#AskDifferent – the Podcast of the Einstein Foundation

Acceleration, migration, inflation: In conversation with Christoph Markschies, the newly appointed President of the Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences and Humanities, it immediately becomes clear that these experiences are hardly exclusive to modernity. Markschies, who is Professor of Ancient Christianity at the Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin and co-director of the Einstein Center Chronoi, is a perpetual time traveler who seeks to help us better understand the present. His self-defined mission as a researcher: to contribute to a just and peaceful society. Language: German

As readers, how do we respond to a book? Does it spark our creativity? Does it trigger pain? Michel Chaouli, German studies scholar and Einstein Visiting Fellow at FU Berlin’s Friedrich Schlegel Graduate School, thinks of literary studies as an experiment, and treats texts as laboratories. His research inspires us to look beyond the sober side of critique and to also explore its playful and poetic aspects. Photo: Pablo Castagnola
Language: German

The effects of maternal stress on fetal development are poorly researched. Claudia Buß, Professor of Medical Psychology at Charité – Universitätsmedizin and the Einstein Center for Neurosciences, is determined to change this and has set out to explore the prenatal factors that determine women’s health during pregnancy.
Language: German

Tilman Santarius, Professor of Socio-Ecological Transformation and Sustainable Digitalization at the Einstein Center Digital Future, is convinced that digital transformation has to be fair both on society and on the climate. In this episode of our podcast, he asks what role science and industry – and ultimately, all of us – have to play as we move forward. Language: German

Friedel Gerfers's career has taken him from Germany’s “rust belt”, the Ruhrgebiet, where he worked as an electrical engineer laying underground cables, to the R&D departments of Silicon Valley’s tech giants. Today, he is Einstein Professor of Mixed Signal Circuit Design at TU Berlin, where he focuses on improving data transmission efficiency. In this episode, he explains why he feels as comfortable in the lab as he does back home on his parents' farm. Photo: TU Berlin/Philipp Arnoldt
Language: German

Valentina Forini first graduated in classical piano. Looking for an additional challenge, she decided to study physics. Today, Forini conducts research in string and quantum field theory as an Einstein Junior Fellow at the Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin. She told us what drove her to follow this path - and why we need more female role models in top-notch science. Photo: Henning Maier-Jantzen
Language: English

Surjo Soekadar is Einstein Professor of Clinical Neurotechnology and a senior physician at Charité – Universitätsmedizin. In this episode, he explains why researchers need to be good at handling setbacks, and how high-tech mind reading works. Language: German

Twice a month, we will be releasing new episodes of our podcast, #AskDifferent. Hosted by journalists Nancy Fischer and Leon Stebe, each episode will feature an interview with a brilliant mind who asks differently.