a growing chorus of German politicians and media figures have begun to finally criticism Israel. Is something finally changing?
To answer, Ted speaks to German journalist Hanno Hauenstein (@hahauenstein), a rare media figure with actual expertise in the region and an important voice of reason in Germany's (to date virtually non-existent) Israel debate. They discuss the history of pro-Israel Staatsräson, the radicalization of the concept after October 7, and why the conversation might be now changing.
Read Hanno's Substack here: https://hannohauenstein.substack.com/
Listen to our episode with Daniel Marwecki (which we reference multiple times) here: https://creators.spotify.com/pod/show/spassbremse/episodes/52---Whitewashing-and-Statebuilding-German-Israeli-relations-wDaniel-Marwecki-e2dgpn5/a-aaovn89
Follow Spaßbremse on Twitter (@spassbremse_pod). Music by Lee Rosevere. Art by Franziska Schneider. Edited by Nick.
Support us on Patreon here: https://www.patreon.com/spassbremse
**FIRST SPAßBREMSE VIDEO PODCAST**
GroKo is back! But now it's far less "great" than before. To explore what to expect from the new German government, Ted speaks with Astrid Zimmermann (@zimmermann.av) of Jacobin Germany (@jacobinmag_de).
-Watch the first Spaßbremse VIDEO PODCAST here: https://youtu.be/HdskRf_FmBI
Read her articles here (German): https://jacobin.de/autoren/astrid-zimmermann
Read her latest piece on GroKo here (in English): https://jacobin.com/author/astrid-zimmermann
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Follow Spaßbremse on Twitter (@spassbremse_pod). Music by Lee Rosevere. Art by Franziska Schneider.
GroKo is back! But now it's far less "great" than before. To explore what to expect from the new German government, Ted speaks with Astrid Zimmermann (@zimmermann.av) of Jacobin Germany (@jacobinmag_de).
-Watch the first Spaßbremse VIDEO PODCAST here: https://youtu.be/HdskRf_FmBI
Read her articles here (German): https://jacobin.de/autoren/astrid-zimmermann
Read her latest piece on GroKo here (in English): https://jacobin.com/author/astrid-zimmermann
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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
As a follow up to our previous episode on the "fascism debate", writer John Ganz argues for the "yes" side, addressing the points Danny Bessner and other critics have made. He and Ted discuss parallels between the current far right and interwar fascism, suggesting there are important similarities we can learn from.
Listen to part 1 (episode 66) here: https://spotifycreators-web.app.link/e/fjeZVKb9ASb
Buy John's book here: https://us.macmillan.com/books/9780374605445/whentheclockbroke/
Read his Substack here: https://www.unpopularfront.news/
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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
Over his long career, Friedrich Merz has gone from rising CDU star to Blackrock executive and back to the very top of German politics. To discuss his trajectory—and the country's likely future—Ted speaks with NYC-based journalist Lukas Hermsmeier to discuss the "back to the future" qualities of Merz's political outlook.
Read Lukas' NYT piece on Merz here: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/03/04/opinion/friedrich-merz-germany-chancellor.html
Follow Lukas here: https://bsky.app/profile/lukashermsmeier.bsky.social
Read one of the scary pieces on Germany and the A-Bomb here: https://www.br.de/nachrichten/deutschland-welt/braucht-deutschland-eigene-atomwaffen-analyse,Ug5NOIk
Watch Merz's retro campaign ad here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XxuJekayt0M&ab_channel=FriedrichMerz
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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
Is America (and Europe) descending into fascism? And can the term ever be applicable outside the specific historical context of interwar Europe? To review the "fascism debate" of Trump I and revisit it given the political shifts in the US and Europe since 2020, Ted speaks with Daniel Bessner of the American Prestige podcast. Danny is a firm "no" and he tries to stop Ted from drifting into the "yes" camp. Listen and decide for yourself.
Read Danny's piece in TNR here: https://newrepublic.com/article/170890/does-american-fascism-exist
For one of the prominent "yes" voices, see John Ganz here: https://www.unpopularfront.news/p/the-march-on-rome-one-century-later
See the meme Ted made that (re)started the conversation: https://x.com/ted_knudsen/status/1899556117916573975
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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
Support us on Patreon here to listen to the full thing: https://www.patreon.com/spassbremse
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What does "military Keynesianism" portend for Germany and the world? On this subscriber-only episode, Ted breaks down the recent momentous changes in German attitudes toward debt and defense, with Merz's rewriting of the Schuldenbremse and a massive infrastructure and defense fund on the agenda.
Listen to Tooze and Pistor here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=whP2OD-VUQc&ab_channel=GlobalThoughtCU
See Ted's TV appearance here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ikRr82K91Uw&ab_channel=Roundtable
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Follow Spaßbremse on Twitter (@spassbremse_pod). Written and produced by Ted Knudsen. Music by Lee Rosevere. Art by Franziska Schneider.
Where does the international relations concept of "realism" come from? Can it be useful for promoting a progressive politics? Or does it support a more imperialist worldview? To discuss, Ted speaks with Matthew Specter of UC Berkeley about his book The Atlantic Realists. They discuss how the school of thought formed and what types of foreign policy mistakes it condemns—as well as other sins that it may condone.
Buy his book here: https://www.sup.org/books/history/atlantic-realists
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Follow Spaßbremse on Twitter (@spassbremse_pod). Music byLee Rosevere. Art by Franziska Schneider.
Support us on Patreon here: https://www.patreon.com/spassbremse
Ahead of the next German federal election on February 23rd, what are the main issues for voters, how is the Left doing, and where does Germany find itself in the world? To explain all this and more, Ted speaks to Ingar Solty, a researcher at the Rosa Luxemburg Stiftung, about what to expect a week from Sunday and beyond.
Follow Ingar here:https://x.com/IngarSolty
Buy his book here:https://www.vsa-verlag.de/nc/buecher/detail/artikel/usa-nach-der-wahl/
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Follow Spaßbremse on Twitter (@spassbremse_pod). Music byLee Rosevere. Art by Franziska Schneider.
Support us on Patreon herehttps://www.patreon.com/spassbremse
What can we learn from Angela Merkel's recently-published memoir, Freiheit/Freedom? To discuss this massive 700-page book, Ted is joined by Dominik Leusder of Eurotrash. This is part 1, reaching from her childhood to her early political career. Subscribe to our Patreon to hear part 2.
Listen to our original Merkel episode "Wir schaffen...was?" here: https://spotifycreators-web.app.link/e/jYZlNuSyDQb
Follow Dominik here: https://x.com/NewLeftEViews
Read Dominik's 2021 Jacobin article on Merkel here and Ted's piece from the same year in Project Syndicate.
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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
How did the Hapsburgs form a massive, multiethnic empire out of some disorganized principalities? Why was Austria-Hungary a thing? Did the Habsburg Empire really collapse because it was an anachronistic "empire of nations?" And is the Habsburg Empire coming back through a dynastic marriage with future "American Caesar," Barron Trump?
To get answers to these pressing questions, we speak with Natasha Wheatley of Princeton University about her book The Life and Death of States: Central Europe and the Transformation of Modern Sovereignty. Ted and Natasha discuss the early history of the empire, the pressures of the 1848 revolutions, and legal innovations of the empire, and speculate as to why people are still compelled by monarchical structures.
Buy the book here: https://press.princeton.edu/books/hardcover/9780691244075/the-life-and-death-of-states
Read her Dial piece here: https://www.thedial.world/articles/news/issue-20/eduard-habsburg-the-habsburg-way-review
See the insane Twitter thread about Barron's potential princess wives here: https://x.com/Shahenshah_Chud/status/1789716792325062871
Follow Eduard here: https://x.com/EduardHabsburg and (preferably) Natasha here: https://x.com/natasha_wheatl
Thanks so much to everyone who listened to Spaßbremse in 2024! Wishing you a Happy New Year and looking forward to a great 2025 (for the podcast and its listeners at least, if not the world at large).
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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
***this is an unlocked episode from our Patreon, subscribe for more bonus content***
On our first premium bonus episode, Michelle and Ted talk about one of the most exciting, innovative, and "dynamisch" people in German politics: the one and only Christian Lindner, leader of the FDP and likely next German finance minister.
This episode's reading is courtesy of Politico: Christian Lindner - The Radical from their 2018 list of "the 28 people who are shaping, shaking and stirring Europe."
Our boy Lindner's been catching a lot of people's attention lately, and our competitors over at Deutsche Welle beat us to a profile earlier this week. You can check it out (if you must) here: Christian Lindner - The FDP's clever tactician
To see some of the incredible Lindner photos mocked on this episode, check out the biography page on his website. You can find the oft-mentioned TV spot from 1997 about the young Lindner's ad business on YouTube.
Produced by Isaac Würmann. Music by Lee Rosevere. Art by Franziska Schneider. Follow Spaßbremse on Twitter: @spassbremse_pod. Subscribe to our Patreon here: https://www.patreon.com/spassbremse
Happy 18 Brumaire! In the honor of the anniversary and this week's election, Spaßbremse has a "guys who don't like democracy" special with special guest Everett Rummage of the Age of Napoleon podcast.
We discuss whether comparisons between Hitler and Napoleon are valid and what any traits they share might say about rightwing strongmen in general.
Listen to The Age of Napoleon here: https://ageofnapoleon.com/
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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
**This is a free preview, subscribe to our Patreon here to hear the full episode: https://www.patreon.com/spassbremse**
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After the disaster at Jena in 1806, how did Prussia recover to defeat Napoleon less than nine years later at Waterloo? What enabled their rise to become the dominant force in the German speaking world? And how did the mythology of the Befreiungskrieg play into subsequent German nationalism? To discuss, Prof. Michael Leggiere comes back on the pod to take us from 1806 to 1871 for part 2 of our series on Napoleon and Germany. Part 3 will discuss the Napoleonic war's legacy during the Third Reich and examine whether parallels between Napoleon and Hitler are accurate.
-Read Prof. Leggiere's book on Napoleon and Germany here: https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/napoleon-and-the-struggle-for-germany/4E88DDB613B7258659CF6AF4CB57E4B3
-Read his article on the military campaigns in Germany here: https://muse.jhu.edu/pub/29/article/40473/pdf
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Follow Spaßbremse on Twitter (@spassbremse_pod). Written and produced by Ted Knudsen. Music by Lee Rosevere. Art by Franziska Schneider.
How did Germany go from a chaotic mix of kingdoms and principalities to a unified empire in less than a century? We all know the story of Bismarck, but in this episode Professor Michael Leggiere outlines the ways in which Napoleon Bonaparte--the Corsican-born Emperor of France--was instrumental in forging a unified Germany. This is part one of a three-part series and covers 1789 to 1806. Part 2 will cover 1807 to 1815, and part 3 will conclude.
-Read Prof. Leggiere's book on Napoleon and Germany here: https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/napoleon-and-the-struggle-for-germany/4E88DDB613B7258659CF6AF4CB57E4B3
-Read his article on the military campaigns in Germany here: https://muse.jhu.edu/pub/29/article/40473/pdf
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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
Germany is often lauded for its Vergangenheitsbewältigung. Is the praise it receives for "working through" the past justified?
To explore one aspect of how Germany tries to address its dark history, Ted speaks with Berlin-based journalist Peter Kuras about the system of antisemitism commissioners that has risen to prominence since the late 2010s—and has become increasingly controversial over the past year. They explore the role that these institutions play in cultural and political life, ask whether Germany now represents a "historical reckoning gone haywire," and discuss whether the admirable aim of atoning for Nazi crimes can be achieved in a more inclusive and just way.
-Read Peter's Jewish Currents piece on "The Strange Logic of Germany’s Antisemitism Bureaucrats" https://jewishcurrents.org/the-strange-logic-of-germanys-antisemitism-bureaucrats
-Read his Guardian piece on those six little words that no German antisemitism commissioner wants to hear: https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/article/2024/aug/16/germany-free-speech-israel-gaza-war
-Follow Peter on Twitter here: https://x.com/plk
-Read the Susan Neiman NYRB piece on "Historical Reckoning Gone Haywire" here: https://www.nybooks.com/articles/2023/10/19/historical-reckoning-gone-haywire-germany-susan-neiman/
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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