Featured Topics: Autumn 2026 Non-Fiction

One of the more remarkable phenomena of contemporary culture is that so many people consume horoscopes. Whether it’s in magazines, on TV, or as TikTok videos or Instagram reels: astrology is...

The immunodeficiency disorder known as AIDS has claimed the lives of more than 40 million people globally since it was discovered. More than 3,500 people still contract HIV every day, but many have next to no access to HIV medication. To date, there remains no effective cure or vaccine.

Apart from the Spanish flu, no other epidemic cost so many lives in the 20th century. And no other...

Societies are – like hearts, economies, and ecosystems – complex dynamic systems. They cannot be entirely controlled and directed. Even well-informed interventions can trigger unpredictable and deleterious effects. For this reason, it can be difficult to imagine how a system can be escaped or fundamentally altered. For example, how should we understand the systematic interaction between broad...

How do we view Michel Foucault today? How might we assess the impact of his widely read and much-criticised work in the present day? While his oeuvre is viewed as canonical for the humanities, cultural studies, and social sciences, his thought is regularly blamed with leading to some of the irrational aberrations and relativist dead ends of contemporary thought.

In their astute...

The use of credit cards or payment apps has become an everyday activity right around the world – but it is much more than a purely technical affair. In this important book, Barbara Brandl illustrates how the increasing replacement of cash with digital payment methods has significant effects on the dynamics of social inequality. A lack of access to digital payment methods plays as much of a role...

In April of 1945, with the Red Army having long since crossed the Oder River and making their way toward Berlin, Otto Ther decided to bury a treasure chest. Inside it were a diamond crucifix, jewellery, and freshly polished silver cutlery. The idea was for the valuables to remain hidden at the foot of the Giant Mountains until the family could return to the town that in German was called...

In 1848, the same year that Europe was being rocked by revolutionary fervour, the Persian poet and theologian enters a gathering in the village of Badasht, in Persia. She is the only woman present. She enters without a veil and with the remarkable desire to exert religious authority. Her appearance sparks outrage among the men.

Táhirih was a traveller and teacher, and an exceptional...

In the early 20th century, the »pioneer of animal psychology «, Karl Krall, wanted to educate horses to become »speaking, thinking human beings« by teaching them a language of tapping their hooves. Some 50 years later, a man founds a new state comprising »the entire universe minus the Earth«. Another half a century later, TikTokers amassed millions of followers by recounting gruesome videos so...

At the highpoint of the Renaissance, Rome was the centre of the Western world. The Sack of Rome on 6 May 1527 marked the end of this epoch. Charles V’s soldiers stormed the walls of the city of Rome,...

The debates over the demise of the printed book have died down, but the question of what role the book will play in an entirely digitalised world remains more pressing than ever. By way of numerous case studies, Michael Hagner seeks to provide some answers to this question by analysing historical and contemporary constellations that highlight the evolving significance of the...

The contemporary crises in the world and our modern lifestyle cause us no end of problems. Body and mind both suffer, and it seems harder than ever to stay healthy and resilient. But natural remedies...

Brecht’s 1926 play Man Equals Man explores the question of whether people can be arbitrarily moulded, including their beliefs. Within a week, the worker Galy Gay is »reassembled« into an unfeeling fighting machine for the British colonial army. Hardly ten years later, this is exactly what occurred with an entire society in Nazi Germany.

With the ongoing escalation of...

Whether it’s Konrad Adenauer in the early years of West Germany or Robert Schuman in France: conservatives and Christian democrats often prove to be successful agents of renewal. We only need to look at the process of European unification, the integration of West Germany into the agreements and accords of the Western powers, or the establishment of the social market economy. But when it comes to...

Ah, the good old days. Fashion, music, economic growth – everything was supposedly better back in the day. The yearning for a better yesterday is one of the most enduring traits of contemporary society. Even politicians are accused of hunting for votes with nostalgia. But nostalgia is neither as new nor as bad as its reputation would suggest.

Historian Tobias Becker tells the story of...

Grief is not some defect. Some psychological short-circuit. Not some state that needs to be »overcome«. Grief is the logical, physical, and emotional response to love. Grieving does not mean you are...

Moths have inspired countless myths and fairy tales. They are viewed as envoys of the dead or even as incarnations of their souls. Depending on which story you choose to believe, they're supposed to...

When the story of Regina Jonas (1902–1944), the world’s first female rabbi, was brought to light in the 1990s, it caused quite the sensation. Until then, it had widely been assumed that the first ordinations of women as rabbis had taken place in the 1970s in the US.

Regina Jonas grew up in Berlin in modest circumstances. Nevertheless, she managed to gain a place to study at the College...

We have more control over our breathing than just about any other bodily function. Learning to use it strategically provides us with an effective instrument for increasing energy, inner stability, and well-being.

Alexander Peters provides clear explanations of the role breathing plays in our health, our performance levels, and our inner balance. It combines current findings from the...

In his polemical new book, philosopher Stefan Gosepath explores a question that is the topic of much debate today: Is our social and legal practice of passing down and inheriting wealth just? The point of departure for this discussion is a theory of justice that is based on freedom and equality as fundamental values and is broadly accepted in our society. Gosepath delivers an incisive...