An enigmatic city teetering on the edge of the world: John Kampfner on Berlin, a city of ghosts and memories where he can still smell the Wall

EPISODE 1831: In this KEEN ON episode, Andrew talks to John Kampfner, author of IN SEARCH OF BERLIN, about the enigmatic German capital on the edge of the world

John Kampfner has had a 30-year career in international public life spanning media, global affairs, politics and arts. He is the author of seven books. He began his journalistic career as a foreign correspondent with the Daily Telegraph, first in East Berlin where he reported on the fall of the Wall and unification of Germany, and then in Moscow at the time of the collapse of Soviet Communism. He went on to work for the FT and BBC. As Editor of the New Statesman from 2005 to 2008, he took the magazine to 30-year circulation highs. He was Society of Magazine Editors Current Affairs Editor of the Year in 2006. He now writes regularly for newspapers such as the Guardian, FT and Der Spiegel. He has made many programmes over the years for BBC Radio 4 and World Service and regularly appearances on European broadcasters. His new book, In Search of Berlin, is published in October 2023. Prior to publication, it has received an array of critical acclaim. His previous book, Why the Germans Do It Better, went immediately onto the Sunday Times and Amazon best-sellers list. Another best-seller, Blair’s Wars (2003), is now a standard text in schools. His fourth book, Freedom For Sale (2009), was short-listed for the Orwell Prize. A regular speaker at international conferences, he has worked with Chatham House, including setting up its UK in the World programme. He is a Senior Associate Fellow at the Royal United Services Institute. For the past two years, he has been Chair of Young Königswinter, which brings together the next generation of German and British public figures. In the arts world, he is Chair of the Quentin Blake Centre for Illustration. For eight years he was founder Chair of Turner Contemporary, one of the country’s most successful art galleries. He was awarded an Honorary Doctorate for his services to the arts by Bath Spa University in 2019.

Named as one of the "100 most connected men" by GQ magazine, Andrew Keen is amongst the world's best known broadcasters and commentators. In addition to presenting KEEN ON, he is the host of the long-running How To Fix Democracy show. He is also the author of four prescient books about digital technology: CULT OF THE AMATEUR, DIGITAL VERTIGO, THE INTERNET IS NOT THE ANSWER and HOW TO FIX THE FUTURE. Andrew lives in San Francisco, is married to Cassandra Knight, Google's VP of Litigation & Discovery, and has two grown children.

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