Is electromobility the thing of the future? What are the hurdles facing battery research? What are the advantages of lithium-ion batteries and where else are they used aside from electric cars? Professor Martin Winter, director of the MEET Battery Research Centre of the University of Münster, answers these and other questions. The chemistry professor, who has received over 50 academic prizes and distinctions over the course of his career, has been studying the area of battery research for more than 25 years. He is widely recognised as one of the world’s foremost authorities in the field.

What role do the abuse scandal and celibacy play in the systemic crisis of the Catholic Church? What structural reforms are necessary to lead the Church out of the crisis and what are the consequences if it does not change? Church historian Prof. Dr. Hubert Wolf answers these questions in the podcast. He also gives insights into his work in the secret archives of the Vatican. There he researches whether and what Pope Pius XII knew about the Holocaust.

Narcissism is a frequently used, but usually also very negatively charged term. Rightfully? Mitja Back, professor for personality psychology, answers these and many other questions about this trait in the podcast. He explains where narcissism stops and narcissism begins, how this form of personality disorder develops, why people with narcissistic traits are particularly common in politics and the media and whether the use of social media reinforces narcissism and selfishness.

Occupational and organisational psychology is a field that explores the relationships between people working at a company or with other organisations. In this podcast, Professor Guido Hertel explains how recent research findings can shed light on a broad spectrum of unanswered questions. His research does not focus teamwork or employee motivation, but rather highly topical issues and problems, such as climate change and the rapidly advancing digitalisation of the work world.

The climate protection package, passed by the German government in October, has fuelled ongoing debates. The legislation marked the first time that German lawmakers defined legally binding climate goals for various sectors, such as transportation and agriculture. In this podcast, Sabine Schlacke, professor of public law, in particular, environmental and planning law, at the University of Münster and co-chair of the German Advisory Council on Global Change (WBGU), takes a closer look at the new climate protection package from a legal perspective. She also explains the “polluter pays” principle and what role it plays, why climate justice is a legally complex subject, and how climate protection laws differ at the European and international level.