Common Ground Berlin

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.