The smell of burnt rubber and smoke wafts over the roundabout in an industrial park. Fireworks light up the faces of hundreds of people standing in a circle. In the center, a car spins around. The spectators try to touch it as it speeds past. A man fires rockets from the roof of the car—until the police put a stop to it. Almost every week, illegal drifting gatherings take place in Germany, Belgium, or France. The cat-and-mouse game with the police adds an extra thrill, says one of the organizers. We at COOKED are there—and the name says it all!
Whether it’s problems in the healthcare system, abuse of power on youth travel trips, illegal train riding, or police officers misusing data for privately contacting women. We expose neo-Nazis on OnlyFans who pose as women and act as digital pimps. And we confront influencers who promote dangerous beauty ideals. On YouTube and TikTok, COOKED brings investigative journalism to life for young people in an interactive format. The creators—Fritz Pasing, Mariattma Jadie, Brooklyn Oy, and Miria—collect questions from the community on TikTok for each topic. We, the COOKED team, identify those responsible—and “grill” them with questions and research findings on camera during the COOKED session—a kind of confrontational “hot seat.”
COOKED is produced by SPIEGEL TV on behalf of ZDF for funk. Since August 2025, I am one of the editors. We’ve uncovered some absurdities: an OnlyFans manager who was active in the far-right scene, or GdP chief Jochen Kopelke, who admits that data misuse for flirting was hardly an issue at the GdP. COOKED is a mix of hands-on reporting, investigative digging, and confrontational interviews. The show revolves around topics that truly interest 18- to 24-year-olds.
All Episodes:
Links
Website: https://www.funk.net/formate/cooked-12388
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@Cooked_offiziell
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/official.cooked/
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@cooked_official
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0YPiwzp31ci65KDbbEWnwb