La anciana y el lago Baikal

The Old Woman and the Lake

"Stara kobieta i jezioro"

Die alte Frau und der See

La mamie patineuse du lac Baïkal

La nonnina siberiana del lago Bajkal

<p>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.</p>

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

Infamous drug baron Pablo Escobar had four hippos flown over from Africa to populate his very own zoo on his private estate in Columbia. After his death in 1993, the hippos escaped and have been colonising local waterways ever since. Conservationists are now waging a war against this invasive species which is harmful to the local ecosystem and highly dangerous to humans.

Geo Reportage

Infamous drug baron Pablo Escobar had four hippos flown over from Africa to populate his very own zoo on his private estate in Columbia. But then they escaped.

Pablo Escobar's Hippos

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In his small apartment in Masuria, Juliusz, 91, dreams of summer. All he wants is to escape to his cabin in the Carpathians, on the shores of Lake Solina, where he lives a simple, rustic life. Krzysztof, at 77, is a youngster by comparison. He came to the forest in 1981 to escape political repression and never left. He believes his life in the countryside is the key to happiness.

Meet the aging hippies who embrace a simple life in the Carpathians, on the shores of Lake Solina

The Vagabonds of the Carpathians

According to Elon Musk, we could soon be living on Mars. But it's an unrealistic idea, given the planet's extreme cold, an atmosphere essentially composed of CO2 and dangerous cosmic rays... So why settle there? Where does this enthusiasm for the red planet come from?

Journey to Mars

According to Elon Musk, we could soon be living on Mars.

42: The Answer to Almost Everything

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

Every year in early summer, hundreds of seal pups are born on the sandbanks and beaches of the German North Sea coast. Tourists like to get close to these cute new-borns but this can sometimes disturb their mothers that then abandon their young, condemning them to starve. Luckily, centres exist that look after orphaned seal pups before releasing them back into the wild.

Every year in early summer, hundreds of seal pups are born on the sandbanks and beaches of the German North Sea coast.

Saving Baby Seals

Present on the coast but also inland, dunes are shaped by the wind and are in perpetual movement. These extraordinary landscapes made of infinite grains of sand are ephemeral and inhospitable. Yet the environment they offer is astonishingly diverse.

Present on the coast but also inland, dunes are in perpetual movement, creating extraordinary ephemeral landscapes.

Dunes: Europe's Moving Landscapes

With Russian missiles raining down over their cities, Ukrainians have no choice but to take refuge below ground. After more than a year of war, basements, bunkers and metro stations have become more than just temporary shelters. Tracks East looks at what life is like underground.

Underground

With Russian missiles raining down over their cities, Ukrainian have no choice but to take refuge underground. 

Tracks East

With the Kalahari, Namib or Etosha, Namibia is rich in protected areas and animal reserves and big cats benefit. There are an estimated 8,000 cheetahs left in the world, of which more than a third live in Namibia. Their population used to be much larger, but drought, poachers and competition with leopards are reducing the population.

With the Kalahari, Namib or Etosha, Namibia is rich in  animal reserves from which the big cats benefit. 

Cheetahs of Namibia

Isabel Menzi's main job is a pilot for a Swiss airline. But she’s undergoing grueling training to achieve her dream of becoming a glacier pilot. These pilots are a vital lifeline to anyone who gets stranded in these traitorous mountains, but the flights themselves are death-defying.

GEO Reportage

Isabel dreams of becoming a glacier pilot, saving people in the Alps. But the training alone is death-defying

Switzerland: Glacier Pilots

Bonuses and Extracts

Discover more

Socialist leader Pedro Sanchez is betting his party’s survival on voters’ desire to keep the far right out of government. Although the pandemic is officially over, it has had a lasting impact on the mental health of young people across Europe. The Afghan artist Kubra Khademi’s bold artwork of the female body explores politics, culture and the patriarchy.

Spain’s snap election / Mental health / Kubra Khademi

Pedro Sanchez makes a risky gamble in calling a snap election. The pandemic has left lasting scars on young people’s mental health.

ARTE Europe Weekly

On the eve of her coronation, Elizabeth recalls how her father's execution of her mother Anne Boleyn left her a bastard. This unique opera series follows the life of the 'Virgin Queen' to the music of Gaetano Donizetti. Episode 1: The Coronation...

The Coronation

On the eve of her coronation, Elizabeth recalls how her mother's execution turned her into a bastard.

Gaetano Donizetti: Bastarda (1/6)

Dragan Daničić lives in northern Kosovo, which borders Serbia and is home to a mostly Serbian population. He is a farmer that sells his produce at market in Serbia. But time and again, the tensions between Serbia and Kosovo makes reaching his customers difficult, with tight borders and customs controls.

Serbia and Kosovo’s tense relationship means that ethnic Serb Dragan can’t bring his produce to market.

Re: Tensions in Kosovo

Since the wars that devastated the Balkans in the 1990s, the international community has continued to associate Southeastern Europe with a powder keg. "Tracks East" has therefore chosen to give a voice to young artists from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, and Kosovo who strive to portray a different image of this region of the world.

The Millennials of the Balkans

Artists from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, and Kosovo are striving to present a different image of Southeastern Europe.

Portrait of the German symbolist painter and sculptor Max Klinger (1857-1920). Often compared to Rodin, he was famous in his day for his erotic and tender sculptures.

Dream and Seduction

Portrait of the German symbolist painter and sculptor Max Klinger (1857-1920), often compared to Rodin.

Max Klinger

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

Japan has just made an historic shift: In December, Tokyo announced a doubling of its defence budget by 2027, the first time this has happened since World War II. The Japanese are wary of China and North Korea.

Japan: Preparing for War

ARTE Reportage

Chat forums are full of tales of miraculous healing thanks to the medicinal properties of cannabis. But there's little hard scientific evidence to back those claims up. In Germany, since 2017, cannabis has been available with a doctor's prescription. Many medical professionals have criticised the widespread use of cannabis as a massive experiment on the most vulnerable. Meanwhile in France, legislation remains strict, while in Israel, medicinal cannabis has been used for decades.

A Controversial Plant

Chat forums are full of tales of miraculous healing thanks to the medicinal properties of cannabis

Medical Marijuana

Drugs have a bad press. But scientists have long been convinced that the use of psychedelics can sometimes be beneficial. The use of ecstasy, LSD and other hallucinogens could soon be authorised for therapeutic purposes. Should we change our relationship to certain drugs?

Are We Doing More Drugs?

Scientists have long been convinced that the use of psychedelics can sometimes be beneficial.

They film their daily lives and that of their children. They earn income and gain fame from it. "Mum influencers" are increasingly sought after by brands. However, the boundary between family life and a "real" job is being blurred. How can we reconcile an opportunity for parents, the consent of children, and the right to their image?

The Family Business

They film their daily lives and their children. "Mum influencers" are increasingly sought after by brands.

Re: Mummy Influencers

Acrobatics, crazy sets, unobtainable beauty standards. A lot of porn often lacks realism. But the industry is changing: audio pornography, which leaves room for the imagination while arousing the listener with erotic stories. The increasingly popular medium attracts feminist women who see the medium as more sensual and empowering than traditional porn.

The Sensual World of Podcast Porn

Audio pornography leaves room for the imagination while arousing the listener with erotic stories

Gymnastics

The many turquoise lakes and waterfalls in Plitvice National Park in Croatia are spectacular. This protected area is the refuge of 1,400 varieties of plants, some fifty species of mammals and 321 different butterflies. The park is located in the heart of one of the last primary forests in Europe, where the brown bear still roams. 

The Lakes of Plitvice in Croatia

The many turquoise lakes and waterfalls in Plitvice National Park in Croatia are spectacular

National Parks: A Macro View

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

A new generation has come of age in Turkey that doesn’t want to live like their parents. On social media, on comedy stages and in rap music a counterculture is flourishing. Filmmaker Ufuk Cam goes to Turkey to uncover the local scene.

Turkey: The New Generation

A new counterculture is flourishing in Turkey. Filmmaker Ufuk Cam goes there to uncover the local scene.

Increasing authoritarianism means that Russian citizens have to decide: Do they stay quiet and allow freedom to die? Or do they speak up and risk changing their lives for ever? Tracks East meets Russians that could not accept the Putin dictatorship and now live in exile.

Anti-Putin Russians

Tracks East meets Russians that could not accept the Putin dictatorship and now live in exile.

Visiting her childhood sweetheart, Elizabeth is caught up in a love triangle that reminds her of a past situation, when Jane Seymour was the love rival of Elizabeth's mother, Anne Boleyn. This unique opera series follows the life of the Virgin Queen to the music of Gaetano Donizetti. Episode 2: The Royal Progress...

The Royal Progress

Elizabeth is entangled in a love triangle that reminds her of a past situation...

Gaetano Donizetti: Bastarda (2/6)

With the war in Ukraine meaning the end for cheap oil and gas imports from Russia, European demand for coal is on the rise. Multinationals are increasing activity in the largest coal mining region in South America with negative consequences for the environment and local communities.

Colombian Coal for Europe

With European demand increasing, coal mining in Columbia is harming the environment and local communities.

Dave Grohl is the co-author of only one Nirvana song: Scentless Apprentice, on the 1993 In Utero album. Frontman Kurt Cobain said, "I found it a bit stupid." But since the end of Nirvana, Grohl went on to release ten albums with the Foo Fights, wrote 76 songs and had 9 US hits. Not bad for a once-overlooked drummer.

Foo Fighters

Was Dave Grohl's talent ignored in Nirvana?

TAPE

Ancient Greek statues are white, pure and classical, just like the marble they are carved from. False. These statues were painted in fabulous bright colours. Archaeologists and art academics have known this for centuries so why does the white myth endure?

The Old Woman and the Lake

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