Barbara Bleisch trifft

After its impressive launch last year, the series of talks «Barbara Bleisch meets…» is set to continue in 2022. Four times a year, the celebrated philosopher, author and host Barbara Bleisch will welcome a guest onto the stage. Each time, she will meet an inspiring personality of her choice from the worlds of culture, politics, art and science to discuss current events and to explore their thought processes and experiences. The roughly 90-minute talks plan to tackle uncomfortable topics and ensure that real questions are asked and real answers are given – openly, honestly and plainly.

The audience is also invited to participate: a note box will be converted into an analogue comments section to ensure audience members can engage with the content shared, completely free of digital distractions and without being put on the spot.

After its successful first series last year, which saw Barbara joined by philosopher Carolin Emcke, artist Miriam Cahn and Federal Chancellor Walter Thurnherr, Jonas Lüscher is the first name on this year’s guest list.

Award-winning Swiss writer Jonas Lüscher views life as a narrative. The power of storytelling not only helps us to live a life that we understand as our own – this power should also be used politically. In his own works, Lüscher combines political commitment with fictional elements. More than simply engrossing his readers in a narrative, he challenges them to reflect on issues in the spirit of «engaged literature». The dedicated writer sees intellectuals as having a special responsibility in this respect. A wonderful example of this is Lüscher’s book «The Populist Planet», published last year together with philosopher Michael Zichy. An international group of thinkers utilises letters to open up debate on the stories of populists in various countries. Barbara Bleisch and the critical thinker will discuss the responsibility that knowledge brings, what the near future holds – and the new outlook on life that Lüscher has gained since spending weeks in a coma after contracting covid.

Jonas Lüscher is one of the most celebrated contemporary authors in the German-speaking world. For his furious and comical debut «Barbarian Spring» he was nominated for both the German and the Swiss Book Prize in 2013 and awarded several literary prizes. In the meantime, Lüscher’s novel has been translated into roughly twenty languages. His second novel «Kraft» (2017) was also acclaimed by critics and readers alike. Its accolades include the Swiss Book Prize, the most prestigious award of the Swiss book industry.

Jonas Lüscher was born in Schlieren near Zurich in 1976 and has been living in Munich since 2001. He grew up in Bern, where he studied at the Muristalden Teacher Training School (now Campus Muristalden) between 1994 and 1998. This was followed by a few years working as a script editor in the Munich film industry, before Lüscher started studying at the Munich School of Philosophy. In 2011, he embarked on a thesis at ETH Zurich, which he has since abandoned to focus fully on his writing.

Barbara Bleisch, Dr. phil., studied Philosophy, German Literature and Religious Studies in Zurich, Basel and Tübingen, before completing her doctorate at the Centre for Ethics at the University of Zurich. She has been hosting the programme «Sternstunde Philosophie» for the Swiss public broadcaster SRF since 2010 and writing as a columnist for the Swiss daily newspaper «Tages-Anzeiger» since 2018. Barbara is a member of the Centre for Ethics at the University of Zurich and lectures Ethics in various advanced study programmes. Further, she is a member of the jury of the Tractatus award for philosophical essay writing. Her most recent publications include «Wanting Children» (together with Andrea Büchler, Hanser), «Why We Owe Our Parents Nothing» (Hanser), «Familial Obligations» (Suhrkamp) and «Ethical Decision-Making» (Versus).

Masks mandatory. Admission only with a digital Covid certificate (Swiss Covid certificate or EU/EFTA Digital Covid Certificate) and official ID (ID, passport, driving license). Further information here.