Bakeries and the Danish soul
Just fifteen or twenty years ago, bakeries in Denmark seemed to be dying. They couldn't find staff. Nobody, it was said, wanted to get up in...
Radio and PodcastLive Radio & Podcasts
Society & Culture
How to Live in Denmark
Living as a foreigner in Denmark, one of the world's most homogenous countries, isn't always easy. In this podcast Kay Xander Mellish, an American who has lived in Denmark for more than a de...
Episodes
20 of 156 episodes
13 Quick Tips for Newcomers to Copenhagen
Just arrived in Copenhagen? Welcome to Denmark! Now here's what nobody tells you. From getting an ugly bicycle and navigating the honor syst...
Copenhagen vs Berlin
Copenhagen and Berlin are less than an hour apart by plane, but very different in spirit. Copenhagen is a mostly clean, mostly safe, mostly...
Brok: The Danish art of petty complaints
Brok rhymes with clock, and it is a Danish word that describes the petty complaints that are common in one of the happiest countries in the...
Authenticity and the Danish Summer Light
These are the light times in Denmark. In May and June, it's light until 10 or 11 in the evening, and then the sun is back around 4am. It's a...
My Awkward First Year in Denmark
One thing no one ever tells you about moving to a new country is the incredible awkwardness of it. As a newcomer, you are constantly doing o...
The Spontaneous Dane: Why Friendship Needs a Calendar
Danes usually don't do spontaneous. They do calendars. This episode looks at why a country that can count 8,000 ballots in three hours still...
Danish dinner party customs & why it's OK to break your Royal Copenhagen cup
Some might say that the most Danish piece of furniture is the chair. The Swan Chair, the Egg Chair, the Wishbone chair. They're all internat...
Danish Movies and TV as a Guide to Danish Culture
Watching Danish movies and TV shows is a great way to survive the long Danish winter—and if you're learning Danish or trying to understand D...
December: Little Nisse, Big Money: The Danish Year Part 12
The nisse is a centuries-old figure in Danish folklore, and every December these tiny, mischievous spirits take center stage. While Santa Cl...
November Rain and "daylighting" buried rivers: The Danish Year Part 11
November always seems like the rainiest of Danish months, but it isn't, actually. October is. But November feels rainier, because the sky is...
October, democracy in denmark, and competitive poster hanging: The Danish Year Part 10
Election posters are a colorful part of democracy in Denmark. In October, the campaigns swing into gear, and when the whistle blows on a set...
September, elite sport, and the not-quite death of Jante Law: The Danish Year Part 9
Denmark may be a small country, but it produces world-class athletes in cycling, tennis, handball, badminton, and golf. How do they do it? A...
August, The first day of school, and how children learn to be Danish: The Danish Year Part 8
Denmark is a very good place to be a child, and to have children, yet the birthrate is dropping as it is in so many other countries. Some pr...
July, Nature in Denmark, and following The Daisy Route: The Danish Year Part 7
July is vacation month in Denmark, and it's ironic that many Danes go elsewhere on vacation at just this time of year, when you have the bes...
June: Danish pride, women in uniform, and the reverse Jante Law: The Danish Year Part 6
As of this month, girls who turn 18 can be drafted into the Danish military. This is new, even though girls in Norway and Sweden have been e...
May, the candle in the window, and getting old in Denmark: The Danish Year Part 5
There's a lovely May tradition in Denmark of setting a candle in the window on the evening of May 4. This is to commemorate the surrender of...
April, Gardening in Denmark, and what it means to be "Pear Danish": The Danish Year Part 4
As the long Danish winter finally draws to an end, it's time for Danes to start planting their gardens. Now, in early April, it's rhubarb, p...
March, "Gække Letters", and the things lost in Digital Denmark: The Danish Year Part 3
Gækkebrev are a great Danish tradition, but like many other Danish traditions, they are fighting to survive amid the country's ambitious dig...
February, the Cat in the Barrel, and the Absence of Faith: The Danish Year Part 2
Fastelavn is one of the Danes' favorite holidays. It takes place in February, when the light is finally beginning to come back after a long...