Listening, being heard, engaging in dialog at eye level – these are buzzwords of our time, empty formulas of political rhetoric. But what does it mean to really listen, to question one’s own convictions, to expose oneself to the worldview of others? How can we escape the tendency to rush to judgment that poisons contemporary debates?

Winfried Kretschmann and Bernhard Pörksen analyze the communicative climate change, debate the limits and possibilities of dialogue and show how political communication is changing against the horizon of sudden waves of outrage and hate and the new media reality. The occasion and starting point for their debate is the publication of Pörksen’s latest book Zuhören. The art of opening up to the world (Hanser Literaturverlag, 2025).

The event is part of the Ways of Listening Festival, in collaboration with DAI Heidelberg. You can find an overview of the full program here.

Winfried Kretschmann has been Minister President of Baden-Württemberg since 2011. Right at the beginning of his term in office, he attracted attention with the referendum on Stuttgart 21, which he supported despite his own rejection. He used the dispute over the station as an opportunity to establish a “policy of being heard” in Baden-Württemberg, which has since become the state’s trademark. This is based on the conviction that major projects and far-reaching upheavals such as climate change, the energy transition and digitalization can only succeed with the people, not against them.

Bernhard Pörksen is Professor of Media Studies at the University of Tübingen. He became known for his work on scandal research, his analyses of the social consequences of digitalization and his books with communication psychologist Friedemann Schulz von Thun, Kommunikation als Lebenskunst (Carl-Auer Verlag, 2014). He has received various awards for his teaching and publishing activities, including Professor of the Year and the Erich Fromm Prize. Bernhard Pörksen was a Fellow at Thomas Mann House in 2021.