Writers & Thinkers
Conversations on thinking by hand
Welcome to the place where we celebrate the love of pen, paper and notebooks. Directors talk about how they write scripts. Musicians open their songbooks. Designers show their sketches. Scientists report on their research notes. Authors talk about how they create scenarios
Episode
Gesa Hansen
Design and creativity
Writing and Drawing Jogs My Intuition
There is probably not a single place in Gesa Hansen’s vicinity without a notebook lying around, waiting to be filled with her countless ideas. The globally sought-after furniture and interior designer talks about her obsession with nice pens and good paper
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Episode
Norman Ohler
Literature and non-fiction
Pen, Hand, Paper
Norman Ohler’s book Blitzed, which explores drug use in the military of the Third Reich, was an instant international bestseller. His latest book, Tripped, chronicles the history of LSD. Many of his books are about intoxication. And for him, the very act of writing by hand is an intoxicating experience
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Episode
Anna Kuen
Design and creativity
On Clarity of Line
Anna Kuen is a visual artist, model and DJ. A life without notebooks is unimaginable for her. She needs pen and paper to process her ideas – and to rid herself of some thoughts
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Episode
Martin Lotze
Neuroscience
Symphony of Synapses
Martin Lotze is a neuroscientist who has put people in MRI scanners and watched their brains write. What did he observe? He explains what he has found out in his laboratory
Episode
Sarah Winkelmann
Expedition and adventure
Extreme Hiker
Sarah Winkelmann, 28 years old, pursues an extreme hobby: Arctic expeditions. Alongside ten others, she traversed the ice desert of Greenland in 28 days. Each day, she kept a diary. Writing helped her stay sane and push her boundaries
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Episode
Martin Janner
Forestry and economy
The tree writer
Martin Janner is a forester. For his work, he needs a sharp memory, imagination and vision. He must know the history of his forests in order to secure their future. That’s why Janner keeps records. For 26 years he has been writing down the date and location of the work carried out by his lumberjacks. He writes down each task in a code that only he himself understands
Episode
Alexa Hennig von Lange
Literature and history
Write down to let go
Alexa Hennig von Lange comes from a family of chroniclers. Her grandmother dictated her life story onto tapes. Her grandfather kept diaries. The author also writes everything important in notebooks – so she rarely has to look at them afterwards
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