🎙️ LIVE from the Amerikahaus Munich | Over Here, Over There — The Podcast Across Borders

What does America really look like — from the outside?

German journalist and author Johanna Roth spent four years reporting from inside the United States as a foreign correspondent for one of Germany’s most respected newspapers, Die Zeit. What she found was a country at war with its own ideals — a nation that proclaimed “all men are created equal” while enslaving human beings, that celebrates freedom while living in fear, and that wraps its deepest contradictions in the flag.

Her book “This is America — Is This America?” (published by Piper) is one of the most talked-about German-language analyses of the United States in years. And in this very special live episode, recorded on stage at the prestigious Amerikahaus Munich, your hosts Claudia Koestler and Dan Harris sit down with Johanna Roth for a candid, provocative, and deeply illuminating conversation — in both German and English.

🔥 In this episode, we ask:

Was America founded by hypocrites — and does that original sin still define the country today?
How close is American democracy to the edge?
Who really runs America right now — Trump, or the Tech Bros?
What do the 250 years between 1776 and today tell us about where the US is headed?
Should Europeans even travel to the United States anymore?
And: what can Germany and America learn from each other — if they’re willing to listen?
📖 About Johanna Roth

Johanna Roth (b. 1989) trained at the Deutsche Journalistenschule in Munich, and holds degrees in literature and political science. She served as US correspondent for four years before moving to Brussels as EU correspondent. Unlike many of her generation, she arrived in America without nostalgia — and left with a clear-eyed, analytical portrait of a country in profound conflict with itself. Her book “This is America — Is This America?” is available now via Piper Verlag.

🏛️ About the Amerikahaus Munich

This episode was recorded live on stage at the Amerikahaus Munich — one of Germany’s most important transatlantic cultural institutions, dedicated to fostering dialogue, understanding, and exchange between Europe and the United States. We are proud and grateful to partner with the Amerikahaus for this very special live recording.

🔗 Learn more: www.amerikahaus.de

🎧 About Over Here, Over There

Over Here, Over There — The Podcast Across Borders brings you sharp, honest, and human conversations about what divides and connects the US and Europe. Hosted by Claudia Koestler and Dan Harris, the podcast explores transatlantic politics, culture, and society — with the curiosity of an insider and the honesty of an outsider.

Dan Harris is an international marketing consultant and Director of HymnSheet Ltd., based in the UK and Europe. He co-hosts the 'Over Here, Over There' podcast and appears on BBC radio and other broadcast media.