AfD election success in Saxony-Anhalt causes concern – festival wants to bring culture back

After the state elections in Saxony-Anhalt, concerns about a possible AfD government remain high. After the party's clear election victory last Sunday, the Queer Diversity Association (LSVD+) warned about the dangers for gay, lesbian and queer people. Occasionally people are considering emigrating from the country. At the same time, the Republic is arguing about the reasons for the AfD's electoral success. Since this weekend, a festival has been taking place in Saxony-Anhalt that aims to move away from discussions and into action. In the historic Zschornewitz power plant near Bitterfeld-Wolfen, the history and present of “the East” will be discussed and cultural offerings will be brought back to the region. Aljoscha Begrich is part of the festival management. In the podcast he talks about how art can be used for community and what the AfD success means for the festival.

Days of power outages, lack of food – everyday life for people in Cuba is difficult. The increasingly strict embargoes in the USA have forced factories to come to a standstill and state-owned shopping centers are empty. The US government under President Donald Trump wants to bring the socialist government in Havana to collapse, but has so far been unsuccessful. There are no protests from the civilian population. Many Cubans make do with power outages by running trucks on oil instead of diesel. Why don't people turn against the government? And how do people in Cuba view the USA? Alexander Kauschanski answers these and other questions about the situation in Cuba; he visited the island for ZEIT.

And otherwise? Food jet lag is particularly unhealthy for men.

Moderation and production: Imre Balzer

Collaboration: Sophia Boddenberg and Benjamin Probst

You can find all episodes of our podcast here. Questions, criticism, suggestions? You can reach us at [email protected].