Look, we get it. When you think “German humour,” you probably think… well, you probably don’t think anything, because the assumption is there isn’t any. But what if we told you that Germans have been making people laugh — and making powerful people deeply, deeply uncomfortable — for over a century? And that there’s an entire art form built around it that most of the world has never heard of? Meet Arnulf Rating. Veteran Kabarett artist and Comedian. Sharp-tongued satirist. Man who once got banned from German television for five years for a sketch about Mary, Joseph, and a rather awkward late-night conversation. The Catholic Church was NOT amused. Others absolutely were. 😂 In this episode, we get into:

  • The German comedian who trolled the Nazis ON STAGE — in the 1930s — and lived.
  • What Jimmy Kimmel, Jon Stewart, Bassem Youssef, and German Kabarett all have in common.
  • Why Germans exported BMWs, Mercedeses and Leopard tanks to the world… but kept the humor to themselves.
  • Why German Kabarett artists are basically the broke, principled, slightly brooding cousins of stand-up comedians.
  • What Schadenfreude, Zeitgeist and Kindergarten reveal about the German psyche (yes, really).
  • How Billy Wilder & Ernst Lubitsch brought German humor to Hollywood.

And why anarchy, delivered with a straight face and perfect grammar, is basically Germany’s secret superpower. This is the episode for anyone who has ever been told Germans have no sense of humor — send it to them immediately. You’re welcome!

Dan Harris is an international marketing consultant and Director of HymnSheet Ltd., based in the UK and Europe. He co-hosts the 'Over Here, Over There' podcast and appears on BBC radio and other broadcast media.