Matthias Heitmann

Born in 1971 in Frankfurt, Germany, Matthias studied politics, law and philosophy. As a student, he began writing political articles in 1992 as a founding member of the editorial team of NovoArgumente, the German sister publication of spiked. Until December 2010, he worked as online editor of Novo.

He has published several German books, on international relations (Neue Weltordnung [The New World Order]), on future studies (Handbuch Trend- und Zukunftsforschung [Handbook on Trend and Future Studies) and on sports and ethics (Mythos Doping [The Doping Myth]).

His new book Zeitgeisterjagd [zeitgeist hunting] will be published in spring 2015.

Matthias has a wide range of interests, from international relations to German party politics, from future research to sports, from environmentalism to terrorism and from feminism to reclaiming humanism for men and women. In all his publications and statements, he is continuously exposing the misanthropic, prejudiced and pessimist “Zeitgeist”, the culture of low expectations and green romanticism.

Matthias is writing for several publications in Germany, Switzerland and in the UK: He is an online columnist for the Swiss magazine Schweizer Monat and a regular contributor to Cicero magazine and spiked.

Since 2011, he has also been working for the Future Management Group, an internationally operating expert group specialized in future management and the early recognition of future markets.

 Related Sessions

Sunday 2 November 2008, 12.45pm Student Union
Are drugs ruining sport?


Saturday 15 November 2008, 5.00pm NOVO Argumente Magazin event, Frankfurt
Cleaning up sport


 Publications

Zeitgeisterjagd (Zeitgeist hunting) (Spring 201)

Mythos Doping (The Doping Myth) (Parodos Verlag, Berlin,  2010)

Latest English articles:

‘Nazi’ washing powder and Germany’s PC police (16 May 14)

Germany’s crusade against ethically incorrect ideas (2 April 14) 

Germans don’t need to vote green to get green (20 September 13)

Liberating women or muzzling men? (7 February 13)


 Festival Buzz

"I was amazed by the high quality of the Battle of Ideas 2007 and the intellectual excitement that it provoked."
Prof Malcolm Grant CBE, president and provost, University College London