Manuel Bewarder (Investigative Journalist at WDR and NDR)

In this episode, Manuel Bewarder, investigative journalist at Germany's public media WDR and NDR, is our guest. His journalistic research spans security, migration, and domestic policy, and one of his current long-running investigations includes the events around the Nord Stream pipeline sabotage.

Manual studied at the University of Leipzig and graduated from the Humboldt-University of Berlin with a teaching state examination. On a Fulbright grant, he then graduated with a Master's degree in Journalism from the American University in Washington DC. In the subsequent 13 years, he worked at different Axel-Springer-Outlets, working his way to the head of the investigative journalism department at WELT, before then moving to investigative teams at WDR/NDR.

In this episode, we talk about his investigation of the Nord Stream pipeline sabotage and some possible explanations of what had happened. We also talk about the journalistic process behind these investigations, both in the early phase, and when the first investigative breakthroughs took place, and how the investigation team rented out the same boat that the saboteurs might have used.

We also talk about investigative journalism more broadly, its value, how Manual approaches a new topic, and how he deals with his sources. We also learn how Manuel's path to becoming an investigative journalist, and how he sees his role today.