Podcast 229: Manor

This week, we talk about "Manor." It's a short story written 130 years ago and set in the Faroe Islands. The author, Karl Heinrich Ulrichs, was German and never traveled to the Faroes, but his story was rediscovered by two of our favorite Faroese people (Birgir Kruse and Eiler Fagraklett, to be exact) and translated into Faroese for the first time.

We'll visit the release event for the book, talk about the gay themes in the book, and learn more about "Manor's" author, who is considered by many to be the world's first gay rights activist.

As always, you can listen on iTunes, on the media player at the top of this page, or on Stitcher Smart Radio. You can also download the show directly here:  http://traffic.libsyn.com/faroepodcast/Podcast_229.mp3

While the Faroese translation of "Manor" is new, an English translation has been around for many years. You can read the English translation of "Manor" here.

Podcast 228: Jennifer Henke

Jennifer Henke in the Faroe Islands, July 2014

This week, a tribute to Jennifer Henke. She was one of our first guests on this podcast back in 2009, and has appeared on the show many times since. In 2010, she wrote a book about her experiences in the Faroe Islands, and the search for her father's family.

This week's show features highlights from her appearances on this show, and some stories of our experiences with her as well.

As always, you can listen to the show in iTunes, on our media player at the top of the page, or on Stitcher Smart Radio.

You can also download the show directly here:  http://traffic.libsyn.com/faroepodcast/Podcast_228.mp3

Podcast 227: The Great (Whaling) Debate

Hans Hermansen (left) and Pete Bethune. Photo by: Heri Simonsen

This week, we bring you a debate between Hans Hermansen, a vocal proponent of Faroese whaling, and Pete Bethune, a conservationist and animal rights activist from New Zealand. The debate aired live on Ras 2 and is moderated by our own Heri Simonsen.

While the podcast maintains a resolutely neutral editorial stance on Faroese whaling, we encourage honest debate on the subject.

Heri set up this debate to give people on both sides of the issue to put forward their ideas in a forum less heated than, say, a street corner Q&A session. Both Hans and Pete were given the questions ahead of time, and people listening on Ras 2 could send in questions via text message.

You can listen to the debate on our media player at the top of the page, on iTunes, or on Stitcher Smart Radio. Or you can download the show directly here: http://traffic.libsyn.com/faroepodcast/Podcast_227.mp3

Podcast 226: G! Festival 2014, Day 2

This week, we sample the music from day two of this year's G! Festival. It includes an intimate performance by Eivor, an innovative set by avant-rockers ORKA, and the day ends with an excursion to steal food from the grandma of the most famous singers in the Faroe Islands.

As always, you can listen on our media player at the top of the page, on iTunes, and on Stitcher Smart Radio. You can also download the show directly here: http://traffic.libsyn.com/faroepodcast/Podcast_226.mp3

In this week's show, we talk about the HOYMA festival the G! Festival people will be staging on November 1st. To learn more about that, you can check out the G! Festival website.

Podcast 225: Q&A With Sea Shepherd

This week, we're featuring a question and answer session with Sea Shepherd organizers who spent the summer in the Faroe Islands. The animal rights group had several volunteers stationed throughout the Faroes to monitor the beaches and try to prevent any whale hunts from happening.

Fourteen Sea Shepherd volunteers were arrested when one such hunt happened in August, and another three were arrested on animal cruelty charges a few weeks later. Other volunteers were arrested on DUI and drug charges and still others were implicated incidents including assault, vandalism, and petty theft.

Over time, many Faroese began to view Sea Shepherd volunteers as an army of occupation in their country.

So at the end of the summer, the leaders of the Sea Shepherd campaign participated in a question and answer session at the Democracy Festival in Runavik. There they faced often hostile questioning from their Faroese hosts.

Both sides mostly talked past each other during the session and it's safe to say both the Sea Shepherds and the Faroese left the session with their individual opinions intact. But we're offering up this audio so people who weren't there can hear both the Sea Shepherd's rationale for this summer's campaign, and how that campaign was received by the Faroese.

As always, you can listen on iTunes, on our media player at the top of the page, and on Stitcher Smart Radio. You can also download the show directly here: http://traffic.libsyn.com/faroepodcast/Podcast_225.mp3