Traineeship 2024/2025: Introducing the new DW Trainees

Johan Brockschmidt

If you hadn't chosen to become a journalist, what other profession might you have pursued?

Screenwriting. Yet, if I listened to my six-year-old self I would have become a garbage collector. 

What's one invention or innovation you hope to see in your lifetime?

The Holo-deck. Just simulate whatever you want wherever you want. This could also be the beginning of a Black Mirror episode. I watch too much sci-fi.

Who would you like to meet for a drink of your choice and why?

To have the most interesting conversation: Sam Altman. To have the most fun: Timmy Trumpet. To just be a fanboy: Christopher Nolan and Aaron Sorkin.

This should be the new TikTok trend:

You and your favorite garbage can. Show yourself with the least aesthetic garbage disposal saying things like: "look at this beauty," "thrown out so much stuff in there. Thanks for everything." Point being: Social Media can be about meaningless stuff again.

One object/thing that you cannot imagine your life without:

The shower. It is my happy place.

 

Anna Chaika

If you hadn't chosen to become a journalist what other profession, might you have pursued?

Camel trench-coat, black sunglasses...I would definitely be a private detective. Observing people, searching for evidence, operating under a veil of secrecy until I dig to the bottom of their souls and secrets to unravel personalities and reveal the truth. 

What's one invention or innovation you hope to see in your lifetime?

Special chips that, being attached to a person's brain, will transmit his/her memories of certain events. This will allow us to recreate important accidents or situations. And make it easier to imprison villains. Because it will no longer be necessary to collect a complicated evidence base, the memories of a person would perfectly serve as reliable proof. 

Who would you like to meet for a drink of your choice and why?

I would like to have a Whiskey Sour with Francisco Goya. Not only would I ask Goya what emotions guided him when he was creating the famous "Los caprichos," but also I would question him on the sources of his vivid inspiration and his view on our world today.

This should be the new TikTok trend: 

A video showing people scrolling in search of Tik Tok trends, and then all of a sudden, they leave their phones alone and go live real life, touching not the screen but the grass.

One object/thing that you cannot imagine your life without:

My teddy bear. I have had him since childhood and he is always with me in difficult moments. With the beginning of the war in Ukraine, I did not take valuables from my apartment, but I took Misha and went down to the bomb shelters with him. Of course, he is now with me in Germany.

 

Fernando Mateos Frühbeck

If you hadn't chosen to become a journalist what other profession, might you have pursued?

Any other creative and vibrant thing that I would never get bored with: artist, architect, designer or simply rock star.

What's one invention or innovation you hope to see in your lifetime?

Digital smells. Just as we already consume images, videos and sounds on social media, it would be great to be able to smell a recipe, a forest or the rain through our cell phones. It would be a completely new way of storytelling!

Who would you like to meet for a drink of your choice and why?

Paul McCartney, because when you admire someone's life and art so much, being able to spend some time with them is an unforgettable memory. And maybe we could sing something together as well!

This should be the new TikTok trend:

A new trend of showing the process and work behind the making of TikTok content. It would be a sort of Behind-the-Scenes of social media.

One object/thing that you cannot imagine your life without:

My guitar, which I try to take with me everywhere I go, and with which I've never stopped having fun.

 

Laura Naima Kabelka

If you hadn't chosen to become a journalist, what other profession might you have pursued?

In an alternative life, I might have become a sommelier. Though it’s never too late!

What's one invention or innovation you hope to see in your lifetime?

Quantum computing to mitigate the impact of climate change or to develop large-scale and effective desalination techniques.

Who would you like to meet for a drink of your choice and why?

I would like to have a ginger and lemon tea with Angela Davis to discuss her take on social justice activism, the future and resilience.

This should be the new TikTok trend:

Artists who react to e.g. museum tours or book reviews, and then clarify what their work actually meant and what is pure overinterpretation.

One object/thing that you cannot imagine your life without:

My compact, waterproof and, so far, indestructible speaker.

 

Rachel Nduati

If you hadn't chosen to become a journalist, what other profession might you have pursued?

An indigenous rights lawyer or historian. I’m deeply fascinated by indigenous people and would have loved to work with them and fight for their rights especially in times like these where their voices matter. I’m also fascinated by history and understanding previous events because I believe history shapes our future.

What's one invention or innovation you hope to see in your lifetime?

A time travel machine. I think it would be interesting to go back in time and see previous civilizations and how the world was like back in time. I’d also want to see a time travel machine that goes to the future.

Who would you like to meet for a drink of your choice and why?

To have mursik (a Kenyan drink from the Kalenjin Tribe) with Faith Kipyegon. 

This should be the new TikTok trend:

Since I love nature, I’d suggest grabbing your phones and recording yourselves, your friends or coworkers, and dance in different national parks or natural resources in your area.One object/thing that you cannot imagine your life without:

My diary. Yes… I’m a journal gal!

 

Shristi Pal

If you hadn't chosen to become a journalist, what other profession might you have pursued?

I was all set to decode mysteries of human behavior with my psychology degree. But destiny and passion tag-teamed me into journalism. Now, I'm decoding stories and news instead of the mind. Life's a sitcom, and I'm just here for the plot twists!

What's one invention or innovation you hope to see in your lifetime?

A Sock Locator App would be swell! An app that helps me find missing socks by scanning my laundry and matching them up based on patterns, colors, or other distinguishing features. So that I don’t have to keep turning up at work wearing mismatched socks all the time.

Who would you like to meet for a drink of your choice and why?

I’d love to go for a pint o' lager with comedian Ricky Gervais. He’s funny, witty and brash. A lot like me, and our banter would be legendary!

This should be the new TikTok trend:

Make general knowledge cool again! Snackable infotainment content about geography, politics, culture and much more. TikTok can be so much more than just cute cats and mindless dances, innit?

One object/thing that you cannot imagine your life without:

My own special blend of "garam masala". A must-have for every Indian spice cabinet. I love it so much, I could even sprinkle it on my morning toast.

 

Djamilia Prange de Oliveira 

If you hadn't chosen to become a journalist what other profession, might you have pursued? 

Popstar! 

What's one invention or innovation you hope to see in your lifetime? 

VR X-Ray Super Glasses – I want to look in the mirror and be able to see through my skin. 

Who would you like to meet for a drink of your choice and why? 

My father when he was a child, for a delicious cup of Açai. I want to know what his life was like in Brazil in the 1970s.  

This should be the new TikTok trend:  

Top 10 non-toxic social media apps and how Gen Z is reshaping the internet.  

One object/thing that you cannot imagine your life without: 

My toothbrush. It’s essential.

 

Sa'id Sa'ad

If you hadn't chosen to become a journalist, what other profession might you have pursued?

I would have been in an island cottage in Trinidad painting on canvases and reading my stories to total strangers who don’t care about them.

What's one invention or innovation you hope to see in your lifetime?

I want to see the biggest digital platform in the world where African oral stories and folktales  are documented and accessed in their original form and languages.  And oops,, I am now designing that....

Who would you like to meet for a drink of your choice and why?

I would want to have tea with Mamman Shata. A mocktail with Komla Dumor and coffee with Ben Okri.

This should be the new TikTok trend:

An audio meme of a short conversation in a danfo bus in Lagos.

One object/thing that you have cannot imagine your life without:

Art.

 

Annika Sost

If you hadn't chosen to become a journalist what other profession, might you have pursued?

Becoming a writer and/or publisher. (One doesn’t exclude the other and all of them might go hand-in-hand at some point in my future.)

What's one invention or innovation you hope to see in your lifetime?

Teleportation. To explore the world and get to meet people in different places. Hopefully, it will not only take less time intense but also be more environmentally friendly.

Who would you like to meet for a drink of your choice and why?

Virginia Woolf and Franz Kafka, and I would like to talk to them about love. They both have written the most gut-wrenching letters to the people they loved. On top of this, I feel like they are very interesting and complex characters whom I would like to get to know better. As we say in German: all good things are three, therefore, I would like to invite Freddy Mercury to the table as well. I think he was a really inspiring soul and a wonderful artist. Maybe we’d all share a bottle of red wine.

This should be the new TikTok trend:

Giving strangers compliments on the street. I am sure this already exists, but you can never have enough of it. If it helps spreading a bit more kindness into the world, I think it would be a great trend.

One object/thing that you cannot imagine your life without:

Probably my headphones. I love walking around and listening to music.

 

Aline Spantig

If you hadn't chosen to become a journalist what other profession, might you have pursued?

I would love to say neuroscientist. But most likely I am cooking for other people just because food excites me like nothing else.

What's one invention or innovation you hope to see in your lifetime?

Dedicated halls for stretching at every train station or airport! Imagine yourself on a yoga mat enjoying some juicy stretches while waiting for transport. No more stiff necks or back pain. Wouldn’t that be great?

Who would you like to meet for a drink of your choice and why?

Powell Janulus is a true genius who holds the world record for speaking 42 languages fluently. Yes, 42! I would love to swap his brain with mine. With that I would travel around the world and interview people in their mother tongue.

This should be the new TikTok trend:

More microlearning, less doomscrolling.

One object/thing that you cannot imagine your life without:

My surfboard.

 

Omar Alsawadi

We mourn the loss of our trainee Omar Alsawadi, who died far too young. Our condolences go out to his family and all those who were close to him.