Is free speech under threat in the world's leading democracies — including Germany and the United States?

In this episode of Over Here, Over There — the podcast across borders, host Claudia Koestler talks with Jacob Mchangama, Danish lawyer, professor at the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE), and author of Free Speech: A History from Socrates to Social Media, recorded live at the Amerikahaus in Munich.

Mchangama is one of the foremost global experts on free speech, civil liberties, and democratic backsliding. In this wide-ranging conversation, he argues that we are living through a global free speech recession — and that both Europe and the United States are moving in a more speech-restrictive direction, each for very different reasons.
In this episode:

🇩🇪 Why free speech in Germany is fundamentally different from the US — and what history has to do with it
🇺🇸 How the Trump administration is challenging democratic norms — and why the First Amendment is the last line of defense
🌍 The "global free speech recession" — which countries are getting it right (Taiwan, Hungary, Denmark) and which are not
📱 Social media, algorithms, and disinformation — are platforms really radicalizing users?
⚖️ Hate speech laws vs. free expression: where should the line be drawn?
🏛️ What democracies must do to protect themselves — without becoming what they fear
🤖 AI, information access, and why you must never outsource your mind

Key quote from this episode:"Free speech is the first freedom of a democracy — without it, none of the other rights or democratic processes are really possible." — Jacob Mchangama

About Over Here, Over There: :Over Here, Over There is a transatlantic podcast hosted by Claudia Koestler and Dan Harris, sharing and comparing news, politics, culture, and current affairs across the Atlantic. Recorded often at iconic and esteemed venues.

🎙️ Subscribe for new episodes every other week.
📍 Recorded at Amerikahaus München, Munich, Germany.

What if the most important democratic document of the last 250 years wasn't written in Philadelphia — but in post-war Germany?

In this episode of Over Here, Over There, Claudia Koestler makes a case that might surprise you: Germany's Basic Law — the Grundgesetz — is one of the most sophisticated constitutional documents ever written.

Written in 1949, in the rubble of the darkest chapter in modern history, the Grundgesetz starts with three words that changed everything: "Die Würde des Menschen ist unantastbar." Human dignity is inviolable. Not a right. Not a freedom. Dignity — placed permanently beyond the reach of any government, any majority, any vote.

Claudia will walk you through what makes it genuinely brilliant - and why others should build upon it.

🎙️ Over Here, Over There is a podcast about what Europe and America can learn from each other — one conversation at a time.

👉 Subscribe for new episodes every other week.

America turns 250 this year. But do Americans plan to celebrate it, or are divisions in the country putting people off the joyous occasion?

In this episode of Over Here, Over There, Claudia (DE, Germany) and Dan (American, living in the UK) get personal about the United States' Semiquincentennial — and ask the questions most people are afraid to say out loud. They explore the significance of the anniversary, American patriotism, historical milestones, cultural celebrations, and the future of American ideals from a transatlantic perspective.

Key questions:

Will Dan and other Americans be celebrating the 250th?
When did Dan last truly celebrate July 4th?
What do Indigenous Americans think of this milestone?
How does the UK see its former colony at 250?
And what would it actually take to feel proud to be American right now?

Insider and outsider perspectives. One very complicated birthday.

🎧 Over Here, Over There is a podcast about transatlantic life, culture, and politics — hosted by a German journalist and an American commentator living in Britain.

🔔 Subscribe so you never miss an episode.

📩 Find us on Instagram, Spotify & Apple and all major podcast platforms — links in our channel page.

Takeaways:

The US Semiquincentennial is a moment to reflect on American ideals and history.
Patriotism in the US is often quiet and centered around family and community.
Current political divisions affect national celebrations and unity.
The Declaration of Independence and Constitution symbolize core American values.
Global perceptions of American patriotism are complex and sometimes conflicted.

Resources:

US Declaration of Independence (Franklin Printing Company) - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Declaration_of_Independence
John Adams Series on HBO - https://www.hbo.com/series/john-adams
US Constitution - https://www.archives.gov/founding-docs/constitution
Dirk Stefan's Episode on Staying Optimistic - https://overhereoverthere.org/episodes/stay-positive

Guest links:

Twitter - https://twitter.com/danharris
LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/danharris/

Imagine moving to a country where you didn't speak the language and had to perform on stage and TV to live audiences. Daunting? Definitely. But not only did singer, songwriter, and entertainer Gayle Tufts do just that, but she has also become Germany's best-known American and a leading cultural bridge-builder.

In this engaging conversation, hosts Dan Harris and Claudia Koestler explore various themes with Gayle, including the nuances of German humor, the evolution of comedy in Germany, and her personal journey of navigating identity and belonging in a new country. The discussion also touches on the impact of political events on cultural exchange, the importance of education and the arts, and the significance of dialogue in today's world.

Gayle's innovative and creative performances, highlighted by her trademark 'Dinglish', a blend of German and English, have endeared her to German audiences and made her a household name. The conversation concludes with a focus on the power of entertainment to address societal issues and foster connections across cultures.

Join this entertaining, heart-warming episode, which kicks off our series on humour and comedy from around the world. Discover why laughter and song are some of the best ways to build cultural bridges and understanding during these divisive times.

Check out all our episodes at overhereoverthere.org. Please don't forget to like, share, subscribe, and comment. We'd very much like to hear from you. Thank you!

You can find Gayle Tufts' website and upcoming schedule at https://gayle-tufts.de/.

🎙️ LIVE from the Amerikahaus Munich | Over Here, Over There — The Podcast Across Borders

What does America really look like — from the outside?

German journalist and author Johanna Roth spent four years reporting from inside the United States as a foreign correspondent for one of Germany's most respected newspapers, Die Zeit. What she found was a country at war with its own ideals — a nation that proclaimed "all men are created equal" while enslaving human beings, that celebrates freedom while living in fear, and that wraps its deepest contradictions in the flag.

Her book "This is America — Is This America?" (published by Piper) is one of the most talked-about German-language analyses of the United States in years. And in this very special live episode, recorded on stage at the prestigious Amerikahaus Munich, your hosts Claudia Koestler and Dan Harris sit down with Johanna Roth for a candid, provocative, and deeply illuminating conversation — in both German and English.

🔥 In this episode, we ask:

Was America founded by hypocrites — and does that original sin still define the country today?
How close is American democracy to the edge?
Who really runs America right now — Trump, or the Tech Bros?
What do the 250 years between 1776 and today tell us about where the US is headed?
Should Europeans even travel to the United States anymore?
And: what can Germany and America learn from each other — if they're willing to listen?
📖 About Johanna Roth

Johanna Roth (b. 1989) trained at the Deutsche Journalistenschule in Munich, and holds degrees in literature and political science. She served as US correspondent for four years before moving to Brussels as EU correspondent. Unlike many of her generation, she arrived in America without nostalgia — and left with a clear-eyed, analytical portrait of a country in profound conflict with itself. Her book "This is America — Is This America?" is available now via Piper Verlag.

🏛️ About the Amerikahaus Munich

This episode was recorded live on stage at the Amerikahaus Munich — one of Germany's most important transatlantic cultural institutions, dedicated to fostering dialogue, understanding, and exchange between Europe and the United States. We are proud and grateful to partner with the Amerikahaus for this very special live recording.

🔗 Learn more: www.amerikahaus.de

🎧 About Over Here, Over There

Over Here, Over There — The Podcast Across Borders brings you sharp, honest, and human conversations about what divides and connects the US and Europe. Hosted by Claudia Koestler and Dan Harris, the podcast explores transatlantic politics, culture, and society — with the curiosity of an insider and the honesty of an outsider.

🌐 Website: www.overhereoverthere.org

Be honest — when did you last feel genuinely optimistic about the future?
With Trump, Putin, climate chaos, wars, inflation and a media machine built
on doom — it's never been harder to stay hopeful. But what if optimism
isn't just a feeling? What if it's a science-backed survival skill — and
the single most important force keeping democracy alive?

In this live episode, recorded at the beautiful Hotel Klostermaier in Icking,
Bavaria, we sit down with two of Germany's most respected science journalists
and documentary filmmakers — Dirk and Sabine Steffens — to talk about
optimism, the negativity bias, doomscrolling, climate solutions, and why the
facts about our world are far better than the headlines suggest.

Dirk has just published his new book "Hoffnungslos Optimistisch"
(Hopelessly Optimistic) — a must-read for anyone who wants to stop
feeling paralysed and starting to feel empowered again.

🌍 In this episode, you'll discover:
✅ Why pessimism is actually the lazy option — and optimism takes real work
✅ The evolutionary reason your brain is wired for doom (and how to override it)
✅ Why a toddler falls 4,000 times before walking — and what that tells us about resilience
✅ How pooping blue whales could solve up to 40% of our climate problem (yes, really)
✅ Why bees ARE coming back — and you haven't heard about it because of the negativity bias
✅ The shocking truth: over 60% of Germany's electricity now comes from renewables
✅ Why democracy literally cannot function without optimism
✅ How to hack the algorithm to feed you good news instead of doom
✅ What JFK's moon speech teaches us about courage and goal-setting
✅ Why the future is still an open book — and that is great news

💬 "You cannot solve any problem by not being optimistic." — Dirk Steffens
💬 "We have more solutions than problems." — Sabine Steffens
💬 "Democracy is the promise of a better future." — Dirk Steffens

─────────────────────────────────────────
👉 ABOUT DIRK & SABINE STEFFENS
─────────────────────────────────────────
Dirk Steffens and Sabine Steffens are award-winning German science journalists,
documentary filmmakers, and TV presenters. They have traveled to over 120 countries, covering nature, climate, science, and the future of our planet for ZDF, Terra X, and international media. Dirk is the author of the new book
"Hoffnungslos Optimistisch" — a science-based case for hope in troubled times.

📺 Watch their documentaries and reports: https://www.zdf.de/serien/terra-x
🎙️ Their Podcast: https://www.geo.de/wissen/kettenreakt...
📘 Dirk's Book "Hoffnungslos Optimistisch": https://www.penguin.de/buecher/dirk-s...
📸 Dirk on Instagram:&

King Charles III and Queen Camilla are heading to Washington — but is this the most politically charged royal state visit in modern history?

With the UK-US "Special Relationship" under unprecedented strain, a gunman at a White House dinner, the Falklands sovereignty row reigniting, and Donald Trump at his most unpredictable — what can Britain's greatest diplomat actually achieve?

In this exclusive interview, Dan Harris — former White House and Capitol Hill insider, now host of the Global Affairs Podcast @OverHereOverThere — gives the unfiltered American perspective on King Charles's high-stakes visit to Trump's Washington.

👉 What you'll find out in this episode:

- Why Americans are watching this state visit with "morbid fascination"
- Can King Charles actually repair the Special Relationship — or is it already too late?
- How the shooting at the White House Correspondents' Dinner is casting a shadow over the visit
- Why BOTH sides of a divided America are desperately trying to work out: whose side IS the King on?
- What this means for Trump's poll numbers, the midterms — and the future of the UK-US alliance
- The Falklands, Iran, tariffs, Ukraine — and why this visit matters far beyond a royal photo op

🔔 Subscribe for more global affairs analysis, breaking political news and exclusive interviews.

👍 Like this video if you want more content on UK-US relations, royal news and international politics.

📻 Originally broadcast on @BBC Radio Gloucestershire with presenter Graham Rogers.

#KingCharles #Trump #SpecialRelationship #StateVisit #UKPolitics #USPolitics #RoyalFamily #QueenCamilla #KeirStarmer #Falklands #GlobalAffairs #BritishPolitics #BreakingNews #Podcast #BBCRadio #DanHarris #WhiteHouse #BuckinghamPalace #UKUSRelations #PoliticalPodcast #RoyalStateVisit #CharlesIII #TrumpNews #UKNews #NewsToday #InternationalRelations #PodcastInterview #BBCGloucestershire #GrahamRogers #OverHereOverThere

Over Here, Over There is pleased to launch a new series exploring international comedy across cultures, countries, and genres. At a time of global uncertainty and division, we turn to humour to better understand ourselves — and each other.

In this series, we travel across borders in search of what makes people laugh — and why. While the world may feel increasingly divided, laughter remains a universal language. Through these conversations, we hope to highlight our shared humanity and perhaps remind ourselves that the person on the other side of the border is not so different from us after all.

🎙️ This Episode

In this episode, Over Here, Over There co-hosts Claudia Koestler and Dan Harris speak with renowned German comedian and Kabarett artist Arnulf Rating about the unique world of German Kabarett — its history, cultural significance, and enduring role in political and social commentary.

Together, they explore how humour functions as a form of protest, a mirror to society, and a powerful tool for navigating complex political realities. The discussion also compares German Kabarett with American and British comedy traditions, offering fascinating cross-cultural insights into how different societies use humour to challenge authority and reflect on themselves.

The humourist and author Mark Twain once said, 'A German joke is no laughing matter'. As you'll see and hear, Arnulf proves otherwise.

🎧 How to Listen

This is primarily an audio episode and is available on all major podcast platforms, including Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

On our YouTube channel, you can also watch a companion version featuring a curated slideshow highlighting key discussion topics and moments from our conversation with Arnulf Rating.

📣 Join the Conversation

If you enjoyed this episode, please like, share, and subscribe — it really helps us grow.

We’re always keen to hear from our listeners: how does comedy work in your country? What makes people laugh where you are? Share your thoughts and suggestions — we may feature your perspective in a future episode.

🧠 Key Topics

• The history and significance of German Kabarett
• Comparing German humour with American and British comedy
• Humour as a form of protest and societal reflection
• The future of political satire in a changing world

⭐ Special Guest

Arnulf Rating — legendary German comedian and Kabarett artist

🔗 Resources & References

• Arnulf Rating's Website
• Monty Python
• The Daily Show
• Bassem Youssef
• Werner Fink's Performances
• Billy Wilder Films
• Ernst Lubitsch Films

🌐 Guest Links

• Website
• Twitter