Bold Ideas to Make Digital Democracy Work, with Audrey Tang

In this “Transatlantic Takeaway” episode, hosts Soraya Sarhaddi Nelson and Rachel Tausendfreund dissect sweeping new EU digital laws and their impact on large tech companies, start-ups and users with guests: Constance Chucholowski, founder and managing director at Candid Public Affairs; Travis Todd, co-founder of Silicon Allee; and Julia Trehu, program manager and Fellow with the German Marshall Fund’s Digital Innovation and Democracy Initiative. This show was produced by Dina Elsayed.

A watershed speech by Chancellor Olaf Scholz in late February that cast off Germany’s long-standing, military-averse policies is lauded by NATO and the United States. But can Germany enhance its armed forces quickly enough to protect Europe against Russia? And what does this sea change mean for a proposed European army? Host Soraya Sarhaddi Nelson explores the new German tack and its ramifications with Rachel Tausendfreund, editorial director for the German Marshall Fund and co-host of Transatlantic Takeaway, and Heiner Brauß, Senior Associate Fellow at the German Council on Foreign Relations (DGAP) in its security and defense program. He was a lieutenant general in the Bundeswehr and is a former assistant secretary general for NATO defense policy and force planning. We also hear from Col. André Wüstner, chairman of the German Armed Forces Association. This show was produced by Dina Elsayed and Abigail Megginson.

In this “Transatlantic Takeaway” episode, hosts Soraya Sarhaddi Nelson and Rachel Tausendfreund delve into scenarios to end Russian President Vladmir Putin’s war on Ukraine and how the conflict is changing the global order. Their guests are: - Michal Baranowski, senior fellow and director of the GMF office in Warsaw. - Gesine Dornblueth, co-author of “Ruhmlose Helden,” a book on a plane crash that changed German-Russian relations. She is a former Moscow correspondent for Deutschlandradio. - Liana Fix, program director for international affairs at the Körber Foundation in Berlin. - Joerg Forbrig, senior fellow and director for Central Eastern Europe at the GMF office in Berlin. This show was produced by Dina Elsayed.

Although a record turnout is expected on Nov. 8th, opinion surveys show many Americans no longer trust U.S. elections nor their government. Many Republican voters still embrace the “Big Lie” that President Trump had the 2020 election stolen from him. So what does the growing mistrust, President Joe Biden’s low ratings and the worst inflation in four decades mean for the midterm elections and American democracy in general? In this episode of Transatlantic Takeaway by Common Ground Berlin and the German Marshall Fund of the United States, host Soraya Sarhaddi Nelson explores the controversial elections with: Sudha David-Wilp, GMF’s Senior Transatlantic Fellow and deputy director of the Berlin office. Jeremy Shapiro, research director at the European Council on Foreign Relations and a former advisor to the State Department during the Obama administration. Anna Sauerbrey, foreign editor of the weekly Die Zeit and a contributor to the New York Times op-ed section. Produced by Dina Elsayed.

In this first anniversary episode of Transatlantic Takeaway, a Common Ground Berlin and German Marshall Fund of the United States collaboration, hosts Soraya Sarhaddi Nelson and Rachel Tausendfreund talk about the sweeping 10-month-long war Russia is waging in Ukraine and its impact on Europe and the United States with Guido Goldman Distinguished Scholar for Geostrategy at GMF, Thomas Kleine-Brockhoff and Michal Baranowski, Managing Director, GMF East. Is there an end in sight for the war that has killed an estimated 100,000 Ukrainian soldiers, a similar number of Russian soldiers and 40,000 Ukrainian civilians? Produced by Sylvia Cunningham

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and his cabinet recently unveiled their country’s long-awaited national security strategy, the first since World War II. Co-hosts Soraya Sarhaddi Nelson and Rachel Tausendfreund explore whether this strategy is groundbreaking as its proponents claim and the impact on Germany’s allies and enemies. This week’s guests are Michal Baranowski, senior fellow and managing director of the German Marshall Fund East, based in Warsaw, and Gesine Weber, a fellow with the German Marshall Fund’s geostrategy team in Paris. Produced by Dina Elsayed.

In this first Transatlantic Takeaway of the year with co-hosts Soraya Sarhaddi Nelson and Rachel Tausendfreund, German Marshall Fund senior fellow Daniel Hegedus and GMF Paris office director Martin Quencez delve into what we can expect in 2023, including from EU relations with the U.S. and with Russia; from the war in Ukraine, and from the world’s likely next nuclear power, Iran.

In this episode of “Transatlantic Takeaway,” hosts Soraya Sarhaddi Nelson and Rachel Tausendfreund delve into how Germany is fodder for the GOP’s campaign strategy for the 2024 elections with guests Majda Ruge, Senior Policy Fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations and Sudha David-Wilp, Senior Transatlantic Fellow at the German Marshall Fund and director of its Berlin office. Dina Elsayed produced this episode.

Rachel Tausendfreund talks to Taiwan’s digital minister, Audrey Tang, about the perils and prospects of tech for democracy. Audrey discusses strategies to combat the infodemic (including “humor over rumor” and public notice) and explains the advantages of Taiwan’s public social media platform PTT, which gave the government early warning for the coronavirus. Audrey outlines the art of troll control how purpose-seeking (as opposed to profit-seeking) social media can work. And because this is part of the Marshall75 collection Rachel and Audrey talk about what investments need to be made to ensure a healthier future of an open, democratic Internet, and which partners need to be on board.

Russia appears ready to invade Ukraine, with the recent deployment of roughly 100,000 Russian troops along their mutual border. In this episode of Transatlantic Takeaway — a monthly collaboration between Common Ground and the German Marshall Fund of the United States — Host Soraya Sarhaddi Nelson and her guests discuss the ongoing crisis and its impact on the EU, the United States and Moscow. Our experts: Rachel Tausendfreund, GMF editorial director in Berlin and host of “Out of Order” podcast; Liana Fix, GMF Resident Fellow and program director for International Affairs at the Körber-Stiftung; Michael Kimmage, GMF Non-Resident Fellow and Catholic University history professor who was part of the U.S. Secretary of State’s planning staff from 2014-2016 advising on Russia and Ukraine.