Berlin Review Audio

Tobias Haberkorn and Lauren Oyler discuss Vincenzo Latronico's _Perfection_, a novel originally written in Italian about a millennial couple's life in Berlin that became a huge success in the Anglophone literary world. Lauren and Tobias discuss why the book is so polarizing, what it says about authenticity and whether the Berlin depicted in the novel even exists anymore.

In the first episode of Airlift, a new show from Berlin Review, Tobias Haberkorn and Lauren Oyler discuss two films nominated for nine Academy Awards each: Joachim Trier's Sentimental Value and Josh Safdie's Marty Supreme. They explore what both films reveal about the widening cultural rift between the United States and Europe, family stories generational trauma, and the role of masculinity.

Seit Anfang 2026 dominiert der Iran die Nachrichten. Wie wirkt sich diese Situation auf die iranische Diaspora in Deutschland aus? Zu Gast ist Damon Taleghani, Musiker und Autor in Berlin. Er spricht mit Berlin Review Editor Tobias Haberkorn über seinen Essay «Tod dem Tod. Es lebe das Leben», der zeigt, wie sich der Protestslogan «Tod dem Schah» aus den 1970er Jahren unter den Anhängern des im Exil lebenden Schah-Sohns in sein Gegenteil verwandeln konnte.

In this episode of Berlin Review Audio, writer Lianna Mark reads her essay "Better Living Through Self-Curation," originally published in the winter online edition of Berlin Review. The piece responds to Vincenzo Latronico's widely discussed novel Perfection, which was shortlisted for the 2025 Booker Prize after the publication of its English translation. In her essay, Mark looks beyond the polarized reactions to the novel and examines the cultural economy behind authenticity. What does it mean to perform sincerity in a literary marketplace that rewards stories that are easily packaged and exported? And how does self-curation shape not only our lives but also the narratives that circulate globally?

In dieser Episode spricht Tobias Haberkorn mit der ukrainischen Autorin und Fotografin Yevgenia Belorusets über ihre Heimatstadt Kiew im dritten und bald vierten Kriegsjahr.

One of the first essays published in Berlin Review was Logan February's "Sans Souci" In this episode the Nigerian poet and essayist reads an excerpt from the piece, written while living in Berlin on a DAAD Artists-in-Berlin Fellowship. The essay begins with a walk through Sanssouci Park in Potsdam and continues into a meditation on exile, colonial inheritance, loneliness as a luxury and what it means to stand inside and outside a place at once. After reading an excerpt of the essay, Logan is joined by the writer and translator Miriam Stoney for a conversation about translation, ghosts, poetic license and the tension around what language can and cannot express. You can read the rest of Logan February's essay "Sans Souci" at blnreview.de

On the launch night for Berlin Reader 3, Editor Samir Sellami sat down with two Berlin writers, Samanta Schweblin and Ricardo Domeneck to discuss literary magazines and the relationship between writers and readers.

Tobias Haberkorn speaks with critic and writer Lauren Oyler about her turn to poetry, attention as a literary practice, fleeting intimacy and what it means to not go home at all.

Esra Akkaya und Onur Erdur sprechen über die Wiederentdeckung der Schriftstellerin Tezer Özlü (1943–1986) –und über existentielles Schreiben zwischen der Türkei und Deutschland, Istanbul und Berlin.

Omer Bartov discusses the extraordinary consequences of October 7 and the destruction of Gaza for the world's moral order with Berlin Review Editor Tobias Haberkorn—live from Li-Be Literaturhaus Berlin, recorded on Oct 12, 2025.

Zwischen Cancellings, Polizeigewalt und gestoppten Waffenlieferungen: Jürgen Kaube, Daniel Marwecki und Berlin Review Editor Tobias Haberkorn diskutieren den Zustand von Deutschlands israelbezogener Staatsräson im Herbst 2025.

Clemens J. Setz über das Prompten der KI als Kunst des Wünschens, gesteuerte Unzufriedenheit als Plattformgefühl — und über den bedeutendsten Amazonrezensenten aller Zeiten.

This episode features a conversation between writer Tash Aw and Tobias Haberkorn, publisher of Berlin Review. It was recorded in front of a live audience at daadgalerie, Kreuzberg, on November 30, 2024.

Eine Gegenrede zum 8. Mai zu Ehren aller Displaced Persons von Erhard Schüttpelz, gelesen von Hanns Zischler, aus Berlin Review No 11, Mai 2025 — Hörfassung

Moshtari Hilal und Diedrich Diederichsen im Gespräch über Solidarität, Verrat und Vereinnahmung, moderiert von Emily Nill.

Berlin Review Editor Tobias Haberkorn speaks to Ryan Ruby and Lauren Oyler about expats, emigration, the politics of nostalgia – and why they still believe in Berlin.

BLNR editor Samir Sellami speaks with Cristina Rivera Garza and Alan Pauls about the politics and aesthetics of inflation

Yevgenia Belorusets spricht mit Tobias Haberkorn über ihren Essay «Kein Ende des Krieges» aus Berlin Review Nr. 1, Februar 2024