Stefanie Reinsperger is one of the most popular actresses in the German-speaking world, thanks in no small part to her role as Inspector Rosa Herzog in the Dortmund episodes of German cult police procedural Tatort. She is proud of her tiny hometown near Vienna, a village with just under 3,000 inhabitants. She is funny, with a self-deprecating sense of humor and plenty of energy. Yet because she doesn't conform to the cliché image of a female star, she has repeatedly come under attack. That makes her pretty furious ("Ganz schön wütend"), the title of her recently published book. 

Border collie Chester has stepped on broken glass, Chico the dwarf shepherd mongrel is too fat, and pinscher Chipsy has passed by to have his nails clipped. At the Neunerhaus in Vienna’s 5th district, not only do homeless people find a roof over their heads, but – sometimes even more important for many of them – their animals also receive free medical care. Three times a week, veterinarians, trainees, and volunteers are on duty for our beloved companions. A visit on site. 

We humans are nothing but stardust and, like the Earth, we like to spin in circles. What does a roundabout have in common with the universe and why is the Milky Way provincial? We spoke with the German astrophysicist, FAZ editor, and philosopher Sibylle Anderl.  

The Swiss Roman Signer (*1938) is one of the most enigmatic European artists of the present day. His works are processual sculptures with a bizarre aesthetic, full of poetry and humor, the result of meticulous planning and unpredictable coincidence. Signer and his wife Aleksandra welcomed us in their studio in St. Gallen. We spoke about childhood, the joy of explosives, about shame and happiness.

"When I was a child, I toyed with dirt. I killed the slugs, I bored with a bough in their spiracle.” For almost 15 years, the exceptional Austrian artist SOAP&SKIN has been singing about death and pain, about nature and healing. Her voice pierces into us and cuts off our air, only to let us breathe better afterwards. The lyrics to Spiracle read differently when you know that 30-year-old Anja Plaschg grew up on a pig-fattening farm in a Styrian village with 200 inhabitants. A conversation about sugar-cube witches, talking trees, and how impressive and depressing rural life can be.

The US American performance artists Annie Sprinkle and Beth Stephens draft ecosexual manifestos and stage erotically charged wedding rituals with the Earth. Performance art that irritates and plays with taboos and the absurd in the best tradition of Dada. Sprinkle rose to fame long before the collective ecosex project as a porn actress fighting for the rights of sex workers – and only later on devoted all her energy to art.

Renowned Norwegian smell researcher and artist Sissel Tolaas has built smell showers and synthesized the smell of money. Her Berlin "archive" houses nearly 10.000 olfactory documents – including the smells of Vienna, sweat, and war. Nothing smells bad to the expert, but then again, nothing smells good either.