Danish Originals

From her San Francisco office, American journalist and author JEANNE CARSTENSEN discusses her new non-fiction book A Greek Tragedy: One Day, A Deadly Shipwreck, and the Human Cost of the Refugee Crisis, that portrays, through firsthand accounts, the largest single-day loss of life during the modern European refugee crisis on October 28, 2015. Jeanne shares thoughts on the timelessness of this very human story, and comments on histo...

From his home in Østerbro, Copenhagen-born French-Vietnamese-Danish jazz bassist, composer, and band leader CHRIS MINH DOKY shares his journey that included a multicultural musical upbringing, becoming the house bass player at Copenhagen's La Fontaine at 17, and moving to New York at 18 to be closer to the music he loved, which resulted in a 30-year stay. Chris talks about discovering Miles Davis and the improvisational language of...

From his home in Hornbæk, northern Copenhagen-born, retired Danish pilot, airline captain, and businessman PERCY BECK RØRVIG recalls living in Manhattan at an early age, joining the Danish Air Force at 18, starting a 30-year long career at Scandinavian Airlines at 24, and piloting the CPH-JFK route for years. Percy calls New York his second home, having lived there for several periods. And he talks about the businesses he took up a...

In Los Angeles for Noma's 16-week Silver Lake pop-up residency, Seoul-born, Fjerritslev-raised Danish restaurant co-owner PETER KREINER revisits his path running the influential establishment ranked #1 in the world five times. Peter shares his insights, on leading Noma with its philosophy on culinary innovation through foraging and fermentation and its approach to creating unforgettable experiences, and on expanding the Noma portfo...

From her home in Culver City, Næstved-born, Los Angeles-based Danish bakery owner and head baker KAREN HANSEN recalls her journey arriving in LA in 1977 as an au pair to her current venture with the beloved local favorite, Copenhagen Pastry. Karen talks about being a resourceful self-starter and checking in with her instincts. And she revisits her very different prior businesses, a residential home cleaning service and a marketing ...

From her studio in Copenhagen, Lyngby-born Danish composer and cellist JOSEFINE OPSAHL talks about her dual roles as a classical music composer and a cellist who performs with live electronics and sound design. She elaborates on performativity, the forces of life that are at stake in her music, and her breaking down genre boundaries and dissolving physical ones. And Josefine traces her creative journey through her albums Atrium, Cy...

From her home in Long Beach, Sønderborg outskirts-born Danish global life sciences and diagnostics legal executive VIBEKE HOLST-ANDERSEN talks about her 13-year tenure with the international Danaher Corporation, first in Denmark, then in the US. She revisits her considerations as a Danish legal expert working in the US, and her experience passing the California Bar Examination only as a challenge for herself. Vibeke also talks abou...

From his home in the Bay Area, Hellerup-born, two-time Grammy-winner Danish-American violinist and composer MADS TOLLING shares highlights of his career playing with bands and leading his own groups, the Mads Tolling Quartet, and Mads Tolling & The Mads Men. At his core a jazz violinist, Mads credits his training at Boston's Berklee College of Music, and talks about blurring musical boundaries, exploring different genres, and r...

From her home in the Santa Monica mountains, Aarhus-born, Los Angeles-based Danish-Swedish ceramicist, curator, and bookseller LENA TORSLOW HANSEN revisits her first passion with clay and her roles with some foundational exhibitions: "A Broad Spectrum" (1984), "Golden Age in Danish Painting" (1994) as well as the 28 for the cultural festival "Scandinavia Today" (1982–1983). Lena also recalls cross-country road trips running N...

From his home office in Gentofte, Sønderborg-born and Copenhagen- and New York-based Danish photographer JENS HONORÉ talks about his work with the Roger Federer Foundation and his books A Place to Dream (2018) with SOS Children's Village and The Right to Food (2021) with the nonprofit initiative JUNKFOOD. He discusses the importance of connecting to people, using his photography for social good, and his present focus on craftsmansh...

From his home in Israels Plads, Soviet Union-born, Copenhagen-based Danish American businessman and startup investor ILYA KATSNELSON recalls arriving in the US as a refugee at the age of ten, his formative years in Wisconsin, and moving to Denmark, later surviving a German maximum security jail when the Russian state issued a retaliatory Interpol red notice against him. Equally, he talks about his commitment to bringing the US and ...

From her home in Greenwich Village, Manhattan, Copenhagen-born, New York-based Danish-Scottish documentary film producer and director MAIKEN BAIRD talks about her latest film on Palestinian American scholar Edward Said that is entirely archive-based. She revisits her iconic works, such as Client 9 (2010), Venus and Serena (2012), Oscar winner Icarus (2017), and Ghislaine Maxwell: Filthy Rich (2022), and describes the challenges in ...

From her home in Copenhagen, Fuglebjerg-born Danish arts and culture advisor FREDERIKKE MØLLER talks about her recent position with the Danish Embassy in Washington, D.C. facilitating Danish arts programming and dialogue in the US. Frederikke shares her thoughts on the changing US cultural scene under the Trump administration, and describes her current initiatives with Seattle's National Nordic Museum and her dream to work on colla...

From his home in Concord, Massachusetts, New England-born former US Ambassador to Denmark RUFUS GIFFORD recalls his start in politics, his ongoing connection to Denmark, and his work under Barack Obama and Joe Biden. He describes the current problematic chapter in transatlantic relationships, exemplified by the tensions with Denmark and Greenland, the MAGA movement in the US, and his passion to help elect a transformational US lead...

From her home in Østerbro, Copenhagen- and Madison, Wisconsin-based Danish author PERNILLE IPSEN talks about her book and collective memoir My Seven Mothers: Making a Family in the Danish Women's Movement which is an English translation and adaptation of the 2020 Montana Prize Danish original. She describes her mothers' roles in the 1970s Red Stockings and Lesbian Movements, and traces the differences between writing in English as ...

From her home in Mar Vista, Los Angeles, Ølstykke-born, Málaga, Spain-raised Danish photojournalist METTE LAMPCOV discusses her work in California documenting climate change and the work of undocumented agricultural workers. With expertise in water, forest, and fire ecology, she revisits her work on the Salton Sea and the Sequoia National Forest. Throughout, Mette shares her thoughts on the state of journalism and photojournalism, ...

From a recording studio in downtown Copenhagen, Siberian-born Danish journalist and author of I, Putin, SAMUEL RACHLIN recalls his parents' journey back to Denmark from exile, when he was ten. He talks about his natural urge to understand Russia, discovering the US in 1976, and his roles as the first news anchor for TV2 in 1988 and the first Washington Correspondent for TV2 in 1990. Returning from the US after 35 years, Samuel offe...

From his home in Copenhagen, Gladsaxe-born Danish actor LARS MIKKELSEN talks about his role as Captain Anderson on Frankenstein (2025). He recalls his start as a street performer before Shakespeare sent him on his path to acting. Of his long career, Lars reflects on the TV series Sherlock, The Killing, and Borgen that brought him attention abroad and that led to the American series House of Cards. He talks about faith, Jante Law, h...

In her West Hollywood family home, Germany-born, Southern California, Newport-Beach-based Danish-Brazilian entrepreneur NATASHA FISKER talks about her newest business venture, the science-backed skincare brand Checked Out that promises health and wellness that works overnight. Natasha further shares her thoughts on multiculturalism, her background in fashion technology, and the evolving trends of social media for marketing, from br...