Pia Lotta Gruse

Pia Lotta Gruse (born 2005) passed her Abitur in Halle (Saale) in 2023 – determined to work in journalism. She got her first taste of a newsroom during a pre-study internship at RTL Nord in Hamburg. She has been studying journalism at Hochschule Hannover since the 2024 winter semester. She is particularly drawn to the question of how to tell stories in visually and acoustically compelling ways.

After dark

Heimwegtelefon: how the walk-home phone line works.

A voice in your ear that stays with you until the door clicks shut behind you – how volunteers help people get home safely.

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Masculinity

‘Being gay is not a choice’

Dirk and Thomas came out to their families only recently. Today they live together as a couple. In an interview with our author, they talk about their path to an open life.

Masculinity

‘I was a Hitler caricature from a bad Hollywood film’

He used to march through the streets in a leather coat, carrying the Reich war flag, giving hate speeches and dreaming of the great revolution. Today Axel Reitz works in extremism prevention.

Masculinity

Thin on top

TikTok routines, rosemary oil, transplants: the market for hair-loss treatments is booming. Hair may be just hair in the end – but it’s never quite that simple.

Award winners

The dying river.

Jonas Kako documents the water crisis along the Colorado River.

Sediment deposits on truck tyres on the shore of Lake Powell, photographed by Jonas Kako.

Collecting

The world’s largest Playmobil collection: 400,000 figures

It all began in a child’s bedroom – today Oliver Schaffer owns the world’s largest Playmobil collection, with more than 400,000 figures. A visit to his high-bay warehouse.

Comment and debate

What some people see in a picture – and others miss

Transcultural perspectives show how differently people read images – and which hidden clues only some can see.

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