The Big Ponder – A Transatlantic Podcast

Series produced by Goethe-Institut

Caption: The Big Ponder, Credit: © Goethe-institut
Image by: © Goethe-institut 
The Big Ponder 

This transatlantic podcast explores abstract concepts and phenomena through personal radio essays. Every other week, one of our producers transforms a broad topic into a captivating story told from a US-German perspective.

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

In addition to sharing our passion for great storytelling, THE BIG PONDER hopes to further strengthen the transatlantic network of journalists and podcasters through our close collaboration 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, RBB Kultur, and the RIAS Berlin Kommission. 


96 Pieces

Order by: Newest First | Oldest First
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How do you quantify something as indescribable as happiness? Michael Hobbes searches for a way to measure life satisfaction that works in both the ...

Bought by KICI Iowa City


  • Added: Nov 24, 2021
  • Length: 28:17
  • Purchases: 1
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A lot has changed since the first days of aviation, from beverage service to affordable plane tickets. Florenz Gilly and Leon Ginzel recap the hist...

Bought by KICI Iowa City


  • Added: Nov 10, 2021
  • Length: 29:42
  • Purchases: 1
Caption: The Big Ponder, Credit: © Goethe-institut
As a kid, candy makes the world go round. As an adult, it has the power to bring back long-forgotten childhood memories. Carol McKinley talks about...

Bought by KICI Iowa City


  • Added: Oct 28, 2021
  • Length: 29:06
  • Purchases: 1
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Community is the story of our lives. It is who we are, who we have been, and who we hope to become. Melissa Gerr visits Jewish congregations in Bal...

Bought by KICI Iowa City


  • Added: Oct 14, 2021
  • Length: 29:19
  • Purchases: 1
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Have you ever thought about dropping everything to pursue your passion? Susanne Papawassiliu profiles Mike Powers who left his life in Florida behi...

Bought by KICI Iowa City


  • Added: Sep 30, 2021
  • Length: 28:48
  • Purchases: 1
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How many people will you meet in your lifetime? How many will you remember? Fascinated by the countless chance encounters in their own lives, Susan...

Bought by KICI Iowa City


  • Added: Sep 16, 2021
  • Length: 28:45
  • Purchases: 1
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Cariad Harmon and her partner John Kesling embark on a long-awaited cross-country road trip. Cariad interviews locals and fellow travelers of all k...

Bought by KICI Iowa City


  • Added: Sep 02, 2021
  • Length: 28:33
  • Purchases: 1
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Our ability to hear is fully formed after just four and a half months in the womb. From this early age, sound shapes our worldview. Jim McKee, a so...

Bought by KICI Iowa City


  • Added: Aug 12, 2021
  • Length: 28:23
  • Purchases: 1
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Americans on the East Coast were in awe when Brood X, an enormous group of 17-year cicadas, suddenly emerged from underground to mate. Melissa Gerr...

Bought by KICI Iowa City


  • Added: Jul 29, 2021
  • Length: 28:59
  • Purchases: 1
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By the 1920s, people had begun using coin-operated record booths to create audio souvenirs — immortalizing their thoughts and feelings on a disc. C...

Bought by HowSound and KICI Iowa City


  • Added: Jul 15, 2021
  • Length: 28:54
  • Purchases: 2
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In her early 20s, Sibylle Baier recorded 14 folk songs that she says saved her life. Then, she packed the tape away and forgot about it. Decades la...

Bought by KICI Iowa City and KMXT


  • Added: Jul 01, 2021
  • Length: 28:50
  • Purchases: 2
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Working with personal diary entries, Dina Elsayed and Monika Müller-Kroll take listeners on a journey through the seasons to different places in th...

Bought by KMXT and KICI Iowa City


  • Added: Jun 03, 2021
  • Length: 28:11
  • Purchases: 2
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There exists a strong tradition of hunting in both Germany and the U.S. However, the cultures surrounding this pastime differ more than you might t...

Bought by KMXT and KICI Iowa City


  • Added: May 20, 2021
  • Length: 28:54
  • Purchases: 2
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Is ‘home’ a place or more of a feeling? Jocelyn Robinson speaks with three American expats who unpack the relationship between self and place, draw...

Bought by KICI Iowa City


  • Added: May 06, 2021
  • Length: 27:58
  • Purchases: 1
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What happens when you uproot an American institution like the diner and place it somewhere entirely new — like Germany? Florenz Gilly and Leon Ginz...

Bought by KICI Iowa City


  • Added: Apr 22, 2021
  • Length: 30:32
  • Purchases: 1
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Inspired by a year of forced isolation, essayist Bilal Qureshi explores the history, landscape, and meaning of friendship across cultures. At the h...

Bought by KICI Iowa City


  • Added: Apr 08, 2021
  • Length: 28:47
  • Purchases: 1
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One day, Jakob Lewis receives an email from a German man named Ingo asking to be his pen pal. The close relationship they develop teaches Jakob tha...

Bought by KICI Iowa City


  • Added: Mar 25, 2021
  • Length: 27:55
  • Purchases: 1
Caption: The Big Ponder, Credit: © Goethe-institut
Producer Alex van Oss ponders the external, internal, and eternal meanings of buildings in his Washington, D.C. neighborhood. The result is a perso...

Bought by KICI Iowa City


  • Added: Mar 11, 2021
  • Length: 28:00
  • Purchases: 1
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In both Germany and the U.S., the flag can be divisive, eliciting pride in some and unease in others. From patriotism to protest, Jocelyn Robinson ...

Bought by KICI Iowa City


  • Added: Mar 10, 2021
  • Length: 28:10
  • Purchases: 1
Caption: The Big Ponder, Credit: © Goethe-institut
Since World War II, there have been countless American GIs stationed at military bases all over Germany. Sylvia Cunningham and Monika Müller-Kroll ...

Bought by KICI Iowa City


  • Added: Mar 10, 2021
  • Length: 28:52
  • Purchases: 1