#474: 500,000 missing workers, AI cameras, drownings
A Berlin politician went to the Super Bowl
Dear 20 Percent,
Last night, I dropped in on a German stand-up show at Downstairs Comedy Club . My 20% Berlin co-writer Andrew aka Drew Portnoy was hosting — and confirmed once more that he’s the funny one on the 20% team. Pretty impressive how Drew, a native of Denver, worked the German crowd in German. And the German comedians he introduced were mostly hilarious. Definitely recommend. And they have an English show this Thursday.
A few announcements:
💡 Two more 20% Berlin News Quizzes, hosted my yours truly are confirmed: Wednesday, March 25 and Wednesday, April 15. Grab your tix early!
🎙️Episode 29 of the 20% Berlin Podcast featuring Drew and myself just dropped!
More news below!
Maurice
❤️ Thanks to today’s sponsor, Feather!
Half a million workers needed?
By 2035, Berlin will need to fill approximately 560,000 job vacancies, a quarter of the city’s current workforce, according to Tagesspiegel. Why? The boomers are retiring en masse. It’s unclear how many of those roles can be replaced by AI — regardless, we’re gonna need more people in working age. On Tuesday, Berlin’s Senator for Labour, Cansel Kiziltepe (SPD), announced her “skilled labour strategy” an initiatve to attract more youngsters to work in public administration, hospitals, trades, industry, and the transport sector, which are all struggling to find qualified staff. Key to solving this problem: Affordable housing!
AI police cameras
Berlin is launching a pilot project to test AI-powered video surveillance at three locations: the Red City Hall (Rotes Rathaus) near Alexanderplatz, the city parliament (Abgeordnetenhaus), and the Berlin’s local Interior Affairs Ministry . The AI system will analyse behavioral patterns and trigger alerts if it detects suspicious activity. Data will be anonymised and no biometric info will be collected. Die Linke criticised the plan to monitor public space outside the parliament. Die Linke representative Niklas Schrader said the cameras infringed upon the rights of politicians and their visitors: “There was no debate about whether we wanted to be their guinea pigs.” From July, more AI cameras go online at “high-crime” locations Kottbusser Tor and Warschauer Brücke, with Görli and Alex to follow.
Super Bowl nothingburger
Berlin’s Senator for the Interior and Sport, Iris Spranger (SPD), travelled to the Bay Area in February together with police chief Barbara Slowik Meisel. The NFL invited Spranger to watch the Super Bowl (the league now plays a yearly game in the Berlin Olympic Stadium) after which the pair visited a fire station, a homeless shelter and talked to San Fran officials about the opioid crisis. Info about the trip emerged following an inquiry by Die Linke and Die Grünen. Opposition politicians attempted to cook up a scandal out of the trip’s price tag: €35,500 for the two women and the two assistants. They flew BUSINESS CLASS. Scandalous? Not really. If you’ve ever flown halfway around the world in cattle class and tried to stay awake in a meeting upon arrival, you’ll have some sympathy.
Events this week, curated by The Next Day Berlin
🪩 Future East
Thursday, 12.03, 10 pm – 6 am. OHM, Mitte. €15
SWANA-rooted techno with Nene H headlining - she's about to drop her second album on UMAY and curated a Palestine fundraising compilation last year. Pooja B and Ginza Seven on the decks, Sam Eyvaz opens the night with a live set.
🩰 For the Time Being: Sasha Waltz & Guests
Fri-Sun, 13-14.03, 6 pm; and 15.03, 4 pm. Radialsystem, Holzmarktstr. 33 10243. €20-35.
Sasha Waltz dives into deep listening, altered states and collective ritual in a hypnotic new piece where dancers drift between memory, voice and movement.
☘️ Irish Film Berlin Friday, 13.03 - Wednesday, 18.03. Babylon Mitte. €10 per film Irish Film Berlin returns for its annual festival of Irish cinema during St. Patrick’s Week at Babylon Berlin. The program includes feature films, documentaries, and short film selections spanning comedy, drama, and music. Tickets are €10 per film, with multiple screenings each evening.
🎹 Mary Ocher presents Weimar
Friday, 13.03, 6:30 pm doors / 8:30 pm concert. Galiläakirche, Friedrichshain. €15–23
Mary Ocher releases her most intimate record with solo piano on an 1870s instrument, minimalism meets chamber-pop. The title is political: Weimar as in the republic, as in the shadow of what came after. Panel talk on censorship before the show.
🪩 T35: Tresor's 35th Anniversary
Fri-Sun, 13-15.03, 10 pm – 1 pm. Tresor / Globus / OHM, Mitte. €30-35
30+ hour marathon across four spaces for the club that helped define Berlin techno feat. Helena Hauff b2b Imogen, Kerrie, DJ Bone, Moritz von Oswald, Chloe Lula, Barbara Preisinger, and VRIL live. Detroit-to-Berlin lineage, three decades deep.
🍺 🥨 Germany-wide news 🥨 🍺
🗳️ Greens beat CDU in Baden-Württemberg election
☢️ The cost of Germany’s long and painful nuclear regret
🏭 German economy hit by Iran war
⚡ 200,000 EV charging points in Germany
Factoid
A sad stat today, sorry: Last year 16 people drowned in Berlin’s bodies of water, the same number as last year, according to DLRG, the German Life Saving Association. In Brandenburg, 25 died in lakes and rivers. DLRG President Ute Vogt stressed the need for better children’s swimming lessons: “Most children are not confident swimmers when they leave primary school. From then on, they are under less and less parental supervision and are at greater risk in and around water for the rest of their lives.” Be careful out there this summer, folks!
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