Transponder Magazine
The Transponder is the Bertelsmann Foundation’s biannual publication focusing on issues that impact the transatlantic relationship. The magazine features short-form and long-form articles, interviews, infographics and photo essays that explore topics related to democracy, technology, and geopolitics through a transatlantic lens.
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Transponder Issue #7: The Future
The seventh issue of Transponder Magazine explores the critical choices shaping the future of our world, from the geopolitics of space and the race for rare earth minerals to the rise of AI and its societal impact. Global perspectives include young voices in Taiwan and South Korea, a deep dive into France’s democratic aspirations, and historical memory’s role in the Balkans’ EU accession. The challenges and opportunities ahead are vast. The future is in our hands—how will we shape it?
Transponder Issue #6: Elections
The sixth issue of Transponder is dedicated to the seismic event that is the 2024 election year. Promising to be one of the most consequential election cycles in modern history, this issue takes you around the globe, exploring electoral topics and elections in Finland, Germany, Taiwan, India, Mexico, and many more.
Transponder Issue #5: Democracy
The fifth issue of Transponder features a range of compelling articles that illuminate the many facets of citizenship and electoral politics leading up to a momentous year of major parliamentary and presidential elections.
Transponder Issue #4: Identity
The fourth issue of Transponder features a collection of written and visual works that explore the diversity and breadth of identity on both sides of the Atlantic, revealing themes of citizenship, belonging, personhood, heritage, and online persona.
Transponder Issue #3: Resilience
The topic of the Third Issue of the Transponder Magazine is Resilience, featuring a collection of written and visual works that explore how members of the transatlantic community can remain resilient in the face of new and old challenges.
Transponder Issue #2: Cities
In this second issue of the Transponder, we explore how transatlantic cities confront global challenges and bolster the transatlantic relationship. As more than half of the world’s population currently resides in metropolitan areas, we see that cities are becoming the epicenter for political, economic, environmental, democratic, and social change.
Transponder Issue #1: The Transatlantic Relationship
The first issue provides insight into a past and present that bodes well for the future, while exploring the question, “What is rocking the transatlantic relationship today?” Topics include Angela Merkel’s legacy, climate security and action, transatlantic trends, diplomacy, democracy, and how film making is paving a new front in exploring the transatlantic relationship.