10 episodes

Memory Wars is a six-part series about how Germany has confronted its horrific past and whether America could ever do the same. Public radio reporter Mallory Noe-Payne spent years covering policy and politics in Richmond, Virginia — the former capital of the Confederacy. Then she went to Germany.

Through a year of in-depth reporting featuring a wide range of characters, Noe-Payne reveals the struggles it takes for a society to change its narrative, face up to an uncomfortable past, and pave the way for atonement. Featuring conversations with Pulitzer Prize winning columnist Michael Paul Williams, Memory Wars explores the lessons in German history for American society today as we reckon with our own horrific past.

A production of RADIO IQ, distributed by PRX. You can show your appreciation for innovative projects like this by donating to this Virginia-based public radio station. Donating through this link helps support the podcast.

Credits:

Hosts Mallory Noe-Payne, Michael Paul Williams

Story Editing by Oluwakemi Aladesuyi, Additional Editing from Caitlin Pierce

Music by Sun Rain, sound design and mixing by Chad Skinner and Dani Ramez of Half Moon Audio.

Logo design by Ruth Tam

Memory Wars RADIO IQ

    • Society & Culture
    • 4.9 • 120 Ratings

Memory Wars is a six-part series about how Germany has confronted its horrific past and whether America could ever do the same. Public radio reporter Mallory Noe-Payne spent years covering policy and politics in Richmond, Virginia — the former capital of the Confederacy. Then she went to Germany.

Through a year of in-depth reporting featuring a wide range of characters, Noe-Payne reveals the struggles it takes for a society to change its narrative, face up to an uncomfortable past, and pave the way for atonement. Featuring conversations with Pulitzer Prize winning columnist Michael Paul Williams, Memory Wars explores the lessons in German history for American society today as we reckon with our own horrific past.

A production of RADIO IQ, distributed by PRX. You can show your appreciation for innovative projects like this by donating to this Virginia-based public radio station. Donating through this link helps support the podcast.

Credits:

Hosts Mallory Noe-Payne, Michael Paul Williams

Story Editing by Oluwakemi Aladesuyi, Additional Editing from Caitlin Pierce

Music by Sun Rain, sound design and mixing by Chad Skinner and Dani Ramez of Half Moon Audio.

Logo design by Ruth Tam

    Part 1: A Prologue

    Part 1: A Prologue

    If you’re just starting on Memory Wars, try starting here. We’ll tell you how this is going to work and what to expect as you listen along.

    A production of RADIO IQ, distributed by PRX. You can show your appreciation for innovative projects like this by donating to this Virginia-based public radio station. Donating through this link helps support the podcast.

    • 13 min
    Special Episode: Branded

    Special Episode: Branded

    Memory Wars brings you the latest work of reporter Mallory Noe-Payne.

    The poll tax. Literacy tests. Terror at the ballot box. All of these are voter suppression methods synonymous with the Jim Crow South.

    But today, in 2023, a vestige of Jim Crow still lurks in Virginia’s Constitution: felony disenfranchisement.

    Virginia is one of only three states that permanently strips people with a felony conviction of their right to vote. And the power to restore that right rests in one person’s hands, the Governor.

    In a special one-hour program, reporter Mallory Noe-Payne brings us one man’s story — and how it weaves with decades of history.

    Listen to Branded, a special documentary from Radio IQ and Virginia Public Radio.

    • 52 min
    Part 2: The Two Reconstructions

    Part 2: The Two Reconstructions

    We start with three generations of German women, and go back in time from there. Through defeat, occupation, and rebuilding. How did two reconstructions, in two different countries, turn out so differently?

    • 44 min
    Part 3: Haley's Story

    Part 3: Haley's Story

    Haley’s ancestors were Holocaust survivors. But she’s chosen to return to Germany anyway. We follow her journey to reclaim the things stolen from her family — an identity and a homeland. Why would someone return to a place of unspeakable trauma and what does it take for them to feel welcomed?

    • 50 min
    Part 4: Charlotte's Story

    Part 4: Charlotte's Story

    When Charlotte was a teenager she asked her mother a question: was my grandfather a Nazi? It began a years-long quest to learn more about what her ancestor had done, at a time when an entire country was learning to change its perspective. How do do we rewrite the story of our history?

    • 45 min
    Part 5: Mallory's Story

    Part 5: Mallory's Story

    Watching how Haley and Charlotte have explored and confronted their own histories made me think maybe it’s time to face up to my own ancestry. Back home in Virginia, the search yields some shocking truths. Once we accept culpability for a sinful past, what does accountability look like? Even generations after?

    • 50 min

Customer Reviews

4.9 out of 5
120 Ratings

120 Ratings

Beeline81 ,

Fantastic listen

This podcast is a thoughtful, well-researched exploration of how Americans and Germans have grappled with their parallel histories of oppression and enslavement. The hosts manage to find an approachable and engaging route to and through these difficult historical moments. Required listening!

Blooming Boomer ,

Insightful and Thought-Provoking

Everyone should listen to this podcast! The research done to compare how Germany handled the disgrace of the Holocaust with how the US has handled the disgrace of slavery was very extensive and thorough. It made me realize how much more I need to educate myself about both.

ValleyGardenGirl ,

Excellent

I have never left a review for a podcast before, but I was inspired by the excellent work and valuable insight of the reporter. I got choked up several times listening to this.

Top Podcasts In Society & Culture

The Viall Files
Nick Viall
MeSsy with Christina Applegate & Jamie-Lynn Sigler
Wishbone Production
Stuff You Should Know
iHeartPodcasts
This American Life
This American Life
Unlocking Us with Brené Brown
Vox Media Podcast Network
Shawn Ryan Show
Shawn Ryan | Cumulus Podcast Network

You Might Also Like

The Daily
The New York Times
ICYMI
Slate Podcasts
My Favorite Murder with Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark
Exactly Right Media – the original true crime comedy network
StarTalk Radio
Neil deGrasse Tyson