logo
episode-header-image
May 2021
2m 30s

Introducing: Day X

The New York Times
About this episode

What starts with a mysterious gun in an airport bathroom and a fake refugee identity opens the door to a nationwide network of far-right extremists inside Germany’s military and police. It’s a story about a changing national identity — and the backlash against it — raising a question that democracies across the world are waking up to: What happens when the threat is coming from within?

See all episodes of Day X at nytimes.com/dayx

Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher. For more podcasts and narrated articles, download The New York Times app at nytimes.com/app.

Up next
Jun 2021
Day X, Part 5: Defensive Democracy
In this episode, we get answers on just how bad the problem of far-right infiltration in the German military and police really is — and how Germany is trying to address it.We learn about Germany's "defensive democracy," which was designed after World War II to protect the country ... Show More
38m 7s
Jun 2021
Day X, Part 4: Franco A.
We meet Franco A., an officer in the German military who lived a double life as a Syrian refugee and stands accused of plotting an act of terrorism to bring down the German government. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. You can also subscrib ... Show More
37m 13s
Jun 2021
Day X, Part 3: Blind Spot 2.0
Franco A. is not the only far-right extremist in Germany discovered by chance. For over a decade, 10 murders in the country, including nine victims who were immigrants, went unsolved. The neo-Nazi group responsible was discovered only when a bank robbery went wrong. In this episo ... Show More
38m 35s
Recommended Episodes
May 2021
Day X, Part 1: Shadow Army?
<p><i>This episode contains strong language. </i></p><p>The mysterious story of a German soldier, a faked Syrian identity and a loaded gun in an airport bathroom cracks the door open to a network of far-right extremists inside the German military and the police. They are preparin ... Show More
33m 38s
Dec 2022
How A Foiled Coup In Germany Came To Be
This week, authorities in Germany arrested more than two dozen suspected far-right extremists over a plot to violently overthrow the government.The plotters were reportedly inspired by QAnon conspiracy theories. NPR's Rob Schmitz walks us through the latest.And German historian a ... Show More
11m 48s
Jun 2021
Day X, Part 5: Defensive Democracy
<p>In this episode, we get answers on just how bad the problem of far-right infiltration in the German military and police really is — and how Germany is trying to address it. </p><p>We learn about Germany's "defensive democracy," which was designed after World War II to protect ... Show More
40m 27s
Jun 2021
Day X, Part 3: Blind Spot 2.0
<p>Franco A. is not the only far-right extremist in Germany discovered by chance. For over a decade, 10 murders in the country, including nine victims who were immigrants, went unsolved. The neo-Nazi group responsible was discovered only when a bank robbery went wrong. </p><p>In ... Show More
40m 30s
Sep 2023
Dying to be heard
A national inquiry, a country coming to terms with its own identity, and a confrontation with police.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. 
42m 17s
Feb 2025
Hour 1 - We Can't Believe This is Real
German police raid a citizen over an online meme. Why culture and assimilation matter. Our friends at The View say DOGE should cut funding to SpaceX because the U.S. government already has NASA. Social Security going to dead people? The federal civil service mindset is almost lik ... Show More
36m 56s
Jul 2019
German murder case raises fears of neo-Nazi resurgence
The murder of a local politician by right wing extremists has shocked Germany and set alarm bells ringing about the rise of neo-Nazi violence in the country. Ben Hall discusses the groups behind the upsurge in political violence and how dangerous they are with Guy Chazan in Berli ... Show More
10m 55s
Dec 2022
The Far-Right Plot to Overthrow Germany’s Government
<p>Three thousand security officers fanned out across Germany this past week, raiding 150 homes, arresting 25 people and putting more than 50 others under investigation for plotting to overthrow the national government in Berlin.</p><p>The target of the counterterrorism operation ... Show More
23m 3s