Elizabeth Janik
@kulturplease.bsky.social
German-English translator. Kulturfreundin. Follower of German history and culture in the English-language media. Human rights advocate.
Reposted by Elizabeth Janik
The Best of Neon 2025:
Gone fishing.
Gone fishing.
December 23, 2025 at 1:18 PM
The Best of Neon 2025:
Gone fishing.
Gone fishing.
Reposted by Elizabeth Janik
It used to be that the United States would use Voice of America and Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty to transmit truth across the borders of repressive regimes.
Now the work of American reporters, having been censored, is being smuggled across the border to reach Americans.
Now the work of American reporters, having been censored, is being smuggled across the border to reach Americans.
The 60 Minutes piece on the Trump Administration’s torture prison that Bari Weiss doesn’t want you to see has leaked.
December 22, 2025 at 11:01 PM
It used to be that the United States would use Voice of America and Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty to transmit truth across the borders of repressive regimes.
Now the work of American reporters, having been censored, is being smuggled across the border to reach Americans.
Now the work of American reporters, having been censored, is being smuggled across the border to reach Americans.
Reposted by Elizabeth Janik
13 staff members, 11 countries, 9 languages: The WWB team recommends our favorite books in translation from 2025. Read our picks here:
The Best Books in (and on) Translation We Read in 2025 - Words Without Borders
13 staff members, 11 countries, 9 languages: The WWB team recommends our favorite books in translation from 2025.
wordswithoutborders.org
December 15, 2025 at 5:41 PM
13 staff members, 11 countries, 9 languages: The WWB team recommends our favorite books in translation from 2025. Read our picks here:
Reposted by Elizabeth Janik
The “stammtisch” — a weekly meeting in Manhattan founded in 1943 by artists exiled by the Nazis -- has ended after the last of the original members died www.nytimes.com/2025/12/20/n...
A Weekly Gathering for Those Who Fled the Nazis Ends After 82 Years
www.nytimes.com
December 21, 2025 at 4:58 PM
The “stammtisch” — a weekly meeting in Manhattan founded in 1943 by artists exiled by the Nazis -- has ended after the last of the original members died www.nytimes.com/2025/12/20/n...
In memoriam: Rosa von Praunheim (1942–2025), “a key figure of the New German Cinema movement who made taboo-breaking films about queer life and scandalised the country when he outed German celebrities on live TV.” amp.dw.com/en/pioneerin... www.theguardian.com/film/2025/de...
Rosa von Praunheim, provocative pioneer of gay cinema, dies aged 83
The film-maker, whose 1971 feature about queer life has been described as Germany’s ‘Stonewall moment’, married his long-term partner on Friday
www.theguardian.com
December 20, 2025 at 5:46 PM
In memoriam: Rosa von Praunheim (1942–2025), “a key figure of the New German Cinema movement who made taboo-breaking films about queer life and scandalised the country when he outed German celebrities on live TV.” amp.dw.com/en/pioneerin... www.theguardian.com/film/2025/de...
Reposted by Elizabeth Janik
Modernist bird apartment block in Berlin’s Hansaviertel cause if not here, where else?
December 20, 2025 at 4:13 PM
Modernist bird apartment block in Berlin’s Hansaviertel cause if not here, where else?
Reposted by Elizabeth Janik
The case for denial
In a darkening world, burying one’s head in the sand is a rational strategy
giftarticle.ft.com
December 20, 2025 at 11:40 AM
Reposted by Elizabeth Janik
Apropos to this, German universities led the world until 1933, especially in the natural sciences. Indeed, US research institutions were built on the German model.
But Germany never regained what it threw away in the years immediately after 1933.
But Germany never regained what it threw away in the years immediately after 1933.
14 two-year postdocs for academics of any nationality who cannot continue their research due to US politics. Do share if you know of such.
Post-doc positions:
"Academic freedom is under pressure today. This requires rescue havens of free research. ... [we] invite early career researchers, whose work is restricted due to political pressure in the USA..."
uni-freiburg.de/frias/call-f...
"Academic freedom is under pressure today. This requires rescue havens of free research. ... [we] invite early career researchers, whose work is restricted due to political pressure in the USA..."
uni-freiburg.de/frias/call-f...
December 19, 2025 at 7:51 PM
Apropos to this, German universities led the world until 1933, especially in the natural sciences. Indeed, US research institutions were built on the German model.
But Germany never regained what it threw away in the years immediately after 1933.
But Germany never regained what it threw away in the years immediately after 1933.
Both Germany and the U.S. have reneged on their promises to vulnerable Afghan allies. newrepublic.com/article/2039... www.theguardian.com/world/2025/d...
Germany drops promise to resettle hundreds of Afghans
Interior ministry will tell 640 people awaiting sanctuary ‘there is no longer any political interest in their being admitted’
www.theguardian.com
December 19, 2025 at 5:52 PM
Both Germany and the U.S. have reneged on their promises to vulnerable Afghan allies. newrepublic.com/article/2039... www.theguardian.com/world/2025/d...
Reposted by Elizabeth Janik
“I didn’t expect so many people would be so risk-averse.”
We asked activists from authoritarian regimes what they wish they’d known sooner. Here’s what they said
Activists from Hungary, El Salvador and Turkey offer advice to the US about what they’ve learned about authoritarians
www.theguardian.com
December 9, 2025 at 1:04 PM
“I didn’t expect so many people would be so risk-averse.”
Reposted by Elizabeth Janik
It's out!🍾
I am delighted to announce the publication of our "Germany's History Wars. Contesting Memory and Identity Today"
It is Open Access!
👇 You can download it here for free.
www.degruyterbrill.com/document/doi...
I am delighted to announce the publication of our "Germany's History Wars. Contesting Memory and Identity Today"
It is Open Access!
👇 You can download it here for free.
www.degruyterbrill.com/document/doi...
December 19, 2025 at 10:52 AM
It's out!🍾
I am delighted to announce the publication of our "Germany's History Wars. Contesting Memory and Identity Today"
It is Open Access!
👇 You can download it here for free.
www.degruyterbrill.com/document/doi...
I am delighted to announce the publication of our "Germany's History Wars. Contesting Memory and Identity Today"
It is Open Access!
👇 You can download it here for free.
www.degruyterbrill.com/document/doi...
“It is to be expected that in the coming years we will experience entirely new episodes of annihilation.” Boschwitz’s first novel was indeed tragically prescient. It’s finally been translated into English, as Berlin Shuffle, by the talented Philip Boehm. lithub.com/requiem-for-...
Requiem for Weimar: On Ulrich Alexander Boschwitz’s Berlin Shuffle
Berlin in the late 1920s was home not only to the flourishing nightlife we know from Cabaret—it was also a leading center of science, architecture, technology, and the fine arts. While Brecht and W…
lithub.com
December 18, 2025 at 4:39 PM
“It is to be expected that in the coming years we will experience entirely new episodes of annihilation.” Boschwitz’s first novel was indeed tragically prescient. It’s finally been translated into English, as Berlin Shuffle, by the talented Philip Boehm. lithub.com/requiem-for-...
Reposted by Elizabeth Janik
Two brothers meet after being separated for two years by the Berlin wall. Berlin, West Germany, 1963 by Ian Berry / Magnum
December 17, 2025 at 9:35 AM
Two brothers meet after being separated for two years by the Berlin wall. Berlin, West Germany, 1963 by Ian Berry / Magnum
Reposted by Elizabeth Janik
This is incredible news. Today, Virginia officials will unveil a statue of Barbara Johns at the Capitol to replace one of Confederate General Robert E. Lee that had stood for more than a century. www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/202...
Statue of Black teen who fought segregation replaces Robert E. Lee at U.S. Capitol
Barbara Rose Johns was only 16 when she led a walkout in 1951 to protest horrendous conditions at her segregated high school for Black students in rural Farmville, Virginia.
www.washingtonpost.com
December 16, 2025 at 11:43 AM
This is incredible news. Today, Virginia officials will unveil a statue of Barbara Johns at the Capitol to replace one of Confederate General Robert E. Lee that had stood for more than a century. www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/202...
Reposted by Elizabeth Janik
The administration is once again using the language of security to justify blanket exclusions that punish entire populations, rather than utilizing individualized, evidence-based screening.
Full statement from Global Refuge: bit.ly/3L7k9op
Full statement from Global Refuge: bit.ly/3L7k9op
BREAKING: Global Refuge strongly condemns the Trump administration’s decision to dramatically expand its travel ban.
“Closing legal pathways does not eliminate need or risk; it simply pushes people further into harm’s way.” @krishvignarajah.bsky.social
📰 Read our full statement: bit.ly/3L7k9op
“Closing legal pathways does not eliminate need or risk; it simply pushes people further into harm’s way.” @krishvignarajah.bsky.social
📰 Read our full statement: bit.ly/3L7k9op
![BREAKING: Global Refuge strongly condemns expansion of sweeping travel ban
globalrefuge.org/press
[Global Refuge logo]](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:uzjeirinyuc473vqvla2ym3t/bafkreifqoleyrdwmxadgj464hk7gkhw5y3upuzq2jajodjxnbspqgfbmnu@jpeg)
December 17, 2025 at 12:27 AM
The administration is once again using the language of security to justify blanket exclusions that punish entire populations, rather than utilizing individualized, evidence-based screening.
Full statement from Global Refuge: bit.ly/3L7k9op
Full statement from Global Refuge: bit.ly/3L7k9op
Reposted by Elizabeth Janik
‘The antithesis to Nazi ideology’: how Pippi Longstocking was born to stand up to Hitler www.theguardian.com/film/2025/de... via @theguardian.com
‘The antithesis to Nazi ideology’: how Pippi Longstocking was born to stand up to Hitler
A new documentary explores how Astrid Lindgren’s beloved children’s books about the pigtailed free spirit were written in response to the darkest days of the second world war
www.theguardian.com
December 15, 2025 at 3:30 PM
‘The antithesis to Nazi ideology’: how Pippi Longstocking was born to stand up to Hitler www.theguardian.com/film/2025/de... via @theguardian.com
Reposted by Elizabeth Janik
One of the great failures of contemporary political news coverage in a lot of media is the unspoken principle that no violation of norms or decency by Trump is really news, worthy of sustained attention, unless it also upsets people who love him. It isn't "not taking the bait"; it's sleepwalking.
December 15, 2025 at 4:14 PM
One of the great failures of contemporary political news coverage in a lot of media is the unspoken principle that no violation of norms or decency by Trump is really news, worthy of sustained attention, unless it also upsets people who love him. It isn't "not taking the bait"; it's sleepwalking.
Reposted by Elizabeth Janik
In 1992, Sondheim provided the songs for a never-produced “musical movie about a movie musical” called SINGING OUT LOUD.
The movie was written for Rob Reiner to direct.
“Dawn” is one of those songs. Today feels like a good day to listen.
The movie was written for Rob Reiner to direct.
“Dawn” is one of those songs. Today feels like a good day to listen.
December 15, 2025 at 4:30 PM
In 1992, Sondheim provided the songs for a never-produced “musical movie about a movie musical” called SINGING OUT LOUD.
The movie was written for Rob Reiner to direct.
“Dawn” is one of those songs. Today feels like a good day to listen.
The movie was written for Rob Reiner to direct.
“Dawn” is one of those songs. Today feels like a good day to listen.
Reposted by Elizabeth Janik
While Amazon is investing billions of dollars to expand AI, independent bookstores are hosting community events, personally recommending books to readers, and providing a space that is safe and welcoming during a time when we need them most.
Never underestimate the power of a local bookstore.
Never underestimate the power of a local bookstore.
December 15, 2025 at 4:11 PM
While Amazon is investing billions of dollars to expand AI, independent bookstores are hosting community events, personally recommending books to readers, and providing a space that is safe and welcoming during a time when we need them most.
Never underestimate the power of a local bookstore.
Never underestimate the power of a local bookstore.
Reposted by Elizabeth Janik
I'm relieved @merriam-webster.com chose "slop" as the word of the year!
I recorded a WOTY episode Friday with @jesszafarris.bsky.social and @linguisticdiscovery.com, and M-W hadn't made its choice yet. But The Economist & Macquarie Dictionary had already chosen "slop," so it's in the show.
I recorded a WOTY episode Friday with @jesszafarris.bsky.social and @linguisticdiscovery.com, and M-W hadn't made its choice yet. But The Economist & Macquarie Dictionary had already chosen "slop," so it's in the show.
December 15, 2025 at 4:54 PM
I'm relieved @merriam-webster.com chose "slop" as the word of the year!
I recorded a WOTY episode Friday with @jesszafarris.bsky.social and @linguisticdiscovery.com, and M-W hadn't made its choice yet. But The Economist & Macquarie Dictionary had already chosen "slop," so it's in the show.
I recorded a WOTY episode Friday with @jesszafarris.bsky.social and @linguisticdiscovery.com, and M-W hadn't made its choice yet. But The Economist & Macquarie Dictionary had already chosen "slop," so it's in the show.
Reposted by Elizabeth Janik
The odds are decent that morsels from your life have been used to train chatbots. Which means that you, too, are Time's person of the year, @cwarzel.bsky.social writes.
I Am Time Magazine’s Person of the Year
So are you. Congrats!
bit.ly
December 12, 2025 at 12:45 PM
The odds are decent that morsels from your life have been used to train chatbots. Which means that you, too, are Time's person of the year, @cwarzel.bsky.social writes.
“Mainstream German parties refuse to work with the AfD because of its nationalist, anti-immigration agenda”—but its embrace from the Trump administration has been “warm, at times seemingly unconditional” www.washingtonpost.com/world/2025/1...
Germany’s anti-immigrant AfD party finds open door in Trump’s America
Some German lawmakers want to ban Alternative for Germany, but the party has been embraced in Washington, and some of its leaders see Trump’s path to power as a road map.
www.washingtonpost.com
December 11, 2025 at 11:21 PM
“Mainstream German parties refuse to work with the AfD because of its nationalist, anti-immigration agenda”—but its embrace from the Trump administration has been “warm, at times seemingly unconditional” www.washingtonpost.com/world/2025/1...
“He was the German Shakespeare, the German Cervantes, and the German Racine, and perhaps even the German Franklin and the German Huxley, compressed into one endlessly energetic and kaleidoscopic figure.” www.newyorker.com/magazine/202...
What Makes Goethe So Special?
The German poet’s dauntingly eclectic accomplishments were founded on a tireless interrogation of how a life should be lived.
www.newyorker.com
December 11, 2025 at 10:26 PM
“He was the German Shakespeare, the German Cervantes, and the German Racine, and perhaps even the German Franklin and the German Huxley, compressed into one endlessly energetic and kaleidoscopic figure.” www.newyorker.com/magazine/202...
Reposted by Elizabeth Janik
Emil und die Detektive, shot in Berlin in 1931 just 2 years after the book was published, script by a certain "Billie" Wilder. archive.org/details/emil...
Emil und die Detektive (1931) : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive
Weimar Film
archive.org
December 11, 2025 at 11:00 AM
Emil und die Detektive, shot in Berlin in 1931 just 2 years after the book was published, script by a certain "Billie" Wilder. archive.org/details/emil...
Reposted by Elizabeth Janik
Word of the year: sloptimization.
It's what Germans call "Verschlimmbesserung".
It's what Germans call "Verschlimmbesserung".
#AISlop is a product of recursive optimization, of prediction algorithms no longer only used for distribution, but for production of content. It's reaction economies and recommendation logics feeding back onto themselves, social media feeds turned into feedback loops. Let's call it #sloptimization
December 8, 2025 at 10:25 AM
Word of the year: sloptimization.
It's what Germans call "Verschlimmbesserung".
It's what Germans call "Verschlimmbesserung".