Images: Wikimedia commons, Axel Hindemith, Roy Zuo, CC BY-SA 4.0
This morning, we'll start with a quick German lesson that doubles as an insight into how Berlin's political parties form governments. Sondierungsgespräch is the usual term for "exploratory talks" – although sondieren literally means "to sound out" or "to take soundings" (as when sailors would drop a weighted line into the water to check how deep it was). Sondierungsgespräche, then, are the talks at which parties test the depth of one another's commitments to this or that issue, and whether there is any chance of working together.
Yet in Berlin, right now, the level of political hesitation is such that the SPD and the Greens can't decide whether they're actually ready for them.
HEIST is a worker-owned online magazine, founded by writers and editors who after years working across Berlin's media landscape believed something essential was missing.
Anyone living here has felt a growing gap between the city as it actually is and the version being served up by mainstream outlets. We experienced that disconnect firsthand. We saw political censorship shape coverage decisions and felt the weight of billionaire ownership land directly on our work. It reached a point where we could either keep going along with it, or try to build something better.
That's why we created HEIST.
And look at you: scrolling, clicking, squinting at blurred text just to get a little further. If you'll go to that much effort to read HEIST, you can surely give us one email. That's the whole price, and the rest of the story is right behind it.
Real journalism costs money. We commission the hard-hitting, well-reported, long-form work everyone wants to read but nobody seems to publish anymore.
The future of this city is still in the balance. We intend to be part of that struggle. We hope that you'll join us.
