Megan's Megacan

This week, Megan dissects everything that's wrong (and right) with Germany's weird, segregated education system, while Konrad worries whether this is the right time to gut Germany's freedom of information act. Also, Merz's government maintains a slightly strained relationship with the German constitution: Instead of banning the AfD, it wants to ban the bit about expropriating paras...

This week, Megan and Konrad prove they are fully integrated in German society by showing too much interest in the government's pension plan reforms. Honestly, they'll be leaving passive-aggressive notes in your Briefkasten next. Meanwhile, it looks like the Bundestag wants to catch up with the rest of Europe when it comes to organ donations, a very generous energy company decides it won&#3...

Germany's teenagers once again prove that the spirit of protest and class struggle isn't quite dead yet, by making personal grooming advice for Friedrich Merz go viral. But should we get rid of Section 188 of the German Criminal Code, and how come we even know the numbers of sections of the German Criminal Code? Plus, Konrad reports back from the Creative Bureaucracy Festival, Germany'...

This week, Megan and Konrad are gently corrected on their sugar tax coverage, an alleged former member of the RAF forgets to get rid of her kalashnikov before the police knock on her door 30 years later, why the AfD actually doesn't rule the East, Friedrich Merz can't read the room, especially if the room is full of trade unionists, and Megan has more to say about this silly whale rescue p...

The German state continues to show that it's learned so much from its history by equating direct action groups with terrorists and as the Ulm 5 went on trial in Stuttgart — for a couple ofminutes anyway. Then, Friedrich Merz located his backbone against Donald Trump, who took the criticism on board with his customary grace — plus, more health care reforms, and some millionaires have put a whal...

This week, the Megacanners wear the boring old German news as a nice comfort blanket against impending Armageddon: There's 66 new proposals to fix Germany's over-expensive healthcare system, why prediction markets are a pox on democracy, and the tale of Sad Timmy the Unnecessarily Anthropomorphized Whale — plus: What is Berlin good at? It ain't the flippin Olympics, that's for sure...

Ocean's 11, the Louvre jewellery thieves, those naughty kids who nicked that massive gold coin from the Museuminsel - everyoneloves a good heist, so the Megacanners are psyched to have the editors of Berlin's newest English-language news outlet on the show. Ruthie and Peter talk about why the city needs worker-owned media. Plus, the Collien Fernandes story, the Berlin police raid an anarch...

It's an evil brew of news to get through this week, so ladles and bowls at the ready, everyone. The Megacanners rattle throughGermany's petrol prices, because we must feed our cars, the tightest of elections in Baden-Württemberg, where the CDU man was a bit creepy, ploughshares get made into swords in Wedding, wolf-hunting is back, and time for a raccoon bounty. Fire away! Megan's Mega...

Film festivals, security conferences, Germans sliding immaculately along icy tubes —  this fortnight has been a delirious concatenation of gala events, each one more problematic than the last. But then there's also been the usual background noise of terrible things happening in the world — so thank god for the Megacans. Germans betraying the people of Afghanistan all over again, and the Berlin...

Yes! This week, the Megacanners are joined by Noach Gɫuchowicz of the Bupkes podcast for a special collab episode! Noach explains Berlin's anti-antisemitism fiscal misappropriation scandal (AKA Germans explaining to Jews what Jews are supposed to be). There's also Germany's obsession with having a reason for its state — because German people always need a reason — plus winter joy as a...

It's an extra specially depressing show this week as the Megacanners are joined by Mohammad Etebari, Iranian in Berlin. Mo explains what it was like growing up in a theocratic police state and what it's been like being an Iranian outside Iran these last of couple of weeks. Mass murder on the streets, torture, an internet blackout — and what European countries could be doing about it. Erm,...

Who knew that the end of the world would come at 9:30 on a Wednesday morning? Not Berlin Mayor Kai Wegner, who was finetuning his backhand as the lights went out in Zehlendorf. But is the city prepared for disaster? And is Germany's critical infrastructure safe from random acts of arson? Ah, double-fault, I'm afraid. But surely at least the country has enough prosecutors to do a proper inv...

As the winter solstice closes in, the Megacanners convene one more time to round up what became one slinky rodent of a year in German politics: Alice and Elon got a room (boke), Merz broke a taboo, the CDU failed to commemorate the one member of its party who had a spine, Baerbock and Habeck swept off over the horizon, and Megan got to keep her passport. Thanks to all who listened this year, and a...

To make up for the wee hiatus, Megan and Konrad are back with a bumper episode. Could Merz's coalition collapse over a rebellion from the cool kids from the Junge Union? (spoiler: No) Could Germany's school students stop the government from forcing  through military service? (spoiler: No, again). Plus the Megacanners are joined by special guest Nadja Vancauwenberghe, veteran Berlin journal...

Friedrich Merz has come up with a cunning plan to combat the AfD — but could it be the same plan centrist politicians been trying for the last 50 million fucking years? Meanwhile, one minister accidentally grows a conscience, and is immediately punished by his fellow Christian Democrats. But still, good news as Berlin's government is forced to prepare the city for climate disaster, and is it reall...

Recording in front of a live studio audience on October 17th 2025 at Podfest Berlin, Megan and Konrad are joined by not one but three special guests. Nessa Finnegan provides an update on the activities of the Irish Bloc, at least the ones who haven't been prosecuted or deported or punched by the police yet, energy transition expert Izzy Choksey explains all the profoundly sensible things the g...

The Megacanners return much chagrined this week, obliged as they are to retract last week's delusional good news. It turnsout that Merz's government is addicted to exporting arms into genocide zones after all. Still, there's slightly better news about dual nationality, thoroughly depressing news about unemployment benefit reforms, and devastating news for the great Berlin tradition of...

A bewildering grab bag of news this week as Megan and Konrad whip through two weeks of German politics while staying heroically sober thanks to some cracking 0.0 Radler. Annalena Baerbock changes her tune at the UN, the AfD's Maximilian Krah makes the case for diversity in the workplace at the trial of his old friend and business partner the Chinese spy, Germany finally fills up its supreme co...

A special episode this week, as the Megacanners are joined by journalist Wael Eskandar to talk about his journey from asking permission from the cops to buy an ice cream on Hermannplatz to watching them brutalize protesters with impunity on a weekly basis. Well done, Kai Wegner. — If only there was some kind of catastrophic lesson in German history to learn from to prevent this kind of thing. Pros...

The Megacanners are back, and they're not the only ones. After a busy summer of trying to sound important in America, Friedrich Merz is back in Berlin to ring in his so-called autumn of reforms, by which he means cutting the welfare state and making poor people join the army. Meanwhile, Robert Habeck, not wishing to rattle his chains as a ghost in parliament anymore, takes a swipe at nemesis M...

First released on February 26, 2025! It's the end of an era: Scholz, Habeck, and friend of the pod Christian Lindner have all had their last Absacker and stumbled out into the night — you can still hear them arguing in the distance in a cloud of mutual acrimony. Hey, we just let the market regulate itself, Christian! But spare a thought for Megan, who has to learn a whole new set of German pol...

It's quiz week at Megacan Manor, as Megan welcomes her summer holidays by guessing some mildly interesting facts about Germany's demographic troubles and the latest pension age gossip. Plus, there's bad news as the German police decides that it would be a great idea to let Mr-Ayn-Rand-wet-dream-fascist-billionaire take over its databases, but also – just for the vibes - some general go...

See, Jens? This is what happens when you don't do your job properly. This week, Germany's Constitutional Court is taken hostage by a right-wing social media campaign, as someone with normal opinions gets torn apart for no reason at all. And Jens Spahn might wanna stay out of Merz's way for a while. Then the summer holiday wars break out, as Markus Söder fights for every Bavarian teenager's sacred...

Oof, what a stacked show this week: Germany's minimum wage saga reaches its disappointing denouement, German voters begin to wonder what the SPD is actually for, and Germany's Retail Institute comes up with an all but useless report on shoplifting. Meanwhile, a bold wood pigeon wants in on the mega sesh, and yes, wine and lemonade does indeed make an excellent summer drink. Salud! Megan&#3...

More Germans can't live on their wages, but the new minimum wage commission has decided to raise it, erm, minimally — ensuring another neoliberal wet dream this weekend for BlackRock Chancellor Friedrich Merz. Meanwhile, Olaf Scholz gets a shiny new office (but what for?), the Bundestag president is unnecessarily mean to the LGBTQ community, and we can confirm that former Health Minister Jens...