Aida Baghernejad is a journalist who studied media studies in Berlin, Barcelona, and London. Her work focuses on how cultural products such as music, film, and social media content influence the socio-political state of the world. In addition to numerous contributions for Die Zeit, Der Tagesspiegel, Missy Magazine, and others, she also co-hosts the podcast 55 Voices for Democracy, a collaboration between the Thomas Mann House, the Goethe-Institut, dublab radio, and the Los Angeles Review of Books.

During her residency in California, Aida Baghernejad will explore the intersection between pop culture and politics in times of multiple crises. She will engage with the history of the Thomas Mann House and of the émigrés in Southern California, and their lasting impact on German and American culture.


Awards
 
2021 | International Music Journalism Award: Best Music Journalist of the Year (German)

2019 | International Music Journalism Award: Best Text of the Year (German)
 

Selected Publications
 
2020–2023 | 55 Voices for Democracy, podcast series produced by Thomas Mann House & Los Angeles Review of Books
 
2022 | “Fight the Power: Zwischen Revolution und Konsum.” Musikexpress, May 2022.
 
2021 | Pasta & Politik, podcast series produced in collaboration with Edition F.

2021 | “In Deutschland hört es nie auf: Ein Jahr nach Hanau.” Der Tagesspiegel, February 19, 2021.
 
2019 | ”Ain’t I a Human?“ Kaput: Magazin für Insolvenz und Pop, May 8, 2019.

2017 | “Hungry: Self-Employment on Street Food Markets and the Political Dimension of Consumption.” In Food Democracy: Critical Lessons in Food, Communication, Design and Art, edited by Oliver Vodeb, 171–95. Bristol: Intellect.
 
2016 | “Yum: On the Commodification of Street Food.” In texturen Nr. 3 – Essen, edited by Thomas Düllo, Elena Dellasega, and Konstantin Daniel Haensch, 145–56. Berlin: UdK Verlag.