Tag Archives: Berlin

How should broadcast news journalists interview and talk about extremists?

Posted on November 23, 2016 by Samira Ahmed

Over the weekend I spoke to veteran ex BBC journalist Robin Lustig, Berlin correspondent Damien McGuinness for an insight into Germany’s media and Stuart Stevens, Mitt Romney’s 2012 senior strategist for 2 articles I wrote for The Guardian and The … Continue reading →

Posted in Germany, journalism, Media, Politics, Radio, Religion, TV | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 8 Comments

Transience: Clocks, Voyager & Potsdamer Platz

Posted on April 3, 2014 by Samira Ahmed

My programme for this week’s Something Understood on BBC Radio 4 is about transience: the fact that all things must pass. It begins in the clock room of the British Museum, where time is made physical by its embodiment in … Continue reading →

Posted in Culture, Germany, History, Radio, Religion, Science | Tagged , , , , , | 7 Comments

The Drag Queen Tombola and other tales of cross dressing glory

Posted on March 11, 2014 by Samira Ahmed

This column first appeared in The Big Issue magazine. I was once asked what was the best night out I ever had in London. My husband, thought I’d say it was that romantic night we went to the National Theatre … Continue reading →

Posted in Comedy, Culture, Film, Germany, Theatre, TV, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Making a splash with the Modfather

Posted on July 2, 2013 by Samira Ahmed

This article first appeared in The Big Issue: journalism worth paying for. Subscriptions here if you can’t buy from street vendors. Did I ever tell you about the time I found myself in the pool with Paul Weller? This is … Continue reading →

Posted in Children, Culture, Design, Germany, History, Sport | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Raise your kids the David Bowie way

Posted on January 7, 2012 by Samira Ahmed

As a child David Bowie frightened me. I mean, really frightened me. The lyrics to Space Oddity, overheard on the radio,  left me in existential torment for the lingering death of Major Tom. Then there were those creepy emaciated illustrations on his 70s album … Continue reading →

Posted in Children, Education, Film, Germany, Music, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Half Blood Blues: Jazz, race and Nazis.

Posted on October 3, 2011 by Samira Ahmed

When I worked in Berlin in 1998 the trendy record store in the city’s gay-friendly Schoneberg district had a category called “schwarz”(black) music. It took up a lot of the shop and seemed a bizarrely useless generalisation, given the huge … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Film, Germany, Music, Uncategorized, War | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment