55 Voices for Democracy – The Podcast

Sep 27 2024 59 ep. 34 mins 113

55 Voices for Democracy – The Podcast artwork

How can democracy be renewed and defended today? A collaboration of the Thomas Mann House, the Goethe Institute, Wunderbar Together, and the Los Angeles Review of Books.

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Patty Jenkins on the Power of Storytelling

Sep 27 2024 37 mins

Award-winning director, screenwriter, and producer Patty Jenkins joined Aida and Tom at the Thomas Mann House for this special episode. Jenkins is best known for the films Wonder Woman (2017), Wonder Woman 1984 (2020), and her Oscar-winning debut Monster (2003). Wonder Woman smashed box office records and became the highest-grossing live-action film directed by a woman at the time.

Clint Smith on Cultures of Remembrance in the U.S. & Germany

Dec 14 2023 62 mins

“Physically putting your body in a place where history happened gives you a different sense of intimacy, a different sense of proximity to that history.” In the final episode of our podcast, author, poet, and scholar Clint Smith speaks about the importance of collectively reckoning with history, the legacy of slavery in U.S.-American identity, and cultures of remembrance in the

Marina Weisband on What Gets us Through the Crisis

Nov 30 2023 56 mins

“Going through a crisis and having a positive vision of the future are not the same thing. You need to have a positive vision of the future to get through the crisis.” Our hosts, Aida Baghernejad and Tom Zoellner, interview politician and publicist Marina Weisband for this special episode, recorded live at the international literatur festival berlin. After an introduction by po

Lynne Thompson on the Role of Poetry in Democracies

Oct 19 2023 26 mins

“There is an understanding that between humans we have this one thing called language and it brings us - or can bring us - together.” Writer and poet Lynne Thompson talks with hosts Aida Baghernejad and Tom Zoellner about her journey to becoming a poet, the role of “truth“ in poetry and its meaning for democracy. Lynne Thompson is the 2021-2022 Poet Laureate for the City of

Bill Wiggins on African-American History & Historically Black Colleges and Universities

Mar 23 2023 32 mins

Host Tom Zoellner sat down with professor William Wiggins to discuss the ongoing importance of African-American history within the larger context of US history. Professor Wiggins has written on numerous subjects dealing with revolutionary figures and movements in U.S. history. He has taught at the University of Connecticut, St. Olaf and Allegheny Colleges, Hampton University and Co

Teresa Bücker on Time as a Political Resource

Mar 02 2023 31 mins

“Time is a political resource. How time is distributed is a question of structures we find within a society. It’s structured by the economic system we have; it’s structured by gender, by race,” states journalist and author Teresa Bücker. In this conversation, Bücker describes her vision for a feminist and just approach to time. Her book on the topic, "Alle_Zeit. Eine Frag

Roberto Lovato on the Tenderness that Survives the Terror

Feb 16 2023 38 mins

“I’ve been through war. I’ve witnessed the workings of genocide. I have gone to mass graves across the entire continent (…) We have to un-forget to get past the present fear.” In this episode, writer and journalist Roberto Lovato speaks about overcoming personal and collective trauma. Lovato's work has been published in The New York Times, The Guardian, Foreign Policy, De

Antonia Juhasz on the Impact of Fossil Fuels on Democracy

Jan 05 2023 34 mins

“Part of what has led the movement against fossil fuels is the increased number of people being confronted with the effects of oil drilling and fracking,” argues energy analyst and investigative journalist Antonia Juhasz. The Senior Researcher in the Environment and Human Rights Division at Human Rights Watch talks about how our dependency on fossil fuels impacts the environmen

Raul Krauthausen on Inclusion and Accessibility

Dec 08 2022 32 mins

“I realized that everything I learned in terms of communication, creativity, strategy and planning at university can also be used for good...for the rights of people with disabilities,” states Raul Krauthausen. The inclusion activist and podcaster compares inclusion and accessibility laws in the US and Germany, and explains how Germany's reckoning with its fascist past still af

Sarah Jaffe on Working Conditions & Labor Movements

Nov 22 2022 48 mins

“Until we start thinking about what people’s lives are really like and not just shame them for how they vote, we’re not going to have a healthy democracy,” argues Sarah Jaffe. The labor journalist talks about working people's disillusionment with politics, and why seemingly incoherent protest movements shouldn't be disregarded. Does today’s labor shortage give workers bar