Common Ground Berlin
Host Soraya Sarhaddi Nelson brings together prominent voices from all walks of life to tackle questions on vital and fascinating topics to increase public awareness and understanding.
- Update frequency
- every 9 days
- Average duration
- 31 minutes
- Episodes
- 148
- Years Active
- 2020 - 2024
Finding The Way, Part I: The Camino de Santiago and why it’s hard to resist.
Have you ever done a Camino? Or wanted to do a Camino? Or wonder what a Camino even is? Learn from the experts, including authors Brian John Skillen and Anne Pedersen (pen name Lele Beutel) who start…
Bye-bye, Berlin – Are artists and others in creative fields that gave the city its post-Cold War identity leaving?
Berlin has been referred to as a “creative utopia,” where the arts and cultural scene exploded after the fall of the Berlin Wall.
Nowadays, the city’s draw as an artist hub is fading and its spaces a…
Berlin Blues - Navigating mental health care in the German capital and beyond.
Berlin is ranked as one of the three unhappiest states in Germany. What role does a shortage of therapy play? And is there a way to get around that shortage if you need help? Guest host Eden Brockman…
Out of Work – What to do about rising unemployment in Berlin and Germany.
The number of people who are out of work in Germany increased by more than expected in February 2024 to more than 2.7 million as the slowdown in Europe’s largest economy bears down on the labor marke…
Update on getting dual citizenship in Germany – What works and what doesn’t
Host Soraya Sarhaddi Nelson and senior producer Dina Elsayed untangle the landmark reform to Germany’s citizenship law with guests:
Jan Schneider, deputy managing director of The Expert Council on Int…
A U.S. election the world is anxiously watching – Part One: What role do voters abroad play?
Host Soraya Sarhaddi Nelson discusses the role of overseas voting in the 2024 U.S. primaries and why you should care, even if you aren’t a U.S. citizen, with guests:
Constance Chucholowski, chairman …
Whither Ukraine – If Western support wanes, will Russia win? And what does this mean for Berlin and Germany?
It’s been two years since Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine, a war that is not going well for Kyiv at the moment. The war has killed and wounded a half million people and sent millions…
A BER report card – Is Berlin’s airport the one to use or one to avoid?
Everyone has an opinion of BER, and many of them aren't kind: Passengers recently ranked it 19th of 20 airports in Germany, which suggests it still isn’t the airport of our dreams. In this episode, h…
Being Franz Kafka, Part Two: How the iconic author who was sensitive to sound affects today’s music.
When we think of Franz Kafka, it’s usually about his books and short stories. But Kafka Band founder and Czech author Jaroslav Rudiš and world renowned Irish composer Gerald Barry say the noise-aver…
Being Franz Kafka, Part One: How the unconventional author affects life today.
Join host Soraya Sarhaddi Nelson and senior producer Dina Elsayed who interview TV personality and Kafka sleuth Kathi Diamant, in San Diego; National Library of Israel archivist Stefan Litt in Jerusa…
Our 100th Episode
Host Soraya Sarhaddi Nelson and Senior Producer Dina Elsayed share key moments, personal insights and a look ahead as Common Ground Berlin kicks off its 2024 season. Featuring German Comedian Christi…
How do young Germans view the United States? A look at the shifting attitudes and whether student exchange programs can help.
What Gen-Zers think of the United States is definitely not how their parents and grandparents view Germany’s important ally. So can student exchange programs help improve transatlantic relations?
…
Celebrating 100 years of radio in Germany – The Finale: Mary Louise Kelly and Kamal Nasir Hamyar
Host Soraya Sarhaddi Nelson interviews NPR icon and All Things Considered co-host Mary Louise Kelly as well as Kamal Nasir Hamyar, an Afghan journalist who was part of an on-air project the Germans h…
No Place to Call Home, Volume II – The latest on Berlin’s affordable housing crisis.
Rents in “poor, but sexy” Berlin continue to skyrocket as the inventory of apartments remains low. But buying a home may not be the answer, either. Host Soraya Sarhaddi Nelson explores whether the Ge…
Israel’s war in Gaza – Could the United States and Germany have stopped it?
Soraya Sarhaddi Nelson of Common Ground Berlin and Rachel Tausenfreund of the German Marshall Fund of the United States host a powerful and international conversation about the invasion of Gaza and i…
Live at Podfest Berlin: "Stammtisch: A Scintillating Look at the News." Vol. 3
Host Soraya Sarhaddi Nelson and her guests, AFP correspondent Deborah Cole and Comedian Josh Telson tackle a variety of topics including Berlin and U.S. political follies, climate protests and rising…
Why is reunified Germany still divided, 33 years later? A conversation with bestselling author Katja Hoyer and hit miniseries producer Joerg Winger.
It was a time of jubilation when East and West Germany became one country again in 1990, with Berlin as its capital. But the honeymoon quickly wore off and to this day, divisions fester. Host Soraya …
Celebrating 100 years of radio in Germany – Part II: Anna Winger, Rik de Lisle and Lulu Garcia-Navarro.
This is the second of three episodes by Common Ground Berlin and Goethe Institute commemorating a century of German radio by bringing you stories from influential and interesting broadcasters worldwi…
Germany’s “Energiewende” – A path to transformation or tribulation?
The German Bundestag passed a controversial measure in September to reduce emissions from heated buildings, which accounts for an estimated 15 percent of Germany’s carbon dioxide output. But will thi…