PODCAST: Germany embraces night trains and why the chancellor wants you to become German

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In the latest episode of our Germany in Focus podcast, host Rachel Loxton is joined by panelists Rachel Stern and Imogen Goodman. Our sound engineer is Rhys Edwards.

We start off by talking about a new night train service between Berlin and Paris and some more train news. 

• Berlin-Paris night train to return after nine years 
• The best night trains running through Germany
• What to know about the new planned cross-border rail services between Germany and Austria

As we are going into autumn, we discuss what the advice is for getting another Covid vaccination.

• Who should get a Covid jab this autumn?

Chancellor Olaf Scholz is encouraging people to apply to become German - we look into why and talk about the government’s plans to become more immigrant and digital friendly.

• Chancellor Scholz encourages foreigners to apply for German citizenship 
• Germany unveils new plan to become more immigrant and digital friendly

We’ll hear the second part of our interview with beer expert Christina Schönberger, a brewing engineer at BarthHaas, who tells us how German beer habits are changing and shares her beer recommendations.

Choosing health insurance in Germany can be really tricky, so we’ll dig into a reader question on how to choose between public and private cover. 

• Could it soon get harder to get private health insurance in Germany?
• German health insurance contributions to rise in 2024

Lastly we’ll talk about what we’re looking forward to this autumn.