With Dili away, Producer Simon wants to talk about the Rugby World Cup, while Nic would rather talk about something else, anything else in fact. Language is our main theme this week as your hosts discuss their less than straightforward paths towards improving their German, from the Volkshochschule to the various apps that have sometimes helped but also hindered their progress.
After a week off, Dili returns to the pod and just in time for some very important admin. With us approaching episode 150, it means that Dili has been co-hosting for nearly a year, which means only one thing: it’s annual review time!! We also discuss new immigration laws proposed by the German government, and a listener email asks why German radio seems so terrible.
Despite Dili being out sick this week we have the fortune of being able to welcome the wonderful Kate Mueser to the show to talk about her debut novel The Girl with Twenty Fingers, as well as a variety of other topics! We discuss the results of the state election in Bavaria, life in Las Vegas, and the catharsis of writing about experiences of living in Germany.
Always willing to make sacrifices for the podcast, Nic takes the gallant decision to miss his beloved Newcastle United’s first home Champions League game for 20 years in order to sit down with Dili for this week’s record. Of course, he blames Dili for everything. We also discuss Halloween plans, the best restaurant in Bavaria, and Tag der Deutschen Einheit.
After months of fruit based chat, Nic finally takes Dili to task on her fruit obsession. Perhaps talking about kiwi and peaches makes sense, it does prevent Nic from worrying about bald men driving Porsches. Dili explains how to punish unruly schoolchildren, a surprise confrontation with a controversial Bavarian politician, the benefits of Lederhosen, and a record-breaking castle.
After being out sick last week, Dili is back among the podcast microphones to share her adventures in German healthcare. We also learn how to start a pigeon wellness hotel. We discuss being imprisoned in Kindergarten, the arrival of Oktoberfest, and more troubling developments in Thuringia.
Sadly Dili is out sick this week, so we once again call upon the sonorous tones of Producer Simon to step up to the mic and join Nic for a discussion on apocalyptic weather. Nic explains why the best cheese is found at the top of mountains, World Cup success for one Germany team, and why success & failure are basically the same in Germany.
It’s a race against time to record the podcast this week as Nic’s access to the internet could be shut-off at any moment by the owners of a Bavarian guest house he’s staying in. No matter, Dili has important updates on her adopted pigeon family, Nic tells us about battles in Wales, we discuss the anti-Semitism scandal in the Bavarian government, and we ask if we need more pirates in the Bundestag.
Nic is away this week, leaving Dili to host the show solo, and she’s chosen to have a conversation with the podcast’s mystery man, Producer Simon. They discuss their journeys to Germany and Dili’s area of postgraduate study. Unsurprisingly Dili exploits Nic’s absence with an extended “Dili’s Fruit Corner” and questions Producer Simon about moving from the Southern to the Northern Hemisphere.
Nic details his involvement in another battle reenactment, while Dili wonders how he’ll get his pike through airport security. We look ahead to cannabis reform, a new Self-ID Law and Dual Nationality Law all being voted on by the German government. Trigger Warnings are coming to German TV, and it’s that time of the year again as we consider the candidates for the German Youth Word of the Year.
It’s been a tough week for Dili, first Producer Simon axed her favourite segment, then she suddenly became a surrogate mother to a nest full of baby pigeons. Luckily Nic is here to support her, if by support you mean talk about the progress of England in the Women’s World Cup, and the arrival of Harry Kane in Munich. We also find time to talk about arguing with neighbours over the rubbish bins.
In a first for the podcast, we have live audience watching the record, sadly it’s only a family of pigeons living on Dili’s balcony. Avian squatters aside, we talk dodgy pavements and why infrastructure in Germany seems so patchy, we bring you an update on the Women’s World Cup, discuss new rules for asylum seekers proposed by the German government, and we finish on Wacken Open Air.
Some recent listener feedback at Nic’s expense delights Dili no end, as does the return of her Fruit Corner, where she once again puts her co-host to the ultimate test. We discuss the best way to spend your summer holidays, the Women’s World Cup, the truth behind one of Germany’s favorite banana brands, and a discount supermarket educating customers on their environmental impact.
After a weekend of fun at Nürnberg’s annual Badentreffen open air festival, Nic is still recovering from too many pints of…fun? We talk about one of Germany’s best festivals, and some weird interactions with the locals. We ask whether anyone can really tell the difference between a lioness and a pig, politicians on holiday, low-fi solutions to social media, and bans on junk food advertising.
After challenging Nic to expand his horizons, we introduce a new segment to the show: Dili’s Fruit Corner! Finally Dili can force Nic to eat a variety of fruit under the pretence of making a podcast. We bring you recommendations with our first DFH Summer Reading List, discuss the vitriol faced by the first Trans politicians in the Bundestag, and we finish with a preview of the Women’s World Cup.
We sweat through this week’s show, and consider relocating to the basement. We’re hot under the collar not only because of the summer sun, but also from discussing the average German propensity for public nudity at the swimming pool. Dili continues her quest to make Nic eat fruit, we discuss a German joke on Twitter that got out of hand, and learn what jumping sheep have to do with the Bundestag.
This week we discuss changes to Elterngeld in Germany which will see couples earning over €150,000 become ineligible for state support. Is this progress or regression? We debate parental responsibility and whether we can judge people’s parenting from social media posts, and we finish on an initiative in Berlin to test illegal drugs without involving law enforcement.
Dili fights an 8-year old for a seat on a train, which leads to a chat about confronting unruly kids, Nic takes a trip to another Bavarian Volksfest, and we worry about an invasion of hornets. We also turn our attention to the recent electoral success of the AfD in Thuringia, and Nic tries to teach Dili about EURO 2024, starting with naming the tournament mascot.
As your two hosts attempt to not melt in the heat, we discuss the how the sunny weather seems to bring out all the smokers in Germany. Nic has some sympathy for his nicotine stained former brethren; Dili on the other hand has no time for them whatsoever. We also look at whether the German culture of complaining has its benefits, and we finish on the topic of multilingual relationships.
Summer might have brought us some lovely weather in Germany, but it’s also exposed Dili to some maddening behaviour from her neighbours. We come to appreciate some newly discovered powers of prediction, discuss challenging objectionable social media content, and we finish on the story of Germany’s first AI church service.
