People working at an outdoor indigo dyeing site, with fabric immersed in large vats and clothes hanging to dry in the background.

A glimpse into the lives of northern Nigeria’s craftsmen

Economics

In Kano, ancient leather tanneries and centuries-old dye pits are under threat from synthetic fabrics. Meanwhile, Nigerian leather tanners export their quality goods to Europe, where luxury brands then create products marketed as European leather. Some Nigerian business owners are now seeking to reclaim the leather as their own.

Four people play cards at a table with flashlights, while a fire burns in the background on a dark street.

Cuba runs out of oil

Energy
A person in a white jacket and jeans poses in a sunny yard with construction materials in the background.

Families organize amid government funding cuts into rare disease research

Health & Medicine
A person wearing a backpack looks out at the ocean from a rocky coastline with pine trees and a cloudy sky.

How coastlines propelled ancient humans across the planet 

Out of Eden Walk
People stand inside a barn, looking towards an illuminated doorway, with sunlight streaming in.

Spain taps into immigrant and refugee communities to fill vacant shepherding jobs

Jobs
A family sits on woven cots under a thatched shelter with a solar panel nearby, in what appears to be a makeshift outdoor setting.

Pakistan’s solar revolution

The Big Fix

Pakistan is in the middle of a solar power revolution. Over the past five years, the percentage of electricity generated from solar panels jumped from 2% to nearly 25%. Almost all of that growth has been driven by individuals buying their own solar panels, removing their homes or businesses from the centralized grid and generating electricity for themselves. For The Big Fix, The World’s Host Carolyn Beeler speaks with Naveed Arshad, director of the Energy Institute at Lahore University of Management Sciences, about why — and how — Pakistan has embraced solar power.

A group of people attentively listen indoors, near a "Radio France" sign, with one person holding a "Vive la Radio Publique" sign.

French public media is being targeted by the far-right

Media

France’s public radio and television are accused of overspending, misspending, favoritism and left-wing political bias, according to a parliamentary report released this week.

A young girl stands behind a blue fabric, with a blurred background of grass and a distant figure.

The humanitarian catastrophe the world continues to overlook

Conflict & Justice

Sudan’s civil war has triggered what many describe as the world’s largest humanitarian disaster. It’s a crisis that remains dramatically underreported, according to journalist Ann Curry. She won an Emmy for her coverage of the Darfur genocide in 2007 and recently talked with refugees fleeing into South Sudan. She tells The World’s Host Carolyn Beeler that while Western audiences closely followed the violence in Darfur nearly two decades ago, far fewer people today understand and appreciate the scale of the suffering engulfing Sudan.

A large crowd of people marching with banners, some raising their hands, in an outdoor protest or demonstration.

Anti-immigrant sentiment rises in South Africa

Conflict & Justice

As tensions over immigration reach a crisis point in South Africa, the Nigerian government has even offered to repatriate its citizens. The World’s Host Marco Werman speaks with professor Sethulego Matebesi about the growing protests and violence.

A large crowd of people standing in lines in a spacious indoor setting, with various expressions and activities.

Are women behind the move in Spain to legalize undocumented immigrants?

DW

DW Reporter Souwie Buis concludes that women have been a major part of the process for hundreds of thousands of migrants in Spain seeking legal status through a new amnesty measure.

This is The World

The World is a public radio program and podcast that crosses borders and time zones to bring home the stories that matter.

Follow The World

Subscribe to The World’s Latest Edition podcast for free using your favorite podcast player:

Subscribe to The World on YouTube.