Stammtisch - the latest political chatter from Berlin

Summer's almost over and it's back to school for the Stammtisch team. This week, DW's Elizabeth Schumacher and Spiegel Online's Kristin Haug join hosts Damien McGuinness and Michaela Küfner to see if German education is up to A* standard - or will it be staying behind after class?

Get out your hankie: this week, Damien McGuinness and Michaela Küfner bid a fond "Auf Wiedersehen!" to Stammtisch stalwart Jeremy Cliffe as he leaves The Economist's Berlin bureau for Brussels. Also joining us on the Berlin-Brussels extravaganza is ECFR's Almut Moeller to explain what will be keeping the EU busy this autumn.

Germany is indeed feeling hot this summer: With record high temperatures and record low rainfall — Berlin has gone tropical. This week, Stammtisch hosts Damien McGuinness and Michaela Küfner are joined by Climate Analytics' Claire Fyson and the UFU's Tinène Belakhdar to see what Germany's doing - or not doing - in the face of climate change.

Almost three decades since German reunifcation, Berlin is still slowly stitching itself back together. Hosts Damien McGuinness and Michaela Küfner head to Berlin's famous Prater Garten with Peter Craven and Jeremy Cliffe to mull over the challenges facing Berlin today and why, despite the gripes, they'll "always have a suitcase in Berlin."

The heat wave is showing no sign of letting up in Berlin, so Damien McGuinness heads outdoors on this week's episode with guests Jeremy Cliffe, Emmanuelle Chaze and Julia Berghofer. Are we witnessing the end of the West? Join us for an ice cream as we discuss whether Germany can be the leader of liberal order.

Get out those hot pants. Spruce up that wig. And splash on some glitter. As Pride weekend hits the streets of Berlin, Damien McGuinness talks with Jeremy Cliffe (The Economist), Manuela Kay (L-Mag) and Kaey (Siegessäule) about what Pride parades can and can't do for politics. And just how progressive is Germany when it comes to LGBTQI rights?

Is there a doctor in the house? Germany's healthcare system gets a check-up on this week's podcast as host Damien McGuinness puts on his scrubs with AFP's Deborah Cole, and DW's Kate Brady and Rupert Wiederwald.

Slap on the sunblock, Stammtisch is bringing the British seaside to Berlin as we talk all things Brexit. So, what does Germany have to do with the whole thing anyway? Quite a lot, as it turns out… This week, podcast hosts Damien McGuinness and The Economist's Jeremy Cliffe are joined by guests Jill Petzinger (Quartz) and Almut Möller (ECFR) with your weekly fill of political gossip from Berlin.

After a rocky few weeks over migration policy, have German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Interior Minister Horst Seehofer finally reconciled? On this week's podcast, Stammtisch hosts Damien McGuinness and Michaela Küfner are joined by agony aunts The Guardian's Philip Oltermann and The Economist's Jeremy Cliffe to offer some political relationship advice.

What does Turkish President Erdogan's election win mean for Germany? How do German-Turks live today? And why is Michaela's hamster Billy finding stardom in South Korea? This week we shake off our Alman dorkiness and go cool Kreuzberg, as hosts Damien McGuinness and Michaela Küfner chat all things Turkish with their guests Isil Nergiz and Ali Celikkan.