Emily Schultheis is beginning her Berlin-based fellowship today at a crucial time in European history. A talented freelance journalist whose reporting appears in The New York TimesThe Atlantic and other outlets, she plans to study populism and the rise of the right wing, focusing primarily on Germany, but also exploring parallels in neighboring countries including Austria, Hungary and Poland. She will be talking to Central Europeans at a pivotal time in their history, finding the real stories and the context behind the swing away from the European project and toward the nationalism and illiberalism currently defining the continent’s political narrative.