Planet Mundus

The Olympics are just around the corner and its qualifications are in full swing. Thousands of athletes worldwide are fighting for the spots – sweating, bleeding, crying and… paying. A lot of money. But how do they get that money? Planet Mundus went out to meet Olympic hopefuls from Great Britain and Germany. Their funding systems work differently, their problem is the same though: Money is short. But they seem to have found a magic cash injection called – careful spoiler alert – Crowdfunding. This Planet Mundus Short was hosted and produced by Kim Laura Schönrock. The following music was used: Composer: Twin Musicon; Title: Italian Afternoon; link: http://www.twinmusicom.org/ Composer: A Himitsu; Title: Adventures; link: http://youtu.be/8BXNwnxaVQE Composer: Mark Birmingham; Title: Olympic Hopefuls; (licensed)

Planet Mundus travels to the Arctic and back - virtually. We talk to an ice navigator, play with beluga whales and learn about ongoing environmental disasters around the Arctic Circle. Many tried to conquer the northwest and northeast passages and paid with their lives. The Arctic was never an easy territory to survive in. But with global warming going strong, things seem to be changing. Melting sea ice offers many opportunities to explore but also to exploit the unique Arctic nature. Find out what nuclear energy, military stations and the Arctic haze means for the future of a soon-to-be holiday destination. Be alert: We also hid a treasure in this show. We’ll give you a hint, when you hear the words ‘sea ice’, play them backwards and listen closely. We talk with Captain David ‘Duke’ Snider and get his take on ice breaking vessels, amateurs in the Arctic and his job as ice navigator. Hamburg correspondent, Ole Krogsgaard, fills us in on the history of the transpolar sea routes, while our Swansea reporter,

To hold legitimate elections during times of turmoil is obviously no easy picking. Ukraine went to the polls in October 2015 and the ongoing conflict complicated the process. In the end, the eastern regions of Luhansk and Donetsk and the Crimea peninsula did not participate in the voting. The OECD and a number of private organisations served as watchdogs in the crisis-ridden country. More than 1,500 international observers were listed. For this PM Short, our correspondent Hans Liedtke interviewed election observer Steffen Jensen. Steffen is a Danish human rights activist and he didn’t spare trouble or expense to challenge corruption and fight all sorts of obstacles. Give it a listen to find out how election observers work. Don’t forget to like us if you like us.

With one month of 2016 already drifting into memory, the Planet Mundus team decided to crash our heads together in order to generate some predictions for what will come to pass in 2016. Will Britain leave the EU? Will North Korea send us to Nuclear Armageddon? Will Donald J Trump be the unlikely saviour of the civilised world? Tune in to find out and hear some predictions that you can put your house on*! Produced and hosted by John Ainger. *Don't actually put your house on it. We will not be held responsible.

Is Germany with its strong economy and preachments the EU’s evil dragon, who tries to “Germanize” the other member states or is it a country fighting sacrificially for the Union to stay strong? Planet Mundus took its recorders and questions and went on a road trip through Germany to investigate the role of the country within the European Union. We spoke to the lecturer and former financial journalist for Reuters and Bloomberg, Adam Cox, about the economic situation and Dr. Gisela Müller-Brandeck-Bocquet from the University of Würzburg about a potential EU army. We met strangers and friends on the way, all helping us to understand: Why is Germany so keen on keeping the European Union together? This episode is produced by Nehal El-Sherif and Kim Schönrock. Additional reporting by Jan Willems and Hans Liedtke.

Jan Willems takes a critical look at the media coverage of North Korea. Why would anyone bother with the boring factual stuff, when there are tons of crazy rumours to report?

Did you know that Africa’s largest statue is made by North Koreans? Or that diplomats from the closed country have been caught repeatedly smuggling ivory out of Africa? That this is all part of North Korea’s advanced Africa strategy? We may not hear of this geopolitical game so often, but it exists, it’s extensive - and perhaps even rational. Planet Mundus talks to a Guinean student who was forced to spend five years of his youth in North Korea. We tell the story of what North Korea is up to in Africa.

The upcoming Climate Conference in Paris makes the world – yet again – look for some climate protection miracles. We at Planet Mundus went to Central America and found such wonder: Costa Rica – the world’s supposedly soon-to-be first carbon neutral country. Join us for a trip to the land of “Pura Vida”. Produced by Kim Schönrock

What's Grext? A story from the Greek crisis. This summer, Planet Mundus travelled to the land of feta and debt in search for an answer to the question: what will bring Greece's economy back on track? Starring: Vasilis Floros the taxi driver, Marios the union worker, a cynical journalist, a communist and an economist. Produced by Freja C. Eriksen

The refugee crisis has undoubtedly been one of the biggest stories of 2015. The incoming refugees and migrants have been described as swarms, hordes, even plagues. But who are these people? And what do they go through in order to reach their preferred destination? In this Planet Mundus short we set out to investigate exactly that. We visit refugee centers on Kos, asylum centers in Denmark and talk to refugees and experts alike to understand how the asylum system actually works.

What would you do if you had 30 Billion dollars? Egypt’s president Abdel Fattah Al-Sissi uses it to revive the economy of his crisis-shaken country. While international institutions and the money lending governments of the Gulf States might see this, many Egyptians remain unsure and skeptical. For them, lacking transparency and deteriorating living standards raise questions about the sense of how the aid money is used. In this Planet Mundus Short, Nehal El-Sherif and Kim Schönrock try to paint a picture of the economic and social situation in the North-African country and to figure out: Where does the money go?

25 years ago Lithuania declared independence. By the following year all the Baltic states were recognised members of the international community. Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania are often understood as three close-knit states, but nothing could be further from the truth. In this episode Gabrielė Gedvilaitė from Lithuania and Merilin Iital from Estonia tell us about the development their countries have gone through and explain why the whole idea of a Baltic-ness is a foreign construction that people from the Baltics don't recognize. We also talk to Lars Johannsen, professor and expert of the Baltics and examine the challenges facing the Baltic states today. Host is Kim Laura Schönrock

Being an astronaut is a childhood dream of many. Now this dream can come true. It is a journey into the unknown filled with unforgettable experiences. However, there is one hook: You leave everyone behind - forever.

Three. Billion. Dollars. That is the alleged scope of the current corruption scandal of Brazil’s partly state-owned oil company, Petrobras. Brazilian people took to the streets in the last few weeks and protested against the corruption that seems deeply rooted in the system. How corrupt is Brazil? Planet Mundus episode number eight tries to answer this question. Picture: mcgmatt/Flickr

Depending on where you are, your perception of drones will differ. Even when the discussion focuses on the use of armed drones, heated debates continue over their advantages and disadvantages or how much ethical concerns should be taken into consideration. In this episode of Planet Mundus, Pakistani-US journalist and human rights activist Noor Anwar gives us an insider viewpoint about the attitudes of Pakistanis toward drone strikes in their country and what is the alternative they see in the fight against militants. Picture: Steve Rhodes/Flickr

This Planet Mundus Extra gives you two in depth interviews with a Western and a Russian journalist who you may have met already in Episode 6. They are explaining how the Russian media may be part of the reason for President Putin's popularity. In the first part you will meet Matilde Kimer, who works for the Danish Broadcasting Corporation as a foreign correspondent in Russia and Ukraine. The second part features Yura Zhalin. An online journalist for one of Russia’s oldest publishing houses Kommersant, based in Moscow.

Nobody in the world is as popular as Putin, at least within his own backyard. With an approval rating of 88%, the Russians seem to adore the man who arguably has thrown Russia into international isolation and steered Russia into an economic crisis. In this Planet Mundus episode we investigate why. In order to answer this question, we have interviewed foreign correspondents, university professors and Russian journalists. And we are joined in the studio by two young Russians, Yana Zakhvatova and Varvara Morozova, who will give their personal perspective on Putin and Russia. And as always we have Jan Willems. This week he is armed with nothing less than the truth: the show ends with a shocking revelation.

In episode number five, Planet Mundus focuses on same-sex marriage and asks: What is it like to be homo- or bisexual in the US? Our reporter Qing Li and John Ainger talked to director Jannik Spildsboel about his opinions and his documentary, “Misfits,” on the topic of gay teenagers in Tulsa, Oklahoma. This addition provides you the whole interview with him.

America: That means freedom, opportunities and equality. For everybody? In episode number five Planet Mundus focuses on same-sex marriage and asks: What is it like to be homo- or bisexual in the US? We look at personal stories from the United States as American journalist Daphne Henning talks about her experiences growing up in the conservative south and we also discuss the curious case of Alabama in the narrative of gay rights.

Planet Mundus goes to Southern Europe. With youth unemployment rates over 50%, the young people in Spain have already been dubbed the ‘lost generation’. But what does that mean for the individual? Planet Mundus talks to Spaniards in Spain and abroad to try and gauge the situation. We also focus on the meteoric rise of Podemos, a party rapidly altering the Spanish political scene.