Interview
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Men Have to Take Responsibility
By emphasising the role men play in rape crimes in society, the NEI campaign points its finger at men as assailants. Now, for the third year in a row, the campaign is kicking off before the Verslunarmannahelgin weekend, the busiest travel weekend…
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An Open House for Politics in Action
One of the most distinct and controversial buildings in Iceland, the Reykjavík City Hall surprised a nation when it was erected in the early 1990s. Sindri Eldon met with Steve Christer of Studio Granda to discuss the impact of one of the…
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From Newsman to Man on the News
Paul Nikolov has been a writer for the Reykjavík Grapevine for coming up on three years. This July, he finishes his contract with the Grapevine, and seems to be transitioning into politics with his New Icelander Party, focused on immgrant rights and…
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The War Against Frugality
On June 8, 1986, Bad Taste, Inc. was formally established. Intended to be a creative outlet for those artists and activists who had grown disillusioned with the staleness and prudishness of the Icelandic scene, it was founded by a core of musicians,…
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Organizing For the Future
The Framtíðarlandið (The Future Country) organisation was formally established at a big meeting held in Austurbær on Iceland’s Independence Day, the 17th of June. The building was packed with a cross-section of the society: businessmen, environmentalists, scholars, artists and individuals with a…
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Ninety-nine Countries & Counting
Wally is an Australian clown who spends most of his time travelling around the world to make people laugh. He’s been to an astounding 99 countries so far and his most recent stop is Iceland. The Grapevine saw him in his pyjamas…
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Imagine No Star Trek and No Religion Too
Brannon Braga has been a part of the creative team behind Star Trek for fifteen years and is responsible for writing several highly acclaimed episodes, such as the award- winning Next Generation finale, All Good Things. More recently he co-created and produced…
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The Journalist is More Than a Civic Instrument
Mark Kramer is a journalist and a scholar. He is the writer-in-residence and the director of the Nieman Program on Narrative Journalism at Harvard University. Kramer was recently in Iceland, where he delivered a lecture at the University of Iceland on the…
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The Revolution is Waiting to be Discovered
Þorsteinn J. is one of Iceland’s premier media people. For two years, this former host of Who Wants to be a Millionaire has been running an independent web-based TV-magazine called This Life, This Life. Governed by his desire to break the barriers…
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Aloha, Zappa Plays Zappa
Frank Zappa is one of a select few true legends in the music world. Just the mention of his name garners so much respect that simply being able to say that you played with him at one time is a claim to…
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The Immigrant Vote
The Intercultural Centre, standing directly across from the National Theatre, plays a vital role in Reykjavík’s immigrant community. Their staff provide an array of services and information, publish a magazine and even run a coffee shop on the ground floor. The Grapevine…
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The Bore Campaign
/// There does not seem to be much difference between the political platforms of the parties running in Reykjavík in the upcoming elections. – I agree. There is not a huge division between the parties. There are no clear-cut lines between the…
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Those People Aren’t That Simple
Morgunblaðið journalist Halla Gunnarsdóttir originally intended to be a primary school teacher, but went to Morgunblaðið in 2003 because she found that her extensive travels would interfere with teaching. More recently, she sold media station NFS the idea for a television show…
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The Unspeakable Brought to the Living Room
When the news network NFS was founded late last year, it had a lot to prove. Replacing the newsrooms of both Stöð 2 and Bylgjan, it was to become the central hub for the gathering and dissemination of news in the non-print…
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No Apologies to the Centre
Árni Þór Sigurðsson began his career as a journalist for RÚV, working as their Moscow correspondent during the fall of communism. Upon returning home in 1989, he embarked on a political career that brought him into Reykjavík City Council in 1994 for…
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“Female Writers Were Weird”
Though few foreigners know about her, Vigdís Grímsdóttir is one of the most prominent and prolific contemporary writers of Iceland. For the last two decades, she has captivated readers with her mystical subjects, lyrical style and fearless attitude towards cultural taboos. In…
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The Drug Trade is Wide Open
/// What inspired you to do investigative reporting on the Icelandic drug culture? – In the beginning, Páll Bragi Kristjánsson, manager of Adult Children of Alcoholics, got in touch with me and asked if I would like to write about these things.…
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The Angel with a Foul Mouth
Gary Owen is one of the hottest, young playwrights in Britain. In 2002, he won the George Devine Award and Fringe First at the Edinburgh Festival, and in 2003 he added the Meyer Whitworth Award and the Pearson Best Play Award to…
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Inconsistent, Antisocial, and the Only Talk Show Host Worth His Salt
Egill Helgason started out as a cultural affairs journalist for the Progressive Party newspaper Tíminn in 1981. Since then, he’s worked in numerous media, both in print and on television, in what he describes in his own words as “a long but…
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The Critic
The most popular comedy program in the country, the comedy troupe behind the show Spaugstofan recently celebrated 20 years working together. Founding member, and former Grapevine cover boy, Örn Árnason sat down and explained the appeal of his program. /// After 20…
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No More Party Papers
After ten years at the now solely online Progressive party newspaper Tíminn and 31 years at govenment radio, Kári Jónasson took on the position of editor of Fréttablaðið, Iceland’s most popular daily, just last year. The past year has been a turbulent…
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Getting To Know Them
Tell me how the two of you met. Jana: I was living in Uzbekistan, and Ramin’s sister was staying with me. Ramin: My family had a company in Uzbekistan, and we often went to Uzbekistan to work. This interview is being done…
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Eurovision Guru Páll Óskar Gets to the Bottom of the International Competition
Páll Óskar, singer, performer, and DJ competed for Iceland in Eurovision 1997. He is a huge fan of the competition and knows everything there is to know about this event. For the third year in a row, he will be hosting “Paul…