The Leibniz Institute of European History (IEG) is expanding its outreach activities: with its new podcast “Epochal”, the Institute is making the latest historical research accessible to a wide audience. In the podcast, members of the IEG podcast team talk to researchers about a book or a research topic and provide insights into current historical issues. The focus is on political, social, religious and cultural developments in Europe – from the early modern period to contemporary history.
The podcast kicks off with IEG alumna Dr. Corinna Schattauer joined by IEG editor Vanessa Weber. They discuss Schattauer’s monograph “Female Agency and Mobility: Commercial Beauty Competitions in Germany, 1909–1933”, which was published in 2024 as part of the “Publications of the Institute for European History” series by Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht (Volume 271; the book is freely available via Open Access).
Long before Germany’s Next Top Model, beauty contests captivated a wide audience. As early as 1909, young women were being judged on large stages – initially by expert juries, and later in new media formats. The first episode of “Epochal” shows that commercial beauty contests in the Weimar Republic were far more than mere entertainment: they reflected patriarchal structures and social norms, whilst at the same time opening up new opportunities for women in terms of social, spatial and gender-based mobility. The conversation with Corinna Schattauer sheds light on these contradictory developments and explores which ideas and mechanisms continue to have an impact today.
The first podcast episode is released on 4 August 2026. The podcast is available via the usual podcast services.
A new episode will be released on the first Tuesday of every month.
Listen here to the first epidode:
