#4 Power and control

Friedrich Merz: between BlackRock and the Chancellery

The CDU leader presents himself as a man of the people – despite a multimillion past in the world of finance. Why do so many listen to him?

A man, the CDU politician Friedrich Merz, stands with his back to the camera in front of two bright spotlights. A microphone hangs above him, and a few people can be made out in the background.

Power and control

‘The Taliban won’t change because of sanctions’

Julian Busch spent months living in Afghanistan as the only German journalist there – and explains why pressure from outside achieves little.

Power and control

ADHD in adults: ‘Don’t make such a fuss’

Forgotten appointments, constant self-doubt – and the sentence our author heard for years.

Power and control

Censorship in the USA: ‘Seeing someone like me in a book meant everything to me’

Why removing books from US school libraries means far more than politics to many young people.

Power and control

Modern witches: how a musician finds empowerment in witchcraft

Between the stage and spells: how a young woman draws new strength from magic and community.

Power and control

‘A coffee, please, sweetie’

On civil courage – and why, in tricky moments, we often look away rather than step in.

Power and control

Botanical tricks: power and control in Hannover’s Berggarten

Milan Lenau grows and protects rare species – and shows how much steering goes on in a famous garden.

Power and control

Leaving the church: ‘Maybe this isn’t the right place for you’

The congregation once ruled every part of her life. Two years ago our author turned her back on it – and today she sees more clearly.

Power and control

Circle in the air: a performance artist between the circus and the Reeperbahn

Greta lived between the circus ring and the nightclub – and struggled with a strain that hardly anyone talks about.

Power and control

Dülmen wild horses: truly wild or just a show?

The annual round-up in the Münsterland draws thousands – and raises awkward questions about how we treat animals.

A herd of Dülmen wild horses gallops across a dusty clearing during the traditional wild horse round-up. The horses are surrounded by trees and grass under a clear blue sky.

Power and control

‘For me, power means having a say over my own life’

Six young people on how they leave the feeling of helplessness behind – and redefine strength.

Who decides over whom? Our fourth focus topic asks where power is exercised – in high politics and in everyday life.

It covers Friedrich Merz and his years at BlackRock, the Taliban and the effect of sanctions, and censorship in the US. But also adults with ADHD who are told: ‘Stop making such a fuss.’

And sometimes the question turns around: how do you take back control? People who have left the church and a musician in a witch cult offer answers. Or, as one of the stories puts it: ‘For me, power means determining my own life.’

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