Perspective

A Franco-American jazz and soul singer has spoken to FRANCE 24 about her love for music and her deep reservations of streaming platforms like Spotify. China Moses is the daughter of jazz singer Dee Dee Bridgewater and director Gilbert Moses. Her latest album is called "It's complicated". She spoke to us in Perspective about how her music is published, staying off most streaming devices.

A man who suffered extreme grief after the sudden death of his wife has spoken to FRANCE 24 about his project to travel to every single country in the world, and how it brought him out of his grief. Barry Hoffner first took one trip and found that his reconnection with people was helping him to heal. He discovered a way of shifting from grief to the idea that there was something left in life. His book is entitled "Belonging to the World: A Journey from Grief to Connection in Every Country on Earth". He spoke to us in Perspective.

The author of a new book has spoken to FRANCE 24 about how the Larzac protests in France from 1971 became a modern-day template for demonstrations across the world. The protests began after the French government announced a huge extension of a military base on the Larzac plateau, referring to the farmers living there as "a few peasants" in "French Siberia". This sparked much anger, and residents ended up swearing oaths never to be forced from their land, pioneering regional radicalism for years to come. The author of the book "Make cheese not war. Transnational resistance and the Larzac in modern France" is Andrew Smith. He spoke to us in Perspective.

A leading author is speaking in Paris about the French capital's ability to draw gay and bisexual people to it. Rasheed Newson's talk is entitled "From Baldwin to Today: Queer Black Expats in Paris". He says that many queer African Americans seeking freedom and creative possibility have come to Paris due to its openness to queer people. Newson is the author of the bestseller "My Government Means to Kill Me", and has a new book is coming out shortly, "There’s Only One Sin in Hollywood: A Novel". He spoke to us in Perspective.

One of the world's top authors, whose books have been translated into more than 25 languages, has spoken to FRANCE 24 about his pride in being European. The Danish author Jens Christian Grøndahl, who has had notable success at home and in France, says he loves the fact that in Europe you can travel for just a few hours and be in a completely different cultural setting, but at the same time the people share the same roots.

A man who lost his wife after she was shot dead in her car in the Philippines a decade ago with their children in the back seat has spoken to FRANCE 24 of the trauma of such an event, and how his family has got through what happened. Stuart J. Green lost not only his wife, but also his job and the country he'd been living in for 25 years, leaving him with three traumatised children to look after. He found little help in the world of literature, so he decided to write his own book to try to help others facing extreme trauma. Green is the author of "The Regenerate Leap" and spoke to us in Perspective.

The former president of Columbia University in New York, which was at the centre of sometimes violent protests against the war in Gaza, has spoken to FRANCE 24 about the importance of free speech and how universities have to teach it. Lee C. Bollinger is president emeritus of Columbia University; he ran it until just a year before the protests broke out. The university has long been known as a bastion of freedom of expression in the United States.

A British photographer who has spent the last four years living under near-daily attacks on Kyiv has told FRANCE 24 that his nervous system has adapted to the war in Ukraine. Mark Neville says he feels he now has an advantage over people living in the rest of Europe, as his body has naturally adapted to the situation. He has set up a charity, Postcode Ukraine, which makes deliveries of humanitarian aid to frontline towns. Neville also takes photos of the people he meets to bring their stories to the wider world as the war drags on, and has had great success with his book "Diary of a Volunteer". He spoke to us in Perspective.

A leading Lebanese academic has spoken of his feelings of déjà vu as Israel admits it has launched what it calls a limited ground operation in the south of Lebanon. Karim Emile Bitar is professor at Saint Joseph University of Beirut and at Sciences Po University in Paris. He says that from experience, Israel mostly manages to destroy its enemies when it enters into Lebanon, but is never able to bring stability to its northern border, and it’s the Lebanese people who pay the price. He spoke to us in Perspective.

Sparking turmoil in global energy markets and undermining Gulf countries’ reputations for economic stability is all part of the Iranian regime’s strategy, according to a Middle East analyst. Speaking to FRANCE 24, Paymon Azmoudeh, senior consultant in the risk and compliance practice at Forward Global, explains that Tehran hopes to pressure Washington to end the war. Iran, he says, is very aware of the political risks for Donald Trump if the global – and US – economy takes a hit, especially with mid-term elections later this year. “When you have Abbas Araghchi, for example, the foreign minister, going on Fox News and NBC […] they’re basically making a mid-term pitch,” he adds.