Mike Litt in conversation

How's it going, Düsseldorf?

Our podcast "Alle Rhein" for culture in times of Corona. What Mike Litt wants to know: How did the talk guests perceive the surreal times? What has changed for them? What projects are they working on now?
In episode 19, Mike talks to Sibel Şen and Thorsten Schaar about his year as a podcast host.

At the end of the year, we take a look behind the scenes of our podcast "Alle Rhein" and talk to host Mike Litt about a Düsseldorf year that nobody could have expected. Sibel Şen and Thorsten Schaar, who edit the podcast for Düsseldorf Tourismus, let Mike look back on the special moments from 18 conversations about art, culture and the crisis. The somewhat different review of the year with many original sound bites from people who have shown that cultural life in Düsseldorf can reinvent itself and be creative even in difficult times. The result is 45 minutes full of optimism, inspiration and the spirit of Joseph Beuys.

What creative ideas has the pandemic unleashed in Düsseldorf's cultural scene? Where have local festival organizers found the courage to find formats that can establish themselves? And what have they perhaps learned to appreciate anew? In the "Alle Rhein" annual review, we reveal that the podcast should actually be called "Alle raus". We explain how the episodes were created under coronavirus conditions and what this has to do with Mike's bedroom wardrobe. We also recommend the "Rheinpegel" with Helene Pawlitzki and Arne Lieb from the RP. And we reveal which guests we can look forward to in "Alle Rhein" in 2021.

From 18 episodes of "Alle Rhein", we learned that the (new) name is above all the program for 2020 and that the conversations always revolved around the river. "If the Rhine is the main artery, then perhaps art is the lymphatic system or really the heart of this city. It connects so many people here," says Mike. The mix of small galleries in districts like Flingern, large museums in the city center, the art academy and the short distances in between - this is a central factor in Düsseldorf for many protagonists of the cultural scene. And afterwards, everyone goes back out to the Rhine and drinks an Altbier together on the way.

Our host

Mike Litt was born in the US state of Virginia and lived in Bochum for many years. The globetrotter usually works in Cologne but lives with his family in the beautiful Düsseltal district of Düsseldorf. He is a radio presenter (1Live, WDR 2, DLF Nova), a DJ with Mayday festival experience and an author (‘The loneliest DJ in the world’). For our podcast, he holds fascinating conversations with other people from Düsseldorf’s cultural scene.

Photos
Cover picture: © [email protected]
Music / Sound: Christian Moster / Mike Litt