Common Ground Berlin

It’s been nearly six months since U.S. President Joe Biden took office, but has he repaired the frayed U.S. relations with Germany? Host Soraya Sarhaddi Nelson brings you an update from both sides of the pond with Bloomberg Opinion columnist Andreas Kluth; Sudha David-Wilp, senior transatlantic fellow and deputy director of the German Marshall Fund’s Berlin office and Brett Samuels, White House reporter for The Hill. 

This show is produced by Dina Elsayed. 

It’s the first day of summer and #berlinreopens is trending, but are tourists coming back? And what about international travel? Host Soraya Sarhaddi Nelson explores how the pandemic has changed the way we vacation and the kinds of summer travel we can expect. Her guests are: Christian Tänzler, spokesman for visitBerlin, the city’s official tourism service; Volker Adams, head of government affairs at the German Travel Association; and Nicky Gardner, travel writer and editor of Hidden Europe magazine and co-author of “Europe by Rail.”

This show is produced by Dina Elsayed. 

As NATO leaders meet in Brussels, our episode features the second part of a special town hall Common Ground co-hosted with the German Marshall Fund of the United States about the future of Afghanistan once the alliance’s troops leave in the coming months. 

Host Soraya Sarhaddi Nelson talks with: 

• Atia Abawi, award-winning foreign correspondent and children’s author.
• Kathy Gannon, award-winning News Director for Afghanistan and Pakistan at the Associated Press and author.
• Marina Kielpinski LeGree, founder and head of "Ascend," an NGO that trains Afghan girls and women to be leaders through mountain climbing and community service.
• Metra Mehran, Fulbright Scholar who co-founded the Feminine Perspectives Movement, which provides a platform for women across Afghanistan to raise their voices and ensure their views are heard at the peace talks.
• Almut Wieland-Karimi, executive director of the Center for International Peace Operations.
• Ellinor Zeino, Afghanistan Country Director for the Konrad Adenauer Foundation.

Also featuring Pen Farthing, founder of the Nowzad Veterinary Clinic in Afghanistan, Veterinarian Zahra Nasiri and Renja Farein Ahmadi of the Enabled Children Initiative (ECI). 

On May 27th, Common Ground and The German Marshall Fund of the United States co-hosted a special town hall with Afghan women, aid workers and analysts on three continents to talk about the future of the Central Asian Country after two decades of military and humanitarian intervention. This episode includes excerpts and interviews from that event.

Host Soraya Sarhaddi Nelson talks with: 

• Atia Abawi, Award-winning foreign correspondent and children’s author.
• Kathy Gannon, Award-winning News Director for Afghanistan and Pakistan at the Associated Press and author.
• Marina Kielpinski LeGree, Founder and CEO of "Ascend," an NGO that trains Afghan girls and women to be leaders through community service and mountain climbing.
• Metra Mehran, Fulbright Scholar who co-founded the Feminine Perspectives Movement, which provides a platform for women across Afghanistan to raise their voices and ensure their perspectives are reflected in the peace talks.
• Almut Wieland-Karimi, Executive Director of the Center for International Peace Operations.
• Ellinor Zeino, Afghanistan Country Director of the Konrad Adenauer Foundation.

Also featuring GMF Editorial Director Rachel Tausendfreund and Ascend Program Assistant Shogufa Bayat. 

What role will Germans between the ages of 18 and 35 play in choosing the next chancellor?

Germany is often called a “pensioner democracy,” which has made it hard for young people to make a difference. That could change this year following a rare court victory and the surge of the Green Party and Annalena Baerbock, who could become the youngest chancellor in the history of the Federal Republic of Germany.

Host Soraya Sarhaddi Nelson talks with Green Party national deputy chairwoman Ricarda Lang; climate activist and Fridays for Future co-founder Carla Reemtsma, and GMF Europe program associate Anne Flotho-Liersch, who also coordinates the Berlin chapter of the Young Transatlantic Network.

We also hear from Andrea Ugrinoska, who chairs the Advisory Council on Youth, which is the voice of young people in the Council of Europe. 

This show is produced by Dina Elsayed. 

Host Soraya Sarhaddi Nelson delves into why women struggle with fear despite wielding more political and economic power than ever before, with guests Anne Ruetten, social media manager of Plan International; Conny Vogt of Heimwegtelefon, a private initiative in Germany and Austria helping women feel safer when they walk home at night; and Sarah Riese, a researcher on violence prevention at the independent institute, Camino.

This show is produced by Dina Elsayed. 

Host Soraya Sarhaddi Nelson explores what the end of the Berlin rent cap means for renters, landlords and the upcoming German federal elections with guests Wenke Christoph, state secretary in the Berlin Senate Department for Urban Development and Housing; Economist Konstantin Kholodolin of the German Institute for Economic Research in Berlin; and Kalle Kunkel, a Berlin activist with the Expropriate Deutsche Wohnen and Company initiative.

This show is produced by Dina Elsayed. 

Host Soraya Sarhaddi Nelson explores the impact of changing attitudes, governments and the pandemic on people’s plans to retire, with guests llka Houben, head of pensions policy at the German Insurance Association; Michael Heuser, research director of the German Institute for Wealth Creation and Retirement Insurance and Megan Leonhardt, senior money reporter with U.S. broadcaster CNBC.

This show is produced by Dina Elsayed.

Tune in on Mondays for interesting insights about Berlin and beyond. Our next episode is coming up Apr. 26, 2021.