In Germany, as in the United States and much of Europe, there has been a rising surge of support for far-right populism and anti-democratic forces. This is exemplified in the growth of the far-right political party "Alternative for Germany" (AFD). In this episode, Heather and Colin compare still-simmering political tensions between former East and West Germany with those between red and blue states in the US — and examine why German democracy has, so far, proven more resilient to authoritarianism than US democracy. Special thanks to the experts featured in this episode:   Martin Lange, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Tour with a Berliner⁠⁠ ⁠Dr. Berit Ebert⁠, Bard College Berlin Alec MacGillis, ProPublica Nicola Hieke⁠, ⁠Landeskoordinierungstelle Bayern gegen Rechtsextremismus⁠ (Bavaria State Coordination Office Against Right-Wing Extremism) ⁠Professor Thomas Gschwend⁠, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠University of Mannheim⁠ German Democratic Republic borders, 1949-1990 Map of German federal election results, 2025 The New Yorker: The Complicated Rise of the Right in Germany’s Left-Behind Places by Alec MacGillis ⁠⁠Music and archival references⁠⁠   For more information on More Equitable Democracy’s work, please visit: ⁠⁠https://www.equitabledemocracy.org/⁠ For more information on Larj Media, please visit: ⁠⁠https://www.larjmedia.com/⁠⁠