For around 80 minutes, a current topic is discussed, most often by six people from different backgrounds, with a focus on the relevance for society.
[3][4] Leaders of the staff have included: Since May 2013, Der Club has occasionally been dedicated to topics from the media and presented as Medienclub.
[5] The format was aired only a few times, but was revived on 10 November 2015, with presenter Franz Fischlin [de] and four guests, discussing "Ohnmächtige Vierte Gewalt, wenn das Publikum die Medien dirigiert".
[6] Since 1990, Der Club has been replaced eight to ten times each year by the Literaturclub, devoted to literature.
The talks take around 75 minutes, focused on books, and involve a presenter, one often prominent guest and two professional literary critics.
[7] Since September 2014, the Literaturclub has been presented by Nicola Steiner,[7] with critics including Martin Ebel, Elke Heidenreich, Milo Rau, Rüdiger Safranski, Thomas Strässle [de] and Philipp Tingler.