From his home in the Bay Area, Hellerup-born, two-time Grammy-winner Danish-American violinist and composer MADS TOLLING shares highlights of his career playing with bands and leading his own groups, the Mads Tolling Quartet, and Mads Tolling & The Mads Men. At his core a jazz violinist, Mads credits his training at Boston's Berklee College of Music, and talks about blurring musical boundaries, exploring different genres, and reaching new audiences, both as a musician and a composer. 

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For today's episode, Mads Tolling chose P.C. Skovgaard's Bøgeskov i maj. Motiv fra Iselingen, or A Beech Wood in May near Iselingen Manor, Zealand, from 1857 from the collection of the National Gallery of Denmark.

https://open.smk.dk/en/artwork/image/KMS4580  

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Photographer: Karolina Zapolska

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This conversation with Christian D. Bruun occurred on April 14, 2026.

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We invite you to subscribe to Danish Originals for weekly episodes. You can also find us at:

website: https://danishoriginals.com/                                

email: [email protected]

From her home in the Santa Monica mountains, Aarhus-born, Los Angeles-based Danish-Swedish ceramicist, curator, and bookseller LENA TORSLOW HANSEN revisits her first passion with clay and her roles with some foundational exhibitions: "A Broad Spectrum" (1984), "Golden Age in Danish Painting" (1994) as well as the 28 for the cultural festival "Scandinavia Today" (1982–1983). Lena also recalls cross-country road trips running Nordic Art Books and the pre-Amazon art book landscape.

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For today's episode, Lena Torslow Hansen chose J.F. Willumsen's En bjergbestigerske, or A Mountain Climber, from 1912 from the collection of the National Gallery of Denmark.

https://open.smk.dk/en/artwork/image/KMS3413 

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Photographer: Aya Muto

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This conversation with Finn-Olaf Jones occurred on May 8, 2026.

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We invite you to subscribe to Danish Originals for weekly episodes. You can also find us at:

website: https://danishoriginals.com/                                

email: [email protected]

From his home office in Gentofte, Sønderborg-born and Copenhagen- and New York-based Danish photographer JENS HONORÉ talks about his work with the Roger Federer Foundation and his books A Place to Dream (2018) with SOS Children's Village and The Right to Food (2021) with the nonprofit initiative JUNKFOOD. He discusses the importance of connecting to people, using his photography for social good, and his present focus on craftsmanship in his film The Crosses and his upcoming book. 

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For today's episode, Jens Honoré chose Jesper Rasmussen's Dumbo Brooklyn New York from 2005 from the collection of the National Gallery of Denmark.

https://open.smk.dk/en/artwork/image/KKS2005-15 

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Photographer: Klaus Clemmens

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This conversation with Gregers Heering occurred on March 30, 2026.

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We invite you to subscribe to Danish Originals for weekly episodes. You can also find us at:

website: https://danishoriginals.com/                                

email: [email protected]

From his home in Israels Plads, Soviet Union-born, Copenhagen-based Danish American businessman and startup investor ILYA KATSNELSON recalls arriving in the US as a refugee at the age of ten, his formative years in Wisconsin, and moving to Denmark, later surviving a German maximum security jail when the Russian state issued a retaliatory Interpol red notice against him. Equally, he talks about his commitment to bringing the US and Denmark closer together through education, art, and culture.

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For today's episode, Ilya Katsnelson chose Carl Bloch's Fra et romersk osteria, or In a Roman Osteria, from 1866 from the collection of the National Gallery of Denmark.

https://open.smk.dk/en/artwork/image/KMS4087  

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Photographer: Davy Denke

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This conversation with Christian D. Bruun occurred on April 6, 2026.

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We invite you to subscribe to Danish Originals for weekly episodes. You can also find us at:

website: https://danishoriginals.com/                                

email: [email protected]

From her home in Greenwich Village, Manhattan, Copenhagen-born, New York-based Danish-Scottish documentary film producer and director MAIKEN BAIRD talks about her latest film on Palestinian American scholar Edward Said that is entirely archive-based. She revisits her iconic works, such as Client 9 (2010), Venus and Serena (2012), Oscar winner Icarus (2017), and Ghislaine Maxwell: Filthy Rich (2022), and describes the challenges in telling real stories that help us understand our world. 

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For today's episode, Maiken Baird chose Lauritz Hartz's Landskab med bakker, or Rolling Landscape, from 1927 from the collection of the National Gallery of Denmark.

https://open.smk.dk/en/artwork/image/KMS7062

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Photographer: Terry Gruber

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This conversation with Asger Hussain occurred on March 26, 2026.

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We invite you to subscribe to Danish Originals for weekly episodes. You can also find us at:

website: https://danishoriginals.com/ 

email: [email protected] 

From her home in Copenhagen, Fuglebjerg-born Danish arts and culture advisor FREDERIKKE MØLLER talks about her recent position with the Danish Embassy in Washington, D.C. facilitating Danish arts programming and dialogue in the US. Frederikke shares her thoughts on the changing US cultural scene under the Trump administration, and describes her current initiatives with Seattle's National Nordic Museum and her dream to work on collaborations among Nordic cultures.

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For today's episode, Frederikke Møller chose Jakob Kudsk Steensen's Primal Tourism from 2016 from the collection of the National Gallery of Denmark.

https://open.smk.dk/en/artwork/image/KMS8931

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Photographer: Per Sommer

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This conversation with Gregers Heering occurred on March 11, 2026.

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We invite you to subscribe to Danish Originals for weekly episodes. You can also find us at:

website: https://danishoriginals.com/                                

email: [email protected] 

From his home in Concord, Massachusetts, New England-born former US Ambassador to Denmark RUFUS GIFFORD recalls his start in politics, his ongoing connection to Denmark, and his work under Barack Obama and Joe Biden. He describes the current problematic chapter in transatlantic relationships, exemplified by the tensions with Denmark and Greenland, the MAGA movement in the US, and his passion to help elect a transformational US leader in 2028 in the post-Trump world order.

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For today's episode, Rufus Gifford chose C.W. Eckersberg's En sejlads til Charlottenlund, or Sailing from Copenhagen to Charlottenlund, from 1824 from the collection of the National Gallery of Denmark.

https://open.smk.dk/en/artwork/image/KMS8684

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Photograph Source: Rufus Gifford

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This conversation with Nicolai Rottbøll occurred on March 18, 2026.

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We invite you to subscribe to Danish Originals for weekly episodes. You can also find us at:

website: https://danishoriginals.com/

email: [email protected]

From her home in Østerbro, Copenhagen- and Madison, Wisconsin-based Danish author PERNILLE IPSEN talks about her book and collective memoir My Seven Mothers: Making a Family in the Danish Women's Movement which is an English translation and adaptation of the 2020 Montana Prize Danish original. She describes her mothers' roles in the 1970s Red Stockings and Lesbian Movements, and traces the differences between writing in English as a historian and in Danish as a nonfiction author.

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For today's episode, Pernille Ipsen chose Dea Trier Mørch's Fødsel, or Birth, from 1978 from the collection of the National Gallery of Denmark.

https://open.smk.dk/en/artwork/image/KKS2009-19

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Photographer: Bobbie Harte

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This conversation with Christian D. Bruun occurred on December 2, 2025.

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We invite you to subscribe to Danish Originals for weekly episodes. You can also find us at:

website: https://danishoriginals.com/

email: [email protected]

From her home in Mar Vista, Los Angeles, Ølstykke-born, Málaga, Spain-raised Danish photojournalist METTE LAMPCOV discusses her work in California documenting climate change and the work of undocumented agricultural workers. With expertise in water, forest, and fire ecology, she revisits her work on the Salton Sea and the Sequoia National Forest. Throughout, Mette shares her thoughts on the state of journalism and photojournalism, AI, and the effects of current US politics on her work.

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For today's episode, Mette Lampcov chose Anna Bjerger's Square from 2019 from the collection of the National Gallery of Denmark.

https://open.smk.dk/en/artwork/image/KMS8948   

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Photographer: Bruce Lampcov

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This conversation with Gregers Heering occurred on January 7, 2026.

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We invite you to subscribe to Danish Originals for weekly episodes. You can also find us at:

website: https://danishoriginals.com/                               

email: [email protected] 

From a recording studio in downtown Copenhagen, Siberian-born Danish journalist and author of I, Putin, SAMUEL RACHLIN recalls his parents' journey back to Denmark from exile, when he was ten. He talks about his natural urge to understand Russia, discovering the US in 1976, and his roles as the first news anchor for TV2 in 1988 and the first Washington Correspondent for TV2 in 1990. Returning from the US after 35 years, Samuel offers insights on the current absence of a rule-based world order.

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For today's episode, Samuel Rachlin chose Gerhard Henning's Stående nøgen pige, or Standing Nude Girl, from 1928–1929 from the collection of the National Gallery of Denmark.

https://open.smk.dk/en/artwork/image/KMS5856 

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Photographer: Balazs Veress

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This conversation with Asger Hussain occurred on January 27, 2026.

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We invite you to subscribe to Danish Originals for weekly episodes. You can also find us at:

website: https://danishoriginals.com/                               

email: [email protected]