Most people don’t do politics full-time and therefore often only feel its consequences. The origins of political decisions are fundamental for the present and the future. The new Bavarian Radio podcast, moderated by Christine Auerbach, has set itself the task of searching for the roots. Every month there are new episodes on a different topic. The first quartet is about the Russian war of aggression in Ukraine. The story begins in 2008 at the NATO summit in Bucharest, where Ukraine “became engaged to NATO without getting married” – a decision whose short- and long-term consequences Auerbach shows. 9/11, the Iraq and Georgia wars and also the Nord Stream gas pipeline are discussed about Schröder’s friendly relationship with Putin and Merkel’s appeasement policy. So-called golden bridges and political calculations play just as much a role as the question of whether Germany is partly to blame for the war. People who were and are actively involved, then and now, have their say. Auerbach tells the story rested and in road trip style. This makes listening pleasant. A good idea and an important addition to gain a holistic understanding of current events. Christina Lopinski
Grandpa, let’s talk
In a few years, the last people who can tell us about the Second World War and its consequences as contemporary witnesses will no longer be there. At the same time, beloved grandmothers and fathers will pass away. In order to create a deep memory of his Grandpa Jo when the time comes, Marco Artmann talks to him about the past. Grandpa Jo, born in 1937, is a child of the war. His father was a soldier in the German Wehrmacht. The Artmann family also had a leather company that directly benefited from Nazi policies. Nevertheless, according to the grandfather, the family was not friends of the Nazis. The grandson becomes suspicious at some points in the story and wants to understand the context in detail. Together he and his grandfather dare to travel to the Nazi era and to the GDR, from which Jo fled. For seven episodes, the two meet in Grandpa Jo’s living room and have a grandpa-grandchild conversation about the crimes of the Nazis and, above all, the family history. Together they also travel to Berlin to Grandpa Jo’s parents’ house and to the Sachsenhausen concentration camp to understand the past. They are supported by Magdalena Pulz and Imre Balzer from ARD, who enrich Marco’s grandfather’s memory with archive material. Leah Scheffler
The story of the Ascher sisters
For a long time, Sarah Seekircher knew nothing about these two sisters, cousins of her grandmother. Which is perhaps not surprising, because Anna and Midi died when Seekircher was still a little girl. And contact with this part of the family was not close. But the fact that no one ever talked about these two women who committed suicide together in 1990 is surprising, says the ORF journalist. When her father happened to mention his cousins a few years ago, Sarah Seekircher started researching. She wanted to find out more about these two women who lived in isolation on their farm in Wildschönau, a side valley of the Inn Valley, and hardly took part in the social life of their village. The author is interested in the reasons for this double suicide of the relatives and always considers the consequences of reporting on this topic. Above all, the podcast tells a lot about rural life in Tyrol in the 1960s to 1980s, about social constraints and a lack of empathy. Lissie Rettenwander created perfect music for all of this. Stefan Fischer
Marvel’s Wastelanders: Wolverine
Avengers, Guardians of the Galaxy, Fantastic Four – There are numerous superheroes in the Marvel cosmos, many of them are part of a team. Wolverine, known as the superhero with the long knife claws that grow out of his knuckles, is part of the X-Men squad. He is the focus of the fourth season of the successful Marvel’s Wastelanders-Podcast series, which, after the original English version, is already being produced in five other languages. Wasteland is about a dystopian future where the villains are in charge. Wolverine, voiced by Henning Baum, appears as an older, choleric man, wistful and marked by self-loathing. Since “S Day”, when many of his team members were killed 30 years ago and the antagonist Red Skull took over the presidency of the USA, Wolverine has not let go of his past. But an even bigger secret comes to light that he has to face. Written by Jenny Turner Hall, the radio play, which features lots of sound effects, heads towards an action finale in ten episodes. They are a film for the ears, especially for Marvel fans, who can look forward to two more seasons. Emily Weber
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