On the day of our podcast, Germany was holding its election, deciding on who to lead them into the future. After 20 years of stagnation and relative decline, who is going to lead the country? The outcome was already quite clear. And what effects is it going to have on Switzerland? Germany being one of Switzerlands main trading partners. A look at our large neighbour.

Back in the 1960's, there was an English radio show, when it was cool Brittannia, the Rolling Stones, the Beatles, Led Zeppelin were in full swing. Celebrity guests came in, reviewed and rated newly released pop singles. Like "Satisfaction", from the Stones for example. 

The program was a pop staple during the rise of pop music in the 1960s, putting out new songs with opinions from well-known figures in entertainment at the time.

We have decided to renew, revitalise, and reincarnate this classic show, with a twist. 

Katrin and Martin invite Martins twelve year old daughter Caitlin, and if possible, a friend of Martins daughter, Martin and Katrin will play something they like, in this case, "I can't get no Satisfaction", from the Rolling Stones. Caitlin and her friend will review and critique the song from the vaults, the crypts of Rock. 

Caitlin and her friend will then play something new, fresh and recent that they like, in this case, "Look what you made me do", by Taylor Swift.

So the concept:

Dad asks daughter to critique ancient pop icon

Daughter asks Dad to critique new pop icon

The results, hilariously funny. Hear for yourself. 

Links: 

https://open.spotify.com/track/2PzU4IB8Dr6mxV3lHuaG34?si=2c6d9bc191ba44c1

https://open.spotify.com/track/1P17dC1amhFzptugyAO7Il?si=0e90ffb3717c4dca

Our first guest appears on SwissMix! And with a world premiere! :-) Reggie Saunders, soul singer in Zürich, presents his new single "They don't know" to be published soon. 

https://www.reggiesaunders.com/

We are having an entertaining and very personal discussion about what life is like for a Los Angeles native, transplanted to Zürich and Reggie's life as a soul singer. Listen in!

One for all soul fans. 

The new American administration is moving at lightning speed, doing so many things at once, so that the opposition is overwhelmed and cannot react in time. It is a highly effective strategy. So what does it mean for Switzerland? If anything? 

What is the Swiss approach? 

How should Switzerland negotiate? 

How to deal with the cultural differences? 

What impact of Trump´s first weeks in office can we observe in Europe and what do we think will happen next?

And what does it mean if X is becoming the most popular news source in country after country? The pros and cons of "citizen journalism"

In this episode, we debate Donald Trump's inauguration and what we can expect from his second term as President of the United States. From Trump's policies on immigration to his lineup of staff, we speculate about what the future will look like for the US and how it will influence business and politics in Switzerland.

As Martin puts it perfectly, it's time to “get ready, buckle in for the roller coaster because it's going to be one hell of a ride!”

Trump's second term as president: A wave of positive change or a cause for concern?

Share your thoughts in the comments on Spotify.

We take a walk through some modern delusions that have been in vogue for the last several years, the desire, in fashion and getting a load of airplay of being in a "safe space", avoiding "being offensive", avoiding "triggers" and "triggering people". Where people pretend the world is or worse, has to be the way they want it to be. Instead of dealing with reality. Uncomfortable reality. The problem with all this silliness being that in order to progress, we need to be willing to be open, to feel uncomfortable, to be offensive, to ensure that issues are actually discussed and resolved, not just glossed over. Without real debate, there can be no progress. Some Universities are not teaching or allowing open debate any more, for fear of "offending" people. When we reach the point of forbidding open debate, for whatever reason, we move toward totalitarianism. Much of Swiss media is as guilty of this as any other countries. 

Switzerland may be a dab hand at facilitating business startups with its rather chummy corporate culture, but don't be fooled—it's not all chocolate and cuckoo clocks. While setting up a one-man band or limited company is straightforward enough, the red tape multiplies faster than rabbits once your enterprise expands.

The past decade has seen Swiss financial and industrial policies tighten their grip on small businesses and entrepreneurs like a banker clutching his last franc. Recent corporate law revisions have been about as helpful to entrepreneurs as a chocolate teapot.

Compared to the economic doldrums of the EU—with Germany particularly down in the dumps—Switzerland maintains steady growth.

We are having a look at how Uncle Sam is meddling affects Switzerland's affairs, particularly regarding legal frameworks and international relations. While the Swiss maintain their independence with typical alpine stubbornness, companies dabbling with American business find themselves ensnared in a web of red tape—courtesy of the Securities and Exchange Commission and those busybodies at the Office of Foreign Asset Control.

Over the past year and a half, OFAC has been poking its nose into Swiss compliance matters with increasing vigour, particularly regarding sanctions against Russia over the Ukraine kerfuffle. This marks quite the plot twist for Switzerland, which now finds itself on the receiving end of potential American consequences—a bit like having a Head Prefect suddenly monitoring your homework after years of blissful autonomy.

The Americans are clearly determined to ensure their regulatory demands are met, leaving the Swiss to navigate these choppy diplomatic waters with their neutrality somewhat compromised. Rather awkward for a nation whose favourite position has traditionally been firmly on the fence.

We look at how the 13. Pension payment for the Swiss pillar 1 (AHV) came about. Taking a look at one of the sacred pillars of Swiss society. This was a result of an initiative by the Association of Swiss Unions, an otherwise relatively quiet association. They put a pay rise for pensioners on the national agenda, pushed and got a referendum, they won, as the people voted in favour. Swiss Parliament did not want this. Most Swiss politicians did not – apparently - want this discussed, let alone on the ballot. The people did however. They voted and it was passed. The Swiss government is now required, forced in fact, to implement this, find a way to pay for it and make it work.

In no other western country would this be possible. Once again, Switzerlands direct democracy makes stuff possible. This would be a total Non-Starter in Britain, Germany, France and pretty much anywhere else.

We now come to the crunch: How is the 4.7 Billion CHF per annum going to be paid for? 

As usual when it involves money, it gets complicated. We look at the alternatives. With a passing look at Switzerlands secret sovereign wealth fund. 

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For our maiden voyage, we're diving headfirst into a whopper: How Switzerland actually functions, and how its direct democracy delivers rather splendid outcomes—most of the time, at least. Certainly streets ahead of any other European nation fumbling about with their governance.

Switzerland's deliciously peculiar system of devolved power, distributed governance, and that utterly bonkers arrangement of direct democracy—where practically any determined soul can gather 100,000 signatures and force a referendum that's legally binding on the government—is nothing short of revolutionary. It's essentially a masterclass in handing power directly to the people on a silver platter, making government answer to its citizens rather than the other way round, creating feedback loops so effective they'd make a sound engineer weep. 

Most brilliantly, it prevents political parties from amassing power like greedy children hoarding sweets at a birthday party.

Consider this your beginner's guide to the institutions that make Switzerland such a delightfully functional and safe place to plant one's flag—a place where things simply 'work'.