Streetphilosophy

Filosofia

Why is it so important for some to show that they have money? Does wealth make you happy? Or maybe true wealth is having nothing at all? We go to the streets of Berlin to talk to the people of the city about wealth, minimalism and freedom.

Become Rich!

Does wealth make you happy? Or maybe true wealth is having nothing at all?

In this episode, Ronja explores what can give us hope for the future even when things seem bleak. At Leopoldplatz, she meets one of the most hopeful people in Berlin: DJ Bombay sells curries from his food truck and is always in a good mood. "I've been through so many crises in my life that nothing can knock me out," he says. Then there's  boxer Mazen, who loses every fight and still goes on. Nun Sister Mechthildis meanwhile is full of hope and happiness, living away from the hustle and bustle of life in her convent.

Don't Lose Hope!

In this episode, Ronja explores what can give us hope for the future even when things seem bleak.

Jan explores all the different ways of being alone. He searches for gold in a field with Wolfgang Herkt and his metal detector. After long hours of solo searching, Wolfgang says: "Being alone helps with difficult decisions because there are no distractions." The author Kathrin Weßling is the opposite: she communicates 24/7, writes books and constantly posts to social media. But loneliness lingers... not least of all for refugees. Evgeniy Zamyatin, who works as a lawyer for Alexei Navalny's anti-corruption foundation, fled to Berlin, far from friends and family.

Face Loneliness!

Jan explores all the different ways of being alone.

What does it mean to be a man in the modern world? Jan goes in search of answers on the streets of Berlin where he meets barbecue grillers, American football players and queer foresters.

Be a Man! - But How?

"The aim of education is to form beings adapted to a system," said philosopher Johannes Winter. But Rousseau convinced us that children must be free to develop as they wish. Can we educate entire societies? Ronja discusses the idea with a lifeguard from Berlin, Extinction Rebellion activists and a couple of artists.

The Importance of Being Educated

Can we educate entire societies? Ronja discusses the idea with a lifeguard from Berlin, Extinction Rebellion activists and a couple of artists

How does sex, identity and self-expression interlace? We explore this muli-faceted question through the lives of multiple Berliners, starting with four voguing performers who've created a safe space for themselves, and an asexual model who posts sexy pictures online. Next we visit a hypersexual couple and discover puppy play with Marion and Leo.

Embrace Your Sexuality!

How does sex, identity and self-expression interlace? We explore this muli-faceted question through the lives of multiple Berliners

The pandemic, the climate emergency ... Everything seems extremely fragile at the moment. But is it possible to grow with crises? If so, what is the key? How can adaptability and courage make you more resilient?

Be Antifragile!

The solution to having your plans upset? Don't make plans

Is lazy good? Ronja meets ex-football player Kevin Pannewitz, who was about to break through into the Bundesliga, but was kicked out by the clubs for lack of discipline. Today he plays in the district league and is a happy father. Does he still feel like he missed something because of his lack of work ethic? Laziness can have meaning: it's a form of resistance, says philosopher Marilena Berends. It's a radical act against our high-speed society and the never-ending drive for production and growth. 

Ronja meets ex-player Kevin Pannewitz, who was kicked out of professional football due to lack of discipline

Being Lazy is Awesome

Ronja tries to find out what humour really is by attempting to be a stand-up comedian. Along the way she gets advice from Polish comedian Kat Nip, satirical political party Die Partei, and talks to philosopher Marco Weimer about the subversive nature of humour.

Find the Funny Side!

Ronja tries to find out what humour really is by attempting to be a stand-up comedian.

What if our lives were governed by the supernatural? Why do so many people feel the urge to connect with gods, angels and energies? The occult doesn't have a great reputation, but how bad is it really? In this episode, Jan searches for answers to his metaphysical doubts.

The Occult: is the Supernatural a Natural Part of Life?

What if our lives were governed by the supernatural?

Should we let ourselves by guided by our emotions in life? Or should we listen to reason?  Ronja asks her fellow Berliners to find out the answers.

Listen to Your Emotions!

Should we let ourselves by guided by our emotions in life? 

Why do people develop fetishes? One person gets a thrill from leather outfits, another loves licking feet, or obsessively collecting shoes.  Are fetishes in our nature? Or are they perversions that we should free ourselves from?

Find your Fetish!

Are fetishes in our nature? Or are they perversions that we should free ourselves from?

Should we reason with ourselves when making decisions or just go with our gut? Ronja meets a psychologist, an astrologist and a soldier to talk about how to make up one’s mind.

Making Decisions

Working to live or living to work. In a capitalist society characterised by ever-increasing mechanisation, what meaning can we give to our daily grind? Ronja von Rönne finds out by meeting lawyers, circus performers and old-time taxi drivers.

Living for Work

Loss challenges us as human beings. Losing loved-ones, losing our independence or even the thought of losing our lives can be very difficult. How can we live fully and learn from the pain of loss without it taking over our lives? Ronja Von Rönne finds answers by talking to an author, a boxer, a visually impaired gallerist and a 70 year-old techno DJ.

Learning to Lose

Leave behind society, go out into nature and find again your true wild self? In our controlled societies, the idea is tempting. Ronja von Rönne goes to meet a biker gang, for whom being wild is a way of life.

Be Wild!

Does technological progress help or hinder us as individuals? Jonas finds out by meeting a cycling enthusiast and a jujitsu champion.

Use Technology!

For better or worse, fear is part of our lives. Ronja von Rönne finds out what scares Berliners the most. Fear is often distressing but can it be a positive emotion?

Have No Fear!

Ronja finds out what scares Berliners the most. Fear is often distressing but can it be a positive emotion?

Some people embrace a multicultural society with open arms while others are fearful and want to build walls. Why does our behaviour change when we meet strangers? Reflections on difference, belonging and foreignness.

Face What’s Foreign to You!

Why does our behaviour change when we meet strangers? Reflections on difference, belonging and foreignness.

Ronja von Ronne explores different types of relationships and questions the nature of love and our search for it. Can love exist between two people, or between three? And what of our love for ourselves, or indeed the unconditional love we hold for our pets?

Love! But how?

Ronja von Ronne explores different types of relationships and questions the nature of love.

Is everyone capable of faith? Streetphilosophy goes in search of belief with philosopher Elena Loevskaya and astrophysicist Noam Libeskind.

Find Your Faith!

Time stands still or time flies. Why does our perception of time passing vary according to how we spend it? Exploring the idea of time in twenty-six minutes.

Use Your Time!

Time stands still or time flies. Why does our perception of time passing vary according to how we spend it?

Do human beings have the vision to create utopia? And if so, should we start out small or think really big? From digital algorithms to old-fashioned local politics, Streetphilosophy asks: how do we create a better world?
 

Utopia

From digital algorithms to old-fashioned local politics, Streetphilosophy asks: how do we create a better world?

A physical and philosophical meandering through the streets of Berlin as presenter Jonas Bosslet asks: why do people put themselves centre stage on social networks? What does it mean for how we view others - and ourselves? How can this endless thirst for glory and adulation be explained?

Why do people put themselves centre stage on social networks?

Live For Fame

Since 1945 the democracies of Europe have lived in peace. But the Russian invasion of Ukraine has shattered our ideas of peace. Can we still dream of paradise and a future free of violence? Twist explores these ideas in Berlin and at the Venice Biennale.

Paradise Lost?

Can we still dream of paradise and a future free of violence? Twist explores these ideas in Berlin and at the Venice Biennale.

Twist

Streetphilosophy roams the streets of Berlin to find answers to philosophical questions. In this episode Ronja von Rönne asks: What is happiness? How do I please myself while also pleasing others? And how can I realise my desires?

Live your Desires! But How?

Actress, model and now children’s author, Diane Kruger tells the story of her life and how books have accompanied her most important moments.  

With Diane Kruger

The Book That Changed My Life

In Iran, being a woman living in her own is very badly looked upon, as Negar Yaghmaian well knows after trying to rent an apartment with a friend. She embarked on a photographic series that describes the daily lives of these newly emancipated young women, and invites us into these "bachelorette houses".

Negar Yaghmaian: The Freedom to be Alone

In Iran, being a woman living in her own is very badly looked upon

Iran#NoFilter (4/10)

Bonuses and Extracts

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At once seductive and dangerous, historical myth and male fantasy, the femme fatale represents both erotic promise and a death trap to the male observer. Conceived at the end of the 19th century in the works of Gustave Moreau, Franz von Stuck and Lovis Corinth, the femme fatale was completely reinvented in the 20th century by many female artists.

Seductive and dangerous, the figure of the femme fatale in art was completely reinvented in the 20th century.

The Femme Fatale in Art

Tensions between Moldova and Russia are escalating over the breakaway region of Transnistria, an investigation on how prepared Europe is for another summer of wildfires, and a report from the Dissident Club in Paris.

Tensions in Moldova / WildFires in Europe

Tensions between Moldova and Russia are escalating with street protests and controversy over Russian secret documents.

ARTE Europe Weekly

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

Highly influential indie rockers from Boston, famous for such tracks as Debaser and Where is my mind perform in Paris as part of a European tour for their latest album Doggerel.

Legendary and highly influential indie rockers perform in Paris as part of their European tour.

Pixies - Live at the Paris Olympia

The decisive moment in 1618 that triggered the Thirty Years' War between Catholics and Protestants and changed the course of European history.

The decisive moment in 1618 that triggered the Thirty Years' War between Catholics and Protestants. 

The Defenestration of Prague

Eclectic American singer-songwriter Ben Harper performs from his latest album, 2022’s Bloodline Maintenance. Filmed at Ground Control in Paris.

Ground Control

Eclectic American singer-songwriter Ben Harper performs from his latest album, 2022’s Bloodline Maintenance.

Ben Harper

At first glance, it's an image of innocence. A motherly milkmaid pouring out the milk in a kitchen, preparing snacks from our childhoods. But there's actually far more to her than meets the eye.

The Milkmaid by Johannes Vermeer

A famous image that at first glance looks totally innocent, but is in actual fact full of innuendo

Look but Don't Touch

An exclusive investigation into the Russian paramilitary organisation Wagner, headed by oligarch Yevgeny Prigozhin. 2,500 documents were leaked from Prigozhin’s servers by anti-Putin hackers, shedding light on this secretive group of mercenaries, a key element in the war in Ukraine.

Data Sources

An exclusive investigation into the Russian paramilitary organisation Wagner, headed by oligarch Yevgeny Prigozhin. 

The Prigozhin Papers

Lyubov, which means love in Russian, is 80 years old and lives alone on the shores of Lake Baikal. She bears witness to this wonder of nature and possesses and unbreakable bond with the world’s deepest lake in Siberia. Her life here is hard, especially in winter, but she would not live anywhere else.

On the shores of Lake Baikal, an old woman lives alone in a beautiful place that is dear to her heart.

The Old Woman and the Lake

Many governments and organisations are wary of their employers using the social media TikTok. Does the Chinese company really serve Xi Jinping’s regime?

TikTok: A Chinese Threat?

Mapping the World Essentials

Working her way out of poverty as a sex worker all while supporting her family in Romania. That’s Andrada’s goal. She speaks confidently and openly about her work in a red-light district in Germany’s Ruhr region.  
This programme by German channel ARD is part of The European Collection, a joint initiative of European public media (ARD, ARTE, France Télévisions, SRG SSR and ZDF), coordinated by ARTE.

Portrait of a sex worker in the Ruhr region, Germany.  

Hard Life – I sell sex for money

Music director of the WDR Symphony Orchestra, Cristian Măcelaru takes his musicians on a tour of his homeland, Romania. A tour stopping in Timişoara, his hometown. On the programme: The Piano Concerto No. 2 by Johannes Brahms with soloist Simon Trpčeski.

Concert from the European Capital of Culture 2023

Conductor Cristian Măcelaru and the WDR Symphony Orchestra Cologne perform Brahms and Klaus Lang in Romania.

Cristian Mācelaru in Timişoara

France’s President Emmanuel Macron forced through an unpopular reform of the country’s pension system – and the French aren’t having it. We travel to Romania to find out about a possible law to ban gambling adverts, and look at how to protect Europeans from addictions.

France’s pension reform / Gambling / Photography

Protests erupt across France in response to the government’s pension reform bill, and we explore gambling across Europe.

A look at how we are getting better at managing and conserving water supplies in drier parts of our planet like southern Spain, Israel and the desert city of Las Vegas.

Water

 A look at how we are getting better at managing and conserving water supplies in drier parts of our planet like southern Spain, Israel and the desert city of Las Vegas.

Good News From Our Planet

In El Salvador, gangs have terrorised the country for decades. But when Nayib Bukele was elected president in 2019, becoming the youngest head of state in Latin America, he vowed to take back control from the gangs by installing a state of emergency.

El Salvador: The coolest dictator in the world?

When Nayib Bukele was elected president in 2019, he vowed to take back control from the gangs by installing a state of emergency.

ARTE Reportage

Far from the metropolitan centre of Tel Aviv, Sderot show another side of Israel. One with high-levels of social deprivation and strong support for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his government’s controversial judicial reforms.

Sderot - The Other Israel

Far from the metropolitan centre of Tel Aviv, Sderot is a different Israel with strong support for Netanjahu and high levels of social deprivation.

In Peru, every year, the people who live in remote mountain villages gather to build the Inca bridge of Q'eswachaka, a traditional structure of woven grass, and the last of its kind. This ancestral know-how inherited from the Incas, and the enduring spirit of community, enables the villagers to pull off a stunning feat of engineering, time and again.

In Peru, every year, villagers build the Inca bridge of Q'eswachaka from woven grass, and the last of its kind.

The Inca Grass Bridge of Q'eswachaka

With all the religious wars, the 17th century was a tense time in Europe. And in art one theme caught everyone’s imagination: the Virgin Mary.

Assumption of the Virgin - Nicolas Poussin

Look But Don't Touch

Palestinian prisoners in Israeli gaols have fathered around one hundred children over the last ten years. Their sperm is smuggled out of prison to be used in IVF with their partners.

Israel-Palestine: Secret Babies of the Intifada

Palestinian prisoners in Israeli gaols have fathered around one hundred children over the last ten years.

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.