The Berlin Mietendeckel experiment is finished. The city’s revolutionary attempt to freeze rental prices for five years, and reduce overpriced leases, has been killed off by Germany’s highest court. The decision has unleashed a political storm. Everyone is angry - but who will voters punish? The R2G parties who tried to regulate rents? Or their opponents, the CDU and FDP who successfully derailed the project? We make the case for why each side is to blame. There’s a big bill to pay, as hundreds of thousands of Berliners now face back-payments, higher rents and permanent shadow contracts. We’ll run the numbers on the potential local economic crisis that could follow. What hope is there left for affordable housing? And what can the rest of the world learn from Berlin’s short-lived rental revolution? The experiment is over. Now it’s time to analyze the results.

Berlin finally has an overnight curfew - but not really: we can go out alone from 9pm to 5am. We need a negative test to go shopping - but not really: grocery and household shopping is exempt. We ask - what's the point of making rules with so many holes? Matilde says Germany's leaders are like bad parents scared of disciplining their children. Berlin vaccine centers are throwing away unused doses. People are being turned away due to paperwork. Hotlines are failing. Staff can be fired for being flexible. Joel asks - isn't it better to vaccinate the wrong people than nobody? Matilde found a doctor giving left-over vaccines to anyone who shows up. Why can't the rest of Germany be so practical and sensible? A terrifying concrete building with a horrible history is threatened with destruction: the Mäuserbunker in Lichterfelde. Two architects want to save it. Turns out it's a fantastic example of form and functionality. Berlin has several amazing examples of Brutalism. Felix Torkar and Gunnar Klack tell us why we should love concrete. People of colour are reporting violent and humiliating experiences while having tickets checked on public transport. Journalist Anne-Marie Harrison has been following the campaign @BVGWeilWirUnsFürchten which details stories of abuse by ticket controllers. Black Womxn Matter are petitioning the city government to reform the BVG's handling reports of discrimination and violence. The BVG responded, saying it checks all complaints and deals with ticket controller issues through labour law. Thanks to our co-host Matilde Keizer! You can hear her German-language podcasts here: MUGPU (matilde und georg Produzieren Unterhaltung).

Who stole the snow from a Berlin park? A local newspaper has been investigating one of the winter's cruelest possible crimes. Parents at Parkaue think a disgruntled local might have cleared a popular toboggan hill of snow. We read the Berliner Zeitung's in-depth investigation. Should we have gone walking on the ice? After ten days of minus temperatures, half of the city went out onto the canals. But no Berlin authority is willing to say if the ice is safe. The police spent days flying helicopters over frozen lakes telling people to move on. Several people fell through the ice. One man died trying to swim under the ice layer. Hairdressers will reopen on March 1 under the latest pandemic lockdown measures. Schools will start returning from February 22, starting with youngest students. Schools are planning to give students self-administered virus tests. There's no word yet on when small shops, gyms, bars or restaurants might open. Mayor Michael Müller says he hopes normalcy might return after Easter (April 4). BER needs a financial injection of €3.5 billion - enough for an entire new airport. The Tagesspiegel reported on a leaked document from the airport's supervisory committee warning of a huge hole in the budget. In other airport news, Flughafen Schönefeld, rebranded as BER Terminal 5, is due to close on Feburary 23 due to the dramatic drop in air traffic. We talk about our favourite Schönefeld memories. In sports news, Berlin’s newest Bundesliga team, FC Union Berlin, has officially overtaken Hertha Berlin in terms of fan numbers. Union is also ahead of Hertha on the league table (9th vs 15th). The latest issue of Lola Mag is out now, with an article by Joel. You can get a copy by picking one up in a park. Follow Lola to find out where: https://www.instagram.com/LOLAmagberlin/ Or you can order one on their website: https://lolamag.de Thanks to our co-host Matilde Keizer! You can hear her German-language podcasts here: MUGPU (matilde und georg Produzieren Unterhaltung) https://www.buzzsprout.com/854239 Schamlos: https://play.acast.com/s/schamlos Radio Spaetkauf is produced by Joel Dullroy, Jöran Mandik, Daniel Stern and Maisie Hitchcock. This episode was made with support from RadioEins, Berlin’s public broadcaster.

Jöran sits down with Eli Wenzel-Fisher, a caretaker at a Berlin retirement home to talk about vaccinations arriving at the residence and getting vaccinated himself. Getting vaxxed - how does it work? What is it like? And what is the atmosphere like at the home? We get Eli’s detailed report.

With the new medical mask rule in force, will the Querdenkers now start wearing banned fabric masks? What about people who can't afford the expensive masks? Should prices be regulated to stop profiteering? Already some bars, cafes, restaurants and other cultural spaces have closed down during the pandemic. Our friends at Lola Mag are starting to document these closed culture spaces. Know of a shuttered spot? Send details to [email protected] BER workers are suffering from electric shocks from baggage scanning machines. More than 60 cases have been recorded. The workers' union wants the new terminal closed until the problem is fixed. What's it like to be a teacher in a Berlin school these days? We meet Ryan Plocher, a US emigrant who teaches in Neukölln, and is active in the GEW trade union. He says teachers think schools should be closed until they're made safe, explains why so many schools are in terrible condition, and tells how expensive fireproof Nazi curtains made him get active in the union. Dan invites Radio Spaetkauf listeners to watch a free live show Saturday the 30th .https://www.comedycafeberlin.com/event/whoopsie-doopsie-doo-iv/ Thanks to guest co-host Carmen Chraim! You can find her podcast People of Carmen here: https://peopleofcarmenpodcast.buzzsprout.com Radio Spaetkauf is produced by Joel Dullroy, Jöran Mandik, Daniel Stern and Maisie Hitchcock. This episode was made with support from RadioEins, Berlin’s public broadcaster.