Stories of Conflict: Olympische Spiele

Stories of Conflict

Stories of Conflict : Jeux Olympiques

A coming together of nations in peaceful competition, respect and harmony? Or a ruthless geopolitical tussle for the top spot where doping becomes the norm? A history of the Olympic games in 5 minutes.

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<p>A coming together of nations in peaceful competition, respect and harmony? Or a ruthless geopolitical tussle for the top spot where doping becomes the norm? A history of the Olympic games in 5 minutes.</p>

The Olympic Games

A coming together of nations in peaceful competition, respect and harmony? Or a ruthless geopolitical tussle for the top spot where doping becomes the norm? 

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Forget bombardments, skirmishes, ambushes and attacks: The future of warfare is online.

Cyberwarfare

Everyone agrees that war is terrible and yet somehow conflicts continue and soldiers around the world are sent off to kill and be killed. How do governments convince their electorates that war is a necessary evil? One word: PR.

The Manufacturing of Consent

Understanding the European union and how it came to be can seem difficult. Here is an attempt to explain everything in six minutes.

European (De)Construction

The United Nations, on paper, was a great idea: bringing all the states of the world together to ban war was daring. But in practice, things are very different. Power is concentrated in just five countries, with the 188 others having little say. Is the UN fit for purpose?

Is the UN in its Death Throes?

Today, China is the second largest economic power in the world. But China's ambition doesn't seem to be global conquest: instead, it wants to ensure the submission of its neighbours.

China Takes Centre Stage

Today, China is the second largest economic power in the world. What does that mean for its neighbours?

From the first English colonisation to the latest difficult negotiations over the British-Irish border, the story of the Northern Irish conflict

Ireland: Colonisation to Brexit

From the first English colonisation to the latest difficult negotiations over the British-Irish border, the story of the Northern Irish conflict.

Today every nation wants their very own nuclear programme. The Islamic Republic of Iran claimed to be developing nuclear energy for peaceful means whereas many Western nations thought otherwise. However, everything was running smoothly until a certain American president came along.

Iran's Nuclear Programme

For 35 years President Tito kept Yugoslavia’s diverse population living in peace. But after the fall of communism thinks started to fall apart.

Yugoslavia: War of the Exes

For 35 years President Tito kept Yugoslavia’s diverse population living in peace. But after the fall of communism thinks started to fall apart.  

With independence came partition, as the new nations of India and Pakistan came into being as British rule ended. But these young nations quickly came to blows and the contested region of Kashmir was stuck right in the middle.

India vs Pakistan

With independence came partition, as the news nations of India and Pakistan came into being as British rule ended. But these young nations quickly came to blows and the contested region of Kashmir was stuck right in the middle.

Turkey is often seen as a bridge between East and West. But at the moment this bridge seems unstable with war in the Middle East, a refugee crisis, and an increasingly bellicose president Erdogan. Understanding Turkey today in five minutes.

Turkey and its Neighbours

You might think that North Korea’s supreme leader Kim Jong-un is just a crazy overweight man with glasses. But there is method to Rocketman’s madness and its running rings around the United States.

Why Rocketman Builds Them

Terrorism has been around much longer than radical Islam with nation states having always struggled to define what it is and how to tackle it. This episode will try just that in five minutes.

Terrorism - Our Old Friend

Terrorism has been around much longer than radical Islam with nation states having always struggled to define what it is and how to tackle it.

Tensions between the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Islamic Republic of Iran are nothing new. For starters, there's the religious differences, with Sunni Saudis on one side and Shiite Iranians on the other. And now, as they vie for regional influence, proxy conflicts are fought in other lands.

Saudi Arabia Versus Iran

The relationship between Saudi Arabia and Iran are an ongoing source of tension in the region. Here's your five minute recap  

After 40 years of rule by Colonel Gaddafi, the military intervention by France, Britain and the USA in 2011 led to his downfall. What followed did not exactly go to plan. Or rather, there was no plan.

Libya: Sons of Anarchy

Forget about polar bears and their pristine icy wilderness. As the icecap melts with climate change the arctic is becoming a strategic region for maritime traffic, oil and gas.

An Arctic Cold War

As the icecap melts with climate change the arctic is becoming a strategic region for maritime traffic, oil and gas.

Tweeting has become a communication shortcut, disrupting traditional diplomacy. But does a free-tweeting Donald Trump represent a threat to world peace?

Trump: Let’s Tweet Again

Does a free-tweeting Donald Trump represent a threat to world peace?

Crimea has changed hands many times over the centuries. And under President Putin, it has had its last, perhaps definitive, switch. But this has huge consequences for the West and neighbouring countries. Not since World War Two have national boundaries been redrawn using force.

Russia, Ukraine and the Future of Crimea

Crimea has changed hands many times over the centuries. And under President Putin, it has had perhaps its last switch.

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The Maginot Line is a giant: Thousands of underground bunkers and concrete defences lining the French border, from Belgium to the Mediterranean. In its time it was celebrated as a technical masterpiece and thought to be impregnable, today it also stands for the trauma of the French defeat in 1940. The documentary looks at a military construction that is as fascinating as it is controversial.

France's Defensive Barrier

Thought to be impregnable, the French defensive barrier did not halt the German invasion in 1940.

The Maginot Line

On February 14, 2003, in the UN Security Council, Dominique de Villepin refused ratify the Iraq war. He spoke on  behalf of peace and on behalf of the Iraqi people. But his warnings were never heeded and they still ring true today.

Against the Iraq War - Dominique de Villepin

On February 14, 2003, in the UN Security Council, Dominique de Villepin refused ratify the Iraq war

Great Speeches that Made History

In the aftermath of Franco's coup d'etat in 1936, Dolores Ibarruri took to the radio waves to call for resistance. Her famous phrase - No Pasarán - became a rallying call to action and continues to be used today.

No Pasarán! - Dolores Ibárruri

In the aftermath of Franco's coup d'etat in 1936, Dolores Ibarruri took to the radio waves to call for resistance

Great Speeches That Made History

The Marchioness Casati was admired throughout Europe for her incredible parties and expensive tastes. She was an eccentric patron of the arts, and her face appears again and again in the works of all the notable painters of her day. But she would rip through her inheritance by the age of fifty and end up wondering the streets of London, going though rubbish bins.

Luisa Casati, the Ruined Marchioness

The Marchioness Casati went from living in a palace to eking out an existence on the streets of London

The Lost Ones

One summer day in 1963, 250,000 people marched to Capitol Hill to demand equal rights between black and white Americans. Martin Luther King, speaking at the event, orginally hadn't intended to talk about his dream. But at the very last moment, he did. And the result was legendary.

I Have a Dream - Martin Luther King

Martin Luther King, speaking at the event, orginally hadn't intended to talk about his dream. But at the very last moment, he did. And the result was legendary. 

Great Speeches that Changed History

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Behind his polite exterior lies a formidable leader with a ruthless character, ready to do anything to make China the world's leading power by the People’s Republic’s centenary in 2049. This well-documented portrait of the Chinese president gives an unprecedented insight into his politics and shows how Xi Jinping's personal journey has shaped his choices as he steers China towards world domination.

A portrait of the Chinese president giving an unprecedented insight into his politics and showing how Xi Jinping's personal journey has shaped his choices as he steers China towards world domination.

The New World of Xi Jinping

Far away from the South Korean capital of Seoul is the Buddhist Gameunsa Temple. Three nuns live, pray and cook together here as they preserve the knowledge of centuries-old temple cuisine. The abbess of this small monastery is the charismatic Wookwan Sunim, revered in Asia as one of the best cooks in the world.

South Korea: Magic Temple Food

Far away from the South Korean metropolis of Seoul is the Buddhist Gameunsa Temple where three nuns live, pray and cook together 

Geo Reportage

The literary source for Richard Strauss’s opera immortalizing the degeneracy of Herodes Antipas, King of Judea, and his step-daughter Salome, was supplied by Oscar Wilde. It tells of Herodes, who is keeping the prophet Jochanaan captive inside a cistern. Salome tries to seduce him and on being rebuffed, forces her stepfather to serve her the prophet’s head on a silver platter.

Directed by Christof Loy in Helsinki

Rejected by the prophet Jochanaan, Salome forces her abusive stepfather to exact revenge.

Richard Strauss: Salome

Three Japanese men have fallen under the charms of high school student Rinko, a character from the video game Love Plus. The game finally leads them to the seaside resort of Atami, where the virtual world and real life collides.

Three Japanese men have fallen under the charms of high school student Rinko, a character from the video game Love Plus

Petit ami parfait

Techno, house, garage or hip hop: electronic music is a driving force in pop culture today. Almost forgotten is its origins in the post-war classical avant-garde of Europe, with figures such as Pierre Schaeffer and Karlheinz Stockhausen. This documentary traces the history of electronic music from Europe to the great post-industrial cities of America, with exclusive interviews and little-seen archive footage.

The Sound That Changed Everything

This documentary traces the history of electronic music from Europe to the great post-industrial cities of America, with exclusive interviews and little-seen archive footage.

Electronic Vibrations

The loss of biodiversity is highly alarming: our planet is currently experiencing the greatest extinction since the age of the dinosaurs. This film documents the extinction of species currently happening around the world. But it also highlights hopeful initiatives as committed men and women on every continent fight to save endangered species and work towards improving biodiversity.

Mankind's Great Challenge

Biodiversity or Extinction

In 2020, for the 250th anniversary of Beethoven's birth, Philippe Jordan and the Vienna Symphony Orchestra recreated the mythical evening of December 22 1808, when  the composer presented his Sixth Symphony, also known as his Pastoral.

Philippe Jordan recreates the evening of December 22, 1808, when Beethoven presented his Pastoral symphony

Philippe Jordan Conducts Beethoven's Pastoral Symphony

The paintings of Vincent Van Gogh are losing their colours. The paints he used were vibrant, but cheap, and degraded within months of painting. It's now impossible to appreciate the true beauty of his works, as his flamboyant flare for colours has slowly turned drab. If nothing is done, the Sunflowers which are still a beautiful gold today could well turn brown. Should we just accept they can't be saved?

Van Gogh's Disappearing Colours

The paintings of Vincent Van Gogh are losing their colours because the pigments used were vibrant but cheap

Gymnastics

The Supreme Court is now made of a majority of ultra-conservative judges since President Trump's term in office. The court now looks set to overturn the Roe v Wade case which gave women the constitutional right to have an abortion if they so wish or need. This worrying step backwards for women's rights doesn't mean women won't have abortions. It means they'll die trying.

Abortion: A Threatened Right

This worrying step backwards doesn't mean women won't have abortions. It means they'll die trying

Mapping the World

Since its invention in the 19th century, the bicycle has allowed Western women to move around independently. Today, it is the turn of women in Arab countries to discover its power. Though at first glance innocuous and common, the bicycle is unexpectedly feminist.

The Freedom to Cycle

Though at first glance innocuous and common, the bicycle is unexpectedly feminist

Why do the works of the Italian painter Caravaggio exude such violence? The answer is to be found in the eventful life of the artist, who just couldn't stay out of trouble and met a sticky end.

Caravaggio, Genius - and Killer?

Caravaggio just couldn't stay out of trouble and met a sticky end

A breakaway region of Moldova that is not recognised internationally, Transnistria is largely pro-Russian. The war in Ukraine has awakened fears that Russia will try to annex the region.

Moldova: Transnistria and Russia

ARTE Reportage

It is impossible for them to stay in Russia. For these Russian citizens opposed to the Kremlin, the outbreak of war in Ukraine and the new laws restricting freedom of expression have forced them to leave everything behind. Their destination: Istanbul, as Turkey did not require a visa. It is a difficult exile with a host country that does not consider them as refugees and a homeland that views them as pariahs.

Russians Seek Refuge in Turkey

Russian Journalists Report

ARTE Concert Festival welcomes a legend, Damon Albarn. He performs his new album live: The Nearer the Fountain, More Pure the Stream Flows.

ARTE Concert Festival 2021

ARTE Concert Festival welcomes a legend, Damon Albarn

Damon Albarn

Thirty years after the end of apartheid, South Africa has still not overcome its many problems: Endemic violence, economic and racial inequalities, state corruption. However, the rainbow nation has a lot to offer: tourism, natural resources and a leadership role on the African continent.

South Africa and its Demons

The internationally renowned bassist, singer and composer Avishai Cohen performs in an exclusive concert from the Maillon theatre in Strasbourg. Accompanied by drummer Roni Kaspi and pianist Elchin Shirinov, the jazzman presents his forthcoming album Shifting Sands.

Private Session at the Maillon Theatre, Strasbourg

IThe internationally renowned bassist, singer and composer Avishai Cohen performs from his forthcoming album Shifting Sands.

Avishai Cohen Trio

Live from the Teatro Real in Madrid, an adaptation of Prokofiev’s flamboyant masterpiece by the ever-radical Calixto Bieito.

An adaptation of Sergei Prokofiev’s flamboyant masterpiece by radical director Calixto Bieito.

Prokofiev’s "The Fiery Angel" at the Teatro Real in Madrid

On May 9, Russia celebrated its victory day without a victory in Ukraine. Instead, President Putin further pushed the narrative of Russian victimhood, despite the fact that Moscow, not Kyiv, is the agressor. As the battle continues to rage, we take a look at Ukraine before and after the conflict.

Ukraine, Before and After the War

As the battle continues to rage, we take a look at Ukraine before and after the conflict

Mapping the World Essentials

Have you ever wondered why pop songs sometimes sound a little too familiar? Welcome to the world of pop-recycling where borrowing, sampling and interpolation are the order of the day. Featuring interviews with Placebo, Ed Sheeran, Charlie XCX and Lauv.

Pop Music: The Great Recycling Business

Have you ever wondered why pop songs sometimes sound a little too familiar? Welcome to the world of pop-recycling. Featuring interviews with Placebo, Ed Sheeran, Charlie XCX and Lauv.

The Olympic Games