logo
episode-header-image
Jul 2022
28m 32s

Traffic

GOETHE-INSTITUT
About this episode

Most city dwellers view traffic as an unavoidable downside of urban life. But according to Susanne Papawassiliu, freeway standstills have their benefits. In this episode, Susanne speaks with traffic experts, city planners, and professional drivers in Los Angeles and Berlin about congestion on the roads.

Up next
Sep 2022
Ball Bearings
Ball bearings — these mechanisms are all around us, inside our wheels and motors. Hidden away, we rarely see them, and most people don’t even know what they are. In this episode, Scott Carrier reveals the overlooked role this engineering marvel has played in human history. 
28m 23s
Aug 2022
The Typewriter
In search of inefficiency in an overly efficient digital world, Jakob Lewis entered the ‘typosphere,’ an online community of typewriter enthusiasts. Several typewriters and a letter to Tom Hanks later, Jakob is a convert to the analog life. 
27m 42s
Aug 2022
Beer
Long ago, German immigrants brought their brewing traditions to the United States. More recently, brewers from the U.S. have begun bringing American-style craft beer to Germany. Sally McGrane and Axel Scheele look at two breweries on opposite sides of the pond. 
28m 51s
Recommended Episodes
Nov 2023
Post-War Germany
Re-invention and moral struggles are at the heart of the story of post-war Germany traced by Frank Trentmann in his new book Out of the Darkness. Anne McElvoy talks to him, to Thomas Meaney the new editor of Granta who is bringing out an edition called Deutschland, to journalist ... Show More
44m 58s
May 2022
Co-Pilot
The fellas reminisce on how they met, discuss Russo-Ukrainian war, share personal experiences and local reactions, determine whether Russophobia is justified and derail to banter every now and then. 
1h 5m
Jul 2020
5. Hello, White People! Hello, World!
Baratunde acknowledges the increased (and sometimes awkward) efforts of white Americans standing in solidarity with Black lives at this moment. Then he explores the global reach of this moment through an in-depth conversation with Diana Arce, a Black Lives Matter organizer in Ber ... Show More
49m 38s
Dec 2017
Inspiration
Stained glass, friends who listen, late-in-life-love, and mother-daughter closeness 
14m 7s
Dec 2018
Intrigue: The Ratline
A story of love, denial and Nazis. 
22m 21s
Nov 2023
True Lies
This week, the fellas are back discussing Alenka Zupančič's Problemi essay, 'Lying on the Couch'. How does the psychoanalytic framework allow us to make sense of culture and lying, what is the asymmetry of a truth and a lie, and what did we think of the new Beatles song? Mike is ... Show More
38m 42s
Aug 2021
Batch 22: Brewed Awakening: Crises in Craft Beer
So you came for the whisky eh? Well, you'll just have to stay for the beer! This time, Boutique-y Dave and Dr. Whisky are joined by two leading voices in the beer community, Ren Navarro and Charlotte Cook. Together they discuss all things craft beer, that's the good, the bad, and ... Show More
1h 3m
Dec 2023
Loving and Leaving
The Buddhist and Astrologer discuss events in their lives that have questioned what the point of life is about. They go over theories of emotional development and talk about the blossoming potential relationships have with self reflection. Sotce goes over her bad days and Sarah t ... Show More
36m 55s