Not too much, probably. Still, I talked at length with Linda Mannheim about the fallout from the latest German election. Here is the result. In other news, I love it when journalists ask me to keep in mind that they are writing for an American audience. https://www.thenation.com/article/world/germany-grand-coalition-government
This, my young friends, is a (West German) coin-operated payphone. Like cigarette and bubble gum vending machines, they were ubiquitous during my youth. Now, this is literally a museum piece, which I spotted in Frankfurt a couple of days ago. Very rarely, people forgot to collect the coins that remained when they ended their call.…
Was bedeutet der AfD-Erfolg, und wie sollte man damit (nicht) umgehen?
The AfD doubled its vote share in Germany’s 2025 federal election, achieving dominance in eastern states with over 30% of votes but also making significant gains in the west. Its success stems from mobilizing non-voters, attracting disaffected voters from other parties, and exploiting migration fears. Despite this, its extremist stance remains polarizing. Germany’s democratic parties still have a chance to stem the tide, but they must act now.
I have the rare privilege of a job with very flexible working conditions, and I always loved working from home. Pre-pandemic and post-nursery, I wouldn’t normally come in on more than three, maybe four days per week. However, the pandemic had a lasting effect on my working habits. I developed a strange longing for my…
Zunächst mit dem SWR und dann mit dem Deutschlandfunk habe ich über das relativ gute Abschneiden der AfD im Wahlkreis Kaiserslautern gesprochen. Der Artikel beim SWR hat mir die bislang originellste Beleidigung meiner Karriere eingebacht: meine Uni sei so schlecht, dass sie demnächst komplett aus dem Ranking fallen werde. Womit ich das verdient habe, kann…
The internet is a strange place that can bring together people who never meet in real life™. Case in point: me & Iberian journalists who want to talk about the election and (you guessed that right) the AfD. This time around, it was Marta Rey from Spanish public broadcaster RTVE, who wrote not one, not…
Mit dem NDR habe ich am Tag nach der Bundestagswahl darüber gesprochen, wie die Parteien sich nun neu sortieren könnten. Die Sendung kann man hier nachhören: https://www.ndr.de/nachrichten/info/sendungen/interviews/Politikwissenschaftler-Fuer-Gruene-wird-es-schwer-sich-neu-zu-erfinden,audio1820986.html
La Presse is a reasonably progressive online newspaper based in Montreal. Vincent Brousseau-Pouliot, one of their staff writers, contacted various political scientists to talk (chiefly) about the far right in Europe. By and large, I found his questions more interesting than our answers. At any rate, good, clean fun. https://www.lapresse.ca/contexte/l-a-b-c-de-l-extreme-droite/2025-02-16/qu-est-ce-que-l-extreme-droite.php
The world’s richest man is wielding his immense wealth, political influence, and control over global companies to promote authoritarian forces worldwide. What could go wrong?