Tracks East

With music banned by the Taliban, Afghan refugees in Pakistan want to keep their musical traditions alive.

18 years after American troops first arrived in Afghanistan, the United States has announced their withdrawal. Can the Afghan forces keep the Taliban at bay without help from NATO?

Since the Taliban retook Kabul in August 2021, the humanitarian situation has deteriorated considerably. Afghanistan remains the world's largest producer of opium and the country also has high rates of addiction. The Taliban is trying to rid the country of heroin addicts, with particularly brutal methods.

Since the Taliban's return to power, Fawzia Koofi has been forced to continue her fight for women’s rights in exile.

The last foreign troops are leaving Afghanistan, leading to fears of a Taliban resurgence

 Whilst the Afghan government negotiates with the Taliban, babies seem to have become targets in a never-ending war.

Masha Borzunova meets a Russian deserter who tells how he went from being a war hero to an ostracised traitor of his country.

Opposing the Neom project in Saudi Arabia can get you put in prison or killed.

From queer cake sitting to sex positive tasting evenings, Tracks finds out about food and sexuality.

A new wave of erotic magazines is breaking the traditional heterosexist mould and encouraging a new engagement with desire, body image and sexuality.

Not all nipples are the same. On Instagram or Facebook female breasts are censured whereas the bare male torso is not. Some artists are challenging this double standard. 

Coupé-Décalé got the world dancing in the early 2000s. Today, its little brother, biama, is going through the roof.

The story of a wealthy man saving a ‘fallen’ woman has become a cliché (Pretty Woman, Anora), far from the reality of prostitution. But what if sex workers told their own stories through art?

From London to Amsterdam, the Eastern Margins collective is raising the temperature in the Asian alternative scene.

How can we communicate without internet and 5G? Tracks meets fans of off grid communication in London, Barcelona, and Bologna.

Marking the opening of the 60th edition of the Montreux Jazz Festival, RAYE invites a host of international pop stars to join her on stage for an evening of music.

An odyssey through Iran in search of a lost father for one Tehrani teenager and her friends.

How can we have more fulfilling sex? Ronja von Rönne meets couples and singles who have reinvented their sexuality.

What does hair symbolise in the visual arts, from the 15th century to the present day?

With growing incursions since the start of the war in Ukraine, the EU hopes to implement an anti-drone shield.

British band bring Me The Horizon bring their power metalcore to the main stage at Hellfest.

Fueling Cambodia's construction boom are brick factories where workers are paid a pittance, trapped in debt bondage.

Nick Cave brings the full force of his live performance, filled with mystical fervour and passionate celebration, to Paris.

After years of moving towards a cashfree society, Europe is weighing up the risks.

As the world heats up, cities around the world are responding to the challenges of climate change with fresh ideas.