Streetphilosophy

"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.

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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

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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?

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

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?

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

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One hundred years ago, on February 2nd 1922, James Joyce’s Ulysses was published by Sylvia Beach in a small bookshop in Paris. The book, which consumed 7 years of Joyce’s life, years in which his family’s circumstances were very difficult, would have a profound and unprecedented impact on the literature and culture of the century to follow. 

Though Ulysses was banned initially in the US and UK, Joyce’s epic was soon celebrated as a masterpiece of modernism.

100 Years of Ulysses

Kitschy trash or misunderstood genius? Italo disco was the euro sound of the 1980s that many loved and many hated. This documentary looks at how big names of the genre like Sabrina Salerno and duo Righeira conquered the charts.

The Sparkling Sound of the 1980s

Kitschy trash or misunderstood genius? Italo disco was the euro sound of the 1980s that many loved and many hated

Italo Disco

Israeli choreographers Sharon Eyal and Gai Behar present their show Chapter 3: The Brutal Journey of the Heart at Nuits de Fourvière.

Nuits de Fourvière

The Brutal Journey of the Heart by Sharon Eyal & Gai Behar

Young Korean musicians have been taking the world of classical music by storm. A new generation are winning the big prizes and pursuing successful careers in Europe and around the world. What makes these Korean classical artists so good? A documentary following the rising stars of K-Classic

The Korean Musical Mystery

Generation K-Classics

Kowloon Walled City in Hong Kong was the most densely populated area on Earth. 33,000 people settled on 2.5 hectares of land that was disputed between Chinese and British - meaning neither country asserted its authority there. This vertical slum was a hotbed of crime, but also full of factories, cheap shops and a strong community. This is a case for Crazy Borders. 

Kowloon: The Lawless Super City

This vertical slum was a hotbed of crime, but also full of factories, cheap shops and a strong community.

Crazy Borders

How can you misplace 80km2 of territory? In Mexico, the island of Bermeja had been on maps for generations. But when it came to actually finding the island... it seemed as if it had disappeared into thin air. And with the loss of Bermeja, Mexico lost a huge windfall of oil revenue in the Gulf of Mexico. This is a case for Crazy Borders. 

The Lost Island of Bermeja

The sea absorbs our carbon emissions, gives us plentiful food, and regulates our climate. A healthy sea is a healthy planet. But we can't stop stripping the sea of resources. Whether through overfishing or deep sea mining, humanity is destroying an ecosystem it can't live without.

Whether through overfishing or deep sea mining, humanity is destroying an ecosystem it can't live without.

Overexploited Oceans

Did you know that the Middle Ages is only a few kilometers off the French coast? A lord and his vassals live peacefully on the island of Sark where cars are not allowed. This is a case for Crazy Borders! 

Sark: A Modern Day Feudal Island

A lord and his vassals live peacefully on the island of Sark where cars are not allowed.

If a woman gave birth at the top of Mont Blanc, what nationality would the child be? For France, of course, the baby would be French. But not for Italy! The quarrel has been going on since 1860, when the divison of territory at the top of the mountain was unclearly defined... leaving each country to interpret the boundary more or less as they saw fit. This really is a case for Crazy Borders!

Mont Blanc: A High Altitude Dispute

If a woman gave birth at the top of Mont Blanc, what nationality would the child be?

Planting trees against climate change: Ireland is reforesting its territory by growing spruces. But it's not just about being green, it's about profit. Wood is a big business... much to the displeasure of local environmental activists who want Ireland's forestry policy changed. 

Growing trees to be harvested for wood is big business - but what are the environmental ramifications? 

Re: Money Grows on Trees

Peatlands contain more carbon than all the ground vegetation combined.
Melting permafrost peatlands can become a major source of greenhouse gas emissions,
and damaged bogs will speed up global warming. If the carbon in the peatlands is released into the atmosphere, it would be an ecological disaster. But if we harness the power of these carbon sinks, we could slow down climate change.

 If the carbon in the peatlands is released into the atmosphere, it would be an ecological disaster.

The Secrets of Bogs

Did you know that the last war between France and Spain took place in the 1970s? It was the war of the stop signs in Llívia, a Spanish town - but in France, in the Pyrenees. This bizarre quirk is due to a treaty signed centuries ago. This really is a case for Crazy Borders! 

Llivia, Between France and Spain

Did you know that the last war between France and Spain took place in the 1970s?

According to the latest calculations by the OECD, South Korean women could live to be over 92 years old on average in 2070, and men over 89. That would be a world record. What's the secret?

South Korea: An Obsession With Health

South Koreans are on track to be the longest-lived people in the world

ARTE Reportage

Can a state in the EU prohibit women from accessing its territory? In the Monastic Republic of Mount Athos women are not allowed in - even tourists - and any woman who enters could be arrested by police. It's a peninsula from another, bygone world and yet benefits from taxpayer funding (including female taxpayers, presumably...).

Mount Athos: Off Limits for Women

Can a state in the EU prohibit women from accessing its territory?

In the town of Baarle, a body of a woman was discovered in a house... but before police could intervene, first authorities had to call a surveyor. Baarle is crisscrossed over with a winding frontier between the Netherlands and Belgium, and police needed to know which country was responsible for investigating the killing. One half of the house was Dutch, the other half was Belgian. This is a case for Crazy Borders! 

Baarle, a Town of Two Nations

A city divided between Belgium and the Netherlands, and scene of a murder? Welcome to Baarle.

Martin Ritter is a German organic farmer, with land in both Germany and Ukraine. All of a sudden, his livelihood is located in a war zone. With the help of the municipality of Ostheim, he decides to send aid to Ukraine and to welcome refugees.

Martin Ritter is a German organic farmer, with land in both Germany and Ukraine. When war broke out, everything changed.

Re: Farming in a War Zone

The prisoner of a promise made to Neptune, King Idomeneus is faced with a cruel dilemma... From the Théâtre de l’Archevêché, the most romantic of Mozart’s operas, directed by Satoshi Miyagi and conducted by Raphaël Pichon, with soprano Sabine Devieilhe, promises to be the operatic event of the 2022 Aix festival season.

Aix-en-Provence Festival 2022

The most romantic of Mozart’s operas, conducted by Raphaël Pichon, with soprano Sabine Devieilhe.

Mozart: Idomeneus, King of Crete

The Russian enclave of Kaliningrad sits between Lithuania and Poland. Once German East Prussia, it is now home to 1 million Russian citizens. What is life like in this small territory now practically cut off from its EU neighbours since the war in Ukraine began?

Kaliningrad: Putin's Enclave

The Russian enclave of Kaliningrad sits between Lithuania and Poland and is now practically cut off from its EU neighbours since the war in Ukraine began.

The former military base Camp Zeist in the Netherlands was once lent to Scotland. It was where the two men accused of orchestrating the Lockerbie bombings were put on trial. Libyans saw them as unfair victims. Meanwhile bereaved families demanded justice.

A Scottish Court in the Netherlands

The former military base Camp Zeist in the Netherlands was once lent to Scotland for the Lockerbie bombing trial

Did you know that people from Cyprus can cross the border into the UK every day? The British have a sort of autonomous state on the island: the Sovereign Base Areas. This is a case for Crazy Borders.

Dhekelia: Divided Between Cyprus and Britain

Did you know that people from Cyprus can cross the border into the UK every day?

The Importance of Being Educated