The Citarum river in Indonesia, is the world's most polluted river. A reporter teamed up with international scientists to investigate the causes and consequences of this pollution. One of the main polluters is actually the fashion industry : 500 textile factories throw away their wastewater directly into the Citarum river.
What if weed could be a cure to most severe diseases, such as cancer or AIDS? Not really, but cannabis can. As a matter of fact, molecules inside marijuana are now at the center of medical research around the world. There are more and more scientists, doctors, and psychologists encouraging the therapeutic and controlled use of cannabinoids for specific treatments.
It's the soft, natural fabric associated with high quality and versatility. Used to make everything from jeans and t-shirts to tarpaulins, oil and cattle feed, it powers a 37 billion euros a year industry. But is cotton really as pure as it seems? Claims of forced labour, pollution, and even slavery have stained its wholesome reputation, creating a market for 'ethical, responsible' cotton.
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.
"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.
