ConTrust Podcast #6 / Can we trust documentaries?
With Laliv Melamed and Vinzenz Hediger in conversation with Ra’anan Alexandrowicz
In a world where conflicts seem to escalate repeatedly – whether in the Middle East, Ukraine, or the rising tensions between China and the USA – finding peaceful solutions often appears more challenging than ever. The rise of right-wing populist parties and extremist groups in Europe and beyond is also contributing to an increase in conflicts. But do conflicts necessarily have to be destructive?
ConTrust the podcast is dedicated to the central themes of trust and conflict, exploring how we, as a society, can address the challenges of today’s world. How can we prevent conflicts from escalating into violence and destruction? What alternative, more productive paths are there for conflictual developments and outcomes? And most importantly, how can we ensure that institutions protect us and that society remains stable?
In each episode, we tackle these questions and offer perspectives for a more constructive approach to conflicts and the trust-building mechanisms that can help keep us united during difficult times.
Episode 4 with Dr Laliv Melamed (Assistant Professor of Film and Media Studies at the University of Groningen, Associate Member at the Cluster Initiative “ConTrust – Trust in Conflict”), Prof Vinzenz Hediger (Professor of Cinema Studies at Goethe University, Principal Investigator at the Cluster Initiative “ConTrust – Trust in Conflict”) in conversation with Ra’anan Alexandrowicz (Israeli filmmaker and writer)
News from the research center
Christine Hentschel on reorientation in catastrophic times
As part of the lecture series "At the crossroads? On the crisis of democracy", the sociologist spoke about living in and dealing with catastrophic times. Against the backdrop of the destruction of living conditions, wars, permanent crises and threats to democracy, Hentschel addressed the infiltration of the catastrophic into everyday social life and a changing activist and literary approach to the future.
weitere Infos ›Gender Differences in Financial Advice
Bucher-Koenen, Tabea; Hackethal, Andreas; Koenen, Johannes; Laudenbach, Christine (2025): „Gender Differences in Financial Advice“. In: American Economic Review, 115 (12), pp. 4218–4252.
weitere Infos ›Faszination und Freiheit
Günther, Klaus; Zabel, Benno (Hrsg.) (2025): Faszination und Freiheit - Gegenwartsdiagnosen im Anschluss an Christoph Menkes Theorie der Befreiung, Weilerswist (Velbrück Wissenschaft).
weitere Infos ›Zwischen Transformation und Abolitionismus. Das Strafrecht und die Vielfalt der Alternativen
Tobias Singelnstein, Christoph Burchard (2025)
weitere Infos ›Was bleibt von der Verantwortung jenseits der Strafe übrig?
Günther, Klaus (2025): „Was bleibt von der Verantwortung jenseits der Strafe übrig?“. In: Zabel Benno; Singelnstein; Tobias und Burchard, Christoph (Hrsg.): Zwischen Transformation und Abolitionismus. Das Strafrecht und die Vielfalt der Alternativen. Velbrück Wissenschaft, S. 207-241.
weitere Infos ›Jonathan White on future thinking in democracies
On the second date of the lecture series "At the crossroads? On the crisis of democracy". Political scientist White discusses views on the future of democracies. A follow-up report
weitere Infos ›The crisis of democratic theory from a sociological perspective
Sociologist Jenny Brichzin's lecture "Crisis of Democratic Theory? A sociological intervention" opened our lecture series "At the crossroads? On the future of democratic theory". The sociologist criticized the fact that social coexistence has so far been insufficiently addressed in democratic theory. A follow-up report
weitere Infos ›The Archipelago Capitalism of Citizenship-By-Investment
Džankić, Jelena; Seyfettinoglu, Mira; Shachar, Ayelet; Vink, Maarten; Baaren, Luuk van der (2025): „The Archipelago Capitalism of Citizenship-By-Investment“. In: Comparative Political Studies, OnlineFirst.
weitere Infos ›Non-Fiction Cinema in Postwar Europe
Hediger, Vinzenz (2025): „Preface: (Re)Building Europe through Cinema (Studies)”. In: Cesalkova, Lucia, et al. (eds.): Non-Fiction Cinema in Postwar Europe. Visual Culture and the Reconstruction of Public Space. Amsterdam University Press.
weitere Infos ›