Five new young adult novels tell of the difficulties of growing up – after leaving school, without a father, submerged in digital worlds, in provincial isolation and in the aftermath of World War II. Stories that are sometimes sad, sometimes hopeful.

As we know, every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way. In her second novel Fatma Aydemir tells the story of a family full of longings and disappointments who try to come together in spite of all their inner contradictions.

The latest children’s books tell stories about animals holidaying on a farm, a girl who’s annoyed by her football-loving family and a maths ace who realises that not every equation works out in life. And there are two non-fiction children’s books about numbers and molluscs.

Visitors to museums and archives usually interact with exhibits locked in display cases in darkened rooms. Yet modern technology has given us ways to more directly experience art and cultural artefacts. Coding da Vinci is an open, cultural data hackathon that digitally brings museum pieces to life.  

University teaching has become increasingly specialised over the centuries. But the topics addressed in research today increasingly require an interdisciplinary approach.  Leibniz Association president Matthias Kleiner sees a renaissance of universal research. 

Carbon offset schemes promise to compensate for the emissions caused by private individuals – as air travellers, for instance – with donations to climate projects. But are they not just a way of salving guilty consciences?  

Over the past 120 years, Marxist ideas have undergone frequent revivals on the silver screen.

German television shows tend to have a bad reputation for poor writing and cheap productions not suited for an international market and audience. Now series like “Deutschland ‘83” and “Babylon Berlin” are putting a new shine on that tarnished image. 

Who are they and how do they live? The advertising and media world has discovered a new target group: Generation Z, fully digitalized since birth, is coming of age. But on screen they are (still) representing the lives of Millennials.

2021 was supposed to be the post- pandemic year for pop music. Such was the prevailing hope as Germany’s Covid-stricken music and event industry embarked on a summer of culture in which, at least for a brief spell, everything seemed almost normal again. But then came the fourth wave and made one thing clear: optimism and creativity won’t keep anyone afloat if the money and strategy are running short.

Racism, abuse of power, Covid – 2021 was another year of controversy and profound social debate in the early, new and classical music scene. Hannah Schmidt looks back on some of the main issues and incidents – and how the German classical music scene coped with another pandemic year.

What is our music worth? The 2021 pandemic year called for a strategic mix of productive collaboration, political solidarity, solid networking and innovative individual approaches to jazz.