PREVIEW: CNN International Programme Information Weeks 17 & 18
Future Cities: Berlin
Future Cities show host Richard Quest at the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin
April’s ‘Future Cities’ centres on Berlin, a city whose recent past looms large. A history blackened with two World Wars and a giant, dividing wall which created a dark hang-over that’s had a major impact on how the German capital city has moved forward.
The responsibility of merging East and West presents an ongoing challenge for Berlin’s urban planners. Memories are kept alive here with many museums dedicated to reminding people why life had to change. ‘Future Cities’ visits the Checkpoint Charlie Museum and the old Stasi Prison. Both serve to educate tourists and the next generation why freedom and democracy are so fragile and important. Show host Richard Quest meets Regula Luscher, a woman striving to make Berlin a prosperous, green, functional and aesthetically pleasing city. The programme also looks at how the city is investing in culture, with the development of Berlin’sMuseumIsland.
Quest also takes to the wheel of a Trabant – a powerful symbol of communist life; it was the car of East Berlin. The programme contrasts the car of the past to the car of the future – one which gets around town without a driver. ‘Made in Germany’, as the vehicle is known, is a computer-controlled car that uses artificial technology to steer, brake and basically functions as a normal car does. CNN test drives the car and meets the professor, Dr Raul Rojas – from Berlin’s Freie University– who is spearheading the project.
cnn.com/futurecities @RichardQuest
Leading Women
CNN meets ‘leading woman’ and Google’s Vice President of Local, Maps and Localization Services, Marissa Mayer
Wednesday 25 April at 1030 BST / 1130 CET and 1730 BST / 1830 CET Saturday 28 April at 0530 BST / 0630 CET and 1930 BST / 2030 CET Sunday 29 April at 1230 BST / 1330 CET Saturday 19 May at 1230 BST / 1330 CET Sunday 20 May at 0530 BST / 0630 CET and 1930 BST / 2030 CET Duration: 15 minutes
Profiling some of the most influential women from across the globe, each month ‘Leading Women’ meets remarkable professionals from a variety of fields, including business, the arts, sport and culture.
In April, the show meets Marissa Mayer, Google’s Vice President of Local, Maps and Localization Services. Named by Fortune Magazine as one of the “50 Most Powerful Women in Business”, the 37-year-old and has been integral in the search giant’s rise. After being hired as the company’s first female engineer in 1999, Mayer has gone on to make waves at one of the most successful companies of our time.
Also this month, ‘Leading Women’ profiles renowned chef, Anne-Sophie Pic, who runs the famed La Maison Pic in Valence, France. In 2007, Pic made headlines when she was awarded three Michelin stars, the only woman in France to hold that honor. In 2011, she was also named ‘Best Female Chef’ by the World’s 50 Best Restaurants Academy. Gastronomy runs in the Pic family bloodline, and Anne-Sophie Pic’s style and passion have transformed her restaurant into a highly-regarded establishment. In 1995, Pic followed in her father’s footsteps, when she stepped in to run the restaurant, after his demise. She worked her way up from an untrained chef to one of the very best in her profession. The Pic culinary dynasty started more than 120 years ago.
Inside the Middle East
Rima Maktabi on campus at Qatar'sEducationCity, a cluster of Western universities on the outskirts of Doha
This month, ‘Inside the Middle East’ travels to the tiny state of Qatar, where vast oil and gas reserves have transformed a once-impoverished strip of desert into the richest country in the world. And all in the span of just half a century.
Host Rima Maktabi explores the country’s modern capital city, Doha, and discovers how Qatar’s rulers are using a mix of culture, world-class universities, and international sporting tournaments to thrust their tiny Gulf state onto the world’s stage, and expand their influence in the region.
From college students to top diplomats to journalists, ‘Inside the Middle East’ meets several Qataris who explain how and why their country has avoided the type of unrest that has swept across the Middle East andNorth Africa over the past year.
@rimamaktabi insidethemiddleeast.blogs.cnn.com/ facebook.com/CNNIME
Open Court
‘Open Court’ meets with female world number one Victoria Azarenka
Thursday 26 April at 1030 BST / 1130 CET and 1730 BST / 1830 CET Saturday 28 April at 0830 BST / 0930 CET and 2200 BST / 2300 CET Sunday 29 April at 1730 BST / 1830 CET at 1730 BST / 1830 CET Saturday 19 May at 1730 BST / 1830 CET Sunday 20 May at 0830 BST / 0930 CET and 2200 BST / 2300 CET Duration: 30 minutes
In April, ‘Open Court’ is in Monaco, the adopted home of male world number one, Serbia’s Novak Djokovic and female number one, Belarus’ Victoria Azarenka.
‘Open Court’ features an in-depth profile on Azarenka, who claimed the number one ranking in January when she stunned Maria Sharapova and won the Australian Open title. CNN’s ‘World Sport’ anchor Alex Thomas travels to Monaco to meet the tennis star and find out how she seized her ranking and why she’s the woman to beat on the circuit this year. This month’s programme also questions Azarenka about the pivotal point a year ago, when she nearly quit the sport.
The programme also catches up with Djokovic on the sidelines of the Monte Carlo Masters Tournament. He’s never won this tournament but would like nothing more than to steal the title from Rafael Nadal. April’s show takes a behind-the-scenes look at what it’s like on Media Day at this exclusive tennis tournament and witnesses how Djokovic deals with requests from journalists across the globe.
cnn.com/opencourt
@cnnopencourt @Therealpatcash facebook.com/cnnopencourt
Living Golf
Donald Trump's new golf course. Photo by Brian Morgan courtesy of Trump International Scotland
Thursday 03 May at 1030 BST / 1130 CET and 1730 BST / 1830 CET Saturday 05 May at 0830 BST / 0930 CET and 2200 BST / 2300 CET Sunday 06 May at 1730 BST / 1830 CET Saturday 12 May at 1730 BST / 1830 CET Sunday 13 May at 0830 BST / 0930 CET and 2200 BST / 2300 CET Duration: 30 minutes
This month, ‘Living Golf’ travels to Scotland to meet Donald Trump at his new course, two months ahead of its public opening. The programme talks to both Trump and the man who designed this course, one of the most spectacular built in recent years.
The programme also looks at the continuing controversy surrounding the Trump Development: having been built on duneland just north of Aberdeen, it’s now at the centre of a huge political row over a proposed windfarm just off the coast, with Trump threatening to cancel most of his planned investment in the area.
Also in the show, ‘Living Golf’ host Shane O’Donoghue is joined by Major Champion and former World number 1, Martin Kaymer, for the first in a new series of Hotshots, in which Kaymer demonstrates how to hit the driver more reliably.