Walter Benjamin for Children

December 4, 2014 12:38 AM

Walter Benjamin presented "True Dog Stories" on September 27, 1930, as part of Radio Berlin's youth programming. Thoughtful but sometimes oblique commentaries on human society, Benjamin's radio shows have been called "Enlightenment for Children" and "NPR for weirdos," but an interview with the editor of their recent translations into English gives much greater context. Some essays have been re-recorded in German (including the dog episode, track 16), and Börne's original poodle letter is also online.
posted by Monsieur Caution (4 comments total)

The Benjamin Broadcasts is an excellent introduction to his radio work, produced earlier this year for BBC Radio 4.
posted by Kinbote at 2:10 AM on December 4, 2014 [1 favorite]

I should note that I consider myself an unabashed weirdo, who likes to read and do weird things, such as running a website about critical theory in my free time. As such, “NPR for Weirdos” is a phrase denoting absolute praise.

No true weirdo...
posted by ennui.bz at 4:50 AM on December 4, 2014

I didn't know about this. Thank you.
Here's a link to UbuWeb, the second half of the page there are some recordings of the texts that Benjamin had recorded for the radio.
posted by From Bklyn at 5:17 AM on December 4, 2014

Also, from the Paris Review, there's this.
posted by From Bklyn at 2:57 AM on December 5, 2014 [1 favorite]