#DeutschlandNoFilter: The Germany Magazine of the Goethe-Institut

Illustration of various people. The front centre of the picture shows two people talking, microphones placed in front of them

Podcast Portraits

Whether in a beach chair, on the train or while cooking: podcasts accompany us through life. But with so many to choose from, it's easy to lose track. In "Podcast Portraits" we present an overview and interview podcast hosts on various topics.

The picture shows the cover image of the podcast ‘Fairquatscht’: The illustration of an earth - surrounded by several elements (bamboo toothbrush, mason jar, windmill, carrot, ...)

Interview with podcast host Marisa from Fairquatscht “You Can Get Inspired on Your Way to Work.”

Marisa Becker talks about her sustainability podcast, how she manages to stay positive and her biggest environmental aha moments from recent episodes.

The picture shows the cover of the podcast ‘Garten Ede’: A man is surrounded by plants.

Interview with podcast host Elias from Garten Ede "As an Untrained Gardener, I Make a Lot of Mistakes"

In this interview, podcast host Elias explains how he got into gardening, what makes his podcast special and what tips he has for future gardeners.

The picture shows the cover image of the podcast ‘Klimanews’: A person is travelling by tram and looking at their mobile phone. A burning landscape can be seen through the window of the tram.

Interview with the podcast hosts of Klimanews “We Want to Make It Easy to Engage With the Climate.”

"Klimanews"' volunteer podcast hosts, Valeria and Jonathan, give an insight into their day-to-day editorial work.

Picture Palace Key Visual — Picture Palace

The latest news from the world of film as well as must-see German series and movies

Language

Two ravens on the left edge of the picture, beaks tucked into each other. The author's portrait of columnist Bettina Wilpert on the right.

Word! The Language Column Deadbeat Fathers and Family-Oriented Mothers

Mothers bear an endless burden of societal expectations. This was the case in the past, and it often remains so today. Our new columnist, Bettina Wilpert, critically examines thought patterns and linguistic imagery surrounding motherhood. She asks: Why are there no “deadbeat fathers”?

Illustration: Person with a green speech bubble containing a recycling symbol

Word! The Language Column Rubbish Bins and Yellow Bags

How is German identity forged? Exactly: by sorting waste correctly. As a teacher of German as a foreign language, Christiane Rösinger introduced her students to the secrets of different types of waste and their containers. After all, only those who separate their rubbish correctly are properly integrated.

Illustration: two people with empty speech bubbles

Word! The Language Column Desperate for something to talk about

Sharing silence is supposed to be a particularly strong bond. But perhaps many couples have simply run out of things to talk about. Luckily, Christiane Rösinger has some advice – and presents it in rhyme.

Culture

Ferry at the pier of Heybeliada, one of the Princes' Islands near Istanbul.

Cherrypicker | Literature Breaking the Standstill

No more ferries and no more tourists – only the remaining inhabitants still live on the former holiday island. Who save themselves in routines. And wait. Then a girl asks questions and suddenly something changes. A novel about crises of meaning and the joy of new beginnings.

Film scene from "Katz und Maus" (1967): Mahlke (Lars Brandt) with the Iron Cross

Cherrypicker | 10th anniversary of Günter Grass's death The fatal cartilage

Günter Grass died 10 years ago. The shortest part of his Danzig trilogy offers an accessible yet challenging introduction to the work of the Nobel Prize winner.

Prize of the Leipzig Book Fair 2025, the three winners: Irina Rastorgueva, Thomas Weiler, Kristine Bilkau (from left to right)

Kristine Bilkau wins Leipzig Book Fair Prize A Mother’s Restlessness, Putin’s Language, German Atrocities

Kristine Bilkau receives the Leipzig Book Fair Prize for Halbinsel, the non-fiction prize goes to Irina Rastorgueva and Thomas Weiler wins the translation prize.

Germany

The Last Supper at Passover being enacted during the 2010 Passion Play in Oberammergau.

Detours | Passion plays An Ancient Local Tradition in the Bavarian Alps

It was long considered unthinkable for women or Muslims to take part in a Christian passion play – but it’s certainly possible in Oberammergau nowadays. This local spectacle attracts visitors from all over the world.

Steffi Graf and Boris Becker celebrate their Wimbledon victories in 1989

9 German sports legends From Record to Record

Whether in downhill skiing, tennis or Formula 1 racing: These sporting legends have set ground-breaking records. They have also won hearts around the world. We introduce you to some of the personalities to whom German sporting history owes great moments.

Bird's eye view of a coniferous forest. Some of the trees look diseased and broken.

International Day of Forests The History of the German Forest

The forest has shaped German society for centuries: from the wood shortage of the Middle Ages, to the forest as a source of identity in the Romantic period, to the so-called "Waldsterben" of the 1980s.

Illustration of several symbols: Windmill, bicycle, garbage, earth and thermometer

Sustainably Explained

Our climate and sustainability format provides information on the climate crisis and its links to Language, Culture and Germany.