Volkan Ağar
Journalist and Autor
Volkan Ağar was born in Albstadt, Baden-Württemberg, as the child of Turkish migrant workers. After graduating from high school, he spent a year volunteering at a children’s home in Cape Town. He then studied political science and international development in Vienna, Bologna, and Chicago. Starting in 2016, he worked for the taz, most recently as an editor with the social affairs desk and author of the “Postprolet” column. Since April 2025, Volkan Ağar has been an editor at Deutschlandfunk Kultur. He addresses the topic of class and issues concerning a society shaped by migration.
During his fellowship, Volkan Ağar will be working on a book about narratives of social mobility, which will incorporate experiences from Germany and the United States. How can we look to the future with confidence if the narrative of social mobility no longer makes sense? How can we free ourselves from this narrative and find new ones?
Selected Awards
2024 | Daniel Haufler Fellowship of the taz Panter Foundation: Journalism trip to New York and Washington, D.C., and research stay in Arizona
2023 | George Weidenfeld Fellowship of the International Journalists' Programmes (IJP): Work-related stay in London
Selected Publications
2026 | “Warum man das Album ’Good Kid, M.A.A.D City’ von Kendrick Lamar hören muss, um das Thema der Deutschlandfunk-Denkfabrik ‚Recht des Stärkeren’ besser zu verstehen.” Radio interview. Deutschlandfunk Kultur, January 8.
https://www.deutschlandfunkkultur.de/denkfabrik-2026-recht-der-staerkeren-dieses-album-sollten-sie-hoeren-100.html
2020–2025 | “Postprolet.” Biweekly column in the taz.
Sample columns: https://taz.de/Debatte-ueber-JD-Vance/!6023999/ and https://taz.de/Abschiede-als-Kulturtechnik/!6102972/
2024 | “Latino Vote im US-Wahlkampf: Jede und jeder eine Welt für sich. Im Swing State Arizona könnten die Latinos entscheiden, wer US-Präsident wird. Aber ist es sinnvoll, von dem Latino Vote zu sprechen? Eine Spurensuche.” Report. In: taz, November 4.
https://taz.de/Latino-Vote-im-US-Wahlkampf/!6043971/