# Leonhard Emmerling, "The Idiots: The History of the Homo Nullus" (Seagull Books, 2026)

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/new-books-network-529292/leonhard-emmerling-the-idiots-the-history-of-the-homo-nullus-seagull-books-2026
Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/new-books-network-529292/leonhard-emmerling-the-idiots-the-history-of-the-homo-nullus-seagull-books-2026.md
Podcast: [New Books Network](https://stenobird.com/podcast/new-books-network-529292)
Published: 2026-09-09T08:00:00+00:00
Episode link: https://newbooksnetwork.com
Audio file: https://injector.simplecastaudio.com/f4d2a1d0-a64d-477c-afe6-78ea68c8d119/episodes/2c36dc05-e221-4b75-beaa-5d2a3d65c6cb/audio/128/default.mp3?aid=rss_feed&awCollectionId=f4d2a1d0-a64d-477c-afe6-78ea68c8d119&awEpisodeId=2c36dc05-e221-4b75-beaa-5d2a3d65c6cb&feed=OuTJEAhS
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Duration seconds: 3711

## Resource

In a world obsessed with expertise and control, the figure of the idiot illuminates deeper truths about society. In this interview, Morteza Hajizadeh interviews Leonhard Emmerling about his book The Idiots: The History of the Homo Nullus (Seagull Books, 2026) Dostoevsky and Nietzsche wrote about him; Dadaists and punks idolized him; artists like Warhol and Beuys made him their icon. From holy fool to punk rebel, the idiot—a figure that traces its roots back to the Greek idiotes, a person who was alienated from public life—has always challenged society’s norms from the margins. Far from a simple madman, the idiot is a powerful subversive, a person who disregards norms and finds profound insight in a state of unmediated inspiration. Using a cross-disciplinary approach bridging literature, religion, art, and philosophy, this volume traces a rich journey up to the present, where the idiot reemerges in a dramatic twist: a public figure who inverts social norms, confounds the boundary between private and public, and declares a new, paradoxical view of the world. Leonhard Emmerling has worked as an art historian in different capacities: as curator and director of art institutions in Germany and New Zealand; as teacher at art academies in Auckland, Düsseldorf, and Munich; and as advisor and director for the Goethe-Institut. His most recent publication is Aesthetics: What For?. Morteza Hajizadeh is a Ph.D. graduate in English from the University of Auckland in New Zealand. His research interests are Cultural Studies; Critical Theory; Environmental History; Medieval (Intellectual) History; Gothic Studies; 18th and 19th Century British Literature. YouTube Channel: here Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network

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