From the producer and host of Archipelago, Dad Mode Activated explores the reality of becoming a father after the age of 40.

With episodes released every fortnight, the podcast features conversations with late-blooming dads who are rewriting the playbook of modern parenthood.

Expect real-life stories, honest advice and the occasional laugh about the unexpected perks of being dads who remember the ‘80s.

To find out more, visit https://dadmodeactivated.co/

“Opening Champagne with a sword is more fun. You can feel it in your stomach.”

So says Marianne Sass Petersen — a bookkeeper from Amager whose life changed when she attended a Champagne sabering competition at Tivoli.

Dedicating herself to the art of opening Champagne bottles with swords, she went on to win the Danish championship — and launch a successful business teaching sabering.

In the final episode of the season, we visit Marianne's house in Amager to find out why she loves sabering, what it entails, and how it could change your life, too.

For good measure, there's a pair of improbable references to hip-hop, as well (neither of them to Liquid Swords, alas).

Further information

Champagne Sabling

Squares and Triangles

Scenery

“Those who wish to relive their lives, never lived them in the first place.”

The words of Karen Blixen — the acclaimed Danish writer whose life story is the basis of a brand-new ballet created exclusively for the Royal Danish Theatre in Copenhagen.

Blixen sketches the writer's life story from her childhood years in Denmark through her unhappy marriage to her half-cousin Bror Blixen, her years running a coffee plantation in Kenya—where she embarked on a doomed love affair with Denys Finch Hatton—and the final years of her life, back home in Denmark, when she found global fame at last.

To discover how to tell the life story of one of Denmark’s best-known writers through that most expressionistic yet wordless form of storytelling — ballet — we speak to three of the people behind Blixen: dancer and choreographer Gregory Dean; principal dancer Kizzy Matiakis, who plays Blixen; and costume and set designer Jon Morrell.

Meik Wiking is one of the world’s leading happiness experts.

The founder of the Happiness Research Institute, he’s also the author of two New York Times bestsellers — The Little Book of Hygge and The Little Book of Lykke — which have been translated into more than 35 languages and sold over a million copies worldwide.

Little wonder, then, that he's been dubbed “probably the world’s happiest man”.

But when Meik turned 40, he realised that, statistically speaking, as a Danish man, he’d lived half his life.

Which got him thinking: how many of the 14,610 days he’d lived could he remember?

So he decided to start researching memories, culminating in his latest book — The Art of Making Memories, a lighthearted but thought-provoking series of tips about how to create and remember happy memories.

We discuss the book with Meik and discover why Andy Warhol changed his perfume every three months, why we should take more photos of our cereal boxes, and how to memorise the order of a deck of card in just minutes.

Further reading:

Happiness Research Institute
https://www.happinessresearchinstitute.com/

The Art of Making Memories, Penguin Random House
https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/311273/the-art-of-making-memories/9780241376058.html

The music used in Archipelago is produced by two Copenhagen-based artists:

Squares and Triangles
https://squaresandtriangles.bandcamp.com/

Scenery
https://scenerymusic.bandcamp.com/

We kick off season two of Archipelago with a very special guest indeed.

Naja Marie Aidt has been described as “one of the most intelligent writers of the contemporary literary world” and as “one of the compassionate voices in fiction”.

Born in Greenland and raised in Copenhagen, she’s the author of ten poetry collections and three short-story collections — including Baboon, which won the Nordic countries’ most prestigious literary award, the Nordic Council's Literature Prize, as well as the Danish Critics Prize for Literature.

Domestic plaudits have led to international acclaim, too.

Baboon was published in English-speaking markets in 2014, and Naja’s debut novel, Rock Paper Scissors, in 2015.

But both books are likely to be eclipsed by Naja’s latest book in translation.

It’s a work of non-fiction called When Death Takes Something From You Give It Back — a cryptic and, as it turns out, deeply personal title that only hints at the tragedy the book describes.  

Believe me when I say it’s one of the most remarkable books you’ll ever read.

I was thrilled when Naja found time in her busy schedule at the Aarhus Literature Festival this summer to discuss it with me. 

Further reading:

“When Death Takes Something From You Give It Back” official page, Quercus

Naja Marie Aidt's back catalogue

The music used in Archipelago is produced by two local artists:

Squares and Triangles

https://squaresandtriangles.bandcamp.com/

Scenery

https://scenerymusic.bandcamp.com/

We end season one with a bang — on the little known Danish island of Pornø. 

To mark half a century since Denmark became the first country to legalise visual pornography, we take a deep dive into arty porn and pornographic art.

Up first, we meet Rasmus Steenbakken, the curator of a major new group exhibition at the ARoS art museum in Aarhus which looks at cultural creativity, freedom of expression and art in the age of pornography.

Then we talk to Anne Sofie Steen Sverdrup of Copenhagen-based porn production company Bedside Productions. She wants society to take porn more seriously as a cultural product — and even went in front of the camera to show how it should be done.

Further reading:

“Art & Porn”, ARoS

https://en.aros.dk/exhibitions_/2019/art-porn/

Bedside Productions

http://www.bedside-productions.com/

The music used in Archipelago is produced by two local artists:

Squares and Triangles

https://squaresandtriangles.bandcamp.com/

Scenery

https://scenerymusic.bandcamp.com/

Once a foodie wasteland, Copenhagen is today a major gastronomic destination.

It is, of course, the epicentre of New Nordic cuisine — the culinary movement that championed hyper-local, seasonal ingredients and elevated foraging and fermentation to art forms.

But it’s also a global food city — one where savvy diners can find everything from Surinamese peanut soup to Ethiopian injera, Vietnamese banh mi to Cantonese dim sum.

Even the local government has gone gourmet. There are honey bees on the roof of one town hall, a gin distillery in the basement of another.

In this episode, we take a snapshot of the Copenhagen food scene — and discuss how it’s changed, why that matters, and where it could be going next.

Up first is American journalist Lisa Abend, who writes about current affairs, culture and food for the New York Times, the Washington Post, and Time magazine, among others.

Then we meet Nick Curtin, Andrew Valenzuela, and Camilla Hansen — the co-founders of Alouette, which was awarded a Michelin star within a year of opening in a former envelope factory in Islands Brygge.

Finally, we discuss the intersection of food and theatre with Rasmus Munk, the head chef and founder of soon-to-be-relaunched restaurant Alchemist, and its dramaturge Louise Knudsen.

Further reading:

Lisa Abend on “The Food Circus”

https://www.fool.se/free-read

Alouette

http://www.restaurantalouette.dk/

Alchemist

http://restaurant-alchemist.dk/

The music used in Archipelago is produced by two local artists:

Squares and Triangles

https://squaresandtriangles.bandcamp.com/

Scenery

https://scenerymusic.bandcamp.com/

We try to solve one of the greatest mysteries of all time.

Why are the Danish so crazy about chairs? Why are there so many Danish chairs? And does the world really need any more of them?

Ahead of 3 Days of Design — Denmark’s biggest annual design event — we meet a trio of design devotees and discuss the past, present and future of Danish design.

Up first is Christian Holmsted Olesen, the head of exhibitions and collections at the Danish Design Museum and the author of The Danish Chair: An International Affair.

Then we hear from Jeni Porter, the editor of Ark Journal, a brand-new Copenhagen-based magazine about architecture, design and art.

Finally, we talk to Henrik Lorensen, the founder of TAKT, a new Danish company that wants to rethink the way we design, build and sell furniture.

Further reading:

Danish Design Museum’s permanent exhibition, The Danish Chair: An International Affair

https://designmuseum.dk/en/exhibition/the-danish-chair-an-international-affair/

Ark Journal

https://www.ark-journal.com/

Takt

https://taktcph.com/

The music used in Archipelago is produced by two local artists:

Squares and Triangles

https://squaresandtriangles.bandcamp.com/

Scenery

https://scenerymusic.bandcamp.com/

CPH:DOX is one of the world’s largest documentary film festivals — and a highlight of Copenhagen’s cultural calendar.

In this episode we talk to the directors of two films that were screened in competition at the 2019 festival. Two very similar — and yet very different — documentaries about children growing up in Copenhagen today.

Phie Ambo’s REDISCOVERY is a beautifully shot film about the 10 weeks that almost 50 children from the Green Free School in Amager spent building camps on an overgrown patch of land after they were tasked with establishing a new society there.

Olivia Chamby-Rus’s WOLFLAND is a deeply personal slice of life from the perspective of children and teenagers living on or near Blågårds Plads, a square in the northern Copenhagen district of Nørrebro.

Further reading:

REDISCOVERY (Trailer)

https://vimeo.com/315875664

WOLFLAND (Trailer)

https://vimeo.com/325845028

The music used in Archipelago is produced by two local artists:

Squares and Triangles

https://squaresandtriangles.bandcamp.com/

Scenery

https://scenerymusic.bandcamp.com/

Episode two is about two Danish companies that have developed creative ways to employ people who often struggle to pick up work.

First we meet People Like Us — a brewing company run by people who have been diagnosed with autism and social anxiety, and war veterans with PTSD.

Then we meet Bike & Bloom, a florist that hires and trains people who are among the most invisible members of any society or labour market — refugee women.

Further reading:

People Like Us

https://peoplelikeus.dk/

Bike & Bloom

https://www.bikeandbloom.com/

The music used in Archipelago is produced by two local artists:

Squares and Triangles

https://squaresandtriangles.bandcamp.com/

Scenery

https://scenerymusic.bandcamp.com/

Two very different takes on what our default response to life's opportunities ought to be. 

Based on a pair of words that we all use every day. A pair of words with the power to change your life, alter the course of history, or simply stop you leaving the house. Those words, of course, are Yes and No.

First we hear from Aalborg University psychology professor and bestselling author Svend Brinkmann about the importance of wearing "the No hat", the tyranny of positive thinking, and the "joy of missing out".

Then we meet Jay Sukow, until recently the artistic director of Copenhagen's top improv school. He talks about the life-changing power of saying "Yes, and…", why mistakes should be seen as gifts, and why you should do one thing every week that scares you.

A preview of the brand-new podcast about arts, culture and ideas in Denmark. Produced by Mothertongue Media. 

In episode five, we meet the chef trying to put Amager on the culinary map — quite literally.

Yngve Fobian is the head chef at Øens Spisested — a "local" restaurant in more ways than one.

For one thing, most of its ingredients are from Amager — a haul celebrated on a map in the dining room.

Fish come from the icy waters of the Øresund, vegetables from fields near Dragør, game from the island's forests, and fruits and flowers from its commons.

Yngve also gives free meals to locals who share the bounty of their allotment gardens.

Yet at Øens Spisested, locally sourced 'mad ' (Danish for 'food') isn't the only thing on the menu.

Amager's rich — and often infamous — history is, too.

Indeed, Øens Spisested is as much a celebration of the island's identity as its food — which may make it the most distinctive restaurant in town.

Further information

Øens Spisested

Squares and Triangles

Scenery

The Helgoland sea-bathing club, at the northern tip of Amager's beach, is home to one of the world's oldest winter-bathing associations, Det Kolde Gys ("The Cold Shock").

In episode four of This Amarkaner Life, we brave the heat of the sauna and the icy waters of the Øresund to talk to some of the association's hardiest members.

We meet a woman who's been winter bathing for 30 years and a local physio who swims in the sea every morning and is one of the club's saunagus "masters".

They reveal why they love winter bathing so much, how it makes them feel, how to get started, and why Helgoland, in particular, is so special.

Further information

Helgoland

Gys og Gus, by Charlotte Ringbæk et al.

Squares and Triangles

Scenery

There's already a bit of a buzz around this episode — if only because the Amarkaners in question are the island’s hard-working honeybees.

In episode three, we visit Bybi — a bee-powered project based in Amager’s historic Sundholm district — to meet its British founder, Oliver Maxwell.

We learn about Bybi's unusual origin story and location, discover why Oliver prefers to see honey as an "invitation" not a product, and hear about the honey that has some of Copenhagen's best chefs "falling over backwards".

“As soon as you start working with bees, you realise that honey is absolutely magical," Oliver says. "You put these creatures out around the city and over a few days, weeks and months, they accumulate this absolute treasure."

The sound design is by two artists — Squares and Triangles and Scenery.

Please return your seatbacks and tray tables to their fully upright position because we'll shortly be landing at one of Amager’s best-known restaurants — Flyvergrillen. You'll find it at Copenhagen airport, but don’t go looking for it before your next flight. Because Flyvergrillen isn’t so much at the airport as right alongside it. Indeed, the only thing separating it from the runway is a barbed-wire fence and about 100 metres of tarmac — giving diners a prime view of planes taking off or landing. Fasten your seatbelts, then, as we visit the 50-year-old  grill bar to meet Denmark's most dedicated planespotters — as well as an ageing cat who's "worse than Putin". The episode was written, produced, and hosted by James Clasper. The music is by Scenery and Squares and Triangles.

"Amager is a great place. Amager is number one.”

So says Kurt Helmann Jensen ("Kurt like Kurt Russell"). And he should know.

For one thing, he's a self-proclaimed "Amarkaner" — a dyed-in-the-wool resident of Amager, the much-maligned, teardrop-shaped island in southern Copenhagen.

He's also the chairman of the association that runs Dyrenes Mindegrave, a cemetery on the island where bereaved pet owners — including Kurt — have come to lay their furry friends to rest for the past 75 years.

All of which makes him ideal for the first episode of the new season of Archipelago.

You see, the podcast gets its name because there are more than 400 islands in Denmark.

So, starting with season three, it's going to explore some of them in more detail.

And where better to begin than the island of Amager?

After all, it's home to the city’s airport, its longest beach, its biggest nature reserve, and about 200,000 people — including Archipelago's producer and host, James Clasper.

Amager's also a deeply fascinating but oft-misunderstood place, with a story on every corner.

So season three of Archipelago — This Amarkaner Life — will tell some of those stories.

Starting with Kurt — and his four ferrets.

Danish "song kindergartens" hit the right notes, while a 19th-century prison provides an unsettling location for an overnight stay.

In this episode, we visit Trekroner Børnehus, a kindergarten outside Roskilde, to hear about Sangglad — a scheme to "increase and improve" singing in Danish pre-schools.

Then we head to Horsens Prison Museum, in Jutland, to discover how a notorious jail has been transformed into a popular tourist attraction.

Further reading:

Sangglad

Horsens Prison Museum

The sound design is by Squares and Triangles and Scenery.

Two Danish institutions have discovered eye-catching ways to go green.

From Greta Thunberg’s school strike to the Fridays for the Future movement, there’s no shortage of children taking a stand against climate change.

But while their activism takes place outside the school gates, some say that what kids are taught while they’re at school is just as important — if not more so.

In this episode, we visit the Green Free School, in Amager, and talk to co-founder Phie Ambo about how the school is preparing pupils for an uncertain future and teaching them to build a sustainable society.

Then we head to Bellahøj Kirke, in Copenhagen's northern suburbs, to see how Denmark's burgeoning "green church" movement is helping to spread the climate gospel.

Further reading:

The Green Free School

Bellahøj Kirke

The sound design is by two local artists: Squares and Triangles and Scenery.

In the bleak midwinter, the sun scarcely seems to rise in Denmark at all.

Is it any wonder, then, that the Danes are so obsessed with good lighting? That Denmark has produced many of the world’s most iconic lights? That Danes have the world’s highest consumption of candles? Or that light is fundamental to the country’s best known cultural phenomenon, hygge?

In (hopefully) the most illuminating episode of Archipelago yet, we discuss the light fantastic with three Danish design devotees: artist Morten Ravn, who turns scrap metal into sculptural lamps; interior designer Hannah Trickett, whose rare health condition means she avoids what she describes as “visual chaos”; and author Malene Lytken, whose new book, Danish Lights: 1920–Now, tells the stories of 100 lamps and the Danish designers who created them.

Further reading:

Strandberg Publishing / Danish Lights: 1920–Now

Lumière Bricoleur

Hannah Trickett

The sound design is by two local artists: Squares and Triangles and Scenery.

What if your school week involved colonizing planets, fleeing Nazis, or negotiating with fantasy kingdoms—all while studying history and science?

In this episode, we meet Mathias Granum, the founder of EPOS, a groundbreaking Danish boarding school where students learn through live-action role-play (LARP).

Granum explains how EPOS transforms traditional subjects into immersive experiences that teach not just academic knowledge, but critical life skills like empathy, public speaking, and conflict resolution.

He also shares the school’s journey from idealism to realism, the importance of structure in creative education, and the surprising things he learned from Britain’s strictest school.

It’s a story of costumes, creativity, and the courage to reimagine what learning can be.

Visit epos.dk for more information.

Copenhagen Suborbitals is the world’s only volunteer-run, crowdfunded space program. Based in Copenhagen, the group's 70 volunteers are building a DIY spacecraft to send a person to suborbital space.

In this episode, we meet the group's parachute systems lead, Mads Stenfatt, who shares the project’s origins, its shoestring budget (“10% of NASA’s coffee budget”), and the challenges of launching from international waters. He reflects on his journey from skydiver to potential astronaut.

The conversation highlights creativity, community, and Denmark’s unique culture of volunteerism, proving even audacious dreams can begin in unlikely places.

Visit copenhagensuborbitals.com for more information.

We're back after almost three years with a brand-new season about people living a life less ordinary — beginning with Danish adventurer Thor Pedersen, who shares his incredible story of visiting every country in the world without flying.

Thor recounts his experiences crossing oceans on cargo ships, navigating through war zones, and enduring the mental and physical challenges that came with this ambitious endeavor.

Despite numerous setbacks, including a two-year pandemic lockdown in Hong Kong, Thor persevered and achieved his goal. He reflects on the kindness of strangers, the cultural insights gained, and the personal growth that came from pushing his limits.

This episode is a testament to human determination and the extraordinary efforts people will make to defy what's considered impossible.

Notes

Learn more on Thor's official website

Buy his book "The Impossible Journey"