Common Ground Berlin: Recent Episodes
KCRW Berlin
Common Ground was launched in September 2020 as the flagship talk show of KCRW Berlin 104.1 FM. Every week, host Soraya Sarhaddi Nelson brings together prominent guests from all walks of life to tackle questions on everything from local to transatlantic topics. Look for us every Monday wherever you get your podcasts.
Artificial Intelligence is proving to be a useful tool to Republican frontrunner and former president Donald Trump. But the Biden administration and Congress are struggling to regulate AI technology, a catch-up game similar to the one they’ve had with social media. Host Soraya Sarhaddi Nelson went to San Francisco to talk to Common Sense Media CEO Jim Steyer about what steps are needed when it comes to AI. Steyer met with President Biden to discuss those steps earlier this summer at an AI summit.
This episode is the first of a two-part series on AI on both sides of the Atlantic.
Produced by Dina Elsayed.
German polls suggest that if elections were held today, the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) would garner more votes than most of the country’s mainstream parties, including those in the governing coalition. That has some politicians rethinking their “firewall” against the populist faction and whether it makes sense to partner with the AfD on local issues.
Host Soraya Sarhaddi Nelson talks to Politico Europe Senior Politics Reporter in Germany Hans von der Burchard, the German Marshall Fund’s Sudha David-Wilp, and others about the reasons and implications of a resurgent AfD.
Also featuring students from the Magdeburg-Stendal University of Applied Sciences.
This episode was produced by Dina Elsayed.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and his cabinet recently unveiled their country’s long-awaited national security strategy, the first since World War II. Co-hosts Soraya Sarhaddi Nelson and Rachel Tausendfreund explore whether this strategy is groundbreaking as its proponents claim and the impact on Germany’s allies and enemies. This week’s guests are Michal Baranowski, senior fellow and managing director of the German Marshall Fund East, based in Warsaw, and Gesine Weber, a fellow with the German Marshall Fund’s geostrategy team in Paris.
Produced by Dina Elsayed.
Host Soraya Sarhaddi Nelson hosts a special “town hall” in collaboration with the Checkpoint Charlie Foundation to commemorate the 60th anniversary of a speech that lasted less than 10 minutes and shook the world.
Joining her in the studio and via Zoom to discuss why the speech still matters were:
Johanna Ruediger, head of social media strategy at Deutsche Welle, the German network that provides journalistic and cultural content in 32 languages around the globe.
Rachel Tausendfreund, co-host of “Transatlantic Takeaway” and a senior fellow with the German Marshall Fund’s geostrategy team, specializing in U.S.-German relations, the European Union.
Rick Allen, a Robert F. Kennedy biographer and media and technology executive who has been a speechwriter, fundraiser, and campaign manager for a host of U.S. presidential and Senate candidates. He also served as a Deputy Assistant to President Clinton and helped create AmeriCorps.
We also hear from students and graduates from around Berlin!
This episode was produced by Dina Elsayed
Millions of immigrants living in Germany should find it easier to become German citizens as the Bundestag prepares to vote on the long-awaited measure overhauling “Einbuergerung.” But as it turns out, the legal change to Germany’s citizenship law is only half the battle.
Host Soraya Sarhaddi Nelson explores the draft law and its obstacles with guests:
Rachel Loxton, editor at The Local Europe and host of its podcast, Germany in Focus
Zeynep Yanasmayan, head of the migration department at the German Centre for Integration and Migration Research
Julie Schaefer, German immigration lawyer based in Dusseldorf
Produced by Dina Elsayed.
Host Soraya Sarhaddi Nelson and her guests debate a much anticipated change to an outdated German law that would allow Americans and other non-EU nationals who live in Germany to keep their original citizenship if they choose to become Germans. But will the updated law lessen the hurdles to German citizenship?
This week’s guests are:
Immigration lawyer Julie Schaefer, whose practice is in Dusseldorf;
20 Percent Berlin co-founder Andrew Bulkeley
Business and international relations journalist Ekrem Ekici
Also featuring Peter Wägemann, Claudia Tessier and Elyzabeth Simpson.
Produced by Dina Elsayed
Scores of nations are attending the 27th annual COP in the Egyptian resort town of Sharm-el Sheikh. Host Soraya Sarhaddi Nelson explores what the international gathering will deliver and whether climate diplomacy is enough to keep the planet from the point of no return, especially when leaders of some of the biggest polluters skip such summits. Her guests:
Andrzej Ancygier, Senior Energy and Climate Policy Analyst with Climate Analytics;
Lutz Weischer, Head of Policy, Berlin of Germanwatch e.V.;
Luis von Randow, spokesman for Fridays for Future.
Produced by Dina Elsayed.
Although a record turnout is expected on Nov. 8th, opinion surveys show many Americans no longer trust U.S. elections nor their government. Many Republican voters still embrace the “Big Lie” that President Trump had the 2020 election stolen from him. So what does the growing mistrust, President Joe Biden’s low ratings and the worst inflation in four decades mean for the midterm elections and American democracy in general?
In this episode of Transatlantic Takeaway by Common Ground Berlin and the German Marshall Fund of the United States, host Soraya Sarhaddi Nelson explores the controversial elections with:
Sudha David-Wilp, GMF’s Senior Transatlantic Fellow and deputy director of the Berlin office.
Jeremy Shapiro, research director at the European Council on Foreign Relations and a former advisor to the State Department during the Obama administration.
Anna Sauerbrey, foreign editor of the weekly Die Zeit and a contributor to the New York Times op-ed section.
Produced by Dina Elsayed.
In Common Ground Berlin’s international debut at Podcastfestival 2022, host Soraya Sarhaddi Nelson and Mick ter Reehorst of Are We Europe broke delve into why the far right is thriving and what role the media and internet play in their propaganda with guests:
Nina Horaczek, Viennese journalist whose work on far right movements was shortlisted for the 2019 European Press Prize;
Bharath Ganesh, University of Groningen professor specializing in new media and political communication.
This show was recorded live on Friday, Sept. 30 in Amsterdam in partnership with Are We Europe and Podcastfestival 2022 and was produced by Dina Elsayed and Stefano Montali.
An insightful talk on Twitter Spaces about the current state of inflation in Europe and what the future holds for people and businesses, especially in Berlin. Featuring Soraya Sarhaddi Nelson and guests James Kantero of EU Scream podcast, Bloomberg tech reporter Aggi Cantril and Ted Knudsen, who co-hosts the podcast Spassbremse.
This show was produced by Dina Elsayed.
In this special episode of Common Ground Berlin, host Soraya Sarhaddi Nelson interviews her favorite comedian ahead of his debut in Germany in September.
They talk about performing in Europe and what his mom thinks of his comedy; his deep love of politics, and growing up Iranian in the United States. If there’s something you don’t know about Maz Jobrani, the answer might be in this episode!
To catch one of his shows in Germany, look for tickets here.
This show was produced by Soraya Sarhaddi Nelson and Dina Elsayed.
In this episode of Transatlantic Takeaway, host Soraya Sarhaddi Nelson examines whether plans announced six months ago by Chancellor Olaf Scholz to revolutionize Germany’s defense strategy are actually happening and if Ukraine can still count on Germany to stand against Russia.
Her guests are Sudha David-Wilp, GMF Senior Transatlantic Fellow and deputy director of the Berlin office and Anna Sauerbrey, foreign editor of the weekly Die Zeit and a contributor to the New York Times op-ed section.
This show was produced by Dina Elsayed
“Poor, but sexy” Berlin was famous for its cheap rents, but these days, the capital city is the second most expensive in Germany and among the 50 priciest in the world. Host Soraya Sarhaddi Nelson explores Berlin’s residential crisis brought on by a shortage of housing and inflation and what cities in Europe may offer a solution with guests:
Barbara Steenbergen, head of the EU liaison office of the International Union of Tenants;
Wibke Werner, deputy manager of the Berlin Tenants’ Union;
Kalle Kunkel; housing rights activist with the campaign Expropriate Deutsche Wohnen and Co.;
TV and newspaper journalist Erik Kirschbaum.
This show was produced by Dina Elsayed.
Times are hard, but is money provided unconditionally by the government the best way to ease the burden? Pilots in three federal states are planned soon to test the feasibility of a universal basic income in Germany and host Soraya Sarhaddi Nelson talks about that and the German plan to overhaul social and unemployment benefits with guests:
Alexandra Borchardt, veteran journalist and media consultant.
Jürgen Schupp, Senior Research Fellow at the German Institute for Economic Research.
Laura Brämswig, co-founder of the German project Expedition Basic Income.
This show was produced by Dina Elsayed.
Fussball may be king in Germany, but Deutschland is also said to be the biggest market outside of North America for a different football game – the American kind! It’s why the NFL decided to launch its new season in Munich this year, where the Tampa Bay Buccaneers will play the Seattle Seahawks. Common Ground Berlin’s Dina Elsayed takes you into the competitive world of American football in Deutschland, where the NFL, a European league and a German league battle it out for status and fans.
This episode is produced by Soraya Sarhaddi Nelson and Dina Elsayed.
How are Germans responding to inflation? Do cheap transit tickets make up for it? And what should we make of President Joe Biden’s handshake diplomacy in the Middle East? Host Soraya Sarhaddi Nelson asks her guests to weigh in on these and other issues at Podfest Berlin 2022. Joining her for a chat and libation are:
Agence France-Presse Correspondent Deborah Cole, Comedian Carmen Chraim and Podfest Berlin Founder Daniel Stern.
Plus a special appearance by YouTube sensation and comedian Daniel-Ryan Spaulding during the Q&A.
This episode was recorded live at Noisy Rooms on Jul.17, 2022 and produced by Dina Elsayed.
In this “Transatlantic Takeaway” episode, hosts Soraya Sarhaddi Nelson and Rachel Tausendfreund debate the growing problems with plane, train, car and bike travel in Germany and beyond and government attempts to fix them.
Their guests:
Dirk von Schneidemesser of Changing Cities, an initiative specializing in democratic sustainability transformation.
Katja Diehl, host of the podcast: “She Drives Mobility” and author of “Autokorrektur – Mobilität für eine lebenswerte Welt.” (Autocorrect: Mobility for a World Worth Living In).
Peter Chase, GMF Senior Fellow in Brussels.
This show was produced by Dina Elsayed.
It’s been 18 months since Donald Trump left office, but with one global crisis after another, the relationship between the United States and Germany has not had time to rebound. But does it matter? Is Germany squandering an opportunity to set its own international agenda? Host Soraya Sarhaddi Nelson discusses the state of German-U.S. relations in these precarious times with:
Jeremy Shapiro, research director at the European Council on Foreign Relations and a former advisor to the State Department during the Obama administration;
Joerg Lau, Die Zeit international correspondent;
Laura von Daniels, head of the “Americas” research division at the German Institute for International and Security Affairs.
This show was produced by Dina Elsayed.
Note: This episode was taped before Chancellor Olaf Scholz visited Ukraine on June 16th and announced Germany wants Ukraine to be admitted into the European Union. But extra steps are needed before that can happen.
Any day now, the Supreme Court of the United States will almost certainly overturn the landmark ruling known as Roe v. Wade. That will make it harder – if not impossible – for women to get abortions in dozens of states. But in Germany, the new government is headed in the opposite direction, trying (to a point) to ease access for women to abortion services. Host Soraya Sarhaddi Nelson talks about these impending, monumental changes and how they are linked with guests:
Constance Chucholowski, a public affairs expert who chairs the Berlin chapter of Democrats Abroad;
Dr. Caroline Scherf, a German gynecologist in Wales who in 2021 worked in a Bremen clinic run by ProFamilia, a government-funded NGO for reproductive rights;
Alexandra Linder, head of the Bundesverband Lebensrecht, a Berlin-based association of German groups opposing abortion and which organizes the annual March for Life in Berlin.
We also hear from Green Party activist Laura Sophie Dornheim about her struggle to get an abortion in Berlin.
This show was produced by Abigail Megginson and Dina Elsayed.
In this “Transatlantic Takeaway” episode, hosts Soraya Sarhaddi Nelson and Rachel Tausendfreund delve into scenarios to end Russian President Vladmir Putin’s war on Ukraine and how the conflict is changing the global order. Their guests are:
Michal Baranowski, senior fellow and director of the GMF office in Warsaw.
Gesine Dornblueth, co-author of “Ruhmlose Helden,” a book on a plane crash that changed German-Russian relations. She is a former Moscow correspondent for Deutschlandradio.
Liana Fix, program director for international affairs at the Körber Foundation in Berlin.
Joerg Forbrig, senior fellow and director for Central Eastern Europe at the GMF office in Berlin.
This show was produced by Dina Elsayed.
Handy. Public Viewing. Home Office. Boostern – It’s hard sometimes to tell German from English. But is the incorporation of English into German a bad thing? Host Soraya Sarhaddi Nelson discusses the impact of the resulting hybrid called Denglish with Anatol Stefanowitsch, an English linguistics professor at the Free University of Berlin and Oliver Baer of the Verein Deutsche Sprache or German Language Society.
This show was produced by Dina Elsayed.
In this special episode, guest host Abigail Megginson examines the widespread use of American Indian imagery in German culture since the 18th century. But is it flattery or racism? Her guests are Renae Watchman, co-author of “Indianthusiasm,” which examines indigenous people’s responses to the German obsession with American Indians, and Florian Schleburg, chair of the Karl May Gesellschaft, a group dedicated to the prolific German author who fueled that obsession.
This show was produced by Abigail Meginnson and Dina Elsayed.
On April 20 – a date associated with marijuana – we hosted a spirited debate on Twitter Space about Germany’s controversial proposal to make personal cannabis use legal for adults.
Host Soraya Sarhaddi Nelson moderated the talk with Steffen Geyer, legalization activist and longtime head of the annual “Hanfparade” or hemp parade in Berlin; Joa Helms, CEO of Green House Amsterdam coffee shops and Kevin Sabet, former White House Office of National Drug Control Policy advisor and founder of Smart Approaches to Marijuana (SAM.)
This show was produced by Dina Elsayed.
In this “Transatlantic Takeaway” episode, hosts Soraya Sarhaddi Nelson and Rachel Tausendfreund dissect sweeping new EU digital laws and their impact on large tech companies, start-ups and users with guests: Constance Chucholowski, founder and managing director at Candid Public Affairs; Travis Todd, co-founder of Silicon Allee; and Julia Trehu, program manager and Fellow with the German Marshall Fund’s Digital Innovation and Democracy Initiative.
This show was produced by Dina Elsayed.
The Russian war in Ukraine has led to millions of Ukrainians fleeing, many of them to the West. How are Germany and its neighbors handling the new refugee surge? And what does it mean for others escaping war, terrorism and persecution who come to the EU?
Host Soraya Sarhaddi Nelson discusses the crisis with Wiebke Judith, legal policy advisor for the refugee group, Pro-Asyl; Julia Chenusha, deputy chairwoman of the Blue-Yellow Cross German-Ukrainian Association; and Sami Sharifi, an Afghan lawyer and volunteer with the Kabul Luftbruecke.
This show was produced by Dina Elsayed and Abigail Megginson.
Host Soraya Sarhaddi Nelson, NPR’s Eleanor Beardsley and Joanna Kakissis, and Ukrainian journalist Katerina Malofeyeva discuss their experiences reporting on the Russian war in Ukraine and how women journalists redefine the way conflicts are covered. Recorded on Twitter Spaces on March 22, 2022.
This show was produced by Dina Elsayed and Stefano Montali.
Host Soraya Sarhaddi Nelson @sorayanelson will be talking with fellow war correspondents Eleanor Beardsley @ElBeardsley, Joanna Kakissis @joannakakissis and Katya Malofeyeva @KatyaMalofeyeva on Twitter about our experiences reporting on the Russian war in Ukraine and how women journalists are reshaping the way combat is covered.
Join this important conversation on Twitter by following @cgberilnpodcast and tune in at 9 p.m. Central European on March 22nd. You can also hear highlights of our conversation in a @cgberlinpodcast episode available later this month.
A watershed speech by Chancellor Olaf Scholz in late February that cast off Germany’s long-standing, military-averse policies is lauded by NATO and the United States. But can Germany enhance its armed forces quickly enough to protect Europe against Russia? And what does this sea change mean for a proposed European army?
Host Soraya Sarhaddi Nelson explores the new German tack and its ramifications with Rachel Tausendfreund, editorial director for the German Marshall Fund and co-host of Transatlantic Takeaway, and Heiner Brauß, Senior Associate Fellow at the German Council on Foreign Relations (DGAP) in its security and defense program. He was a lieutenant general in the Bundeswehr and is a former assistant secretary general for NATO defense policy and force planning.
We also hear from Col. André Wüstner, chairman of the German Armed Forces Association.
This show was produced by Dina Elsayed and Abigail Megginson.
Host Soraya Sarhaddi Nelson talks about the future of vaccines, social restrictions and Vladmir Putin’s impact on the pandemic with Korinna Hennig, science editor and co-host of German public broadcaster NDR’s weekly podcast “The Coronavirus Update” and molecular Kai Kupferschmidt in Berlin who writes for the magazine, Science.
This show was produced by Soraya Sarhaddi Nelson and Abigail Megginson.
Blame it on Omicron, Vladimir Putin and Europe’s biggest war in decades, but the global economy is in a weaker position this year than anyone expected. So what exactly is the impact the pandemic and Ukraine crisis are having on businesses and consumers in Germany and the United States? And are key economic players doing enough to keep it from getting worse?
On the day Putin invaded Ukraine, hosts Soraya Sarhaddi Nelson and Rachel Tausendfreund talked with Jacob Kirkegaard, Senior Fellow in the Brussels office of the German Marshall Fund of the United States and Sebastian Dullien, an international economics professor who is director of the Macroeconomic Policy Institute of the Hans-Boeckler Foundation in Duesseldorf.
This show was produced by Dina Elsayed and Abigail Megginson.
Chancellor Angela Merkel defined politics in Germany for a generation and with her gone, younger German politicians have a rare opportunity to reshape the governance of their country and address key topics facing it.
This episode features excerpts of a virtual town hall Common Ground co-hosted with our partner, the German Marshall Fund of the United States. Host Soraya Sarhaddi Nelson talks with young German parliament members about their plans for the future and the pressing issues for their generation. Her guests:
- Adis Ahmetovic, Member of the Bundestag (SPD);
- Ria Schröder, Member of the Bundestag (FDP);
- Merle Spellerberg, Member of the Bundestag (Alliance 90/The Greens).
This show is produced by Dina Elsayed.
Afghanistan’s former education minister, a female activist who climbs mountains and a German foundation director dissect the Taliban’s impact on the Central Asian country on the semi-anniversary of its return to power.
Host Soraya Sarhaddi Nelson speaks with guests:
- Ellinor Zeino, Southwest Asia regional program director at the Konrad Adenauer Foundation.
- Rangina Hamidi, Afghanistan’s former education minister and professor of practice at Arizona State University’s Thunderbird School of Global Management.
- Activist and mountain climber Shogufa Bayat Haidari.
This show was produced by Soraya Sarhaddi Nelson and Dina Elsayed.
Why is a Nazi resistance fighter big in Brazil and unheard of in Germany? How did an African American bass-baritone artist become a national hero in the former GDR? Does Onkel Toms Huette refer to a German man and his cabins or the protagonist of a controversial American 19th-century novel? Senior Producer Dina Elsayed explores the fascinating stories behind Berlin’s unusual street names in this special Common Ground collaboration with the Goethe Institute for The Big Ponder series.
Featuring guests:
- Blogger and author Beata Gontarczyk-Krampe;
- Musicologist and historian Kira Thurman;
- Saxophonist and sound experimentalist Matana Roberts;
- Literary and cultural historian Todd Carmody;
- Artist Tatiana Heide;
- Filmmaker Thais Nepomuceno.
This show was produced by Dina Elsayed and Soraya Sarhaddi Nelson.
Frederic Chopin’s Prelude Opus 28, No. 9 was performed by Paul Cantrell. Also featured are "Brazil" by Serge Quadrado, "Woke up this Morning" by Till Paradiso and All is Written by Matana Roberts from their album Coin Coin: Chapter Three.
And from Blue Dot Studios, we heard Nine Count, Minister Creek, Vulcan Street and Ervira.
Note on the correct pronunciation of Matana Roberts' first name: equal emphasis should be given to all three syllables.
Russia appears ready to invade Ukraine, with the recent deployment of roughly 100,000 Russian troops along their mutual border.
In this episode of Transatlantic Takeaway -- a monthly collaboration between Common Ground and the German Marshall Fund of the United States -- Host Soraya Sarhaddi Nelson and her guests discuss the ongoing crisis and its impact on the EU, the United States and Moscow. Our experts:
Rachel Tausendfreund, GMF editorial director in Berlin and host of “Out of Order” podcast;
Liana Fix, GMF Resident Fellow and program director for International Affairs at the Körber-Stiftung;
Michael Kimmage, GMF Non-Resident Fellow and Catholic University history professor who was part of the U.S. Secretary of State’s planning staff from 2014-2016 advising on Russia and Ukraine.
This show is produced by Dina Elsayed.
Our collaboration with the Goethe Institute that shatters the stereotype of the unfunny German – Or does it? Laugh at and learn about German humor with host Soraya Sarhaddi Nelson and her guest comedians Carmen Chraim, Christian Schulte-Loh and Daniel Stern as well as German Institute for Humor founder Eva Ullmann and Nicola McLelland, a German professor and linguistics expert at the University of Nottingham in the U.K.
The music was Latin by Crowander and Lemoncholy by Tea K Pea.
This show is produced by Dina Elsayed.
On the inaugural episode of Transatlantic Takeaway -- a monthly collaboration between Common Ground and the German Marshall Fund of the United States -- Host Soraya Sarhaddi Nelson explores what German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and the French taking over the EU presidency will mean for the European bloc and the United States. Her guests:
Rachel Tausendfreund, GMF editorial director in Berlin and host of “Out of Order” podcast;
Sudha David-Wilp, GMF deputy director in Berlin and Senior Transatlantic Fellow;
Michal Baranowski, GMF director in Warsaw;
Martin Quencez, deputy director of the GMF Paris office and a research fellow in its Security & Defense program.
This show is produced by Dina Elsayed.
How will Germans respond to beer getting more expensive? What will the outcome of the ongoing coalition talks mean for younger Germans? How do Americans perceive the legacy of Angela Merkel? And is Joe Biden a hit or a miss in Germany?
Host Soraya Sarhaddi Nelson and her guests delve into these issues and more on this special episode of Common Ground, which was the opening event of Podfest Berlin 2021. Joining her are guests: Agence France-Presse Correspondent Deborah Cole (@deborah); Comedian Georg Kammerer (@GeorgFKa); and Podfest Berlin Founder and Performer Daniel Stern (@DanielandStern).
This show was recorded live at Comedy Café Berlin and produced by Dina Elsayed.
In A.D. 321, an edict drawn up by the Roman Emperor Constantine the Great appointed Jewish people to the Cologne town council. This decree is the oldest known document showing Jewish life thriving north of the Alps.
But what does it mean to be Jewish in Germany today?
In this episode, guest host Stephanie Wolf speaks with Anti-Defamation League’s Assistant Director for European Affairs, Dalia Grinfeld, and visual and performance artist Rachel Libeskind.
This show is produced by Dina Elsayed and Stephanie Wolf.
Today marks the birthday of Mildred Harnack, an American academic and spy who was murdered by the Nazis in Berlin and who is the subject of Rebecca Donner’s New York Times bestseller “All The Frequent Troubles Of Our Days.”
In this episode, Common Ground host Soraya Sarhaddi Nelson talks to Donner about her great-great-aunt's life, the state of women in the Third Reich, and how sexism distorted her legacy. Plus, Donner reads a few of her favorite passages.
We also hear from German historian Arnd Bauerkaemper and president of the American Women’s Club in Berlin Shweta Gupta.
This show is produced by Dina Elsayed.
Tune in to a special episode of Common Ground on Sept. 15th, which is the birthday of the protagonist of Donner's new book about an American heroine in Nazi-era Berlin.
In this joint episode by the Common Ground and Out of Order podcasts, host Soraya Sarhaddi Nelson and GMF Senior Transatlantic Fellow Sudha David-Wilp examine the struggle to elect the first new chancellor in 16 years and what Germany’s top three political parties in opinion surveys are doing about it.
Featuring:
Tobias Hans of the CDU, minister president of Saarland;
Katarina Barley, SPD European Parliament Member;
Katharina Schulze, parliamentary leader of the Greens in the Bavarian state parliament.
This show is produced by Corinna Blutguth, Dina Elsayed and Stephanie Wolf.
The pandemic has dramatically changed our lives for nearly 18 months now. The learning curve of how to deal with COVID-19 has been steep and definitive answers remain elusive. So were the experts right about the vaccines? What about booster shots? And should children be inoculated against the coronavirus? Host Soraya Sarhaddi Nelson speaks with German Ethics Council Chair Alena Buyx; Korinna Hennig, science editor and co-host of public broadcaster NDR’s weekly podcast: “The Coronavirus Update;” and New York Times health and science writer Apoorva Mandavilli.
This show is produced by Dina Elsayed.
If you like music and dancing, Berlin has a club for you. At least it used to until the pandemic struck. But now that there’s light at the end of that tunnel, will the German capital’s culture of clubs return?
Soraya Sarhaddi Nelson hosted an on-air special on Aug. 13 at Germany’s top electronic music radio station, sunshine live, and spoke with DJs, club scene leaders and more. We bring you the highlights in this Common Ground episode.
Featuring guests:
Georg Kössler, Berlin MP and Club Culture spokesman for the Green Party;
Robin Schellenberg, United We Stream co-founder, and manager of the Berlin club Klunkerkranich;
Marc Wohlrabe, Livekomm Board Member, Director of the ‘Stadt nach Acht’ Nightlife Policy Conference;
Katharin Ahrend, head of the Berlin Club Commission Awareness and Diversity Department.
And featuring DJs: Wannadosomething?, Nikola and Sagan
We also hear from Remi Letournelle of Fitzroy and Marie Anoinette, and Tino Zaddach of Nuke Club.
This show is produced by Dina Elsayed and Stephanie Wolf.
Coming up on Aug. 13, Common Ground and Germany's top electronic music radio team up on air to bring you the latest on nightlife in the German capital, which continues to grapple with COVID-19. Tune in from 7 p.m to 10 p.m. CET Guests and DJs include United We Stream’s Robin Schellenberg, Berlin's Club Commission’s Lutz Leichsenring and Georg Kössler of the Green Party. (Find your local FM station and streaming links at sunshine-live.de).
This episode of Common Ground -- the last before our summer hiatus -- was recorded outdoors in the Berlin neighborhood of Prenzlauer Berg, where host Soraya Sarhaddi Nelson explores the mounting challenges facing cyclists with Andrew Bulkeley, who writes for Berliner Zeitung English Edition; Dirk von Schneidemesser of Changing Cities, an initiative specializing in democratic sustainability transformation and award-winning journalist and author Matthew Schofield.
This show is produced by Dina Elsayed.
Germany’s handling of the pandemic has sparked a debate about whether the country’s form of government still makes sense. Host Soraya Sarhaddi Nelson untangles the complex federal and state relationship with Bloomberg Opinion Columnist Andreas Kluth and Wolfgang Renzsch, professor emeritus at the University of Magdeburg, who has written extensively about German federalism.
This show is produced by Dina Elsayed.
It’s been nearly six months since U.S. President Joe Biden took office, but has he repaired the frayed U.S. relations with Germany? Host Soraya Sarhaddi Nelson brings you an update from both sides of the pond with Bloomberg Opinion columnist Andreas Kluth; Sudha David-Wilp, senior transatlantic fellow and deputy director of the German Marshall Fund’s Berlin office and Brett Samuels, White House reporter for The Hill.
This show is produced by Dina Elsayed.
It’s the first day of summer and#berlinreopens is trending, but are tourists coming back? And what about international travel? Host Soraya Sarhaddi Nelson explores how the pandemic has changed the way we vacation and the kinds of summer travel we can expect. Her guests are: Christian Tänzler, spokesman for visitBerlin, the city’s official tourism service; Volker Adams, head of government affairs at the German Travel Association; and Nicky Gardner, travel writer and editor of Hidden Europe magazine and co-author of “Europe by Rail.”
This show is produced by Dina Elsayed.
As NATO leaders meet in Brussels, our episode features the second part of a special town hall Common Ground co-hosted with the German Marshall Fund of the United States about the future of Afghanistan once the alliance’s troops leave in the coming months.
Host Soraya Sarhaddi Nelson talks with:
- Atia Abawi, award-winning foreign correspondent and children’s author.
- Kathy Gannon, award-winning News Director for Afghanistan and Pakistan at the Associated Press and author.
- Marina Kielpinski LeGree, founder and head of "Ascend," an NGO that trains Afghan girls and women to be leaders through mountain climbing and community service.
- Metra Mehran, Fulbright Scholar who co-founded the Feminine Perspectives Movement, which provides a platform for women across Afghanistan to raise their voices and ensure their views are heard at the peace talks.
- Almut Wieland-Karimi, executive director of the Center for International Peace Operations.
- Ellinor Zeino, Afghanistan Country Director for the Konrad Adenauer Foundation.
Also featuring Pen Farthing, founder of the Nowzad Veterinary Clinic in Afghanistan, Veterinarian Zahra Nasiri and Renja Farein Ahmadi of the Enabled Children Initiative (ECI).
On May 27th, Common Ground and The German Marshall Fund of the United States co-hosted a special town hall with Afghan women, aid workers and analysts on three continents to talk about the future of the Central Asian Country after two decades of military and humanitarian intervention. This episode includes excerpts and interviews from that event.
Host Soraya Sarhaddi Nelson talks with:
- Atia Abawi, Award-winning foreign correspondent and children’s author.
- Kathy Gannon, Award-winning News Director for Afghanistan and Pakistan at the Associated Press and author.
- Marina Kielpinski LeGree, Founder and CEO of "Ascend," an NGO that trains Afghan girls and women to be leaders through community service and mountain climbing.
- Metra Mehran, Fulbright Scholar who co-founded the Feminine Perspectives Movement, which provides a platform for women across Afghanistan to raise their voices and ensure their perspectives are reflected in the peace talks.
- Almut Wieland-Karimi, Executive Director of the Center for International Peace Operations.
- Ellinor Zeino, Afghanistan Country Director of the Konrad Adenauer Foundation.
Also featuring GMF Editorial Director Rachel Tausendfreund and Ascend Program Assistant Shogufa Bayat.
What role will Germans between the ages of 18 and 35 play in choosing the next chancellor?
Germany is often called a “pensioner democracy,” which has made it hard for young people to make a difference. That could change this year following a rare court victory and the surge of the Green Party and Annalena Baerbock, who could become the youngest chancellor in the history of the Federal Republic of Germany.
Host Soraya Sarhaddi Nelson talks with Green Party national deputy chairwoman Ricarda Lang; climate activist and Fridays for Future co-founder Carla Reemtsma, and GMF Europe program associate Anne Flotho-Liersch, who also coordinates the Berlin chapter of the Young Transatlantic Network.
We also hear from Andrea Ugrinoska, who chairs the Advisory Council on Youth, which is the voice of young people in the Council of Europe.
This show is produced by Dina Elsayed.
Host Soraya Sarhaddi Nelson delves into why women struggle with fear despite wielding more political and economic power than ever before, with guests Anne Ruetten, social media manager of Plan International; Conny Vogt of Heimwegtelefon, a private initiative in Germany and Austria helping women feel safer when they walk home at night; and Sarah Riese, a researcher on violence prevention at the independent institute, Camino.
This show is produced by Dina Elsayed.
Host Soraya Sarhaddi Nelson explores what the end of the Berlin rent cap means for renters, landlords and the upcoming German federal elections with guests Wenke Christoph, state secretary in the Berlin Senate Department for Urban Development and Housing; Economist Konstantin Kholodolin of the German Institute for Economic Research in Berlin; and Kalle Kunkel, a Berlin activist with the Expropriate Deutsche Wohnen and Company initiative.
This show is produced by Dina Elsayed.
Host Soraya Sarhaddi Nelson explores the impact of changing attitudes, governments and the pandemic on people’s plans to retire, with guests llka Houben, head of pensions policy at the German Insurance Association; Michael Heuser, research director of the German Institute for Wealth Creation and Retirement Insurance and Megan Leonhardt, senior money reporter with U.S. broadcaster CNBC.
This show is produced by Dina Elsayed.
Tune in on Mondays for interesting insights about Berlin and beyond. Our next episode is coming up Apr. 26, 2021.
Common Ground’s Soraya Sarhaddi Nelson talks to Korinna Hennig, co-host of a top German coronavirus podcast and Stefan Gosepath, a German philosopher and professor at the Freie Universitat Berlin, about the growing exodus in search of inoculations.
We also hear from an American in Berlin who returned to the United States to get vaccinated and two others who are thinking of doing so.
This show is produced by Dina Elsayed.
Teaser: A Shot In The Arm -- A growing number of expats living in Germany are headed home for the COVID-19 vaccine, but is it ethical or safe for them to do so?
The Western allies’ coordinated sanctions on China this month for human rights abuses in Xinjiang are the first of their kind since the Tiananmen Square crackdown in 1989. But do they signal a new, unified approach by Washington and Berlin toward China? Or will the transatlantic unison be short-lived?
Host Soraya Sarhaddi Nelson talks with Noah Barkin, a senior visiting fellow with the German Marshall Fund’s Asia program and managing editor of Rhodium Group’s China practice; and Glacier Kwong, a political and digital rights activist from Hong Kong who is a columnist and also a doctoral student at the University of Hamburg.
This show is produced by Dina Elsayed.
Immigrants and their descendants account for a quarter of Germany’s population, but still have a hard time breaking into the political arena. Will any of that change this election year? Is the first-ever Syrian refugee candidate a good start?
Host Soraya Sarhaddi Nelson talks with MP Aydan Özoğuz, a Social Democrat who was previously the federal commissioner for migration, refugees and integration and Andreas Wüst, a professor of political science and government at the Munich University of Applied Sciences.
This show is produced by Dina Elsayed.
Update 30.3.2021: The Green Party says the first refugee to run for the Bundestag -- Syrian Tareq Alaows, who we report on in this episode -- has since withdrawn his candidacy because of threats against him and his family.
What accounts for the slow digitalization of Europe’s economic powerhouse?
Host Soraya Sarhaddi Nelson explores Germany’s digital reality with Social Democratic MP Daniela Kolbe, who serves on the Artificial Intelligence Study Commission; MP Anke Domscheit-Berg, The Left party’s spokeswoman on the Digital Agenda parliamentary committee; and Philip Meissner, founder and head of the European Center for Digital Competitiveness at the ESCP Business School Berlin.
This show is produced by Dina Elsayed.
Affordable housing in German cities is increasingly hard to find. What went wrong and can it be fixed?
Host Soraya Sarhaddi Nelson talks with Berlin housing activist Thomas McGath of Expropriate Deutsche Wohnen und Co; Barbara Steenberger, head of the EU Liaison Office of the International Union of Tenants and Konstantin Kholodilin, senior economist at the German Institute for Economic Research.
Also featuring commentary by Berlin MP Iris Spranger (SPD).
This show is produced by Dina Elsayed.
Where are we in the fight to curb climate change? And will having Joe Biden as the U.S. president help? Host Soraya Sarhaddi Nelson talks to Douglas Hengel, senior fellow at the German Marshall Fund who writes about global energy, climate and resource challenges; Tim Gore, head of the Low Carbon and Circular Economy Program at The Institute for European Environmental Policy in Brussels, and co-founder of @fridaysforfuture.de Carla Reemtsma.
This show is produced by Dina Elsayed.
Host Soraya Sarhaddi Nelson talks to Juliane von Reppert-Bismarck, founder of the news literacy project Lie Detectors in Brussels; Lisa Dittmer, Reporters without Borders’ advocacy officer in Berlin for internet freedom; Damaso Reyes, multimedia journalist and founder of Clarify Media; and Jacob Mchangama, founder of the Copenhagen-based think tank Justitia.
This show is produced by Dina Elsayed.
The coronavirus vaccination efforts in Germany and the EU are a mess. Why are some countries so much better at getting people inoculated? Host Soraya Sarhaddi Nelson is joined by Die Welt Middle East Correspondent and author Christine Kensche in Tel Aviv; Wall Street Journal Chief Foreign Affairs Correspondent Yaroslav Trofimov in Dubai and ARD Radio Correspondent Helga Schmidt in Brussels.
This show is produced by Dina Elsayed
E-learning isn’t working the way many students, teachers and parents would like. Host Soraya Sarhaddi Nelson explores the ramifications with psychologist Dr. Ilka Wolter, diversity consultant and parent Annette von Wedel and Berlin teachers Ryan Plocher and Adrianne Oldham.
This show is produced by Dina Elsayed.
The California company's new facility in Brandenburg is set to open this summer, leaving Germany’s auto giants scrambling to retain their dominance in the global luxury car market.
Common Ground host Soraya Sarhaddi Nelson talks to Jens Hanefeld, who is in charge International and European Policy at Volkswagen, and Bloomberg Correspondent Stefan Nicola about the future of German electric cars.
This show is produced by Dina Elsayed
Unprecedented bans by the U.S.-based tech giants are sparking debate in Germany over who should control social media.
Host Soraya Sarhaddi Nelson is joined by German MP (Greens) Renate Künast, Bloomberg Opinion’s Andreas Kluth, digital rights blogger and lawyer Joachim Steinhöfel and Jillian York of the Electronic Frontier Foundation.
This show is produced by Dina Elsayed
On the last episode of Common Ground in 2020, host Soraya Sarhaddi Nelson talks to a man who has profoundly influenced Berlin and transatlantic relations for many decades: Former U.S. Ambassador to Germany, John Kornblum.
Tune in to hear about key moments in Berlin and the Cold War, the public radio station in the German capital he helped create, and the future of transatlantic relations.
This show was produced by Dina Elsayed.
During KCRW Berlin’s last week on air, we're sharing the story behind the story. Listen to the second of a special, two-part episode in collaboration with Studio Berlin, where we reflect on our favorite on air moments from the past year and look ahead to 2021.
This show was produced by Monika Müller-Kroll.
Tune into the first part of a special, two-part episode with Studio Berlin.
This show was produced by Monika Müller-Kroll.
Host Soraya Sarhaddi Nelson is joined by Christian Gräff, CDU member of the Berlin House of Representatives; Christian Stender, culture manager at Ketering GmbH that organizes the Lucia Christmas Market at Berlin’s Kulturbrauerei, and our Studio Berlin co-host Sylvia Cunningham.
This show was produced by Dina Elsayed.
Host Soraya Sarhaddi Nelson talks to Helen Arvanitakis, director of London's new Design District; James Andrade, senior vice President and Head of Learning and Innovation at CapitaLand in Singapore and in Düsseldorf, Hans-Hermann Aldenhoff, country head and law partner at Simmons and Simmons. Also featuring Die Linke Berlin’s Tobias Schulze.
This show was produced by Dina Elsayed.
Host Soraya Sarhaddi Nelson is joined by Bundestag member Daniela De Ridder (SPD), who is vice-chairwoman of the Foreign Affairs Committee; Bloomberg Opinion columnist Andreas Kluth; Stormy-Annika Mildner, who heads the external economic policy department at the Federation of German Industries e. V. and Jana Puglierin, who heads the Berlin office of the European Council on Foreign Relations.
This show was produced by Dina Elsayed
Host Soraya Sarhaddi Nelson is joined by Said Ahmad Arif, Imam at the Khadija mosque in Berlin; David Wengenroth, editor at the Lutheran news outlet, Idea; Sadiqu Al-Mousllie, Central Council of Muslims in Germany board member; and Ernesto Grueneberg, immigration lawyer in Berlin.
This show was produced by Dina Elsayed
Host Soraya Sarhaddi Nelson is joined by John Emerson, former U.S. Ambassador to Germany; Kathryn Watts, Pendleton Miller Chair in Law at the University of Washington School of Law in Seattle; Peter Beyer, Germany’s Transatlantic Coordinator; and Ralph Freund, Vice President of U.S. Republicans Abroad in Germany.
This show was produced by Dina Elsayed
Host Soraya Sarhaddi Nelson talks to Wenke Christoph, state secretary in the Berlin Senate Department for Urban Development and Housing, Christian Eckart, an attorney and partner at Redeker Sellner Dahs and Daniel Hofmann, housing market researcher at the Hamburg-based institute for urban, regional and housing research (GEWOS).
This show was produced by Dina Elsayed
The EU’s Digital Services Act - What does it mean for Big Tech and for YOU?
Host Soraya Sarhaddi Nelson is joined by Alexandra Geese, Member of the European Parliament with the German Greens; Travis Todd, co-founder of Berlin’s startup community Silicon Allee; Mackenzie Nelson, researcher and project manager at AlgorithmWatch, and Lina Rusch, a journalist with Der Tagesspiegel who writes about digital politics and artificial intelligence.
This show was produced by Dina Elsayed and Monika Müller-Kroll.
The pandemic has wreaked havoc on people’s travel plans and decimated the tourism industry and airlines. The German government’s guidance on travel is ever-changing and often confusing, making business and leisure travel difficult at best.
With a new coronavirus wave erupting in Germany, across Europe and in parts of the US, will we see more border closures and quarantine rules? Or can increased testing help save holidaymakers’ fall and winter plans?
Host Soraya Sarhaddi Nelson is joined by Volker Adams, the head of government affairs at the German Travel Association (DRV); Christian Tänzler, a spokesman for visitBerlin, the city’s official tourism service and Elizabeth Becker, an award-winning journalist and author of “Overbooked: The Exploding Business of Travel and Tourism.”
This show was produced by Sylvia Cunningham.
What many people feel about the upcoming U.S. presidential election can be described in one word: Fear.
Some worry there won't be a peaceful transition of power following the vote next month. Others wonder whether democracy and women’s rights in the United States will radically change with a new Supreme Court. There is also anxiety over U.S. foreign policy, and the tone of the recent presidential debate only added to global uncertainty.
Host Soraya Sarhaddi Nelson is joined by John Emerson, former U.S. Ambassador to Germany; Kathryn Watts, Pendleton Miller Chair in Law at the University of Washington School of Law in Seattle; Peter Beyer, Germany’s Transatlantic Coordinator; and Ralph Freund, Vice President of U.S. Republicans Abroad in Germany.
This show was produced by Dina Elsayed.
Is it safe to be Jewish in Germany? Should German authorities be doing more to stop rising anti-Semitism?
Host Soraya Sarhaddi Nelson is joined by Germany's Federal Commissioner for Jewish life and against anti-Semitism Felix Klein; Sigmount Koenigsberg of the Jewish Community of Berlin; Sharon Kuckuck of Berlin’s Sisterhood of Salaam Shalom and Biplab Basu of ReachOut Berlin, who debate these questions one year after the deadly Halle attack and discuss how to reverse the trend.
Produced by Dina Elsayed
Frustration is high in Berlin over the rights of cyclists vs. drivers. But what about the rights of Berlin’s pedestrians vs. cyclists?
We explore that fraught relationship and other human-powered, sustainable mobility conflicts in Berlin on the third episode of Common Ground with guests Carolina Mazza of ADFC (German Cyclists Association), Roland Stimpel of FUSS e.V. (Organization for Pedesterian Protection of Germany), Alena Büttner of the German Environment Agency and Dirk von Schneidemesser of Changing Cities e.V.
Produced by Dina Elsayed
When Google announced plans to open a campus in the Berlin neighbourhood of Kreuzberg, local opposition was so loud that it ground the tech giant’s plans to a halt. A similar wave of protests hit Friedrichshain earlier this year against Amazon’s plans to erect a 140 meter-tall office building.
In this episode, host Soraya Sarhaddi Nelson is joined by Nina Monaghan, the vice-chairwoman of the Free Democratic Party (FDP) in Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg; Yonatan Miller, co-founder of the Berlin Tech Workers Coalition, and freelance journalist and activist John Malamatinas.
This show was produced by Dina Elsayed and hosted by Soraya Sarhaddi Nelson.
John F. Kennedy’s “Ich bin ein Berliner” speech was embraced by an overwhelming majority of city residents nearly six decades ago.
But these days, there’s a lot of disagreement over who gets to call themselves a Berliner as the German capital rapidly evolves into an international city with immigrants from around the globe.
In the hour-long premiere of “Common Ground”, host Soraya Sarhaddi Nelson is joined by a panel made up of Berlin politicians Sawsan Chebli and Christian Gräff, “Der Alte Ami” – DJ Rik de Lisle, and Maxim Gorki Theater Director Shermin Langhoff.
This show was recorded live on Sept. 7, 2020 and produced by Dina Elsayed.
“Common Ground” is a 30-minute radio show airing weekly on 104.1 FM, KCRW Berlin. The one-hour premiere airs on Sept. 10, 2020.
The show, hosted by former NPR international correspondent Soraya Sarhaddi Nelson, aims to bring people together on sensitive issues, existential questions and flashpoints to find mutual understanding, compromise and solutions.
In this short preview, we share a little about the background of the show, what it's about, and preview the one-hour premiere that is airing on Thursday, September 10. You're invited to attend the taping of the first show, live, via Zoom, on September 7, 2020. Visit our website to sign up. www.kcrwberlin.com/commonground.