Perspective

Is it better to be poor in the US or India? What does living below a country's poverty line mean for the way people sustain themselves? We speak to photographer-economist duo Chow and Lin about their book "The Poverty Line", a decade-long project that explores what living with limited resources means for the dinner plates of different communities around the globe. Their exhibition "Summer of Fireflies: The Poverty Line Solo Exhibition" will be showing at the Rencontres d'Arles festival from July 4.

The melting of ice in the Arctic is accelerating climate change and leading to exploitation that will impact everyone in the world. But our guest offers some hope. Mikaa Mered, an Arctic specialist at Sciences Po University, explains that the region also holds potential for sustainable forms of energy using green hydrogen, meaning that smart exploitation could actually help fight climate change. He joined us for Perspective.

"All living forms are interdependent." That's the jumping off point for the exhibition "Science Friction", opening this month at Barcelona's Centre of Contemporary Culture. It challenges us to think of evolution, "not as a tree with humans at the top, but as network of collaborations". We spoke to the show's curator Maria Ptqk about symbiosis, feminism and recognising the legal rights of the world's ecosystems.

In a significant policy U-turn, Beijing this week announced that couples will be allowed to have up to three children. The decision followed demographic data that showed there were 18 percent cent fewer babies born in 2020 than in 2019. So will it be enough to convince people to have more babies? And just how significant is the move with regards to a woman's right to determine what happens to her own body? We speak to Stuart Gietel-Basten, Professor of Social Science and Public Policy at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology.

One of the many consequences of Brexit is the creation of a customs border in the Irish Sea, a move that for some in Northern Ireland has awakened old unionist fears of separation from the mainland. There's also been a lot of talk about the Northern Ireland Protocol stirring up dormant tensions between unionists and republicans. But what if those fears are ill-founded? Writer and journalist Susan McKay is the author of "Northern Protestants on Shifting Ground". She gives us her Perspective.

You are being spied on – by both countries and companies. When you drive your car, do your shopping or use your computer, you are being tracked and information on you is stored and then used to influence you and your behaviour. Author and researcher Carissa Véliz says companies can decide whether or not to give bank loans or health insurance based on the data they've acquired. Her new book "Privacy is Power" gives readers tips to control their data and suggestions for how to take it back.

Anxiety is on the rise in children and adolescents, with studies in the US showing that one in eight children experience extreme anxiety. Children's author and illustrator Jion Sheibani suggests making your worries come to life. Her new series of books, entitled "The Worries", sees children put their most concerning thoughts down on paper and learn to manage them, live with them and even have fun with them. She joined us for Perspective.

Bella Lack is a young British environmental activist. From the age of 11, she's been flying the flag for conservation through her social media posts, videos and public speeches. This autumn, her new documentary film "Animal" – made in collaboration with Jane Goodall and Cyril Dion – will be released in cinemas. She spoke to FRANCE 24 about her activism, her goals and why she thinks the Covid-19 pandemic could be an opportunity to clean up the planet.

We've been doing it for as long as we've existed. But according to journalist and author James Nestor, we could be doing it a lot better. The average adult takes around 20,000 breaths every day, but according to Nestor, we take most of them through our mouths rather than through our noses, leading to all manner of problems from excessive snoring to asthma. Nestor is the best-selling author of "Breath: The New Science of a Lost Art", which has just been translated into French under the title "Respirer". He joined us for Perspective.

The vast majority of the thousands of migrants who descended on the Spanish North African enclave of Ceuta last week have now been sent back to Morocco. But hundreds of unaccompanied migrant children are still languishing in hastily assembled shelters, or sleeping rough. We discuss the humanitarian crisis still unfolding on Ceuta with our guest Esteban Beltran, Director of Amnesty International Spain.