Perspective

A woman who was the victim of so-called revenge porn after her boyfriend posted a picture of her online of them having sex, has managed to turn the experience into a positive fightback. Mia Landsem was just a teenager when she saw a group of young men laughing at her, before one asked "Aren't you that porn star?" Initially she fell into a depression, but since then she's turned her life around, now has a career working as an ethical hacker and spends much of her spare time helping others. She joined us for Perspective.

Growing up in Albania, our guest had a childhood of two halves. One was lived in plain sight, since she was brought up at school to believe and love the communist doctrine of Albania's Enver Hoxha and Soviet leader Joseph Stalin. The other half was hidden, as she slowly discovered that not everyone loved Uncle Enver, and that even in her own family, not everyone was a believer. Lea Ypi is now a highly respected academic at the London School of Economics. Her new book "Free", which has just been translated into French as "Enfin Libre", tells the story of her childhood as she slowly understood, and later escaped, the repression that dominated her youngest years. She joined us for Perspective.

"Around the globe there is a backlash against human rights defenders and a backlash against democracy", but "we must not lose hope". So says Alice Mogwe, director of the International Federation for Human Rights (known by its French acronym FIDH), which is celebrating its centenary in Paris this week. Overshadowing the celebrations though are a series of pressing issues such as the war in Ukraine, the uprising in Iran, China's treatment of the Uighurs, as well as women's rights more broadly. Mogwe joined us for Perspective to tell us more about her work.

A day after declaring she was "a fighter not a quitter", Liz Truss resigned, becoming the shortest-serving British prime minister in history. With the UK now poised to have its fifth leader in six years, we discuss the leadership crisis with political writer, author and leadership specialist Stefan Stern. He says Truss moved too quickly and ignored advice from experts, quickly losing her credibility. This happened in the broader context of Britain's post-Brexit environment, which has left political parties divided. His advice for the next prime minister? "Leave your ego out of it (...) and just appoint the best people that you've got, delegate tasks to them and trust them to get on with it."

According to the latest report from the World Wildlife Fund, global wildlife populations have declined by a whopping 69 percent over the past 50 years. It's an urgent reminder of what's at stake as world leaders prepare to meet in early December for their biggest biodiversity conference in a decade, with the goal of agreeing to a new framework to protect the world's plants and animals. According to scientist Paul Leadley, the new framework contains all the measures needed to reverse the damage – but world leaders must be convinced to adopt it. Leadley is one of the main contributors to the UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). He joined us for Perspective.

It’s a book that’s been described by one critic as helping them to understand the microaggressions that people of colour routinely face on a daily basis. It is a collection of short stories, centered around race, which although fictional have a real meaning and message. We spoke to the author of "The Racial Code: Tales of Resistance and Survival", Nicola Rollock, who is Professor of Social Policy and Race at King’s College in London.

It is an exhibition of dazzling costumes made up of the finest materials such as beads and feathers.  Behind it, though, lies a story of violence and resilience.  In Paris, a new exhibition celebrates the cultural and artistic creativity of African Americans in New Orleans. Perhaps the most spectacular way that the creativity is displayed is in the costumes of the Black Indians carnival parade. Our guest from the Musée du quai Branly – Jacques Chirac told us more.

At 30 years old, Guirec Soudée has an impressive list of adventures. His exploits are sometimes overshadowed by his co-captain - a red hen named Monique who first joined him on an around-the-world voyage when he was 21. Now nine years old, Monique will be staying home when Soudée sets sail for the legendary transatlantic race the Route du Rhum in November. He joined us at Perspective to talk about his new book, his feathered companion, and the joys of being alone in the middle of the ocean.

Acclaimed Brazilian filmmaker Fernando Grostein Andrade and his husband Fernando Siqueira left Brazil for Los Angeles after receiving death threats for speaking out against the election of Jair Bolsonaro. Four years later, with Bolsonaro seeking a second term, they say they felt a personal responsibility to make a documentary highlighting the dangers of the incumbent president's "catastrophic masculinity" - toxic masculinity on a scale big enough to cause national or even worldwide damage.

The damage done by chemical and air pollution is no mystery: Plastic has seeped into virtually all of the worlds ecosystems no matter how difficult they are to reach. Air pollution meanwhile, is estimated to cause some 6.5 million deaths per year worldwide. But there is one form of pollution with lesser-known dangers: Light pollution. My guest today Johan Eklof published a manifesto exploring the importance of living in darkness to better preserve life. He joined us on Perspective.