“Elbe Deepening” warning: The whole truth about the “Elbe Deepening”

Statue of former Federal Chancellor and ZEIT publisher Helmut Schmidt (1918-2015) at the Helmut Schmidt House at Speersort in Hamburg © S. Steinach/​image imago

Week after week, this podcast covers topics that affect many people Hamburg is busy. Different this week: On the tenth anniversary of the Hamburg newsletter Elbe is depressed In this episode, the editorial team provides a behind-the-scenes look. Who has the idea to find it? Why is it called that? Elbe depression, what’s his name? And how much effort goes into each problem?

This podcast hosts Florian Zinnecker and Maria Rossbauer © Florian Thoss/​ZEIT ONLINE

The two podcast hosts Maria Rossbauer and Florian Zinnecker, who also heads the Hamburg department at ZEIT, talked about this with Mark Spörrle, who works in the CvD office at ZEIT and not only founded the newsletter, but also coordinated it for three years. He also revealed which edition he remembers the most.

Another guest is Gesa Woltjen, who manages readers’ mailboxes as a community manager and makes sure all messages are answered. He also reports which letters he particularly likes, which comments come most frequently from readers, and how his work on the editorial team has changed his view of the city on the podcast.

The “Elbvertiefung” podcast is published every Friday and is personal and poignant – and this week, in particular, is over half an hour long.