The Big Ponder – A Transatlantic Podcast

Series produced by Goethe-Institut

Caption: The Big Ponder, Credit: © Goethe-institut
Image by: © Goethe-institut 
The Big Ponder 

This transatlantic podcast explores abstract concepts and phenomena through personal radio essays. Every other week, one of our producers transforms a broad topic into a captivating story told from a US-German perspective.

In cooperation with radio stations and independent producers in the US and Germany, the Goethe-Institut has created the transatlantic podcast THE BIG PONDER. We invite listeners to reflect on abstract ideas and phenomena through hyper-local stories. Each topic will be explored from a transatlantic perspective: do the US and Germany share the same values? What divides us? What unites us?   

In addition to sharing our passion for great storytelling, THE BIG PONDER hopes to further strengthen the transatlantic network of journalists and podcasters through our close collaboration with radio stations and partners on both sides of the pond. We are especially thankful for the support from our friends at the Bertelsmann Foundation, RBB Kultur, and the RIAS Berlin Kommission. 


96 Pieces

Order by: Newest First | Oldest First
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Buffalo, New York, was at one time the world’s foremost grain port. More than 30 enormous grain silos still attest to that fact – awesome colossi m...

Bought by KICI Iowa City


  • Added: Nov 07, 2018
  • Length: 13:36
  • Purchases: 1
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When Jake Nawrocki had the idea to revive the Southside of Atlanta’s downtown neighborhood – which could take ten to 20 years – he had to find inve...

Bought by KSFR


  • Added: Nov 02, 2018
  • Length: 11:02
  • Purchases: 1
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In 1975, the German journalist Frances Schoenberger interviewed John Lennon in New York, a dream gig for her – but this interview was never publish...

Bought by KICI Iowa City and KICI Iowa City


  • Added: Oct 17, 2018
  • Length: 28:43
  • Purchases: 2
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​There are things that hold history for each of us – a stitch, a book, a hat – things that we carry around for our whole lives. In this episode, we...

Bought by KSFR and KRZA


  • Added: Oct 12, 2018
  • Length: 10:43
  • Purchases: 2
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Thomas Buergenthal saw the Nazi concentration camps through a child’s eyes. Luckily, he survived and later became a lawyer and eventually a judge o...

Bought by KICI Iowa City, KICI Iowa City, and KRZA


  • Added: Nov 14, 2018
  • Length: 22:54
  • Purchases: 3
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Germany’s beer influence has spread around the world, and one of the epicenters of this trend is New York City. There are now more than two dozen b...

  • Added: Nov 22, 2018
  • Length: 18:35
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He is a soccer legend in Germany as player and as coach: Jürgen Klinsmann. After leading the German national team to a third-place finish in the 20...

Bought by KICI Iowa City


  • Added: Nov 28, 2018
  • Length: 20:49
  • Purchases: 1
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Driven by a critical lack of skilled technicians, a group of largely German-owned manufacturers in Chicago have launched a new apprenticeship progr...

  • Added: Dec 05, 2018
  • Length: 35:03
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Leigh Hamilton is a dramatic soprano who has been based in Germany for more than 17 years. This episode follows Leigh’s story, which takes her from...

  • Added: Dec 19, 2018
  • Length: 23:25
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Within the historic walls of Zion Lutheran Church in Baltimore, Maryland, you’re just as likely to hear a rousing polka band as sacred organ music....

Bought by KICI Iowa City


  • Added: Jan 11, 2019
  • Length: 23:04
  • Purchases: 1
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Every year, tourists from around the world flock to Southern Utah to take in the scenic landscape. Most travel by car, but some opt for a less trad...

Bought by KICI Iowa City


  • Added: Jan 17, 2019
  • Length: 14:54
  • Purchases: 1
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Five generations have lived at the ‘Alexander Haus’ on Groß Glienicker See over the past century – enduring fascism, war, the division of Germany, ...

Bought by KICI Iowa City, KICI Iowa City, and KRZA


  • Added: Jan 23, 2019
  • Length: 19:45
  • Purchases: 3
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German entrepreneurs and winemakers have shaped the manufacturing of wine in the US for over a century. Join our producer Gary Lee on a tour of thr...

  • Added: Feb 01, 2019
  • Length: 20:24
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St. Hildegard of Bingen was a twelfth-century German nun – a writer, composer of chants, mystic and visionary. You might be asking yourself, what o...

Bought by KICI Iowa City


  • Added: Feb 06, 2019
  • Length: 12:55
  • Purchases: 1
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“German baseball” may sound like an oxymoron, but the Bonn Capitals have successfully maintained a leading position in the German baseball league f...

  • Added: Feb 13, 2019
  • Length: 18:52
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Coffee is more than just a beverage – it can be a jumpstart to a day at work or a relaxing afternoon with friends. This episode explores the meanin...

Bought by KICI Iowa City and KWMR


  • Added: Feb 20, 2019
  • Length: 15:56
  • Purchases: 2
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Dimitri Hegemann, the mastermind behind the Berlin nightclub Tresor, has been nurturing an artistic connection between Berlin and Detroit since the...

Bought by KICI Iowa City


  • Added: Feb 27, 2019
  • Length: 24:38
  • Purchases: 1
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Between 1820 and World War I, nearly six million Germans immigrated to the US – in 2017, only about 5,000 made the trip. If Germans aren’t coming t...

Bought by KICI Iowa City


  • Added: Mar 06, 2019
  • Length: 19:17
  • Purchases: 1
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Germany is internationally renowned for its bread. With its diversity of more than 3,000 varieties the Germans are world champions of bread. Since ...

Bought by KICI Iowa City and KICI Iowa City


  • Added: Mar 13, 2019
  • Length: 24:27
  • Purchases: 2
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It is estimated that 30,000 Hessian soldiers fought for the British during the American Revolutionary War (1775-1783). Where did they come from and...

  • Added: Mar 25, 2019
  • Length: 23:47