From Angela Merkel to Cory Doctorow: Ten highlights from Republica in the live stream

Monday, May 18th

1 „How Silicon Valley is Shaping the World – via AI“ mit Karen Hao

This year the opening keynote will be given by journalist and author Karen Hao. She writes for The Atlantic, among other publications, and wrote the book Empire of AI: Dreams and Nightmares in Sam Altman’s OpenAI, about the company that brought us ChatGPT. In her speech, she will shed light on the different stories of the people who shape AI today. (11:15 a.m. to 12:15 p.m., Stage 1 and live on YouTube)

2 “Despite everything: Hope Europe?” with Angela Merkel

The WDR European Forum will also take place as part of Republica and will be broadcast live on television. A highlight is a conversation with the former Chancellor Angela Merkel, who has expressed herself much more openly than before since her departure from politics. She talks to the head of the ARD capital studio Markus Preiß about her hope for Europe, then to the “0630” podcasters Caro Bredendiek and Florian Gregorzyk. (1 p.m. to 2 p.m., Stage 5 and live on WDR and the ARD media library)

3 “One battle after another – Europe and the USA” with Serap Güler, Omid Nouripour, Ralf Stegner

Also at the WDR European Forum, Serap Güler from the CDU, Bundestag Vice President Omid Nouripour from the Greens and Ralf Stegner from the SPD will speak about the (irreparable?) damage that Donald Trump is doing to the relationship between Europe and the USA. The conversation will be moderated by Ellen Ehni from WDR. (2:40 p.m. to 3:30 p.m., Stage 5 and live on WDR and the ARD media library)

4 „On Enshittification – and what can be done about it“ mit Cory Doctorow

How did the internet become as terrible as it is today? Author and professor Cory Doctrow answers this question in his great book “Enshittification: How tech companies exploit us and what we can do about it,” which has just been published in German.

He explains the development of the somewhat clumsily translated “worse shit” of the digital world in a comprehensible way, places it in the larger context of global capitalism and shows paths towards the “new good Internet”, which Doctrow still believes in despite everything. Shocking, enlightening, encouraging. (3 p.m. to 4 p.m., Stage 1 and live on YouTube)

Tuesday, May 19th

5 „How to never give up: Investigating (and surviving) techno-authoritarianism“ mit Carole Cadwalladr

The British Carole Cadwalladr is an investigative journalist and author. In 2018, together with colleagues, she uncovered the Cambridge Analytica-Facebook scandal, for which she was nominated for the Pulitzer Prize. At Republica she talks to presenter Geraldine de Bastion about the adversities of her work, the “broligarchy” of the tech world and what prospects there are for the future. (12:30 p.m. to 1:30 p.m., Stage 1 and live on YouTube)

6 “What is the state of digitalization in Germany, Mr. Wildberger?” with Karsten Wildberger

Karsten Wildberger (CDU) has been Federal Minister for Digitalization and State Modernization in the Merz cabinet for over a year. What conclusion can be drawn after this year, how modern has the state really become and how can platforms be regulated and digital sovereignty achieved? The politician talks about this with Republica co-founder Markus Beckedahl. (5:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m., Stage 1 and live on YouTube)

7 “Why we can’t afford an unequal society” with Jutta Allmendinger, Kevin Kühnert

From inheritance tax to the housing market to education policy: What can be done about the widening gap between rich and poor? Professor of educational sociology and labor market research Jutta Allmendinger and Kevin Kühnert, former SPD general secretary and now head of tax, distribution and lobbying at the Finanzwende association, are discussing this. The conversation will be moderated by Geraldine de Bastion. (6:45 p.m. to 7:45 p.m., Stage 1 and live on YouTube)

Wednesday, May 20th

8 „Why the Right is winning the „For You“ page and how to hack it back“ mit Jessica Burbank

Jessica Burbank was involved in Bernie Sanders’ election campaign, but after his defeat she lost her political home. Today she reaches an audience of millions with her socio-political reporting on TikTok and YouTube. She wants to explain to Republica visitors how one can challenge the right-wing dominance in social media and also bring complex topics closer to a young target group. (11:45 a.m. to 12:15 p.m., Stage 1 and live on YouTube)

9 “Radically hopeful: Because our brain never gives up” with Maren Urner

Maren Urner is a neuroscientist, professor of sustainable transformation at the Münster University of Applied Sciences and author. Most recently she wrote the book “Radically Emotional: How Feelings Make Politics.” At Republica she talks about a “miracle weapon of humanity” that can easily be lost today when looking at social media and news sites: hope. She defines this as “actively shaping a present that is not yet but can be.” Let’s hope! (3:30 p.m. to 4 p.m., Stage 1 and live on YouTube)

10 “Ordinary media and their contribution to the comeback of fascism” with Leonhard Dobusch, Nadia Zaboura

The lawyer and economist Leonhard Dobusch researches the management of digital communities as a professor of organization at the University of Innsbruck, and the media scientist Nadia Zaboura has been analyzing German media reporting for years, particularly on the topics of right-wing extremism and the Middle East.

Together, the two take a critical look at the status quo of the German press landscape and do not give it a good report. Your thesis: Journalism-as-usual must end in order to counteract neo-fascist forces. (4:45 p.m. to 5:15 p.m., Stage 1 and live on YouTube)