Radio. Podcast. Soundscapes.
Radio Features and Reportages on Deutschlandfunk Kultur, BBC and others (selection)
-
Tidal flats of Nova Scotia, an ever changing landscape. Every hour reveals another layer of the seabed, every inch of the seabed reveals another millennium in the making of this earth. While the moon shape-shifts across the sky, dog whelks lay their eggs on rocky surface. A leafy bryozoan, not a plant, but a colony of animals, zesty lemon scent when rubbed between my fingers. Irish moss picked from this intertidal zone: I chew it long and thorough, move it around my mouth, swallow its carrageenan crunchiness. Luminescent sea lettuce covering the seabed floor, when summer comes it will grow into an underwater meadow, fed from fresh water pockets collected in the porous sandstone while soaking in the saltwater current. Miniature forests on sandstone islands fading with every licking tide. Research for a radio piece on the world’s highest tides and the world it reveals in the Bay of Fundy. Listen here on Zeitfragen
-
For several years, people in Japan have eaten more meat than fish. Food change has been promoted politically since the post-war period and has been reinforced by overfishing and the climate crisis. Some want to revive fishing. Reportage. Weltzeit.
-
In 2021, Japan's government appointed a minister for loneliness. It is not only the growing number of older people who feel affected. The number of single households is increasing, the population is shrinking. But this can also be seen positively. Reportage. Weltzeit.
-
Since Japan appointed a minister against kodoku no mondai, the “problems of loneliness”, in 2021, various concepts have been tested in the country, including social robots. At Orylab, the focus is on Orihime, remotely operated robots. Somewhere in Japan, a person is lying in bed, paraplegic after an accident or immobile after suffering from ALS. Using their eyes or fingers, these people can remotely control robots in this café and speak through the robots. The robots enable them to have social contacts that they would otherwise not have. Reportage. Studio 9
-
For thousands of years, the Haida Nation has lived on islands off the west coast of Canada. But with the emergence of the Europeans from 1776, much changed. Now the indigenous people are fighting back their islands – supported by researchers and activists. Interview with Michaela Vieser. Weltzeit
-
-
Altai Soundscape with Matas Petrikas on Kurzstrecke. Sound Experiments.
-
40 years after Christiane F., heroin is still a topic in a city where drugs are part of nightlife. Exclusion and stigmatization still exist in Berlin today, but also promising therapeutic approaches. Die Reportage.
-
In an interview with Deutschlandfunk Kultur, the author of the documentary series "Love Rituals", Michaela Vieser, emphasizes how much the films are shaped by the reporter. Gesa Ufer interviews Michaela Vieser on Compressor
-
100 years ago, German prisoners of war first carried Beethoven's 9th century in Japan. Symphony on. It is now omnipresent, considered the second national anthem and is always played at the turn of the year. A German-Japanese search for traces. Feature on Weltzeit
-
#MeToo has no voice in Japan. Sexual assaults on women are commonplace here. Not only in the subway, where there are extra wagons for them. From an early age, Japanese women learn to endure the shame, quietly and alone. But there are also exceptions. Feature. Weltzeit.
-
Everyone talks about blockchains. But who really understands cryptocurrency? The Japanese girl band Kasotsuka Shojo now sings about it and the tech expert Kaz Ohmae explains in which scene the reto band is especially successful. Reportage. Kompressor
-
The Altai region, located in a remote corner of Russia, was long considered a utopian place full of promises. Today, the region is marketed capitalistically with corresponding pseudo-traditional festivals. Feature. Zeitfragen
-
Michaela Vieser on professions that have died out. Together with the students from ESBM. Children Feature.
-
Michaela Vieser on professions that have died out. Together with the students from ESBM. Children Feature.
-
Michaela Vieser on professions that have died out. Together with the students from ESBM. Children Feature.
-
Michaela Vieser on professions that have died out. Together with the students from ESBM. Children Feature.
-
Michaela Vieser on professions that have died out. Together with the students from ESBM. Children Feature.
-
Michaela Vieser on professions that have died out. Together with the students from ESBM. Children Feature.
-
Why do young Muslims voluntarily submit to the "IS system", let themselves be enslaved and mistreated by the IS terrorists? Is it a hidden adventurous spirit or the helper syndrome? Researchers are investigating why young girls break with everything they love. Reportage. Zeitfragen
-
In Japan, Buddhism wrestles for the hearts of people for whom religion is no longer self-evident. In Tokyo, a monk goes an unusual way: He has opened a bar, in the middle of the hippest pub district. Our reporter visited him there. Reportage. Religionen.
-
Anjum Khan conducts talk therapy with radicalized Muslims on behalf of the British Interior Ministry. Reportage. Religions.
-
In West London, a Somali and a Jamaican Muslim and former rapper help prevent religious radicalization among the young people in the neighborhood. Because some have already been lured away from here - including to Syria to fight for the IS there. Reportage. Weltzeit.
-
55 years ago, on the 13th. August 1961, the construction of the "Berlin Wall" began - it separated the western and eastern parts of the city for a total of 28 years and was part of the inner German border. A school project revives this time. Reportage. Kakadu.
-
More and more Japanese people are scanning their books and turning them into PDFs. Due to lack of space, they transform printed into digital. That's what Jisui is called. Michaela Vieser visited a graphic artist who practices Jisiu. Reportage. Lesart.
-
Subculture, eccentrics and strange places. These are the favorite topics of publicist Tsuzuki Kyoichi. Because the media were taking his stories less and less often, he founded the e-magazine "Roadsiders". Here the readers will find stories that would not be published anywhere else. Reportage. Lesart.
-
In Japan, out of all places, and a bookstore, out of all places! The gigantic cultural department store Daikanyama T-Site in Tokyo has become a attraction for hip city dwellers. The motto: see and be seen. The English crown prince was already there. Reportage. Lesart
-
Japan, which has delighted the world with countless innovations, from the Walkman to the Playstation, is still like a developing when it comes to e-books. Reading is more classic – and why would you anyhow carry 100 books with you? Reportage. Lesart
-
Of course, there is also every luxury item in the world to buy in Tokyo, for dogs, stars, eccentrics. But the city actually stands for a completely different luxury philosophy, the biggest luxury is the city itself. Reportage. Zeitgeschehen
-
It is a place to read and dream: In the center of Tokyo, a busy book lover has set up a "library in the forest". The house wants to offer readers what is not to be found in the lending library: reading in connection with leisure fun and relaxation. Reportage. Lesart
-
The Japanese bestselling author Haruki Murakami has long been a candidate for the Nobel Prize for Literature. Since he does not give interviews, we met with his companions. They also revealed private things about him. Interview. Lesart
-
Okinawa is said to be safe. Many Tokyo families have moved to the southernmost island of Japan after Fukushima. But here, too, the fear of the radioactive rays does not let people go. Reportage. Zeitfragen
-
The word shaman means "heated, excited man". They are revered as seers and healers. Shamans are often responsible for healing the disease - in this function they experience a renaissance. Feature. Zeitfragen
-
If you rub the page of a book, a hidden message is revealed. If you stroke a butterfly picture, the fluttering of the wing is transferred to your skin: Ivan Poupyrev, born in Russia, is one of the most creative interface designers - award-winning and in demand worldwide. One of his most spectacular developments is the world's first touch screen. Interview/ Portrait. Zeitfragen
-
For decades, the steel industry shaped the US-based Pittsburgh. Until the steel crisis in the 1970s. The crisis hit the city hard. But today Pittsburg is considered a prime example of successful structural change. Feature. Zeitreisen
-
Luis von Ahn's view of humanity is sober. He sees us all as a huge processor unit that, if we manage to get it running, can solve big tasks. Interview. Breitband
-
In hardly any country is the sex industry booming as much as in Japan: sex videos, sex tools and pornographic porn apps for mobile phones flood the market and are publicly viewed, in the subway for example. Schoolgirls wear extra short skirts to stimulate the imagination of the men. Feature. Zeitfragen
-
The wilderness permeates us. But at some point, man tried to create order and alienated himself more and more from the essentials. "Let's find ourselves back to the wilderness!", demanded Gary Snyder in 1990. Now his book "Lektionen der Wildnis" is available in German. Book Review. Lesart
Illustration by Ada Isaacs
“Whalefall is a narrative of hope and resurgence, where we sink together with a deceased whale to the bottom of the sea. Here, in the utter darkness and under immense pressure, the gift of this giant mammal’s body becomes a celebration of life and an encouragement for transformation. It is a story of time and patterns, of new beginnings and the possibilities of life.”
Immersive soundscape produced together with Matas Petrikas. With sounds from the Bedford Whaling Museuem and the Dieter Paulmann Archive.
The piece will be part of the permanent exhibition of the Senckenberg Museum of Natural Histories, Frankfurt
Quarantine in Seoul Podcast
Three weeks into the pandemic, my friend Chappy has business to do in Seoul. The world as we know it is gone. We call each other every day and he reports back to me. While in Germany we all struggle with the idea of wearing masks, Seoul holds a sanitary future in a very different universe.
Studentendorf Schlachtensee Podcast
The Studentendorf (originally Studentendorf of the Freie Universität) is part of the extensive Re-education Programme of the USA. Not only should the future academic elite find a home here but also experience a political and democratic education.
For this podcast series, that still grows, I talk to old and new residents, professors and facilitators and even the German Minister of Family Affairs, once a former resident here, to tell their stories about how important it is to stay engaged in political discussions.
Commissioned work by the Studentendorf Schlachtensee Coop
The Gentleman Hacker Podcast
I was approached by the Gerntleman Hacker. If I could possibly help him with this podcast. We had long conversations on the future of democracy in times of surveillance capitalism and state interventions. And yes, I could help the Genlteman Hacker.
Solastalgia Podcast
An archive of longing
As part of the Living Libraries for Nature Writing project, I produced this podcast series on the topic of Soalstalgia. The word is a new combination of the Latin term sōlācium (consolation) and the Greek root -algia (pain). How has the Allgäu changed over the course of a human lifetime? What do we miss about the former understanding of nature, what would we like to show our grandchildren? In the Solastalgia podcast project, Allgäu natives (Urgesteine) are asked about their personal observations of nature. Music by Dizzy Moon.
Connecting Cinemas Podcast
A four parts podcast series on remote cinemas in the Balkans and Berlin. The stories will take the listener on an inspiring trip across Europe- from a mountain in Romania to a remote town in Greece, passing by a harbour in Croatia, and finally stopping at a village in the suburbs of Berlin.
”The journalist Michaela Vieser has travelled to each of these four cinemas and created a 15–20-minute audio portrait reproducing the history and peculiarities of each location, in a format mixing interviews and reportage.”
Commissioned work by Connecting Cinemas
Field Trip/ Master of Science in International Health Podcast
The Master of Science in International Health (Humboldt University/ Charité, Berlin) asked if I could produce this series of podcasts for their remote learning facilities. And so I started to visit various places on the Berlin map, and interviewed people with addictions and those who provide home, shelter, healing and care.
“One of his patients compares injecting heroin to a shortcut in a video game: In every digital car race, there is this shortcut that you can you can take to get to the next level. While the young man would never cheat in a computer game, he wonders about himself in real life: for him using heroin is like taking a shortcut to a feeling of happiness that is otherwise difficult to that is otherwise difficult to achieve. He doesn't really want to understand why he would never take the easier solution in the game, but does in reality.”
Psychodrama Podcast
Uwe Reineck and Mirja Anderl teach Psychodrama. That this podcast would not be your usual kind of podcast goes without saying.