Archipelago

For the season finale, we sit down with Sherilyn Nicolette Hellberg, an up-and-coming American translator of Scandinavian fiction and non-fiction. After falling in love with Danish literature at school, she swapped Long Island for Copenhagen — and hasn’t looked back. From deciphering Danish idioms to navigating Copenhagen's literary "hothouse," Sherilyn shares her translation journey. You'll hear about learning a language that can sound like "French underwater", translating books that blur poetry and prose, and why AI can't match the human touch for capturing nuance. Whether you’re a bookworm or a language lover, this episode is a delightful deep dive into the art and joy of bringing Danish stories to the world. Links: Sherilyn’s official website Waist Deep by Linea Maja Ernst After the Sun by Jonas Eika Deficit by Emma Holten The Employees by Olga Ravn My Work by Olga Ravn Visit www.archipelagoaudio.com for more information.

Henrik Knudsen is the Elvis Presley superfan who built Memphis Mansion — a brick-for-brick replica of Graceland in the Danish city of Randers. From his 148 pilgrimages to America to the legal showdown with Elvis Presley Enterprises, Henrik's story is a rollercoaster of obsession, risk, and rock history.  This episode is a love letter to fandom, a testament to following your wildest ideas, and a reminder that sometimes, the craziest dreams make the best stories. Visit https://www.memphismansion.dk/ for more. Visit www.archipelagoaudio.com for more information.

The Human Library is a groundbreaking initiative founded in Copenhagen in 2000, where instead of borrowing books, visitors "borrow" people — volunteers who share their personal stories and experiences to challenge prejudice and foster understanding. In this episode, founder Ronni Abergel shares the origins of the project, its global expansion to over 80 countries, and the careful process of selecting and supporting "books" to ensure a safe, respectful environment for both storytellers and readers. The episode delves into the transformative power of these encounters, both for the volunteers and the public, and discusses the challenges of maintaining the project in a changing social and corporate landscape. This is the extraordinary story of an ongoing mission to break down barriers, one conversation at a time. Find out more about the Human Library at https://humanlibrary.org/. Visit www.archipelagoaudio.com for more information.

What if your school week involved colonizing planets, fleeing Nazis, or negotiating with fantasy kingdoms—all while studying history and science? In this episode, we meet Mathias Granum, the founder of EPOS, a groundbreaking Danish boarding school where students learn through live-action role-play (LARP). Granum explains how EPOS transforms traditional subjects into immersive experiences that teach not just academic knowledge, but critical life skills like empathy, public speaking, and conflict resolution. He also shares the school’s journey from idealism to realism, the importance of structure in creative education, and the surprising things he learned from Britain’s strictest school. It’s a story of costumes, creativity, and the courage to reimagine what learning can be. Visit epos.dk for more information. Visit www.archipelagoaudio.com for more information.

Copenhagen Suborbitals is the world’s only volunteer-run, crowdfunded space program. Based in Copenhagen, the group's 70 volunteers are building a DIY spacecraft to send a person to suborbital space. In this episode, we meet the group's parachute systems lead, Mads Stenfatt, who shares the project’s origins, its shoestring budget (“10% of NASA’s coffee budget”), and the challenges of launching from international waters. He reflects on his journey from skydiver to potential astronaut. The conversation highlights creativity, community, and Denmark’s unique culture of volunteerism, proving even audacious dreams can begin in unlikely places. Visit copenhagensuborbitals.com for more information. Visit www.archipelagoaudio.com for more information.

We're back after almost three years with a brand-new season about people living a life less ordinary — beginning with Danish adventurer Thor Pedersen, who shares his incredible story of visiting every country in the world without flying. Thor recounts his experiences crossing oceans on cargo ships, navigating through war zones, and enduring the mental and physical challenges that came with this ambitious endeavor. Despite numerous setbacks, including a two-year pandemic lockdown in Hong Kong, Thor persevered and achieved his goal. He reflects on the kindness of strangers, the cultural insights gained, and the personal growth that came from pushing his limits. This episode is a testament to human determination and the extraordinary efforts people will make to defy what's considered impossible. Notes Learn more on Thor's official website Buy his book "The Impossible Journey" Visit www.archipelagoaudio.com for more information.

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/ Visit www.archipelagoaudio.com for more information.

“Opening Champagne with a sword is more fun. You can feel it in your stomach.” So says Marianne Sass Pedersen — a bookkeeper from Amager whose life changed when she attended a Champagne sabering competition at Tivoli. Dedicating herself to the art of opening Champagne bottles with swords, she went on to win the Danish championship — and launch a successful business teaching sabering. In the final episode of the season, we visit Marianne's house in Amager to find out why she loves sabering, what it entails, and how it could change your life, too. For good measure, there's a pair of improbable references to hip-hop, as well (neither of them to Liquid Swords, alas). Further information Champagne Sabling Squares and Triangles Scenery

In episode five, we meet the chef trying to put Amager on the culinary map — quite literally. Yngve Fobian is the head chef at Øens Spisested — a "local" restaurant in more ways than one. For one thing, most of its ingredients are from Amager — a haul celebrated on a map in the dining room. Fish come from the icy waters of the Øresund, vegetables from fields near Dragør, game from the island's forests, and fruits and flowers from its commons. Yngve also gives free meals to locals who share the bounty of their allotment gardens. Yet at Øens Spisested, local cuisine isn't the only thing on the menu. Amager's rich — and often infamous — history is, too. Indeed, Øens Spisested is as much a celebration of the island's identity as its food — which may make it the most distinctive restaurant in town. Further information Øens Spisested Squares and Triangles Scenery

The Helgoland sea-bathing club, at the northern tip of Amager's beach, is home to one of the world's oldest winter-bathing associations, Det Kolde Gys ("The Cold Shock"). In episode four of This Amarkaner Life, we brave the heat of the sauna and the icy waters of the Øresund to talk to some of the association's hardiest members. We meet a woman who's been winter bathing for 30 years and a local physio who swims in the sea every morning and is one of the club's saunagus "masters". They reveal why they love winter bathing so much, how it makes them feel, how to get started, and why Helgoland, in particular, is so special. Further information Helgoland Gys og Gus, by Charlotte Ringbæk et al. Squares and Triangles Scenery

There's already a bit of a buzz around this episode — if only because the Amarkaners in question are the island’s hard-working honeybees. In episode three, we visit Bybi — a bee-powered project based in Amager’s historic Sundholm district — to meet its British founder, Oliver Maxwell. We learn about Bybi's unusual origin story and location, discover why Oliver prefers to see honey as an "invitation" not a product, and hear about the honey that has some of Copenhagen's best chefs "falling over backwards". “As soon as you start working with bees, you realise that honey is absolutely magical," Oliver says. "You put these creatures out around the city and over a few days, weeks and months, they accumulate this absolute treasure." The sound design is by two artists — Squares and Triangles and Scenery.

Please return your seatbacks and tray tables to their fully upright position because we'll shortly be landing at one of Amager’s best-known restaurants — Flyvergrillen. You'll find it at Copenhagen airport, but don’t go looking for it before your next flight. Because Flyvergrillen isn’t so much at the airport as right alongside it. Indeed, the only thing separating it from the runway is a barbed-wire fence and about 100 metres of tarmac — giving diners a prime view of planes taking off or landing. Fasten your seatbelts, then, as we visit the 50-year-old  grill bar to meet Denmark's most dedicated planespotters — as well as an ageing cat who's "worse than Putin". The episode was written, produced, and hosted by James Clasper. The music is by Scenery and Squares and Triangles.

"Amager is a great place. Amager is number one.” So says Kurt Helmann Jensen ("Kurt like Kurt Russell"). And he should know. For one thing, he's a self-proclaimed "Amarkaner" — a dyed-in-the-wool resident of Amager, the much-maligned, teardrop-shaped island in southern Copenhagen. He's also the chairman of the association that runs Dyrenes Mindegrave, a cemetery on the island where bereaved pet owners — including Kurt — have come to lay their furry friends to rest for the past 75 years. All of which makes him ideal for the first episode of the new season of Archipelago. You see, the podcast gets its name because there are more than 400 islands in Denmark. So, starting with season three, it's going to explore some of them in more detail. And where better to begin than the island of Amager? After all, it's home to the city’s airport, its longest beach, its biggest nature reserve, and about 200,000 people — including Archipelago's producer and host, James Clasper. Amager's also a deeply fascinating but oft-misunderstood place, with a story on every corner. So season three of Archipelago — This Amarkaner Life — will tell some of those stories. Starting with Kurt — and his four ferrets.

Say hello to a brand-new food podcast. It’s called The Recipe — and it's all about the new generation of restaurants and the people behind them. If you heard the Mad World episode of Archipelago, in which we took a look at the Copenhagen restaurant scene, you’ll have a pretty good idea of what The Recipe will be like. We’ll be exploring what it takes to run a successful restaurant — and taking a closer look at some of the ingredients. Along the way, we’ll be meeting the food world’s most forward-thinking individuals — and finding out how they think, how they work, and how they’re shaping the future of the industry. Brought to you by Superb, The Recipe is a show for anyone who’s ever had a great plate of food put in front of them and wondered how it got there. Episode 1 drops on Sunday 31 October — but the only thing that’s scary about it is how inspirational it is. Follow us now wherever you get your podcasts.

Danish "song kindergartens" hit the right notes, while a 19th-century prison provides an unsettling location for an overnight stay. In this episode, we visit Trekroner Børnehus, a kindergarten outside Roskilde, to hear about Sangglad — a scheme to "increase and improve" singing in Danish pre-schools. Then we head to Horsens Prison Museum, in Jutland, to discover how a notorious jail has been transformed into a popular tourist attraction. Further reading: Sangglad Horsens Prison Museum Archipelago is produced for Mothertongue Media. The sound design is by Squares and Triangles and Scenery.

From Greta Thunberg’s school strike to the Fridays for the Future movement, there’s no shortage of children taking a stand against climate change. But while their activism takes place outside the school gates, some say that what kids are taught while they’re at school is just as important — if not more so. In this episode, we visit the Green Free School, in Amager, and talk to co-founder Phie Ambo about how the school is preparing pupils for an uncertain future and teaching them to build a sustainable society. Then we head to Bellahøj Kirke, in Copenhagen's northern suburbs, to see how Denmark's burgeoning "green church" movement is helping to spread the climate gospel. Further reading: The Green Free School Bellahøj Kirke Archipelago is produced for Mothertongue Media. The sound design is by two local artists: Squares and Triangles and Scenery.

Two Danish institutions have discovered eye-catching ways to go green. From Greta Thunberg’s school strike to the Fridays for the Future movement, there’s no shortage of children taking a stand against climate change. But while their activism takes place outside the school gates, some say that what kids are taught while they’re at school is just as important — if not more so. In this episode, we visit the Green Free School, in Amager, and talk to co-founder Phie Ambo about how the school is preparing pupils for an uncertain future and teaching them to build a sustainable society. Then we head to Bellahøj Kirke, in Copenhagen's northern suburbs, to see how Denmark's burgeoning "green church" movement is helping to spread the climate gospel. Further reading: The Green Free School Bellahøj Kirke Archipelago is produced for Mothertongue Media. The sound design is by two local artists: Squares and Triangles and Scenery.

In the bleak midwinter, the sun scarcely seems to rise in Denmark at all. Is it any wonder, then, that the Danes are so obsessed with good lighting? That Denmark has produced many of the world’s most iconic lights? That Danes have the world’s highest consumption of candles? Or that light is fundamental to the country’s best known cultural phenomenon, hygge? In (hopefully) the most illuminating episode of Archipelago yet, we discuss the light fantastic with three Danish design devotees: artist Morten Ravn, who turns scrap metal into sculptural lamps; interior designer Hannah Trickett, whose rare health condition means she avoids what she describes as “visual chaos”; and author Malene Lytken, whose new book, Danish Lights: 1920–Now, tells the stories of 100 lamps and the Danish designers who created them. Further reading: Strandberg Publishing / Danish Lights: 1920–Now Lumière Bricoleur Hannah Trickett Archipelago is produced for Mothertongue Media. The sound design is by two local artists: Squares and Triangles and Scenery.

“Those who wish to relive their lives, never lived them in the first place.” The words of Karen Blixen — the acclaimed Danish writer whose life story is the basis of a brand-new ballet created exclusively for the Royal Danish Theatre in Copenhagen. Blixen sketches the writer's life story from her childhood years in Denmark through her unhappy marriage to her half-cousin Bror Blixen, her years running a coffee plantation in Kenya—where she embarked on a doomed love affair with Denys Finch Hatton—and the final years of her life, back home in Denmark, when she found global fame at last. To discover how to tell the life story of one of Denmark’s best-known writers through that most expressionistic yet wordless form of storytelling — ballet — we speak to three of the people behind Blixen: dancer and choreographer Gregory Dean; principal dancer Kizzy Matiakis, who plays Blixen; and costume and set designer Jon Morrell.  

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/