Life-Links

Follow Life-Links
Share on
Copy link to clipboard

Though divided by geography, the lives of young people across the world are linked. Our reporters are traveling the globe to connect the dots and tell your story, too.

DW.COM | Deutsche Welle


    • Dec 23, 2015 LATEST EPISODE
    • infrequent NEW EPISODES
    • 16m AVG DURATION
    • 51 EPISODES


    Search for episodes from Life-Links with a specific topic:

    Latest episodes from Life-Links

    #prideandprejudice: National spirit

    Play Episode Listen Later Dec 23, 2015 36:00


    What makes your home country what it is? Three young people try different ways to find an answer.

    #prideandprejudice: Finding patriotism away from home

    Play Episode Listen Later Dec 23, 2015 9:35


    How does it change your national identity if war forces you to leave home? Yulia is from Donbas and fled with her family to Moscow, where she's trying to readjust.

    #prideandprejudice: Campaigning for independence

    Play Episode Listen Later Dec 23, 2015 10:10


    Elisieu is working hard to write history: He's active in four independence organizations demanding the separation of Catalonia from Spain - following in his family's footsteps.

    #prideandprejudice: Leaving the nationalist past behind

    Play Episode Listen Later Dec 23, 2015 14:08


    Singing racist songs and organizing neo-Nazi marches: Once, Felix was deep into the right-wing scene. But then he found out how wrong it is. Since then, he's helped others exit the scene.

    #climatechange could end this Arctic culture

    Play Episode Listen Later Nov 27, 2015 14:00


    A reindeer herder from the Sami people finds grazing grounds locked by ice more often, making it difficult to feed the animals. But without herding, his people will lose culture, language, tradition and identity.

    Seeing #climatechange with my own eyes

    Play Episode Listen Later Nov 27, 2015 14:00


    The Pacific Island Kiribati could be uninhabitable in the next few decades. See how Tinaai is battling climate change and coping with an end to her home.

    #climatechange: End of the world as we know it

    Play Episode Listen Later Nov 27, 2015 32:00


    Meet two young people dealing with effects from climate change today: A Pacific Islander likely forced to move in her lifetime and a Scandinavian whose traditional reindeer grazing grounds are disappearing.

    #gettingALOT: Sleeping with someone new, every day

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 29, 2015 9:00


    From bathrooms in parks to the anonymous hand job on a back street, one young Berliner had a new sex partner every day, for a year. And he did it in the name of art.

    Making love when you can't move #gettingsome

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 29, 2015 12:30


    This woman and her fiance need help to move but that doesn't affect their passion for each other or make their touch any less meaningful. See this love story.

    #gettingnone: When eating cake is better than sex

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 29, 2015 10:50


    It's always tough to discover and realize your own sexual desires. But what about when you have few desires at all? Meet one young person who just doesn't find sex appealing.

    #gettingsome: To sex or not to sex

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 29, 2015 34:30


    From cruising for anonymous sex to not being able to have sex on your own: meet three 20-somethings battling through difficulties to have just the right amount of sex in their lives.

    #borderlines: What side are you on? - full episode

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 25, 2015 34:30


    Walls divide citizens from stateless, Jewish from Muslim, haves from have-nots. Meet those held back by borders.

    #borderlines: Denied access from a country he served

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 25, 2015 10:00


    A former US Marine who can't go back to America 'I just wanna jump up, run over and go home, but I can't.'

    #borderlines: The West Bank's gridlocked situation

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 25, 2015 11:20


    The story of a local named Sundus: the frustration and anger of living behind the walls of the West Bank.

    #borderlines: Crossing borders to escape war

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 25, 2015 11:00


    Sami took the Balkan route to Sweden and brought DW Life Links along for one of the toughest international crossings.

    #WhoAmI: Finding myself - Full episode

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 2, 2015 25:54


    They may be from different parts of the world but Amin, Ka-yeon and Alina share a common challenge: carving out their identities in the face of discrimination and prejudice.

    #endFGM: 'During sex, people cry with pleasure. I cry with pain'

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 27, 2015 9:40


    As a child Aminatu (name changed) remembers being held down naked and cut. She suffers pain when she has sex as a result and fears she will for the rest of her life.

    #endFGM: 'What was taken away from me is now back in my life'

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 27, 2015 5:05


    For a long time Mariam wouldn't talk about her FGM. She felt alone and withdrew. But reconstructive surgery and the ability to speak openly in Germany has given her hope.

    #endFGM: 'They force a razor blade inside to open you'

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 27, 2015 4:35


    Bintou was a teenager when she 'faced her crocodile' - that's how they imagined FGM in her village. She was in a group of 30 girls. Three girls died. But that wasn't the last traumatic experience in her life with FGM.

    'We speak out to #endFGM'

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 27, 2015 11:45


    Gundo comes from a village in Senegal where it was normal for girls to be cut. But the women and girls living in Dougue were determined to stop the practice. Now they want to convince others to #endFGM.

    Break with tradition, #endFGM - full episode

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 26, 2015 34:00


    The pain of being cut and the trauma of having something stolen from you - female genital mutilation (FGM) affects 140 million women worldwide. Meet young women dealing with having been cut.

    #readytofight: Don't let them win - full episode

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 19, 2015 31:36


    An imam, an ex-Salafist, a former US-marine - they are all united in the fight against radicalism and "Islamic State".

    #drugtrap: Breaking free - Full episode | Life Links

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 12, 2015 25:38


    Farming coca, taking drugs, drinking alcohol - Gilda, Dominik and Emma are from different parts of the world, but they have one thing in common: their lives have been ruled by drugs.

    #drugtrap: Breaking free - Gilda, Bolivia | Life Links

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 12, 2015 8:57


    Gilda would much rather be a teacher, but for now she is forced to pick coca leaves, the base ingredient of cocaine. It’s the only way she can hope to support her family. "It’s exhausting and the money is never enough."

    #drugtrap: Breaking free - Emma, Finland | Life Links

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 12, 2015 6:57


    Emma hasn’t had a sip of alcohol for three years. But even now that she’s sober, she still struggles because Fins like to drink a lot. Despite such surroundings it’s a major stigma to be a young alcoholic in Finland.

    #drugtrap: Breaking free - Dominik, Germany | Life Links

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 12, 2015 8:16


    Dominik started taking drugs as a teenager - everything from marijuana to hard chemical substances. From then on, his life went downhill. Now he’s in prison for aggravated assault. He said: "Drugs made me violent."

    #lovelinks: 'Mr. Right is out there, I just haven't met him yet.'

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 22, 2015 9:50


    Lydia is fed up with being single. But finding a boyfriend isn't easy: "There are no good guys", she says. Experts say Taiwanese women are "too well-educated, too successful". But Lydia will keep searching for Mr Right.

    #lovelinks: 'I'm not going to marry a non-Jewish woman'

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 22, 2015 10:45


    He's picky and busy and on top of all that a little shy. Guy has a hard time finding a Jewish girlfriend which hasn't even changed by moving from the US to Israel. So he's hired a matchmaker to find the perfect woman.

    #lovelinks: 'I'm simply afraid of rejection'

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 22, 2015 10:58


    Speak to a woman he fancies? Stefan would never dare to. That's why he's always been single. At 29, Stefan decided to overcome his shyness, so he won't always have to come home to an empty apartment.

    #lovelinks: Longing for affection - full episode

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 22, 2015 34:00


    Terrible shyness, high expectations and busy schedules make it hard to find the One. Three young single people from Taiwan, Israel and Germany try to overcome their very own hurdles.

    #headabovewater: Call of duty - Full episode

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 15, 2015 25:32


    Ships make for some of the toughest workplaces on earth - and they are where Jeroen, Alamgir and Paul have all found jobs. It’s hard work, long hours and little pay - and it’s starting to take its toll.

    Life Links - #dropdeadgorgeous: Pushing perfection to the limit

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 8, 2015 41:42


    When happiness rests on an unattainable ideal: the stories of a plastic surgery addict, bodybuilder and ex-anorexic.

    #dealwithme: Seeking acceptance - Full episode

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 1, 2015 25:41


    Meet David, Leonidah and Ali: a Jew in Hungary, a young woman with albinism in Kenya and a refugee in Germany. They’ve got one thing in common - they’re facing intolerance and are determined to fight it.

    #NoEsc: 'I'm standing up against oppression in society'

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 24, 2015 9:24


    Mohamed fled from Syria to Spain. Now the graffiti artist is developing an online game based on his escape.

    #NoEsc: 'No to censorship! No more power to the powerful!'

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 24, 2015 9:26


    Mexico aims to increase its surveillance capacities, but Irene refuses to accept that. She wants more data protection.

    #NoEsc: 'I write what others are too scared to say'

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 24, 2015 11:47


    Bangladeshi blogger Ananya risks his life just by writing. Islamist fundamentalists want to kill him over his words.

    #NoEsc: Life on (the) line - full episode

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 24, 2015 33:00


    A refugee, a data protection activist and a blogger are fighting online to escape the realities they are living in.

    #readytofight: 'Allah has given you something - your brain'

    Play Episode Listen Later May 29, 2015 7:29


    Imam Ramazan works in an Austrian prison de-radicalizing young Muslims. He shows them what Islam is really all about.

    #readytofight: 'I was a rebel on a quest'

    Play Episode Listen Later May 29, 2015 8:26


    Dominik found purpose as a radicalized Salafist. He knows he was clueless and is spreading the word on YouTube.

    #readytofight: 'It is my obligation to fight Islamic State'

    Play Episode Listen Later May 29, 2015 9:10


    Former US-marine Kurt wants to act against "IS". He's preparing to fly to Iraq to fight with Kurdish forces.

    #AForEffort: Learning the heart way - full episode

    Play Episode Listen Later Mar 27, 2015 40:27


    From the Zambian outback to a remote village in Bulgaria and the industrial north-German city of Bremen: three young teachers who are determined to educate - however many challenges come their way.

    #AForEffort: Girls have a right to learn, too

    Play Episode Listen Later Mar 27, 2015 14:34


    Poverty, parental illiteracy and long distances mean almost a third of girls in rural Zambia have no access to education. Innocent Banda, a 29-year-old volunteer teacher, is fighting to change that.

    #AForEffort: Is this Bulgaria’s last teacher?

    Play Episode Listen Later Mar 27, 2015 12:38


    Bulgaria is in dire need of good teachers, but it pays them less than any other EU nation. 23-year-old Aleksandar is one of the few stepping into the breach.

    #AForEffort: Held back by the education system

    Play Episode Listen Later Mar 27, 2015 11:27


    Marlou is a trainee teacher from the 'wrong' side of the tracks. She wants to inspire disadvantaged children that they can become something too. But the rigid rules of Germany’s education system are getting in the way.

    #dropdeadgorgeous: Pumped up

    Play Episode Listen Later Feb 27, 2015 12:33


    Thomas plans his life around working out and has muscles many men would die for. But when the young bodybuilder looks in the mirror, he doesn’t see the perfect physique others do. What if he never achieves the perfection he desires?

    #dropdeadgorgeous: Operating on self-esteem

    Play Episode Listen Later Feb 27, 2015 13:56


    Isis is caught up in Brazil's craze for plastic surgery. She is just 23 and has already undergone liposuction and breast-enlargement procedures. “I just want to feel better about myself,” says the naturally beautiful Brazilian.

    #dropdeadgorgeous: Escaping anorexia

    Play Episode Listen Later Feb 27, 2015 12:57


    Antonia thought being thin would make her happy, but instead she slipped into a spiral of despair and landed in hospital. Now she’s through the ordeal and is a role model to thousands worldwide.

    Choked by the air around her

    Play Episode Listen Later Jan 31, 2015 10:42


    Tsegi can’t breathe like other people. The young Mongolian has severe lung problems - that are man-made: she’s from Ulan Bator, one of the world’s most polluted cities.

    War scars: an ex-soldier's hidden illness

    Play Episode Listen Later Jan 30, 2015 6:21


    David fought for his Queen and country in Iraq and Afghanistan. But when he returned home, his nation failed him. This is the story of post traumatic stress disorder, the invisible battle scar.

    #stillbreathing: Too young to be ill

    Play Episode Listen Later Jan 30, 2015 25:47


    A man in need of a new heart, an ex-soldier with post-traumatic stress disorder and a woman whose lung problems are man-made. They're all under 30. And they're fighters.

    The man without a heart

    Play Episode Listen Later Jan 30, 2015 7:01


    20 year-old Alexander really needs a new heart - the one he was born with doesn't drain blood properly. But Germany's organ donation system is in crisis, and he doesn't know how long he'll have to wait.

    Claim Life-Links

    In order to claim this podcast we'll send an email to with a verification link. Simply click the link and you will be able to edit tags, request a refresh, and other features to take control of your podcast page!

    Claim Cancel