The American Council on Germany and the Goethe-Institut cordially invite you to a discussion as part of the series Foreign Correspondent Unplugged on “Covering Democracy: Media, Politics, and Public Opinion on both Sides of the Atlantic” with Nadine Lindner, Journalist, Deutschlandradio and Renée Loth, Opinion Columnist and Former Editor, The Boston Globe, moderated by Dr. Steven E. Sokol, President and CEO, The American Council on Germany.
Join the American Council on Germany and the Goethe-Institut for an installment of our Foreign Correspondent Unplugged series, which delves into current political debates on both sides of the Atlantic.
Political debates in both Germany and the United States are increasingly shaped not only by elections and policy decisions, but also by the narratives and interpretations that emerge in the media. As polarization deepens and political movements evolve, journalists and opinion writers play a crucial role in helping the public make sense of fast-moving political developments.
Join two accomplished voices from their respective national media landscape for a conversation about politics, public discourse, and the changing role of journalism. Nadine Lindner, an award-winning correspondent for Deutschlandradio known for her reporting on the rise of the Alternative for Germany and political developments in eastern Germany, will be joined by Renée Loth, an opinion columnist at The Boston Globe and former editorial page editor of the newspaper. Drawing on decades of reporting and commentary, they will explore how political journalism and opinion writing shape public understanding of major political trends – from the evolution of party politics in Germany to the forces transforming American democracy – and what audiences on each side of the Atlantic often misunderstand about the other.
This event is part of a week-long speaking tour by Nadine Lindner to five U.S. cities titled “State(s) of Democracy: A German Journalist’s Journey to the U.S. in 2026.”
Nadine Lindner has been a Correspondent in the Berlin studio of “Deutschlandradio” since early 2016. Among other things, Ms. Lindner is responsible for the news coverage of the Alternative for Germany (AfD) in the German parliament. Ms. Lindner studied Political Science at Leipzig University in Saxony, and discovered her enthusiasm for radio at the training station “mephisto 97.6.” After graduating from university, she worked as a freelance journalist for “MDR sputnik” and the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung as well as Deutschlandradio. She completed her journalistic training at Deutschlandradio in Berlin. In 2013, Ms. Lindner moved back to Saxony as a regional correspondent for Deutschlandradio, where she covered the early evolution of the AfD and the anti-asylum movement Pegida. In 2024, she received the prize from the Bundespressekonferenz, the association of capital studio journalists, for her reporting about the AfD and Eastern Germany.
Renée Loth was a Goldsmith Fellow at the Shorenstein Center. She is a columnist for the Boston Globe and is the newspaper’s former editorial page editor. In that capacity, Ms. Loth was the highest-ranking woman at the Globe for nine years. Ms. Loth holds a journalism degree from Boston University, where she edited the campus newspaper during the 1970s. She then edited the East Boston Community News, worked as a political reporter for the Boston Phoenix and later became associate editor of New England Monthly magazine. In 1985, Ms. Loth was hired by the Boston Globe as a staff writer for the Sunday magazine. She went on to cover Governor Dukakis and other politicians as a State House bureau reporter. In 1992, Ms. Loth covered the presidential campaign, inaugurating the popular Ad Watch column analyzing TV political ads. She became the political editor in 1993, and deputy editor of the editorial page in 1994. She is a regular contributor to local and national news panels and is vice-chair of the board of PEN-New England. With the support of traveling journalism fellowships, she has reported from 14 countries.
Dr. Steven E. Sokol (moderator) has been the President and CEO of the American Council on Germany since 2015. Previously, he served as President and CEO of the World Affairs Council of Pittsburgh and prior to that he was the Vice President and Director of Programs at the American Council on Germany. Earlier in his career, Dr. Sokol worked at the Aspen Institute Berlin and in the Berlin office of the German Marshall Fund of the United States. He holds a Doctorate from Northeastern University as well as an M.A. from the Johns Hopkins University’s Paul Nitze School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) and a B.A. from Wesleyan University. He has also studied at the Ruprecht-Karls-Universität in Heidelberg and as a Fulbright Scholar at the Freie Universität in Berlin.
There is no cost to attend this event. Register Below by April 22nd.