#482: Mandatory card acceptance, dodgy water, homegrown social network, escalators
Berlin's beloved American radio DJ passes away
Hi there!
I hope you got through Easter weekend in one piece. My kids and I overdosed on chocolate, thanks to an over-generous bunny.
Today, some interesting news from the world Berlin start-ups: a new short-video platform called Wedium.
“Bot-free, fake-news-free, kids-safe, data-protective and made in Europe for Europe.”
So far, so good.
It’s a tough market to crack, though, considering the addictive nature of the big players’ products and the network effects baked into social networks.
That hasn’t fazed Wedium co-founder Nele Meissner: “Setting up and running a social network isn’t rocket science, and it’s affordable too.”
I’m not sure about the brand name but I love the attitude.
They really want to compete with the toxic giants from California. Berlin needs more of this kind of ambition.
Get on the Wedium wait list here.
And, in case you’re up for more radical action against the dominance of big tech, Berlin’s got you covered with the Cables of Resistance festival at the end of the week.
And for some more light-hearted fun and competition, I’ll be back with another 20% Berlin News Quiz at Electric Social near Alexanderplatz next Wednesday. It could be the last one in a while, so grab a ticket! I’d love to see you there.
Maurice
from our partner
Making real friends in Berlin is hard. Especially for expats in their 20s to 40s.
No one to call in an emergency. No group that truly has your back.
That’s why we created Inner Circle. A hand-selected group of 8 expats who meet regularly.
You meet the same people and have deep conversations. Over time, you build deep connections with them. They become people you can rely on.
Contaminated tapwater
The latest story on deadbeat Berlin landlords: Residents in a building owned by the Adler Group in Lichtenrade in southern Berlin have been told they can’t shower thanks to legionella bacteria found in the water, reports Tagesspiegel (paywall). Around 900 units are affected. The bacteria can cause legionnaire’s disease — a potentially lethal lung infection — especially in people with compromised immune systems. Adler told the paper it had informed the Tempelhof-Schöneberg health authority about the finding but that office said it hadn’t received any news from the corporate landlord. According to Tagesspiegel, Adler has repeatedly popped up in the news for negleccting to perform basic maintenance.
Escalators fixed?
Speaking of maintance and its systematic neglect: The faulty escalators at Hauptbahnhof are finally up and running again. A Deutsche Bahn spokesperson said: “According to our information, there are no longer any significant clusters of escalator malfunctions in Berlin or across the country.” I encountered two broken escalators on my commute this morning — both in DB-run S-Bahn stations. Not exactly a cluster and, besides, I’ve gotta get my steps in. So fine. I guess.
Berlin for mandatory card acceptance
The CDU-SPD coalition running the city wants to require retail and food/bev businesses to accept at least one digital payment method. The hope is that more card payments would reduce tax evasion. Berlin is lobbying the other 15 German states to sign up to the idea. Local CDU politician Dirk Stegener said: “I can’t think of any other reason why someone would insist on cash payments other than to avoid paying tax.” Only 1% of Berlin’s 80,000 cash businesses have their cash recordkeeping inspected by tax authorities every year. Lost tax revenues go into the double-digit billions of euros annually, according to estimates.
Events this week, curated by The Next Day Berlin
🎸 glider
Thursday, 09.04, 6 pm – 11:30 pm. Ikii, Herrfurthplatz 8. Free
Nick Höppner and Bill Santoro celebrate a life-changing moment with spacey, reverb-soaked guitar floaters. Bean bags, rugs, semi-repose. Ambient drift, shoegaze edges; Höppner off the decks and into fuzz.
👗Sisyphos Frühlings-Flohmarkt
Friday 10.04, 6 pm – 2 am; Sat–Sun 11–12.04, 2 pm onwards. Sisyphos, Hauptstraße 15. Free entrance.
Spring flea market spread across three days at Sisyphos with vintage, oddities, food, and drinks. Sunday closes with the afterparty from 8 pm.
🔊 Tresor meets Resonance of Dub
Friday, 10.04, 11 pm – 12 pm. Tresor / Globus, Köpenickerstrasse 70, Mitte, 10179. €22
Globus handed to Resonance of Dub with DJ Sotofett and Gilb'R playing across twelve hours. Two encyclopedic selectors deep in dub, echo and sound system culture. Tresor floor with Ireen Amnes, Mary Lake and Matrixxman.
🥁 Mohammad Reza Mortazavi
Sunday, 12.04, 8 pm (arrive by 7 pm). Between Bridges, Adalbertstraße 43. Donation (€15 suggested) - RSVP is needed here.
Iranian virtuoso who invented over thirty new techniques for tombak and daf — Philharmonie, Panthéon, Sydney Opera House on his CV. Here in an intimate room at Wolfgang Tillmans' space, RSVP only. Persian percussion bridging classical rhythm and contemporary sonic meditation.
sponsored
A fully improvised rock n' roll comedy show where the songs are always brand-new and the script doesn't exist.
Xylophone transforms your suggestions into an electric, full-blown musical where the only thing louder than their band is your laughter.
Get ready for a one-night-only jukebox of mind-blowing music and off-the-cuff comedy you have to see to believe.
★★★★★ - "Something I would only expect to find in London!" -Stephanie M.
★★★★★ - "It was a hot, unpredictable ride full of music and laughs!" -Nadinee R.
★★★★★ - "I was laughing and in awe the whole time!" -Chris B.
GET TICKETS
🍺 🥨 Germany-wide news 🥨 🍺
🪖 Germany looks to soften controversial military registration law
🤖 Penguin to sue OpenAI over ChatGPT version of German children’s book
🦔 Mayors want to ban nighttime robo-mowers to protect hedgehogs
🛕 Germany’s new religious diversity
☀️ Germany is a leader in plug-in solar
Factoid
US radio DJ and local legend Rik de Lisle has passed away at the age of 79. The ur-expat moved to West Berlin in 1978 as a discjockey for AFN, a station catering to US troops. There he was known for starting his early-morning show with the words: “I’m Air Force Sergeant Rik de Lisle – reminding you that rock’n roll is just a state of mind.” After the US withdrew its forces from Berlin, de Lisle stayed in the city and worked for several German stations. His final post was at Berliner Rundfunk 91.4. The “alter Ami” — loved for his strong American accent in German — hosted a morning show at the station until last December.
🪶🪶🪶Visit our sponsor! 🪶🪶🪶
Feather Legal Insurance - solve disputes without going into debt ⚖️
Got hit with a parking fine? Your employer didn't pay you? Or your internet provider suddenly decided you owe them a couple hundred euros? Legal issues are always stressful, especially in Germany, where there are plenty of laws and lawyers' fees can cost as much as a vacation in Bali. An initial consultation with a lawyer costs around €200–300. And if the case is serious, a couple thousand euros may not be the limit.
That's why Feather has a solution: legal insurance that's there for you in the most unpleasant situations.
What it covers:
💼 Work-related issues - unfair dismissal, unpaid wages, conflicts with your employer
📄 Personal matters - taxes, divorce, inheritance, disputes with companies
🚓 Transport - contesting a fine or claiming compensation after an accident
You can also add:
🏠 Home add-on - disputes with your landlord, deposit refunds
⚖️ Criminal add-on - protection if things ever escalate into a criminal case
📞 Bonus: A legal hotline - choose a convenient time and speak to a lawyer in English. Fast, clear, no panic.
Get Feather legal insurance
🔗 🔗 🔗 Useful links 🔗 🔗 🔗
🎙️The 20% Berlin Podcast on Spotify
Head of xylophone is literally banned from multiple improv communities. Let’s hold shitty men accountable
"Only 1% of Berlin’s 80,000 cash businesses have their cash recordkeeping inspected by tax authorities every year. "
Well then surely the solution is to audit those businesses. If indeed the main reason why these business won't do digital payment is tax evasion, it seems like those businesses would be the lowest lying fruit.
On the flipside, if no auditing is going to happen anyway, then it doesn't matter if they take digital payment or not.
I'm not against the proposed law necessarily (with a caveat), but it's not a surprise that the article in Tagesspiegel is littered with quotes from Mastercard about why businesses should be forced to take digital payment. This is their lobbying at work, that's why a politician can say with a straight face he can't think of any reason why a business would not take digital payment other than tax evasion.
Payment processing fees for small businesses on low margins are difficult. It's easy for large companies who have more bargaining power, it's fine for high margin businesses, but it's difficult on Döner shops and Spätis.
The answer is to allow those businesses to charge extra for digital payments. That's not allowable under EU law however, but that would be the fair thing to do.