German Culture Episodes
German culture: Der Struwwelpeter and other horrifying children's stories (Nina from Germany)
Oct. 6, 2021
After watching the Calvin & Habs duo do a reenactment of a German children's story called "Paulinchen", I decided to buy the collection of stories it appears in. It's called Der Struwwelpeter, named after one of the characte…
Three amazing women from German history (Jasmin from HerStory)
May 26, 2021
Jasmin is the host of a podcast called Herstory, which tells the stories of strong women from history. Her podcast inspired this week's episode: a look back at incredible (and underappreciated) women from Germany's history. …
Common things Germans say and do, and what they mean (Nina from Germany)
March 15, 2021
The Germans have certain words, sayings, and gestures that they do very often, often without even thinking about it. And some of these things can be very confusing to people new in Germany. For example: you'll often hear "O…
Ask a German: Bureaucracy, German pillows, standing in line, and recruitment through fruit (Dominik, Jürgen & Philipp from Ach?)
Nov. 2, 2020
You sent in your questions, and I put them to Germans to get the answers. It's Ask A German time! The three German guests are the always funny and entertaining hosts of the German podcast, Ach ! They answer the questions tha…
Wurst/arsch/schwein idioms, why “Der/Die/Das” is weird, and sitting down to pee in Germany (Ricardo from Brazil & Ivan from Bulgaria)
Oct. 19, 2020
Ricardo from Brazil and Ivan from Bulgaria are the people behind the Can You German? Instagram account. They met by chance in Germany, where they became friends. Later, when Ivan was stuck in Brazil due to COVID-19, they spe…
German youth words of 2020 (Nina from Germany)
Sept. 28, 2020
Every year, the Langenscheidt publishing house searches for the youth word of that year. It's happening again, and Nina from Germany (who previously appeared in the Fasching episode back in February) helps me explain the wor…
RERUN: Discussing German stereotypes with Nicole from The Expat Cast
Aug. 24, 2020
Originally released on October 20th, 2019 (episode #20). Are Germans really efficient? Do they like order? Are they as punctual as everyone says they are? Nicole, a US expat living in Germany and the host of The Expat Cast ,…
German culture: The top 10 selling musical artists in Germany (Craig from Scotland)
Aug. 3, 2020
In order to better understand the music tastes of Germans, Craig from Scotland joins me to look at the top 10 selling musical artists in Germany. This includes German and international acts who have sold the most albums sinc…
German culture: The top 10 grossing German movies (Dominik from the Ach! podcast)
April 28, 2020
A good way to explore Germany's culture is through its movies. And what better way to do that than to look at the German movies that have had the most success in Germany? But you'll be surprised at the movies that the German…
Carnival/Fasching in Germany: "pomp and splendor" (Nina from Germany)
Feb. 17, 2020
It's the middle of Carnival (also known as Fasching or Fastnacht, depending on where in Germany you are). I am not a big fan of it, and so I got a real live German who IS a fan of it to come on the show and explain to me why…
Classic German movies: Loriot's Pappa Ante Portas
Jan. 20, 2020
You can learn a lot about a culture by watching its movies, which is why I've decided to start watching some classic German movies. I'll discuss why the movie I have chosen is important to German culture, whether it's a good…
Missing holiday traditions from home, making new traditions, and fireworks on New Year's Eve
Dec. 23, 2019
For foreigners living in Germany, the holidays are a time that we recreate traditions from our home countries, adopt German traditions, and start new ones. I take a look at how my Christmas experience in Germany has been, an…
How Germany changed us (Jibran from Pakistan)
Dec. 2, 2019
Jibran runs the Desi in Wonderland YouTube channel. He's originally from Pakistan and has been living in Germany for 5 years, so we decided to discuss how Germany has changed us. In the process, I learned a lot more than I e…
Discussing German stereotypes with Nicole from The Expat Cast
Oct. 20, 2019
Are Germans really efficient? Do they like order? Are they as punctual as everyone says they are? Nicole Palazzo, a US expat living in Germany and the host of The Expat Cast , helps me confirm or bust common stereotypes and …
Article 116 (Michael from USA)
Sept. 29, 2019
Michael Silberman lives in the USA, but Germany is certainly intertwined with his life over there. His parents left Nazi Germany (and were stripped of their German citizenship) to start a new life in the States, and this her…