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Jenni Murray, a trailblazing broadcaster and longest-serving presenter of Woman's Hour, has died at the age of 75. Murray brought a unique calm authority to the BBC Radio 4 weekday show for an impressive 33 years, transforming it into a platform for discussing subjects such as the menopause, domestic violence, genital mutilation, and sexual politics.Under Murray's tenure, which began in 1987, Woman's Hour evolved significantly from its origins in 1946 as a program focused on cooking, cleaning tips, and romantic serials. By the time Murray took over, the show had become a sisterhood of the airwaves, as described by the Sunday Times in 1996.Murray was renowned for her fearless and thoughtful questioning of guests, which included politicians, film stars, authors, poets, chefs, gardeners, lawyers, and anxious parents. One notable interview was with Margaret Thatcher in 1990, where Murray exposed the ideological differences between the feminist approach and Thatcher's views on childcare and gender equality.Murray also conducted incisive interviews with other prominent figures, including Edwina Currie, who revealed her affair with John Major, and Tessa Jowell, discussing her financial decisions. Her conversations were marked by a flair for the dramatic and a deep empathy for her guests.Throughout her career, Murray was not without controversy. In 2017, she faced backlash for an article she wrote questioning the use of the term 'real woman' by trans individuals. The BBC subsequently warned her about maintaining impartiality on controversial topics.Murray's contributions to broadcasting were widely recognized. She was awarded an OBE in 1999 and a dame in 2011. Woman's Hour won the Television and Radio Industries Club's award for best radio program in 2004, and Murray received two Sony awards in 2010 and 2011.Murray's legacy extends beyond her broadcasting career. She was a champion of women's rights and a prolific author, writing several books, including her memoirs and a history of women's suffrage.

In El Salvador, the Oriente Salvaje surf spot, known for its world-class breaks, Las Flores and Punta Mango, is facing significant threats from climate change. The local economy, heavily reliant on surf tourism, sputters to a halt due to intense tropical storms causing flooding and disrupting transport routes.To mitigate these risks, Rodrigo Barraza, a local surfer, teamed up with Save the Waves, an international surfing nonprofit organization. They took out a parametric insurance policy for Oriente Salvaje, which can be used to support recovery from climate change impacts. This policy is triggered when damaging conditions cross a predetermined threshold, such as wind speed or rainfall level.The project aims to provide rapid support for the local community, which includes hotels, restaurants, surf shops, fishers, and drone experts. A survey of 50 local businesses showed that, on average, 70% of their income was dependent on surf tourism. Several informal operators, such as surf photographers, guides, and boat drivers, are especially vulnerable to changeable weather.The payout will be triggered once weather conditions reach an extreme associated with observable income loss. It will be distributed to anywhere between a few hundred and several thousand beneficiaries in the region. The size of the payout is still being determined, as well as which insurer it will be, but Save the Waves hopes to have a pilot running by June.The pioneering program has not been hurdle-free. Angelo Picardo, Save the Waves' local coordinator, says: "El Salvador is a developing country and we don't have an insurance culture – people don't even have health insurance – so there's a lot of work you have to do on the ground to bring people on board."Another challenge has been funding the premiums without burdening local businesses. Save the Waves is in talks with the Salvadorian government, which since 2019 has been channelling millions from loans into a nationwide surf tourism initiative.This type of insurance is bound to spread as more communities and ecosystems experience weather extremes. However, Swenja Surminski, an international expert on innovative insurance for ecosystems, warns that "parametric solutions must be combined with broader resilience and adaptation strategies".