This year one of the highlights of my reporter life came late. I traveled to North Dakota to visit the pipeline protest at Standing Rock. I landed in a blizzard and with the help of a lot of strangers made it to camp. I spoke with enthusiastic young activists ready to stand in the cold to protect water, land and air and to fight the Dakota Access Pipeline DAPL. I also spoke with Jonnnie Aseron, Handenosenee Lakota Hunka, one of the elders at the camp who greated me in fluent German. Johnnie had lived a few years in Frankfurt! He asked to tell my listeners to create spaces to discuss the issue of dwindling resources and the needs of an ever growing population. Standing Rock shows that our hearts long for these places and long for honoring our planet earth.

A Space To Honor Life - Standing Rock with Elder Johnnie Aseron

Steve Bier walked up to me, a bottle of water in his hand and a wide friendly smile under his big rimmed Ranger's hat. I had come to the Anza-Borrego Desert State park March 17 2017 to report about the record year of wildflower blooming for German public radio. I had not managed to arrange an interview with a Park Ranger in time and  showed up in the heat unannounced. Steve Bier volunteered to help me out with an interview. Full of intimate stories about life in the desert he spent as much time with me as I needed, focused and friendly as if he had nothing else in the world to do, while I am sure dozens of tasks were waiting for him. 
I am so saddened to learn about his passing and just want to share an excerpt of my short encounter with this wonderful human being, explaining to me the wonders of this place he clearly loved and enjoyed so much.
The picture was taken by my friend Dirk Rohrbach who was equally impressed as I was by Steve as a professional and kind human being.

Remembering Steve Bier

The protesters at Standing Rock celebrated a short victory after then president Obama stopped DAPL. They knew the fight with the just elected Donald Trump would be hard. In freezing temperatures and blizzards young activists strategized, prayed, danced and cried with the elders.
This story aired January 13th 2017 on Deutschlandfunk Kultur.
It has won a RIAS BERLIN KOMMISSION award as outstanding radio feature and part of a series. The jury writes: "All four features masterfully depict how the policies of the U.S. president are changing American society. Kerstin Zilm gets close to her protagonists and gives listeners a chance to learn more about the divisions in the United States."

Donald Trump and Standing Rock

In October 2017 wall prototypes were built along the Mexican border. 30 feet high and as the builders promise insurmountable. A group of artists and activists showed them how easy it is to fight those walls. They see Trump's plans as political theater with harmful consequences. My story for Deutschlandfunk, aired 12.14. in German

Intervention at Trump's Wall Prototypes

They can only give each other 'pinky kisses' through the steel mesh, touching finger tips. Guards watch every move. Still they come to see their families at the U.S. Mexico border. Each year local pastors from each side celebrate a binational communion. My story for Deutschlandfunk, German. Airdate: December 25, 2017

Xmas At The Border Wall

Nobody in Los Angeles knew the community organizer from Chicago, when he wrote his first book: 'Dreams From My Father'. But James Fugate, co-owner of the Eso Wan Books bookstore was interested in this guy who went to Occidental College. 10 people came to the reading. They sat in a circle with Barack Obama and asked the personable writer questions. 11 years later, 2006, the then U.S. Senator remembered this experience, and he told the publishers of his second book 'The Audacity of Hope', that he would have to go back to this little book store in L.A. where he was treated like Toni Morrison or John Grisham when almost nobody else would have him. Legendary bookseller James Fugate tells the story of their first meeting.

When Barack Obama Came To This Small LA Bookstore

The Munich Olympics of 1972 are mostly known for the assassination of eleven athletes from Israel and one German police officer. This massacre also made another event almost irrelevant: the men's 100 Meter Sprint. Eddie Hart from California entered the Olympics as a favorite in that race, equalizing the world record at 9.9 seconds in his qualifying race. 
I had the great pleasure to hear Eddie Hart talk at a book signing at Eso Won Books in Los Angeles about how living his dream at the Olympic trials turned into his worst nightmare. What a great man. I cannot believe, I never heard his story before!
To learn why the experience made him a better person, and why they were late to the race, you have to read his book: Disqualified, Eddie Hart, Munich 1972, and the voices of the most tragic Olympics.

Disqualified - A Story From The Munich Olympics 1972

The borders between fantasy and reality, the darkness lurking within us, attraction and aversion, funny feeling places. Photographer Parker Day was kind enough to talk about all this with me for a Deutschlandfunk Kultur radio story. Here is an excerpt.

Funny Happens When People Put on a Wig

I wrote this poem for a poetry reading the week of Valentines Day. Standing at that microphone in front of people was way outside my comfort zone. After all, I lived the last 25 years as a reporter who by trade does not use her own deep voice in public.
It started dark and mysterious, then took a turn towards love, courage, power and light.
I did not know, where these words came from at that time. I did not know, this was inside of me. Now I know, layers of myself are in this work.

BodyofLove

I just won an award for this radio story, the SoCal Journalism award for foreign correspondents in the feature category. Not only because of that, this story is special to me. I followed three high school seniors from graduation to Christmas. They graduated five months after Donald Trump's inauguration. They all come from families of immigrants. The president's rhetoric and actions changed all of their lives. I am grateful that they opened their lives and hearts to me so I could write the story. Here is the complete comments from the jury: “In an extremely competitive category, this entry stood out. Months of reporting are distilled and woven into a tight narrative with lots of heart. There's a keen eye for the small details that illuminate the larger stories. It's a story about Dreamers, but it also taps into universal themes of coming-of-age and survival. Excellent work.”

Trump and the Dreamers DLF

I was staring out the window trying to make sense of everything. Still, nothing makes sense, but at least I wrote this poem.

WhatTheBirdKnows

Labor day weekend, a weekend of record heat and smoke-filled skies from fires in Southern California, I sat in Los Angeles' Marina looking out on the water with a cold drink next to me. Suddenly I thought: "How can we pretend that everything's ok?"
Later at home, I wrote this poem:

So We Pretend, A Poem

soundslikerstin is Kerstin Zilm - a German reporter, hunting and gathering stories off the beaten path in and around Los Angeles. Listen to people I meet along the way. Kalifornien Korrespondent für www.weltreporter.net. www.soundslikerstin.com 

soundslikerstin

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