Jean-Louis Servan-Schreiber, journalist

In this edition, our guest is journalist, Jean-Louis Servan-Schreiber. Why are we addicted to speed?

THE INTERVIEW

Douglas Herbert

Presenter
Melissa Bell

Presenter
Armen Georgian

Presenter
Annette Young

Presenter
Marc Perelman

French Politics Editor

30/04/2013 - THE INTERVIEW

Noëlle Lenoir, Ethics compliance officer at the French National Assembly

Since the tax fraud scandal involving former Budget Minister Jérôme Cahuzac, France’s Socialist government is all about transparency and ethics. Our guest today, Noëlle Lenoir, is in charge of preventing MPs’ conflicts of interest at the National Assembly. She tells Douglas Herbert whether or not President Hollande’s proposed law goes far enough.

29/04/2013 - THE INTERVIEW

Claudia Senik, author of 'The French Unhappiness Puzzle'

Why are the French, with their high quality of life and relative wealth, so unhappy - 20% more unhappy, in fact, than other Western Europeans? Douglas Herbert talks to French economist Claudia Senik about the causes of Gallic gloom and doom. Is it a cultural thing?

25/04/2013 - THE INTERVIEW

Sadiq Jalal al-Azm, Syrian philosopher and writer

Douglas Herbert meets Syrian philosopher and writer Sadiq Jalal al-Azm to discuss the explosive mix of religion and politics in the Arab world. His guest has first-hand knowledge of how touchy the subject is. He himself was briefly jailed in 1970 after writing a groundbreaking book on the Six-Day War. He argued back then that the Arab defeat was due, in part, to their leaders' failure to rethink the role of religion in society.

24/04/2013 - THE INTERVIEW

Tomas Sedlacek, author of 'Economics of Good and Evil'

Armen Georgian meets renowned Czech economist Tomas Sedlacek, best-selling author of "Economics of Good and Evil: The Quest for Economic Meaning from Gilgamesh to Wall Street". Sedlacek argues that GDP growth is a modern secular version of the old religious idea of paradise, and that Western societies cling to this promised paradise at their peril. He offers us his alternatives.

23/04/2013 - THE INTERVIEW

Ertharin Cousin, Executive Director of the World Food Programme

Over the past two years, thousands of Syrian civilians have been killed and many more have been forced to flee their homes. Ertharin Cousin, Executive Director of the World Food Programme, has joined forces with other UN agencies to respond to this major humanitarian crisis. But, as the death toll in Syria increases, funds for aid operations are soon going to run out. She now pleads for a political solution to end the civil war.