Tyrrian Livesley joins us in the WRS studio to talk about the Gift Box Project, where gift boxes are prepared here in Switzerland and shipped to children in need in schools, hospitals, orphanages, after-school centres, and needy families in their homes, throughout Moldova and Ukraine. 

This is an appeal to listeners to create their own gift boxes to go to these children. Prepare your box today and drop it off at one of the handy collection points. 

Each box should be packed with essential items such as school items (notepads and pencils), hygiene items (toothbrush & soap) and fun items (toys, sweets). Additional optional items include hats, gloves and scarves. A full list of the essential and optional items on each box can be found on the website, as well as the downloadable customs label to be attached to each box, once it's wrapped. A wine-carton makes for the perfect size and it's strong! 

Full information, labels and drop off point locations can be found at giftboxproject.ch

Cléa Frei from the Ville de Neuchâtel talks about Chocolatissimo, running 1-8 November. The festival features chocolate tastings, film screenings, showpiece competitions, a Chocolatissimo boutique, and even daily cold plunges in the lake followed by hot cocoa! The theme is 'fantasy'!

Dame Mary Beard is one of the world’s best known classicists, specialising in Ancient Rome. She's an Cambridge Emeritus Professor, where she’s taught classics for nearly four decades. You may have seen her on the BBC presenting her show 'Rome - Empire without limit', or 'Civilisations', or read her featured blog in 'The Times Literary Supplement'. She’s been a regular contributor on BBC Radio 4’s 'A Point of View'. And now has a new podcast 'Instant Classics' - with Charlotte Higgins. 

Occasionally controversial in her astute observations about Ancient Rome, Mary has draws parallels with the modern and ancient worlds and shines a light on what history has to teach us about our power, gender and human nature.

At 6pm on Thursday 30 October, Mary will present her lecture “Tyrants, bureaucrats and victims - Do Roman emperors have anything to teach us?” as part of the Latsis Ceremony at the University of Geneva. Her talk will be in English. The event is free and without registration, subject to availability. 

Dame Mary Beard spoke to Katt Cullen on the WRS Breakfast Show... 

What if solving the climate crisis isn’t just about technology - but about how we live, how we think, and how we act together?

“Rethinking the System for Climate Action” is this year's theme for TEDxLausanne, Switzerland’s only TEDx Countdown Anchor Event.

On Saturday 8 November changemakers, scientists, creatives, and entrepreneurs will gather at UNIL's Amphimax in Lausanne, to connect deeply, rethink boldly, and act together. The day will start with interactive workshops, then TEDx talks by global and local climate leaders including UNIL’s Timothée Parrique, Sufficiency Lab’s Yamina Saheb, B-Lab’s Jonathan Normand, Tatiana Fedotova from LeafTurtle, Arthur Keller and more, followed by a networking cocktail evening. 

The event will be in both English and French, with live translation available. Tickets are available now at tedxlausanne.com

Damien Gaultier - who has been curating the TEDx Lausanne event for 10 years now - joined Katt Cullen on the WRS Breakfast Show to explain more.

Plenna is a non-profit association, non-political and secular, based in Geneva. The organisation seeks to inform and help equip individuals to accept, consider and proactively plan for dying and death, whether for themselves or their loved ones, and whatever their situation or age.

Through frank but sensitive communication, including humour, Plenna aims to amplify and build upon existing good practice, open spaces for bold discussions about decision-making in death and dying and how to live with the end in mind. With this strategy, they hope to remove the unnecessary suffering around death and dying. 

David Sunderland is the founder of Plenna. He joined us on the WRS Breakfast Show to explain what Plenna aims to do and the resources they provide. 

Take the 5-minute quiz on their website. 

Get ready to laugh with the Renegade Saints, Geneva’s premier improv comedy troupe! Since their founding in 2014, they’ve been delivering fast-paced, unscripted hilarity to the city’s English-speaking scene.

On today's Breakfast Show, improv performer and coach Shay Schafer joins Katt Cullen, ahead of them both appearing on-stage this evening for a night of improv hilarity with the Renegade Saints at Mr Pickwick's Pub in Geneva. Shay arrived in Geneva last year from Chicago - the improv capital of the world - with credits from ComedySportz, The Annoyance Theatre, and Second City.

They discuss their love of performing, the mix of chaos and structure that drives improv, and how audience participation shapes a Renegade Saints show (though no one's ever forced to come on-stage, we promise!).

Every Renegade Saints show is a night of spontaneous, side-splitting entertainment and no two shows are ever the same!

Next shows: Thursday 16 October, Thursday 13 November & Thursday 11 December.

The Renegade Saints also offer classes and corporate workshops. Visit www.renegadesaints.ch

An audience watch the stage at Pickwicks with four members of the Renegade Saints on-stage: Vale, Bob, Daire and Pablo. 

Shay Schafer and Katt Cullen on-stage together at a Renegade Saints show in 2025

A post shared by Renegade Saints Improv Comedy (@rsimprov)

This year marks a major milestone for one of Switzerland’s most iconic music festivals. Baloise Session is celebrating 40 years of bringing world-class artists to Basel. Known for its intimate setting with candlelit tables and an audience that’s up close to the stage, the festival has always offered something truly special. Over the decades, it’s hosted some of the biggest names in music - from Elton John, Tom Jones, and Alicia Keys to Nina Simone and James Brown - all performing in a setting that feels more like a private club than a major festival.

On today's WRS Breakfast Show, Beatrice Stirnimann, CEO of the Baloise Session, joins WRS’s Katt Cullen to talk about the festival’s spirit, what makes it stand out, and how it’s evolved over the past four decades. They discuss the importance of keeping performances intimate, the mix of genres that make up the lineup each year - from rock and pop to soul, jazz, and blues - and the magic of seeing legendary artists perform in such a personal space.

Beatrice also shares which artists have truly taken her breath away on that stage, and what makes her nervous as the festival kicks off... 

Baloise Session runs 17 October to 6 November 2025, and the programme this year features Duran Duran, Amy Macdonald, Aloe Blacc and Queens of the Stone Age. Though it's now mostly sold-out, a lucky few can still grab tickets for this Saturday’s show featuring Parov Stelar and Berlioz for a night of electro / electro-swing. 

If you’re in the Geneva or Vaud area and thinking about joining a sports club - for yourself or the kids - there are plenty of great options across rugby, football, table tennis, and netball.

For younger children, you’ll often start with activity-based sessions or “sports providers” from as early as age 2. Around 7 years old, kids can move into more structured training, and by 10, most are ready to join a local club with regular coaching, matches, and weekend tournaments.

There’s something for every level and interest:

Most clubs are bilingual (FR/EN), offer trial sessions, and vary in cost depending on training frequency and equipment.

Find the full list of clubs by age, sport, and location at kids-zone.ch

Chris Hemmens (Macbeth) and Mundey Young (Lady Macbeth) join us on the Breakfast Show to discuss the upcoming Hoops of Iron production of Macbeth in Geneva and neighbouring and France this October and November. We talk about their characters, the new approach they've both employed to bring their performances to life on the live-stage, and the relevance of Shakespeare's classic play. 

Director Dr. Sofie Quarnström has approached the play through a psychological lens, exploring modern understandings of the human mind and behaviour. Her interpretation seeks to illuminate how psychological mechanisms - such as obsession, guilt, and moral disintegration - play out in a world increasingly shaped by disinformation and rising authoritarianism, exploring the seductive pull of ambition and the devastating consequences of moral decay.

This fierce, physical, and deeply relevant production will be performed across two venues in Geneva and neighbouring France.

It's the time of the year when we change our tyres from summer to winter. Laurent Pignot from the TCS came into the studio to talk to Mark Butcher about tyres - why you need to change, when you should change - and when all seasons are OK. 

TCS video - in French or German (use auto translate if needed!)