Back in Denmark on business, Viborg-born, San Francisco-based Danish former soccer player and market manager for Joe & The Juice CHRISTIAN MATHIASEN shares his thoughts on working in the Danish people-centric food and beverage company, where juicers are hosts and customers are guests. Christian talks about arriving in 2023 as the youngest person ever to be sent to the US by the company, and his role in establishing the culture as part of the post-COVID rebirth and revival of SF.

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For today's episode, Christian Mathiasen chose Søren L. Lange's Viborg, or Viborg, from 1822 from the collection of the National Gallery of Denmark.

https://open.smk.dk/en/artwork/image/KKSgb12512 

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Photographer: Stephanie Hopkins

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This conversation with Christian D. Bruun occurred on November 7, 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]

In Los Angeles completing his upcoming film about Unabomber Ted Kaczynski, north of Viborg-born Danish film and television director JANUS METZ talks about being drawn to characters that look into darkness. From his documentary Armadillo (2010) about Danish soldiers in the war in Afghanistan to his big budget tv series Star Wars: Andor (2025) to the miniseries ZeroZeroZero (2020) about the global cocaine trade, Janus talks about the anthropological approach and perspective in all his work. 

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For today's episode, Janus Metz chose Per Kirkeby's Uden titel (Vinterbillede), or Untitled (Winter Picture), from 1995 from the collection of the National Gallery of Denmark.

https://open.smk.dk/en/artwork/image/KMS7953 

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Private photograph

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This conversation with Asger Hussain occurred on November 10, 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 Gehl Studio on Powell Street, Gjern-born, San Francisco-based Danish architect, urban strategist and designer SOFIE KVIST recalls moving to the US when Danish firm Gehl People opened its west coast office. She describes her people-centric and data-driven work focused on public spaces as more social science than design. And she shares conceptual design projects in North American cities that have, at their core, attention to foundational cultural, social, and environmental sustainability.

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For today's episode, Sofie Kvist chose Ejnar Nielsen's Og i hans øjne så jeg døden, or And in his Eyes I Saw Death, from 1897 from the collection of the National Gallery of Denmark.

https://open.smk.dk/en/artwork/image/KMS1832 

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Photograph Source: GEHL

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This conversation with Christian D. Bruun occurred on November 7, 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 Copenhagen for a short stopover during awards season, Herning-born, Copenhagen-based Danish documentary film producer HELLE FABER talks about her film Mr Nobody Against Putin, currently nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature. Helle discusses how she got involved in the secret film, how the subject and filmmakers had to trust each other, and how the team got the subject out of Russia for his safety that would then secure the film's chances to be shown. 

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For today's episode, Helle Faber chose Uden titel, or Untitled, from 1988 by Ragna Braase from the collection of the National Gallery of Denmark.

https://open.smk.dk/en/artwork/image/kms8905 

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Photographer: Martin Bubrandt

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This conversation with Asger Hussain occurred on February 20, 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 Burbank, Aarhus-born, Peabody Award-winning Danish podcast host, director, and producer LEA THAU retraces her journey from New York to Los Angeles, first leading The Moth, the live platform for storytellers, to creating the podcast Strangers. Lea describes the gradual insertion of own self at the center of her storytelling, exemplified by the "Love Hurts" and "Lea in Trumpland" miniseries. And after a 7-year hiatus, she hints at upcoming shows of yet another kind of storytelling. 

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For today's episode, Lea Thau chose Erik Henningsen's Sat ud, or Evicted Tenants, from 1892 from the collection of the National Gallery of Denmark.

https://open.smk.dk/en/artwork/image/KMS1454 

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Photographer: Kevin Zacker

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This conversation with Christian D. Bruun occurred on December 10, 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 his home in Healdsburg in Northern California, Taulov-born Danish winemaker LEO STEEN HANSEN recalls his journey in 1999 from sommelier at famed Copenhagen restaurant Kong Hans to natural winemaking in Sonoma County. Leo shares insights on his approach to his food-friendly wines at Leo Steen Wines, especially his signature Chenin Blanc, and his relationships with vineyard partners along the California coast. And he talks about his newest venture in Denmark, Scout by Leo.

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For today's episode, Leo Steen Hansen chose P.S. Krøyer's Badende drenge en sommeraften ved Skagens strand, or Boys Bathing at Skagen. Summer Evening, from 1899 from the collection of the National Gallery of Denmark.

https://open.smk.dk/en/artwork/image/KMS1658 

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Photographer: Stephanie Hopkins

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This conversation with Christian D. Bruun occurred on November 4, 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 his studio in Vesterbro, Sønderborg-born Danish photographer SØREN SOLKÆR is home in Copenhagen after an exhibition opening in London. Søren talks about the evolving role of his camera over his three-decade long oeuvre of long-term global projects such as Surface, Photographs Posed, Passage, Souls, Black Sun, and One, focused on people, nature, and spirituality, and his relationship to patience. And he shares his plans for the Adventurer's Club where he is a lifetime member. 

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For today's episode, Søren Solkær chose Christian Lemmerz's Adam-Kadmon from 1997–1998 from the collection of the National Gallery of Denmark.

https://open.smk.dk/en/artwork/image/KMS8399 

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Photographer: Søren Solkær

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This conversation with Gregers Heering occurred on November 3, 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 his home in Portugal, suburban Copenhagen-born Danish serial entrepreneur HENRIK ZILLMER talks about AirHelp, one of many disruptive tech companies he founded that brought him to Silicon Valley and New York. He describes the concept of Justice-as-a-Service, his background in comedy and the military, and the cultural nuances in entrepreneurship in Europe, the US, and Asia. And he shares his newest ventures that take him away from technology into nature and the physical world.

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For today's episode, Henrik Zillmer chose Wilhelm Marstrand's Portræt af Otto Marstrands to døtre og deres vestindiske barnepige, Justina Antoine, i Frederiksberg Have, or Portrait of Otto Marstrand's two Daughters and their West-Indian Nanny, Justina Antoine, in the Frederiksberg Gardens near Copenhagen, from 1857 from the collection of the National Gallery of Denmark.

https://open.smk.dk/en/artwork/image/KMS8833 

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Photographer: York Hovest

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This conversation with Asger Hussain occurred on October 22, 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 The Royal Danish Theatre, Dallas-born, Detroit-raised, and Copenhagen-based American-Danish ballet dancer HOLLY DORGER recalls arriving in Denmark 18 years ago at age 18 to join The Royal Danish Ballet, where she subsequently was promoted from corps de ballet to soloist and principal dancer. Holly explains her at times bumpy and lonely road as an American creative in Denmark, her connection to her audiences via social media, and being knighted at age 26 by HM Queen Margrethe. 

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For today's episode, Holly Dorger chose Carl Rasmussen's Midnatsstemning ved den grønlandske kyst, or A Stretch of Coast in Greenland. Midnight, from 1872 from the collection of the National Gallery of Denmark.

https://open.smk.dk/en/artwork/image/KMS993

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Photographer: Samantha Zauscher

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This conversation with Gregers Heering occurred on October 20, 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 his home in Washington DC, Ravnsnæs-born Danish counselor of science and innovation TORBEN ORLA NIELSEN explains his new role with the Danish Embassy tracking the political framework of the US research environment as it impacts Danish research. Following seven years in Boston's Innovation Centre Denmark, Torben, a diplomat, navigates the evolving US research priorities and funding in order to assist US collaborations with Danish universities and companies.

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For today's episode, Torben Orla Nielsen chose Rialto-broen i Venedig, or The Rialto Bridge in Venice, by an unknown artist from 1670–1679 from the collection of the National Gallery of Denmark.

https://open.smk.dk/en/artwork/image/KKSgb44667

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Private photograph

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This conversation with Christian D. Bruun occurred on October 17, 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]