Born in:
Springfield, Maine, USA

Languages:
English, German, un poco español

Degrees/Journalistic experience:
B.A. German Literature and Modern European History (Harvard University)
PhD German Studies (University of Virginia)
Journalistic experience outside DW: I have written for a large number of leading major German- and English-language periodicals, including the Boston Globe, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, The New York Times, Süddeutsche Zeitung, Condé Nast Traveller, Die Zeit, NZZ etc.

With DW since:
2002

Favorite quote:
"God will forgive me - that's his job." (Heinrich Heine)

My personal hero:
I really want to write Lance Armstrong, but I'm afraid it's Muhammad Ali.

What do I strive to be as a journalist?
I strive not to insult the intelligence of people who have some and to make people who don't wish that they did.

7 songs that have changed my life
(Every song I have ever heard changed my life in a good or bad sense. These 7 had a particularly positive effect.)
1. Duke Ellington “Satin Doll”
2. AC/DC “Shoot to Thrill”
3. Mission of Burma “That's When I Reach for My Revolver”
4. Mahler “The Song of the Earth” (I'm cheating here, but I love Mahler)
5. dEUS “Instant Street”
6. Elliott Smith “Say Yes”
7. Johnny Cash “Folsom Prison Blues”