Tanja Valérien-Glowacz is a woman of many creative lives. As a photographer, Creative Director, and the voice behind the podcast “Gespräche über Wandlung” (Conversations on Transformation), she moves fluidly between image and word, always guided by a deep fascination for people and their stories. Married to climber and adventurer Stefan Glowacz and raised in the world of broadcasting through her father, the legendary Harry Valérien, she has found her own distinct path — one that blends empathy, curiosity, and an unshakable belief in transformation.
In conversation with IRMA, she reflects on how her journey began, what inspires her, and why listening remains at the heart of everything she does.
IRMA: How did you start your Podcast series, what was the initial idea and what is your goal for this series?
Tanja Valérien-Glowacz: I am very, very curious and love asking people questions, getting to know them better, learning from their experiences, and diving deep into the essence of who they are. Very often, I was fascinated by these encounters and would share them with my family and friends with great passion. When podcasts started to emerge — and you no longer needed anyone’s permission to begin — I simply went ahead in the fall of 2019 and asked Désirée Nosbusch if she would be my very first guest.
I want to help people see the light when life feels a little darker. With my “Gespräche über Wandlung” (Conversations on Transformation), I hope to comfort and inspire them.
I also had the idea of always interviewing my guests in their own homes and then photographing them afterwards, since alongside my podcast I also wanted to pursue my other passion: photography.
In the end, I am doing what I love — and I am deeply grateful for it.
IRMA: How did you background inspired you for this task?
Tanja Valérien-Glowacz: My father, Harry Valérien, had a remarkable television career on ZDF’s “Das aktuelle Sportstudio”, and his popularity and recognition at the time had a profound impact on me. On one hand, I admired him deeply and felt drawn to what he was doing. On the other hand, it held me back from stepping into his shoes, because I feared the comparisons and the critics who might say, “She’s very good, but not as good as her father.”
As a teenager, I dreamed of becoming like Margret Dünser with her TV program *VIP Schaukel*. At 35, I was even offered my own talk show, but I turned it down. It wasn’t until my mid-fifties, that I suddenly lost my fear of failure and of being judged.
IRMA: What are the main criteria for you when choosing a guest for your podcast?
Tanja Valérien-Glowacz: As soon as I become curious about someone’s inner world — their life story, their experiences, their highs and lows — I ask them if they would like to be my guest.
It doesn’t matter to me whether they are famous or not. What matters is that they are fascinating to me.
I see it as a kind of serendipity. I don’t go searching for my guests — they simply cross my path.
IRMA: You have a very narrative way of introducing your guests, it is almost like an introduction of a character in a theatre play. Is there a certain method you have developed when you interview someone?
Tanja Valérien-Glowacz: No, I don’t follow a specific method. But I do have my very own style, which I try to stay true to. That’s also why I listen to very few other podcasts myself — they would probably unsettle me.
IRMA: How do you get personal with someone you do not know very well? What is your tip?
Tanja Valérien-Glowacz: In my conversations, I always try to share something of my own inner self — to be open, respectful, sensitive, and empathetic. But the most important thing is that you truly have to like people and enjoy listening to them. Your counterpart can sense that, and only then can trust emerge.
IRMA: You are working as an art director and photographer in a very visual field. With your podcast series you are getting behind the surface of people. What is your personal joy when working in these two different perspectives, at once and mixing them together?
Tanja Valérien-Glowacz: For me, the merging of inner and outer worlds is the magic of life. It fills me and mak
Now, a new episode of her podcast features a conversation with Jasmin Khezri, founder of IRMASWORLD — a dialogue on creativity, change, and the stories that shape us. You can listen to it here:
PODCAST
»Tanja Valérien – Gespräche über Wandlung«
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