Tracks

Tracks: Planet Prison

Tracks East

More than 10 million people in the world are behind bars with half of the world's prison population in Russian, Chinese or American jails. In the United States, where the prison population has risen sharply in recent decades. Artists are sounding the alarm: Jay Z, Denzel Curry and Meek Mill are calling for judicial reform.

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Culture From the Other Side of the Tracks

<p>More than 10 million people in the world are behind bars with half of the world's prison population in Russian, Chinese or American jails. In the United States, where the prison population has risen sharply in recent decades. Artists are sounding the alarm: Jay Z, Denzel Curry and Meek Mill are calling for judicial reform.</p>

More than 10 million people in the world are behind bars with half of the world's prison population in Russian, Chinese or American jails. 

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A Polish cyber elf, a Ukrainian DJ on the front line, a militant Russian grandmother, and Belarusian hackers... On the face of it, they have little in common. And yet they are all resisting the Russian invasion of Ukraine, fighting back on different fronts.

Resistance

A Polish cyber elf, a Ukrainian DJ on the front line, a militant Russian grandmother, and Belarusian hackers...They are all resisting the Russian invasion of Ukraine on different fronts.

If the truth is the first victim of war, many voices are trying to defend it in Ukraine, Russia and elsewhere. Alternative culture programme Tracks goes east to meet journalists and artists from Lithuania, Ukraine and Russia who have a different perspective on the war in Ukraine. On the programme: propaganda and counter-propaganda in times of conflict.

Propaganda and Truth

lternative culture programme "Tracks" goes east to meet journalists and artists from Lithuania, Ukraine and Russia who have a different perspective on the war in Ukraine

Russian artists have two choices: silence, or exile. There's been a mass creative exodus in recent weeks, including Russian rap stars like Face and Oxxxymiron. Art rockers IC3PEAK post protest videos that would get them arrested in Russia. TikTok star Nikita Sass bravely continues to post his opinion and stays. Few dare to do that.

Russian Artists Against the War

Russian artists have two choices: silence, or exile

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.

Tracks: Songwriting Special

A total immersion into the world of sound: Sound engineer Nicolas Becker explains his craft featured in films such as Sound of Metal and La Haine. FUJIIIIIIITA, makes his own instruments to let his audience have new sound experiences. With more than 500 films (and 500,000 photographs), Boris Lehman is the first-person filmmaker par excellence.

Total Immersion Special

An episode dedicated to the world of sound. 

The art of klapping, where dance meets football.  Also in the programme: Artist couple Emilie Brout and Maxime Marion harvest the internet. Spanish multi-media artist Pascual Sisto talks about his new film ‘John and the Hole’ and Ami Yerewolo raps in Bambara to traditional African music.

Klapping / Emilie Brout & Maxime Marion / Sisto / Ami Yerewolo

The art of klapping, where dance meets football.  Spanish director Pascual Sisto talks about his new film ‘John and the Hole’ and Ami Yerewolo raps in Bambara to traditional African music.

Tracks dives into the world of augmented reality, avatars and hologram performances. With ABBA and others pioneering avatar performance, is nostalgia pushing technology forward? Also in the programme: Synth pop French musician Oklou and German DJ, Boys Noize.

Holo Life - Avatars and Holograms

Ugandan MC Ecko Bazz offers up the soundtrack of his worst nightmares. Also in the programme: Guatemalan artist and poet Regina José Galindo and Afghan artist Kubra Khademi, Jean Lecointre, the Frankenstein of collage and Russian filmmaker Alexei Guerman Jr.

Ecko Bazz / Political Bodies / Jean Lecointre / Alexeï German Jr

Whether it's extreme sports, stand-up comedy, breakdancing or music, disability isn’t an obstacle to pursuing your passion. Tracks' meets Aaron Fotheringham, Dergin Tokmak and Pone to understand the power of pop culture in empowering 'invisible' minorities.

Disability and Pop Culture

Tracks' meets Aaron Fotheringham, Dergin Tokmak and Pone to understand the power of pop culture in empowering 'invisible' minorities.

A look at the lively hip-hop scenes in France and Germany from the 1980s to the present day.

French-German Hip-Hop Special

Genre fluid music takes a swipe at musical categorisation. Argentinian artist Amalia Ulman presents her first film, El Planeta, at the Sundance Film Festival. Algerian-born artist Adel Abdessemed imbues his works with the violence of the world  and The e-sports team Karmine Corp has won the European League of Legends Championships.

Genre-Fluid Music / Amalia Ulman / Adel Abdessemed / Karmine Corp

 After gender fluid comes genre fluid as musical categorisation ends. Argentinian artist Amalia Ulman presents her first film and e-sports team Karmine Corp win big.

Truman Burbank, a 35-year-old skateboarder from Paris, has a sense of humor as sharp as his stunts; A visit to Erbil with DJ Zana, DJ Mustafa, singer Chopi and rapper Hawta, all exponents of Kurdish music; Fantasy realism in the theatre with Belgian company Still Life and the French playwright Philippe Quesne; German artist Christina Kubisch has been working with sound for 50 years.

Truman Burbank / Kurdish Paradise / Fantasy Realism

In this episode of tracks: Skateboarding, Kurdish music, magic realism on stage and the sound art of artist Christina Kubisch.

David Guetta, Bob Sinclair and Martin Solveig take the charts by storm and become (very) mainstream. Argentine filmmaker Laura Casabé creates horror in the jungle. Kosovar artist Alban Muja’s works focus on his young homeland’s identity and American artist Lynn Hershman Leeson focuses on the relationship between humans and technology.

David Guetta, Laura Casabé, Lynn Hershman Leeson & Alban Muja

A special edition on artists who explore dream worlds: David Lynch talks about the disturbing and unique atmosphere in his films. A look at the creatures of the night, the gender fluid club kids drags. Also in the programme : Giant moles, hippies and twin sister harpists.

Tracks: Dream Creators Special

A special edition on artists who explore dream worlds featuring American filmmaker David Lynch.

David Lynch / Club Kid Drags / Gong

The Hong Kong artist Wong Ping mixes animation with explicit imagery; Julio le Parc designs kinetic art that plays tricks; the guys from SHHT place Belgium on the space rock map; and shibari, the art of bondage with artistically twisted rope that decorates those it seeks to restrain. 

Tracks: Wong Ping / Julio le Parc / Shht / Néo-Shibari

Dexter Wansel is a legend, and has worked with the likes of Patti LaBelle, Billy Paul and the Jackson Five. His work is now being sampled by American rappers; In her first film, "Murmur", Heather Young blurs the line between reality and fiction; in the face of mass survellience artists are getting creative; and we take a listen to Oneohtrix Point Never and his experimental electro.

Dexter Wansel is a legend, and has worked with the likes of Patti LaBelle, Billy Paul and the Jackson Five

Tracks: Dexter Wansel / Heather Young / Cyberinvisibles / Oneohtr

In this episode Brazilian filmmaker Gabriel Mascaro takes his country’s pulse. / Mexican-American metal band Brujeria are Donald Trump’s worst nightmare. /  Otim Alpha rocks Uganda / James Auger and Nelly Ben Hayoun reinvent design.

Gabriel Mascaro / Michael Snow / Nicole He / Brujería / Otim Alpha

Which of the nightmares in Black Mirror would the creators Charlie Brooker and Annabel Jones like to experience? How did they dream it up? What scary stories did their parents tell them before falling asleep for them to be able to produce such a chilling (and binge-worthy) show?

The Black Mirror Special

An entire episode of Tracks that is dedicated to the prescient mind-trip that is Black Mirror

Tracks - Culture From the Other Side of the Tracks

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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

Discover contemporary cycling culture in three European cities: Berlin, the unofficial capital of vintage racing bikes. London, where cycle-cafés also hold speed dating evenings and Amsterdam where cyclists stand out from the crowd with style.

Cycling as Lifestyle

Discover contemporary cycling culture in three European cities: Berlin, London and Amsterdam.

Biking Boom

Can identities be forced, discarded, changed or revived? In the USSR, national identities were a political instrument. Millions of people were resettled, deported, and Russified. Today, the multi-ethnic social fabric of post-soviet nations harbours explosive tensions and the Ukraine war is opening up old wounds. What does identity mean for the next generation?

Identity

The multi-ethnic social fabric of post-soviet nations harbours explosive tensions and the Ukraine war is opening up old wounds. What does identity mean for the next generation?

In 1973 choreographer and dancer Carolyn Carlson brought an breath of American fresh air into the Paris Opera. In true hippy style she brought barefoot dancing, improvisation and a relaxed attitude. Not everyone was ready for change.

Carolyn Carlson: The Day They Danced Barefoot at the Paris Opera

Gymnastics

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?

Ancient Greek Statues Were Not White

A simple hut on the Côte d‘Azur shows all of Le Corbusier’s architectural genius.

Le Corbusier and his Cabin

Conductors can gesticulate wildly when they conduct an orchestra. But have you ever wondered what exactly they are doing with their hands? And why do they use a baton?

Why Do Conductors Use Batons?

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Violence, drugs and prostitution are a fact of life for the many children in the 5th district of Bucharest, considered the most dangerous in the city. From the Roma minority, Valeriu Nicolae grew up in poverty. With his teams, he ensures that these children have a roof, food and above all that they have access to education.

Violence, drugs and prostitution are a fact of life for the many children in the 5th district of Bucharest.

Re: Bucharest’s Lost Children

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

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

Some animals are whats, and others are whos. Cats and dogs have distinct personalities; we couldn't possibly eat them. And then there are the pigs, cows, and sheep: an amorphous mass that end up on our plates. Dirk Nienhaus shows us his pig fattening facility. Meanwhile animal welfare activist Friedrich Mülln secretly checks for animal welfare violations on nightly missions. Cow farmer Anja Hradetzky is looking for a way to combine animal welfare and livestock husbandry - and comes up against the limits of the system.

The Status Quo

Activists, scientists and philosophers expose the consequences of factory farming and reflect on the status of animals in our societies.

Who We Eat

Yousra and Othman live in France, but both have decided to get married in Fez, the birthplace of the bride. Pulling off a huge traditional Moroccan wedding is no mean feat, and both families are hurriedly preparing for the party of a lifetime.

Weddings in Morocco

 Traditional Moroccan weddings are huge, lavish affairs where the bride becomes princess for a day.

Princess for a Day

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

Why do we love dogs and eat pigs? The second episode of Who We Eat is dedicated to the cultural and psychological roots of meat consumption.Psychologist Melanie Joy explains why she believes we all subscribe to an invisible ideology. The cultural historian Ilja Steffelbauer traces the history of meat from the beginnings of mankind to the present day. And Niko Rittenau, as a nutritionist, investigates how necessary the consumption of meat actually is.

Natural, Necessary, Normal

Rhian Teasdale and Hester Chambers are Wet Leg, a rock duo from the Isle of Wight who became successful in 2021 with their beautiful first single, Chaise Longue.
Live from the Route du Rock festival in St Malo, France.

La Route du Rock 2022

Live from the Route du Rock festival: Rhian Teasdale and Hester Chambers are rock duo Wet Leg.

Wet Leg

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

Cynthia Rosenzweig, a climate scientist at NASA, explains why we can't just continue consuming meat the way we have. Research is being carried out all over the world into convincing meat alternatives. The episode takes a look behind the scenes of this industry, from the Rügenwald mill to the start-up Future Meat, which produces real meat in the laboratory with millions of dollars of investment.

Lab-Grown Meat

Cynthia Rosenzweig, a climate scientist at NASA, explains why we can't just continue consuming meat the way we have.

We explore the ethical foundations of our meat consumption and finds surprising answers. Peter Singer, the philosophical father of the modern animal rights movement, makes a compelling case for why we need to consider the welfare of animals as much as that of humans. Young fattening pigs show surprisingly human-like behavior in psychological experiments. In addition, evolutionary biologist Jon Mallatt takes the audience on a journey through time and explains why animals developed the first feelings.

Animals Like Us

 Young fattening pigs show surprisingly human-like behavior in psychological experiments.

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

In Friederike Schmitz's workshops, schoolchildren act out how much space a fattening pig has on the floor of their classroom. In the discussion, it becomes clear that the children think in a similar way to adults: we all feel sorry for animals but changing our behavior is still difficult. Friedrich Mülln, the founder of SOKO Tierschutz, explains why he takes so many risks in the name of animal welfare. Activist Tobias Leenaert lives on a farm in Belgium with freed and rescued pigs, ducks, chickens and a turkey that loves to look in the mirror. He is convinced that the vegan movement cannot progress with moral arguments alone. Many people who reduce their consumption have more influence than a few hardliners. He explains why it is so difficult for people to change their behaviour.

The End of Meat

We all feel sorry for animals but changing our behavior is difficult. Moral arguments against meat are not enough to trigger lasting widespread change.

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

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?

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

Florence and the Machine are one of the most successful British bands of the last few decades, selling millions of albums worldwide. Led by musician, songwriter and producer Florence Welch, whose deep voice carries her dark, romantic songs.

Flow Festival 2022

Florence + The Machine

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

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.

Tracks - Culture From the Other Side of the Tracks