Podcast
Danish Originals
Hosted by Various · EN
Danish Originals spotlights Danes who have made a significant impact in the US in the areas of creativity, originality, and innovation, and is a collection of oral histories of a certain kind.
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The series is directed by Christian D. Bruun and hosted by Tina Jøhnk Christensen along with Gregers Heering, Asger Hussain, Finn-Olaf Jones, Frederikke Møller, Nicolai Rottbøll, Carsten "Soulshock" Schack. It is produced by Teresa Lai, mastered by Shaun Hettinger and Greg Williams, with original music by Joachim Svare, and executive produced by Christian D. Bruun and Tina Jøhnk Christensen.
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Danish Originals is a fiscally sponsored project of Nordic Concepts Institute. We thank our supporters for the first 100 episodes (Seasons 1–10), who include founding sponsor American Friends of Statens Museum for Kunst, inaugural sponsor Studio Haslund, and sponsor Scan Design Foundation. We are additionally grateful to Scandinavian Airlines for featuring select episodes on their inflight programming on long-haul flights.
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15episodes
Episodes
Newest firstAll episodes
S12E3. Karen Hansen
3w ago00:45:02Tap to summarizeFrom her home in Culver City, Næstved-born, Los Angeles-based Danish bakery owner and head baker KAREN HANSEN recalls her journey arriving in LA in 1977 as an au pair to her current venture with the beloved local favorite, Copenhagen Pastry. Karen talks about being a resourceful self-starter and checking in with her instincts. And she revisits her very different prior businesses, a residential home cleaning service and a marketing service for creatives, before arriving at traditional Danish pastries.----------For today's episode, Karen Hansen chose Harald Slott-Møller's Dansk landskab, or Danish Landscape, from 1891 from the collection of the National Gallery of Denmark. https://open.smk.dk/en/artwork/image/DEP297----------Photographer: Sara Madsen----------This conversation with Christian D. Bruun occurred on April 27, 2026.----------We invite you to subscribe to Danish Originals for weekly episodes. You can also find us at:website: https://danishoriginals.com/ email: info@danishoriginals.com
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S12E2. Josefine Opsahl
4w ago00:59:07Tap to summarizeFrom her studio in Copenhagen, Lyngby-born Danish composer and cellist JOSEFINE OPSAHL talks about her dual roles as a classical music composer and a cellist who performs with live electronics and sound design. She elaborates on performativity, the forces of life that are at stake in her music, and her breaking down genre boundaries and dissolving physical ones. And Josefine traces her creative journey through her albums Atrium, Cytropia, and her HANDS Concerto for Solo Cello and Orchestra.----------For today's episode, Josefine Opsahl chose Richard Serra's Equal from 2015 from the collection of The Museum of Modern Art in New York.https://www.moma.org/collection/works/193590 ----------Photographer: Tomas Kaerup----------This conversation with Gregers Heering occurred on May 8, 2026.----------We invite you to subscribe to Danish Originals for weekly episodes. You can also find us at:website: https://danishoriginals.com/ email: info@danishoriginals.com
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S12E1. Vibeke Holst-Andersen
Jul 1600:40:17Tap to summarizeFrom her home in Long Beach, Sønderborg outskirts-born Danish global life sciences and diagnostics legal executive VIBEKE HOLST-ANDERSEN talks about her 13-year tenure with the international Danaher Corporation, first in Denmark, then in the US. She revisits her considerations as a Danish legal expert working in the US, and her experience passing the California Bar Examination only as a challenge for herself. Vibeke also talks about balancing a demanding career and a tight-knit family. ----------For today's episode, Vibeke Holst-Andersen chose Goya's The Naked Maja from 1795–1800, and Saturn from 1820–1823, from the collection of the Prado Museum in Madrid, Spain.https://www.museodelprado.es/en/the-collection/art-work/the-naked-maja/65953b93-323e-48fe-98cb-9d4b15852b18https://www.museodelprado.es/en/the-collection/art-work/saturn/18110a75-b0e7-430c-bc73-2a4d55893bd6----------Photographer: Jens Honoré----------This conversation with Christian D. Bruun occurred on April 21, 2026.----------We invite you to subscribe to Danish Originals for weekly episodes. You can also find us at:website: https://danishoriginals.com/ email: info@danishoriginals.com
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S11E10. Mads Tolling
Jun 1800:52:08Tap to summarizeFrom his home in the Bay Area, Hellerup-born, two-time Grammy-winner Danish-American violinist and composer MADS TOLLING shares highlights of his career playing with bands and leading his own groups, the Mads Tolling Quartet, and Mads Tolling & The Mads Men. At his core a jazz violinist, Mads credits his training at Boston's Berklee College of Music, and talks about blurring musical boundaries, exploring different genres, and reaching new audiences, both as a musician and a composer. ----------For today's episode, Mads Tolling chose P.C. Skovgaard's Bøgeskov i maj. Motiv fra Iselingen, or A Beech Wood in May near Iselingen Manor, Zealand, from 1857 from the collection of the National Gallery of Denmark.https://open.smk.dk/en/artwork/image/KMS4580 ----------Photographer: Karolina Zapolska----------This conversation with Christian D. Bruun occurred on April 14, 2026.----------We invite you to subscribe to Danish Originals for weekly episodes. You can also find us at:website: https://danishoriginals.com/ email: info@danishoriginals.com
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S11E9. Lena Torslow Hansen
Jun 1100:46:32Tap to summarizeFrom her home in the Santa Monica mountains, Aarhus-born, Los Angeles-based Danish-Swedish ceramicist, curator, and bookseller LENA TORSLOW HANSEN revisits her first passion with clay and her roles with some foundational exhibitions: "A Broad Spectrum" (1984), "Golden Age in Danish Painting" (1994) as well as the 28 for the cultural festival "Scandinavia Today" (1982–1983). Lena also recalls cross-country road trips running Nordic Art Books and the pre-Amazon art book landscape.----------For today's episode, Lena Torslow Hansen chose J.F. Willumsen's En bjergbestigerske, or A Mountain Climber, from 1912 from the collection of the National Gallery of Denmark.https://open.smk.dk/en/artwork/image/KMS3413 ----------Photographer: Aya Muto----------This conversation with Finn-Olaf Jones occurred on May 8, 2026.----------We invite you to subscribe to Danish Originals for weekly episodes. You can also find us at:website: https://danishoriginals.com/ email: info@danishoriginals.com
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S11E8. Jens Honoré
Jun 400:48:24Tap to summarizeFrom his home office in Gentofte, Sønderborg-born and Copenhagen- and New York-based Danish photographer JENS HONORÉ talks about his work with the Roger Federer Foundation and his books A Place to Dream (2018) with SOS Children's Village and The Right to Food (2021) with the nonprofit initiative JUNKFOOD. He discusses the importance of connecting to people, using his photography for social good, and his present focus on craftsmanship in his film The Crosses and his upcoming book. ----------For today's episode, Jens Honoré chose Jesper Rasmussen's Dumbo Brooklyn New York from 2005 from the collection of the National Gallery of Denmark.https://open.smk.dk/en/artwork/image/KKS2005-15 ----------Photographer: Klaus Clemmens----------This conversation with Gregers Heering occurred on March 30, 2026.----------We invite you to subscribe to Danish Originals for weekly episodes. You can also find us at:website: https://danishoriginals.com/ email: info@danishoriginals.com
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S11E7. Ilya Katsnelson
May 2800:57:45Tap to summarizeFrom his home in Israels Plads, Soviet Union-born, Copenhagen-based Danish American businessman and startup investor ILYA KATSNELSON recalls arriving in the US as a refugee at the age of ten, his formative years in Wisconsin, and moving to Denmark, later surviving a German maximum security jail when the Russian state issued a retaliatory Interpol red notice against him. Equally, he talks about his commitment to bringing the US and Denmark closer together through education, art, and culture.----------For today's episode, Ilya Katsnelson chose Carl Bloch's Fra et romersk osteria, or In a Roman Osteria, from 1866 from the collection of the National Gallery of Denmark.https://open.smk.dk/en/artwork/image/KMS4087 ----------Photographer: Davy Denke----------This conversation with Christian D. Bruun occurred on April 6, 2026.----------We invite you to subscribe to Danish Originals for weekly episodes. You can also find us at:website: https://danishoriginals.com/ email: info@danishoriginals.com
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S11E6. Maiken Baird
May 2100:44:29Tap to summarizeFrom her home in Greenwich Village, Manhattan, Copenhagen-born, New York-based Danish-Scottish documentary film producer and director MAIKEN BAIRD talks about her latest film on Palestinian American scholar Edward Said that is entirely archive-based. She revisits her iconic works, such as Client 9 (2010), Venus and Serena (2012), Oscar winner Icarus (2017), and Ghislaine Maxwell: Filthy Rich (2022), and describes the challenges in telling real stories that help us understand our world. ----------For today's episode, Maiken Baird chose Lauritz Hartz's Landskab med bakker, or Rolling Landscape, from 1927 from the collection of the National Gallery of Denmark.https://open.smk.dk/en/artwork/image/KMS7062----------Photographer: Terry Gruber----------This conversation with Asger Hussain occurred on March 26, 2026.----------We invite you to subscribe to Danish Originals for weekly episodes. You can also find us at:website: https://danishoriginals.com/ email: info@danishoriginals.com
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S11E5. Frederikke Møller
May 1400:37:07Tap to summarizeFrom her home in Copenhagen, Fuglebjerg-born Danish arts and culture advisor FREDERIKKE MØLLER talks about her recent position with the Danish Embassy in Washington, D.C. facilitating Danish arts programming and dialogue in the US. Frederikke shares her thoughts on the changing US cultural scene under the Trump administration, and describes her current initiatives with Seattle's National Nordic Museum and her dream to work on collaborations among Nordic cultures.----------For today's episode, Frederikke Møller chose Jakob Kudsk Steensen's Primal Tourism from 2016 from the collection of the National Gallery of Denmark.https://open.smk.dk/en/artwork/image/KMS8931----------Photographer: Per Sommer----------This conversation with Gregers Heering occurred on March 11, 2026.----------We invite you to subscribe to Danish Originals for weekly episodes. You can also find us at:website: https://danishoriginals.com/ email: info@danishoriginals.com
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S11E4. Rufus Gifford
May 700:57:18Tap to summarizeFrom his home in Concord, Massachusetts, New England-born former US Ambassador to Denmark RUFUS GIFFORD recalls his start in politics, his ongoing connection to Denmark, and his work under Barack Obama and Joe Biden. He describes the current problematic chapter in transatlantic relationships, exemplified by the tensions with Denmark and Greenland, the MAGA movement in the US, and his passion to help elect a transformational US leader in 2028 in the post-Trump world order.----------For today's episode, Rufus Gifford chose C.W. Eckersberg's En sejlads til Charlottenlund, or Sailing from Copenhagen to Charlottenlund, from 1824 from the collection of the National Gallery of Denmark.https://open.smk.dk/en/artwork/image/KMS8684----------Photograph Source: Rufus Gifford----------This conversation with Nicolai Rottbøll occurred on March 18, 2026.----------We invite you to subscribe to Danish Originals for weekly episodes. You can also find us at:website: https://danishoriginals.com/email: info@danishoriginals.com
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