#rp26 speaker Sarah Bosetti, Anette Dowideit, Maren Urner and Sebastian 23: Fun Facts – where comedy turns into resistance
What happens when comedians and journalists team up – not for fun, but out of necessity? The result is a news-comedy format like “Fun Facts”. Together with alternating hosts, the show presents facts through humor and a political stance. It tackles topics like the shift to the right, the climate crisis, and social inequality – live on stage on weekdays, with simultaneous broadcasts on YouTube and social media.
At re:publica 26, the episode of the day will be recorded live: Sarah Bosetti, Maren Urner, and Sebastian 23 from “Fun Facts”, alongside CORRECTIV editor-in-chief Anette Dowideit, will discuss what the format reveals about the state of public discourse, democracy, and humor – and why it’s needed right now. Following the motto: Political comedy is under pressure, but it still belongs on stage! The discussion will be moderated by Frederik von Castell.
Sarah Bosetti is a satirist, author, and feminist against her will. Since October 2023, she has been writing and hosting the late-night show “Bosetti Late Night” on 3sat and ZDFSatire, for which she received the Grimme Prize and the German Television Award in 2024. She was nominated for the German Television Award as early as 2022 for her weekly satire show “Bosetti will reden!” (ZDF). In addition, she hosts the extra3 podcast “Bosettis Woche” (NDR), in which she discusses current political events with prominent guests, writes books, and tours the German-speaking world with her live show.
Anette Dowideit is the editor-in-chief at CORRECTIV, Germany’s leading public-interest media organization, and most recently gained international attention for her investigative reporting on a secret meeting of neo-Nazis with, among others, leading members of the AfD. Before joining CORRECTIV in 2023, she worked at Axel Springer for nearly 20 years. She is the author of several non-fiction books and was named Journalist of the Year in 2024, among other honors.
Maren Urner is a neuroscientist and has been a professor of media psychology at the Media University of Cologne since 2019. She studied and later earned her doctorate in cognitive and neuroscience. In 2016, she co-founded “Perspective Daily”, the first ad-free online magazine dedicated to constructive journalism. She has been a columnist for the Frankfurter Rundschau since September 2020. Her two books, “Schluss mit dem täglichen Weltuntergang” (No more daily doomsday scenarios) and “Raus aus der ewigen Dauerkrise” (Escaping the eternal crisis), are SPIEGEL bestsellers. She is the 2023 B.A.U.M. Award winner in the Science category.
Sebastian23 is an author and comedian. Professionally, he spends a lot of time on stage, currently performing his tenth solo show, “Zusammenhaltestelle”, but also working as a host or comedian. As a political activist, he has been particularly active in Lützerath against the expansion of open-pit lignite mining, against the elimination of the 9-euro ticket, with Fridays For Future, and most recently at the PRÜF demonstrations. For reasons unknown, he has also written songs for Clueso and Deichkind and has toured worldwide as a poetry slammer. He studied philosophy and history.