30 years after Nelson Mandela was freed from prison, has South Africa been able to fully break free from the shackles of apartheid? Or does its legacy live on?

Guests:

F.W. de Klerk- President of South Africa (1989-1994)

Mandla Mandela- Grandson of Nelson Mandela and Member of Parliament of South Africa representing the African National Congress

#NelsonMandela #SouthAfrica #Mandela

64 countries around the world are using facial recognition technology. Bigger than Five looks at how governments are experimenting with the hi-tech surveillance systems.

#BiggerThanFive

In a deal with China, Kyrgyzstan is installing Chinese surveillance cameras equipped with facial recognition technology around the capital Bishkek. Officials say they are intended to help improve public safety, critics say China is “exporting authoritarianism”. Bigger Than Five went to Bishkek to see how people there feel about the move.

We’re encouraged to tag our photos on social media and use our face to open our phones. Governments are scanning crowds to find suspected criminals and missing people, but also to surveil activists, protesters and ethnic minorities. Facial recognition is rapidly expanding, but will its unregulated use create a new technological wild west? Have we found the balance between privacy, human rights and safety?

Guests:

James Craig- Detroit Police Chief

Kenneth Roth- Executive Director of Human Rights Watch

Sharon Bradford Franklin, Policy Director at New America’s Open Technology Institute #BiggerThanFive

CleanSlateNow Action is an organisation working to eliminate the corrupting influence of big money in US politics by introducing localised campaign finance reform initiatives. We traveled to Denver, Colorado to meet with its president and local supporters as they celebrated more than a year since they passed The Democracy for The People Measure, also known as Denver's Fair Elections Act.

It is estimated that spending on the next US presidential election could be as high as 10 billion dollars. A landmark US Supreme Court ruling 10 years ago changed campaign finance laws by allowing unlimited amounts of private money to be injected into the American electoral system. The ruling in the Citizens United v. Federal Elections Commissions case argued that placing limits on election spending by corporations or special interest groups violates the US Constitution's First Amendment right to free speech.

With the century-old restrictions lifted in 2010, groups and corporations have been able to spend unlimited funds on campaign advertising and events, as long as there is no formal coordination with the candidates or their parties. As a result, Super Political Action Committees - or Super PACs - were established, with the vast majority of their funding coming from wealthy donors. This trend has raised concerns about the inequality gap and the influence of wealthy individuals and corporations on the candidates in the US election system. So, is big money perverting American democracy? Who's interests are being served and who's voices are being left out?

Guests:

James Bopp Jr

Special Counsel for President Trump on Campaign Finance Law

Hans Von Spakovsky

Manager, Election Law Reform Initiative at The Heritage Foundation

Brendan Fischer

Director, Federal Reform Program at The Campaign Legal Center

#election2020 #2020election #2020

In the US, wealthy donors have always had a significant influence on politics but for almost 100 years restrictions on spending were upheld by the courts in the interests of having fair elections and preventing corruption. But by lifting campaign spending limits in the Citizens United v. FEC case, the Supreme Court's ruling significantly altered the way US elections are fought and won.

Bigger Than Five looks at the trends that have emerged in the decade since Citizens United in the Five Facts.

President Paul Kagame has spearheaded a remarkable rebuilding effort in Rwanda following the 1994 genocide that killed nearly 1 million people. He is credited with healing the country and producing an economic miracle. But his re-election in 2017 was not without critics. After more than two decades in power, is Kagame's political longevity his worst enemy?

Bigger Than Five Host Ghida Fakhry sat down with President Kagame in Doha.

#Genocide #Africa, #BiggerThanFive

He is credited with ending Rwanda's genocide, healing the country and producing an economic miracle. But President Paul Kagame is not without his critics. Bigger Than Five looks back at the former rebel leader’s rise to power.

#BiggerThanFive #PaulKagame #Rwanda, Africa

Income inequality in America has reached its lowest levels in 50 years — but will voters do anything about it in 2020? Bigger Than Five interviews UN special rapporteur on extreme poverty Philip Alston.