Swiss Mix

About Swiss Mix

Swiss Mix, the discussion podcast for internationals in Switzerland, yes, everybody who comes from somewhere else, plus anyone else interested, looking for an international perspective and an open, grounded take on the stuff affecting us.

Publisher

Martin and Katrin

Category

society & culture

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

6 Aug 2024

Latest episode

4 Mar 2025

Latest episodes

10 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   4 Mar 2025

   10. The German election - the end of Germany or just a digression to the mean? And what does it mean for Europe and Switzerland? We agree to disagree

   On the day of our podcast, Germany was holding its election, deciding on who to lead them into the future. After 20 years of stagnation and relative decline, who is going to lead the country? The outcome was already quite clear. And what effects is it going to have on Switzerland? Germany being one of Switzerlands main trading partners. A look at our large neighbour.

2. 

   28 Feb 2025

   Juke Box Jury

   Back in the 1960's, there was an English radio show, when it was cool Brittannia, the Rolling Stones, the Beatles, Led Zeppelin were in full swing. Celebrity guests came in, reviewed and rated newly released pop singles. Like "Satisfaction", from the Stones for example. The program was a pop staple during the rise of pop music in the 1960s, putting out new songs with opinions from well-known figures in entertainment at the time. We have decided to renew, revitalise, and reincarnate this classic show, with a twist. Katrin and Martin invite Martins twelve year old daughter Caitlin, and if possible, a friend of Martins daughter, Martin and Katrin will play something they like, in this case, "I can't get no Satisfaction", from the Rolling Stones. Caitlin and her friend will review and critique the song from the vaults, the crypts of Rock. Caitlin and her friend will then play something new, fresh and recent that they like, in this case, "Look what you made me do", by Taylor Swift. So the concept: Dad asks daughter to critique ancient pop icon Daughter asks Dad to critique new pop icon The results, hilariously funny. Hear for yourself. Links: https://open.spotify.com/track/2PzU4IB8Dr6mxV3lHuaG34?si=2c6d9bc191ba44c1 (https://open.spotify.com/track/2PzU4IB8Dr6mxV3lHuaG34?si=2c6d9bc191ba44c1) https://open.spotify.com/track/1P17dC1amhFzptugyAO7Il?si=0e90ffb3717c4dca (https://open.spotify.com/track/1P17dC1amhFzptugyAO7Il?si=0e90ffb3717c4dca)

3. 

   25 Feb 2025

   8. Our first guest, Reggie Saunders, soul singer extraordinaire.

   Our first guest appears on SwissMix! And with a world premiere! :-) Reggie Saunders, soul singer in Zürich, presents his new single "They don't know" to be published soon. https://www.reggiesaunders.com/ (https://www.reggiesaunders.com/) We are having an entertaining and very personal discussion about what life is like for a Los Angeles native, transplanted to Zürich and Reggie's life as a soul singer. Listen in! One for all soul fans.

4. 

   7 Feb 2025

   7. Trump, Tariffs, Terror, or Method in creative destruction. Some insight from a negotiators perspective

   The new American administration is moving at lightning speed, doing so many things at once, so that the opposition is overwhelmed and cannot react in time. It is a highly effective strategy. So what does it mean for Switzerland? If anything? What is the Swiss approach? How should Switzerland negotiate? How to deal with the cultural differences? The future of journalism. We are moving toward citizen journalism. X is becoming the most popular news source in country after country. What does it mean? The good, the bad, the comedic when journalists get caught lying. "Fact checking!!!!!" Checks and Balances. The impact of the Trump regime on Europe and impact on European voter habits.

5. 

   3 Feb 2025

   6. “It's going to be one hell of a ride!” What to expect from Trump 2.0 Topic: Donald Trump's second term

   In this episode, we debate Donald Trump's inauguration and what we can expect from his second term as President of the United States. From Trump's policies on immigration to his lineup of staff, we speculate about what the future will look like for the US and how it will influence business and politics in Switzerland. As Martin puts it perfectly, it's time to “get ready, buckle in for the roller coaster because it's going to be one hell of a ride!” Trump's second term as president: A wave of positive change or a cause for concern? Share your thoughts in the comments on Spotify.

6. 

   20 Nov 2024

   5. Living in Barbieland? The importance of freedom of speech. Also in Switzerland.

   Swiss Mix host Andreas Mäder and guest discuss the critical importance of freedom of speech in a functioning democracy, warning against the dangers of censorship and totalitarianism.

7. 

   5 Oct 2024

   4. Starting a (your own) company in Switzerland. Starting your own business. Yes, the step to independence. Friendliness and hostility of Swiss environment to entrepreneurial activity for all those thinking about that step to freedom.

   Switzerland is a really easy place to start a company or make yourself independent and start doing stuff yourself. Very friendly. Even given your choice of bank can be limited to one of three or four. Plus the bank of choice may simply refuse to open an account for you. However, it gets more difficult the larger you become. Being a sole proprietorship or forming a limited liability company (GmbH.) or stock company (Aktiengesellschaft) is still relatively easy (mostly) compared to Europe, but, it gets more difficult after formation. In the last 10 years Swiss financial and industrial policy has become increasingly hostile to small business and entrepreneurship. Regardless of what various Swiss and other propaganda outlets say about it. The recent revision of corporate law in Switzerland was more hostile than friendly to entrepreneurs, though whitewashed by the local media. Things are however nowhere near as as bad as Europe. Which has been and is disastrous. How bad is reflected in economic activity figures in the EU. Germany for example, economic activity has been basically flat, ie., no growth at all in the last ten years (in 2011: index = 100. in 2024: index = 95). While Switzerland economic activity is going up steadily. (in 2011: index = 100. in 2024: index = 140). The EU problems basically stem from centralisation strangling competition and innovation. Whereas in Switzerland, the Cantons are all competing with one another. While growth in Switzerland has been Ok, in comparison to the EU, a more meaningful comparison, given the intellectual and academic capital here is..... It sucks compared to the USA, Australia or Canada. Let alone places in Asia or the Middle East. The culprit is lousy industry policy. Swiss industrial policy, given the results, can only be seen as a failure.

8. 

   5 Sept 2024

   3. Our take on the very long arm of American regulation and its actions and effects in Switzerland. Switzerland is not immune. A short look.

   Starting with a look at Robert F. Kennedy and his now suspended campaign, to Donald Trump and policy choices affecting the world, we look at United States laws, rules, whims and actions and the world wide effects of who actually sits in the hot seat of the US presidency. What happens in America does have effects on Switzerland. Sometimes material. Switzerland retains a lot of its independence, both from Europe and it is not effectively a vassal state of the United States in the way Germany is, but it’s worth taking a short look at a few of the more obvious examples. Companies doing business with the United States are often subject to US law. Hence, asset managers working with Americans are subject to US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) law and rules. The US “Office of Foreign Asset Control” (OFAC), which monitor sanctions compliance consider Swiss banks to be subject to their rules. Hence, OFAC has been a regular visitor to Switzerland over the last 12 to 18 months, carrying out interviews with banks and other financial institutions regarding Russia sanctions compliance in relation to the Ukraine war. Which is new, previously, Switzerland could do pretty much what it wanted. No longer. Should Switzerland in the eyes of US authorites “misbehave”, what are the penalties the US could apply to Switzerland to get compliance. Both explicit actions and implicit threats. Follow us: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/swiss-mix/id1760215164 https://open.spotify.com/show/6Gm0GFAWnRXCFas7ZbYa4I?si=376e3651b8cd485e https://castbox.fm/channel/id6237636 (https://castbox.fm/channel/id6237636?utm_campaign=web_share&utm_content=Swiss+Mix-CastBox_FM&utm_medium=dlink&utm_source=website) https://feeds.redcircle.com/bbe1b550-faf3-4497-b33f-f19df385e809

9. 

   29 Aug 2024

   2. The Swiss Pillar 1 pension (AHV) 13. Payment debate. An alternate point of view. How what would be a total non-starter in any other country becomes the law of the land in Switzerland.

   We look at how the 13. Pension payment for the Swiss pillar 1 (AHV) came about. Taking a look at one of the sacred pillars of Swiss society. This was a result of an initiative by the Association of Swiss Unions, an otherwise relatively quiet association. They put a pay rise for pensioners on the national agenda, pushed and got a referendum, they won, as the people voted in favour. Swiss Parliament did not want this. Most Swiss politicians did not – apparently - want this discussed, let alone on the ballot. The people did however. They voted and it was passed. The Swiss government is now required, forced in fact, to implement this, find a way to pay for it and make it work. In no other western country would this be possible. Once again, Switzerlands direct democracy makes stuff possible. This would be a total Non-Starter in Britain, Germany, France and pretty much anywhere else. We now come to the crunch: How is the 4.7 Billion CHF per annum going to be paid for? As usual when it involves money, it gets complicated. We look at the alternatives. With a passing look at Switzerlands secret sovereign wealth fund. Follow us: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/swiss-mix/id1760215164 https://open.spotify.com/show/6Gm0GFAWnRXCFas7ZbYa4I?si=376e3651b8cd485e https://castbox.fm/channel/id6237636 (https://castbox.fm/channel/id6237636?utm_campaign=web_share&utm_content=Swiss+Mix-CastBox_FM&utm_medium=dlink&utm_source=website) https://feeds.redcircle.com/bbe1b550-faf3-4497-b33f-f19df385e809

10. 

    6 Aug 2024

    1. Our first show. How Switzerland works – our take for beginners.

    For the first show, we start with a big one: How Switzerland works, how the direct democracy gets pretty good outcomes, most of the time. Certainly better than any other European country. Switzerlands unique system of devolved power, distributed governance and the funky system of direct democracy, where most anybody can gather 100,000 signatures and force a referendum, the result of which is legally binding on the government. A master class in how to give direct power to the people, how to make a government answerable directly to the people, how to create highly effective feedback loops to keep a government in line and stop politicians from doing “dumb shit”. And how to prevent the formation of large, concentrated power bases in political parties. No other country works this way, because, politicians hate it and do everything in their power to prevent such direct feedback loops being put into place. Putting power in the hands of the people, where it belongs. A beginner look at the institutions that make Switzerland such a good, safe place to live, where things just “work”. Follow us: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/swiss-mix/id1760215164 https://open.spotify.com/show/6Gm0GFAWnRXCFas7ZbYa4I?si=376e3651b8cd485e https://castbox.fm/channel/id6237636 (https://castbox.fm/channel/id6237636?utm_campaign=web_share&utm_content=Swiss+Mix-CastBox_FM&utm_medium=dlink&utm_source=website) https://feeds.redcircle.com/bbe1b550-faf3-4497-b33f-f19df385e809

Reach and audience

Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.

Spotify

5.0 / 5

3 ratings

Podcast Authority Score: 23 / 100

A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.

Quality

34

Social presence

0

YouTube

0

Engagement

32

Contact Swiss Mix

Guest appearances

Books guests

Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.