Podcast Spotlight: The Story of Heidelberg

From Public Public Radio, which is in no way similar to NPR, comes the “true” story of what really took down the Nazi party and ended World War 2: a theatre-themed prisoner of war camp in Heidelberg, Germany. Through Elmer Ullengaard’s reporting, we’re whisked away to a caricature of Nazi Germany. This sensational tale is delivered via recently unearthed recorded interviews in the POW camp, using the guise of being an investigative journalist’s podcast to sneak in a narrator who can massage more visual actions into a scene without veering into audiobook territory.  
Camp is the order of the day in The Heidelberg Project. If satirical send-ups of the Nazi regime such as Jojo Rabbit seek to impugne history’s greatest monsters with a pinpoint precision, Heidelberg does so with a giant cartoon hammer. German characters deliver lines with accents straight out of the Monty Python’s Flying Circus and Hogan’s Heroes schools of Nazi character-acting. Character names like Herman Hamburgers or announce to the audience with crystal clarity this comedy podcast aims to be bigger and cheesier than The Producers’ Springtime for Hitler sequence. As Ullengaard says in the show’s trailer: “These people are terrible, independent of being Nazis.”

We were fortunate to talk with Klein about the podcast, how they differentiate from other podcasts, and their future plans in podcasting. See below for our full Q&A.

Listen: Apple Podcasts | Spotify

DISCOVER PODS: How’d you get into podcasting?

KLEIN: The podcast itself was very much a product of quarantine. We’d been sitting on the TV version of our pilot episode for about three years, and right before COVID fully hit, we decided that it might be worth adapting it into a fiction podcast. We quickly realized that this medium offered us opportunities (creatively and certainly financially) that we would not have had otherwise, and in those first few months of quarantine, we were able to knock out the writing portion of all nine episodes. I ended up loving the podcast writing process, and I couldn’t recommend it more to anyone with a story that they’re really proud of that feels impossible to make visually.

DISCOVER PODS: How’d you get into podcasting?

KLEIN: The podcast itself was very much a product of quarantine. We’d been sitting on the TV version of our pilot episode for about three years, and right before COVID fully hit, we decided that it might be worth adapting it into a fiction podcast. We quickly realized that this medium offered us opportunities (creatively and certainly financially) that we would not have had otherwise, and in those first few months of quarantine, we were able to knock out the writing portion of all nine episodes. I ended up loving the podcast writing process, and I couldn’t recommend it more to anyone with a story that they’re really proud of that feels impossible to make visually.

Read more: 15 Audio Drama Podcasts to Get You Hooked on Fiction

DISCOVER PODS: In your own words, why should listeners tune in to The Story of Heidelberg?

KLEIN: It’s just fun, and I don’t really think there’s just one reason. If you like NPR-style investigative reports in the vein of S-Town (or even Limetown), you’ll like it. For those who miss musical theater, we have 18 original, ridiculous songs written and produced by professionals. If WWII is intriguing to you, we’re actually shockingly historically accurate (obviously aside from the camp itself). We’re constantly driving at our overarching theme, which we mention in our trailer – that Nazis are horrible people, independently of being Nazis. They’re awful in very human ways. So if that resonates with you, you’ll enjoy it. As a Jewish person who plays the head of this fictional POW camp, I cannot begin to articulate how fun it was to write and play this vain, overcompensating, insecure, bumbling idiot of a Nazi.

DISCOVER PODS: What kind of feedback have you heard from your listeners?

KLEIN: For a concept that admittedly can be difficult to swallow, I am so incredibly overwhelmed by how positive the feedback has been. It makes me very happy to see so many people just get what we’re going for, which I did not necessarily think would be the case. The best part to me was how varying the people giving feedback were – we had listeners in their 60’s and 70’s saying it was a cross between The Producers and Hogan’s Heroes, and people in their teens/20’s saying it has similar sensibilities to Comedy Bang Bang and The Office. In those first three weeks, we jumped up to the #4 Fiction Comedy podcast in America, and while we’re completely unaware of the significance of those rankings, we thought it was pretty cool.

DISCOVER PODS: Describe your recording set up? What equipment are you using?

KLEIN: We recorded at Brooklyn Podcasting Studio in Park Slope, which was the greatest experience. Our producer, engineer, and ultimately director and actor Josh Wilcox was amazing at taking us through a process that no one on our team had really done before. For COVID purposes we also recorded at a cast member’s place. He had the C414 whereas the studio had RE20 mics.

Read more: Switching DAWs: A Tale of Four Digital Audio Workspaces

DISCOVER PODS: What’s the biggest challenge you face as an indie podcaster?

KLEIN: Marketing and exposure, as I’m sure is typically the case. We love our story and the final product – we just want to get it out to as many people as possible. With audio fiction, too, it’s challenging, as many of our listeners have never heard a fiction podcast so are unclear as to what to expect. They also don’t have their predetermined “podcast time” these days with nobody commuting, so they have to get creative about when to listen.

DISCOVER PODS: Where do you want to take your podcast?

KLEIN: Our goal right now is to just get this to as many people as possible. Down the road, I’d love to readapt it for TV, but it would have to be done really smartly. I’d REALLY love to turn it into a musical – that would be a dream. That would also involve a real writing overhaul.

DISCOVER PODS: What other podcasts are you listening to now?

KLEIN: Comedy Bang Bang, various NPR things, PMT, Armchair Expert, Limetown, The Way I Heard It

DISCOVER PODS: Anything else you’d like to add?

KLEIN: As much as everyone has enjoyed thus far, it is worth noting that my fellow Jews have absolutely loved. Aside from the excitement and draw of defeating Nazis, there are many jokes and themes in here that are really just for Jewish people, which makes me love it all the more. Particularly with Passover right around the corner, we really hope you’ll check it out!