Deutschlandfunk Kultur streams culture, literature, theater and ambitious audio drama from Berlin, including occasional overnight Hörspiel marathons, like a dramatization of "1001 Nights" that ran from early evening to dawn. Anyone can stream the live channel free right now, no account or separate app required.
Born From Merging Two Cold War Rivals
The station's history runs directly through the Cold War division of Germany. East Germany's state broadcaster became Deutschlandsender in February 1990 and merged with Radio DDR 2 that May to form Deutschlandsender Kultur, according to Wikipedia's history of the station. In 1994, that former East German broadcaster was combined with West Germany's Deutschlandfunk and RIAS Berlin, the American-sector station built during the Cold War specifically to broadcast into the East, forming the joint public institution Deutschlandradio.
Broadcasting From the Old RIAS Building
The result of that merger still operates out of the former RIAS building at Hans-Rosenthal-Platz in Berlin's Schöneberg district, a building constructed for a station whose entire purpose was reaching listeners on the other side of a wall that no longer exists. A channel built from merging state propaganda radio with its direct Cold War rival now runs the same broadcast house as a shared cultural institution.
Still Taking Audio Drama Seriously
That institutional memory shows up in how seriously Deutschlandfunk Kultur still treats the Hörspiel, a specifically German tradition of radio drama, under department head Marcus Gammel's oversight of audio drama, feature and sound art programming. The station's willingness to run hours-long dramatized broadcasts overnight reflects a commitment to the format that few modern broadcasters still maintain.
Tune In
Deutschlandfunk Kultur turned two opposing Cold War broadcasters into one shared home for German culture and drama. Stream it free on Radio Shuffle.