Wunderbar Together

Er liebt Produkte über alles, macht den besten Kaffee im Silicon Valley und arbeitet Tag und Nacht in seiner ausgebauten Garage: Christian Byza alias @byzalativ. “Ich bin Perfektionist. Mein Mantra: Every Pixel Counts”, sagt er, und dass er den Spitznamen schon als Jugendlicher im niedersächsischen Vechta weghatte, “weil ich schon immer gern im Superlativ spreche.” Als deutscher Digitaler in San F...

Als er ankündigte, dass er bei der Fußball-WM 2022 durchaus auch für die US-Nationalmannschaft auflaufen würde, war er, der ausgewanderte Deutsche, in den Medien Tagesgespräch. „Ich freue mich auch jederzeit über einen Anruf von Jogi“, sagt Julian Gressel im Wunderbar Together Podcast grinsend. Möglich ist beides: Aufgewachsen im behüteten Vereinsleben in Mittelfranken, inzwischen Vertragsmillionä...

In New York geboren, in Gambia die Kindheit erlebt, in Berlin als Talent unter dem Korb entdeckt, in Dallas als Profi unter Vertrag und gerade in Istanbul auf dem Platz: Satou Sabally ist nicht nur die derzeit beste deutsche Basketballspielerin, sondern auch ein Shootingstar quer durch Kulturen, Sprachen und Stile. Was sie neben ihrer Präsenz auf dem Platz, die sie mit 1,93 Meter geballter Power a...

Tristan Schrage lebt einen Traum, der für seine Generation exklusiv ist: "Ich spiele Videospiele und verdiene damit mein Geld." E-Sportler ist ein neuer Beruf, und der 23-Jährige - Spielername PowerofEvil - ist der erfolgreichste deutsche Spieler in den USA. Geboren in Hessen, entdeckt Tristan sein Talent beim Zocken gegen seine Brüder. Bald gewinnt er die ersten Turniere und wird schließlich von...

Fast wäre aus Julius van de Laar, knapp zwei Meter groß, ein Basketballprofi geworden. Der Hüne aus Heidelberg schafft den ersehnten Sprung aufs US-College und lebt seinen Traum: “Ich wollte amerikanischer als der letzte Amerikaner sein. Weil ich dazugehören wollte. Weil ich diese Kultur so genossen habe.” Doch dann verletzt er sich mehrfach. Und sieht im Fernsehen die erste große Rede eines junge...

Sie ist die erfolgreichste deutsche Kinder- und Jugendbuchautorin und lebt auf einer Avocadofarm im kalifornischen Malibu: Cornelia Funke. Wie viele Millionen Bücher sie inzwischen verkauft hat, das weiß sie selbst nicht genau, sagt sie im Wunderbar Together Podcast - nur "dass sie etwa einmal um die Erde reichen, wenn man sie nebeneinander stellt". Mit 28 Jahren beginnt sie zu schreiben, weil sie...

Game of Thrones? What? Dass er sich um die Rolle eines geheimnisvollen Auftragskillers in einer neuen US-Serie überhaupt beworben hatte, daran musste sich Tom Wlaschiha erst einmal erinnern, als sein Agent anrief. Zunächst hatte er - wie so oft - einfach ein Handyvideo für das Casting aufgenommen “und schnell wieder vergessen”. Heute ist die Rolle des Jaqen H’ghar sein “Jackpot”, sagt der in Sachs...

Als 17-Jähriger spricht ihn ein Model-Scout auf der Straße an: ob er Lust hätte, mal bei einem Model-Wettbewerb mitzumachen? Er wird nach London geflogen, trinkt die Minibar leer und gewinnt nicht, aber sein Leben macht einen Bogen: Johannes Huebl wird Model. Unzählige Foto-Shoots auf der ganzen Welt später zieht er gegen den Rat seiner Agentin nach New York – und wird zum erfolgreichsten deutsche...

Growing up in his grandmother's and mother's hospitality business in the heart of Cologne, working and living alongside powerful women and hosting others became part of Philippe von Borries' DNA. Venturing out of Germany, he eventually landed in New York, where he, in 2005, co-created a virtual shopping mall for the many independent lifestyle brands popping up in his new home, Brooklyn: Refinery 2...

He is the first German who ever scored a touchdown in the National Football League NFL. He is a former New York Giants player, now a New York Giants employee. He is a remarkable athlete, a celebrated podcaster and an expert ambassador for American Football in Germany and around the world: Meet Markus Kuhn.

He started out as a local newspaper reporter in small-town Eastern Germany – today, he presides over Complex Networks, a global media company headquartered at Times Square in the heart of New York City. As president, Christian Baesler leads the daily operations of the company and its roughly 300 employees.

Being a tall teenager, she got bullied for her height. But when she entered the basketball court for the first time, “all the girls ran up to me and were like, 'Oh my God, you're so tall'. And I realized they were actually excited, which I’ve never felt before. I think that's why I ultimately got stuck with basketball.” Today, at 6’5”, Marie Gülich holds the center position at the WNBA team Los An...

From Mr. Universe to Hollywood actor, from Cyborg to Barbarian, and always a cigar at hand – sounds familiar? Well, Ralf Möller's way of life and career is closely tied to Arnold Schwarzenegger, one of his best friends to this day. For episode 17 of Wunderbar Together, co-host Oliver sat down with Ralf Möller, German Hollywood star, famous for his role in Gladiator and other action movies, and one...

You may know him from this week‘s cover of The New Yorker, just one of many he created – or from his Sunday sketches on Instagram, followed by over 1 million people: Christoph Niemann is one of the greatest illustrators of our times. But do you know how he creates a cover illustration? What he learned as a young artist in New York? Why he doesn't play basketball any more? And how he looks at his 5...

He is the face of New York for many German tourists: Sanel Huskanovic, founder of "Mein Trip Nach New York", a social media platform and tour agency specialized on the German-speaking world. Until the pandemic hit, he would stream live from the streets of New York City every week, sharing his life with over 100.000 followers. Many of them would eventually tour the city with him and his team and br...

On his last day in office as director of Wunderbar Together – the celebration of German-American friendship that gave this podcast its name – historian Christoph Mücher takes stock: Together with his team, he coordinated, co-created or supported 2.800 events in 560 places in all 50 states of the U.S. since October 2018. He oversaw a budget of 20 million Euros. And he met thousands of everyday Amer...

Dr. Frederik G. Pferdt is the Chief Innovation Evangelist at Google – a zealous advocate of turning challenges into opportunities. How? Any challenge, as big and harrowing it might seem, can be turned into a question, he says. That question takes away anxiety and inspires action. Even if it takes weeks or months to find and reframe that question. And even if it's highly uncomfortable, because most...

After playing soccer for most of his childhood, Moritz Wagner discovered his ease with mastering the game of basketball. As a teen, he skyrocketed through the ranks of his home town club Alba Berlin, before trying the impossible: At age 17, he turned down an offer to play professionally in Germany and joined the college team at University of Michigan with the dream of becoming a NBA player. And he...

Nora Abousteit grew up in a household of makers and tinkerers. Today, as the founder & CEO of CraftJam, she teaches the U.S. and the world how to craft, reintroducing the digital generation to using their hands. "We are what we make" is her mantra, and wants us all to make more – and consume less. Join Nora on her journey from Munich to Cairo to New York, discovering her cultural identities, befor...

Marco Schnabl's affinity for all things cars and engines goes back to his childhood near Cologne. But after putting himself through a tough dual study program with Daimler and starting a career in one of Germany's key industries, he left his secure job to become a car salesman in America's largest city. „Selling cars in Manhattan exposes you to all walks of life.” In episode 10 of the Wunderbar To...

"How did a guy from Heidelberg end up in the hills of L.A.? I got lucky", says Paul Ripke, who moved to California with his family four years ago. He works as a visual storyteller, photographer, fashion designer and influencer – a creator of the digital age with over half a million followers on Instagram alone. In episode 8 of the Wunderbar Together podcast, Paul discusses his journey from djing f...

Mel, born in Ireland, wanted to learn German. Anita, born in Germany, wanted to improve her English. As an intercultural couple in New York City, they wanted to understand each other and their respective cultures better. But they couldn't find any lessons or teachers they liked. Taking life by the horns, they started their own thing in 2016: Talaera, a platform for personalized English training. T...

From Papua New Guinea to Saudi Arabia to the Turks and Caicos islands – Sebastian Steinau has worked in some of the most exotic places on our planet. Without ever planning on it, he became the broker of the wealthy. And eventually, he moved to New York, to make it in the toughest real estate market of all. On episode 7 of the Wunderbar Together, Sebastian Steinau, Senior Global Real Estate Advisor...

Vince Ebert is a physicist and comedian – and a big hit in his native Germany. But after two decades of playing sold-out theaters, publishing bestselling books and hosting his own television show, he recently relocated to New York City. His goal: Breaking through in the toughest stand-up scene in the world. His opening line: "German physicist – double the fun." His takeaway: "It wasn't a complete...

Hilke Schellmann is one of the few Germans who ever won an Emmy for documentary filmmaking. She is an investigative reporter at The Wall Street Journal and an Assistant Professor for Journalism at New York University. In episode 5 of the Wunderbar Together podcast, she dives into the different approaches to journalism in the U.S. and in Germany, #MeToo in media and her recent investigations of art...