In the second part of our Red Vienna series, the grand experiment collides with political reality. We follow the rise of Engelbert Dollfuß, the emergence of Austrofascism, and the escalating tensions that culminated in the Austrian Civil War of 1934. Along the way, Karl-Marx-Hof goes from model housing project to battlefield, and Vienna's socialist dream comes to a dramatic end.

Of course, we can't leave Red Vienna behind without reflecting on its lasting legacy, debating proper laundromat etiquette, and agreeing that "Millimetternich" might be one of the greatest political nicknames ever coined. Join us as we explore how a conflict that lasted only a few days helped shape Austria for decades to come.

For more, check us out on social media at viennapastandpresent (viennapastandpres on Instagram) or at viennapastandpresent.com. Reach out to us at viennapastandpresent@gmail.com. We love hearing feedback and ideas. Danke!

LINKS

Exhibit at Karl-Marx-Hof: https://dasrotewien-waschsalon.at/sonderausstellung/auch-fuer-nichtschwimmer

City website with overview of Gemeindebau:https://www.wien.gv.at/kultur/kulturgut-gemeindebauten

https://www.ooegeschichte.at/archiv/themen/wir-oberoesterreicher/buergerkrieg-in-oberoesterreich

https://www.geschichtewiki.wien.gv.at/Republikanischer_Schutzbund

https://www.geschichtewiki.wien.gv.at/Heimwehr

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/July_Revolt_of_1927

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Engelbert_Dollfuss

What happens when a city decides to reinvent everyday life from the ground up? In this episode, we dive into Red Vienna—an ambitious socialist experiment that transformed the city in the 1920s with massive housing projects, public baths, and a bold vision of "luxury for everyone." From the monumental Karl-Marx-Hof to the world of communal laundries, we explore how Vienna tried to build a better society, one apartment block at a time. Along the way, we (once again) fulfill listener demand for more washbasin and washing machine facts -- because apparently that's what the people want. And just when things take a dramatic turn in 1933, we leave you with a cliffhanger… of a cliffhanger.

For more, check us out on social media at viennapastandpresent (viennapastandpres on Instagra) or at viennapastandpresent.com. Reach out to us at viennapastandpresent@gmail.com. We love hearing feedback and ideas. Danke!

Thinking of moving to Vienna? Already here but still confused? In this grab-bag episode, we present your unofficial Vienna Survival Guide—covering the less-obvious, entirely unwritten rules that no one explains until you've already broken them. From mastering the sacred art of lüften to emotionally preparing yourself for shops being closed on Sundays (yes, all of them), we've got you covered.

We also unpack the delicate science of tipping culture, the deeply ritualized world of Viennese coffeehouses, and the shocking news that Vienna recently received a top friendliness ranking—a development that has left us… skeptical.

Whether you're new in town or just trying to avoid another passive-aggressive note in your building hallway, this episode is your crash course in surviving—and maybe even thriving—in Vienna.

For more, check us out on social media at viennapastandpresent or at viennapastandpresent.com. Reach out to us at viennapastandpresent@gmail.com. We love hearing feedback and ideas. Danke!

The Florentine Diamond is one of Europe's most famous missing jewels—or at least, it was. In this episode, we trace the extraordinary journey of a 137-carat diamond from Renaissance Florence and the Medici dynasty to the Habsburgs, the collapse of empire, and a century-long disappearance that turns out not to have been a disappearance at all.

Along the way, we meet Empress Zita, who doesn't just have one of the best Habsburg names, but also ran one of the tightest ships in imperial history—successfully keeping a world-class secret for over 100 years. Carmen and Stephen also question the wisdom of transporting priceless crown jewels across the Atlantic in a cardboard suitcase, and are scandalized at the purported price of the diamond.

For more, check us out on social media at viennapastandpresent or at viennapastandpresent.com. Reach out to us at viennapastandpresent@gmail.com. We love hearing feedback and ideas. Danke!

If you saw some nuns escaping a retirement home to return to their former castle, what would you do? If you're at all unsure, you should hear the story of the nuns of Castle Goldenstein, the recent *darlings* of Austrian and international news. With low-speed car chases, hugging police officers, Stephen's stuffy sick voice, and social media stardom -- this episode really has it all. And the youngest nun is 81! Feel lazy yet? Yes... we do, too.

Follow their instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nonnen_goldenstein/

For more, check us out on social media at viennapastandpresent or at viennapastandpresent.com. Reach out to us at viennapastandpresent@gmail.com. We love hearing feedback and ideas. Danke!

In our first Halloween episode, we sink our teeth into the true story of the vampire panic that swept through the Habsburg borderlands during the Age of Enlightenment—because nothing says "reason and progress" like mass fear of the undead. It all begins in 18th-century Serbia, where a shoeless peasant was said to have crawled out of his grave to reclaim his footwear… and maybe a little blood. From there, the hysteria spread across the empire, reaching even the court of Empress Maria Theresia herself. Her response? A vampire decree based on reports by her Dutch physician, Gerard van Swieten—the very man who would later inspire Bram Stoker's legendary vampire hunter, Professor Van Helsing. Join us as we trace how the Enlightenment tried (and mostly succeeded) to drive a stake through superstition—and how bats somehow ended up taking the blame.

For more, check us out on social media at viennapastandpresent or at viennapastandpresent.com. Reach out to us at viennapastandpresent@gmail.com. We love hearing feedback and ideas. Danke!

LINKS

Klenk+Reiter podcast: https://open.spotify.com/show/74Ib9NB1WM4KdImJBWaiHD?si=14d7e9ebf36f4258

Arnold Paole - Wikipedia

Petar Blagojević - Wikipedia

The Theological and Esoteric Debate on the Existence of Vampires (17th–19th centuries). 2. An Epidemic of Vampirism in the Austro-Hungarian Empire

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gerard_van_Swieten

https://www.onb.ac.at/mehr/blogs/untot-seit-dem-18-jahrhundert-der-erste-vampirhype

https://anno.onb.ac.at/cgi-content/anno?aid=wrz&datum=17250721&seite=11&zoom=33

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1369848612000313

https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20250630-serbian-village-stakes-claim-to-the-first-vampire

https://www.br.de/radio/bayern2/sendungen/kalenderblatt/maria-theresia-verkuendet-den-vampir-erlass-100.html

https://www.thegreatprojects.com/blog/bats-associated-with-vampires

This week, we're freefalling into the story of Felix Baumgartner, Austria's very own daredevil skydiver who leapt from the stratosphere (literally). Along the way, Stephen valiantly attempts some German words with mixed results, Carmen learns a few things she probably should have already known, and together they try—and mostly fail—to understand what drives someone to jump out of perfectly good aircraft for fun. Is it bravery, madness, or just another day in the life of a man who redefined "living on the edge"? Join us as we parachute straight into the world of Felix Baumgartner.

For more, check us out on social media at viennapastandpresent or at viennapastandpresent.com. Reach out to us at viennapastandpresent@gmail.com. We love hearing feedback and ideas. Danke!

LINKS

Felix Baumgartner - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

https://www.derstandard.at/story/3000000280012/felix-baumgartner-obduktion-soll-todesursache-klaeren

https://www.derstandard.at/story/3000000279972/felix-baumgartner-ein-teufelskerl-mit-eigenem-kopf

https://www.redbull.com/int-en/felix-baumgartner-in-numbers

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BASE_jumping

https://felixbaumgartner.com/base-jumper/

https://www.theguardian.com/sport/blog/2012/oct/16/felix-baumgartner-from-the-vault

https://www.redbull.com/int-en/red-bull-stratos-contribution-to-science

https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/records/hall-of-fame/felix-baumgartner-first-person-to-break-sound-barrier-in-freefall

In this episode, we uncover the strange and fascinating life of Wilhelm Reich, a once-promising Vienna-trained psychoanalyst whose career took a sharp turn into uncharted territory. From a scandalous youth and mentorship under Freud to his unorthodox theories on "orgastic potency," Reich's ideas often teetered between groundbreaking and eyebrow-raising. We follow him across the Atlantic, where he invented the Orgone Accumulator (a.k.a. the cosmic orgasm box), clashed with the FDA, tried to win over Einstein, and even claimed to battle UFOs in the Arizona desert. Visionary, eccentric, or both? Either way, his story is a wild ride through sex, pseudoscience, and space energy.

For more, check us out on social media at viennapastandpresent or at viennapastandpresent.com. Reach out to us at viennapastandpresent@gmail.com. We love hearing feedback and ideas. Danke!

LINKS
https://www.nytimes.com/1971/01/04/archives/back-into-the-old-orgone-box.html

https://projectmailer.net/pm/The_Mailer_Review/Volume_10,_2016/Mailer%E2%80%99s_Use_of_Wilhelm_Reich

https://www.meduniwien.ac.at/web/en/about-us/history/

https://www.wilhelmreich.at/wp-content/uploads/Hebenstreit_Diplomarbeitsauszug-2.pdf

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orgone

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wilhelm_Reich

https://www.scribd.com/document/409496302/brady-the-strange-case-of-wilhelm-reich-pdf

https://oe1.orf.at/artikel/328444/Film-Der-Fall-Wilhelm-Reich

https://www.lennygibson.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/Reich-review.pdf

Movie about Reich (Apple+): https://tv.apple.com/at/movie/the-strange-case-of-wilhelm-reich/umc.cmc.4d5kpivmlampf1bsyguxnu6my?l=en

NYTimes article : https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1957/12/07/87342935.html?pageNumber=20