Claim OwnershipThe Americans
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This podcast is about America today. It takes a closer look at politics and society, and has a special focus on people and their stories – stories that give you an up-close, personal and differentiated look at America.
36 Episodes
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After becoming seriously ill, Timothy Snyder experienced first-hand just how decrepit the American healthcare system is.
Snyder’s new book “Our Malady: Lessons in Liberty from a Hospital Diary” goes into detail about his experience of receiving below-par care and clinging to life for months before finally getting better in spring of this year.
With reference to the COVID-19 pandemic, he wrote that U.S. hospitals were “understaffed and undersupplied, buckling under waves of coronavirus patients … and the federal government made matters worse through willful ignorance, misinformation, and profiteering.”
His publisher has called the book an “impassioned condemnation of America's coronavirus response and an urgent call to rethink health and freedom.”
Timothy Snyder is an award-winning author and historian, and currently a Professor of European History at Yale University. He is also a Permanent Fellow at the Institute for Human Sciences in Vienna, Austria and a member of the Council on Foreign Relations.
David Enrich is financial editor at The New York Times, after having worked for The Wall Street Journal for a number of years. He has a total of nearly 20 years of experience as a journalist, specialized in investigative work.
His most recent research has culminated in a book about some of the questionable practices of Deutsche Bank: “Dark Towers: Deutsche Bank, Donald Trump, and an Epic Trail of Destruction.”
In our interview, Enrich describes how his years of research into Deutsche Bank serendipitously came together with the ongoing investigations into Donald Trump’s finances.
Daniel Hamilton is a highly-experienced expert on transatlantic relations. He served several Secretaries of State as well as the U.S. Embassy in Germany and currently holds a position as Austrian Marshall Plan Foundation Professor at Johns Hopkins SAIS.
In this episode he talks about the future of transatlantic relations. He explains why he sees the alliance of the past 70 years as a wonderful chapter - but one that is now over. He also talks about a potentially misleading narrative in Germany when it comes to China and says that the original idea of NATO will need to be rethought. Of course, he also discusses the upcoming U.S. presidential election and outlines various scenarios relating to the most controversial issues between the U.S. and the EU.
Daniel Hamilton explains why he thinks that Europe may be in for a rude awakening if it places all of its hopes for a renewal of transatlantic relations in Joe Biden. He notes that we cannot expect Biden to turn back the hand of time. It is time for a completely new era of transatlantic relations.
This episode’s interview guest is none other than Executive Director of Human Rights Watch, Kenneth Roth. He has been at the helm of the NGO for 27 years. Under his leadership, it has developed into an international organization with real impact. With Chelsea he talks about its biggest achievements and about the ongoing human rights violations in Syria, Hungary and China. He also discusses the deterioration of US leadership on issues of civil liberties and what this means for Europe.
Amy Stebbins is an American living in Germany. She is a writer and director for theater and opera. She says that there are extensive differences in the way the art industry is being affected by the lockdown in Germany and the United States.
A well-known name in the art scene, she holds a B.A. in History and Literature from Harvard University, an M.A. and a Ph.D. in Germanic Studies and Cinema & Media from the University of Chicago.
In this episode you will hear an excerpt from a house-recording of an opera called Mauerschau conducted by Oksana Lyniv. The music is by Hauke Berheide; the singers are Adriana Bastidas-Gamboa, Edwin Crossley-Mercer, Joshua Owen-Mills, Frederic Jost, Leela Subramaniam and Hanna Herfurtner. Another excerpt is from a piece called The Death of Orpheus. The song you will hear was written by Anthony Newley and Leslie Bricusse; the new arrangement is by Richard Whaling; the voice is Amy Stebbins.
Amy Stebbins is an American living in Germany. She is a writer and director for theater and opera. She says that there are extensive differences in the way the art industry is being affected by the lockdown in Germany and the United States.
A well-known name in the art scene, she holds a B.A. in History and Literature from Harvard University, an M.A. and a Ph.D. in Germanic Studies and Cinema & Media from the University of Chicago.
In this episode you will hear an excerpt from a house-recording of an opera called Mauerschau. The music is by Hauke Berheide; the singers are Adriana Bastidas-Gamboa, Edwin Crossley-Mercer, Joshua Owen-Mills, Frederic Jost, Leela Subramaniam and Hanna Herfurtner. Another excerpt is from a piece called The Death of Orpheus. The song you will hear was written by Anthony Newley and Leslie Bricusse; the new arrangement is by Richard Whaling; the voice is Amy Stebbins.
1The FDA approved the pill almost exactly 60 years ago, on May 9, 1960. It changed women’s lives dramatically. It was the first birth control method that was undetectable by a partner - and it also wasn’t an invasive procedure.
Now, after decades, we’re discovering that the side effects of this form of birth control may be farther-reaching than we thought. One of leading scientists in this field is Dr. Sarah E. Hill. She’s a Professor of Social Psychology at TCU in Fort Worth. There she heads an interdisciplinary research team which also investigates the effects of hormonal contraception. Some of the most compelling findings are in her newest book How the Pill Changes Everything, or in German, Wie uns die Pille verändert. What she has to say is eye-opening not only for women - but for men as well.
Susan B. Glasser is a correspondent in Washington, DC for The New Yorker. In my interview with her she talks about the brave new world we’re living in right now. She explains how the coronavirus pandemic is “the ultimate clarifying moment,” shining a spotlight on the weaknesses of American society – and of those leading the country.
Susan is known for her weekly column "Letter from Trump's Washington." A selection of her articles has now been published as a German-language book by Weltkiosk under the title "Briefe aus Trumps Washington."
She was born in the late 1960s in Montclair, a township in New Jersey, and graduated from Harvard University. Her parents are founders of a weekly legal newspaper and publishing company, and her grandfather supervised the field trials for the polio vaccine. She has been married to Peter Baker, Chief White House correspondent for The New York Times, for 20 years now. You may know her from the Washington Post, where
she spent a decade covering the Clinton impeachment and the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. She also served as Moscow co-bureau chief and is an expert on Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Nicole Stott says that mankind needs to act like space station crew members in this crisis, working together. She is one of the very few female astronauts who have seen the world from outer space - and she is even a spacewalker. She worked at NASA for 27 years as an engineer in a number of positions. She completed two space flights in 2009 and 2011 and also spent time on the International Space Station.
Stott was born in Albany, New York, but she now lives with her husband and their son in St. Petersburg, Florida. There, Stott once started her extraordinary career at St. Petersburg College, studying aviation administration at the Aeronautical University. After that, she received her M.S. in Engineering Management from the University of Central Florida.
Warren Marine is head of the Country Practice USA at KPMG Germany. The multinational professional services network is one of the Big Four accounting organizations worldwide. Marine is also treasurer of the American Chamber of Commerce in Germany. The organization strives to enhance global economic and trade relations built on a foundation of American and German partnership. Marine is an American-born transatlantic business expert who has been living in Germany for nearly 20 years.
Kimberly Marteau Emerson is an attorney and human rights advocate who moved to Berlin as a U.S. ambassador’s wife in 2013. Working on her memoirs, she currently resides in Germany while her husband and daughters are back home in Los Angeles.
She talks about the differences in the ways the German and U.S. governments are handling the corona crisis right now. She also delves into U.S. politics, female leadership and the challenges of being the partner of a diplomat.
The idea that the COVID-19 crisis could push the reset button on different aspects of our lives is something we’ve been hearing quite a lot these days. One of the places we’re hearing it is on the stock markets.
Susan Mac Cormac is an expert when it comes to impact investment - a relatively new trend from the United States which can be observed on stock markets worldwide. Impact investment is not just about making money; it is also about responsible investing - doing something good for society or the environment while generating financial returns.
Mac Cormac is a corporate partner at the law firm Morrison & Foerster in San Francisco and chairs the Energy and Social Enterprise and Impact Investing practices. Her focus is on late-stage financings, secondaries and other corporate transactions for investors as well as investments for parties dedicated to impact.
She was named a California Lawyer Attorney of the Year (CLAY) by Daily Journal in 2012 and 2016 and the Most Innovative Lawyer in North America by the Financial Times in 2015.
Rebecca Makkai is a novelist and short-story writer. She grew up in Lake Bluff, Illinois to parents who were linguistics professors. Her paternal grandmother was a well-known actress and novelist in Hungary. Makkai herself has published three novels so far.
The Great Believers was published in 2018 and selected as one of The New York Times Book Review’s 10 Best Books of 2018. The book was also a finalist for the 2019 Pulitzer Prize in Fiction. The story is set during the time of the AIDS epidemic in 1980s Chicago – and in contemporary Paris, pre-corona. It tells two intertwining stories about people who struggle to find goodness in times of crisis.
The German of edition of the book is called Die Optimisten.
John M. Barry is a historian and a prize-winning New York Times best-selling author of non-fiction work. Two of his books directly involved him in policy-making in the United States.
After Hurricane Katrina, he was a member of a board responsible for disaster response. After the SARS outbreak in 2004, he began working with federal government entities on preparing for another influenza pandemic. He has served on the federal government's Infectious Disease Board of Experts.
His New York Times bestseller was published in 2004, “The Great Influenza: The Epic Story of the Greatest Plague in History “
John M. Barry was born in Providence, Rhode Island, where he graduated from Brown University. He now lives in New Orleans.
Ashoka Mody is an economics professor at Princeton University. During the financial crisis he worked at the International Monetary Fund and designed the 2009 international bailout of Ireland’s banking system.
Mody is also known for his book EuroTragedy: A Drama in Nine Acts, an account of the euro's history and consequences. It was chosen by both Foreign Affairs and The Financial Times as one of the best books of 2018.
He has now turned his attention to the economic and financial implications of the coronavirus.
Europeans – especially in Central and Northern Europe – are proud of their public healthcare systems. We on this side of the Atlantic often wonder why the United States is still discussing “medicare for all”. It’s difficult to understand why a large number of Americans don’t see the importance of a public healthcare system.
How can the business-oriented healthcare system in the U.S. cope with this crisis? How will the closure of hundreds of hospitals in rural America over the past years affect the country’s ability to fight the virus?
Charles Rivkin is chairman and CEO of the Motion Picture Association, for short: MPA. This American trade association represents the five major film studios of the United States, as well as Netflix. It established the film rating system and is tasked with ensuring the viability of the American film industry and promoting copyright protection. Charles Rivkin spoke with Chelsea Spieker about the goals and achievements of the MPA - and about the responsibilities of the film industry.
Sudha David-Wilp is a senior transatlantic fellow and deputy director of the German Marshall Fund's Berlin office. She is expert for policy, transatlantic relations, U.S. Congress and German politics. She oversees the German Marshall Fund’s Congress-Bundestag Forum, engages with the media and covers transatlantic digital topics. Before moving to Berlin, she was the director of international programs at the U.S. Association of Former Members of Congress in Washington, DC for nearly eight years. She received her bachelor’s from Johns Hopkins University, with a major in International Relations. She holds a Master’s in International Relations from Columbia University.
Patrice McMahon is a Professor of Political Science at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. She delved into the role of NGOs in her book „The NGO Game“ - looking at the concrete examples of Bosnia-Herzegovina and Kosovo. She comes to a sobering conclusion. International aid organizations are not necessarily the ones that really help.
Doug Wead is a conservative commentator, writer, historian and politician. He has published more than 30 non-fiction books including several biographies of presidents and presidential families, among them Ronald Reagan and the Bush family.
His latest work is called “Inside Trump's White House: The Authorized Inside Story of His First White House Years“ – in German: “Donald Trump: Die wahre Geschichte seiner Präsidentschaft.” The book covers everything from election night to the impeachment inquiry. Wead talked to Trump, his family and staff multiple times over the span of two years.
Doug Wead was born in the mid-1940s in Muncie, a small city in Indiana. He was a special assistant to Presidents George H. W. Bush and George W. Bush as well as a senior adviser to the Ron Paul presidential campaign in 2012 and the Rand Paul campaign in 2016.
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