Skip to content
The Needle: Berlin

The Needle: Berlin

Sharp Views on the German capital

  • —> Guide for Moving to Berlin
  • ––> Gay / Queer Guide to Berlin
  • Privacy
  • Contact

Berlin and German Politics

Berlin and German Politics 

Why Germany Welcomes Refugees

07/09/201523/06/2018 Joseph Pearson

What accounts for Germany’s compassionate and generous response to twenty thousand refugees, from Syria and other conflict zones, who flooded across the

Read more
Berlin and German Politics 

Germany’s Embarrassing Civil Partnership Law

21/06/201523/06/2018 Joseph Pearson

Germany’s antiquated, Version 1,0, civil partnership law for same-sex couples desperately needs an upgrade. In June, the US Supreme Court

Read more
Berlin and German Politics 

How Dangerous is Berlin?

17/11/201423/06/2018 Joseph Pearson

‘The problem is the false sense of safety that hangs over this city’, I tell the police officer, and he agrees

Read more
Berlin and German Politics 

The Snowden Premiere in Berlin, and Why Citizenfour Was Made in this City

06/11/201423/06/2018 Joseph Pearson

Tonight was the Berlin premiere of Laura Poitras’s film about Edward Snowden, Citizenfour. Before the director was invited to the

Read more
Berlin and German Politics 

Nazi Forced Labour and the Tempelhof Airport Referendum

19/05/201423/06/2018 Joseph Pearson

On 25 May 2014, there will be a referendum in Berlin on the future of the Tempelhof Airfield. The proposal

Read more
Berlin and German Politics 

The May Protests in Berlin: Piketty and New Approaches to Inequality

05/05/201423/06/2018 Joseph Pearson

More than twice the number expected showed up this year to the 1 May left-wing demonstrations in Kreuzberg (close to

Read more
Berlin and German Politics 

How We Were Chased out of Görlitz: Wes Anderson Meets Reality

10/04/201423/06/2018 Joseph Pearson

I must admit that the idea of spending the weekend in Görlitz came up after watching the film, Grand Budapest

Read more
Berlin and German Politics 

Is Spring Coming? and The Attacks on Swans in Berlin

13/02/201423/06/2018 Joseph Pearson

You wake to a blue sky, the temperature rises, and you dare to say Spring is coming. What do the

Read more
Berlin and German Politics 

You Are Not A Citizen: Berlin’s Zones of Exclusion

02/11/201323/06/2018 Joseph Pearson

A new exhibition opened tonight (1/11/13) at the Kunstquartier Bethanien called ‘In Search of Europe? Equals in an Unequal World’. It is

Read more
Berlin and German Politics 

The Refugee Camp in Central Berlin

09/10/201323/06/2018 Joseph Pearson

How did you make your way to Berlin, Ali? Overland to Libya from Mali, he paid a human smuggler almost

Read more
Berlin and German Politics 

The Needle’s 2013 German Federal Elections Roundup

20/09/201323/06/2018 Joseph Pearson

It’s time to vote in Germany this weekend and you might have been wondering what issues are on the plate

Read more
  • ← Previous
  • Next →

Explore The Needle

  • Places in Berlin
  • Berlin History
  • Living in Berlin
  • Berlin and German Politics
  • Opinion and Politics
  • Berlin Arts
  • Foodie Berlin
  • Gay and Queer Berlin
  • Trips from Berlin
  • Blog Posts on The Needle

About the Author

Joseph Pearson is a writer based in Berlin. Born in Canada, he was educated at Cambridge University, UK, where he received his doctorate in history in 2001. His non-fiction portrait of Berlin was published in 2017. He is also the essayist and blogger of the Schaubühne Theatre, one of Berlin’s best known state-funded institutions. Since 2008, he has written The Needle, which has become one of Berlin’s most popular blogs. His writing has appeared widely in the press, literary and academic journals, and has been translated into German, Italian, French, Arabic, and other languages. For professional inquiries please contact:  joseph [AT] cantab.net.

What is The Needle?

The changing meanings of The Needle are the inspiration for these pages. Above Alexanderplatz is Berlin's television tower. The Needle surveilled the city during East German times like a threatening eye; then its meaning changed after the Berlin Wall fell. Berliners now think of the tower as a giant disco ball flirting with the city lights––a symbol of sex, electronic music and youth culture. This weekly documents the Berlin Renaissance today, mindful of a dramatic and terrifying history. Berlin is Europe's most exciting city, and The Needle is here to share.

Never miss a post!

If you'd like to sign up to be notified by email when there's a new post on The Needle, you can do so here.
Loading

Recent Comments

  • Berlinblog.dk on What’s Changed in Berlin in a Decade? Ten Years of ‘Moving to Berlin’
  • Joseph Pearson on Black in Berlin: Talking about Racism
  • Suzy on Revolt on the Admiralbrücke, Kreuzberg
  • Elain on The Rise and Fall of Berliner Schnauze
  • Joseph Pearson on Turks but not Berliners?
  • Steph on Turks but not Berliners?
  • RudyTrudy on The Rise and Fall of Berliner Schnauze
  • Partitions & Resonances on A Secret Plan in Rix Café
  • Joseph Pearson on What’s Changed in Berlin in a Decade? Ten Years of ‘Moving to Berlin’
  • Max on What’s Changed in Berlin in a Decade? Ten Years of ‘Moving to Berlin’

Berlin Links

  • Architecture in Berlin A blog about buildings in the city
  • Berlin Poche Berlin en français!
  • Boulezian Classical Music Blog, with much on Berlin
  • Cabaret Berlin Exploring the entertainment world of Weimar Berlin
  • Expats Blog compendium of expats’ blogs
  • German Way Resources for the German-speaking lands
  • Il Mitte Online Magazine about Berlin in Italian
  • Kreuzberged Xberg–A Love and Hate Relationship
  • Neuköllner.net (German language) Nifty Neukölln weekend round-up
  • Sand: Berlin Literary Journal A literary journal based in Berlin
  • Slow Travel Berlin Meander through the city…
  • Sugarhigh: Design, Eat, Love Berlin
  • Then We Take Berlin Off-beat Berlin Blog
  • Überlin tips on the best places
  • Wednesday Chef Berlin Foodie Blog

Archives

Copyright © 2021 The Needle: Berlin. All rights reserved.
Theme: ColorMag by ThemeGrill. Powered by WordPress.