Chapter The Big Ponder

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

In addition to telling great stories, THE BIG PONDER further strengthened the transatlantic network of journalists and podcasters through close collaborations 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, rbbKultur, and the RIAS Berlin Kommission.  The Goethe-Institut and rbbKultur, a public radio broadcaster in Germany, present an audio special straight from Berlin. In this artfully curated miniseries, the production team at rbbKultur recreates eight exemplary episodes of THE BIG PONDER — in German. These episodes simultaneously highlight the similarities and the differences between the U.S. and Germany by taking on aspects of German and American life that often go unexplored. You’ll hearall about friendship, home, “Little Americas” in Germany, pen pals that exchange messages over the Atlantic, and the relationship that Americans and Germans have with their national flags.