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 gu...
Jan 31, 2022•30 min•Ep. 44
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” podcas...
Jan 16, 2022•31 min•Ep. 43
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 p...
Dec 19, 2021•28 min•Ep. 42
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...
Dec 12, 2021•35 min•Ep. 41
Nov 28, 2021•1 min
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 ); Comedia...
Oct 31, 2021•41 min•Ep. 40
Oct 03, 2021•46 sec
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...
Sep 26, 2021•30 min•Ep. 39
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 Arn...
Sep 15, 2021•27 min•Ep. 38
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.
Sep 12, 2021•1 min
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 par...
Sep 06, 2021•34 min•Ep. 37
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;” ...
Aug 30, 2021•29 min•Ep. 36
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 Cultu...
Aug 23, 2021•32 min•Ep. 35
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 )....
Aug 08, 2021•1 min
Jul 25, 2021•1 min
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 E...
Jul 18, 2021•32 min•Ep. 34
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.
Jul 04, 2021•35 min•Ep. 33
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.
Jun 27, 2021•33 min•Ep. 32
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 magaz...
Jun 20, 2021•31 min•Ep. 31
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, ...
Jun 13, 2021•32 min•Ep. 30
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 Directo...
Jun 06, 2021•33 min•Ep. 29
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;...
May 23, 2021•34 min•Ep. 28
May 17, 2021•1 min
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.
May 09, 2021•36 min•Ep. 27
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....
May 02, 2021•36 min•Ep. 26
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.
Apr 25, 2021•40 min•Ep. 25
Tune in on Mondays for interesting insights about Berlin and beyond. Our next episode is coming up Apr. 26, 2021.
Apr 18, 2021•1 min
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.
Apr 11, 2021•36 min•Ep. 24
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?
Apr 04, 2021•1 min
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...
Mar 28, 2021•36 min•Ep. 23
