Archipelago

“Those who wish to relive their lives, never lived them in the first place.”

The words of Karen Blixen — the acclaimed Danish writer whose life story is the basis of a brand-new ballet created exclusively for the Royal Danish Theatre in Copenhagen.

Blixen sketches the writer's life story from her childhood years in Denmark through her unhappy marriage to her half-cousin Bror Blixen, her years running a coffee plantation in Kenya—where she embarked on a doomed love affair with Denys Finch Hatton—and the final years of her life, back home in Denmark, when she found global fame at last.

To discover how to tell the life story of one of Denmark’s best-known writers through that most expressionistic yet wordless form of storytelling — ballet — we speak to three of the people behind Blixen: dancer and choreographer Gregory Dean; principal dancer Kizzy Matiakis, who plays Blixen; and costume and set designer Jon Morrell.

Meik Wiking is one of the world’s leading happiness experts.

The founder of the Happiness Research Institute, he’s also the author of two New York Times bestsellers — The Little Book of Hygge and The Little Book of Lykke — which have been translated into more than 35 languages and sold over a million copies worldwide.

Little wonder, then, that he's been dubbed “probably the world’s happiest man”.

But when Meik turned 40, he realised that, statistically speaking, as a Danish man, he’d lived half his life.

Which got him thinking: how many of the 14,610 days he’d lived could he remember?

So he decided to start researching memories, culminating in his latest book — The Art of Making Memories, a lighthearted but thought-provoking series of tips about how to create and remember happy memories.

We discuss the book with Meik and discover why Andy Warhol changed his perfume every three months, why we should take more photos of our cereal boxes, and how to memorise the order of a deck of card in just minutes.

Further reading:

Happiness Research Institute
https://www.happinessresearchinstitute.com/

The Art of Making Memories, Penguin Random House
https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/311273/the-art-of-making-memories/9780241376058.html

Archipelago is produced by Mothertongue Media, a home for English-language podcasts in Denmark. Visit mothertongue.dk to find out more.

The music used in Archipelago is produced by two Copenhagen-based artists:

Squares and Triangles
https://squaresandtriangles.bandcamp.com/

Scenery
https://scenerymusic.bandcamp.com/

We kick off season two of Archipelago with a very special guest indeed.

Naja Marie Aidt has been described as “one of the most intelligent writers of the contemporary literary world” and as “one of the compassionate voices in fiction”.

Born in Greenland and raised in Copenhagen, she’s the author of ten poetry collections and three short-story collections — including Baboon, which won the Nordic countries’ most prestigious literary award, the Nordic Council's Literature Prize, as well as the Danish Critics Prize for Literature.

Domestic plaudits have led to international acclaim, too.

Baboon was published in English-speaking markets in 2014, and Naja’s debut novel, Rock Paper Scissors, in 2015.

But both books are likely to be eclipsed by Naja’s latest book in translation.

It’s a work of non-fiction called When Death Takes Something From You Give It Back — a cryptic and, as it turns out, deeply personal title that only hints at the tragedy the book describes.

Believe me when I say it’s one of the most remarkable books you’ll ever read.

I was thrilled when Naja found time in her busy schedule at the Aarhus Literature Festival this summer to discuss it with me.

Further reading:

“When Death Takes Something From You Give It Back” official page, Quercus

Naja Marie Aidt's back catalogue

Archipelago is produced by Mother Tongue Media – a new home for English-language podcasts in Denmark. Visit mothertongue.dk to find out more.

The music used in Archipelago is produced by two local artists:

Squares and Triangles

https://squaresandtriangles.bandcamp.com/

Scenery

https://scenerymusic.bandcamp.com/

We end season one with a bang — on the little known Danish island of Pornø.

To mark half a century since Denmark became the first country to legalise visual pornography, we take a deep dive into arty porn and pornographic art.

Up first, we meet Rasmus Steenbakken, the curator of a major new group exhibition at the ARoS art museum in Aarhus which looks at cultural creativity, freedom of expression and art in the age of pornography.

Then we talk to Anne Sofie Steen Sverdrup of Copenhagen-based porn production company Bedside Productions. She wants society to take porn more seriously as a cultural product — and even went in front of the camera to show how it should be done.

Further reading:

“Art & Porn”, ARoS

https://en.aros.dk/exhibitions_/2019/art-porn/

Bedside Productions

http://www.bedside-productions.com/

Archipelago is produced by Mother Tongue Media – a new home for English-language podcasts in Denmark. Visit mothertongue.dk to find out more.

The music used in Archipelago is produced by two local artists:

Squares and Triangles

https://squaresandtriangles.bandcamp.com/

Scenery

https://scenerymusic.bandcamp.com/

Once a foodie wasteland, Copenhagen is today a major gastronomic destination.

It is, of course, the epicentre of New Nordic cuisine — the culinary movement that championed hyper-local, seasonal ingredients and elevated foraging and fermentation to art forms.

But it’s also a global food city — one where savvy diners can find everything from Surinamese peanut soup to Ethiopian injera, Vietnamese banh mi to Cantonese dim sum.

Even the local government has gone gourmet. There are honey bees on the roof of one town hall, a gin distillery in the basement of another.

In this episode, we take a snapshot of the Copenhagen food scene — and discuss how it’s changed, why that matters, and where it could be going next.

Up first is American journalist Lisa Abend, who writes about current affairs, culture and food for the New York Times, the Washington Post, and Time magazine, among others.

Then we meet Nick Curtin, Andrew Valenzuela, and Camilla Hansen — the co-founders of Alouette, which was awarded a Michelin star within a year of opening in a former envelope factory in Islands Brygge.

Finally, we discuss the intersection of food and theatre with Rasmus Munk, the head chef and founder of soon-to-be-relaunched restaurant Alchemist, and its dramaturge Louise Knudsen.

Further reading:

Lisa Abend on “The Food Circus”

https://www.fool.se/free-read

Alouette

http://www.restaurantalouette.dk/

Alchemist

http://restaurant-alchemist.dk/

Archipelago is produced by Mothertongue Media — a new home for English-language podcasts in Denmark. Visit mothertongue.dk to find out more.

The music used in Archipelago is produced by two local artists:

Squares and Triangles

https://squaresandtriangles.bandcamp.com/

Scenery

https://scenerymusic.bandcamp.com/

We try to solve one of the greatest mysteries of all time.

Why are the Danish so crazy about chairs? Why are there so many Danish chairs? And does the world really need any more of them?

Ahead of 3 Days of Design — Denmark’s biggest annual design event — we meet a trio of design devotees and discuss the past, present and future of Danish design.

Up first is Christian Holmsted Olesen, the head of exhibitions and collections at the Danish Design Museum and the author of The Danish Chair: An International Affair.

Then we hear from Jeni Porter, the editor of Ark Journal, a brand-new Copenhagen-based magazine about architecture, design and art.

Finally, we talk to Henrik Lorensen, the founder of TAKT, a new Danish company that wants to rethink the way we design, build and sell furniture.

Further reading:

Danish Design Museum’s permanent exhibition, The Danish Chair: An International Affair

https://designmuseum.dk/en/exhibition/the-danish-chair-an-international-affair/

Ark Journal

https://www.ark-journal.com/

Takt

https://taktcph.com/

Archipelago is produced by Mothertongue Media – a new home for English-language podcasts in Denmark. Visit mothertongue.dk to find out more.

The music used in Archipelago is produced by two local artists:

Squares and Triangles

https://squaresandtriangles.bandcamp.com/

Scenery

https://scenerymusic.bandcamp.com/

CPH:DOX is one of the world’s largest documentary film festivals — and a highlight of Copenhagen’s cultural calendar.

In this episode we talk to the directors of two films that were screened in competition at the 2019 festival. Two very similar — and yet very different — documentaries about children growing up in Copenhagen today.

Phie Ambo’s REDISCOVERY is a beautifully shot film about the 10 weeks that almost 50 children from the Green Free School in Amager spent building camps on an overgrown patch of land after they were tasked with establishing a new society there.

Olivia Chamby-Rus’s WOLFLAND is a deeply personal slice of life from the perspective of children and teenagers living on or near Blågårds Plads, a square in the northern Copenhagen district of Nørrebro.

Further reading:

REDISCOVERY (Trailer)

https://vimeo.com/315875664

WOLFLAND (Trailer)

https://vimeo.com/325845028

Archipelago is produced by Mothertongue Media – a new home for English-language podcasts in Denmark. Visit mothertongue.dk to find out more.

The music used in Archipelago is produced by two local artists:

Squares and Triangles

https://squaresandtriangles.bandcamp.com/

Scenery

https://scenerymusic.bandcamp.com/

Episode two is about two Danish companies that have developed creative ways to employ people who often struggle to pick up work.

First we meet People Like Us — a brewing company run by people who have been diagnosed with autism and social anxiety, and war veterans with PTSD.

Then we meet Bike & Bloom, a florist that hires and trains people who are among the most invisible members of any society or labour market — refugee women.

Further reading:

People Like Us

https://peoplelikeus.dk/

Bike & Bloom

https://www.bikeandbloom.com/

Archipelago is produced by Mothertongue Media – a new home for English-language podcasts in Denmark. Visit mothertongue.dk to find out more.

The music used in Archipelago is produced by two local artists:

Squares and Triangles

https://squaresandtriangles.bandcamp.com/

Scenery

https://scenerymusic.bandcamp.com/

Two very different takes on what our default response to life's opportunities ought to be.

Based on a pair of words that we all use every day. A pair of words with the power to change your life, alter the course of history, or simply stop you leaving the house. Those words, of course, are Yes and No.

First we hear from Aalborg University psychology professor and bestselling author Svend Brinkmann about the importance of wearing "the No hat", the tyranny of positive thinking, and the "joy of missing out".

Then we meet Jay Sukow, until recently the artistic director of Copenhagen's top improv school. He talks about the life-changing power of saying "Yes, and…", why mistakes should be seen as gifts, and why you should do one thing every week that scares you.

A preview of the brand-new podcast about arts, culture and ideas in Denmark. Produced by Mothertongue Media.