Airlift from Berlin Review

Tobias Haberkorn and Lauren Oyler discuss Vincenzo Latronico's _Perfection_, a novel originally written in Italian about a millennial couple's life in Berlin that became a huge success in the Anglophone literary world. Lauren and Tobias discuss why the book is so polarizing, what it says about authenticity and whether the Berlin depicted in the novel even exists anymore.

In the first episode of Airlift, a new show from Berlin Review, Tobias Haberkorn and Lauren Oyler discuss two films nominated for nine Academy Awards each: Joachim Trier's Sentimental Value and Josh Safdie's Marty Supreme. They explore what both films reveal about the widening cultural rift between the United States and Europe, family stories generational trauma, and the role of masculinity.

Seit Anfang 2026 dominiert der Iran die Nachrichten. Wie wirkt sich diese Situation auf die iranische Diaspora in Deutschland aus? Zu Gast ist Damon Taleghani, Musiker und Autor in Berlin. Er spricht mit Berlin Review Editor Tobias Haberkorn über seinen Essay «Tod dem Tod. Es lebe das Leben», der zeigt, wie sich der Protestslogan «Tod dem Schah» aus den 1970er Jahren unter den Anhängern des im Exil lebenden Schah-Sohns in sein Gegenteil verwandeln konnte.

In this episode of Berlin Review Audio, writer Lianna Mark reads her essay "Better Living Through Self-Curation," originally published in the winter online edition of Berlin Review. The piece responds to Vincenzo Latronico’s widely discussed novel Perfection, which was shortlisted for the 2025 Booker Prize after the publication of its English translation.

In her essay, Mark looks beyond the polarized reactions to the novel and examines the cultural economy behind authenticity. What does it mean to perform sincerity in a literary marketplace that rewards stories that are easily packaged and exported? And how does self-curation shape not only our lives but also the narratives that circulate globally?

In dieser Episode spricht Tobias Haberkorn mit der ukrainischen Autorin und Fotografin Yevgenia Belorusets über ihre Heimatstadt Kiew im dritten und bald vierten Kriegsjahr.