Writers & Thinkers

Conversations on thinking by hand

Welcome to the place where we celebrate the love of pen, paper and notebooks. Directors talk about how they write scripts. Musicians open their songbooks. Designers show their sketches. Scientists report on their research notes. Authors talk about how they create scenarios

Link to the latest episode

Writers & Thinkers

Episode 13

Ju Schnee // Painting and sculpture

Ir Curls!

When Ju Schnee stops thinking, something remarkable happens: forms begin to emerge. It’s been this way all her life. Pen, paper and notebook are never far from reach. Welcome to the vivid...

Episode 12

Daniel Donskoy // Music and literature

A Notebook for Every Art Form

Daniel Donskoy moves effortlessly between music, acting and literature. Notebooks are where his melodies first take shape, characters begin to breathe and fleeting thoughts find a place to land.

Episode 11

Steffen Mumm // Art and productivity

Creative Paper Chase

Steffen Mumm is an artist. He works with canvases, spray cans and printing plates. He makes signet rings, socks and silk cloths; he loves Bullet Journals, sketchbooks and notebooks. He makes...

Episode 10

Lisa Morgenstern // Music and film

Composing with Pen and Paper

Lisa Morgenstern is a pianist, singer and composer. She writes soundtracks for successful television series and creates complex worlds of sound. She uses pen and paper to capture many of her...

Episode 9

Neil Gower // Illustration and Typography

The Pleasure of Putting Pen to Paper

Neil Gower is an internationally acclaimed illustrator of books and maps. He started drawing at the age of eight and hasn’t stopped since.

Episode 8

Leonie Barth // Fashion and design

Drafting by Hand

Leonie Barth is a sought-after designer of bags and shoes. She uses pencil and paper to keep track of her ideas, which pour from her by the hundred.

Episode 7

Alexa Hennig von Lange // Literature and history

Write Down to Let Go

Alexa Hennig von Lange comes from a family of chroniclers. Her grandmother dictated her life story onto tapes. Her grandfather kept diaries. The author also writes everything important in notebooks –...

Episode 6

Martin Janner // Forestry and economy

The Tree Writer

Martin Janner is a forester. For his work, he needs a sharp memory, imagination and vision. He must know the history of his forests in order to secure their future. That’s...

Episode 5

Sarah Winkelmann // Expedition and adventure

Extreme hiker

Sarah Winkelmann is 28 and pursues an extreme hobby: Arctic expeditions. She and ten other participants crossed the icy wastes of Greenland in 28 days. On every one of those...

Episode 4

Martin Lotze // Neuroscience

Symphony of Synapses

Martin Lotze is a neuroscientist who has put people in MRI scanners and watched their brains write. What did he observe? He explains what he has found out in his...

Episode 3

Anna Kuen // Design and creativity

On Clarity of Line

Anna Kuen is a visual artist, model and DJ. A life without notebooks is unimaginable for her. She needs pen and paper to process her ideas – and to rid...

Episode 2

Norman Ohler // Literature and non-fiction

Pen, Hand, Paper

Norman Ohler’s book Blitzed, which explores drug use in the military of the Third Reich, was an instant international bestseller. His latest book, Tripped, chronicles the history of LSD. Many of his books...

Episode 1

Gesa Hansen // Design and creativity

Writing and Drawing Jogs My Intuition

There is probably not a single place in Gesa Hansen’s vicinity without a notebook lying around, waiting to be filled with her countless ideas. The globally sought-after furniture and interior...