Perspective

The controversy over Roman Polanski winning Best Director at the César awards – the French equivalent of the Oscars – has divided French opinion and reignited the #MeToo debate. Several actresses, including Adèle Haenel, walked out of the Paris awards ceremony in disgust. Iris Brey is a French-American film and TV critic and university lecturer, specialising in feminism and gender. She joined us for Perspective to talk about the César awards, Polanski and why France is lagging behind the US when it comes to the #MeToo movement.

When you're dealing with the climate emergency and the social crisis in the US, where people can't make ends meet, there is no middle ground. So says Clément Pairot, author of the first book in French about Bernie Sanders, entitled "Démocrazies". He says that although Sanders will be disappointed by the Super Tuesday results, it's not over yet; that Joe Biden has no real proposals; and that only Sanders can really improve the country. He also explains the quirks of the US electoral system.

As the death toll from the coronavirus outbreak tops 3,000, we speak to Pierre-Marie Girard, the director of international affairs at France's Pasteur Institute. He's been working on ensuring that diagnosis tests are available across the world to detect the virus. He also addresses why so few cases have been identified in Africa, ranging from the theory that it is present there but at a very low level, to the possibility of some kind of natural resistance among the continent's people. Giraud says it is impossible to say when the outbreak will peak.

Days of deadly riots in New Delhi have pitted Hindus against their Muslim neighbours, in the worst sectarian violence to hit the Indian capital in decades. How did we get here? And how much blame can be attributed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Hindu nationalist agenda? We sit down with Indian historian, novelist and filmmaker Vijay Singh.

It's the job of a photojournalist to dispassionately document their subject, even in the most challenging situations. But what if the warzone you're documenting is also your home? We sit down with Syrian photographer Abdulmonam Eassa, who spent five years bearing witness to human suffering and resilience in the face of almost daily regime airstrikes in Eastern Ghouta

The magnetic north pole is moving faster and further than before. Generated over three thousand kilometers beneath the surface of the earth, changes there can impact our GPS systems. Geomagnetic field modeler for the British Geological Survey Dr William James Brown tells us about the movement and how we can adapt to it.

Former Prime Minister Francois Fillon goes on trial this Monday accused of misappropriating one million euros of public money and of giving it to his wife and children for work they never actually did. The Fillon affair came to light during the presidential elections of 2017 and Emmanuel Macron of course went on to win. Once elected, Macron changed the laws: politicians are no longer allowed to employ family members but as the trial begins public distrust for their elected officials’ remains at the highest levels.

A year on from the Trump administration's highly controversial "Remain in Mexico" policy for would-be asylum seekers, what exactly does daily life look like for the tens of thousands of people stuck on the Mexican side of the border? We sat down with photographer Kelly Dassault, who's spent the past six years documenting migrants' experiences in the border town of Tijuana.

The Cold War may feel like a long time ago, but its nuclear legacy is undeniable. Today there are some 14,000 nuclear warheads in the world. How best to control and manage them? And as countries push to reduce their carbon emissions, just how enthusiastic should we be about swapping coal for nuclear? We speak to Emlyn Hughes, professor of physics at Columbia University and founding director of the K=1 Project at the Center for Nuclear Studies.

Our Perspective guest is Mike Duncan. He is the voice behind the award-winning podcasts "The History of Rome" and "Revolutions". Duncan also wrote the New York Times bestseller "The Storm Before the Storm" and is currently working on a new book about the Marquis de Lafayette. He spoke to us about why he became a podcaster, how much work he puts into each episode, and why he sees parallels between ancient Rome and the present day when it comes to the dangers of economic inequality.