Discuss - KunstlerCast #117: Berlin

[Duncan]

KunstlerCast #117: Berlin
History, The Prankster

Released: June 24, 2010

James Howard Kunstler reports on his recent trip to Berlin, Germany...where everybody knows his name. Thirteen years ago, JHK traveled to Berlin to research a chapter for his third nonfiction book, The City in Mind. On his recent trip, he discovered that the place has healed remarkably over the past decade. Of course he had to go check in on the Führerbunker which is now the site of one of city's few surface parking lots. History is a great prankster and therefore it's no surprise to Kunstler that while the U.S. won the war against Germany, its cities looked bombed out. While Germany lost the war and its cities are beautiful, civilized places. Listeners end the show with their reactions to the BP oil spill.

Direct Download:
KunstlerCast_117.mp3
(29 MB | 45:43 mins.)

Sponsor:



Support for the KunstlerCast comes from Post Carbon Institute, the world's leading think tank dedicated to getting society off fossil fuels fast. PCI is proud to have James Howard Kunstler as a valued advisor--joining Richard Heinberg, Bill McKibben, Majora Carter, Rob Hopkins and 25 other Fellows in leading the transition to a more resilient world. Learn more at http://PostCarbon.org.

[Bob]

Spent 2 weeks in Germany, travelling to many cities, in Summer of 2008.

The cities -- every single city -- was wonderful, walkable, and just a pleasure to be in.

[mjcrites]

Hmm... This weeks episode didn't show up in iTunes for some reason.

[mjcrites]

Ah... It's loading via iTunes now.

[Duncan]

Ah... It's loading via iTunes now.

Are you listening to the show in the actual iTunes store? Or are you subscribed to the show using iTunes?

(It sometimes takes a while for episodes to appear in the iTunes store.)

[nissan03]

I really enjoyed show #117 Berlin.   Listened to it while strolling through a local park and it was refreshing.  The stroll and the listening.

I was intrigued by the discourse on western vs. Soviet era architecture and the opposites they project. 

Nice to step away from the greasy news of current days and wind through a unique city with Jim giving the tour.   Tschüß !

[kevinm]

Ja - great show!  Danke saar!

[mjcrites]

I'm subscribed via iTunes.  I listened to the show (good show, btw) straight off the website this time.  It did finally download later on in the evening.

[Cedar]

I’m so glad to hear Jim is writing a book on technical imitations. His single statement: “unintended consequence and diminishing returns” certainly got me to rethink the implications of everything. I hope his new book can spur more debate from the crowd who thinks everything is “an opportunity”.

[Duncan]

I'm subscribed via iTunes.  I listened to the show (good show, btw) straight off the website this time.  It did finally download later on in the evening.

Thanks. My podcast hosting company just released a new version of the software and I'm still learning it. So maybe the machines aren't communicating properly. I subscribe via iTunes and the show did appear right away. But there are different settings in iTunes for when to download new shows.

[Puant]

I also enjoyed this podcast on Berlin.

Being blown to smithereens in WW2, then subsequently being carved up during the cold war, and yet rebounding from all of this seems to go to prove Kunstler's adage that "cities grew up and occupy the places they do for a reason". 

So it gives hope to me that historic cities in the US, as desperate and terrible as they are now, could someday regain their former function and glory. 

[noodles]

I loved how Jim was stunned by Berlin being in color, I felt the same way when I visited the Czech Republic just a few years after the Velvet Revolution.  Those old films of WWII or the Communist Bloc do lead you to believe that they are actually living in black and white.

I would recommend watching Lola Rennt for a cool film set in Berlin.  Definitely in color, and fun to watch.

[Ro]

If you're a young person and want to go someplace that's liberal and fun Berlin really is the place to be, it possibly has the best nightlife of any city in the world. When I was there it made the city I live in seem boring and illiberal and that's Amsterdam.

I'd like to second Noodles' recommendation, Lola Rennt (Run Lola Run) is a fun movie. Goodbye Lenin is another great movie set in Berlin.

[kac]

Topic Suggestion: JHK's writing, his creative process, prose, influences, etc.  I'm sure others are curious.  sorry for the off topic post, but I don't know where else to post it.

[noodles]

I'd like to second Noodles' recommendation, Lola Rennt (Run Lola Run) is a fun movie. Goodbye Lenin is another great movie set in Berlin.

Das Leben der Anderen (The Lives of Others) is an excellent film set in Cold War East Berlin.