Studio Berlin

German authorities are investigating a series of death threats sent via email to politicians and other prominent figures.

The threats were signed with the name NSU 2.0, a reference to a neo-Nazi terrorist group. Investigators found that some of the cases of these threats involved data accessed from police computers in the state of Hesse.

Host Sumi Somaskanda discusses the latest development with Melissa Eddy, Berlin-based correspondent for the New York Times; comedian Idil Baydar, who has received death threats via email and phone; criminal lawyer Onur Özata; and Berlin police spokesman, Thilo Cablitz.

This show was produced by Monika Müller-Kroll and Sumi Somaskanda. 

Berlin lifted more pandemic restrictions this week, but the city's clubs remain closed for the foreseeable future. What does that mean for Berlin's iconic clubbing culture and the city's reputation?

Host Sumi Somaskanda talks with Lutz Leichsenring of Clubcommission Berlin, and Matthias Stieler from "One Berlin" about new strategies to keep Berlin's club scene alive and explores the city's rich music culture with DJ Sarah Farina, and KCRW Berlin's Brave New Rave host Moderna.

This show was produced by Monika Müller-Kroll and Sumi Somaskanda.  

In the wake of nationwide and international protests against racism, Germany’s Green Party wants to change Article 3 of the nation’s Basic Law by removing “Rasse” – in English, “race” – from the text. The conversation is not new, but controversial. Proponents of removing the word say it’s linked to Nazi ideology and this change is long overdue. Others say this move is too hasty and would actually harm people of color.

This week on Studio Berlin, host Sylvia Cunningham discusses this complex issue with Werner Graf, the chairman of the Greens in Berlin; Martin Fischer, an evolutionary biologist and professor at the University of Jena; Natasha Kelly, a sociologist who focuses on colonialism and feminism; and Anatol Stefanowitsch, a linguist and professor at the Freie Universität Berlin (Free University).

This show was produced by Monika Müller-Kroll and Sylvia Cunningham.

President Trump’s announcement of a drawdown of American forces from Germany caught German leaders, NATO, and the U.S. Congress by surprise. 

There’s a bipartisan effort to prevent the White House from following through. What are the chances the U.S. troops will be moved and what’s at stake for American ties with Germany?

Host Sumi Somaskanda talks with retired Lt. Gen. Ben Hodges, the former commander of the U.S. Army in Europe; German Coordinator for Transatlantic Affairs Peter Beyer; Deutsche Welle and NPR contributor Teri Schultz in Brussels and Berlin-based journalist Erik Kirschbaum.

This show was produced by Monika Müller-Kroll and Sumi Somaskanda.

More than 14 million people have downloaded Germany’s COVID-19 contact tracing app. Before its launch last month, the German government project came under fire over data security and privacy concerns. So does it work? What are users saying? And what questions about the app still need to be answered?

This week, Studio Berlin host Sylvia Cunningham breaks down the pros and cons of the “Corona-Warn-App” with Thomas Leonhardi, spokesman for the software giant SAP; Günter Voß, coordinator of the Senior Computer Club in Berlin-Mitte; Chris Köver, journalist for the website Netzpolitik.org and Svea Windwehr, Mercator Fellow on International Affairs.

This show was produced by Monika Müller-Kroll and Sylvia Cunningham with voiceover by Benjamin Restle.

Germany takes the helm of the EU Council on July 1. The presidency comes at a crucial time as Europe grapples with recovery measures to handle the unprecedented health and economic crisis. What are the expectations and challenges ahead? And what are the other topics on Germany’s agenda during its six-month presidency?

Host Sylvia Cunningham discusses what’s at stake with Andreas Kluth, columnist at Bloomberg and Christian Odendahl, chief economist at the Centre for European Reform; with Christine Pütz from the Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung about the foundation’s recent survey on the German view of their role in the European Union and with Lea Nitsch, chairwoman of the “Junge Europäische Bewegung Berlin-Brandenburg” (Young European Movement Berlin-Brandenburg).

This show was produced by Monika Müller-Kroll and Sylvia Cunningham

Berlin passed a hotly debated anti-discrimination law this month, the first of its kind in Germany, that allows victims to pursue legal remedies against state officials — including police — for discrimination related to race, gender, disability, sexual orientation and more. But is the new law the panacea its proponents claim or will it lead to a villainization of the police as the law’s critics contend?

Host Sumi Somaskanda talks with Armaghan Naghipour, who worked on the new legislation and is the political adviser to Berlin Justice Senator Dirk Behrendt; Niklas Hofmann from the Federal Anti-Discrimination Agency and Joseph Hutchinson, an African-American lawyer and co-publisher of DADDY magazine. We also hear from two of the law’s critics: Berlin Police Union Spokesman Benjamin Jendro and Burkard Dregger, CDU parliamentary leader in the Berlin House of Representatives.

This show was produced by Monika Müller-Kroll with voiceover by Benjamin Restle. 

Host Sumi Somaskanda delves into modern-day discrimination in Germany and its history of racial injustice with Malcolm Ohanwe, journalist for German public broadcaster BR; Larry Olomofe, executive director of PADLINK; Joshua Kwesi Aikins, a political scientist with Afrozensus, and Peggy Piesche, a literary and cultural studies scholar.

Produced by Monika Müller-Kroll and Sumi Somaskanda. Sylvia Cunningham contributed. 

The Bundesliga resumed this month with soccer teams playing to empty stadiums. It’s the first major sports league in the world to restart amid the coronavirus health crisis. But is this a manageable solution in the pandemic era for soccer and other sports? And how are fans reacting to the so-called “ghost games”?

Host Erik Kirschbaum is joined by Alima Hotakie, a broadcast sports journalist at Deutsche Welle, and Claus Vetter, sports editor for the daily newspaper Der Tagesspiegel. We also hear from two die-hard soccer fans in Berlin and Alexander Fuchs, who is in charge of sport policy at the regional sports federation, the Landessportbund Berlin.

This show was produced by Monika Müller-Kroll. 

Restaurants and cafes are back open in Berlin, but how has the pandemic changed the experience of dining out? And protests against coronavirus-related restrictions, so-called “hygiene demonstrations,” are gaining attention across the country. Who are these protesters and what are they asking for?

Host Sylvia Cunningham is joined by two popular food and restaurant bloggers, Mary Scherpe from Stil in Berlin and Per Meurling from Berlin Food Stories to talk about how the pandemic has changed gastronomy. She also talks with Melissa Eddy, a correspondent in Berlin for The New York Times; Andrea Dernbach from the daily newspaper Der Tagesspiegel and Florian Gathmann, who writes for the German magazine Der Spiegel and Spiegel Online, about why people are taking to the streets to protest coronavirus-related restrictions and how the German government is responding.

This show was produced by Monika Müller-Kroll and Sylvia Cunningham.