Podcast appearances and mentions of Maria Margaronis

"My piece brings the marble woman to life and gives her a real baby to nurse. The trickle of water from her breasts becomes the tingle of milk letting down through the synaesthetic magic of a rainstick, and the busy noises of the square give way to a deep peace..." Fontana delle Tette, Treviso reimagined by Maria Margaronis.

This week, Catriona Seth goes in search of the mysterious last queen of France; and Maria Margaronis is entranced by the stage adaptation of a children's classic.'Marie-Antoinette', by Charles-Éloi Vial'Ballet Shoes', adapted by Kendall Feaver from Noel Streatfeild's novel, National Theatre, London, until February 22 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Kate Adie introduces dispatches from Lebanon, Poland, The Gambia, Panama and Cyprus.Lebanon is reeling from this week's wave of exploding pager attacks, which killed more than 35 people, and injured hundreds more. Edmund Bower was in capital as the first news of the explosions began to spread, and reveals how the attacks has compounded the unease that already permeates Beiruti society.Flooding has devastated parts of Poland, the Czech Republic, Romania and Austria this week leaving more than 20 people dead. Sarah Rainsford reports from Poland on the country's worst flooding in two decades.Female Genital Mutilation is classified as a human rights abuse by the UN, but a recent bill in The Gambia sought to overturn a ban on the practice. Reporting with The Pulitizer Foundation, Sira Thierij visited a community where activists were working hard to change the minds of locals hanging on to long-held cultural beliefs.Panama's weather is hot, sticky and tropical – and it's causing a stink among the country's unattended rubbish piles. It was a particular problem for prisoners and prison guards at a local jail - until one inmate came up with an innovative solution. Jane Chambers went to find out more.And it's 50 years since the war which divided Cyprus and the subsequent negotiations to reunify the island have ended in stalemate. Meanwhile the landscape of this popular holiday island is being remade by developers – though Maria Margaronis met one woman with a different vision for its future.

The once glamorous Cypriot beach resort of Varosha has stood empty and frozen in time since war divided the island 50 years ago, but it is now partially open to tourists and there are hotly contested plans for its renewal.Maria Margaronis speaks to Varosha's former inhabitants - mostly Greek Cypriots - who fled in 1974 when Turkish troops invaded the island and have been unable to return ever since, after Turkey fenced off the town as a bargaining chip for future peace negotiations.Some of these Varoshians want to rebuild the resort together with the island's Turkish Cypriots - a potential model for diffusing hostilities across the whole island - and the UN says its original inhabitants must be allowed to return. But, following decades of failed peace talks, the internationally unrecognised Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, which controls Varosha, now says it intends to re-open and redevelop the entire town.

The once glamorous Cypriot beach resort of Varosha has stood empty and frozen in time since war divided the island 50 years ago, but it is now partially open to tourists and there are hotly contested plans for its renewal.Maria Margaronis speaks to Varosha's former inhabitants - mostly Greek Cypriots - who fled in 1974 when Turkish troops invaded the island and have been unable to return ever since, after Turkey fenced off the town as a bargaining chip for future peace negotiations. Some of these Varoshians want to rebuild the resort together with the island's Turkish Cypriots - a potential model for diffusing hostilities across the whole island - and the UN says its original inhabitants must be allowed to return. But, following decades of failed peace talks, the internationally unrecognised Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, which controls Varosha, now says it intends to re-open and redevelop the entire town.Presenter: Maria Margaronis Producer: Simon Tulett Series editor: Penny Murphy Studio Manager: Gareth Jones Production Coordinator: Gemma Ashman and Katie MorrisonMusic credit: Michalis Terlikkas

In April 2003, the people of Cyprus were allowed to cross the ceasefire line for the first time in 29 years. Hundreds of people rushed to the check points and queued for hours to visit the homes they had left after the Greek coup and Turkish invasion of July 1974. Greek Cypriots made up the great majority of those displaced, often fleeing under fire with nothing but the clothes they had on. Singer and ethnomusicologist Nicoletta Demetriou's parents were among them. Nicoletta tells Maria Margaronis about the day the checkpoints opened, the experience of crossing, and her parents' encounter with their old neighbourhood and its new inhabitants — and reflects on how it changed her.(Photo: People crossing the ceasefire line in Cyprus in April 2003. Credit: Janine Haidar/AFP via Getty Images)Music: Solo laouto by Michalis Tterlikkas.

On 15 July 1974, the Greek military dictatorship in Athens sponsored a coup on the eastern Mediterranean island of Cyprus, aiming to overthrow its selected president and unite the island with Greece. Days later, Turkey invaded the island, taking a third of it and displacing many thousands of its inhabitants.The writer Bekir Azgun grew up in the village of Potamia, where Greek and Turkish Cypriots had once lived together in harmony. He speaks to Maria Margaronis about the day of the coup and reflects on the gradual separation of the island's two communities, beginning with the Greek Cypriot anticolonial struggle against Britain in the 1950s and culminating in the Turkish invasion and partition. No outside power acted to stop this conflict between two NATO members. Cyprus, strategically positioned near the Middle East, remains divided to this day.Archive by kind permission of the Cyprus Broadcasting Corporation.Music by Michalis Terlikkas.(Photo: The new de facto President of Cyprus, Nikos Sampson, holds a press conference after the military coup d'état which deposed Archbishop Makarios. Credit: Harry Dempster/Express/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

"The field recording that I worked with is from 2016 and was captured by Maria Margaronis. It contains the voice of Mohammed, one of the many refugees who were stuck in a makeshift camp in Greece, as they were trying to make their way up north into central Europe. I wasn't aware of this incident back then so I did a little digging and read a few news articles about the situation of the refugees and camps in Eidomeni and was very sad to find out about how men, women and children had to put up with terrible living conditions and endure bad weather conditions. It also made me reflect on the current situation in Palestine and how so many people are displaced and forced to leave their homes just to survive. Not much has changed in the last 8 years. "But what stood out to me about this particular story, was how determined these people were to reach their destination. Despite the Balkan Corridor being shut, being stuck without proper roofs over their heads and access to food and water, they remained hopeful and refused to go back. Even though Mohammed's voice and story is sad, I wanted to compose a 'hopeful' and visual piece for this project. "I wanted to keep the field recording as is for the most part, but I treated it like spoken word or poetry - where I repeated certain lines/phrases to add emphasis. I also used some subtle vocal effects to distort his voice. "The arrangement begins with a kind of droning bass playing the same note repeatedly without change - representing being stuck. In the background there are sounds of thunder, which were created using FM synthesis. "I really wanted to record an acoustic piano for this project and reached out my friend Samantha who gladly agreed to help me write and perform a piano arrangement. The piano had a noisy sustain pedal, which we initially found hard to work with but decided to record anyway. Later on we thought about how naturally lo-fi it sounded - being slightly out of tune combined with the squeaky pedal was growing on us. We both agreed that it fit the emotion and story (reminded us of the 2002 movie: The Pianist). "I also wrote and programmed synthesiser parts: an ascending melody to represent the refugees moving up towards Europe and another melody that adds a feeling of slight uncertainty. One was recorded on a Korg Minilogue through a TC Electronics reverb unit and the other was on a modular synth in VCV Rack. "Towards the end of the piece, there are sounds of rain which were also synthesised electronically. I designed it to sound as if the raindrops were falling on tents instead of the ground to introduce a different POV." Chios migrant recording reimagined by Arozian with Samantha Hannan. Part of the Migration Sounds project, the world's first collection of the sounds of human migration.  For more information and to explore the project, see https://www.citiesandmemory.com/migration

"Sourya's recording from the balcony of her grandmother's soon-to-be demolished house in Kolkata struck me sonically as a conversation between the different sounds on the street - crows, cars, bicycles.  "It also moved me as a story - at some time in our lives, in some circumstances or other, we all have the experience of saying goodbye to a place full of memories. I tried to combine these responses in my piece, exaggerating and enhancing the sonic conversation and weaving in a letter to Sourya too." Kolkata balcony recording reimagined by Maria Margaronis. Part of the Migration Sounds project, the world's first collection of the sounds of human migration.  For more information and to explore the project, see https://www.citiesandmemory.com/migration

This recording was made in early 2016, while gathering material for a BBC radio documentary about Hungary's hardline migration policy. Inmates in the prison behind the Marianosztra Monastery were feeding metal tape through stamping machines to make razor wire to fortify Hungary's border fences against migrants and refugees. The razor wire was also being exported to other countries.  The inmates were dressed in grey houndstooth patterned prison shirts, so that they looked like convicts from a cartoon. The scene was very distressing, and at the same time utterly surreal.  Recorded by Maria Margaronis. Part of the Migration Sounds project, the world's first collection of the sounds of human migration.  For more information and to explore the project, see https://www.citiesandmemory.com/migration

 "Fire is a very powerful element, and despite the fact that it can devastate everything it touches, it can also provide the warmth and sustenance necessary to survive. We live in times of war, and I believe that Zabi's poem invites us to reflect and be empathetic about the situation experienced not only by him and his family but by thousands of people who have been displaced from their homes and forced to migrate.  "In this piece, I focus on fire as an element of communion beyond borders. We can hear the dance of the Aztec fire (Familia Ramírez) merging with Afghan rhythms played on the table (Hamid Raouf Habibzadah), followed by a kind of incantation in Dari, Spanish, and English that turns into a quasi-ritual cacophony where we become burning flames. There are no more ashes, only hope, life, and movement. I thank Maria Margaronis for recording Zabi's voice and feelings." Zabi's poem reimagined by Ana Mora. Part of the Migration Sounds project, the world's first collection of the sounds of human migration.  For more information and to explore the project, see https://www.citiesandmemory.com/migration IMAGE: Faktengebunden, CC BY-SA 4.0 , via Wikimedia Commons

This is the sound of a ferry for the island of Chios loading at the port of Piraeus in the spring of 2016. I recorded it standing on the deck looking out at the densely packed tents of refugees and asylum seekers in empty warehouses on the harbour side. Many of them had arrived from the islands on similar ferries, often hidden in the backs of trucks, to escape being returned to Turkey or held in closed camps.  Recorded by Maria Margaronis. Part of the Migration Sounds project, the world's first collection of the sounds of human migration.  For more information and to explore the project, see https://www.citiesandmemory.com/migration

"When I was a kid, we used to visit an open-air animal market in Kadıköy, İstanbul. It was a part of our daily routine before taking a shared taxi back home. An opportunity to see different species of animals was an excitement for a little one. I am familiar with various birds from there. However, all were caged and imported from another part of our world to my hometown. "Maria Margaronis captured a similar soundworld from Chios, however its backstory is completely different. In her documentation, we are hearing the birds in restriction. Chirps, shrieks, and other sounds of the birds are loud. The engine noises of the vehicles resonate the cage that they are inside. As if she intentionally recorded a memory snippet from my childhood years. "I listened to this field recording while awaiting a residency permit for yet another time. From a long way from my hometown. Along with bureaucracy, paperwork, administrative unit visits, trips to foreigners' office, translated documents, criminal record prints, notarization procedures, months in uncertainty, different legal statuses, restrictions, having limited rights, communicational difficulties, cultural differences … and grief, hüzün, homesickness, ambivalence, loss, longing, sense of belonging, hope, nostalgia, friendships, phone calls with family members… sometimes as an expatriate, an exile, a migrant, a legal alien, a border worker … for new beginnings. "Maybe with some similarities with the people in Chios. "The title "Altın bir kafes" which means "a golden cage" in English. It refers to a Turkish proverb: "They put the nightingale in a golden cage, and it still sings the tunes of its homeland." This proverb expresses the value of freedom and the longing one feels for their homeland. It conveys that even if the nightingale is placed in the most beautiful cage, it still misses its homeland, emphasizing that a person is happiest where they are free. "I used concatenative synthesis to imitate flocks of birds, and granular synthesis to create various textures. A cura saz (long neck lute) and bendir (frame drum) that are two instruments from Turkish culture are also represented within the composition." Composition: Görkem Özdemir Mastering: Şafak Ekmen | Görkem Özdemir Part of the Migration Sounds project, the world's first collection of the sounds of human migration.  For more information and to explore the project, see https://www.citiesandmemory.com/migration

In the summer of 2016 I got to know an Afghan family who living in the Vial migrant camp in Chios. They had fled Afghanistan because of direct threats to the father's life from the Taliban, but conditions in the camp were so dire that they were thinking of going back. I took the parents and four young children down to the beach for a day; they had not seen the sea since crossing from Turkey a month earlier in a rubber dinghy.  Recorded by Maria Margaronis. Part of the Migration Sounds project, the world's first collection of the sounds of human migration.  For more information and to explore the project, see https://www.citiesandmemory.com/migration

In the summer of 2016, the Greek island of Chios was home to hundreds of Syrians, Afghans, Palestinians and others, searching for safety in Europe. Many were camped in grim conditions in the town's medieval castle. Just round the corner from that camp was a shop selling caged songbirds--canaries, lovebirds, parakeets. I made this recording as refugee children and adults wandered by. The photo shows a moment from the camp. Recorded by Maria Margaronis. Part of the Migration Sounds project, the world's first collection of the sounds of human migration.  For more information and to explore the project, see https://www.citiesandmemory.com/migration

In the early spring of 2016, when the Western Balkan migration route to Europe was closed, more than 14,000 people on the move from Syria, Afghanistan, Iraq and elsewhere were living in a muddy, makeshift camp site at Eidomeni on the Greek-North Macedonian border hoping to make their way north. This is the voice of Mohammed, from Syria. Recorded by Maria Margaronis. Part of the Migration Sounds project, the world's first collection of the sounds of human migration.  For more information and to explore the project, see https://www.citiesandmemory.com/migration

"These are the sounds of my Ukrainian housemate, Natasha, making borscht. Natasha is a refugee from the war in Ukraine and has lived with me for almost two years now.  "We have become fast friends and learned a lot from each other, not just about cooking. The percussion of chopping, the melody of bubbling, the laughter of delight."   Recorded by Maria Margaronis. Part of the Migration Sounds project, the world's first collection of the sounds of human migration.  For more information and to explore the project, see https://www.citiesandmemory.com/migration

Lake Karla supported hundreds of families in Thessaly, providing fish for all of the region and beyond. Christos and Ioanna Kotsikas grew up on the shores of the wetland and have mixed memories of the lake. They too lived off its fish, but they were also victims of its floods. The lake was drained by the Greek Government in 1962, destroying a vital ecosystem. In 2023, when torrential rain poured over Thessaly, the lake was restored – but the region was devastated.Christos and Ioanna Kotsikas speak to Maria Margaronis.(Photo: Lake Karla. Credit: Maria Margaronis)

"The soft wind and sharp birds put me in mind of my late friend Eleanor Adams, of Guilford, Vermont; I've used them to score and punctuate a recording I made of her in her 97th year reading Robert Haas' poem "Mouth Slightly Open" and speaking about life and mortality." Vermont birdsong reimagined by Maria Margaronis.

This week, Lauren Elkin takes an artistic stroll in the footsteps of Gertrude Stein; and Maria Margaronis goes in search of Willa Cather deep in the Midwest.'Gertrude Stein et Pablo Picasso: L'invention du langage', at the Musée du Luxembourg, Paris, until 28 January 2024'Chasing Bright Medusas: A life of Willa Cather', by Benjamin TaylorProduced by Charlotte Pardy Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On 21 April 1967, a group of right-wing army officers seized power in Greece to prevent the election of a social democratic government led by veteran politician George Papandreou. The dictatorship, backed by the United States, lasted for seven years. Thousands of people were imprisoned, exiled and tortured. The grandson of that politician, also called George, was 14 at the time. He went on to be elected as Greece's prime minister in 2009. In February 2012, George Papandreou Junior spoke to Maria Margaronis about the night when tanks rolled through Athens and soldiers came to arrest his father. Archive audio is used by permission of ERT, the Hellenic Broadcasting Corporation.Archival audio used by permission of ERT, the Hellenic Broadcasting Corporation.(Photo: The younger George Papandreou in 2011. Credit: Simon Dawson/Bloomberg/Getty Images)

Kate Adie presents stories from the US, Slovakia, Turkey, Greece and Democratic Republic of Congo. In a break with history, a right-wing faction of the US Republican party moved to oust the speaker of the lower chamber of Congress, Kevin McCarthy. The party must now begin the task of uniting behind another candidate. And as Donald Trump appeared at his civil fraud trial in New York, Gary O'Donoghue reflects on an extraordinary week in Washington. We visit the Slovakian capital, Bratislava where coalition talks are underway in earnest after Robert Fico, the pro-Russian leftist, won the biggest share of the vote in elections last weekend. Fico's former deputy, Peter Pelligrini of the social democratic party is now the kingmaker to form a government which could have major ramifications for the country, and Europe, says Rob Cameron. Turkey's long war on Kurdish armed rebel groups seemed to have faded into the background after the huge earthquake there this year, along with President Erdogan's victory in the general election. But the conflict still goes on and an attack in Ankara on the day of Turkey's opening of parliament has raised tensions once more. Emily Wither reports on the impact. Thessaly in Greece was one of the regions that was hit hardest by Storm Daniel last month, with much farmland still submerged under water. The region provides much of Greece's agricultural produce and livestock. Maria Margaronis spoke to farmers whose lives were upended. And in Democratic Republic of Congo, Hugh Kinsella-Cunningham camps with heavily armed rangers as they await the arrival on a jungle airstrip of two white rhinoceros as part of conservation efforts in the region. Series Producer: Serena Tarling Editor: China Collins Production Coordinator: Gemma Ashman

"Sleeping on a ship. The thrum of the engine is the pulse of the body is the breathing of the sea. The ferry is the bourdon for a dance between cello and voice, outside and inside the body, outside and inside the skin. The title is a line from "Turbine Turns," an ode to an ocean liner by the Greek poet Andreas Embeirikos. Cello improvisations by Theo Guttenplan." Lullaby on a ferry reimagined by Maria Margaronis.  Part of the Music for Sleep project - for more information and to hear more sounds from the collection, visit https://citiesandmemory.com/music-for-sleep/

This is the mating song of spring peepers and other frogs (the double-bass GUNG of a bullfrog can be heard near the end) in a rural beaver pond, recorded on my iPhone using Voice Record Pro the evening before my son and daughter-in-law celebrated their marriage there. The green sound speaks of life and desire, but also deep tranquillity: faith in continuance. Recorded by Maria Margaronis. Part of the Music for Sleep project - for more information and to hear more sounds from the collection, visit https://citiesandmemory.com/music-for-sleep/

The Greek city of Thessaloniki, or Salonica, was once known as the Jerusalem of the Balkans. It was previously home to a large and thriving Sephardi Jewish population whose ancestors had been expelled from Spain in 1492. However, the Nazi occupation of Greece from 1941 to 1944 almost completely wiped out that culture and community. More than 90% of the approximately 50,000 Jews living in Salonica in 1943 were deported to Auschwitz and killed. Yeti Mitrani was a young teenager at the time. She speaks to Maria Margaronis about her family's escape and her childhood. (Photo: Yeti as a child. Credit: Doris Mitrani)

In the early 1960s, the Canadian government launched an experimental programme to take academically promising Inuit children from their homes to be educated in Canada's cities. The aim was to produce administrators who could spearhead development in the north of the country, but the project came at a great cost for the children and their families. Adamie Kalingo, born and raised in Nunavik, Northern Quebec, speaks to Maria Margaronis about being taken away at the age of 12 in 1964, his years living with a white family in Ottawa, and his eventual return. (Photo: Adamie Kalingo in 1963. Credit: Maureen Bus)

"For me Alexandria is a city of nostalgic imagination, the dream of a lost cosmopolitan world. I've mixed the recording with "Voices," a poem by the Greek Alexandrian poet Constantine Cavafy, read in 1972  by the painter Yiannis Tsarouchis, and lapped two of the city's other languages against it like the waves. The French version is my adaptation; the English one  is by Daniel Mendelsohn. I am still searching for an Arabic translation. The final voice is that of an Egyptian melon seller. The 1972 recording is used by kind permission of Agra Publications and the Yiannis Tsarouchis Foundation." Seaside at Alexandria reimagined by Maria Margaronis.

Known in Yiddish as Der Schvartze Khazn--the Black Cantor--Thomas LaRue Jones was an African American tenor who sang Jewish music in the early decades of the twentieth century. Famed for his soulful voice and perfect Yiddish pronunciation, he performed in synagogues and theatres across the Eastern United States and toured Germany, Poland and Palestine. But after his death in 1954, LaRue Jones disappeared from memory, leaving behind only one recording, made in 1923. Drawing on research by the veteran musician and producer Henry Sapoznik, Maria Margaronis unpacks the mystery of LaRue Jones' career. What drew him to this music? What does his life tell us about race, faith and identity in America a hundred years ago? And why was he so quickly and utterly forgotten? LaRue Jones' story is entwined with the history of Newark, New Jersey, where he spent most of his life. Once known as the City of Opportunity, old Newark drew migrants from Europe and the American South in flight from persecution and searching for a new life. Blacks and Jews lived side by side in the city's poorer districts, absorbing each other's culture and musical traditions. But by mid-century, Newark's Jews were moving out in search of the suburban dream. Black people, hemmed in by racism and housing segregation, were left behind in an increasingly impoverished city. Thirteen years after LaRue Jones' death, the Newark riots, or rebellion, sealed the division of the two communities. LaRue Jones, like the world that made him, was consigned to oblivion--until zealous research by Henry Sapoznik tracked down that one recording and LaRue Jones' unmarked grave, and raised the curtain on the Black Cantor once more. Presenter: Maria Margaronis Producer: David Goren

"The airport recording with its many languages brought back memories of a trip to Santorini with my close Greek friends when I was just 18 and the Aegean islands were still undiscovered by mass tourism. The island seemed to us part of another world. One of those friends and I remembered that trip together, and I fractured and rearranged that conversation to disrupt time and place in a way that's parallel to but different from their disruption in the airport." Santorini airport reimagined by Maria Margaronis. IMAGE: Hhss8228, CC BY-SA 3.0 , via Wikimedia Commons

The news of Ukraine's stunning counter-offensive in the country's north-east has raised hopes of a possible turning point in the war with Russia. But tentative celebrations about Ukraine's advances were quickly tempered after the gruesome discovery of a mass grave in Izyum. Hugo Bachega reports. As Pakistan confronts the damage wrought by catastrophic floods in recent weeks, Secunder Kermani reflects on this and other major events he has covered as he leaves the region: the US invasion and withdrawal from Afghanistan, local politics and the Taliban's resurgence. In the US, the use of the death penalty has gradually declined over recent decades. Several states have abolished it altogether but 11 states continue to perform executions including Texas. Maria Margaronis travelled to Livingston, where she met one prisoner with just weeks left before his execution date. Greece has finally emerged from a strict monitoring programme imposed by the EU. This marks the end of a chapter in a debt crisis which was first triggered by the 2008 financial turmoil. Antonia Quirke has been to the Peloponnese region where she met a tourist guide harking back to an era long before the European project. Australia's PM, Anthony Albanese is going to the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II on Monday, despite being an avowed Republican. For many Australians, she become a beloved friend. But, beyond this period of mourning, questions remain about the British Monarch's role as the country's head of state. Nick Bryant explores a rather paradoxical relationship. Presenter: Kate Adie Producer: Serena Tarling Editor: Richard Fenton-Smith Researcher: Ellie House Production Coordinator: Iona Hammond

The Allan B. Polunsky Unit in Livingston, Texas, used to be known as the Terror Dome for its high rates of inmate violence, murder and suicide. Polunsky houses all the men condemned to death in Texas (currently 185) and nearly 3,000 maximum security prisoners. But since the pandemic, a prison radio station almost entirely run by the men themselves has helped to create community--even for those on death row, who spend 23 hours a day locked alone in their cells. The Tank beams all kinds of programmes across the prison complex: conversations both gruff and tender; music from R&B to metal; the soundtracks of old movies; inspirational messages from all faiths and none. The station's steady signal has saved some men from suicide and many from loneliness; it lets family members and inmates dedicate songs to each other and make special shows for those on their way to execution. Maria Margaronis tunes in to The Tank and meets some of the men who say it's changed their lives—even when those lives have just weeks left to run. Produced by David Goren. Photo credit (Michael Starghill)

The Allan B. Polunsky Unit in Livingston, Texas, used to be known as the Terror Dome for its high rates of inmate violence, murder and suicide. Polunsky houses all the men condemned to death in Texas (currently 185) and nearly 3,000 maximum security prisoners. But since the pandemic, a prison radio station almost entirely run by the men themselves has helped to create community--even for those on death row, who spend 23 hours a day locked alone in their cells. The Tank beams all kinds of programmes across the prison complex: conversations both gruff and tender; music from R&B to metal; the soundtracks of old movies; inspirational messages from all faiths and none. The station's steady signal has saved some men from suicide and many from loneliness; it lets family members and inmates dedicate songs to each other and make special shows for those on their way to execution. Maria Margaronis tunes in to The Tank and meets some of the men who say it's changed their lives—even when those lives have just weeks left to run. Produced by David Goren. Photo credit (Michael Starghill)

With the UN climate conference in Glasgow drawing to a close Assignment brings us the final programme in a series which has been telling the story of three places devastated by extreme weather events. In this final edition, Maria Margaronis travels to the Greek island of Evia. Here vast areas of centuries old forests, olive groves and houses were burnt by a week-long inferno. And now come the rains, bringing polluted water and mudslides. Presented by Maria Margaronis and produced by Mark Burman (Image: A firefighter tries to extinguish wildfire on the island of Evia, August 2021. Credit: Reuters/Nikolas Economou)

Zorba's theme from the 1964 film is what the composer Mikis Theodorakis will always be known for outside his native Greece, but in his time he was a figure on the world stage, rubbing shoulders with poets, politicians and artists like Pablo Neruda, Olof Palme and Salvador Dali. His most powerful music evokes a spirit of heroic rebellion that resonated with liberation movements from Greece to Latin America. And, far beyond Zorba, he wrote classical symphonies, ballets, operas, and popular songs as light as a sea breeze. Maria Margaronis recalls this most prolific and energetic composer and political activist, who was arrested, exiled, imprisoned and tortured many times during the most turbulent years of Greece's 20th Century.

The fire that destroyed the sprawling Moria asylum seekers' camp on the Greek island of Lesvos last September made headlines around the world. For the asylum seekers who lost their makeshift home and most of their possessions, it was a devastating setback. For Greece, still hosting thousands of migrants Europe won't take in, the fire intensified a determination to move them on elsewhere What's happened to some of Moria's former residents since then? Working with Athens-based journalists Katy Fallon and Stavros Malichudis,, Maria Margaronis follows a few of them—all Afghans--as they negotiate the search for safety and stability some migrants call “the game.” After the fall of Kabul to the Taliban, tens of thousands of Afghans are trying to leave their country. These are the stories of some who had already made the journey. Presented and produced by Maria Margaronis. Special thanks to Lighthouse Reports for their support in gathering this material.

The fire that destroyed the sprawling Moria asylum seekers' camp on the Greek island of Lesvos last September made headlines around the world. For the asylum seekers who lost their makeshift home and most of their possessions, it was a devastating setback. For Greece, still hosting thousands of migrants Europe won't take in, the fire intensified a determination to move them on elsewhere. What's happened to some of Moria's former residents since then? Working with Athens-based journalists Katy Fallon and Stavros Malichudis, Maria Margaronis follows a few of them - all Afghans - as they negotiate the search for safety and stability some migrants call “the game.” After the fall of Kabul to the Taliban, tens of thousands of Afghans are trying to leave their country. These are the stories of some who had already made the journey. Presented and produced by Maria Margaronis Special thanks to Lighthouse Reports for their support in gathering this material (Image: Refugee girl playing in the ashes of the ruined Moria camp. Credit: Nicolas Economou/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

Relax with a calming mix of music and natural sounds - from the Grumeti River in the Serengeti to a tiny frog pool in East Sussex, via London and Suffolk. With field recordings by Chris Watson, Maria Margaronis, Sharon Sanderson and Hward Seaton.

This week, Thea Lenarduzzi and Lucy Dallas are joined by Dinah Birch, Professor of English Literature at the University of Liverpool, to consider the work of Angela Thirkell, a kind of (but not really...) Anthony Trollope for the twentieth-century; the writer and audio documentarist Maria Margaronis considers the transformation of London’s Royal Court Theatre into a radical and moving “living newspaper”; plus, a library of the world’s literature that no censor can get to‘Angela Thirkell: A writer’s life’ by Anne Hall‘Living Newspaper’, Editions 6 and 7, Royal Court Theatre and royalcourttheatre.comThis episode of The TLS podcast is sponsored by Curtis Brown Creative. Go to www.curtisbrowncreative.co.uk to find out more about their creative writing courses.Use code YOURWRITINGSUMMER for £20 off any six-week course.A special subscription offer for TLS podcast listeners: www.the-tls.co.uk/buy/podProducer: Ben Mitchell See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Maria Margaronis surrenders to the life of the hive to explore the ancient folk customs around the telling the bees. The lives of bees and humans have been linked ever since the first hominid tasted a wild hive’s honey. Neither domesticated nor fully wild, honey bees are key to our survival, a barometer of our relationship with nature. Without them, we’d have no fruit, no nuts and seeds, and eventually, no food. No bees; no songbirds. Silent woods. For centuries, we’ve projected stories and beliefs onto these strange, familiar creatures, seeing them as messengers between this world and the next. In this Covid-wracked year, Maria Margaronis explores the old customs of “telling the bees” about a death or significant event, lest they grow angry and leave us. She enters the sonic world of the hive to hear what the bees might be telling us in the company of wise bee guides like Toxteth’s Rastafarian Barry Chang, Mississippi's Ali Pinion, Lithuania's Paulius Chockevicius and young beekeeper Zhivko Todorov in London’s busy Finsbury Park. Others tells us and their bees their significant news. Follow bee tellers and bee callers on a seasonal journey from summer through winter into spring, tuning in to to the hum of the hive and the buzz of the universe. Recorded binaurally. Producer: Mark Burman Additional bee recordings Mark Ferguson

The women of Gee’s Bend have held on to their creative traditions, passed down from mother to daughter: spine-tingling gospel singing, and a unique style of bold, improvised quilting. Made from old clothes out of necessity for generations, used for insulation and burned to keep off mosquitoes, the quilts brought Gee’s Bend fame after they were “discovered” by an art collector in the 1990s and shown in major museums in Houston and New York. Maria Margaronis hears the voices of this small community.

It’s been seven weeks since the UK went into lockdown, and for many women, the lines between work and home life have become blurred on a day-to-day basis. What’s the best way to create boundaries in order to protect your own mental well-being and a sense of routine? Dr Yasin Rofcanin, of the University of Bath’s School of Management, has worked on new research exploring how COVID-19 is impacting our understanding of boundaries. Chloë Davies is the head of PR and Partnerships at myGwork – a business community for LGBT+ professionals. She’s currently working from home with a four and two year old. Melanie Eusebe is a business professor and a Director at Accenture, a management consulting firm. Where The Crawdads Sing, the first novel by Delia Owens, has sold more than 6 million copies. Woman’s Hour listeners have suggested it as a perfect lockdown read. Delia talks to Jane from her home in North Carolina – what does the book have to say about loneliness, resilience and the power of nature? The debate continues about whether or when people who don’t need PPE should wear face masks, and we’ve been talking to women round the world who have dragged out their sewing machines. Khedi is from Chechnya and she now lives in Gdansk. Maria Margaronis spoke to her with the help of a translator and to fellow mask-makers including a Polish psychologist. On Sunday evening the Prime Minister spoke to the country about the way out of lockdown and yesterday his government published its Covid 19 recovery strategy. Many have complained that the message is unclear, that supporting guidance is not yet ready and that too much is left to appeals to common sense – including the discretion of employers. But many are also anxious to get back to work, to support their families and to get their children back into education and childcare safely. But what account has been made of the economic position of women and including them in plans to rebuild the economy? Anneliese Dodds, Shadow Chancellor and MP for Oxford East discusses her concerns about the government’s plans. The teenage years are the ones where young people seek independence. So how is it working out now that they’re cooped up at home with their parents 24/7? In today’s Woman’s Hour Corona Diaries, Kate in Cirencester talks about the changing landscape of her relationship with her twin teenage girls, and how they’re trying to establish new boundaries to suit life in lockdown. Presented by Jane Garvey Produced by Sarah Crawley Interviewed guest: Dr Yasin Rofcanin Interviewed guest: Chloë Davies Interviewed guest: Melanie Eusebe Interviewed guest: Delia Owens Interviewed guest: Khedi Interviewed guest: Anneliese Dodds Interviewed guest: Kate Treadaway Reporter: Maria Margaronis

Today marks 75 years since VE day and we remember the end of war in Europe. We speak to Shirley Mann about how her mother’s own war experience inspired her to track down more women’s stories from this time. She shares the stories she discovered of the women who were pilots, wireless operators, and even “plotters” in the Battle of Britain bunker – and what they did next. Three women from the Armed Forces are taking legal action against the MOD claiming they are victims of sexual assault and rape. Their cases have already gone through military courts but there were no convictions and they believe justice would be better served if their cases were dealt with through the usual routes: the police and the CPS. We hear from lawyer Emma Norton, director of a new organisation called the Centre for Military Justice, who is representing the three women. Is Ireland going through a ‘golden age of literature’ when it comes to women’s writing? Sally Rooney and Anna Burns are hugely popular but what is behind this boom in new writing? Writers Lucy Caldwell and Jan Carson discuss. Over the last couple of weeks we’ve been hearing from women around the world who have dragged out their sewing machines to make face masks at home. In the Czech Republic masks are mandatory so Marcela has been doing her bit as she tells Maria Margaronis. For some people lockdown has proved the perfect time for some DIY and home improvements - from wallpapering to tiling to even a spot of joinery. How comfortable are you about doing the work yourself? We discuss the dos and don’ts with DIY expert Jo Behari and Sarah Beeny, presenter of HGTV’s ‘Renovate Don’t Relocate.’

The leaders of the USA, Brazil, Russia, Spain, Italy and the UK have come in for some criticism over their handling of the Coronavirus pandemic. They all have one thing in common, and it has been widely remarked on – they’re men. From Jacinda Ardern to Angela Merkel, women leaders across the world seem to be coping with Covid-19 better. But is it true? And, what might explain why? Jenni talks to Rosie Campbell, Director of the Global Institute for Women’s Leadership and Professor of Politics at King’s College London and Clare Wenham, Assistant Professor in Global Health Policy at the London School of Economics and Political Science. Could your relationship survive one partner’s endurance sport obsession? In her new novel The Motion of the Body Through Space, Lionel Shriver explores the impact of extreme exercise on the ageing body and on one marriage in particular. Since taking aim at the whole concept of cultural appropriation in a speech at the Melbourne Writers’ Festival in 2016, Shriver has become well known for her criticism of identity politics. How does that manifest in the book? She joins Jenni to discuss. Over the last couple of weeks we’ve been hearing from women around the world who are making face masks at home for family, health-workers and in this case child refugees in camps in Greece. Rabha Nasr who lives in Greece now spoke to Maria Margaronis, who asked her to choose some music she listens to when she sews. Next week marks 200 years since the birth of Florence Nightingale, the founder of modern nursing. We discuss her life, and legacy and impact on nursing in 2020. Anne-Marie Rafferty, Professor of Nursing Policy, Florence Nightingale Faculty of Nursery, Midwifery and Palliative Care at King’s College, London joins Jenni along with Greta Westwood, CEO of the Florence Nightingale Foundation. Presented by Jenni Murray Produced by Sarah Crawley Interviewed guest: Rosie Campbell Interviewed guest: Clare Wenham Interviewed guest: Lionel Shriver Interviewed guest: Rabha Nasr Interviewed guest: Anne-Marie Rafferty Interviewed guest: Greta Westwood Reporter: Maria Margaronis

Iceland's glaciers are melting at an unprecedented rate, with scientists predicting that they could all be gone 200 years from now. How is this affecting the lives of local people, and the identity of a nation that has ice in its name? Maria Margaronis talks to Icelandic farmers and fishermen, scientists and environmental activists about their (sometimes surprising) responses to climate change, and asks why it’s so difficult even for those who see its effects from their windows every day to take in what it means. Producer: Richard Fenton-Smith Editor: Bridget Harney

Iceland's glaciers are melting at an unprecedented rate, with scientists predicting that they could all be gone 200 years from now. How is this affecting the lives of local people, and the identity of a nation that has ice in its name? Maria Margaronis talks to Icelandic farmers and fishermen, scientists and environmental activists about their (sometimes surprising) responses to climate change, and asks why it’s so difficult even for those who see its effects from their windows every day to take in what it means. (Image: Glacier lagoon with icebergs, Vatnajokull, Iceland. Credit: Wolfgang Kaehler/LightRocket via Getty Images)

For some in Poland the Cursed Soldiers are national heroes; for others they are murderers. A march in celebration of a group of Polish partisans fighting the Soviets has become the focus of tension in a small community in one of Europe’s oldest forests. Those taking part believe the partisans – known as the Cursed Soldiers – were national heroes, but others remember atrocities committed by them 70 years ago. Some partisans were responsible for the burning of villages and the murder of men, women and children in and around Poland’s Bialowieza forest. The people living the forest are Orthodox and Catholic, Belorussian and Polish; this march threatens to revive past divisions between them. Many believe that far-right groups have hijacked this piece of history to further their nationalist agenda. For Crossing Continents, Maria Margaronis visits the forest to find out why this is causing tensions now; why the locals feel the march is making them feel threatened; and how this reflects wider political rifts in Poland today. Produced by Charlotte McDonald.

For some in Poland the Cursed Soldiers are national heroes; for others they are murderers. A march in celebration of a group of Polish partisans fighting the Soviets has become the focus of tension in a small community in one of Europe’s oldest forests. Those taking part believe the partisans – known as the Cursed Soldiers – were national heroes, but others remember atrocities committed by them 70 years ago. Some partisans were responsible for the burning of villages and the murder of men, women and children in and around Poland’s Bialowieza forest. The people living the forest are Orthodox and Catholic, Belorussian and Polish; this march threatens to revive past divisions between them. Many believe that far-right groups have hijacked this piece of history to further their nationalist agenda. For Assignment, Maria Margaronis visits the forest to find out why this is causing tensions now; why the locals feel the march is making them feel threatened; and how this reflects wider political rifts in Poland today. Produced by Charlotte McDonald. (Image: March through the town of Hajnowka to celebrate the Polish partisans known as the Cursed Soldiers. Copyright: BBC)

Jair Bolsonaro, the front-runner in Brazil’s presidential election, is famously tough on crime and infamous for his unashamedly controversial comments. Katy Watson meets supporters of the man drawing comparisons to Donald Trump. Kate Adie introduces this and other stories from around the world. On the shores of Lake Prespa, Maria Margaronis visits Greece’s little-known Macedonian speaking population. In Tehran, Lois Pryce meets Issa Omidvar whose globetrotting adventures were documented in a weekly TV show in the 1960s and is now advising young Iranians on how to satisfy their wanderlust In India, Laura Dawson meets young women who’ve been abandoned by their families but are finding new hope in a government-backed refuge. And while international courts and tribunals have given hope to victims of atrocities in many parts of the world, Fergal Keane reflect that there has been no justice for the majority of those killed in Uganda’s past conflicts.

The name ‘Macedonia' is hotly disputed by two neighbouring nations. The Greek province of Macedonia and the country calling itself the Republic of Macedonia border Lake Prespa. The villagers on the lake's shores share a language and a culture, but it's impossible to cross or drive around the lake because of the dispute with Greece over the Republic's name. After years of stalemate, the governments of the two countries have agreed on a new name, the Republic of Northern Macedonia. But this has sparked angry protests by nationalists on both sides of the border. As The Republic of Macedonia prepares to hold a referendum on its name on 30 September, Maria Margaronis visits both sides of the lake to find out why this issue is so contentious - and how a painful history is being exploited by the far-right, politicians, and other interests on both sides. What do local people - and the lake stand to gain once the dispute is settled? And what's holding them back? Producer: Chloe Hadjimatheou (Image: Greek protest against Macedonia name change. Credit: Giorgos Georgiou/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

In a rundown neighbourhood in Athens there is a hotel with 4,000 people on its waiting list for rooms. But the roof leaks and the lifts are permanently out of action. None of the guests pay a penny, but everyone's supposed to help with the cooking and cleaning. City Plaza is a seven-storey super squat housing 400 refugees from 16 different countries and the volunteers who support them. The hotel went bankrupt during the financial crisis. It remained locked and empty until 2015, when Europe closed its borders leaving tens of thousands of refugees trapped in Greece. Then a group of activists broke in, reconnected the electricity and water and invited hundreds of migrants from the streets to take up residence with them. The leftist Greek government has so far turned a blind eye and now mainstream NGOs like MSF and even the UNHCR have started cooperating this illegal project. For Crossing Continents, Maria Margaronis finds out how the hotel operates and get to know the people inside.Producer: Chloe Hadjimatheou. Photo Credit: Maria Margaronis / BBC

In a rundown neighbourhood in Athens there is a hotel with 4,000 people on its waiting list for rooms. But the roof leaks and the lifts are permanently out of action. None of the guests pay a penny, but everyone's supposed to help with the cooking and cleaning. City Plaza is a seven-storey super squat housing 400 refugees from 16 different countries and the volunteers who support them. The hotel went bankrupt during the financial crisis. It remained locked and empty until 2015, when Europe closed its borders leaving tens of thousands of refugees trapped in Greece. Then a group of activists broke in, reconnected the electricity and water and invited hundreds of migrants from the streets to take up residence with them. The leftist Greek government has so far turned a blind eye and now mainstream NGOs like MSF and even the UNHCR have started co-operating in this illegal project. For Crossing Continents, Maria Margaronis finds out how the hotel operates and get to know the people inside. Producer: Chloe Hadjimatheou.

In 1933 Franz Werfel's epic novel "The Forty Days of Musa Dagh" was published to huge acclaim. Werfel was then at the height of his powers, an internationally known author. He told the story of Armenian villagers who, in 1915, resist deportation & annihilation by Turkish forces on the holy mountain of Musa Dagh led by an Armenian émigré who has returned to his ancestral home at this most fateful time. Set against the Ottoman Empire's attempts to deport or destroy its Armenian populations, in the middle of a terrible war, which resulted in the murder of somewhere between 800,000- 1.2. million Armenians. These acts of mass murder led to an international outcry during WW1 and a campaign of denial both by the Ottoman empire and the successor Turkish government after 1923. Germany, former ally of the Ottoman empire, also rejected any guilt by association but the assassination of Talaat Bey, former Ottoman Minister of the Interior and key architect of the Armenian extermination, gunned down in Berlin in 1921 by an Armenian, caused a furore. The subsequent trial became a major media event and exposed the knowledge of the German government about the massacres. The fate of the Armenians was widely discussed and many on the right explicitly linked them with the 'Jewish question' as Hitler rose to power. Franz Werfel, already a famous poet and well-known author, touring the Middle East in 1929 with his new wife, Alma Mahler, encountered pathetic Armenian refugee children. Their plight was the spark for his vast work. For both Werfel and its many readers "The Forty Days of Musa Dagh" was not just an epic tribute to Armenian resistance and survival but a warning to the Jews of Germany & Austria. Werfel's works were burned and banned in Germany soon after the Nazi's took power. A Turkish government request to have Musa Dagh removed from German bookshelves was eagerly embraced by Joseph Goebbels. Werfel & Alma Mahler fled Germany first to France & then to America. As early as 1933 Hollywood attempted to film Musa Dagh, a hit in the States, precipitating close to a 50 year campaign by Turkey's ambassadors to make sure no film would ever be made by Hollywood. Maria Margaronis tells the extraordinary story of an extraordinary book with biographer Peter Stephan Jungk in Vienna, members of the Armenian Musa Dagh diaspora & Alma Mahler's grand daughter Marina. With Anton Lesser as the voice of the book. Producer: Mark Burman

Savitri Devi-devotee of Hitler, proponent of Hindu nationalism, associate of both the British BNP and the American Nazi party-was a prolific author and energetic member of the international Nazi network after the Second World War. Now, her paeans to the mythical Aryan race and apocalyptic theories of history are circulating once again, revived by European white nationalists and the American alt-right. Born in France in 1905 to an English mother and Greek-Italian father, Savitri Devi moved to India in the 1930s, took a Hindu name, and married a prominent Brahmin. She believed that India's caste system had preserved the purity of the so-called Aryans, and that Hinduism was a living survival of the pagan religion destroyed in Europe by Judeo-Christianity. In her saffron-edged sari and large swastika earrings, she traveled the country promoting Hindutva, the Hindu nationalist ideology espoused by India's ruling party today. Devastated by the fall of the Third Reich at the end of the Second World War, she entered occupied Germany to distribute Nazi propaganda; convinced that Hitler was an avatar of the Hindu god Vishnu, she spent the rest of her life preparing for his eventual return. Maria Margaronis travels to India to meet Savitri Devi's nephews and former neighbours and explore the origins of her bizarre theories. Drawing on never-before-broadcast interviews with Savitri Devi herself and conversations with historians and activists, she asks what we can learn from this eccentric figure about today's extreme right movements, their strategies and their appeal. Produced by Shabnam Grewal Illustration inspired by photograph Courtesy of the Savitri Devi Archive.

Is it really true our attention spans are getting shorter in the always-connected world of social media, smartphones and hyperlinks? The statistics say that the average attention span is down from 12 seconds in the year 2000 to eight seconds now. That's less than the nine-second attention span of the average goldfish. But the statistics are not all that they seem - and neither is the received wisdom about goldfish. Twitch is a live video streaming platform used widely in the gaming community. The death of a well-known gamer has opened a huge debate about player safety. And, there is something satisfying about working with our hands, whether it is making something, fixing something or caring for someone. Maria Margaronis asks what it is about our tactile skills that make us so fundamentally human. (Image: Shutterstock/Goldfish)

There is something satisfying about working with our hands. Whether it is making something, fixing something or caring for someone, tactile skills are rewarding and valuable. Maria Margaronis asks what it is about working with our hands that make us so fundamentally human. (Photo: Artist Hitomi Hosono holds her ceramic pot)

A hundred thousand women and men took to the streets in Poland recently in protest against attempts to ban all abortions—and the issue seems to have crystallised a growing unease with the country's move to the right and the power of the Catholic Church. ‘We are not putting our umbrellas away' went one of the slogans as women stood in the pouring rain to voice their concerns. The size of the protest surprised even the participants; organised by the feminist movement, it attracted women and men from many different backgrounds. Where did this surge of activism come from? Some argue that the revolution that began with Solidarnosc in the 1980s ignored the needs and voices of Polish women. Communism may have been defeated, they say, but it's been replaced by a different kind of repression. Maria Margaronis investigates. Mark Savage producing.(Photo: Polish women take part in a nationwide strike and demonstration to protest against a legislative proposal for a total ban of abortion on October 3, 2016 in Warsaw. Credit to: Getty Images)

Thousands of women - and men - took to the streets in Poland recently in protest against attempts to ban all abortions-and the issue seems to have crystallised a growing unease with the country's move to the right and the power of the Catholic Church. 'We are not putting our umbrellas away' went one of the slogans as women stood in the pouring rain to voice their concerns. The size of the protest surprised even the participants; organised by the feminist movement, it attracted women and men from many different backgrounds. Where did this surge of activism come from? Some argue that the revolution that began with Solidarnosc in the 1980s ignored the needs and voices of Polish women. Communism may have been defeated, they say, but it's been replaced by a different kind of repression. Maria Margaronis investigates. Mark Savage producing.

Five years after one of the longest armed struggles in modern Western Europe, Maria Margaronis travels to Spain ahead of important elections in the Basque Autonomous region. Hundreds of people died in the Basque conflict which finally came to an end when the separatist group ETA announced a permanent ceasefire. Now there is peace. But what has happened to the Basque dreams of an independent state? The issue hasn't gone away: Arnaldo Otegi, a former member of ETA who helped broker the peace, has been banned from standing in the elections, to the outrage of his supporters. Produced by Mark Savage

The Balkan route is closed, the fragile EU-Turkey deal is in effect, the Pope has been and gone, the traffickers are turning their attention to Italy & so is much of the media. But Greece continues to be the epicentre of a slow emergency. In a country in advanced economic meltdown more than 50,000 refugees & migrants, 'people on the move', are stuck. On the islands, the asylum processing "hotspots" funded by the EU are often grim affairs, like the one on Chios made out of repurposed shipping containers. Outside Thessaloniki, in a place where the railroad tracks run into grass, stands an abandoned toilet paper factory: no windows, no light, and tents huddled under the low roof. But, for a desperately stretched Greek government, this is better than the dark anarchy of the recently cleared camp at Idomeni, or the petrol station where children play in the still-working forecourt & the car wash has tents inside. The deportations back to Turkey of some 8,500 people who came since the deal was done have started (as have the suicide attempts). For the more than 40,000 refugees and migrants who arrived before March 20th and now have no place to go, another long, gruelling story is beginning. The left-wing Syriza government is having to contemplate just how long these refugees will be stuck there. Minister of Migration Yannis Mouzalas knows that the much criticised EU-Turkey deal is the only thing preventing another wave of refugees reaching the shores of Greek islands that are already struggling to cope: "This is not Greece's crisis, this is Europe's crisis." In the second episode of Destination Europe, Maria Margaronis explores the hopes & fears of refugees, islanders & Greek politicians & asks whether Greece is becoming Europe's "warehouse of souls." Producer: Mark Burman (Image: A Syrian woman in Greece)

Maria Margaronis examines Hungary's hardline response to migration in Europe and asks if it's a symptom on the country's troubled history and politics.

From Grexit to Troika, the ongoing crisis in Greece has spawned a whole new vocabulary and dominated newspaper headlines for over five years. Now, a powerful and timely anthology offers a poetic reply to the social and economic disaster which still threatens to overturn the whole European project. Times of protest and political upheaval have always inspired poets and artists; and beyond the headlines, elections and debt agreements, a powerful Greek literary movement has been stirring. 'Futures: Poetry of the Greek Crisis' introduces a new generation of writers inspired to highlight the plight of a country in a continual state of emergency. Theodoros Chiotis, Editor of this powerful collection, exciting new voices in Greek poetry and special guests read and discussed the anthology at Free Word Centre, London's international centre for literature, literacy and free speech. The event was chaired by Maria Margaronis. This event took place at Free Word Centre on Friday 13 November 2015.

Maria Margaronis explores the debris of Albania's past —the prisons, concrete bunkers and secret police headquarters - as the country attempts to deal with its troubled history.

Maria Margaronis explores the debris of Albania's past —the prisons, concrete bunkers and secret police headquarters - as the country attempts to deal with its troubled history.

Maria Margaronis explores the debris of Albania's painful past-the prison labour camps, concrete bunkers and secret police headquarters--as archives are unlocked and new monuments put up in an effort to redefine who Albanians are. The country's citizens are trying to come to terms with history and move on from Enver Hoxha's dictatorial regime, the pyramid schemes and the political and economic collapse that followed. Instead of moving on, though, many are moving out of the country altogether. Do their leaders' efforts represent real change, or are they just an attempt to plaster over the cracks and reinforce Albania's plan to enter the EU?

Turkey goes to the polls on Sunday in a critical general election. Many of the voters opposed to the ruling party of President Erdogan are putting their hopes in the HDP, which has its roots in Kurdish nationalism. If it gets the 10% of the vote it needed to enter parliament, it could block Erdogan's plans to give the presidency more power. Maria Margaronis visited a run-down area of Istanbul - one of the HDP's strongholds. (Photo: Children in Tarlabaşı, Istanbul, stronghold of the Kurdish People's Democratic Party. BBC Copyright)

In stories, cartoons, advertisements and our everyday lives, we project human thoughts and emotions onto animals—and claim their strength and style for ourselves in the brand names of cars and cosmetics. Why do we do that, and what do we get out of it? Can we ever know what animals really feel? And are we as different from other species as we like to imagine? Maria Margaronis meets the furry fandom, who put on 'fursonas' and cartoon-like animal costumes to meet and socialise. Neuroscientist Bella Williams up-ends some assumptions about animal brains and explains how to read a mouse's facial expression. Children's author Michael Rosen sportcasts an insect race. Farmer Helen Reeve reflects on how she feels about eating her own cows. And, historian Harriet Ritvo poses a thornier question - what makes our species think we are secure in our dominance over the natural world? Produced by Sue Davies (Photo: The furry fandom and their fursuits at a gathering of animals in a pub in the east of England. Credit to: Harlequeen)

Correspondents' stories: in this edition Maria Margaronis on the keenly-awaited Greek election; Will Ross meets soldiers who've been dismissed from the Nigerian army and asks them for their views on the battle against Boko Haram; Susie Emmett's in South Africa talking to farmers about controversial government plans for land reform; Richard Fleming's in Haiti where he's been meeting a photographer who found himself caught up in the devastating earthquake five years ago and Lucy Daltroff is on one of the many thousands of islands sprinkled along Chile's skinny coastline hearing magical legends and fears about what the modern world might bring once that community is joined to the mainland by a new bridge.

The cleaners whose protest has captured the imagination of those opposed to the harsh austerity programme in Greece. Mostly middle-aged or nearing retirement, they have refused to go quietly. The women have kept up a day and night vigil outside the Finance Ministry in Athens, taken the government to court and resisted attempts by the riot police to remove them by force. They've challenged representatives from the International Monetary Fund and raised their red rubber gloves in a clenched fist at the European Parliament. Some say they represent the plight of many women and the poorly paid, others that they are being manipulated by the left. Maria Margaronis hears the women's stories and asks what makes them so determined. Producer: Mark Savage.

On the sunny morning of June 28 1914, Gavrilo Princip shot dead the Archduke Ferdinand and his wife Sophie in Sarajevo. Their assassination began a chain of events that would bring the world to war, destroy three empires and lead to the creation of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia. Maria Margaronis travels to Belgrade and Sarajevo to unravel the many meanings of Princip then and now, discovering that Princip's past and present remain deeply contested, as current attempts to commemorate both his deeds and his memory book-end a century of conflict.

Maria Margaronis explores the legacy of Gavrilo Princip, the Bosnian Serb whose shots sparked the Great War. His deeds, memory and legacy remain contested in the Balkans and beyond.

Writer and broadcaster Maria Margaronis follows the route taken by migrants fleeing war or poverty who are risking their lives to reach the Europe Union. It is estimated that around 75 thousand people are attempting to make the perilous journey each year in the hands of unscrupulous traffickers. They are fleeing from war-torn countries like Afghanistan and Somalia or simply in search of a better life where their economic prospects aren't so bleak. Some of them never make it, suffocating in the back of a crowded lorry or drowning in the fast flowing river that marks the border between Turkey and Greece. The programme meets up with migrants in Istanbul, on the narrow Bosphorus Strait, which has served as the crossroads of the world for thousands of years. There are children making the journey on their own and one man who has lost his fingers and toes to frostbite on a perilous journey over the mountains from Iran. Two of his companions died. The Turkish authorities confess to being overwhelmed by the numbers which are estimated to be up to 250 people a day. Illegal migrants are detained but seldom, it seems, sent back to the countries they came from. There has been an attempt to clamp down on the people traffickers but there are huge profits to be made. The most dangerous part of the trip is along Turkey's border with Greece. The Greeks are supposed to be building an eight mile fence but that still leaves a river which is 125 miles long. Traffickers put their charges into cheap inflatable boats and push them across, regardless of whether they are able to handle a boat or to swim. Many of them can't. For those that do make it, there is no Promised Land but an economic crisis and yet more troubles ahead.

Institute of Historical Research Novel Approaches podcasts Maria Margaronis Novel approaches: from academic history to historical fiction