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Radio GDR

Episodes

Taking Stock with Victor Grossman, Part II: Why The GDR Failed
April 8, 2023

Taking Stock with Victor Grossman, Part II: Why The GDR Failed

In 1952, a 24-year old American soldier defected to the Eastern Bloc in order to avoid a US Army disciplinary hearing and what he feared would be draconian punishment for his involvement in socialist and communist politics in...

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Berliners: Vesper Stamper's tale of twins divided by the Berlin Wall and thoughts on viewing the Cold War through historical fiction
March 5, 2023

Berliners: Vesper Stamper's tale of twins divided by the Berlin Wall …

I am truly honored to be joined today by author and illustrator Vesper Stamper who in 2022 published Berliners, a historical fiction about two twin brothers, Rudi and Peter, who end up divided by their views of the GDR and …

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Why The GDR Fascinates Me: Kris Hinz's Reflections on his Father's Time in the GDR and the Country's Legacy Today
Jan. 15, 2023

Why The GDR Fascinates Me: Kris Hinz's Reflections on his Father's Ti…

Hello everyone, and welcome to yet another incredible episode of Radio GDR. We are on episode 3 of 3 of our listener interviews to round out season 3. I hope you have enjoyed hearing about fellow listeners' interest in the …

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Why The GDR Fascinates Me: Fred Esposito on His Love for Radio GDR and Why Preserving History is Important
Dec. 8, 2022

Why The GDR Fascinates Me: Fred Esposito on His Love for Radio GDR an…

We are interviewing some of our most special listeners this season in gratitude for your amazing contributions to make season 3 of this podcast so special. We are especially grateful to the listeners who financially contributed to this season via …

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Why The GDR Fascinates Me: Neese Family Adventures in Radebeul, Leipzig and Dresden
Nov. 23, 2022

Why The GDR Fascinates Me: Neese Family Adventures in Radebeul, Leipz…

I have said this often, but I am so grateful to you all for your continued loyalty to the podcast this season. Most of you all don't know this, but I got this amazing gig when Shane Whaley interviewed me …

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Ralph Hänel, Part III - Opening the Memory Box: Ralph's Corner GDR Museum
Oct. 23, 2022

Ralph Hänel, Part III - Opening the Memory Box: Ralph's Corner GDR Mu…

Hello, everyone, and welcome to our third installment of our interview with Ralph Hanel, Kung Fu Master, former Stasi prisoner and amazing storyteller. I am so glad you have enjoyed the first two installments, and Ralph and I sat down …

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Ralph Hänel, Part II -
Sept. 29, 2022

Ralph Hänel, Part II - "Can I borrow your baby?", Stasi Handcuffs and…

Welcome to another incredible episode of Radio GDR. Judging by your extremely positive reaction, you thoroughly enjoyed part 1 of our three part interview with Ralph Hanel, Kung Fu Master, former stasi prisoner and an incredible survivor. Now it's...

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Ralph Hänel, Part I - My Father and the Stasi Lawyer
Sept. 13, 2022

Ralph Hänel, Part I - My Father and the Stasi Lawyer

Hello, everyone, and welcome to another episode of Radio GDR. This is your host Steve Minegar, and the next three episodes will truly be a humbling and eye opening experience for all of us. On the Cold War Conversations podca...

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Artists Take on The State! Experimental Art in Late East Germany, with Sara Blaylock
Aug. 22, 2022

Artists Take on The State! Experimental Art in Late East Germany, wit…

Did you know East German artists used their Stasi files as artwork after the fall of the Berlin wall? Ever heard of the Erfurt Women's Artists Group who stormed the Stasi Headquarters in their city? These were jaw-dropping fa...

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The Things They've Seen - Reflections on WWII and the Cold War by German Eyewitnesses, with Daniel Burghard
Aug. 4, 2022

The Things They've Seen - Reflections on WWII and the Cold War by Ger…

I often speak about what a privilege it is to preserve the stories of the past, many of which are disappearing quickly, through this podcast. You our contributors and listeners are truly helping us to advance that mission. In...

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Overlooked No More - Female Directors in East Germany's DEFA Films
July 13, 2022

Overlooked No More - Female Directors in East Germany's DEFA Films

There is no shortage of recent articles regarding the too long overlooked subject of female directors. While many of these articles are specific to the women directing films today (Patty Jenkins, Kelly Reichardt, Kathryn Bige...

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Gay Spies and LGBT Activism in East Germany, with Samuel Clowes Huneke
June 29, 2022

Gay Spies and LGBT Activism in East Germany, with Samuel Clowes Huneke

Gay spies and espionage….absolutely one of the most incredible topics you can study about the GDR. On today's episode of Radio GDR, we are going to dive into the topic of LGBT espionage, life and struggle for equality behind the …

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Venceremos! Chilean Bands and Socialist Solidarity at East Germany's Festival of Political Songs, with Jesse Freedman
June 16, 2022

Venceremos! Chilean Bands and Socialist Solidarity at East Germany's …

Venceremos! We will overcome! This one word defined the socialist political movement of Salvador Allende's presidency in Chile and, after the military coup of 1973, rolled off the tongues of Chilean exiles and musical bands w...

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Ned Richardson-Little on The Human Rights Dictatorship - Socialism, Global Solidarity and Revolution in East Germany
June 2, 2022

Ned Richardson-Little on The Human Rights Dictatorship - Socialism, G…

From an outside perspective, it would seem that human rights would be an idea that the East German regime would have had great difficulty reconciling itself with. However, in this episode of the pod, Dr. Ned Richardson-Little...

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May 18, 2022

"A House Divided Cannot Stand" - Designing Chapman University's Berli…

This episode seeks to answer a burning question - what does an artist do with a piece of the Berlin Wall? In our last episode, we interviewed Dr. Jim Doti, Professor and President Emeritus of Chapman University in Orange, Cal...

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May 7, 2022

"Historical Memory" - How Dr. Jim Doti Brought the Berlin Wall to Cha…

There are many pieces of the Berlin Wall on display all around the world. How did universities, museums and other places secure these sections of what was once the most intimidating symbol of the Iron Curtain? In this episode of …

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Capitalism vs. Communism - Jeff Myers'
April 29, 2022

Capitalism vs. Communism - Jeff Myers' "Crash Course" on Life in East…

We Radio GDR hosts all agree on this simple truth - our favorite interviews are of you the listeners and members of the Facebook group. Jeff Myers joined the group in January of 2022 and has proceeded to post some …

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Taking Stock with Victor Grossman: The GDR's Achievements - Part I
April 13, 2022

Taking Stock with Victor Grossman: The GDR's Achievements - Part I

In 1952, a 24-year old American soldier defected to the Eastern Bloc in order to avoid a US Army disciplinary hearing and what he feared would be draconian punishment for his involvement in socialist and communist politics in the United …

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No Man's Land: Michael Califra's Crossings in Divided Berlin
March 29, 2022

No Man's Land: Michael Califra's Crossings in Divided Berlin

In our first interview of season 3, we speak with Michael Califra, author of "No Man's Land," one of our favorite works of fiction about life in divided Berlin. Michael lived and worked in Germany, mostly in Berlin, from 1986 …

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Season 3 - The Gang Are Back Together Again!
March 17, 2022

Season 3 - The Gang Are Back Together Again!

Welcome to Radio GDR Season 3! Join Steve Minegar, Shane Whaley, Anke Holst and John Paul Kleiner as we talk about what we’ve been up to, what we’re learning and what we look forward to sharing in this season.

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Season 3 Special Announcement (45)
Feb. 16, 2022

Season 3 Special Announcement (45)

Radio GDR co-hosts, Steve and Shane share news of the upcoming Season 3 and how you can help us!

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A Strange Exchange: Brown University Students on the Loose in East Germany
Jan. 6, 2022

A Strange Exchange: Brown University Students on the Loose in East Ge…

In this episode of Radio GDR our host John Paul Kleiner () interviews Debby Pattiz about the unusual semester she spent in the GDR back in 1988 as a Brown University (Providence, Rhode Island, USA) student at Wilhelm-Pieck Universität in …

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The Grey Men: Pursuing the Stasi into the Present with Ralph Hope
July 29, 2021

The Grey Men: Pursuing the Stasi into the Present with Ralph Hope

What do you do with a hundred thousand idle spies? By 1990 the Berlin Wall had fallen and the East German state security service folded. For forty years, they had amassed more than a billion pages in manila files detailing …

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Punk Rock, Revolution, and the Fall of the Berlin Wall - with Tim Mohr
June 27, 2021

Punk Rock, Revolution, and the Fall of the Berlin Wall - with Tim Mohr

Thanks to Tim Mohr for taking time to speak with John Paul Kleiner (GDR Objectified blog) and Prof. Ed Larkey (University of Maryland - Baltimore County) about his book Burning Down the Haus: Punk Rock, Revolution and the Fall of …

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