The Big Ponder: Recent Episodes
Goethe-Institut
This transatlantic podcast explores abstract concepts and phenomena through personal radio essays. Every other week, one of our producers transforms a broad topic into a captivating story told from a US-German perspective.
Ball bearings — these mechanisms are all around us, inside our wheels and motors. Hidden away, we rarely see them, and most people don’t even know what they are. In this episode, Scott Carrier reveals the overlooked role this engineering marvel has played in human history.
In search of inefficiency in an overly efficient digital world, Jakob Lewis entered the ‘typosphere,’ an online community of typewriter enthusiasts. Several typewriters and a letter to Tom Hanks later, Jakob is a convert to the analog life.
Long ago, German immigrants brought their brewing traditions to the United States. More recently, brewers from the U.S. have begun bringing American-style craft beer to Germany. Sally McGrane and Axel Scheele look at two breweries on opposite sides of the pond.
Most city dwellers view traffic as an unavoidable downside of urban life. But according to Susanne Papawassiliu, freeway standstills have their benefits. In this episode, Susanne speaks with traffic experts, city planners, and professional drivers in Los Angeles and Berlin about congestion on the roads.
Ira Karp lives on a farm in northern Vermont, surrounded by music, puppets, and a family of incredible storytellers. Over his brief lifetime, he has become a ‘story keeper’ himself, collecting epic tales from his everyday life that he recounts with relish.
Grief is all around us these days. But what exactly is it? And why is it? During a time of global trauma and loss, Jocelyn Robinson seeks to better understand this basic human emotion through the voices and stories of the grieving.
Have you ever heard of the cartoonist Oliver Harrington? Probably not, but the artist played an instrumental role in German-American history. From the Harlem Renaissance to the division of Berlin during the Cold War — he was there for it all, capturing the world around him in his masterful comic strips.
Why is a Nazi resistance fighter famous in Brazil yet unheard of in Germany? How did an African American musician become a hero in East Germany? Dina Elsayed finds the answers to these questions and more while uncovering the stories behind Berlin’s unusual street names.
As a lifelong photographer and filmmaker, Harald Rumpf has spent decades exploring the cities that his subjects call home. In this episode, he uses archival interviews and personal anecdotes to reconstruct a lifetime of experiences documenting life in the streets.
During World War II, over 400,000 German POWs came to the U.S., where they worked on local farms alongside civilians. Cariad Harmon tells the story of the unlikely friendships that one American family from small-town Tennessee forged with enemy soldiers.
Tosca Terán creates soundscapes using fungi. In this immersive piece, Tosca takes listeners on a soundwalk, pausing periodically to interview other sound artists who work with nature.
The demand for affordable housing has reached an all-time high in both Europe and North America. In this episode, Tomma Suki investigates the housing situation in two major cities on opposite sides of the Atlantic: Berlin and Toronto.
What happens inside our brains and bodies when we experience something new? What is it like to perform surgery for the first time? Or to swim in a freezing cold lake? Monika Müller-Kroll and Susannah Edelbaum interview people from all walks of life about their most memorable firsts.
In the endless sunshine of Dubai, Bilal Qureshi revisits Franz Schubert’s acclaimed song cycle “Winterreise.” The lyrics of a heartbroken man’s journey across a wintry landscape become a way for Bilal to reconnect with the spirit of ‘wintering’ while living in the desert.
Growing up, Nathaniel Brimmer-Beller traveled the world with his family. On their trips, they always made time for a visit to the local zoo: in Berlin, in Paris, in Rio de Janeiro. In this episode, Nathaniel and his parents reflect on the days they spent watching animals together.
Despite the cliché of the unfunny German, there is a rich tradition of comedy in German culture. Soraya Nelson visits comedy clubs in Berlin and interviews comedians, disproving the widespread stereotype that Germans do not know how to take a joke.
In the heart of Berlin, there is a small corner store, lovingly dubbed the “living room of the neighborhood.” Sadly, the shop’s owners are facing eviction after three decades in business. Sally McGrane and Axel Scheele tell the story of the little grocery on Choriner Street.
Immersive artwork breaks down the border between the viewer and the artist, submerging the spectator in the exhibit. Nancy Pettinicchio discusses this dynamic at length with three artists.
In the U.S., Santa keeps tabs on who’s been naughty or nice, but there isn’t much follow through on the naughty list. In much of Europe, however, St. Nick has a stern partner who enforces the rules: Krampus. But who exactly is this Krampus guy?
To newborns, there is no discernable difference between night and day. Evening and morning blur together in this piece as Katie Marquette rocks her baby to sleep, contemplating the night.
How do you quantify something as indescribable as happiness? Michael Hobbes searches for a way to measure life satisfaction that works in both the U.S., his old home, and Germany, his new home.
A lot has changed since the first days of aviation, from beverage service to affordable plane tickets. Florenz Gilly and Leon Ginzel recap the history of transatlantic flight and reflect on their own experiences crossing the big pond.
As a kid, candy makes the world go round. As an adult, it has the power to bring back long-forgotten childhood memories. Carol McKinley talks about the magic of candy with Tony Vallejos who ran a vintage sweet shop in Colorado.
Community is the story of our lives. It is who we are, who we have been, and who we hope to become. Melissa Gerr visits Jewish congregations in Baltimore, Maryland, and Dresden, Germany, where she speaks with members about the importance of community.
Have you ever thought about dropping everything to pursue your passion? Susanne Papawassiliu profiles Mike Powers who left his life in Florida behind to do just that. Today, Mike resides in Berlin, where he spends his days making art.
How many people will you meet in your lifetime? How many will you remember? Fascinated by the countless chance encounters in their own lives, Susannah Edelbaum and Monika Müller-Kroll reveal the ways that casual interactions affect us all.
Cariad Harmon and her partner John Kesling embark on a long-awaited cross-country road trip. Cariad interviews locals and fellow travelers of all kinds at national parks, truck stops, and diners while sharing intimate details of life on the road — the good and the bad.
Our ability to hear is fully formed after just four and a half months in the womb. From this early age, sound shapes our worldview. Jim McKee, a sound designer himself, interviews experts who have built careers by learning to listen to the world around them.
Americans on the East Coast were in awe when Brood X, an enormous group of 17-year cicadas, suddenly emerged from underground to mate. Melissa Gerr, who lives in Maryland, was no exception. Inspired by this local wonder, she sets out to explain the feeling of awe.
By the 1920s, people had begun using coin-operated record booths to create audio souvenirs — immortalizing their thoughts and feelings on a disc. Cariad Harmon travels to one of the last remaining record booths in Louisville, Kentucky, where she captures her own voice and revisits some touching messages from the past.
In her early 20s, Sibylle Baier recorded 14 folk songs that she says saved her life. Then, she packed the tape away and forgot about it. Decades later, her son discovered his mother’s music and released it — to critical acclaim. Sibylle tells her story for the first time to Carol McKinley.
Working with personal diary entries, Dina Elsayed and Monika Müller-Kroll take listeners on a journey through the seasons to different places in the U.S. and Germany. These entries create a mosaic of our daily lives in all its contradictions and parallels, seriousness and banality.
There exists a strong tradition of hunting in both Germany and the U.S. However, the cultures surrounding this pastime differ more than you might think. Ada von der Decken and Moritz Gerlach speak with hunters from both countries to find out what drives people to pursue the sport.
Is ‘home’ a place or more of a feeling? Jocelyn Robinson speaks with three American expats who unpack the relationship between self and place, drawing from their experiences living in Germany, on the Diné Nation, and in Senegal.
What happens when you uproot an American institution like the diner and place it somewhere entirely new — like Germany? Florenz Gilly and Leon Ginzel journey into the world of diners, visiting hometown restaurants in the U.S. and Germany to find out.
Inspired by a year of forced isolation, essayist Bilal Qureshi explores the history, landscape, and meaning of friendship across cultures. At the heart of his examination is the question: Who do we call a ‘friend’ and why?
One day, Jakob Lewis receives an email from a German man named Ingo asking to be his pen pal. The close relationship they develop teaches Jakob that strangers can connect on a deep level — even when an ocean and a language barrier separate them.
Producer Alex van Oss ponders the external, internal, and eternal meanings of buildings in his Washington, D.C. neighborhood. The result is a personal rumination featuring thoughts from friends and neighbors on their buildings, homes, and communities.
In both Germany and the U.S., the flag can be divisive, eliciting pride in some and unease in others. From patriotism to protest, Jocelyn Robinson explores the role that these symbols play in proclaiming who we are.
Since World War II, there have been countless American GIs stationed at military bases all over Germany. Sylvia Cunningham and Monika Müller-Kroll talk with some of the people who once lived in these ‘Little Americas’ and decided to stay in Germany.
Katie Davis tells the story of an inadvertent provocation between two boys at a teen center in her Washington, D.C. neighborhood, the conflict that developed, and the ensuing efforts to prevent it from escalating.
Bilal Qureshi explores the German-English idea of ‘Wanderlust’ through his personal audio archives and conversations with fellow travelers. Does this romantic idea hold up in the age of fast travel and fleeting social media?
Jakob Lewis and his wife Catherine transformed their front yard in Nashville into a garden. From conception to harvest, Jakob meditates on the lessons he learned about imagination, play, and grief, all the while drawing on the wisdom of Goethe.
“We have the right to hate Germany because we love it,” German writer Kurt Tucholsky wrote. Listening to positions from both sides of the Atlantic, Sylvia Cunningham and Monika Müller-Kroll explore the love-hate relationships people have with their home countries.
Ingrid Crepeau is a successful US-American puppeteer, performer and puppet-designer based in the Washington, DC area. Her time in Darmstadt, Germany in the late 1950s kindled her interest in puppeteering. For this episode of The Big Pond, our own Technical Director Flawn Williams reports on her transatlantic career.
Berlin and Los Angeles share a common problem: homelessness. Producer Caroline Porter reports on topic, which is the focus of the Goethe-Institut Los Angeles and the Thomas Mann House in LA. This episode is a contribution of the Thomas Mann House to The Big Pond.
People of mixed heritage lead complex lives, often navigating between two racial and/or cultural identities. Our producer Jocelyn Robinson, who lives this experience, explores identity formation in the US and in Germany.
Since the US Men’s National Soccer Team failed to qualify for the 2018 World Cup, many American soccer players have been looking to sign onto international teams to better their skills and become more competitive. Players like Christian Pulisic, who got his start on the German team Borussia Dortmund, show promise for the future of soccer in the US.
“It was chaos, it was total chaos.” When the Berlin Wall unexpectedly fell in 1989, it triggered a time of massive flux for the newly reunited capital of Germany. Subcultures and international trends combined with other creative forces to establish Berlin as a mecca for artists. For The Big Pond, KCRW Berlin speaks to Berliners who helped build the city’s lasting legacy.
After moving from Cologne, Germany, to New York City, our producer Thomas Reintjes had trouble adjusting to walking in the bustling metropolis. Traffic, crowds and high-rise buildings made it difficult for him to get away from everything. By sharing their personal experiences, the writers Lauren Elkin and Garnette Cadogan teach him how to walk in New York City.
In 1925, the African-American philosopher Alain Locke (1886-1954) launched a revolutionary black arts movement now known as the Harlem Renaissance. In this episode of The Big Pond, producer Bilal Qureshi traces Alain Locke’s ideas back to one city in particular – Berlin.
Chris Strachwitz is a man possessed. A “songcatcher,” capturing and recording the traditional, regional, down-home music of the US, his adopted home after his family left Germany following the end of World War II. His archive is jam-packed with 78s, LPs, 45s, reel-to-reels, cassettes, videos – a collection of all manner of recordings. For The Big Pond, The Kitchen Sisters present the story of Chris Strachwitz.
Historically, New Orleans is a cultural, spiritual and ethnic melting pot. In the streets, you immediately come across signs of French, Caribbean, Native American and Spanish influence. Hard to imagine that there were German immigrants here at one time! But once you know how to read the clues, the picture changes – producer Martina Groß explores Germans’ long history in New Orleans.
It seems like there are more people nowadays with tattoos than there used to be – of the body art is hidden, but most are quite visible. Men and women alike have black, gray and colorful designs covering their arms, legs, or even their entire bodies. Our producer Anne-Rose Heck tries to find out more bout how this phenomenon is spreading across both sides of the Atlantic.
Since 2016, the German scientists Sonja Schrepfer and her husband Tobias Deuse have led the Transplant and Stem Cell Immunobiology Lab at the University of California in San Francisco and the Universitätsklinikum Hamburg-Eppendorf. It is funded by NASA, the National Institutes of Health and the Center for the Advancement of Science in Space. Our producer Iris Völlnagel reports on their contribution to space travel.
In these times of increased awareness of environmental protection, the bicycle is on the rise again. In Germany, especially medium-sized cities such as Freiburg are aiming to create an infrastructure that encourages bicycling among their citizens. Our producer Anne-Rose Heck investigates the current developments for this episode of The Big Pond.
During the Nazi regime, many German artists, scientists, and other intellectuals found refuge in Southern California. The authors Lion Feuchtwanger and Thomas Mann were two of the most prominent "exiles in paradise." Producer Kerstin Zilm takes us on a trip to their former homes in Los Angeles – the Villa Aurora and the Thomas House – both of which have been rededicated to transatlantic dialogue.
In this radio travelogue, culture writer and journalist Bilal Qureshi explores Germany’s capital Berlin to find out about local origins, regulations and daily rituals of silence. To his ears, German Stille sounds and feels more present than the pulsating noise of US-American cities – and this episode of The Big Pond is a personal quest to understand why.
In this episode, producer Katie Davis profiles German-American photographer Volkmar Wentzel who was born in Dresden, Germany in 1915 before moving to the US with his family in 1926. He grew up in Upstate New York, shortly after relocating to Washington, DC. In DC, he was hired by National Geographic and became one of their legendary field men who traveled and photographed the world.
The Bauhaus school of art, architecture and design was founded in 1919 and lasted for only 14 years before the Nazis forced it to close in 1933. And yet, the Bauhaus and its founding members continue to have a profound impact on the design-, construction- and building-world that it is fair to call it one of the most influential schools to date.
On June 24, 1948, the Soviet military administration officially cut off roads and rails into West Berlin in the Berlin Blockade, isolating it from the rest of West Germany. In this episode of The Big Pond, KCRW Berlin reflects on the Berlin Airlift, a massive multinational effort to bring vital supplies to West Berliners via plane during the blockade. To tell this story, producers Monika, Nikki, and Sylvia interview some of those who experienced it firsthand.
German and American libraries have influenced each other’s development tremendously over the last few centuries. During this time, the library has been defined as a space dedicated to research and knowledge - and books. These days institutions in both countries are faced with challenges brought on by rapid shifts in technology. Experts address the threat that technology poses and weigh in on the future of the library in the era of digitization.
Producer Jakob Lewis was born in a military hospital in Frankfurt, Germany. His dad was stationed at a U.S. army base in Woelfersheim, a nearby village. Jakob grew up hearing stories about his parents’ time in Germany during their early 20s, but Jakob doesn’t remember any of it. He left when he was six months old and he’s never been back. For this episode, Jakob and his wife Catherine set out on a journey to retrace his parents’ footsteps - what they didn’t realize was just how closely their journeys would be linked.
America is a country of immigrants. Most people know that Spanish is the most widely spoken language in the US besides English, but there’s more than just Spanish here - German immigrants helped found this country. In some parts of Texas, their culture and language still live on... But probably not for much longer. This funny-sounding dialect, a mixture of Texan English and German from the immigrants who settled here in the mid-1800s, is slowly dying out.
Although it’s not certain who first wrote the recipe, the Black Forest cake has been fully embraced by the Black Forest community as an essential aspect of their cultural identity. On a quest to understand just how this confectionery classic came to be, producer Katharine Sammer journeys to its namesake, the Black Forest. There, she speaks with local experts about the region’s history, the cake’s origins, and the significance it holds for the community and their ancestors.
Hop on board Berlin’s Ringbahn, a suburban train that carries over 400,000 passengers each day and circles some of the city’s most authentic and lively neighborhoods. Producer trio Monika Mueller-Kroll, Sylvia Cunningham, and Nikki Motson dedicate a day to riding the Ringbahn around the city. During their trip, they interview an array of Berliners entering and exiting at the train’s 27 stops, each station an entry into one of Berlin’s distinct districts.
Milwaukee has been called the most German city in America - already in the 1840s, large numbers of Germans who were fleeing wars in Europe began settling in the city. In this episode of The Big Pond, our producer Carole Zimmer explores the experience of these first generation German immigrants and looks at how the city has changed for a younger generation in the way that they relate to German culture.
Dieter Kosslick is one of the film world’s best known film festival directors. He’s put his stamp on the Berlin International Film Festival for the past 18 years, and the 69th edition of the festival in 2019 was his last. For The Big Pond, the The Kitchen Sisters talked to Dieter Kosslick and many of the people he collaborated with over the years, resulting in a career-spanning profile.
Rents in San Francisco have exploded in recent years; by now, the metropolis in Northern California has overtaken New York as the most expensive city in the US. In Germany’s capital Berlin, the issue of affordable housing is also a hot topic – some are even suggesting dispossessing companies owning more than 3,000 apartments.
Three women, two countries, one shared experience: Motherhood. From giving birth to receiving support – our producer Melissa Gerr looks at the role and expectations of being a mother in the US and in Germany, revealing some startling differences.
Over 200 years ago, German immigrant Henry Berger opened a bakery in East Baltimore - and since that day, Berger Cookies have been handmade in the city of Baltimore. Our producer Katie Marquette investigates this special, “unrestrained” cookie.
For some US students, escalating costs are putting college out of reach – whereas in Germany higher education is considered a right, tuition is normally even free. Meanwhile, German Universities are also creating degree programs entirely in English, thus eliminating the language barrier. For these reasons and others, Germany recently surpassed China, becoming a top-five destination for US-American students.
What is it like to be Muslim nowadays in the Midwest, the so-called Heartland of the US? And how does that reality connect to the one in Germany? Our producers Rosemary Pennington and Joe Sampson interviewed members of several Muslim communities as well as speakers of Muslim advocacy groups in the Cincinnati area.
As most of the Western world, the US and Germany have a waste problem – and recycling has been pushed by policymakers as one of the best ways to combat it. In Baltimore and Berlin, conversations with locals and experts reveal that recycling is not necessarily working as it should be on both sides of the Atlantic.
The pretzel, known as a “Brezel” or “Brezn” in German, is not an ordinary pastry. It has a century-old history full of myths and stories. Where did it come from? Why does it have this special shape that vaguely resembles a hug? And how come it’s doused in lye? In this episode of The Big Pond, we trace the pretzel’s story from its origins to today.
In the historic city of Magdeburg, Germany, there is a Johnny Cash themed country music festival called Nashville Days - complete with corndogs and cowboy hats. This is one of the fruits of the sister city relationship between Nashville and Magdeburg. Our producer Jakob Lewis, a Nashville citizen, goes to Magdeburg to see where the rubber meets the road for Sister Cities' idealistic vision to “promote peace one individual, one community at a time.”
It is estimated that 30,000 Hessian soldiers fought for the British during the American Revolutionary War (1775-1783). Where did they come from and what happened to the survivors after losing to the US Army? For The Big Pond, Rob Sachs visits the Hessian Barracks in Frederick, Maryland to find out more.
Germany is internationally renowned for its bread. With its diversity of more than 3,000 varieties the Germans are world champions of bread. Since 2014, German bread culture is even an immaterial world cultural heritage, recognized by UNESCO. But the traditional baker's craft is threatened because there is a lack of new blood and competition from large-scale bakeries and cheap prebake stations.
Between 1820 and World War I, nearly six million Germans immigrated to the US - in 2017, only about 5,000 made the trip. If Germans aren’t coming to the US anymore, what will happen to the German-American heritage societies that try to keep German culture alive in the US? Our producer Berit Mason investigates in Texas.
Dimitri Hegemann, the mastermind behind the Berlin nightclub Tresor, has been nurturing an artistic connection between Berlin and Detroit since the early nineties. Hegemann is trying to pay Detroit back for what its electronic music scene has done for Berlin - by converting former industrial spaces in Detroit into cultural hotspots.
Coffee is more than just a beverage – it can be a jumpstart to a day at work or a relaxing afternoon with friends. This episode explores the meaning of coffee across cultures, from Baltimore to Berlin, including the typically German tradition of afternoo
German baseball may sound like an oxymoron, but the Bonn Capitals have successfully maintained a leading position in the German baseball league for years. The success of the Capitals can be traced back to earlier times when Bonn was the capital of Germany and home to a large American community that popularized the sport.
St. Hildegard of Bingen was a twelfth-century German nun – a writer, composer of chants, mystic and visionary. You might be asking yourself, what on earth does a twelfth-century nun have to do with life today? What does medieval chanting have to do with music today? It turns out, a lot.
German entrepreneurs and winemakers have shaped the manufacturing of wine in the US for over a century. Join our producer Gary Lee on a tour of three US vineyards with surprisingly German roots to see the full scope of German influence on this industry in the US.
Five generations have lived at the Alexander Haus on Groß Glienicker See over the past century - enduring fascism, war, the division of Germany, and the Fall of Communism. Now, the former family home has undergone yet another transition into an educational center.
Every year, tourists from around the world flock to Southern Utah to take in the scenic landscape. Most travel by car, but some opt for a less traditional mode of transport. Ride along as our producer Scott Carrier accompanies a German motorcycle club on their trip through the Red Rock Canyons.
Within the historic walls of Zion Lutheran Church in Baltimore, Maryland, you’re just as likely to hear a rousing polka band as sacred organ music. For more than 250 years, the congregation has remained dedicated to its German immigrant heritage, faith, and ministry. Now, they’re grappling to find the right balance that will carry Zion Church into the future.
Leigh Hamilton is a dramatic soprano who has been based in Germany for more than 17 years. This episode follows Leigh’s story, which takes her from small-town in Ohio to metropolitan Berlin where she now trains the next generation of singers for the rigors of the stage in her private voice studio.
Driven by a critical lack of skilled technicians, a group of largely German-owned manufacturers in Chicago have launched a new apprenticeship program based on German education models. This idea is now spreading to a number of American companies.
He is a soccer legend in Germany as player and as coach: Jürgen Klinsmann. After leading the German national team to a third-place finish in the 2006 World Cup, he also coached the U.S. men’s soccer team from 2011 to 2016. But now, Klinsmann is anything but retired: In the summer of 2018, he created the SilverLakes Cup, an international youth soccer tournament in Southern California.
Germany’s beer influence has spread around the world, and one of the epicenters of this trend is New York City. There are now more than two dozen beer gardens and halls in the city. And every year, Oktoberfest celebrations are held in all of the five boroughs, lasting several weeks.
Thomas Buergenthal saw the Nazi concentration camps through the eyes of a child. Luckily, he survived and later became a lawyer and eventually a judge on the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, the International Court of Justice in The Hague in the Netherlands and the United Nations Truth Commission for El Salvador.
Buffalo, New York, was at one time the world’s foremost grain port. More than a dozen enormous grain silos still attest to that fact: Awesome colossi made of wood, steel, and reinforced concrete. Their surreal quality also fascinated European pioneers of modern architecture, including Walter Gropius, Le Corbusier, and Mies van der Rohe.
When Jake Nawrocki had the idea to revive the Southside of downtown Atlanta – which could take 10 to 20 years – he had to find investors interested to commit for the long term. He found a partner in Olaf Kunkat, a German real estate investor.
In 1975, the German journalist Frances Schoenberger interviewed John Lennon in New York, a dream gig for her – but this interview was never published. For The Big Pond, Schoenberger listens to the recordings again for the first time in more than 40 years, recalling what she calls the best day of her career.
There are things that hold history for each of us - a stitch, a book, a hat - things that we carry around for our whole lives. In this episode, we hear three stories about things that were brought to the U.S. from other countries and what they mean to their owners.