Schlaflos in München (Sleepless in Munich) is an outstanding German audio blog and weekly podcast by Larissa Vassilian, alias Annik Rubens, a thirty-something German journalist. Annik Rubens started her popular blog in 2005 and has produced over 560 episodes as of September 2010.
"Schlaflos in München," Podcast for Advanced German Speakers
Annik Rubens speaks clearly, uses colloquial language and covers a wide range of news-worthy and personal topics. She might talk about her cat, books on the bestseller list, movies she saw, and the different media projects she contributes to, her latest being an audio book on Oktoberfest. Her podcast's format is informal, refreshing and delightful to listen to. Annik laughs a lot and speaks super fast when she gets enthusiastic. It might not be the easiest program to follow for German language learners, but it is an excellent way to listen to real, everyday German. Schlaflos in München is one of the top ten downloaded German podcasts.
"Slow German," Podcast for Intermediate German Speakers
This podcast is ideal for self study. In Slow German Annik Rubens picks up a topic of Sleepless in Munich and reads it out slowly. She covers German culture, news and everyday life from health care, soccer, holidays and "Biergarten" to the efficient German recycling system and the debate about sexual abuse in the Catholic church.
Transcripts are available on the Slow German website and as free PDF-files. Double clicking on any German word in the transcript opens up a German-English dictionary with the appropriate translation.
Supplementary material (PDFs) for German language students and teachers are available at modest cost on the Slow German website (materials for ten episodes cost 8 Euros). They include transcripts, key vocabulary lists in German-English, open ended questions, multiple choice questions and a 'fill in the blanks' exercise. There is a free sample for Slow German #50.
Where to Download "Sleepless in Munich" and "Slow German"
Both podcasts are available for free via iTunes. Sleepless in Munich is listed under personal journals and Slow German counts as a language course. Fans can subscribe to the podcast via iTunes. But one can also listen to the latest episode or download individual ones from the Schlaflos in München and Slow German website.
What Makes the German Podcast "Sleepless in Munich" so attractive?
In an interview with Jeff Jarvis, Annik Rubens says that rather than watching TV, she loved listening to the Voice of America on the radio as a child because "it seemed wonderfully exotic". She learned to speak flawless English and how to produce a good radio show. Her talk flows effortlessly and makes you feel like listening to a chatty friend. She might just say : "die Sonne kommt raus" (the sun just came out!) or remember towards the end of the show that she had this excellent opener, but simply forgot to start with it. Jarvis raves about Rubens in his blog saying that she does "the (...) impossible: She makes German sound sexy."
Sources:
Jarvis, Jeff. Lessons for us all from the princess of podcasting, The Guardian,11/28/2005, Web.
Buzz Machine, blog by Jeff Jarvis.
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