No other concept is more closely associated with the American self-image than that of freedom – be it liberation from former colonial masters, individual or economic freedom, freedom of speech, or religious freedom. However, the strong emphasis on the idea of freedom and the diversity of its forms of expression has led to internal tensions. 

On March 4, the Foreign Correspondent Unplugged series kicked off at the Goethe Institut in Washington D.C. with a discussion featuring Susan Glasser, Staff Writer at The New Yorker and Julian Heissler, U.S. Correspondent for the Wirtschaftswoche. The event was moderated by Dr. Steven E. Sokol, the President of the American Council on Germany, and focused on freedom, questions around American identity, the political climate, and more.