Annekathrin Kohout on Patterns of Communication on the Internet Caught in the Feedback Loop

Annekathrin Kohout has written an extremely worthwhile book about communication on the internet. By the time they finish reading, all readers will feel a strong urge to reflect on their own communicative behaviour – both online and offline.

Photo (Detail): © picture-alliance

Simon Sahner on the Impact of Disease Names and Diagnoses Calling Diseases by Their Name

Sometimes a diagnosis comes as a relief; sometimes naming a disease only increases the burden. Simon Sahner takes a closer look at how the name of a disease impacts those affected.

Simon Sahner
Photo (detail): © mauritius images / Robert Poorten / imageBROKER

Detours | Wuppertal’s suspended railway An Engineering Marvel Hanging Over the City

A world-famous landmark necessitated by traffic chaos in a narrow valley: Wuppertal’s suspended railway. How it all began, the Kaiser’s maiden trip and a daring elephant.

Zoé Kammermann

Detours

Once a month, we take you to a place in Germany that you absolutely must discover!

Language

Photo (detail): © picture-alliance/ imageBROKER | Addictive Stock

Simon Sahner on How Men and Women Write About Illness
Journal or Review?

Why do men with cancer tend to document their suffering for the public almost immediately, while women are more likely to turn to writing only after overcoming an illness? Simon Sahner examines this phenomenon and the social conditions that shape it.

Simon Sahner
Photo (detail): © picture-alliance/ dpa | Michael Matthey

Simon Sahner: How Do You Talk to People Who Are Ill?
“You’ll Get Through This.”

Knowing how to talk appropriately to someone who is seriously ill is no easy matter. Drawing on his own experiences as a patient, Simon Sahner, explores the faux pas well-meaning family members and medical professionals can so easily make.

Simon Sahner
Photo (detail): © picture alliance / SZ Photo | Christian Ditsch

Simon Sahner on medical diagnoses and their consequences
When Illness Becomes A Myth

Certain illnesses are surrounded by myths that suggest sufferers are personally responsible for their condition. Simon Sahner explores this phenomenon – and warns against the capacity of myths to obscure reality.

Simon Sahner

Culture

The Busludja Monument in Bulgaria, bathed in the light of the setting sun

A Collection of European Dreams Europe and the Undramatic Sadness

For five years, Wolfram Lotz collected dreams from internet forums – from Russia to Portugal. The result is a strange, quiet book: no political Europe, no manifesto, but a portrait of a tame continent from within.

The award winners Marie-Janine Calic (left, non-fiction category), Katerina Poladjan (center, fiction), and Manfred Gmeiner (right, translation).

Leipzig Book Fair Prize 2026 Stories that speak to the present

Katerina Poladjan receives the Leipzig Book Fair Prize for Goldstrand. The nonfiction prize goes to Marie-Janine Calic, the translation prize to Manfred Gmeiner.

On the Passing of Jürgen Habermas The Power of the Argument

Few thinkers earn the highest respect both as master theorists and public intellectuals. But Jürgen Habermas was one of them. The renowned philosopher has died aged 96.

Germany

Photo (Detail): © picture alliance/dpa | Matthias Bein

5 German Easter traditions
A Bunny With a Basketful of Eggs

The snow’s melting, sunbeams are dancing across the sky again, and the first blossom is pushing its way out of the buds – spring is coming in Germany. As the new season begins, the Easter bunny isn’t far away. Along with it, more traditions and customs make their way into German homes as people prepare to celebrate Easter.

Jennifer Engl
Photo (detail): © mauritius images / Manuel Kamuf / imageBROKER

Detours | The Swabian Alps and the Schönberg Tower
White Landmark in Ancient Landscape

Formed by a tropical sea, volcanic activity and meteorite impact, the Swabian Alps today are one of southern Germany’s most diverse landscapes. One outstanding feature is the Schönberg Tower.

Zoé Kammermann
Photo (Detail) © picture alliance / ASSOCIATED PRESS | Martin Meissner & picture alliance/dpa | Sebastian Gollnow

American Football in Germany
Kick-off in the Middle of the Night

Pizza, beer, Super Bowl: What once began as a niche sport has become a full‑blown hype in Germany. How American football found a home here.

Jennifer Engl

Cherrypicker

The literature blog Cherrypicker presents selected novels and non-fiction, graphic novels and stories, audio books and literature for children and teenagers.