Grüezi Amerika. Views from the Sister Republic
Episodes
Episode 45 – Der amerikanische Traum «made in China»?
26 Apr 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Als der Historiker und Autor James T. Adams 1931 den Begriff des «amerikanischen Traums» prägte, war dieser in materieller Hinsicht für die Mehrhe...
Episode 44 – A Pyrrhic Victory for the US and Israel?
10 Apr 2026
Contributed by Lukas
In late February, Israeli airstrikes—soon joined by the United States—targeted key sites across Iran, triggering a chain reaction that has reshape...
Episode 43 – Special Episode: The US Strikes against Iran
04 Mar 2026
Contributed by Lukas
The President who had promised an end of “forever wars” and of unnecessary entanglements has greenlit strikes against Iran. Since February 28, Ira...
Episode 42 – The Trouble with Chagos
27 Feb 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Disputes over territory seem to be the new norm in transatlantic relations: after fears over the world’s largest island Greenland rattled the entire...
Episode 41 – Trump, Tariffs, and the Court
23 Feb 2026
Contributed by Lukas
It's a landmark case: in Learning Resources, Inc. v. Trump (2026), the Supreme Court declared Donald J. Trump's tariff regime unconstitutional. Specif...
Episode 40 –Henry Wirz, Swiss War Criminal of the Civil War
15 Feb 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Nov. 10, 1865: Heinrich “Henry” Wirz is executed as only one of three men tried, convicted, and executed for war crimes during the Civil War – a...
Episode 39 – Grönlandträume
23 Jan 2026
Contributed by Lukas
«We need Greenland» – nicht zur Miete, sondern als Besitz, erklärte US-Präsident Donald J. Trump mehrfach, zuletzt auch am World Economic Forum ...
Episode 38 – Drugs and the Donroe Doctrine
14 Jan 2026
Contributed by Lukas
On January 3, 2026 US troops captured Venezuela's President Nicolás Maduro at his home in Caracas. The political heir of Hugo Chávez had been in off...
Episode 37 – Die Schweizer Wirtschaftsbeziehungen zu den USA nach einem Jahr Trump 2.0
11 Jan 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Das Verhältnis zwischen der Schweiz und den USA scheint nach einem Jahr unter Donald Trump 2.0 angespannt, kühl und unsicher. Ausgerechnet zum Natio...
Episode 36 – ‘tis the Season to Watch Christmas Movies!
21 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
What gets you in a festive mood? For some it’s the lights and mulled wine, wrapping gifts and decorating their home – and for others it’s a Chri...
Episode 35 – JFKs Mörder, QAnon & Co.: Amerikas Liebe zu Verschwörungstheorien
08 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Die Amerikaner waren nie auf dem Mond. Die CIA tötete John F. Kennedy.Die Illuminati kontrollieren alles.George Soros finanziert illegale Einwanderer...
Busting Free Market Myths With Jacob Soll – A Joint Episode of "Grüezi Amerika", "Ohne Senf" and "SQUARE Talks"
18 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
"The Free Market" has been a dominant concept in 20th century political and economic discourse – so dominant in fact that it has remained unquestion...
Episode 33 – As Ohio Goes, So Goes the Nation?
09 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
"As Ohio goes, so goes the nation," thus the old saying: Ohio is reputed to be a microcosm of the US. Since 1896, the majority of Ohioans voted for th...
Episode 32 – Making a Home in America
26 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Owning a home, surrounded by a white picket fence – that’s what many consider part of the proverbial American dream. However, Americans are increa...
Episode 31 – «The Business of Human Emotion». Ins Taylorverse mit Jörn Glasenapp
08 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
«I’m in the business of human emotion,» erklärte sie letztens im Podcast ihres Verlobten – ein Business, das sie beherrscht wie niemand zuvor: ...
Episode 30 – «This is not who we are». Gewalt in Amerika
28 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
«This is not who we are – we are good people», war nicht nur Präsident Joe Bidens Reaktion auf Auswüchse politischer Gewalt, sondern ist ein ...
Episode 29 – Ordnung and Gemee. The Amish and Their Swiss Roots
14 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
2025 is a special year in the history Christianity. Not only is it a holy year for Roman Catholics, it also marks the 500th anniversary of a movement ...
Episode 28 – Mit Trumps Washington verhandeln. Ein Gespräch mit Alt-Botschafter Martin Dahinden
02 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
39 Prozent. Ausgerechnet am Vorabend des Schweizer Nationalfeiertags verkündete die Regierung Donald J. Trumps, dass die Schweiz seinen «Zollhammer»...
Episode 27 – Gewisper in Washington. Amerika hinter den Schlagzeilen
17 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Schlagzeilen über Amerikas Politik und Gesellschaft sind meist laut und schrill, besonders seit Donald J. Trumps zweitem Amtsantritt. Und sie sind pa...
Episode 26 – American Compass and the New Conservatives
28 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
American Compass is, at 5 years, a relatively young think tank, but it has already become well-known for mapping an alternative to right-wing economic...
Episode 25 – Migration beyond Myths & Polemics
20 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
We already seem to have forgotten it, but it has only been weeks that President Donald J. Trump federalized the National Guard to re-establish order i...
Episode 24 – Happy Fourth of July!
03 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Today, Americans celebrate the signing of the Declaration of Independence in 1776 - or do they? As you can suspect from such a rhetorical question, th...
Episode 23 – An Insider’s Guide to the Senate by Jason Thielman
09 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
It’s one of America’s most popular political myths: the idea that George Washington considered the Senate necessary as a “legislative cooling sa...
Episode 22 – New Glarus: A Swiss Founding in Wisconsin
25 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Since the early 18th Century, an estimated 300,000 Swiss emigrated across the Atlantic and settled in the United States. Thus, more than a million Ame...
Episode 21 – A Transatlantic Divorce? America’s Anti-European Foreign Policy
18 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
It was a watershed moment: Vice President JD Vance’s speech at this year’s Munich Security Conference shook European observers. Instead of reaffir...
Episode 20 – Wait Wait… Don’t Tell Me, It’s Katherine Maher!
11 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
For Europeans, they are a staple of their media habits: public media. Whether it’s the grand old lady BBC in the United Kingdom, or the many differe...
Episode 19 – Ryan Enos on the State of the Union – and of the Democrats
06 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Few Harvard professors have been as outspoken against the Trump Administration’s attack against their University as he has: Ryan Enos has spoken at ...
Episode 18 – Hollywood in Times of Political Division
27 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Disney turned its beloved Snow White into a live action movie – and no one seems happy: some criticize the casting with a Latina star whose skin is ...
Episode 17 – Rollercoaster Economics 101 with Simon Evenett
21 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Many tried to predict what Donald J. Trump’s first 100 days in office would amount to. The best advice stemmed from Karl Rove, long-time Republican ...
Episode 16 – It Happened Here – or Did It?
15 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
“But – it can’t happen here!” many Americans asserted in light of the Nazi takeover in Germany. Novelist and muckraker Sinclair Lewis ran with...
Episode 15 – Emil Frey: Vom US-Bürgerkrieg in den Bundesrat
06 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Emil Frey (1838-1922) war bislang nicht nur der einzige Bundesrat aus dem Kanton Basel-Land, sondern auch – laut der NZZ – «der abenteuerlichste ...
Episode 14 – Poland Leading the European Way under Trump 2.0?
30 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
"Si vis pacem, para bellum" – "If you want peace, prepare for war." This could become the new motto of Europe under the second Trump Administration:...
Episode 13 – Trump in the Ivory Tower: Academic Freedom under Assault?
26 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Scientific freedom under assault? The headlines and numbers are worrisome: amidst federal funding cuts, even the wealthiest research universities have...
Episode 12 – Law & Order
16 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Von amerikanischen Krimi- und Gerichtsserien bis zu True Crime-Podcasts und Dokumentationen: Viele von uns tauchen immer wieder einmal in die US-(Verb...
Episode 11 – The 2nd Certainty in Life – Taxes!
09 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
53% of Americans are "very bothered" by the complexity of the US tax system – rightly so, explains Prof. Peter Hongler in this episode of "Views fro...
Episode 10 – Mit Peter Hossli am Puls Amerikas
02 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Seit Donald J. Trump wieder im Amt ist scheinen die USA und die Welt in fieberhafter Erregung. Nie wurde so minutiös über jede Amtshandlung eines Pr...
Episode 9 – The Dismantling of the Administrative State?
23 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Already in his first run for the presidency, Donald J. Trump promised voters to "drain the swamp" and reign in the administrative state. To this end, ...
Episode 8 – Taiwan: the Most Dangerous Place on Earth in the age of Trump 2.0
09 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In May 2021, the British weekly The Economist declared Taiwan to be "The Most Dangerous Place on Earth." While the advent of war in the Middle East an...
Episode 7 – Wie die «Swiss Miss» den USA das Referendum brachte
26 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Die Idee, dass die Schweiz und die USA «Schwesterrepubliken» respektive «Sister Republics» sind, reicht bis ins 18. Jahrhundert zurück. Kurz nach...
Episode 6 – God and Growth: Donald J. Trump's 2nd Inaugural Address
21 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Inaugural addresses serve several purposes: Presidents outline their agenda, they signal American citizens that they will serve all of them, irrespect...
Episode 5 – US-Russian Relations and the War against Ukraine
12 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
During his election campaign, Donald J. Trump promised to end Russia’s war against Ukraine within 24 hours. Ever since, pundits and scholars have de...
Episode 4 – Bonus: Santa at the White House
22 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
‘tis the season to be merry! Every year, the First Lady gets to preside over the Christmas decorations at the White House and the president gets to ...
Episode 3 – Is It the Economy, Stupid?
18 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
President Bill Clinton’s electoral slogan "It’s the Economy, Stupid!" has hardly been more popular than now: according to exit polls, the economy ...
Episode 2 – Making Sense of the Election
15 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
What helps us understand – and, for some, to cope with – the outcome of the US elections? Of course, exit polls and analyses of seasoned observers...
Episode 1 – Who's afraid of Donald Trump?
11 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
How dangerous is Trump 2.0 – and is the incoming president a danger at all? Prof. Christoph Frei joins the host, Claudia Brühwiler, to discuss the ...
Grüezi Amerika. Views from the Sister Republic – Trailer
06 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
What a roller-coaster of an election year this has been! The term "historic" tends to be over-used, but 2024 has definitely earned its place in the hi...