That Jenny Erpenbeck’s latest novel, Visitation, is ambitious is unmistakable, for it is undeniably difficult and precisely crafted. Following in the footsteps of T.S. Eliot, who suggested that a difficult world as ours calls for a difficult literature, I think it a moot point as to whether the novel ultimately succeeds in its being difficult. Is it really difficult for difficulty’s sake? After finishing this novel I have to admit my own ambivalence, not based on, admittedly, its philosophical import, but because of the way it reads.
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For our Geo Quiz, we want the name of a historic art museum in Germany. Built in the late 1800′s it’s survived the Nazis and WWII bombardment. The museum’s most renowned art object just may be a 3,000-year-old limestone bust of one of the most famous and beautiful women of the ancient world: Eqyptian queen Nefertiti. Besides this ancient icon of beauty, some “degenerate art” is now being displayed. Download MP3Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
There may be nervous chatter about a “double-dip recession.” But Europe’s largest economy doesn’t seem to be paying attention. Germany posted strong growth from April to June. The World’s Jason Margolis tells us what the good economic news in Germany means for Americans. (flickr image: tdietmut) Download MP3Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
On this week’s history podcast we replay three stories from our Memorial Day broadcast on May 31, 2010. Here’s the lineup: Marco Werman’s interview with Major Fred Salanti of the Missing in America Project, Alissa Quart‘s essay on the Neues Museum in Berlin, and reporter Molly Murray on oil spilled in the Atlantic during WWII. Download MP3
For our Geo Quiz today we’re looking for one of Germany’s historic squares. This one’s just a short distance from the Brandenburg Gate.
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The World has teamed up with travel publisher Lonely Planet to bring you a new audio podcast. The idea is to find interesting intersections between news and travel. Clark Boyd from The World will bring the news, and Robert Reid and Tom Hall from Lonely Planet will bring the travel. In our first episode, we tackle American hikers in Iran, and nostalgia tourism in what was once East Berlin.
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Twenty years after the fall of the Berlin Wall, young Germans don’t give a lot of thought to what was once known as the GDR or East Germany. Few know much about a state that vanished before they were even born. And while some educators would rather not dwell on a recent but painful past, others say remembering is the only way to move the whole country forward. Susan Stone reports from Berlin. Download MP3
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Twenty years ago, the wall that divided East and West Berlin for decades came down in dramatic fashion. Since that time, the Berlin Wall has been broken up and distributed around the world, including downtown Manhattan. Former Berlin resident Juliane Camfield (pictured) tells The World’s Alex Gallafent about how she could never own a piece of the wall. Download MP3A map of the Tube comes in handy for today’s Geo Quiz. The map of London’s subway, known as The Tube or the Underground, is a classic. The visual design was inspired by electric circuit diagrams. The map helps riders navigate the system’s 270 subway stations…
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South African’s Caster Semenya is at the center of a gender controversy. On Wednesday, Semenya won the women’s 800 meters at the 12th IAAF World Athletics Championships in Berlin. Now, Semenya’s been asked to take tests to prove she’s a woman. We’ll speak with Farayi Mungazi, host of the BBC African sports program Fast Track. AP Photo/Markus Schreiber. >>> The latest from BBC Sport.
Twelve years after many Western nations agreed to fight bribery of foreign officials, only four countries are actively enforcing the ban. That’s according to a progress report released today by an anti-corruption watchdog group. David Hecht reports from Berlin. Listen
