Perspective

On October 5, 1962, The Beatles released their first single, "Love Me Do", on the very same day that the world premiere of "Dr. No" kicked off the James Bond franchise in London. For historian David Kynaston, if you had to pinpoint a specific date that marked the start of the Swinging Sixties, this was it. His book "On the Cusp: Days of '62" takes a deep dive into a cultural moment that laid the groundwork for the coming sexual revolution, even as swathes of society remained resistant to change. He joined us for Perspective.

Governments and companies worldwide pour a lot of time and energy into projects that aim to champion diversity: a direct response to citizens demanding that their cultural and ethnic realities be reflected in the institutions that represent them. So what are the best ways to foster genuine diversity, without falling into the trap of vacuous virtue signalling? We speak to British-Nigerian art historian, curator and broadcaster Aindrea Emelife about the power of art to change perceptions, as well as how to ensure that Black subjects can claim their rightful place in the art history canon.

A human rights campaigner in India has told FRANCE 24 how she and her team have lost contact with some of their associates and fellow activists in Afghanistan since the Taliban swept to power. Vandita Morarka is the founder and chief executive of One Future Collective and has long worked with colleagues in Afghanistan. She says to lose contact with some of them is "very sad" and that it's "terrifying" to see the situation unfold for the country. She also spoke to us about her work to empower women and young people in her home country of India.

The world is far from out of the woods on Covid-19 and it could be several years until enough people are vaccinated worldwide to bring any fears of new variants under control. That’s the view of Mary-Louise McLaws, Professor of Epidemiology at the University of New South Wales in Australia. She spoke to us about the need to share vaccines across the world, as well as the situation in Australia itself, where a shortage of jabs is continuing to cause major problems.

From Donald Trump in the United States, to Marine Le Pen in France and even Jair Bolsonaro in Brazil, far-right populists are gaining popularity in all corners of the world. English journalist and author Paul Mason has warned these developments would give "time-travelling Nazis plenty to smile about in the 21st century". But he has a solution for ending what he describes as the onset of a second fascist era, which he lays out in his book "How to Stop Fascism". He joined us for Perspective.

When Lithuanian director Romas Zabarauskas came out as gay in 2011, he became a celebrity overnight. Ten years later, his latest film is the first in Lithuania to be centered around a love story between two men. "The Lawyer" tells the story of Marius, a corporate lawyer in Vilnius. After the death of his estranged father, he decides to go to Belgrade to meet up with a Syrian refugee he met online. Zabarauskas spoke to FRANCE 24 about exploring privilege and masculinity in his latest film and LGBTQ+ rights in Lithuania.

The risk of suffering a blood clot from taking the contraceptive pill is significantly higher than it is from taking the AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine. The author of a new book says this simple fact exemplifies the longstanding failures of healthcare for women. Elinor Cleghorn's book "Unwell Women: A Journey Through Medicine and Myth in a Man-Made World" highlights the issue as just one way in which the male-dominated medical world has in the past failed to recognise female health problems. She joined us for Perspective.

Chinese President Xi Jinping has given an hour-long televised address from Tiananmen Square to mark the centenary of the creation of China's Communist Party. Xi hailed the "new world" created by the country's people as he warned foreign forces that those attempting to bully the nation will get their heads bashed.

As humans, we tend to like certainty and control – or at least the illusion of it. But of course, our world and our lives don't always appear to follow our expectations, so how do we handle randomness? And does our desire for control explain the universal presence of superstitions that have absolutely no scientific basis? Stuart Vyse, a behavioural scientist and professor of psychology, brings us his Perspective on our need for patterns and why irrational behaviour can persist in the face of scientific fact.

The French far right of Marine Le Pen failed to win any region and the centrist party of President Emmanuel Macron was also absent from the map. The results of France's local elections give control to the traditional right- and left-wing parties. The vote was seen as a test ahead of next year's presidential poll, but the biggest takeaway is the abstention rate. Paul Smith, Associate Professor in French and Francophone Studies at the University of Nottingham, gives us his Perspective on the results and what they mean going forward.