[6] In 2013, Steinke published the biography of the German-Jewish prosecutor Fritz Bauer, who secretly worked with the Mossad and brought Nazi war criminals to justice in the 1960s.
As legal affairs editor with Germany's leading broadsheet, Süddeutsche Zeitung, he since frequently writes columns and essays on German politics and society.
"[16] – Times of IsraelAsked whether Jews should consider emigrating to Israel, Steinke said in an interview with public broadcaster Bayerischer Rundfunk:„I am in favour of people leaving Germany due to rising antisemitism.
[18] Steinke's account of the story of Mohammed Helmy,[19] the first Arab to be honoured as Righteous Among the Nations by Yad Vashem,[20] was translated into seven languages and named book of the week by the Observer in 2021.
[21] His most recent work, an exploration of social injustices in the German prison system, which Steinke published in 2022, rekindled a wider debate on the need for criminal justice reform in Germany.