April 2012 – The Needle: Berlin

Joseph Pearson 27/04/201223/06/2018

Musing about Nazi Exiles in Mexikoplatz Station

‘All the streets around here were named after South American countries, so that when their soldiering grandfathers return from exile,

Living in Berlin

Joseph Pearson 22/04/201223/06/2018

No Water for You, Unless It’s ‘Still or Sparkling’?

Getting a glass of water in a German restaurant is not an easy task. Unless you are willing to pay

Foodie Berlin

Joseph Pearson 14/04/201223/06/2018

Erotica and White Asparagus Season

Asparagus season makes me uneasy. This is a problem living in Germany, because Spargelzeit* is unavoidable. The alien fern crops

Joseph Pearson is a writer and historian based in Berlin. His non-fiction portrait of Berlin was published in 2017. He published a second book, My Grandfather’s Knife, about how everyday objects tell World War Two stories, in 2022. His writing has appeared widely in the press, literary and academic journals, and has been translated into German, Italian, French, Arabic, and other languages. Born in Canada, he was educated at Cambridge University, UK, where he received his doctorate in history in 2001. He works at New York University, Berlin, and at the Barenboim-Said Akademie. Since 2008, he has written The Needle, which has become one of Berlin’s most popular blogs. For professional inquiries please contact his agency, Peters Fraser Dunlop, email him directly joseph [AT] cantab.net, or visit his professional website: josephpearson.ca