The roots of fashion designer Andreas Kronthaler, husband of Vivienne Westwood, are in the Tyrolean Zillertal valley. We could have asked him what it was like to have tea with Prince Charles. But we didn’t. Instead, we had a chat about his grandmother’s blueberry patties and the fur coats of his old aunt in Graz. This interview was written in the summer of 2022; Vivienne Westwood has since passed away. We have not changed it and have left it as it was held. We send our heartfelt condolences to the Westwood and Kronthaler family. 

The tiny village of Thal near Graz, population not quite 2,400, is where, in 1947, a mighty Styrian oak tree first saw the light of day. Even after its transatlantic transplantation, its roots remain firmly planted in Thal. You can feel the presence of the icon Arnold Schwarzenegger. 

While bombs rain down on Kyiv, the second Ukrainian Fashion Week since the start of Russia’s war of aggression took place (February 14–17, 2025). We spoke with its founder and program director, Iryna Danylevska, about an unimaginable feat of strength, prosthetics on the runway, and camouflage nets for the front lines. We translated the interview into English using ChatGPT due to time constraints. We apologize for any resulting errors.

Glaciers are not only tremendously beautiful, but also tremendously alive. They melt, cause sea levels to rise and trigger natural disasters, and yet they are a crucial source of fresh water we hope to preserve. At the Institute of Science and Technology Austria in Klosterneuburg, the Italian-Swiss researcher and glaciologist Francesca Pellicciotti studies glaciers that – in contrast to global trends and a warming climate – appear to be stable or growing. A conversation about humility and the third pole.

Stefanie Reinsperger is one of the most popular actresses in the German-speaking world, thanks in no small part to her role as Inspector Rosa Herzog in the Dortmund episodes of German cult police procedural Tatort. She is proud of her tiny hometown near Vienna, a village with just under 3,000 inhabitants. She is funny, with a self-deprecating sense of humor and plenty of energy. Yet because she doesn't conform to the cliché image of a female star, she has repeatedly come under attack. That makes her pretty furious ("Ganz schön wütend"), the title of her recently published book. 

The Swiss Roman Signer (*1938) is one of the most enigmatic European artists of the present day. His works are processual sculptures with a bizarre aesthetic, full of poetry and humor, the result of meticulous planning and unpredictable coincidence. Signer and his wife Aleksandra welcomed us in their studio in St. Gallen. We spoke about childhood, the joy of explosives, about shame and happiness.

We humans are nothing but stardust and, like the Earth, we like to spin in circles. What does a roundabout have in common with the universe and why is the Milky Way provincial? We spoke with the German astrophysicist, FAZ editor, and philosopher Sibylle Anderl.  

"When I was a child, I toyed with dirt. I killed the slugs, I bored with a bough in their spiracle.” For almost 15 years, the exceptional Austrian artist SOAP&SKIN has been singing about death and pain, about nature and healing. Her voice pierces into us and cuts off our air, only to let us breathe better afterwards. The lyrics to Spiracle read differently when you know that 30-year-old Anja Plaschg grew up on a pig-fattening farm in a Styrian village with 200 inhabitants. A conversation about sugar-cube witches, talking trees, and how impressive and depressing rural life can be.

Kirchberg Monastery in Lower Austria may date from centuries past, but not so the nuns who live within its thick walls. We recently spent a few days with them, observing the strict prayer times and enjoying homemade blueberry strudel. In these difficult times, we sought advice from someone who really ought to know: Nun and psychotherapist Teresa Hieslmayr. Who does the virus serve? What gives life meaning? How evil is consumerism?  

Lars Krutak's research gets under the skin: the U.S. tattoo anthropologist has been studying indigenous tribes and their dwindling rituals of tattoo and scar art for decades. Scar art, also called scarification, is a multifaceted traditional method of cutting a pattern or symbol into the skin. With scar masters from Benin, Papua New Guinea, and Ethiopia, Krutak has delved into a bloody, magical world and now invites us to share in it.