Authors from Israel and Germany write about each others countries in a new book. Wir Vergessen Nicht, Wir Gehen Tanzen , or "We don't forget, we go dancing," is an anthology by writers mainly in their 30s and 40s.

The idea for this book came to author Norbert Kron in 2008, when German and Israeli writers played a soccer match in Tel Aviv.

Life In Berlin: Germany And Israel Dancing Through The Weight Of History

On Oranienstrasse, in the heart of Kreuzberg, photographer Maren Demant waits, ready, camera in hand to capture the faces of pedestrians who pass by. When an individual catches the young photographer’s attention, she asks to take their photo. This is part of one of her ongoing projects: Oranienstrasse. It’s a body of work that depicts the cultural diversity of Berlin on one of the city’s more well known streets.

Life In Berlin: Maren Demant

The smell of saw dust fills the air. Pine wood boards lean against one wall of the workshop, stacks of chairs line another.

It's the work space of Cucula in a former factory along the river Spree. Cucula Refugees Crafts and Design company is a pilot project based in Berlin. The idea: to empower five refugees from West Africa through furniture making. Ali Maiga Nouhou is one of them:

"Cucula is to speak together, to work together, to eat together."

Life In Berlin: Cucula - Empowerment Through Building Furniture

Record Store Day, an annual music collectors’ treasure hunt, challenges adventurous fans in Berlin with a specter of possible long lines and high prices. With all the specialized attention that Record Store Day receives, there is a debate about whether it hinders or cultivates a love for vinyl and the independent record store.

Life In Berlin: Record Store Day

Once a year, game enthusiasts from all over the world flock to Berlin for International Games week. The indie game scene congregates at A Maze, Berlin's independent video game festival. They get together for workshops, gaming, and talks. A Maze is a bit more oddball than most game festivals, so it's no surprise that one particular talk tackles why there are so many hot dogs in video games.

A Maze presents a broad spectrum of games from across Europe, such as two people using a single smart phone to dance, or Virtual Reality controlled with the players' breath.

Life In Berlin: Exploring Indie Games At A Maze Berlin Festival

Many of Berlin’s trendiest people can be found sitting in Mein Haus Am See, a coffee shop slash bar slash venue in Prenzlauer Berg, the home of Berlin Fashion Week. Lena Quist is bound to stand out in any crowd, even in Mein Haus Am See. She has bold blue hair and wears bright red lipstick. She walks with a signature flare – thanks to her black, sky high platforms.

Even at the age of fourteen, Lena Quist knew she stood out. 

Life In Berlin: Bold Berlin Fashion From Designer Lena Quist

The gallery of the Goethe-Institut in Washington DC is having artwork installed. A shattered pane of glass mottled with splashes of paint pigment and dried flowers leans against one wall, and fine Japanese paper adorned with pressed plants and intricate pen-work hangs in the air. In the corner is a large, rectangular steel basin. This is the work of Paula Doepfner.

Life In Berlin: The Textures And Materials Of Paula Doepfner

Amelia and Amanda are sisters. Amelia Umuhire is a filmmaker and the director of Polyglot. Amanda Mukasonga a.k.a. Babiche Papaya is a rapper, poet, and actress. They are fluent in German, English, French, and Kinyarwanda - Rwanda's principal language. They are polyglots.

Life In Berlin: Exploring Identity, Language, And Race With Polyglot

Alex Tsiridis and Hüseyin Evigren, the duo behind Cassegrain, stopped by NPR Berlin to talk about their creation process and why they chose Berlin as the home for their shared studio.

Life in Berlin: Cassegrain in Depth

The Eurovision Song Contest is one of the most widely watched non-sporting events in the world...in fact, some call it the European World Cup for music, and Berlin is the home to many of its fans.

Life in Berlin: Eurovision in Berlin, 2015

It's an unusual sight. A very petit, elderly woman shares the stage with two rappers. They perform a Jewish partisan song at the Peace Festival in Berlin. They are Esther Bejarano and Microphone Mafia.

Life in Berlin: The Curious Music of Esther Bejarano and Microphone Mafia

Berlin isn’t always all about techno. This weekend is actually the opposite, with a wide range of varied sounds hitting the streets as part of Karneval der Kulturen, including oriental psychadelic surf band Cherry Bandora.

Life In Berlin: Get Ready for Oriental Psychadelic Surf at Karneval

Veganism is not a new lifestyle, but due to the recent popularity of animal-free products, Berlin is seen by some as a vegan paradise.

Life in Berlin: Being Vegan in Berlin

American musician Wayne Grajeda first came to Berlin in the early 70s and hasn't looked back since.

Life in Berlin: Wayne Grajeda

Known as white gold, admired by poets Goethe and Proust - white asparagus, or spargel is a highly anticipated culinary treat in Germany, and Berliners have a direct source.

Life in Berlin: White Gold - Spargel Season in Berlin

The Dwarves, from San Francisco, formed in the mid- 80s and have built a career upon shock value. They were banned from CBGBs, the iconic New York punk club, dropped from Sub Pop records and are guilty of committing a laundry list of violent and lewd acts while onstage.

But even after nearly three decades, the band doesn’t seem to be slowing down at all.


Life In Berlin: The Dwarves

Davia Nelson of the Kitchen Sisters is no stranger to Berlin.

Life In Berlin: Davia Nelson Finding Hidden Kitchens

The city is home to many tech startups, but Clue is a bit more personal than most.  Clue has developed a smart phone application that tracks a woman’s menstrual cycle. It allows a woman to observe the patterns relative to different points in her own cycle.  

Life In Berlin: The Clue App

We’ve been following the stories of a few Syrian refugees who have recently arrived to Berlin. Here’s Daniel Guillemette with the conclusion of the series. 

Life In Berlin: Checking In With Rami And Ehab

Every Wednesday evening, the soul singer invites Berliners to join her choir at the famous Gedächtniskirche. It's not your typical choir. Everyone is welcome, regardless of singing experience. And, no one has to make any long term commitment.

Life In Berlin: Everybody Can Sing

“I mean, people don’t come to my shop if they want something normal. If you want something normal, you go to a big department store.”

Melinda Stokes is the owner and operator of Stokx Shop.

Funky Berlin: Don't Come If You Want Something Normal

2015 was a challenging year for the EU and German leadership. One challenge was the efforts of the U.S. and the EU to establish the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership: TTIP.

Life In Berlin: TTIP - A Matter Of Trust?

"My first words were 'NO,'" reveals comedian Idil Baydar. She says it drove her dad crazy, but this rebellious attitude has made the Berlin-based artist a YouTube success. This really took off with her creation of Jilet Ayse - an alter ego.

Life In Berlin: The Polite Aggressiveness Of Idil Baydar

The sound of the Mediterranean is captured by filmmaker Gianfranco Rosi. His documentary, "Fire At Sea," is set on the Sicilian Island of Lampedusa, which has become a symbol for migrant tragedies. Rosi's unusual portrayal of the island runs in this year's Berlinale competition.

Berlinale 2016: Fire At Sea

“Putting yourself at risk makes you curious and makes you actually feel young,” says Danish director Thomas Vinterberg, who is backstage at the Berlinale Talents.

We talk about how he tries to stay fresh as a filmmaker and the theme of family in his latest semi-autobiographical film, "The Commune."

Berlinale 2016: Family, Success, And Curiosity - An Interview With Thomas Vinterberg

"I am Gina Abatemarco, and I am the director and producer of 'Kivalina.' It's a film about a culture that is going through extraordinary change."

"It gets really eerie at night. All you can hear is the angry wind and the angry waves. They are really angry with us," utters one of Abatemarco's protagonists, an elderly woman from the small Alaskan island, Kivalina, located 80 miles from the Arctic Circle. She belongs to the Inupiaq Eskimo tribe that settled there. 

Berlinale 2016: The Disappearing Island Of Kivalina

"Stories don’t just tell themselves. Legacies don’t just get passed on. History isn’t preserved unless you take action, and do something with it."

Director Aaron Brookner is talking about his uncle, Howard. 

After filmmaker Howard Brookner died of AIDS in 1989, his body of work was in danger of being lost. His nephew, Aaron Brookner, decided to preserve his uncle’s legacy and digitalize his first film, the cult classic, “Burroughs: The Movie.” Aaron then made a documentary about the process of saving his uncle’s film.

Berlinale 2016: Inheriting Uncle Howard - An Interview With Aaron Brookner

"There is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so."
These words from Shakespeare's Hamlet open "All Of A Sudden" by Asli Özge, a Turkish filmmaker based in Berlin. Özge's film premiered at Berlinale's Panorama section.

"If you look generally in the world of politicians, the most antipathetic ones are the ones who have much power," the filmmaker comments.

Berlinale 2016: All Of A Sudden

Right in the middle of the bustling heart of Kreuzberg, a group of political stunt activists have set up their office in a loft-like, industrial brick building. They call themselves Peng! Collective, and just as playful as their name sounds, are the actions they take. Jean Peters is one of the founders of the group with the mission to change the art of political protest and civil disobedience.

Life In Berlin: Peng! Collective

Maher Alsahen looks impeccable: Dress-shirt, tie, and a suit jacket. He is ready for a job interview.

"For me, this is a little bit tough, because I used to work in Syria," says Alsahen. 

Life In Berlin: Refugee Job Fair

NPR FM Berlin began broadcasting in Berlin on April 1, 2006.  We offer the newsmagazines Morning Edition and All Things Considered, plus Fresh Air and The Diane Rehm Show. 104,1 also airs the series Life in Berlin, local features exploring the city's vibrant arts and culture scene, as well as interviews produced in cooperation with local organizations.

NPR Berlin

Popular tracks