Square Idée

Square Idee

Square Idea

Square: Agora idei

Il potere del grano

<p>Climate change, the Covid pandemic and war brings into sharp focus the precariousness of the global food system. The war in Ukraine threatens the food security of many countries that rely on Kyiv as their main source of wheat.</p>

The Power of Grain

Climate change, the Covid pandemic and war in Ukraine brings into sharp focus how important food is. 

"Hard power" means economic, military, and demographic power; "soft power" means symbolic, cultural, and informational power. And now there is also "food power": the weaponised production of food. Wheat, one of the most consumed grains and traded on the stock exchange, has become a geopolitical issue.

The Weaponisation of Wheat

 Wheat, one of the most consumed grains and traded on the stock exchange, has become a geopolitical issue

Mapping the World

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Record-breaking droughts have hit Spain forcing the country to take emergency measures. We look at the wider picture regionally where droughts are occurring at an alarming frequency causing severe water shortages. Meanwhile, since the war began, 8.2 million Ukrainians have fled to the EU. Two years later, Arte Europe weekly learns why many are asking whether to stay or return home. Lastly, we turn to Serbia, where a handful of female comic book artists are challenging the status quo in their field.

Euro drought crisis / Ukrainian refugees / Serbian comic book artists

Europe experiences severe water shortages caused by drought, while Ukrainian refugees in EU consider returning home.

ARTE Europe Weekly

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

The Kyiv techno scene treats partying as a vital part of live, in spite of the war. But these revellers are also deeply engaged in their nation’s struggle, helping to rebuild Ukraine.

The Kyiv techno scene isn't just about dancing: revellers are also helping to rebuild Ukraine.

Re: Kyiv's Techno Scene Helps Out

In March 2022, the war between Ukraine and Russia is raging. While Russian troops are at the gates of Kyiv, this documentary films events in a paediatric hospital in Lviv treating the victims of the conflict. A powerful portrait of a doctor’s daily life in wartime.

While Russian troops are at the gates of Kyiv, this documentary films events in a paediatric hospital in Lviv. A powerful portrait of a doctor’s daily life in wartime.

Lviv - A Hospital in Wartime

A member of NATO since 2004 and of the European Union since 2007, Romania has become a strategic country since the Russian invasion of Ukraine: As an outpost for Western aid, a haven for Ukrainian refugees, but also on the front line given its proximity to Moldova.

Romania and the War in Ukraine

A member of NATO since 2004 and of the European Union since 2007, Romania has become a strategic country since the Russian invasion of Ukraine:

 In war it is often the children who suffer the most. Their stable home lives are destroyed and they have to flee. According to Ukrainian sources, 12,000 Ukrainian children have been taken to Russia, the Kremlin says they have been ‘brought home’.

Children of War

How is the war in Ukraine affecting children? According to Ukrainian sources, 12,000 Ukrainian children have been taken to Russia, the Kremlin says they have been ‘brought home’.

Tracks East

Turkey is a pivotal country at the crossroads of Europe, Russia, the Caucasus and the Middle East. Being at the centre of so many worlds is both a blessing and a curse for Ankara, automatically making it a key player in regional geopolitics whether it would wish to be or not. It's a complex chessboard which Recep Tayyip Erdogan knows how to navigate with skill.

Turkish Geopolitics

Turkey is a pivotal country at the crossroads of Europe, Russia, the Caucasus and the Middle East.

There are an estimated 1,500 active volcanoes on Earth and in the 20th century, 437 of them erupted in places like the United States, Russia, Indonesia and Japan. Both a blessing and a curse, they have shaped our world on land and at the sea.

A World of Volcanoes

Bonuses and Extracts

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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.

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.

42: The Answer to Almost Everything

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

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.

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.

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

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

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

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?

Square IdeaThe Power of Grain

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