Love, Laughter and Literature

Available for over a year

Pascale Harter introduces stories of rebels, jokers, lovers and conformists from around the world. Would you dare to make a joke of jihad ... to a jihadi militia in control of your town? Mike Thomson recently spoke to a radio station boss from Idlib province, Syria, who's had to walk a fine line when trying to keep his programmes on air amid a civil war and diktats from Islamist rebel groups. In Northern Nigeria, in a region buffeted by lethal attacks committed by the Boko Haram rebel group, Katerina Vittozzi finds that the hottest place in town for a romantic date in Maiduguri is now ... the zoo. Jamie Coomarasamy is a lover of Russia and Russian literature - and on a recent visit back, he was struck by the way some archetypal Russian characters are still roaming the land despite decades of revolutionary change. And Lucy Daltroff takes to the rail network in Japan - only to end up learning a great deal about why the country's population is shrinking, its families changing, and its young people less and less keen on coupledom and parenthood. Photo: Syrian rebel fighters demonstrate fighting capabilities during a graduation ceremony in the northern Syrian city of Idlib on October 27, 2016. (OMAR HAJ KADOUR/AFP/Getty Images)