Emily Schultheis is the senior editorial director for POLITICO Europe’s live journalism team, based in Berlin. Her current role follows 15 years of working as an award-winning journalist covering elections, populism and democracy from Washington, Berlin, Vienna and Los Angeles.

Over the course of her reporting career, Emily’s work has appeared in POLITICO, The Atlantic, The New York Times, The Guardian, The Associated Press, Foreign Policy, National Geographic, Semafor, TIME, Slate, BBC Online, The Los Angeles Times, CNN, CBS News, NBC News, National Journal, Coda Story, Der Tagesspiegel and Spiegel International, among others.

Emily won the 2024 Burns Prize for her profile of the mother of a victim of a racially driven terror attack in the German city of Hanau, and was named a 2023 Livingston Award finalist for her reporting on an Austrian doctor facing threats from anti-vaccine conspiracy followers. She is also a previous recipient of fellowships from the Institute of Current World Affairs, the International Center for Journalists, the Robert Bosch Foundation and the East-West Center for her reporting on international politics and populism.

Emily, a San Francisco Bay Area native, holds a B.A. in English and Political Science from the University of Pennsylvania and an M.A. in Nationalism Studies from Central European University.

Get in touch: eschultheis [at] politico [dot] eu.

Selected recent stories

“Ukraine’s Weirdest Front Line: How a mint-green research base, 14 scientists, and a gentoo penguin colony became part of Ukraine’s war strategy”: POLITICO Magazine, 2026

“The rise and fall of nationalism studies”: POLITICO Europe, 2026

“Librarians take on MAGA in California beach town”: POLITICO, 2025

“Is anyone in charge of Los Angeles?”: POLITICO, 2025

“Alice Weidel took the German far right to new heights. Here’s how she did it.” POLITICO Europe, 2025

“How Germany’s far right is harnessing AI to win votes”: POLITICO Europe, 2025

“The city that exposes Germany’s deep migration divide”: POLITICO Europe, 2025

“Assaults stoke fear among migrants in eastern German city”: POLITICO Europe, 2025