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Berlin skyline with Alexanderplatz station
Berlin skyline with Alexanderplatz station © Getty Images, Foto: querbeet

Berlin Unboxed: The visitBerlin Podcast

New perspectives on the city

With Berlin Unboxed we unpack Berlin history and stories for you. Each episode introduces you to a new topic, an exciting place or a great person from our city who is currently doing something special.

Listen in and be curious! In each episode of Berlin Unboxed you will find out what happens behind the doors that are usually closed to visitors. Our host Michael and various guest hosts from visitBerlin will take you with them! We talk to makers, thinkers and creatives. Berlin Unboxed takes you behind the scenes of Berlin's big and small attractions and takes you to places that are otherwise not easily accessible. 

Here you can find the visitBerlin Podcast

 Spotify, Deezer, on Apple and Google Podcasts. You can also listen to Berlin Unboxed in our

You can find our visitBerlin Podcast on Spotify, Deezer, auf Amazon MusicApple und Google Podcasts. Listen to Berlin Unboxed on Audio4Future, YouTube Podcast and on our ABOUT BERLIN app, the free digital city guide to Berlin history and stories.

Berlin Unboxed on Spotify

Charlottenburg Palace - Baroque splendour & royal secrets

Christmas magic in Berlin's historic centre

Video podcast: The Night the Wall Fell | Interview with Contemporary Witnesses

The night the Wall fell | 35 years since the fall of the Wall

A wide open space - feel the freedom and explore the nature at Tempelhofer Feld

Berlin's palaces & gardens - places of longing and their history

Immaterial souvenirs from Berlin

UEFA EURO 2024 - Togetherness wins!

Transparency in democracy

Caspar David Friedrich - rediscovered!

Florian Illies talks about Caspar David Friedrich

New Sounds: Jazz(fest) Berlin

Two Sides of Schöneweide

Glamour & Superlatives - The Friedrichstadtpalast

Beautiful Shopping

Curtain up for Berlin's operas

Mythos Kudamm

Sustainable tastes this good

City of literature

SchwuZ & queer

Berliner Unterwelten

Olympia Special

It takes two to tango!

Animals in the city

Future & Futurium

Club culture & free space

Q BERLIN

It's Showtime

Timetravel by Bike

 Industrial architecture 8: Berlin Unboxed - Changing exhibition culture

The Sound of Freedom

AONHA and how we can make the world a little better

Film City Berlin & Berlinale

Hohenzollerngruft

Classical Music in Berlin

Utopia Kulturforum

Dinosaur research at the Museum for Natural History in Berlin

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All Episodes of Berlin Unboxed (mostly in German language)

 

38 Charlottenburg Palace - baroque splendour & royal secrets

Every corner of Berlin’s most magnificent palace glitters and shines. After our journey through the picturesque palace landscapes on the outskirts of Potsdam (Berlin’s Palaces & Gardens – Places of Longing and Their History), this episode takes you to the stunning Charlottenburg Palace. Joined by Anja Fielauf, palace assistant at Charlottenburg, we step inside its grand halls to uncover the palace’s rich history and breathtaking architecture. Peek behind hidden doors once reserved for servants in the time of Queen Sophie Charlotte, and discover the daily life and untold stories behind the palace’s opulent façades. From the porcelain cabinet to the palace chapel and Frederick I’s bedroom, this episode offers an intimate look into the world of the Prussian royal family.

Schloss Charlottenburg

 

37: Christmas magic in Berlin's historic centre

Wintry weather has settled over Berlin's historic centre, but everywhere it shines brightly and sparkles with promise. All the doors in the heart of the German capital are invitingly open. Whether it's the large buildings on Museum Island, the huge gates of the Humboldt Forum opposite, Berlin Cathedral, the Konzerthaus or the reopened St Hedwig's Cathedral: there is hardly any other place in Berlin that could get you in the mood for Christmas in a more diverse and glamorous way.

Today, we're taking you on a little Christmas discovery tour of the major sights and showing you where you can pause, look and listen, where Berlin's heart beats more calmly and the world is bathed in a warm, Christmassy glow. Afterwards, we stroll through the "Christmas Magic Gendarmenmarkt", experience a short, beautiful organ concert in the newly opened St Hedwig's Cathedral and have an interesting conversation with Stefan Förner, the archdiocese's press spokesman, about the spectacular new shape of the cathedral.

Christmas magic in Berlin

 

36: Videopodcast - The night the Wall fell | Interviewing contemporary witnesses

In this episode of Berlin Unboxed, we delve into the events of 9 November 1989. November 1989 - the night the Berlin Wall fell and Germany grew together again after almost 30 years of division. We talk to two contemporary witnesses who experienced this historic moment at first hand: Ewald König, journalist and author, takes us to the legendary press conference at which SED functionary Günther Schabowski opened the borders of the GDR with the words "immediately, without delay".Burkhard Kieker, Managing Director of visitBerlin, shares his memories of the moving moment when he welcomed the first people from the GDR at the Oberbaumbrücke.

The night the Wall fell

 

 

35: The night the Wall fell | 35 years since the fall of the Wall

For almost 30 years, the Berlin Wall divided Germany into East and West - until that one night, 9 November 1989. And that's exactly where our journey takes us in this episode of Berlin Unboxed. We talk to two contemporary witnesses who experienced the fall of the Wall 35 years ago. Journalist and author Ewald König takes you to the press conference at which SED functionary Günther Schabowski opened the GDR's borders with his words "immediately and without delay". And visitBerlin Managing Director Burkhard Kieker remembers the foggy November evening when he welcomed the first people from the GDR at the Oberbaum Bridge. We talk about freedom, moving moments, the background to the fall of the Wall and ask the question: How peaceful was the peaceful revolution really?

Fall of the Wall in Berlin

 

34: A wide open space - feel the freedom and explore the nature at Tempelhofer Feld

It is one of the largest urban open spaces in the world - Tempelhofer Feld on the site of the former Tempelhof Airport. Bicycles, kite surfers and skaters whizz across the runway here. Trend sports enthusiasts share the spacious areas with children playing and people seeking relaxation, while skylarks breed among the grazing sheep. A peaceful coexistence that is also reflected in the large number of civic projects. 
In this video episode, we visit three people who are helping to organise such projects and learn more about the natural space Tempelhofer Feld and its eventful history. We feel the wind, hear the meadow, stroke the sheep and get a good insight into what such an urban open space means for flora, fauna and climate - and for the people who are allowed to realise their ideas here.

Tempelhofer Feld

 

33: Berlin's palaces & gardens - places of longing and their history

The palace landscape of Berlin and Potsdam is one of the most beautiful in the world and delights visitors with its extensive grounds, magnificent palaces, dreamy country estates and picturesque location. In 1990, UNESCO added the palaces and gardens to its list of cultural heritage of humanity. The Prussian Palaces and Gardens Foundation Berlin-Brandenburg (SPSG), founded in 1995, looks after the palaces, gardens and their art collections. In the south of Berlin on the border with Potsdam are the Peacock Island with its picturesque little palace and Glienicke Palace - both palaces are places of longing and tell of the love of Italy and the dream of the South Seas.  
We set off in search of the peacocks on Peacock Island and reveal the romantic places and views. We then travel south and visit the enchanting Glienicke Palace. At Glienicke Bridge, we learn more about the German-German divide and the significance of the Potsdam Conference in Cecilienhof Palace for German history and world events.

Berlin's Palaces & Gardens

 

Episode 32: Intangible souvenirs from Berlin

Only 400 metres from the famous World Time Clock on Alexanderplatz stands the House of Statistics. The large GDR building was saved from demolition by a citizens' initiative in 2015 to create space for clubs, studios, social facilities and much more. The House of Materialisation is also located on the site. Here, the pioneers of the project are trialling models for the sustainable, circular use of resources. In conversation with Corinna Vosse from Kunst-Stoffe e.V., we learn that there is much more to the abstract term "circular economy" than first meets the eye. The efficient use of materials brings the whole neighbourhood together, creates opportunities for creatives and perspectives for our society - an immaterial souvenir for anyone who visits the House of Materialisation and wants to be inspired. 

Berlin Unboxed

 

Episode 31: UEFA EURO 2024 - Togetherness wins!

This summer, European football history will be written in Berlin. 2.5 million fans from 120 countries are expected to attend the UEFA EURO 2024 in Berlin. In addition to the final match in Berlin's Olympiastadion and the world's largest fan mile in front of the Brandenburg Gate, there will also be many cultural highlights, that focus on topics such as diversity, fair play and team spirit. What should you definitely not miss? And to what extent can such a major sporting event really make a difference in the context of society's values? We talk to curator Joanna Warsza, who takes us to the Radical Playground, which invites you to play together around the Gropius Bau during the EURO 2024 summer. Here we also meet former national football players Josephine Henning and Tabea Kemme, who - like real footballers - pass the ball to each other and, together with Joanna Warsza, consider what "winning" really means in this day and age.

Berlin Unboxed

 

Episode 30: Berlin Unboxed: Transparency in democracy

The glass dome of the Reichstag is a real visitor magnet, attracting around one million people every year. The view over Berlin is breathtaking. It overlooks Berlin and the government buildings that connect the two banks of the Spree as an urban ribbon - and thus symbolically also the East and West of the city, which were once separated by the Wall. An exciting example of contemporary architecture. Here, large glass fronts bear witness to the openness and transparency of German democracy, which celebrates its 75th anniversary in 2024.
In this episode, we talk to Kristina Volke, curator of the art collection of the German Bundestag, who accompanies us on an art walk around the government buildings together with her colleague Julia Pfannschmidt, about what else you can discover on a walk through the government district and what role art plays in conveying democratic values.
Berlin Unboxed: Transparency in democracy

 

Episode 29: Berlin Unboxed: Caspar David Friedrich - rediscovered!

Caspar David Friedrich, the world-famous and most important painter of German Romanticism, is celebrating his 250th birthday this year.  From April to August 2024, the Alte Nationalgalerie in Berlin is presenting a breathtaking compilation of his works in the major exhibition “Caspar David Friedrich. Infinite Landscapes”. For the first time, around 60 paintings and 50 drawings by the painter from Germany and abroad, including numerous world-famous pictures, will be on display.

Alongside the museums in Dresden and Hamburg, the Alte Nationalgalerie Berlin is not only the place where Friedrich's most important works are preserved, but also the place where the artist was rediscovered more than 100 years ago. In this podcast episode, we talk to Caspar David Friedrich experts who know the painter and his work inside out and have been researching them for years. And they were and are more intensively involved creatively in the exhibition in Berlin than anyone else: We welcome the director of the Alte Nationalgalerie Dr. Ralph Gleis, the leading curator of the exhibition Dr. Birgit Verwiebe, and Dr. Kristina Mösl, restorer of the world's most famous paintings by Caspar David Friedrich.

Berlin Unboxed: Caspar David Friedrich - rediscovered!

 

Episode 28: Berlin Unboxed - Florian Illies talks about Caspar David Friedrich

What actually is Romanticism? Why did Caspar David Friedrich, the greatest and most important painter of German Romanticism, seem so new and incomprehensible to many of his contemporaries? And what is it about his paintings that still fascinates us today?
Florian Illies, well-known bestselling author (“Generation Golf” and “1913: The Summer of the Century”) discusses these and other questions with us. Florian Illies was head of the feature pages of the “Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung” and the “ZEIT”, he was publisher of Rowohlt Verlag and managed the Grisebach auction house. In 2004, he founded the art magazine “Monopol”. Today, Florian Illies works as a freelance writer and is co-editor of “ZEIT”. 
For many years, the art historian and art expert Illies has been working on Caspar David Friedrich, to whom his current, much-discussed book “Zauber der Stille” is dedicated. On April 19, 2024, the major exhibition “Caspar David Friedrich. Infinite Landscapes” opens at the Alte Nationalgalerie. For the first time, around 60 paintings and 50 drawings by the painter from Germany and abroad, including numerous world-famous pictures, will be on display. 
In the run-up to the exhibition, let Florian Illies take you into the world of Caspar David Friedrich and immerse yourself in the fascination of the paintings, find out more about their background and significance.

Berlin Unboxed: Florian Illies talks about Caspar David friedriCHEpisode 27: Berlin Unboxed - New Sounds: Jazz(fest) Berlin

What makes Berlin one of the capitals of jazz? And what actually is jazz? That's what our latest episode of Berlin Unboxed is all about. Look forward to an insight into Berlin's vibrant jazz scene, which attracts musicians from all over the world and, in its radiance, stands for an open, diverse and experimental Berlin. Our host is Sedal Serdan, who has invited us onto the stage of his legendary jazz club A-Trane. There we will be talking to two women who have played a key role in shaping Berlin's jazz scene and who, in their role, are particularly representative of the changes in this vibrant genre. Friede Merz is a vocalist, songwriter and activist. As artistic director, Nadin Deventer sets new accents for the Jazzfest Berlin and has already received several awards for her work. We talk about the zeitgeist, future plans and also a little bit about the past. Because founded in 1964, the Jazzfest Berlin is also a real piece of contemporary history.

Berlin Unboxed: Jazz Berlin

 

Episode 26: Berlin Unboxed - Two sides of Schöneweide

This is where the future meets the past: the impressive halls of industrial heritage are now home to art, culture, universities and crafts in Oberschöneweide. Around 1880, it was electricity, industrial production, new roads, high newspaper circulations and the electric tram that brought speed to the lives of Berliners. Today, it is AI, digitalisation and the rapid growth of the city that are accelerating the development of areas that were once used for industrial purposes. But what exactly has shaped the two districts of Ober- and Niederschöneweide and made them what they are today? We talk about the dark but also the good sides of history, visit Dr Glauning, director of the Documentation Centre for Nazi Forced Labour, and go on a discovery tour with futurologist Klaus Burmeister. Learn a lot about the upheavals and impacts of history, but also about new exciting projects and how the awakening will continue.

Berlin Unboxed - Two Sides of Schöneweide

 

Episode 25: Berlin Unboxed: Glamour & Superlatives - The Friedrichstadt-Palast

In this episode, we take you to a place of superlatives. To a place that, despite its very eventful history, reliably brings an incredible amount of glamour, glitter and hope to the world time and time again, while at the same time reflecting the facets of our society in all its wonderful diversity. We are of course talking about the Friedrichstadt-Palast in Berlin, the largest theatre stage in the world. Join us behind the scenes with theatre director Berndt Schmidt, find out how the Palast sees itself in the tradition of its founding fathers and where you can find mementos of its eventful history in and around the building. Immerse yourself in the world of the big show and marvel with us at what it takes to bring the next unique Grand Show to the stage with perfection. 60 dancers from 26 nations are training under the leadership of ballet director Alexandra Georgieva, who is celebrating 25 years at Friedrichstadt-Palast this very December. Join us in applauding her and the entire, incredible, sensational team of the "one and only" and only in Berlin for you all year round in action and in show mode: Applause for the Friedrichstadt-Palast!

Berlin Unboxed: Glamour & Superlatives - the Friedrichstadt-palast

 

Episode 24: Berlin Unboxed - Beautiful shopping

Shopping in Berlin works differently - there is not just ONE big pedestrian zone. A walk through the neighbourhoods reveals many small shops and boutiques. Of course, there are a few really big, well-known shopping streets, but in this episode we take you to the small streets and lesser-known corners of our favourite city with a colourful mix of guests. As our guest, Lukas Hoffmann, not only posts beautiful pictures and stories about Berlin on his Instagram account, but also founded the book app bookie, we introduce you to a whole range of exciting bookshops. You'll also find out where and how you can buy sustainable gifts for Christmas. Where can you combine Christmas shopping with great experiences? Where you can discover an authentic piece of Berlin, collect beautiful memories and, of course, find the perfect Christmas present for your loved ones - and maybe even for yourself. And then we'll take you to the Christmas market at the Humboldt Forum, where Oriol Simon Carre will be setting up his jewellery stand right next to the children's carousel together with homeless people in Berlin ...

Berlin Unboxed: Beautiful Shopping

 

Episode 23: Berlin Unboxed - Curtain up for Berlin's operas

After reunification, Berlin had a lot of double and triple features: two zoos and two concert halls, for example, and even three large opera houses. In addition to the Staatsoper unter den Linden, the Deutsche Oper and the Komische Oper, the Neuköllner Oper has even established itself as a further theatre, although it is more concerned with alternatives to traditional opera. But even the three prestigious, large opera houses are constantly breaking new ground, performing in new, unusual venues and showing that opera doesn't have to be an elitist pleasure, but can be fun. Accompany us into the world of great emotions, into the theatrical world of love, death and madness. Together with Antony Shelley, prompter at the Berlin State Opera, we take a look behind the scenes of the capital's largest opera house.

Berlin Unboxed: Curtain up for Berlin's Operas

 

Episode 22: Berlin Unboxed - Mythos Kudamm

Did you know that an old tennis court is hiding very close to the Schaubühne and Kurfürstendamm? And that's just one of the discoveries you'll make with us in this podcast episode of Berlin Unboxed. Come with us on a tour along Berlin's most famous shopping mile, the Kurfürstendamm, which by the way is called that because in the old days the Elector actually rode along here. How the Kudamm and City West have developed since then, what happened in the heyday of the 1920s, why it became so quiet after the fall of the Wall, and how the boulevard has recovered to this day, you will learn all about it on this discovery tour. We start at Wittenbergplatz, past KaDeWe, Europacenter, Gedächtniskirche, Bikini Berlin, Zoo Palast and Waldorf Astoria, until Carsten Höth, head of the box office and tour guide, whisks us away to the underground elevating stage of the Schaubühne and chats a little about the secrets.

Berlin Unboxed: Mythos Kudamm

 

Episode 21: Berlin Unboxed - Sustainable tastes this good

To Berlin for dinner? Absolutely! In recent years, Berlin has become a culinary hotspot. With over 20 Michelin-starred restaurants, an incredible variety of international cuisines, as well as culinary offerings and innovative food concepts, the capital is a trendsetter in many of the things that are currently on our plates and will be in the future. In this podcast episode of Berlin Unboxed, we talk about crooked turnips, green tomatoes, meaningfulness and food appreciation. We visit author and chef Sophia Hoffmann and Nina Petersen in their joint restaurant HAPPA. The new food hotspot for plant-based cuisine not only sets culinary trends, but also shows what an emancipated work-life balance in the gastronomy industry can look like. At FREA, Jasmin and David Suchy welcome us - and explain why zero waste in the restaurant business is a big challenge but nevertheless a successful concept for the future. Enjoy!

Berlin Unboxed: Sustainable tastes this good

 

Episode 20: Berlin Unboxed - City of Literature

Berlin, a place of longing. As early as the 1920s, the city was a centre of attraction for intellectuals, artists and writers. Authors came to the city from all over to be inspired - and of course to tell their own stories. That has not changed to this day. This episode of Berlin Unboxed is about Berlin as a city of literature. We take you on a walk to some of the many, many literary exciting places in Berlin. Together with Simone Schröder, the programme director of the International Literature Festival and the writer Matthias Nawrat, we walk from the Berliner Ensemble to the Dorotheenstädtische Friedhof - and talk about literature and why authors from all over the world still find a home for themselves in Berlin - and of course for their stories and literary works.

Berlin Unboxed: City of Literature

 

Episode 19: Berlin Unboxed - SchwuZ & queer

Born out of the political gay movement in 1977, the SchwuZ is Germany's oldest queer club - and still the largest cultural institution in the queer sector today. Up to 1,400 guests come here almost every night to celebrate colourful Berlin, themselves and, above all, the joy of life. In the 1980s, AIDS and HIV were still an inescapable death sentence. One of the founding mothers of SchwuZ, Pepsi Boston, had to leave life far too early. The Pepsi Boston bar in the SchwuZ was named after her. This is also where our tour of the club begins, where we meet many other courageous people from the scene. In this podcast episode, Florian Winkler-Schwarz, long-time SchwuZ manager, takes us on a journey through the history of SchwuZ and Berlin's queer scene. Come along to the hidden corners of the club and the old ice cellar vaults deep below the SchwuZ. And of course it's also about queer terminology and why an inclusive language culture is so important - and why Berlin's pink pillow hotels are committed to openness and tolerance and to allowing all Berlin guests to be who they are!

Berlin Unboxed: SchwuZ & queer

 

Episode 18: Berlin Unboxed - Berliner Unterwelten

Berlin is - apart from everything else - a place with a turbulent history. The city has seen endless suffering and then bursts with joie de vivre again.  Berlin has been built up, destroyed, divided and reunited. And all this can still be seen in the cityscape today. Everywhere, authentic, historical places remind us of Berlin's history and its people - even underground. In this episode, Sascha Keil from the Verin Berliner Unterwelten (Berlin Underworlds Association) takes us to a very special place, the Fichtebunker. Here history becomes depressingly real. Come with us on a journey into the past and into the underworlds of Berlin. Learn more about the history of the city and other historical places, abandoned bunkers and tunnel systems that you can discover on your next visit to Berlin.

Berlin Unboxed: Berliner Unterwelten

 

Episode 17: Berlin Unboxed - Olympia Special

Berlin and the Olympic Games, that's a very special topic. In this episode, however, we want to go less into the history of the Games and more into taking you on a tour of today's Olympic Stadium, a lively place where, in addition to major sporting events, the megastars also get the crowds cheering. Managing director and host of the stadium, Timo Rohwedder, opens all doors for us. Come with us to the fan curve, the Hertha team's changing room and the underground training track. Find out what happens behind the scenes and how the Olympic Stadium is preparing for the Special Olympics, which will be held in Germany for the first time ever in 2023. The two team spokespersons and Special Olympics athletes Claudio Göbel and Silvio Wünsche talk about their experiences in the sport and why everyone should really have a chance. 

Berlin Unboxed: Olympia SpeCial

 

Episode 16: Berlin Unboxed - It takes two to tango!

Berlin is the second largest tango metropolis in the world after Buenos Aires. People dance here 365 days a year; in fact, there are even several milongas every day, i.e. dance events, workshops, courses, festivals and much more. People come to Berlin from all over the world to dance tango - one of the most exciting and passionate couple dances of all. Since 2009, tango has been on the UNESCO list of intangible cultural assets worthy of protection. Our two interview partners Kerstin and Jörg Buntenbach are also passionate about it - on the dance floor as well as behind the scenes. Feel invited, listen in and dance along: It takes two to tango!

Berlin Unboxed: Tango-Metropole Berlin

 

Episode 15: Berlin Unboxed - Does Berlin Need a New Heraldic Animal?

Berlin is one of the most popular travel destinations in Europe. But it is not only people who find the capital attractive, but also wild animals. Around 20,000 recorded animal and plant species make Berlin one of the most biodiverse metropolises in the world. Foxes and hares meet here, wild boars sometimes steal a laptop bag and hawks develop new hunting strategies for the backyard. We hear sparrows and nightingales, track beavers and learn about invasive species like the capital city lobster. Together with Berlin's wildlife officer Derk Ehlert, we take you on an expedition through the Tiergarten in this episode of Berlin Unboxed and marvel at how well the coexistence between humans and animals works.

Berlin Unboxed

 

Episode 14: Berlin Unboxed - Future & Futurium

How do we want to live? A question that people have asked themselves at all times. Whenever they formed a picture of the future. The realisation: the future does not shape itself or suddenly appear. Rather, each and every one of us is a doer of what is to come. In this episode, we introduce you to places of the future in Berlin and explore the Futurium Berlin together with Gabriele Zipf, head of the exhibition area, and Verena Bischoff, head of education at the Futurium, for possible models of the future. Because there is no such thing as "one" future. Just as there are no simple or quick solutions to the challenges we face today and in the future. But there are - and you can help shape them!

Berlin Unboxed: Future & Futurium 

 

 

Episode 13: Berlin Unboxed - Free Space and Club Culture

Berlin's clubs are part of the city's identity. They are meeting points and intercultural meeting places, spaces for participation, for acceptance, tolerance, freedom and openness. How we can use the charisma of the clubs to create new spaces for new ideas is the topic of this episode of Berlin Unboxed. We asked Dimitri Hegemann, spatial researcher and founder of the legendary Tresor Club, to talk to us. Together with him, we look beyond the borders of Berlin and consider where exciting new free spaces could be created with new spatial concepts, even in the middle of the city.

Berlin Unboxed: Free Space & Club Culture 
 

 

Episode 12: Berlin Unboxed - Q BERLIN 2022

The Metropolitan Conference for the immediate present 
Almost everyone senses that something is changing on our planet and in our society. But the more we look into it, the clearer it becomes how complex the connections are and how challenging the search for solutions has become. In this episode of Berlin Unboxed, we report on this year’s edition of the conference Q BERLIN, titled „The New Unknown – Navigating Zeitenwende“. Profound shifts in global dynamics, an ongoing war in Europe, a pandemic spanning more than two years, a looming energy and economic crisis and increasing pressure to accelerate the green transition – all contribute to the state of crisis that defines the world we live in now. This is a historical turning point, and global metropolises - like Berlin -  are at the heart of the issue.

Berlin Unboxed: Q Berlin 
 

 

Episode 11: Berlin Unboxed - It's Showtime

The video is part of the episode "It's Showtime" of the podcast Berlin Unboxed, which is run by visitBerlin. In the video you can see a still image of an old poster and the visitBerlin logo in the bottom left corner. The subtitles of the video can be switched on and off in the YouTube player under settings. For a transcription, the video should be viewed directly on YouTube.

Glitter, sequins and stories: In this episode of Berlin Unboxed we take a look behind the scenes at the Theater des Westens. Here, where the musical Ku'Damm 56 is currently playing, stars like Marlene Dietrich, Hildegard Knef and Josephine Baker have performed. We visit the archives in the Theater des Westens, marvel at costumes and posters, climb high above the stage boards and drop by Friedrich Hollaender's Tingel-Tangel-Theater. Come along on a journey to the 1920s, hear the gossip of the theatre scene of yesteryear - and find out who Trude Hesterberg had perform on her Wilder Bühne. Stage technician and archivist Thimo Butzmann opens (almost) all doors for us with his large bunch of keys. He has been working here at the theatre for 30 years - and is also known internally as the Phantom.

Berlin Unboxed - It's Showtime

 

Episode 10: Berlin Unboxed - Timetravel by bike

Out into the countryside, along the Wall Cycle Path or exploring the city. Berlin not only has a well-developed network of cycle paths to get from A to B, from home to work, to the shops, to kindergarten and back again on a cargo bike... You can also discover and experience a whole lot here by bike. In no other city are there so many themed tours to exciting locations, to film and series filming sites, to architectural highlights and, if you like, even back into the past. For this episode of Berlin Unboxed we take you on a bike tour with Arne Krasting from Zeitreisen and visitBerlin bike expert and press officer Christian Tänzler.

Berlin Unboxed

 

Episode 9: Berlin Unboxed - Industrial architecture

The period of industrialisation with its new technologies and challenges has changed and shaped Berlin like no other city in Europe. It made Berlin a city of modernity - with innovative advances in transport, electricity, electrical engineering, architecture, culture and lifestyle. Much of this can still be felt and experienced today. In former factory halls, cold stores and transformer stations, in short, where work used to be done, we now find art, music, fashion, theatre - or individual living space, generous open spaces and spacious parks that are the envy of many people in the world. Come with us from Anhalter Bahnhof to the Museum of Technology, enjoy the view from the platform under the famous Raisin Bomber and discover with Joseph Hoppe, director of the Berlin Centre for Industrial Culture, where industrialisation has left its mark everywhere in Berlin and made room for something new.

Berlin Unboxed

 

Episode 8: Berlin Unboxed - The transformation of exhibition culture

DARK MATTER: Interactive installation of light and sound
DARK MATTER: Interactive installation of light and sound © Foto by WHITEvoid

Sculptures, urban art, street artists. There is something to see and experience on every corner in Berlin. At the same time, museums and exhibition halls are increasingly becoming immersive experience spaces. Dance events in the Neue Nationalgalerie, critical discussions on ethnological finds, performances and art exhibitions in clubs and abandoned building complexes. The exhibition culture in Berlin is changing. 

What unusual art worlds you can discover here in Berlin is the subject of this episode of Berlin Unboxed. Our journey takes us from Dark Matter's expansive light installations in a former factory in Lichtenberg - to Schloßplatz in Berlin Mitte, to the Humboldt Forum. Here we talk to head conservator Toralf Gabsch about how the change in exhibition culture also affects the presentation of millennia-old works of art. Curator Clara Sauer and light artist Christopher Bauder give us insights into experimental forms of Berlin exhibition culture.

 

Episode 7: Berlin Unboxed - The Sound of Freedom with Mark Reeder

Mark Reeder
© Doris Klaas

From the music scene and club culture of the 1980s in Berlin to punk rock in the GDR, which only existed because he smuggled the recorded music cassettes across the border, to current productions by the British musician and producer: In this episode, Mark Reeder is our guest, a Berliner by choice who has shaped the capital's music scene like no other. We talk to him about the legendary B-Movie, about music and club culture, about East and West Berlin, about the 80s and today - and of course about why Berlin's music scene stands for the sound of freedom like no other. Welcome to the seventh episode of Berlin Berlin Unboxed, the podcast by visitBerlin.

Berlin Unboxed: Sound of Freedom 
 

 

Episode 6: Berlin Unboxed - AONHA and how we can make the world a little better

ANOHA
© Jüdisches Museum Berlin, Foto: Yves Sucksdorff

Open-hearted, lovable, for the most part open to new ideas and a good example of cosmopolitanism and diversity. This is how one could describe our city and the people of Berlin with a clear conscience. And yet living together is not always easy. Even the youngest of us are taught how to succeed in a very special place. At a place that interprets the story of Noah's Ark and also makes it possible to experience how living together can work in a multicultural city like Berlin. We are talking about ANOHA, the children's world of the Jewish Museum in Berlin. In this episode, we visit this place together with Dr. Ane Kleine-Engel, the director of the museum. Enjoy listening and welcome to a new episode of Berlin Unboxed, the podcast by visitBerlin.

Berlin Unboxed: ANOHA

 

Episode 5: Berlin Unboxed - Film City Berlin & Berlinale

Cinema auditorium in Zoopalast with red lighting
Cinema Zoopalast © visitBerlin, Foto: Wolfgang Scholvien

George Clooney, Nicole Kidman, Kate Winslet, Leo Di Caprio and Matt Damon. But also Andy Lau and Shah Rukh Khan. The stars of the film world also appreciate Berlin's fascination. It's clear that they come to Berlin not only to shoot, but also to attend the world's most important event in the film industry: the Berlinale. These days, the film world is looking to our city for the 72nd time, and thus to the largest public festival in the world. Fittingly, in this episode we talk to Benjamin Kohzer. He is the operator of Kinokompendium, Berlin's independent cinema guide and also a passionate moviegoer and Berlinale visitor. He shares with us his magical moments he associates with the Berlinale and gives us his recommendations on the best, most beautiful or even most intimate cinema addresses in Berlin. Have fun listening!

Berlin Unboxed: Film City Berlin & Berlinale

Episode 4: Berlin Unboxed - Hohenzollerngruft

Berlin Cathedral, Crypt
Berlin Cathedral, Crypt © visitBerlin, Foto: Mo Wüstenhagen

To understand and experience history, you have to go where it actually happened. The Hohenzollern Crypt under Berlin Cathedral is such a dignified place and the most important dynastic burial ground in Germany. In this episode, we take you on a journey back in time - and on a quest to find Queen Elisabeth Christine, wife of Frederick the Great. What mysteries surround the queen? What do state funeral ceremonies of today have to do with the stately burials of the kings of yesteryear? And what awaits visitors to the new exhibition, which is scheduled to open in 2023? We talk about this with Birgit Walter, curator of the Hohenzollern Crypt exhibition.

Berlin Unboxed - Hohenzollern Crypt

 

Episode 3: Berlin Unboxed - City of Classical Music

Berliner Philharmoniker
© rbb, Foto: StephanRabold

Berlin is cosmopolitan and colourful, even as a city of classical music. Why? It's simple: Berlin makes classical music accessible to everyone. There is no dress code at the Philharmonie, tickets are cheaper than in many other cities and perhaps also because no one here pretends to be elitist, although the world's musical elite can be experienced on the concert stages. In this episode we meet Frederik Hanssen, who has been reporting on classical music for decades as an editor in the arts section of the Tagesspiegel. And Maja Avramovic, who has played in the Philharmonic's first violin section since 1994, takes us into the voice room, behind the scenes at the Philharmonie. Why don't you join with us?

Berlin Unboxed - City of Classical Music

 

Episode 2: Berlin Unboxed - Utopia Kulturforum

Kulturforum Berlin with Neue Nationalgalerie, St. Matthäus Church, Philharmonie, Kunstgewerbemuseumr infront of Potsdamer Platzes
Kulturforum near Potsdamer Platz © visitberlin, Foto: Wolfgang Scholvien

We visit Pastor Hannes Langbein at St. Matthew's Church (St. Matthäus-Kirche), the oldest building at the Kulturforum. Why the Kulturforum is also called the Museum Island of the West - and how it is to develop in the future? This are just a few points we will discuss in this episode. What has already been realised? What visions are there, what does the utopia Kulturforum mean for Berlin and what role plays the Church? Come along, listen to the premiere of a modern organ work and climb the church tower with us for a view with new perspectives on the city.

Berlin Unboxed - Utopia Kulturforum

 

Epiosde 1: Museum of Natural History in Berlin

T-REX Skellet im Museum für Naturkunde
© visitBerlin, Foto:Wolfgang Scholvien

We will visit the Museum für Naturkunde in Berlin with you: by the way, not only one of the largest natural history museums in Germany, but also one of the five largest research museums in the world. Among other things, it is home to one of the world's most renowned dinosaur research stations. Dr Daniela Schwarz, palaeontologist and curator at the Natural History Museum, who has been intensively studying dinosaurs for twenty years, takes us behind the scenes into the museum's archive rooms and research laboratories.

Berlin Unboxed - Museum of Natural History

 

Episode 0: Street Art Berlin

Street Art: Wall designed by artist Jim Avignons in the courtyard of the Tagesspiegel
Street Art: Wall designed by artist Jim Avignons in the courtyard of the Tagesspiegel © Jim Avignon: Mural im Hof des Tagesspiegelgebäudes in Berlin, Foto: Jana Noritsch

From the East Side Gallery at the former Berlin Wall to the Teufelsberg: Discover the Street Art Mecca Berlin with us. Find out where you can find the most beautiful murals and how the street art scene has developed from its beginnings to the present day. Jan Sauerwald, director of the URBAN NATION Museum for Contemporary Art and curator gives insights into his work and Kimo, co-founder of the artist and street art collective "Dixons" takes us back to the time when it all began. Definitely our most colourful episode!

visitBerlin Podcast Street Art Berlin

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