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FRANCE 24's prime time interview of the day goes beyond the headlines: join us as news-making guests from around the globe go in depth on the stories that matter. Every day at 6:15pm Paris time.

Episodes

  1. 1D AGO

    Locating Shakespeare's £140 London flat

    The precise location of the house that William Shakespeare bought in London has been discovered thanks to evidence unearthed by British academic Professor Lucy Munro, who’s pinpointed the exact location and layout of a property the Bard bought for £140 back in 1613, three years before he died. She tells us more in this edition of Spotlight. "The life of Shakespeare is a fine mystery and I tremble every day lest something turn up," said Charles Dickens. Well, tremble his ghost must because something has turned up, as we head into the anniversary week of William Shakespeare’s birth. Some 462 years on, despite the familiar sense that not much is known about the Bard himself, we are still learning, albeit in snippets, new information about his scarcely documented life. The precise location of the house that Shakespeare bought in London has been discovered thanks to evidence unearthed by British academic Professor Lucy Munro, who’s pinpointed the exact location and layout of a property Shakespeare bought for £140 back in 1613 – three years before he died. It was known that he owned a house in Blackfriars, but never exactly where, with the assumption that Shakespeare was living out his final years in Stratford, which he still may have done, although he was still writing plays in 1613, with the tenant he appears to have letted the property to.

    15 min

  2. 1D AGO

    Up to the job? FBI chief Kash Patel's 'questionable' conduct

    A detailed report by The Atlantic's Sarah Fitzpatrick raises many questions over the alleged excessive drinking and erratic behaviour of FBI Director Kash Patel. Patel has described the allegations as "fake news" and is threatening to take legal action against the publications. FRANCE 24's Gavin Lee speaks to Sarah Fitzpatrick in this edition of Spotlight. A few weeks ago, FBI head Kash Patel was targeted by an apparent Iranian group of hackers that managed to get into his emails and published a series of unfortunate photographs. Fast forward to this week: allegations of excessive drinking, unexplained absences and paranoid behaviour on the part of Patel are being made in a detailed report, published in the renowned Atlantic magazine. He has denied the claims as fake news. The journalist behind the report, Sarah Fitzpatrick, spoke to a number of FBI officials who questioned Patel's fitness for office.

    11 min

  3. 2D AGO

    Tale of two truces: Lebanon 'steps up' alongside Israel as Tehran, Washington edge towards deal

    Gavin Lee is pleased to welcome Robert B. Murrett, retired vice admiral in the US Navy, Professor of Practice and Deputy Director of Syracuse University's Institute for Security Policy and Law. He tells us that the Israel-Lebanon and US-Iran ceasefires are at a critical juncture in the evolving geopolitical dynamics of the Strait of Hormuz, where military risk, energy security and diplomatic recalibration intersect. Speaking as both a former naval commander and policy expert, Vice Admiral Murrett regards the current moment within a broader operational and strategic continuum: one in which emergent cooperation, even among adversaries, signals the potential for de-escalation. According to the vice admiral, what we are witnessing is not resolution, but rather a meaningful shift in posture. The signals emerging from Tehran, Washington and regional actors suggest that all sides are beginning to recognise the shared cost of continued disruption. The reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, coupled with multilateral coordination efforts, reflects a convergence of interests that transcends immediate political tensions. While challenges remain, particularly in operational execution and trust-building, the current trajectory points towards what he would describe as a cautiously constructive phase, where diplomacy and security mechanisms may begin to align. According to Vice Admiral Murrett, the signals from the US, Iran and Pakistan are "promising" in terms of "cutting some kind of a larger deal". He reminds us, in no uncertain terms, that "opening up the Strait of Hormuz is in everybody's interest, including the Iranians, but certainly all the nations that depend upon the trade coming through the SOH and certainly the regional partners, the Gulf states and other allies." "In all these kinds of standoffs that we have for negotiations," explains the vice admiral, "you're always looking for one side to have more leverage than the other." Murrett argues that "the best kind of deals that are made diplomatically are just behind the other kind of situation where both sides are equally unhappy." Right now, he sees "leverage on both sides, but it's certainly in the interest of both Iran and the United States, and all the other partners we have in the region, specifically the Gulf states, to have some kind of a arrangement that would extend the two-week truce for a much longer period."

    14 min

  4. 3D AGO

    Renzi urges 'European strategy', denounces Trump's 'global chaos' and populism of Orbán, Meloni

    Gavin Lee is pleased to welcome former Italian prime minister Matteo Renzi. Italy's former premier offers an in-depth, insightful and thought-provoking reading of contemporary geopolitics, European cohesion and leadership ethics. Speaking from the vantage point of a former leader of a major European country, he reflects on instability in global alliances, energy vulnerability in Europe and the evolving nature of political leadership. His analysis is marked by a tension between pragmatism and principle, where shifting allegiances are both criticised and, at times, cautiously endorsed. Renzi looks at today's world with a sense of urgency and realism, noting that we are living in a time where alliances are fragile, leadership is often inconsistent, and global order is under immense pressure. From the Strait of Hormuz to the internal dynamics of Europe, what matters now, he says, is clarity of strategy and credibility in leadership. He warns that Europe must stop reacting and start acting, especially on energy and foreign policy. At the same time, leadership cannot simply adapt without direction. Changing one's mind is not a weakness if it leads to better decisions, but without coherence, it morphs into volatility and long-term instability. Renzi believes politics still requires responsibility. When citizens say "no", leaders must listen. Credibility is not built on power alone, but on the courage to accept consequences. Renzi served as Italy's prime minister from 2014 to 2016, becoming the youngest leader in the country's modern history at just 39 years old. In a nation known for short-lived governments, his two and a half years in office actually exceeded the postwar average. He ultimately resigned after staking his leadership on a constitutional referendum aimed at reducing the size and altering the composition of the Senate, Italy's upper house of parliament. When the proposal was rejected, he stepped down. As FRANCE 24's Gavin Lee observes, it brings to mind the famous line from L. P. Hartley: "The past is a foreign country; they do things differently there."

    13 min

  5. 3D AGO

    Irfan Nooruddin: 'Much to be gained by having more women in India's highest parliamentary body'

    François Picard is pleased to welcome Irfan Nooruddin, the Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani Professor of Indian Politics in the Asian Studies Program at Georgetown University. As a scholar of Indian politics, he approaches institutional reform not as a question of isolated policy change, but as a reconfiguration of incentives within a vast and uneven federal democracy. He examines the interlinked dynamics shaping India's political future, including the normative promise and practical limits of women's representation. While reforms carry genuine transformative potential, they are embedded within party structures that mediate their impact. Similarly, debates over representation are not merely technical adjustments but reflect deeper tensions between demographic change, federal equity and political power. What is at stake is not only who gets represented, but how representation itself is defined in a country of continental scale. Nooruddin argues there is 'much to be gained by having more women in India's highest parliamentary body." '"Extensive scholarly research demonstrates," explains Nooruddin, "where women are empowered, women's issues tend to be taken more seriously, violence against women tends to go down and also tends to get reported and taken more seriously by the police."

    9 min

  6. 4D AGO

    Sudan civil war: Civilians caught in deadly crossfire of a ruthless power struggle

    François Picard welcomes Dallia Abdelmoniem, Political/Media Analyst and Commentator on African and Middle Eastern affairs. Sudan is a war-torn nation unravelling in real time, warns Abdelmoniem. She says that we are not just witnessing a conflict between rival armed factions; it is a systematic war on civilians, where survival itself has become an act of chance. From displacement and starvation to the collapse of education and healthcare, Sudan is enduring what she describes as both a forgotten and ignored crisis. Watch more'At every single step there is death and danger': The struggle to get food in Sudan Yet amid this devastation, she also highlights the quiet resilience of grassroots networks: ordinary Sudanese who have stepped in where institutions have failed.

    9 min

  7. 5D AGO

    War and peace: Israel brings Lebanon to negotiating table as air strikes rain down on Beirut

    François Picard welcomes Farès Boueiz, former Lebanese minister of foreign affairs. The ongoing Israeli-Lebanese talks cannot be described as a "breakthrough", Boueiz argues, but rather as a technical prelude to meaningful negotiations. What we are witnessing, he suggests, is the exploratory stage of diplomacy. At the heart of the impasse lies a fundamental misalignment of objectives: Lebanon enters these discussions seeking an immediate ceasefire and the implementation of UN Resolution 1701, while Israel is pursuing what Boueiz describes as "full political peace and normalisation" of ties. For Boueiz, there is a deeper contradiction at play. It is not coherent, he says, "to bring Lebanon to the negotiating table under fire". Engaging in peace talks while the country remains under relentless bombardment makes constructive dialogue virtually impossible. No state can realistically negotiate under such conditions, with large numbers of civilians facing displacement and daily incursions. Compounding the challenge is the absence of an effective mediating force. Boueiz argues that the United States has drifted from its traditional role as an "honest broker", instead positioning itself as a messenger for Israel rather than a neutral facilitator. Without credible mediation, the prospects for meaningful progress remain dim.

    11 min

  8. APR 13

    Interfaith dialogue: 'The messenger of peace in the name of Pope Leo XIV is coming to visit us'

    As Pope Leo XIV makes a historic visit to Algeria, in the spirit of interfaith dialogue, François Picard is pleased to welcome Father Fred Wekesa, Rector of the Basilica of Saint Augustine in Annaba. From his experience of living for over a decade in Algeria, he challenges inherited narratives shaped by the violence of the 1990s, highlighting the present reality of coexistence and tolerance. He argues that interreligious dialogue must extend beyond institutions into families and daily life. Ultimately, Father Wekesa says, dialogue is the most authentic and effective path towards peace, both within societies and in global politics. He is encouraged by Pope Leo's visit to his small, tight-knit community. All the while, he questions the US president's reasoning for lashing out at the pontiff's message of peace and dialogue, including a very pointed call to end all wars: "Violence cannot resolve anything." Father Wekesa believes that perhaps the US leader "does not understand the agenda of peace."

    9 min

  9. APR 7

    NASA–ESA partnership: Artemis II paves way for exploring Moon’s far side and south pole

    François Picard speaks to Didier Schmitt, head of future preparation for the European Space Agency. He says the Artemis II mission marks a key moment in contemporary space exploration. It is highly technical and collaborative – a test of systems, international partnerships, and our ability to extend human presence beyond Earth once again. He says the flyby will help validate critical technologies, from life support to propulsion, while also highlighting the growing role of Europe through the European Service Module. At the same time, he stresses the scientific importance of exploring the far side of the Moon and, in the near future, its south pole, where untouched materials may reveal the Moon’s, and by extension, the Earth’s evolutionary history. Ultimately, this mission is seen as a necessary step in a longer journey: mastering lunar exploration before venturing further into deep space, including Mars. What we are witnessing is not a return to past achievements, but laying the foundation of a new era of exploration. Produced by François Picard, Théophile Vareille, Juliette Laffont and Guillaume Gougeon

    14 min

  10. APR 7

    European Commissioner Síkela announces 'new approach' for global health

    François Picard welcomes Jozef Síkela, European commissioner for international partnerships. He says global health is at a crossroads. The Covid-19 pandemic showed that such crises are not isolated events, but systemic shocks with far-reaching economic and social consequences. Today, a convergence of pressures is adding to the strain: climate change is driving new diseases, funding is declining, and global health governance is fragmented. He says prevention must replace reaction as the organising principle of global health. Europe’s role, therefore, is to sustain a multilateral, science-driven approach while adapting to diminishing resources. This requires rethinking the global health architecture, strengthening country-led systems, investing in regional resilience, and fostering equitable partnerships, particularly with Africa, that integrate health, economic development, and stability. Ultimately, global health security is inseparable from global stability. We are reminded that diseases cross borders, and so must our solutions.

    12 min
  • 10 Episodes

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FRANCE 24's prime time interview of the day goes beyond the headlines: join us as news-making guests from around the globe go in depth on the stories that matter. Every day at 6:15pm Paris time.

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  • Creator
    FRANCE 24 English
  • Years Active
    2K
  • Episodes
    10
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © France Médias Monde
  • Show Website
    Spotlight