Archipelago

From the producer and host of Archipelago, Dad Mode Activated explores the reality of becoming a father after the age of 40.

With episodes released every fortnight, the podcast features conversations with late-blooming dads who are rewriting the playbook of modern parenthood.

Expect real-life stories, honest advice and the occasional laugh about the unexpected perks of being dads who remember the ‘80s.

To find out more, visit https://dadmodeactivated.co/

We kick off season two of Archipelago with a very special guest indeed.

Naja Marie Aidt has been described as “one of the most intelligent writers of the contemporary literary world” and as “one of the compassionate voices in fiction”.

Born in Greenland and raised in Copenhagen, she’s the author of ten poetry collections and three short-story collections — including Baboon, which won the Nordic countries’ most prestigious literary award, the Nordic Council's Literature Prize, as well as the Danish Critics Prize for Literature.

Domestic plaudits have led to international acclaim, too.
Baboon was published in English-speaking markets in 2014, and Naja’s debut novel, Rock Paper Scissors, in 2015.

But both books are likely to be eclipsed by Naja’s latest book in translation.

It’s a work of non-fiction called When Death Takes Something From You Give It Back — a cryptic and, as it turns out, deeply personal title that only hints at the tragedy the book describes.

Believe me when I say it’s one of the most remarkable books you’ll ever read.

I was thrilled when Naja found time in her busy schedule at the Aarhus Literature Festival this summer to discuss it with me.

Further reading:

“When Death Takes Something From You Give It Back” official page, Quercus

Naja Marie Aidt's back catalogue

Archipelago is produced by Mother Tongue Media – a new home for English-language podcasts in Denmark. Visit mothertongue.dk to find out more.

The music used in Archipelago is produced by two local artists:

Squares and Triangles

https://squaresandtriangles.bandcamp.com/

Scenery

https://scenerymusic.bandcamp.com/

Once a foodie wasteland, Copenhagen is today a major gastronomic destination.
It is, of course, the epicentre of New Nordic cuisine — the culinary movement that championed hyper-local, seasonal ingredients and elevated foraging and fermentation to art forms.
But it’s also a global food city — one where savvy diners can find everything from Surinamese peanut soup to Ethiopian injera, Vietnamese banh mi to Cantonese dim sum.
Even the local government has gone gourmet. There are honey bees on the roof of one town hall, a gin distillery in the basement of another.
In this episode, we take a snapshot of the Copenhagen food scene — and discuss how it’s changed, why that matters, and where it could be going next.
Up first is American journalist Lisa Abend, who writes about current affairs, culture and food for the New York Times, the Washington Post, and Time magazine, among others.
Then we meet Nick Curtin, Andrew Valenzuela, and Camilla Hansen — the co-founders of Alouette, which was awarded a Michelin star within a year of opening in a former envelope factory in Islands Brygge.
Finally, we discuss the intersection of food and theatre with Rasmus Munk, the head chef and founder of soon-to-be-relaunched restaurant Alchemist, and its dramaturge Louise Knudsen.
Further reading:
Lisa Abend on “The Food Circus”

https://www.fool.se/free-read

Alouette

http://www.restaurantalouette.dk/

Alchemist

http://restaurant-alchemist.dk/

Archipelago is produced by Mothertongue Media — a new home for English-language podcasts in Denmark. Visit mothertongue.dk to find out more.

The music used in Archipelago is produced by two local artists:

Squares and Triangles

https://squaresandtriangles.bandcamp.com/

Scenery

https://scenerymusic.bandcamp.com/

A preview of the brand-new podcast about arts, culture and ideas in Denmark. Produced by Mothertongue Media.

Meik Wiking is one of the world’s leading happiness experts.
The founder of the Happiness Research Institute, he’s also the author of two New York Times bestsellers — The Little Book of Hygge and The Little Book of Lykke — which have been translated into more than 35 languages and sold over a million copies worldwide.
Little wonder, then, that he's been dubbed “probably the world’s happiest man”.
But when Meik turned 40, he realised that, statistically speaking, as a Danish man, he’d lived half his life.
Which got him thinking: how many of the 14,610 days he’d lived could he remember?
So he decided to start researching memories, culminating in his latest book — The Art of Making Memories, a lighthearted but thought-provoking series of tips about how to create and remember happy memories.
We discuss the book with Meik and discover why Andy Warhol changed his perfume every three months, why we should take more photos of our cereal boxes, and how to memorise the order of a deck of card in just minutes.
Further reading:
Happiness Research Institute
https://www.happinessresearchinstitute.com/
The Art of Making Memories, Penguin Random House
https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/311273/the-art-of-making-memories/9780241376058.html
Archipelago is produced by Mothertongue Media, a home for English-language podcasts in Denmark. Visit mothertongue.dk to find out more.
The music used in Archipelago is produced by two Copenhagen-based artists:
Squares and Triangles
https://squaresandtriangles.bandcamp.com/
Scenery
https://scenerymusic.bandcamp.com/