Advertise on podcast: Beyond the Lecture

Colson Whitehead, Pulitzer Prize-winning author and the Academy’s spring 2026 Dirk Ippen writer-in-residence, reflects on what first inspired him to begin writing, the scope of his work, and what lies ahead in conversation with Wieland Freund, editor of German daily Die Welt’s culture section. The event took place in cooperation with Kultur Büro Elisabeth. For more information about Colson Whitehead, visit https://www.americanacademy.de/person/colson-whitehead/. Host: Carolin Frederking Producer: Tony Andrews Music: "Valium," by nothanks Photo: Annette Hornischer

Pulitzer Prize-winning writer Percival Everett reflects on the interplay between his literary work and visual art with Naomi Beckwith, Deputy Director and Jennifer and David Stockman Chief Curator at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum and Foundation; and Artistic Director, documenta 16. This event took place collaboration with the American Academy in Berlin, Hamburger Bahnhof, and Literaturhaus Berlin, as part of the Crossroads# Literature Meets Art series. For more information on Percival Everett and Naomi Beckwith, visit https://www.americanacademy.de/person/percival-everett/ and https://www.americanacademy.de/person/naomi-beckwith/. Host: Carolin Frederking Producer: Tony Andrews Music: "Valium," by nothanks Photo: Annette Hornischer

Two powerhouse authors from each side of the Atlantic: American Jeffrey Eugenides -- a former Academy fellow -- and German-Austrian Daniel Kehlmann discuss the craft, challenges, and joys of novel writing at a literary salon in Aspen, Colorado, hosted by Academy trustee Leah Zell. On July 1, 2025, Zell hosted this fifth annual summer salon, bringing the work of the American Academy in Berlin to the Rocky Mountains. Host: Kristen Allen Producer: Tony Andrews Music: "Valium," by nothanks Photo: Hal Williams

Today’s German-based Jewish writers navigate complex identities that encompass Holocaust migration history and diverse diasporic narratives. In this episode of “Beyond the Lecture,” literary scholar and spring 2025 Carol Kahn Strauss Fellow in Jewish Studies Agnes Mueller speaks to three prominent authors who are bringing such stories to life: Olga Grjasnowa, Julia Franck, and Dana Vowinckel. It’s a rare chance to hear them speak about their work in English. Visit https://www.americanacademy.de/person/agnes-mueller/ for more information about Agnes Mueller and her work at the American Academy in Berlin. For more information about the authors: Olga Grjasnowa: https://www.hanser-literaturverlage.de/personen/olga-grjasnowa-p-802 Julia Franck: https://juliafranck.de/ and https://www.mothbooks.co.uk/julia-franck Dana Vowinckel: https://danavowinckel.com/ Host: Kristen Allen Producer: Tony Andrews Music: “Valium,” by nothanks Photo: Annette Hornischer

Taiwan is frequently in the news, but context is scarce. In this episode of "Beyond the Lecture," journalist and spring 2024 Holtzbrinck Fellow Michael Meyer talks about his research and writing on the colonial history of the island, the immense changes it has seen in recent decades, and what’s at stake for residents when their now thriving democracy is treated like a geopolitical pawn between superpowers. Visit https://www.americanacademy.de/person/michael-meyer-2/ for more information about Michael Meyer and his work at the American Academy in Berlin. Host: Kristen Allen Producer: Tony Andrews Music: “Valium,” by nothanks Photo: Annette Hornischer

Our “Beyond the Lecture” podcast is back! In this episode, spring 2024 Nina Maria Gorrissen fellow and expert in comparative political behavior Noam Lupu talks about his research into how intergenerational trauma shapes political identity. Touching on his own family's experience and those of his research subjects, he opens new ways of understanding this transfer. Visit https://www.americanacademy.de/person/noam-lupu/ for more information about Lupu and his work at the American Academy in Berlin. Host: Kristen Allen Producer: Tony Andrews Music: “Valium,” by nothanks Photo: Annette Hornischer

With the Russian attack on Ukraine, the Academy's spring 2022 Daimler fellow Lawrence Douglas's project on aggressive war, atrocity and the "Verbrecherstaat" suddenly became very current. On this episode of "Beyond the Lecture," Douglas talks about the origin of the term "Verbrecherstaat," considers Russia's actions in light of the categories of aggressive war and atrocity, and explains the options and limitations of international law. Host: Denise Gamon Producer: Juliane Schallau Music: Valium by nothanks Photo: Annette Hornischer

In fall 2021, New Orleans-based writer Ladee Hubbard spent her time as Mary Ellen von der Heyden Fellow in Fiction working on her new novel, "The Descendants." On this episode of "Beyond the Lecture," Hubbard talks about her novel-in-progress, the 1980s war on drugs, and, as a special treat, reads a story from her forthcoming collection "The Last Suspicious Holdout" (Amistad, March 8). Host: Denise Gamon Producer: Juliane Schallau Music: Valium by nothanks Photo: Ralph K. Penno

During her stay at the American Academy as the Mary Ellen von der Heyden Fellow in Fiction in fall 2021, Lan Samantha Chang gave the finishing touch to her much-anticipated new novel "The Family Chao," to be published by W.W. Norton & Company in February 2022. On today's episode, you can find out how rediscovering Dostoevsky's "The Brothers Karamazov" has shaped Chang's own writing, what it means to be an immigrant, or the child of immigrants, in the Midwest, and why two Chinese-American brothers have to visit an American diner to find some privacy. Host: Denise Gamon Producer: Juliane Schallau Music: Valium by nothanks Photo: Juliane Schallau

In this episode of "Beyond the Lecture," we take a behind-the-scenes look at a debate currently roiling classical scholarship and pedagogy. It’s a debate about how the field should be approached now and in the future, about privilege and access and the very aura of classics. To get into this story, we talk with spring 2021 American Academy fellow Nandini Pandey, who teaches classics at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Her research is bringing to light a more detailed picture of the heterogenous makeup of the ancient Roman world. And as an Indian American, she represents the changes that are occurring in classical scholarship itself. Host: R. Jay Magill Producer: Tony Andrews Production Assistance: Denise Gamon Music: Machinery by Kai Engel Image: Triumph of Dionysus by Sophie Hay

What was it like to be the first black person at an all-white private school in the American South? The very first, that is. In this episode, we explore this question through the work of investigative journalist and fall 2020 Holtzbrinck fellow, Mosi Secret, who's currently writing a book about a philanthropic initiative to integrate black children into elite Southern schools in the 1960s and '70s. We also invite Secret to consider his own experience as part of a black minority at a similar school in Atlanta in the 1990s. Did the first generation make it any easier for those who followed? Host: R. Jay Magill; Producer: Tony Andrews with help from Denise Gamon; Special thanks to Nisha Simama; Music: Mystery Blues by Squire Tuck, Jolenta Clears The Table by Doctor Turtle, Distilled by Nctrnm, Meekness by Kai Engel, Midnight in the Green House by Kevin MacLeod, and Chad Crouch by The Pond Instrumental.

There are few novelists who made more of an impact on twentieth-century German literature than Thomas Mann. His works have been translated into over thirty languages and remain the subject of much debate. On today's podcast, we bring together two scholars who have made Mann's life and literary output the focus of their academic concerns: Susan Bernofsky, a fall 2020 fellow and professor of writing at Columbia University, and Veronika Fuechtner, a spring 2020 fellow professor of German at Dartmouth College. As Fuechtner continues work on a project about Mann’s maternal Brazilian heritage, Bernofsky is currently translating Mann’s 1924 masterpiece, The Magic Mountain. Their resulting discussion is alive with passion and curiosity for Thomas Mann's private life and unique literary inventiveness. Host: R. Jay Magill Producer, Editor: Denise Gamon

The world is on hold and we are all going a bit stir-crazy. Strange things are happening in a tiny New York City apartment, where a young podcaster uses his isolation time to open a mysterious portal to the afterlife. This episode of “Beyond the Lecture” features a special recording of novelist Paul LaFarge’s fictive play “Ninth Beast.” LaFarge is the American Academy’s spring 2020 Holtzbrinck fellow and author of five novels, such as “The Night Ocean” (2017) and “Haussmann, or the Distinction” (2001). Host: R.Jay Magill Producer: Tony Andrews Script: Paul LaFarge Voice Actors: Harvey Friedman, Anna Janusz, and Tara Bray Smith Music: The Spring (Instrumental) by Chad Crouch; Talk to me by Loyalty Freak Music

In this episode of „Beyond the Lecture,” scholars and artists at the American Academy in Berlin reflect on the various intersections of the coronavirus pandemic with their respective fields of study. We spoke with composer Carolyn Chen, cultural historian Liliane Weissberg (spring 2020 Anna-Maria Kellen fellow) of University of Pennsylvania, German Studies professor Veronika Fuechtner (spring 2020 Anna-Maria Kellen fellow) of Dartmouth College, filmmaker Kevin Everson (spring 2020 Ellen Maria Gorrissen fellow) of University of Virginia, professor of comparative literature Moira Fradinger (spring 2020 Andrew W. Mellon fellow) of Yale University, urban historian Nikhil Rao of Wellesley College, cultural anthropologist Dominic Boyer (Axel Springer fellow) of Rice University, and Cymene Howe of Rice University. Host: R. Jay Magill Producer and narrator: Tony Andrews Recordings: Dominic Boyer

In this episode of "Beyond the Lecture," cultural anthropologists Dominic Boyer (spring 2020 Axel Springer Fellow) and Cymene Howe, both of Rice University, reveal some insights from their recent research into Iceland's ancient traditions. What they found has profound implications for how we view grief, the future, and the way we come to terms with an increasingly shared sense of precariousness. Music: We have to do something by Komiku; Mystery Blues by Squire Tuck; Free To Use 9 by Monplaisir; Frá opnunarhátíð Hörpunnar by Raddir Íslands. Sound of the glacier courtesy of the Art We There Yet Project; image and drone footage by Josh Okun. The story was produced and narrated by Tony Andrews, and hosted by R. Jay Magill