New Podcast: Science and Politics in Conversation

How can we build a sustainable democracy? The new podcast Science and Politics in Conversation tackles this question in its opening episode with guests Doris Fuchs, RIFS Scientific Director and Professor of Sustainable Development at the University of Münster, and Andreas Jung, Deputy Chair of the CDU and spokesperson on climate and energy policy for the CDU/CSU parliamentary group in the German Bundestag.

The political scientist and the politician discuss the current challenges for sustainable development: How are politicians dealing with the demands of climate activist group Last Generation and protests by farmers? How should the government pursue its climate goals? Is the rhythm of political cycles attuned to the time scales on which planetary challenges unfold? And what options are available to bring policymakers and citizens into conversation and develop sustainable solutions together?

New episodes will be released weekly and will tackle the following topics:

• Kiezblock - Who owns the city? With Almut Neumann (District Councillor - Berlin Mitte, The Greens) and Dirk von Schneidemesser (mobility researcher at the RIFS)
• Is there such a thing as “green AI”? With Maximilian Funke-Kaiser (digital policy spokesperson for the FDP’s parliamentary group) and Stefanie Kunkel (digitalisation researcher at the RIFS)
• Welcome to the green pitch – soccer and sustainability. With Michael Jopp (Berlin Senate Department for the Interior and Sport - Sustainability Management) and Jutta Katthage (Federal Institute for Sports Science)
• Sustainable building. With Elisabeth Kaiser (Parliamentary State Secretary in the Ministry of Housing, Urban Development and Construction, SPD) and Eike Roswag-Klinge (TU Berlin)

Science communicator Sébastien Vannier developed the podcast at RIFS as part of a #FactoryWisskomm Fellowship funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) and in cooperation with the Centre Marc Bloch, a Franco-German centre for social science research. The podcast is hosted by science journalist Julia Vismann. Listeners are invited to take part in a survey on science podcasts as part of the research that will monitor the podcast and its impacts.