SZ Live MINDPOP Festival

In the organizer's words:

A new festival for clever thoughts

Two days, three stages, countless impulses: at MINDPOP, SZ journalism becomes a live experience - with talks, interviews and discussions for all those who want to know more, feel more and understand more. At the beginning of May 2026, you will experience the journalistic quality and expertise of the Süddeutsche Zeitung with the energy of a festival for the first time.

In the Bavaria Studios in the south of the city, you will meet journalists, scientists, artists and people who are shaping tomorrow. Questions and answers become a dialog, knowledge and culture become a shared adventure.

Who is MINDPOP for?

MINDPOP is just right for you if you love events that are smart and entertaining at the same time. If you enjoy drinks, music and conversations with inspiring people, get tickets for yourself (and your friends) now.

Look forward to the following highlights on day 1:

• Timon Krause: Mind hacks: psychological tricks for a better everyday life
  Germany's most successful mentalist takes the audience into the world of applied psychology. How effective and suitable for everyday use are his mind hacks really?
• Tobias Krell: How do you explain to children what is going on in the world? How does knowledge transfer work for children - and why is there not so much difference to adults? Tobias Krell in a live interview about his success and his experiences as a checker (of the nation).
• Verena Keßler: The worst lecture of all - about pressure to perform and the eternal comparison
  Author Verena Keßler has put her finger in the wound with her novel "Gym": What does constant performance optimization do to individuals and society?
• Victoria Reichelt: There's so much politics in your For You page
  From Jesus Glow to Etsy witches and Labubus: journalist Victoria Reichelt knows all about TikTok hypes and micro-trends - and knows that there are also political connections behind them. Because what's happening virally is political. A live Yap session.
• Özden Terli: The atmosphere is no longer what it used to be
  The climate crisis is changing conditions, the weather is becoming more extreme. And what can we do? Why it's worth arguing about the climate. A lecture by meteorologist and ZDF editor Özden Terli.
• Panel with Isabel Abedi, author and translator, Thi, student teacher and content creator, Prof. Dr. Karim Fereidooni, Professor of Didactics of Social Science Education and QUEEN Lizzy, public speaker, artist, Vice Miss Germany 2022 & model How Aware are we of racism? Racism can look different - do we always recognize it at first glance? And are we sensitive enough to it? A live exchange about shared experiences and what we can learn from them.

Highlights on day 2:

• Linn Schütze& Dr. Gina Rosa Wollinger: When reality becomes a story - true crime rethought
  Podcaster Linn Schütze ("Mord auf Ex", "Die Jägerin") talks about her research, the personal side of it and why the industry is currently changing.
• Natali Amiri: The new Middle East. A discussion with Iranian journalist Sharzad Osterer and Natali Amiri about new perspectives on the region: What future potential lies in Israel, Iran and the Arab world - and how can it be realized?
• Teresa Reichl & Alessandro Capasso: When is a joke a joke?
  A discussion with comedian and social media star Sandrocap and cabaret artist Teresa Reichl on the question: Why is it so difficult to make good comedy today?
• Gizem Celik, Hanni Hase & Alica Schellhorn: Why are we so into gossip?
  Why do we gossip about others? What does gossiping do to us and can gossiping also be good? What does gossip do to those "affected"?
• Maria Clara Groppler: When taboos come on stage - stand-up comedy without filters. About honest stand-up comedy and how personal experiences become stories. Presents highlights from her current program "MEHRJUNGFRAU".
• Daphne Ferraro: Forever young: Why is the young adult genre so incredibly successful?
  A conversation with the screenwriter of "Maxton Hall" about the growing interest in stories about college love affairs.
• Ricardo Lange: Death, pain and great happiness: Behind the scenes in the intensive care unit
  The nurse Ricardo Lange reports on his most exciting cases in hospital, gives an insight behind the scenes of intensive care medicine and reports on his SZ nursing column "Between life and farewell".
• Saralisa Volm: The constant inadequacy: why the female body is still political in 2026.
  The actress and author Saralisa Volm deals with the never-ending pressure to be beautiful.

Further information about the program and all other details can be found here.

Price information:

Reduced prices are valid for students, senior citizens (aged 65 and over) and people with disabilities. Proof of this must be shown on admission.