ohm is the infinite mantra. it drifts, reshapes, and re-spells itself across time and space. under neoliberal global capitalism, it drifts endlessly—at times commodified as a brand or company, at times canonized in yoga classes, at times reappropriated, or inherited as surname, and inscribed as the physical formula of resistance: Ω. against the backdrop of its multiple, often contradictory, meanings, ohm became the framework of this episode: a bracket for some collected thoughts on policing, gentrification, touristification, and displacement in berlin—and on how the city is reappropriated through sound and music. i invite you to join me in my dérives (driftings) through kreuzberg, where police encode their presence through sirens, where bouncers decide who belongs to the party, where people of color resist exclusionary politics with critique, hope, and other parties, and where all kinds of communities construct all kinds of other ways of dwelling, chilling, and singing.

translations

wagenplatz protest speech …when we first arrived, the place was full of trash. we fixed the garage roof, set up free internet for ourselves and the neighborhood. we created a space where twenty people, seven dogs, and several workshops have found a safe and caring home for four years now. (…) we held workshops, repaired bikes, organized community kitchens, planted gardens, grew our own vegetables, hosted parties to cover construction costs, celebrated and mourned together. we carried each other through crises, built new wagons, and again and again created a home. (…) but this idyll was constantly threatened. on the second day of building, ten police officers showed up. they wanted to know what we were doing, whether we had a rental contract. our landlord was pulled out of a family gathering and told we were criminals, occupying the site and causing trouble. a riot squad was already waiting. only a valid rental contract saved us. (…) what followed was a fight for the simple right to be here. again and again new conditions, new controls, surveillance, harassment. hey, dear authorities! how would you feel if we came into your living room and told you how to arrange it!? (…) all this in times when there are far more urgent issues: housing shortages, elderly poverty, unaffordable utilities, right-wing violence. instead, for four years, we’ve been forced to fight for a place that nobody else even wants—while also becoming a target of the far-right. they’ve had us on their radar for a long time. (…) and now we’re waiting for the court decision that could evict us. we don’t know if we’ll find another space without political support. but we are still here!

friends walking through görli at night …but this closure is decided now, or what? yeah. yeah yeah… (…) maybe they’ll just close the park monday to friday nights, and on friday to saturday and saturday to sunday it stays open… until four or so, with a one-hour quiet break. … do you want to go through the middle? yeah. … do you think they’ll turn off the streetlights then? laughs: probably. although they look so new…