We investigate the commercialization of the natural world. Protecting our planet has become big business with companies promoting new environmental markets. This involves species banking, where investors buy up vast swathes of land, full of endangered species, to enable them to sell 'nature credits'. Companies whose actions destroy the environment are now obliged to buy these credits and new financial centres have sprung up, specializing in this trade.
Seen from the sky, the rural landscape of the United Kingdom is a rich mosaic of fields, heathland, mountains and forests. Walk through the Scottish Highlands or in the Fens of the county of Norfolk and the land appears naturally wild and rugged. In fact, the landscape has been shaped by centuries of political decisions and economic choices that left their mark on the country’s history.
Milk has long symbolized a healthy diet. But is it really true? Milk is not necessarily what we think it is. Experts explain the difference between traditional and industrial milk production. Increased efficiency through concentrated feed leads to cow diseases that are treated with antibiotics leaving drug residues in the milk. There are strong concerns that modern milk may cause allergies, even cancer. The dose makes the poison, and there are indications that our ‘dose’ of milk is an overdose.
In the 19th century, England was at the very heart of innovation and was about to become the world's largest industrial power. In order to run steam engines, coal became an essential resource for the development of the economy and entire regions were transformed in just a few decades. South Wales became one of the country's main coal basins. Villages developed around the mines from where coal was delivered to England and the rest of the world.
"With the birth of the knowledge society, higher education is booming. There were 13 million university students in 1960. In 2015, their ranks had swollen to nearly 200 million. The number of students attending university is exploding around the globe, as a gigantic global student market is being forged… It’s a simple fact: for the past two decades, the new wealth producing champions have been business executives and members of the intellectual and scientific professions.
After the Revolution in 1949, legislation regarding equality was passed, a huge step forward for China at the time. The economic reforms of recent decades have also improved women's lives. Yet China is still the only country in the world where more women than men commit suicide (WHO).
In this episode, we look at literature and film in the cultural nation of China. Stories and interviews with authors who struggle with censorship and self-censorship, and about the thriving film industry, which seeks to top Hollywood.
Economic reforms have led to a divided China, which threatens not only individual survival, but even economic growth and the entire Chinese society. In this episode, we hear stories and interviews about the middle class, about poverty in rural areas and about the precarious existence of hundreds of millions of migrant workers on the fringes of the cities.
How is China run, and how do the people get their say? Stories and interviews about China's ruling Communist Party, about being a representative of the people, about the potential political power of blogs, and about grassroots protests and mass incidents, which are only increasing in number.
