The Inquiry

The International Space Station will be decommissioned in 2030 and crash down into the Pacific Ocean, ending more than three decades of international cooperation.

Launched in the wake of the Cold War, the ISS is seen as a triumph of global diplomacy between the US, Russia and other nations. Its demise will mark the end of an era.

Nasa has awarded contracts to commercial companies to develop potential successors to the ISS, and maintain a U.S. presence in low earth orbit. Meanwhile Russia and India have said they plan to launch their own individual stations, and China has already got its own space station, Tiangong.

As the era of the International Space Station nears its end, this week on The Inquiry, we’re asking ‘What will happen after the International Space Station?’

Presenter: Tanya Beckett Producer: Matt Toulson Researcher: Kirsteen Knight Editor: Tara McDermott Technical Operator: Ben Houghton

Contributors: Jennifer Levasseur, Museum Curator at the Smithsonian Institution’s National Air and Space Museum, Washington D.C., US

Mark McCaughrean, former Senior Advisor for Science & Exploration at the European Space Agency and astronomer at the Max Planck Institute for Astronomy, Heidelberg, Germany

Mai'a Cross, Professor of political science at Northeastern University, and director for the Center for International Affairs and World Cultures, Massachusetts, US

Wendy Whitman Cobb, Professor of strategy and security studies at the School of Advanced Air and Space Studies, Alabama, US

CREDIT: State of the Union address, 1984; Courtesy Ronald Reagan Presidential Library

This year wildfires in Canada have caused devastation to the country’s treasured town of Jasper. The wildfires have ravaged the landscape, destroyed communities and displaced hundreds of thousands of people.

The causes are many, and fires are a natural occurrence. But humans, and the climate, are making them worse. As the number and intensity of fires increase, the methods used to both prevent and fight them may need to change.

How can Canada fight its wildfires?

Presenter: Tanya Beckett Producer: Louise Clarke Researcher: Anoushka Mutanda-Dougherty Editor: Tara McDermott Technical producer: Cameron Ward

Contributors: Mike Flannagan, Professor of wildland fire at Thompson Rivers University in Kamloops, British Columbia Liz Goldman, World Resources Institute John Keeley, senior research scientist with the U.S. Geological Survey and an adjunct professor at the University of California in Los Angeles Cordy Tymstra, former wildfire science coordinator for the Alberta Wildfire Management Branch

(Image: Getty/ Anadolu)

Ukraine’s President Zelensky recently presented his ‘Victory Plan’ to end the war in Ukraine to both Kamala Harris and Donald Trump, the two candidates competing to be the next President of the United States of America. President Zelensky’s view is that if his plan is supported by Ukraine’s allies, then the war could be ended by next year.

But both US Presidential candidates, whilst in agreement that the war has to stop, have expressed a very different approach to how they would work towards that. And there are concerns from Ukraine that there will be a significant decrease in getting support in the future, regardless of who will be sitting in the White House. The United States is the top donor to Ukraine in terms of military, financial and humanitarian aid, but if their support did wane, it would mean Ukraine would have to become much more reliant on European backing. Whilst Europe has pledged much in terms of military support, it has yet to deliver everything it has promised. And there is the issue of Europe’s political will and financial backing to fulfil its pledge. In light of this President Zelensky is hoping Europe too will be convinced by his ‘Victory Plan’ and perhaps act as an insurance plan to keep the US focus on this war.

So, on this week’s Inquiry, we’re asking ‘How might the next US President affect the war in Ukraine?’

Contributors: Mariia Zolkina, Head of Regional Security and Conflict Studies, Ilko Kucheriv Democratic Initiatives Foundation, Kyiv, Ukraine Mary Anne Marsh, Democratic Strategist and Political Analyst, Boston, USA Matthew Kroenig, Vice President and Senior Director, Atlantic Council’s Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security, Washington DC, USA Matthew Savill, Director of Military Sciences, Royal United Services Institute, London, UK

Presenter: Charmaine Cozier Producer: Jill Collins Researcher: Matt Toulson Editor: Tara McDermott Technical Producer: Ben Houghton Broadcast Co-ordinator: Jacqui Johnson

(Image: BBC file photo)

A court room in the US State of Nevada provided the setting for the recent hearing between media mogul Rupert Murdoch and his children, over who will inherit his empire on the 93 year old’s death.

The succession battle, worthy of the TV drama Succession, which was partly inspired by the Murdoch dynasty, was played out behind closed doors and it’s unlikely that the decision, when it comes, will be made available to the public.

Murdoch’s News Corp owns hundreds of newspapers and media outlets around the world. It includes the right-leaning Fox News in the US, which gave Donald Trump a major platform in the run-up to the 2016 Presidential election, as well as widely read newspapers like the Sun in the UK.

Speculation over who is most likely to take control of the multi-billion dollar business currently centres around the eldest son Lachlan Murdoch, the sibling most closely aligned to his father in terms of their vision for the future. But at this point the outcome all depends on whether legally such a takeover can happen.

So, on this week’s Inquiry, we’re asking ‘What’s the succession plan for Murdoch’s empire?’

Contributors: Walter Marsh, Journalist and Author of Young Rupert: The Making of the Murdoch Empire, South Australia David Folkenflik, Media Correspondent NPR News, Author of Murdoch’s World: The Last of the Old Media Empires, USA Reid Weisbord, Distinguished Professor of Law, Rutgers Law School, Visiting Professor, Columbia University, USA Alice Enders, Chief Economist, Enders Analysis, UK

Presenter: Tanya Beckett Producers: Louise Clarke and Jill Collins Researcher: Matt Toulson Editor: Tara McDermott Technical Producer: Nicky Edwards Broadcast Co-ordinator: Jacqui Johnson

(Image: Reuters/Mike Segar)

With Lebanon, Gaza, and Israel all under fire and a death count running into tens of thousands, the Middle East has never been in a more dangerous position.

The United States has been a big diplomatic influence on attempts at peace negotiations in the Middle East.

The last major attempt at peace negotiations was in the spring of 2024 when the US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken visited the region to try and broker a ceasefire.

But despite the efforts of not just the US, but Egypt, Qatar and Europe, there has been no agreement to cease hostilities.

What would bring all the different parties to the negotiating table? And is there any country or organisation credible enough that will be listened to by all parties?

This episode of The Inquiry asks: Can anyone broker peace in the Middle East?

Contributors: Hugh Lovatt, Senior Policy Fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations Bilal Y Saab, Head of the US-Middle East Practice and an Advisor in the Scientific and Academic Council of TRENDS Research and Advisory Professor Christopher Phillips, Professor of International Relations at Queen Mary University of London Dr Burcu Ozcelik, Senior Research Fellow in Middle East security at The Royal United Services Institute

Presenter: Victoria Uwonkunda Producer: Louise Clarke Researcher: Matt Toulson Editor: Tara McDermott Technical producer: James Bradshaw Production support: Jacqui Johnson

(Image: Getty/FADEL ITANI)

In September Greek Tourism Minister Olga Kefalogianni announced the introduction of special fees for passengers disembarking from cruise ships at Mykonos, Santorini and some other ports. The fees are part of a broader strategy to manage the resurgence of mass tourism post-covid, reducing some of the negative impacts such as pressure on water supplies, waste management and overcrowding, while spreading the economic benefits more fairly across society. Greece is not alone in considering how to alleviate the tensions arising when exceptional numbers of tourists arrive during peak holiday times. Venice has limited the size of tour groups, charging visitors a daily entry fee and the mayor of Barcelona has pledged to eliminate short-term tourist lets in the city within five years, to ease housing pressures.

With revenues from international tourism reaching USD 1.8 trillion last year according to the United Nations World Tourism Organisation, many governments and experts are thinking carefully about how to strike a balance between the economic boost, the tourist experience and the welfare of local communities. Can tourists be enticed away from those Instagram hot spots and what potential solutions could Greece employ to deal with overtourism? Contributors Katerina Kikilia, Head of Tourism Management, University of West Attica, Athens Sandra Carvão, Director of Market Intelligence, Policies, and Competitiveness, UN World Travel Organisation Kumi Kato, Professor in Tourism Studies, Wakayama University, Japan Cevat Tosun, Eisenhower chair and professor of Tourism Studies and management at George Washington University School of Business

Presenter: Charmaine Cozier Production: Diane Richardson and Matt Toulson Broadcast Co-ordinator: Jacqui Johnson Editor: Tara McDermott Technical Producer: Toby James

(Image: Oia, Thira, Greece / Getty Images: Fernando Vazquez Miras)

Just over three years ago the Taliban seized Kabul and stormed to power in Afghanistan. They soon declared a new government which is still not recognised by any other country.

The Taliban claim they have made improvements to the country. War is over and, they say, there is more peace and security than before they came to power.

But millions of people are struggling to survive in the country, there is a restrictive rule of law that is imposed by a very hierarchical government structure and half the population need aid.

This week on The Inquiry we’re asking ‘How are the Taliban governing Afghanistan?’

Presenter: Emily Wither Producers: Louise Clarke and Matt Toulson Editor: Tara McDermott Technical Producers: Nicky Edwards and Cameron Ward

Contributors: Dr Weeda Mehran, co-director for Advanced Internationalist studies at Exeter University Graeme Smith, senior analyst for the International Crisis Group Dr Orzala Nemet, research associate at ODI Overseas Development Institute Javid Ahmad, non-resident scholar at the Middle East Institute in Washington DC

(Photo by WAKIL KOHSAR/AFP via Getty Images)

At the beginning of September, the far-right party Alternative for Germany or AfD, won an election in the eastern state of Thuringia. The result marked the far right’s first win, in a state parliament election, since World War Two. In the more populous neighbouring state of Saxony the party came in a close second. Whilst in both states the party has been officially classed as ‘right-wing extremist’, the results nonetheless, signify a sharp rebuke from the voting public towards Germany’s established political forces, including the ruling coalition.

The Afd was founded in 2013 as an anti-euro party to challenge the government. It entered the German parliament for the first time in 2017 and now it’s focus has shifted to immigration and Islam. As the country faces federal elections next year, Germany’s Chancellor Olaf Scholz has urged mainstream parties to block the AfD from governing in Thuringia by maintaining a so-called firewall against it. But in terms of the voting public, the polls currently suggest the party could also take the most votes in Brandenburg state’s election coming up.

So, on this week’s Inquiry we’re asking, Can Germany’s far right win the country?

Contributors: Thomas König, Professor Dr. of Political Science, European Politics, University of Mannheim, Germany Dr. Michelle Lynn Kahn, Associate Professor, Modern European History, University of Richmond, VA, USA Christina Zuber, Professor Dr. of German Politics, Department of Politics and Public Administration, University of Konstanz, Germany Jörn Fleck, Senior Director of the Europe Centre, The Atlantic Council, Washington DC, USA

Presenter: Tanya Beckett Producer: Jill Collins Researcher: Matt Toulson Editor: Tara McDermott Technical Producer: Nicky Edwards Broadcast Co-ordinator: Jacqui Johnson

Image Credit: CLEMENS BILAN/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock

In August this year, a US court in Washington DC ruled that Google acted illegally to crush its competition and maintain a monopoly on online search and related advertising. This is just one of a number of lawsuits that have been filed against the big tech companies, as US antitrust authorities attempt to strengthen competition in the industry.

Now Google is facing another legal case in Virginia, USA, over its advertising technology. Whilst in Europe it has been fined billions in monopoly cases. Google themselves dispute they are a ‘monopolist’ and presented evidence in the US court case in August to show that they face ‘fierce competition from a broad range of competitors’. The court did find Google’s search to be ‘superior’ to its competitors. And Google’s executives say consumers stick with them because they find Google ‘helpful’.

Google is everywhere in our online lives and it handles billions of search queries every day, so on this week’s Inquiry, we’re asking ‘Can we trust Google?’

Contributors: David Vise, Pulitzer Prize winning Journalist and Author of ‘The Google Story’, New York, USA Professor Douglas Melamed, Visiting Fellow, Stanford Law School, Washington, DC. USA Jonathan Stray, Senior Scientist, UC Berkeley Center for Human-Compatible AI, California, USA Cristina Caffarra, Independent Expert Economist, Honorary Professor, UCL, London, UK

Presenter: David Baker Producer: Jill Collins Researcher: Matt Toulson Editor: Tara McDermott Technical Producer: Nicky Edwards Broadcast Co-ordinator: Jacqui Johnson

Image Credit: Reuters/Steve Marcus

Hezbollah has both political and military wings both of which are designated by several countries as terror organisations. It emerged several decades ago in Lebanon.

Since Israel launched its war in Gaza in the wake of the Hamas attacks of October 7th, it has intensified its military activities along the border between Israel and Lebanon.

The persistent question has been what is it trying to achieve? Are the attacks intended as a show of support for the Palestinians in Gaza or an attempt to take advantage of Israel’s diverted military focus? And could this dangerous front lead to an all-out war in the Middle East?

This week on the Inquiry we are asking: What does Hezbollah want?

Contributors: Aurélie Daher, Associate Professor in political science at the University Paris-Dauphine Lina Khatib, Associate Fellow with the Middle East and North Africa program at Chatham House Dr Bashir Saade, Lecturer of Politics and Religion at the University of Stirling in Scotland Mehran Kamrava, Professor of government at Georgetown University in Qatar

Presenter: Tanya Beckett Producer: Louise Clarke Researcher: Matt Toulson Editor: Tara McDermott Technical Producer: Gareth Jones Broadcast Co-ordinator: Jacqui Johnson

Image: Hezbollah Fighters and Mourners Attend Funeral of Top Commander Fuad Shukr in Beirut / NurPhoto / Contributor via Getty Images

In 2018 an historic document known as the ‘Provisional Agreement’ was signed between the Catholic Church and the People’s Republic of China. So far this agreement has been renewed every two years and the expectation is that it will be renewed again this year.

The only detail that has been made public is that the Agreement allows the Pope final approval on Bishops appointed by the Chinese authorities, other than that it is cloaked in secrecy. But there have been occasions since its signing where the Communist Party have reneged on this Agreement, approving its own choice of Bishops.

There are an estimated 13 million Catholics in China, split between the official Chinese state recognised church and the underground church. And one of the Catholic Church’s most senior members, Cardinal Joseph Zen, the former Bishop of Hong Kong, has in the past, referred to this Provisional Agreement as betrayal of those in the underground church.

For the Pope, the Agreement is a pragmatic attempt to unify the church in China and make peace with the state, but the underground church see this Agreement as a sell-out by their spiritual father.

So on The Inquiry, we’re asking ‘Is Pope Francis ‘betraying’ China’s Catholics?’

Contributors: Martin Palmer, Theologian and Sinologist, UK Fr. Jeroom Heyndrickx, CICM (Scheut) Missionary, Belgium Samuel Chu, President, Campaign for Hong Kong, USA John Allen, Editor of Crux, Italy Presenter: William Crawley Producer: Jill Collins Researcher: Matt Toulson Editor: Tara McDermott Technical Producer: Craig Boardman Broadcast Co-ordinator: Jacqui Johnson

Image Credit: A worshipper waves the flag of China, as Pope Francis leaves the weekly general audience at St Peter’s Square in the Vatican. Photo by Filippo MONTEFORTE/AFP via Getty Images.

Project 2025 is a blueprint for the next conservative president of the US. The think tank behind it, The Heritage Foundation, has published a book, ‘Mandate for Leadership’. It’s an anthology of ideas that suggest sweeping changes to federal government, presidential power and US involvement in global affairs.

Mandate for Leadership is a collection of policy ideas, written for any president to use once in office. Previous Republican administrations have implemented many of its action points.

Project 2025 is divisive. Many see it as a way to strengthen the US constitution, but others fear it will dismantle it and invest irreversible power in the president.

How might Project 2025 shape the US?

Presented by Charmaine Cozier Produced by Louise Clarke Researched by Matt Toulson Editor Tara McDermott Technical producer Nicky Edwards

Contributors: Don Moynihan, Professor at the McCourt School of Public Policy at Georgetown University in Washington DC

Jeff Anderson, the President of the American Main Street Initiative

Beau Breslin, Professor of Political Science at Skidmore College in upstate New York

Heather Hurlburt, Associate Fellow at Chatham House

(Image credit: AP)

Last year the Canadian province of British Columbia, launched a landmark three-year pilot programme on drug decriminalisation. For a number of years now communities across Canada have been facing their own opioid crisis, as drugs like fentanyl become more easily available.

Vancouver in British Columbia, has always been at the forefront of drug policy change, yet it has seen an explosion in overdose deaths due to toxic drugs in recent years. So the city readily adopted the decriminalisation programme as a measure to try and help reduce the death rates. But now just over a year since its implementation, that pilot programme has been scaled back, and it now means that people found with drugs on their person in public places can be arrested again. Can Canada overcome its drug overdose crisis?’

Contributors: Dr. Alexander Caudarella, CEO Canadian Centre on Substance Use and Addiction, Ottawa, Canada Kennedy Stewart, associate professor, Simon Fraser University, Vancouver, Canada Aljona Kurbatova, head of Centre for Health Promotion, National Institute for Health Development, Tallinn, Estonia Gillian Kolla, assistant professor, Memorial University, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada

Presenter: Charmaine Cozier Producer: Jill Collins Researcher: Matt Toulson Editor: Tara McDermott Technical producer: Richard Hannaford

(Photo: Supervised consumption sites in the DTES. Credit: Gary Coronado/Getty Images)

Hundreds of monumental human shaped statues are motionless, and exposed to the elements, on Rapa Nui - also known as Easter Island. A name that dates back to 1722, when a Dutch explorer first saw it on Easter Sunday.

The statues, or Moai, were there centuries before that and are sacred to the Rapa Nui people.

They have also become a world famous tourist attraction and can be found in multiple outdoor locations across the small island. They are heavy and huge - sizes range from 1 to 20 metres tall. Some are upright on platforms, others are toppled over and broken.

Over the years, global weather has become more extreme and is having a devastating effect. Can the statues of Easter Island survive climate change?

Contributors: Sonia Haoa Cardinali, Archaeologist with the Mata Ki Te Rangi Foundation and coordinator of Easter Island's national monuments, Rapa Nui Roberto Rondanelli, Meteorologist and Climate Scientist at the Department of Geophysics, University of Chile Jo Anne Van Tilburg, Archaeologist and the Director of the Easter Island Statue Project Pilar Vicuña, culture programme officer, Unesco (Santiago de Chile),

Presenter: Charmaine Cozier Producers: Lorna Reader and Jill Collins Production co-ordinators: Liam Morrey and Tim Fernley Editor: Tara McDermott

The South China Sea is a major world shipping route bordered by a number of countries including China, the Philippines, Taiwan, Malaysia, all of whom have staked claims to various zones in this vast expanse of water.

But tensions have grown in recent years between China who claim the majority of the South China Sea for themselves and the Philippines. Lately these tensions have escalated into a series of dangerous encounters as the two countries seek to enforce their right to disputed reefs and outcrops in these contested waters.

At the heart of this particular dispute lies a rusting warship, which belongs to the Philippine navy. It has been berthed on a submerged reef, the Second Thomas Shoal, since 1999, an outpost that the Philippine government claim belongs to them. The Sierra Madre is manned by a small Filipino crew who need a continual supply of provisions from the mainland, but the supply ships are encountering increasingly dangerous stand-offs with the Chinese coast guard in the South China Sea. The Chinese claim these encounters are just aimed at blocking an ‘illegal transportation’ of supplies. But there are concerns that this regional dispute could spark a wider conflict between China and the US, who are treaty-bound to come to the defence of the Philippines, should it come under attack.

So, on this week’s Inquiry, ‘What can a rusting warship tell us about tensions in the South China Sea?’

Contributors: Dr Hasim Turker, independent researcher, Istanbul, Turkey Professor Steve Tsang, director SOAS China Institute, London Professor Jay Batongbacal, director, Institute for Maritime Affairs and Law of the Sea, U.P. Law Centre, Philippines Gregory Poling, director South East Asia Programme and the Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative, Centre for Strategic and International Studies, USA Presenter: Tanya Beckett Producer: Jill Collins Researcher: Katie Morgan Technical producer: Richard Hannaford Production co-ordinator: Tim Fernley Editor: Tara McDermott

(Photo: The Philippine ship BRP Sierra Madre in the disputed Second Thomas Shoal in the South China Sea. Credit: Lisa Marie David/Getty Images)

The H5N1 bird flu virus has spread from birds to dairy cattle in the United States where a number of agricultural workers have also been infected by it. This is thought to be the first time humans have caught the virus from another mammal and the first time the virus has been detected in cattle.

This unusual development is being tracked by virologists who have followed Bird Flu since it first emerged in Hong Kong in the 1990s.

Since then, across the world millions of wild birds and poultry have died from the virus and over 400 human deaths worldwide have been linked to it. So it is a concern that the US outbreak has emerged in dairy cattle herds and that there has been some human infection - although there has been no person-to-person infection.

This Inquiry examines how the virus infects birds and mammals and what the potential is for further transmission to humans.

Contributors: Dr Erin Sorrell is a senior scholar and associate professor at Johns Hopkins University in the US. Professor Wendy Barclay studies viruses at Imperial College London in the UK Dr Ed Hutchinson is a virologist at the MRC University of Glasgow Centre for Virus Research in Scotland Dr Marc-Alain Widdowson leads the high threat pathogens group at the World Health Organisation in Europe.

Presenter: Charmaine Cozier Producer: Phil Reevell Researcher: Katie Morgan Editor: Tara McDermott Sound: Nicky Edwards Production co-ordinator: Tim Fernley

(Photo Cows queuing for their midway milking at United Dreams Dairy, in North Freedom, Wisconsin. Credit: The Washington Post/Getty Images

Since the CNN Presidential Debate in June 2024 headlines in the US calling for Joe Biden to pull out of the race have been relentless. There have been questions about his age, performance, and ability to run for a second term in the White House.

Biden’s ratings have slipped, and donors and party members have publicly said that Biden should step aside.

Joe Biden maintains he will not go and that he is the best person to beat would-be president Donald Trump.

He does still have staunch supporters and he was democratically elected as presumptive nominee by the electorate.

But with weeks to go before the Democratic National Committee meets to make Biden the official candidate, how easy would it be to find a replacement?

This week on The Inquiry we’re asking, can the Democrats replace Biden?

Presented by Tanya Beckett Produced by Louise Clarke Researched by Matt Toulson Production Coordinators: Ellie Dover & Tim Fernley Technical Producer: Nicky Edwards Editor: Tara McDermott

Contributors:

Martha McDevitt Pugh, International Chair of Democrats Abroad

Elaine Kamarck, senior fellow in Governance Studies and the director of the Center for Effective Public Management at The Brookings Institution

Ed Kilgore, political columnist for New York Magazine

Hans Noel, associate Professor of Government at Georgetown University

Image Credit: Bloomberg\Getty

The European Union is made up of 27 sovereign member states and has several governing institutions. On 1 July 2024, Viktor Orbán’s government will hold the presidency of the Council of the European Union for six months.

This diplomatic role may present its challenges because Hungary takes a divergent view from centrist colleagues in a few areas, two of them being climate policy and support for Ukraine. And in the past Hungary has used its veto to stall votes on policies that support Ukraine.

After recent European elections hard-right parties now have a greater presence in the European Parliament and they have different priorities from their more centrist counterparts. The question is how the far-right, together with Hungary’s presidency of the Council of the EU, can alter the direction of European politics.

Presenter: Tanya Beckett Producer: Louise Clarke Researchet: Matt Toulson Sound engineer: Richard Hannaford Production co-ordinator: Tim Fernley Editor: Tara McDermott

Contributors: Pawel Zerka, senior policy fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations in Paris

Thu Nguyen, deputy director of the EU policy think tank the Jacques Delors Centre in Berlin

Dimitar Bechev, from the School of Global and Area Studies at the University of Oxford and Senior fellow at Carnegie Europe

Marta Mucznik, senior EU analyst for International Crisis Group

(Photo:Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Mihaly Orban. Credit: Thierry Monasse/Getty Images)

Artificial Intelligence is something that’s all around us in our daily lives. And even if we do use it, whether that’s to search for a recipe online, make a funny photo, or ask it to help with our homework, every task that AI does uses power. That power is electricity.

Around the world there are thousands of data centres hosting computers that process all our requests. And as those tasks get more sophisticated, and AI becomes Super Intelligent, they will need even more electricity.

But as Super AI develops, could it become so intelligent that it is able to solve the very problems it creates?

Contributors: Dr Mark Van Rijmenam, a strategic futurist Kate Crawford, research professor at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles and senior principal researcher at Microsoft Research in New York Sam Young, AI Manager at Energy Systems Catapult Rose Mutiso, research director of the Energy for Growth Hub

Presented by David Baker Produced by Louise Clarke Researched by Katie Morgan Edited by Tara McDermott Technically Produced by Craig Boardman

The Caribbean country of Haiti has been blighted for years by groups of armed gangs, who have proved more than a match for the national police force, who have struggled to confront them.

Now as the country descends further into lawlessness, a response to Haiti’s plea for international assistance may finally be at hand, in the form of a United Nations backed multi-national security force led by Kenya and supported financially by the United States. This East African country has volunteered to lead the mission with their own elite police unit, to help Haiti’s transitional authorities restore order. But the Kenyan government’s decision to involve itself in another country’s problems has raised some questions back home about the deployment. So, on this week’s Inquiry, we’re asking ‘Why is Kenya getting involved in Haiti?’

Contributors: Robert Fatton Jr, Emeritus Professor of Politics, University of Virginia, USA. Dismas Mokua, Political Risk Analyst, Tricarta Advisory Limited, Nairobi, Kenya Professor Karuti Kanyinga, University of Nairobi Institute for Development Studies, Kenya Michelle Gavin, Ralph Bunche Senior Fellow, Council on Foreign Relations, New York, USA

Presenter: Charmaine Cozier Producer: Jill Collins Researcher: Matt Toulson Technical Producer: Nicky Edwards Production Coordinator:Tim Fernley Editor: Tara McDermott

Image/Credit: Haiti awaits the arrival of Kenyan led international security support mission, Port Au Prince/ORLANDO BARRIA/EPA-EFE/REX Shutterstock via BBC Images

In September 2022 a Christian pastor had a meeting with Kim Keon Hee, the first lady of South Korea, in her private residence. That meeting was recorded with a hidden camera and the film was released a year later.

What happens in the footage is not entirely clear … except that it appears to show two people - a man and a woman meeting, and one offering an expensive bagged gift to the other. This obscure video triggered a political storm so large that some say it even affected the outcome of the country’s parliamentary elections.

So what does a designer handbag say about South Korean politics?

Contributors: Raphael Rashid, freelance Journalist based in Seoul Sarah Son, Director of the Centre for South Korean Studies at the University of Sheffield Jong Eun Lee, Assistant Professor of Political Science at North Greenville University in South Carolina Andrew Yeo, Senior Fellow and South Korea Foundation Chair at the Brookings Institution

Presented by Tanya Beckett Produced by Louise Clarke Researched by Matt Toulson Production Coordinator: Tim Fernley Editor: Tara McDermott

Image Credit: Philip Fong\Getty

On the 28th of May, in a small country on the easternmost reaches of Europe, a new law came into effect.

For the vast majority of people around the world, this new ruling, in a nation of fewer than 4 million inhabitants, went largely unnoticed.

However, for many of the citizens of Georgia it marked a setback, throwing off course the country’s prospects of joining the European Union and aligning it more closely with Moscow.

This week on The Inquiry we’re asking, ‘Is Georgia turning its back on Europe?’

Contributors:

Megi Kartsivadze, DPhil student, Oxford School of Global and Area Studies, University of Oxford, and an invited lecturer at the University of Tbilisi, Georgia

Professor Stephen Jones, Director of the Program on Georgian Studies at the Davis Center at Harvard University, Cambridge, MA

Dr. Lia Tsuladze, Executive Director of the Center for Social Sciences and an Associate Professor of Sociology at Tbilisi State University, Georgia

Maia Nikoladze, Assistant Director in the GeoEconomics Center, Atlantic Council, Washington DC

Production team:

Presenter: Tanya Beckett Producer: Lorna Reader Technical Producer: Craig Boardman Researcher: Matt Toulson Production Coordinators: Ellie Dover & Tim Fernley Editor: Tara McDermott

Image Credit: David Mdzinarishvili/Epa-Efe/Rex/Shutterstock

The current record holder for the world’s biggest iceberg is the A23a. Back in 1986 this colossus broke away from an Antarctic ice sheet. This process of breaking off or ‘calving’ as it is known is a natural part of the life cycle of an ice sheet. But A23a then became lodged in the Weddell Sea for more than thirty years, until four years ago a gradual melting allowed the berg to refloat.

Since then it’s been steadily on the move, heading in the same direction as Antarctic icebergs before it, towards the warm waters of the Southern Ocean, where it will eventually shrink from melting.

As it travels, the iceberg has been playing an important role on the ecological environment around it, both in positive and negative ways. So, on this week on The Inquiry, we’re asking ‘What can the world’s biggest iceberg tell us?’

Contributors: Dr. Catherine Walker, Glaciologist, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Massachusetts, USA Dr. Oliver Marsh, Glaciologist, British Antarctic Survey, Cambridge, UK Jemma Wadham, Professor of Glaciology, UiT The Arctic University of Norway Christopher Shuman, Research Associate Professor, NASA Goddard Space Flight Centre, Maryland, USA

Presenter: William Crawley Producer: Jill Collins Researcher: Katie Morgan Editor: Tara McDermott Production Co-ordinator: Ellie Dover

Image Credit: A23a in Antarctica, Jan 2024. Rob Suisted/Reuters/via BBC Images

In February 2024, Myanmar reactivated an old law which had been on hold for 14 years, stating adult men aged up to 35, and women up to 27 years old, must serve at least two years in the country’s armed forces. The plan is to add sixty thousand new recruits annually – and anyone caught avoiding conscription faces prison and a fine.

It’s part of the military-led government’s bid to fight back in a brutal civil war, which broke out in 2021 after its coup seized power from the democratically elected party. A violent crackdown on the peaceful public protests that followed triggered widespread armed resistance and has energised other groups who are determined to end military leadership.

Myanmar is no stranger to internal unrest, but this latest conflict is pushing it closer to the edge.

This week we’re asking - Is Myanmar on the brink of collapse?

Contributors: Tin Htar Swe, Former Editor of BBC Burmese Service & freelance Myanmar consultant Professor Michael W. Charney, Professor of Asian and Military History, SOAS, University of London Dr David Brenner, Senior Lecturer in International Relations, University of Sussex Dr Min Zaw Oo, Executive Director, Myanmar Institute for Peace and Security

Production team: Presenter: Charmaine Cozier Producer: Lorna Reader Researcher: Matt Toulson Editor: Tara McDermott

Image: A protester holds a placard with a three-finger salute in front of a military tank parked aside the street in front of the Central Bank building in Yangon, Myanmar, on 15 February 2021 (Credit: Aung Kyaw Htet/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)

Historically, Turkey has always had a strong women’s rights movement, stemming from the days of the Ottoman Empire through to the emergence of the Republic of Turkey into the present day. At the top of the movement’s agenda now is the fight to protect women against violence from men. It’s three years since Turkey pulled out of the Istanbul Convention, the Europe wide treaty on combatting violence against women and girls. The Turkish Government has its own version of domestic violence law, but there are concerns that this doesn’t offer the same protection as the Convention.

Campaigners say that femicide and violence against women continues to plague society and that there is an increasingly anti-gender rhetoric within mainstream politics.

So, this week on The Inquiry, we’re asking ‘Is Turkey getting more dangerous for women?’

Contributors: Dr. Sevgi Adak, Institute for the Study of Muslim Civilisations, The Aga Khan University. Professor Seda Demiralp, Işık University, Turkey. Dr. Ezel Buse Sönmezocak, International Human Rights Lawyer, Turkey Dr. Hürcan Aslı Aksoy, German Institute for International and Security Affairs, Berlin.

Presenter: Emily Wither Producer: Jill Collins Researcher: Katie Morgan Production Co-ordinator: Liam Morrey

Image credit: Cagla Gurdogan via REUTERS from BBC Images

The war in Ukraine has reached a pivotal moment.

After months of an apparent stalling on the frontlines, Russia has recently made a series of critical breakthroughs.

Now the race is on for Kyiv to get newly approved military aid to the front line before Russian forces attack Ukraine’s second largest city, Kharkiv.

The 60 billion dollar bill passed in America’s congress at the end of April allows for Ukraine to push back against Russian forces and prepare to mount an offensive next year.

But a gap in the supply of missiles has left Kyiv dangerously exposed and huge questions remain about how Ukraine’s President will act next.

So, on this week’s Inquiry, we’re asking ‘Has US military aid come in time for President Zelensky?’

Contributors:

Gustav Gressel, senior policy fellow with the Wider Europe Programme at the European Council on Foreign Relations’ Berlin office. Max Bergmann, Director, Europe, Russia, and Eurasia Program and Stuart Center, at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), in the US. Dr Marina Miron, post-doctoral researcher in the War Studies Department and an honorary researcher at the Centre for Military Ethics and the Department of Defence Studies, Kings College, London. Professor Olga Onuch, Professor (Chair) in Comparative and Ukrainian Politics at the University of Manchester, UK.

Presenter: Tanya Beckett Producer: Lorna Reader Researcher: Matt Toulson Production Co-ordinator: Liam Morrey

Image credit: Ukrainian Presidential Press Service via Reuters via BBC Images

Last year the US state of Texas introduced a controversial law designed to control the huge number of undocumented migrants crossing its southern border with Mexico. The law known as Senate Bill 4 or SB4, allows local and state police the power to arrest and charge people with a newly created state crime - ‘illegal entry’.

Immigration law has historically been handled by the federal government. Crossing the border is a federal crime and addressed by immigration courts that fall under the justice department.

Now Texas is embroiled in a legal battle and SB4 has been paused. But it’s just the latest measure that Texas has taken to stop hundreds of thousands of migrants entering the US on its border. Back in 2021 the state’s Governor, Greg Abbott launched a multi-billion dollar border security programme known as Operation Lone Star. Along with his Republican lawmakers, the Governor’s argument is that Texas has a legal right to defend itself and they allege that Democrat President Joe Biden has failed to secure the US southern border in violation of the law. But with a Presidential election this November, it remains to be seen if Texas will have a more sympathetic ally in the White House in the future.

So, on this week’s Inquiry, we’re asking ‘Can Texas go it alone on border control?’

Contributors:

Dr. Ernesto Castañeda, Director of the Centre for Latin American and Latino Studies and its Immigration Lab, American University, Washington DC, USA

Dr James Henson, Director, Texas Politics Project, Department of Government, The University of Texas at Austin, USA.

Denise Gilman, Clinical Professor, Co-Director Immigration Clinic, The University of Texas at Austin, School of Law, USA

Julia Gelatt, Associate Director, US Immigration Policy Programme, Migration Policy Institute, Washington DC, USA

Presenter: Charmaine Cozier Producer: Jill Collins Researcher: Matt Toulson Editor: Tara McDermott Technical Producer: Craig Boardman Production Co-ordinator: Liam Morrey

(Photo credit: Adam Davis via BBC Images

Beyonce has released an album that has gone straight to the top of the country music charts.

The 27 tracks include the work of many collaborators from the world of country music, including Black country artist Linda Martell and Dolly Parton’s 1974 song Jolene.

It has been so well received it has become the fastest selling album of the year.

Beyonce is usually known for her pop and RnB. Her success in the country music genre has opened up a wider debate about where country music originates from, who it belongs to and its political associations.

This week on the Inquiry we are asking, who is country ?

Contributors:

William Nash, Professor of American Studies and English at Middleburgh College Francesca Inglese, assistant professor in the Department of Music at Northeastern University Taylor Crumpton, music critic and culture writer from Dallas, Texas Charles Hughes, associate professor at Rhodes College in Memphis, Tennessee and co-founder of the No Fences Review

Presenter: Tanya Beckett Producers: Louise Clarke and Lorna Reader Editor: Tara McDermott Technical Producer: Cameron Ward Production Co-ordinator: Liam Morrey

Image credit: Reuters

An increasing number of people are dying from misuse of synthetic opioids. In 2022, the US recorded over 70,000 overdose deaths involving synthetic opioids. The government is spending billions to combat the effects of these super strength drugs. Synthetic opioids, such as Fentanyl, are made in laboratories by using materials derived from the opium poppy. China is a major hub for the production of synthetic opioids, where it then makes its way to North America through Mexican drug cartels.

The lab-made drugs can be more deadly than the natural materials, but they are more easily accessible, and prevalence is rising across the world.

In West Africa and the Middle East, tramadol is one of the most consumed synthetic drugs. The rise of synthetic opioids in the European market, which are being used as a substitute for a heroin shortage, is fuelling concern that these substances could lead to a rise in drug-related deaths.

This week on The Inquiry, we’re asking are synthetic opioids a global problem?

Contributors Ric Treble, Forensic chemist and advisor to the Government’s Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs Dr Angela Me, Chief of the Research and Trend Analysis Branch from the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime Ben Westhoff, author of Fentanyl, Inc and investigative journalist Dr Vanda Felbab-Brown is a senior fellow in the Strobe Talbott Center for Security, Strategy, and Technology in the Foreign Policy program at Brookings Institution

Production team Presenter: Charmaine Cozier Producers: Vicky Carter and Matt Toulson Researcher: Ajai Singh Editor: Tara McDermott Technical Producer: Cameron Ward Production Co-ordinator: Liam Morrey

Image credit: mikroman6 via Getty Images

Six months into Israel’s war in Gaza and with no sign of a ceasefire or breakthrough in securing the release of the 130 hostages, as yet unaccounted for, pressure is mounting on Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

There have been widespread protests in Tel Aviv and across Israel. There have been calls both from home and abroad for an early election to be called. And Israel’s greatest ally, the United States has sharpened its rhetoric in the past few weeks over Israel’s conduct of the war, with President Biden now saying that he believes Benjamin Netanyahu is making ‘a mistake’ in his handling of it.

For his part, the Israeli Prime Minister looks set to continue with his military offensive and has shown no indication so far that he is willing to step down or call an early election.

So, on this week’s Inquiry, we’re asking ‘How secure is Benjamin Netanyahu’s leadership?’

Contributors: Professor David Tal, the Yossi Harel Chair in Modern Israel Studies, University of Sussex, UK Natan Sachs, Director of the Centre for Middle East Policy, The Brookings Institution, Washington DC, USA Aaron David Miller, Senior Fellow, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, Washington DC, USA Professor Tamar Hermann, Senior Research Fellow, The Israel Democracy Institute, Jerusalem

Presenter: Tanya Beckett Producer: Jill Collins Editor: Tara McDermott Technical Producer: Cameron Ward Production Co-ordinator: Liam Morrey

Image credit: Reuters via BBC Images

Multiple Sclerosis (MS) is a neurological disease which can lead to loss of mobility and vision. Almost 3 million people worldwide are affected by it. There is no cure, but attempts are being made to accelerate the healing process with treatments to restore what the disease has damaged.

At the same time, scientists have recently discovered a link between MS and a common virus that the majority of us carry in our bodies. It had been known for years that there was a link between Multiple Sclerosis and Epstein-Barr virus (EBV). But then, a study finally proved the link.

Now, trials are underway on potential vaccines against EBV and scientists are hopeful that this could be a gateway to preventing MS.

This week on the Inquiry we are asking: Are we close to a breakthrough for Multiple Sclerosis?

Contributors:

Tim Coetzee, Chief Advocacy, Services & Science Officer for the National MS Society, US Tjalf Ziemssen, Professor of Clinical Neuroscience and Head of the Multiple Sclerosis Center and Neuroimmunological Laboratory, University Clinic Carl-Gustav Carus, Germany Jeffrey Huang, Associate Professor of Biology, Georgetown University, US Claire Shannon-Lowe, Associate Professor in Virology, Institute of Immunology and Immunotherapy at the University of Birmingham, UK

Production team:

Presenter: Tanya Beckett Producer: Matt Toulson Researcher: Ajai Singh Editor: Tara McDermott Studio Manager: Hal Haines Production Co-ordinator: Liam Morrey

Image Credit: Shidlovski\Getty

For centuries chocolate has had a global appeal, the key ingredient of this confectionery is derived from the dried and fully fermented seed of the Theobroma cacao, whose origins began in northern Amazonia. From this tree, both cocoa solids and cocoa butter can be extracted to form the basis of chocolate.

Today, it’s the West African countries of Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana that produce the bulk of the world’s supply of cocoa beans. But in recent years hotter temperatures and shifts in rainfall patterns have impacted cocoa harvests particularly in this region. And now the global price of this key ingredient has roughly doubled since the start of last year, fuelling concern that demand could outweigh supply. Cocoa farming itself is mainly small scale and these farmers are at the bottom end of the value chain when it comes to profits. But whilst many of the major chocolate manufacturers do invest in the industry, with support for improved planting and harvesting techniques, farming sustainably is just one of a number of challenges that these small farmers face.

So on this week’s Inquiry, we’re asking ‘Is climate change impacting chocolate production?’

Contributors: Dr Katie Sampeck, British Academy Global Professor of Historical Archaeology, University of Reading, England Philip Antwi-Agyei, Associate Professor, Department of Environmental Science, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Ghana Steffany Bermúdez, Policy Advisor, International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD), Canada Yunusa Abubakar, Project Manager, International Cocoa Organisation (ICCO), Côte d’Ivoire

Presenter: Charmaine Cozier Producer: Jill Collins Researcher: Matt Toulson Editor: Tara McDermott Technical Producer: Hal Haines Production Co-ordinator: Liam Morrey

Image by grafvision via Getty Images

In February this year, El Salvador's president Nayib Bukele won re-election with nearly 85% of the vote. His flagship policy after he came to power in 2019 has been the mass arrest of thousands of alleged gang members, mainly young men.

It is estimated that over 100,000 people are now behind bars as part of his crime crackdown. The round-ups have been hugely popular with El Salvador's people as it has improved security and neighbouring countries are taking note.

But critics say following Bukele's approach could threaten democracy, not just in El Salvador but across the continent. So on this week’s Inquiry, we’re asking: Will neighbouring countries follow El Salvador's lead on crime?

Contributors: Carlos Dada, director of El Faro, an online newspaper based in El Salvador Katherine Saunders-Hastings, a lecturer in Latin American Studies at the University of London's Institute of the Americas. Will Freeman, Fellow for Latin American Studies at the Council on Foreign Relations, New York. Monica Pachon , a political scientist and professor at the University of the Andes in Bogotá, Colombia.

Presenter: David Baker Producer: Farhana Haider Journalism Researcher: Matt Toulson Editor: Tara McDermott Technical Producer: Nicky Edwards Production Co-ordinator: Tim Fernley and Liam Morrey

Image Credit: Alex Peña / Stringer via Getty Images

More than half of the world’s population currently lives in cities, and by 2050, the UN estimates that figure will rise to nearly 7 in 10 people. The world is also getting hotter, with heatwaves and wildfires becoming increasingly common.

So how can we deal with the dual challenges of increasing urbanisation and extreme weather caused by climate change? Perhaps we should look downwards.

For millennia, humans have taken refuge underground from the elements, predators and from war. Even today, bomb shelters exist under major cities like Beijing and Seoul. Many cities across the world have subway systems for easy transportation – and some are integrated seamlessly with below-ground business and shopping centres.

But what are the future challenges for urban planners and architects in this subterranean space, and how can we overcome the social stigma against those who live underground?

This week on the Inquiry, we ask: is our future underground?

Contributors: Martin Dixon, trustee of Subterranea Britannica, a society devoted to the study and investigation of man-made and man-used underground places. Jacques Besner, architect and urban planner; co-founder and general manager of Associated Research Centres for Urban Underground Spaces. Antonia Cornaro co-chair of ITACUS, the International Tunnelling and Underground Space Association's Committee on Underground Space. Professor Clara Irazábal, Director of the Urban Studies and Planning Program at the University of Maryland, USA.

Presenter: Tanya Beckett Producer: Ravi Naik Editor: Tara McDermott Researcher: Matt Toulson Production Coordinators : Janet Staples & Liam Morrey

Photo by BEHROUZ MEHRI via Getty Images

The Mexican government has won its appeal to bring a civil lawsuit against a number of American gun companies. Mexico, which has extremely restrictive gun laws, claims that the ‘deliberate’ business practices of these US firms results in the illegal flow of firearms into Mexico, contributing to the gun crime violence in the country. They are now seeking as much as ten billion dollars in compensation.

The gun companies, which include some of America’s oldest established names in the firearms business, deny any wrongdoing. Since 2005, these companies have being granted immunity from prosecution under the ‘Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act’. This law protects the firearms manufacturers and dealers from being held liable when crimes have been committed with their products. But Mexico’s argument is that PLCAA, as it’s also known, only applies within the United States and therefore doesn’t protect the companies from liability.

It’s a case which is also resonating with other Latin American countries who have been impacted by illegal gun trafficking from the United States. Some of these countries have supported Mexico’s claims in the courts. And they will be watching closely to see if Mexico’s lawsuit, the first by a sovereign state, can set a precedent.

So on this week’s Inquiry, we’re asking ‘Can Mexico win its battle with US gun companies?’

Contributors: Ioan Grillo, journalist and author focusing on Organised Crime, Mexico Adam Winkler, Cornell Professor of Law, UCLA School of Law, California, USA Robert Spitzer, Distinguished Service Professor Emeritus of Political Science, SUNY Cortland; Adjunct Faculty Member, College of William and Mary School of Law, USA Dr. León Castellanos-Jankiewicz, Senior Researcher, Asser Institute for International and European Law; Academic Supervisor, International Law Clinic on Access to Justice for Gun Violence, University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands. Presenter: Charmaine Cozier Producer: Jill Collins Journalism Researcher: Matt Toulson Editor: Tara McDermott Technical Producer: Cameron Ward Production Co-ordinator: Liam Morrey Image: Reuters via BBC Images

One of the most famous of Egypt’s pyramids, Menkaure’s pyramid on the Giza plateau, is the subject of controversy after the Egyptian authorities announced plans to restore it in what the country’s Head of Antiquities has called “the project of the century” and Egypt’s “gift to the world”. But not everyone believes such a restoration is in keeping with the demands of proper archaeological preservation.

The plans met with opposition from archaeologists and Egyptologists both inside and outside the country. The project has now been paused after recommendations from a scientific committee commissioned by the Egyptian authorities.

So what’s going on with the pyramids?

Presenter: Gary O’Donoghue Producer: Louise Clarke Researcher: Matt Toulson Editor: Tara McDermott Technical producer: Nicky Edwards Production co-ordinator: Liam Morrey

Contributors: Aidan Dodson, honorary Professor of Egyptology at Bristol university in the UK Dr Jennifer Hellum, senior lecturer in classics and ancient history at the University of Auckland in New Zealand Heba Saleh, Cairo correspondent for the Financial Times Salima Ikram, professor of Egyptology at the American University in Cairo

Photo by KHALED ELFIQI/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock via BBC Images

Across the world fertility rates are falling and for the first time Europe is experiencing a sustained population decline. The average fertility rate for the European Union is 1.53 live births per woman. In Italy the fertility rate has remained low for the last thirty years, with an average 1.3 births per woman.

Some governments, who are concerned that not enough people are being born to keep their economies functioning in the long term are spending billions on incentives and policies to try and reverse the trend. But even in the Nordic countries, which are noted for some of the best family focused policies, these are proving ineffective against a markedly high drop in fertility rates over the last decade.

Society’s attitudes on when or whether to start a family are shifting, so does this mean that we need to change the way we approach the issue or even adapt to a future with fewer people?

On this week’s Inquiry, we’re asking ‘Can Europe reverse its falling fertility rates?’

Contributors: Anna Rotkirch, Research Director, Population Research Institute, The Family Federation of Finland, Helsinki Michael Herrmann, Senior Advisor on Economics and Demography, United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), Turkey Arnstein Aassve, Professor of Demography, Political Science Centre, Bocconi University, Milan, Italy Tomas Sobotka, Deputy Director, Vienna Institute of Demography, Austrian Academy of Sciences

Presenter: Charmaine Cozier Producer: Jill Collins Journalism Researcher: Matt Toulson Editor: Tara McDermott Technical Producers: Nicky Edwards and Toby James Production Co-ordinator: Liam Morrey

Image Credit: PA via BBC Images

In the next two or three years America’s National Aeronautics and Space Administration - NASA - plans to send a mission into space that will land people on the moon for the first time in over a half a century.

The mission has already been pushed back and is widely expected to be delayed again.

But America is not alone. Both China and India also have ambitions to land people on the lunar surface.

Who is next to walk on the moon is driven by geopolitics and a desire to harness the moon’s resources. Different countries, and even the private companies involved, all have different agendas. Who gets there first may even determine the political ideology of any future permanent human settlement.

Contributors: Oliver Morton, Senior Editor at The Economist and author of The Moon, A History for the Future Eric Berger, Senior Space Editor at Ars Technica Christopher Newman, Professor of space law and policy at Northumbria University Namrata Goswami, Professor at the Thunderbird School of Global Management at Arizona State University

Presenter: Tanya Beckett Producer: Louise Clarke Journalism Researcher: Matt Toulson Editor: Tara McDermott Technical Producer: Richard Hannaford Production Coordinator: Liam Morrey

Image: U.S. Flag On The Moon by Encyclopaedia Britannica via Getty Images Credit: NASA Youtube Channel

The Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church - once a powerful marker of nationhood - is deeply split as result of the recent civil war in Tigray which exacerbated historical tensions in the church.

The Church, which traces its history to the fourth century, was once the biggest denomination in Ethiopia with nearly 44 percent of the population calling themselves Orthodox Christians, but now its centrality in Ethiopian spiritual and political life - once unquestioned - appears to hang in the balance, with a steady increase in the number of people joining other denominations and the number of people calling themselves Orthodox Christians diminishing. Ethiopia is a modern state, with the second largest population in Africa, led by Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, who won the Nobel Peace Prize for 2019. But months after he took power, Ethiopia was ripped apart by a civil war which broke out in November 2020 and left tens of thousands of civilians dead. In May 2021, four archbishops in Tigray announced that they were forming an independent structure. They accused the church of not opposing the war - and of being too close to Abiy Ahmed's government. Although a ceasefire was agreed in 2022, the recent splits highlight historic ethnic and religious tensions in Ethiopia.

Contributors:

Ralph Lee: Oxford Centre for Mission Studies in the UK. Mebratu Kelecha: London School of Economics. His research focuses on conflict, peace building and democracy. Yohannes Woldemariam: US-based academic specialising in the Horn of Africa and the Middle East. Jorge Haustein: Associate Professor of World Christianity at the University of Cambridge.

CREDITS Presenter: Audrey Brown Producer: Philip Reevell. Researcher: Matt Toulson Technical Producer: Nicky Edwards. Production Coordinator: Tim Fernley Editor: Tara McDermott

Main Image: Ethiopian Orthodox priests walk around the church during the Saint Michael's anniversary celebration at St. Michael church in Mekele, the capital of Tigray region, Ethiopia

Image Credit: Yasuyoshi Chiba\AFP via Getty

After serving nearly a year of his 26 year sentence for treason in a Nicaraguan jail, Bishop Rolando Álvarez of Matagalpa was flown to Rome in January. The high profile bishop known as an outspoken critic of President Ortega’s Sandinista government has been under house arrest since August 2022. He was allowed to leave the country alongside his supporter Bishop Isidoro Mora and a group of priests and seminarians, after a request from the Vatican. It’s the latest development in a relationship between Nicaragua and the Holy See that has grown increasingly tense. President Ortega has had a complicated relationship with Nicaragua’s Catholic clergy ever since he first came to power in the 1979 revolution. It was with the help of the Church that Daniel Ortega returned to power in 2006, but as his rule became increasingly more authoritarian he steadily repressed any sort of opposition, including critical voices from within the clergy. Mass peaceful protests over social security reforms in 2018 ramped up the repression from the Ortega government in the following years. Opposition leaders, journalists, and prominent leaders from within the R.C.Church were amongst those expelled or advised to leave the country and some like Bishop Álvarez were even imprisoned. The situation has left the Catholic Church in a difficult position. There are no diplomatic ties now between Nicaragua and the Holy See and since the end of the Cold War it appears that the international community has found more pressing concerns. Nicaragua’s Catholic neighbours may have the country on their radars, but how willing they are in supporting the Pope over his concerns for Nicaragua’s Catholic population remains to be seen.

So, this week on The Inquiry we’re asking ‘Can the Vatican stop Nicaragua’s Catholic crackdown?

Contributors: Brandon Van Dyck, Associate Director of the Princeton Initiative in Catholic Thought, The Aquinas Institute, New Jersey, USA Bianca Jagger, President of the Bianca Jagger Human Rights Foundation, Executive Directors Leadership Council of Amnesty International, London Andrea Gagliarducci, Vatican Analyst, EWTN /ACI Group, Rome, Italy Ryan Berg, Director, Americas Programme, Centre for Strategic and International Studies, Washington DC, USA

Presenter: Tanya Beckett Producer: Jill Collins Researcher: Matt Toulson Editor: Tara McDermott Technical Producer: Cameron Ward Broadcast Co-ordinator: Tim Fernley

Image Credit: Mireya Acierto\Getty

After months of tension and hostility in the Middle East over the Gaza-Israel conflict, Iran has publicly stated its desire to avoid a regional conflict. It has however displayed its military force on several fronts.

There have been missile strikes. Iran targeted militant bases in western Pakistan leading to a retaliatory back-and-forth with Pakistan. With attacks on Iraq and Syria, Tehran said it was targeting Islamic State and Israel's Mossad spy agency - both of whom it claimed were behind the deadliest domestic attack on Iranian soil since the Islamic revolution – an attack in early January that killed almost a hundred people in the southern city of Kerman.

Iran has been using proxy groups too - the so-called “Axis of Resistance” – to carry out attacks on Israel and its allies to show solidarity with the Palestinians. The axis is a grouping of Iran-backed militant groups including Houthi militants in Yemen who have been responsible for disrupting shipping in the Red Sea and have been targeted by US and UK air strikes aimed at deterring them. Other members of the axis include Hezbollah in Lebanon and various groups in Syria and Iraq. Tehran insists that the groups act independently but that the coalition shares its goals. Iran’s stated aim is to roll back US influence in the Middle East and it stands ideologically opposed to Israel. Iran’s grown closer to China and Russia too, the latter more so since the start of the Ukraine war in 2022. What does Iran hope to gain from these relationships?

We also ask how Iran wants the current Israel-Gaza conflict to end.

So this week on The Inquiry we’re asking ‘What does Iran want?’

Experts: Negar Mortazavi, Iranian journalist and Senior Fellow at the Center for International Policy. Kirsten Fontenrose is a non-resident fellow at the Scowcroft Middle East Security Initiative in the Atlantic Council’s Middle East Programs. Professor Maryam Alemzadeh, Associate Professor in History and Politics of Iran at the Oxford School of Global and Area Studies (OSGA) and a Middle East Centre Fellow. Suzanne Maloney is the vice president and director of the Foreign Policy program at the Brookings Institution, where her research focuses on Iran and Persian Gulf energy.

CREDITS: Presenter: Charmaine Cozier Producer: Philip Reevell Researcher: Matt Toulson Production Coordinator: Tim Fernley Editor: Tara McDermott Technical Producer: Nicky Edwards

Image: Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamanei

Image Credit: Anadolu/Getty

Indonesia’s ambitious plan to move the administrative headquarters of its capital city from Jakarta to a new location on the island of Borneo, in the East Kalimantan province, is nearing the completion of its first phase. Known as Nusantara, the new city’s inauguration is scheduled to coincide with Indonesia’s Independence Day on 17th August, the date of the final term of office for the current President Joko Widodo.

The project has been deemed necessary as Jakarta is considered no longer fit for purpose. Located on the island of Java, it ranks as one of the most densely populated cities in the world and it is reported to be sinking by around 17 centimetres a year in some areas, due to a combination of environmental pollution and climate change.

With four more phases to go, around two million people are expected to inhabit Nusantara by the planned completion date of 2045, but that remains dependent on a number of factors and the schedule has already hit some challenges.

Future development is reliant on billions of dollars from foreign investors and currently the Government is struggling to secure much commitment. Furthermore, with Presidential elections due next month, there are concerns about whether a new leader will be inclined to continue with the vision announced by the outgoing President Joko Widodo.

So this week on The Inquiry, we’re asking ‘Can Indonesia pull off relocating its capital?’

Contributors: Dr Athiqah Nur Alami, Head of Research Centre for Politics, National Research and Innovation Agency, Indonesia. Dimas Wisnu Adrianto, Assistant Professor, Department of Urban and Regional Planning, Brawijaya University, Indonesia Sulfikar Amir, Associate Professor of Science, Technology and Society, School of Social Sciences, Nanyang University, Singapore Julia Lau, Senior Fellow and Co Coordinator, Indonesia Studies Programme, ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute, Singapore

Presenter: Charmaine Cozier Producers: Matt Toulson and Jill Collins Editor: Tara McDermott Technical Producer: Nicky Edwards and Toby James Production Co-ordinator: Tim Fernley

Image credit: Dimas Ardian/Bloomberg/Getty.

In 1973 America ended a draft that had been in effect since before it entered the second World War, and for the last fifty years the US Army, Navy, Air Force and Marines have been an all-volunteer military.

But, recently, of the four major branches which make up the US armed services, only the Marines have achieved their target for new recruits. And the biggest force, the Army, has been struggling most of all. In the past two years its missed its recruiting target by several thousand.

In this edition of the Inquiry, Sandra Kanthal looks at the myriad reasons the American Army is failing to enlist enough new soldiers, and why this may affect what impact it can have on global security.

Guests: Nora Bensahel – Professor of the Practice at the School of Advanced International Studies, Johns Hopkins University Mark Cancian - Senior Advisor at the Center for Strategic and International Studies Peter Feaver – Professor of Political Science and Public Policy, Duke University and author of Thanks For Your Service: The Causes and Consequences of Public Confidence in the US Military Beth Asch – Senior Economist, The Rand Corporation

Production Team: Presenter: Sandra Kanthal Producer: Sandra Kanthal Editor: Tara McDermott Technical Producer: James Beard Production Co-ordinator: Tim Fernley

Image Credit: Bo Zaunders\Getty

Something strange started happening in early 2023 in the waters off south-western Europe, where the Mediterranean sea meets the Atlantic ocean. Orcas began slamming into the sides of fishing and sailing vessels. The killer whales then dived underneath to locate and destroy the rudders used to steer the boats. Once finished, the orcas departed, leaving shocked crews and thousands of dollars of damage behind. Some of the attacks were over in a matter of minutes, but others lasted hours.

It’s very unusual behaviour for this particular mammal, but orcas are under a lot of threat from man-made hazards. Factors like underwater noise pollution, overfishing, toxic waste and climate change to name a few are making orca life extremely difficult. Could all of this have caused this change in behaviour?

Contributors:

Billy Heaney, zoologist, wildlife tour guide and presenter Dr Jeremy Kiszka, professor of biology at Florida International University in Miami Hannah Strager, marine biologist and director of exhibitions at the Whale Museum in Norway Nicola Hodgins, researcher with the global charity Whale and Dolphin Conservation

Presenter: Charmaine Cozier Producers: Anoushka Mutanda-Dougherty, Jill Collins, Matt Toulson Editors: Tara McDermott and Tom Bigwood Researcher: Matt Toulson Sound designer: Nicky Edwards Production co-ordinator: Jordan King

Image: An orca showing its teeth (Credit: Marcos del Mazo/LightRocket via Getty Images)

Sargassum seaweed was recorded as far back as the 15th century when Christopher Columbus wrote in his expedition diaries about miles and miles and miles of dense seaweed as he crossed the Atlantic Ocean. In 2011, a great mass of this seaweed emerged, stretching from West Africa to the Gulf of Mexico, a phenomenon known as the Great Atlantic Sargassum Belt. Since then it’s been washing up on coastlines in massive amounts, causing a big impact on communities whose economy relies heavily on the tourism industry. As the seaweed decays it releases hydrogen sulphide which has a strong odour of rotten eggs.

Various research projects are looking into ways of containing this seaweed, as no one has found a viable solution on an industrial scale. But whilst it is causing problems onshore, offshore in the deep ocean of the Sargasso Sea, the sargassum provides a unique ecosystem for a variety of marine life including turtles and swordfish.

So, this week on The Inquiry we’re asking, ‘What’s going on with sargassum seaweed?’

Contributors:

Dr. Chuanmin Hu, Professor of Oceanography, University of South Florida College of Marine Science, USA

Dr. David Freestone, Executive Secretary, The Sargasso Sea Commission, Washington DC, USA

Dr. Marie-Louise Felix, Marine Biologist and Lecturer, Sir Arthur Lewis Community College, Consultant to the Department of Fisheries, St Lucia

Ajit Subramaniam, Biological Oceanographer, Lamont Research Professor, Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory of Columbia University, New York, USA

Presenter: Charmaine Cozier Producer: Jill Collins Researcher: George Crafer Editor: Tara McDermott Technical Producer: Nicky Edwards Production Co-ordinator: Jordan King

Image: Miami Beach, Florida, North Beach Atlantic Ocean shoreline, large quantity of arriving seaweed sargassum macroalgae, tourist trying to swim. (Photo by: Jeffrey Greenberg/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)

Toyota has unveiled a revolutionary electric car battery, able to travel 1,200 kilometres in one go and can be charged in just ten minutes.

Toyota’s CEO Koji Sato said that “commercialisation of solid state batteries is a thing of the future... now within reach, changing the future of cars". The company also claims to be on the brink of being able to manufacture them.

So is this, as some are claiming, a ‘watershed moment’ in car making? Can these new batteries now be produced at scale? What impact will this have on the popularity of electric cars and their uptake?

Has Toyota solved the electric car battery problem?

Contributors:

Paul Shearing, chair in sustainable energy engineering and director of the Zero Institute at the University of Oxford. Shirley Meng, Professor of Molecular Engineering at the University of Chicago. Jeff Liker, Professor of Industrial Engineering at the University of Michigan for 35 years. Dr Evi Petavratzi, a mineral commodity specialist from the British Geological Survey. Presenter: Tanya Beckett Producer: Bob Howard Editor: Tara McDermott Sound Designer: Gareth Jones Production Coordinator: Jordan King

Image: Olga Rolenko via Getty Images - 1403000871

Tensions between South American neighbours Venezuela and Guyana have ratcheted up a notch in recent weeks over the disputed oil rich region of Essequibo. The territory, which is roughly the size of Florida, currently makes up around two thirds of Guyana and vast oil reserves were discovered here in 2015 which have helped make Guyana’s economy one of the fastest growing in the world. Essequibo has come under the authority of Guyana and before it British Guiana for more than a century, but Venezuela has always disputed that decision made by an international tribunal back in 1899. The issue is currently with the International Court of Justice in the Hague, who are expected to make a decision next year. But Venezuela does not recognise their jurisdiction. And now President Maduro has used the results of a recent referendum claiming rights over Essequibo, as evidence to support his threat to move forward with plans to annexe the region.

So this week on The Inquiry, we’re asking ‘Is Venezuela about to invade its neighbour?’

Contributors: Phil Gunson, Senior Analyst, Andes, Caracas, Venezuela for International Crisis Group Alejandro Velasco, Associate Professor of Latin American History, New York University, author of ‘Barrio Rising: Urban Popular Politics and the Making of Modern Venezuela Dr Christopher Sabatini, Senior Fellow for Latin America at Chatham House, London Dr Annette Idler, Associate Professor in Global Security, Blavatnik School of Government, University of Oxford.

Presenter: David Baker Producer: Jill Collins Researcher: George Crafer Editor: Tara McDermott Technical Producer: Mitch Goodall Broadcast Co-ordinator: Jordan King

Image credit: Anadolu\Getty

In less than a year, France will play host to the Olympic and Paralympic Games. The opening ceremony will be played out along the River Seine in the nation’s capital city Paris. The Seine is also set to be the scene of the open-water swimming events and work is now being done to make sure the polluted waterway will be clean and safe enough for the Olympic participants.

To accommodate the expected influx of visitors to the Games, new transport links are been built. Whilst its already been acknowledged that some of the network is planned to link up a number of Olympic sites, it won’t be ready in time for the Games. There are plans to provide extra river boats and cycle lanes.

In addition to all this is the question of whether the French themselves are in the mood to celebrate the Games. This summer saw waves of social and political unrest in the country, but traditional sporting events like the Rugby World Cup have played a role in bringing the country together.

This week on The Inquiry, we’re asking ‘Is Paris Ready for the 2024 Olympics?’

Contributors: Jean-Marie Mouchel, Professor of Hydrology, Sorbonne University, Paris, France Florence Villeminot, Journalist and Presenter, France 24, Paris, France Bill Hanway, Global Sports Leader, AECOM, Dallas, Texas, USA Rainbow Murray, Professor of Politics, Queen Mary University of London

Presenter: Tanya Beckett Producer: Jill Collins Researcher: Matt Toulson Technical Producer: Kelly Young Production Co-ordinator: Jordan King Editor Tara McDermott

Photo: Olympic Rings to celebrate the IOC official announcement that Paris won the 2024 Olympic bid are seen in front of the Eiffel Tower at the Trocadero square in Paris, France, September 16, 2017. Credit: Reuters

Around 1 billion people around the world suffer from a mysterious neurological condition called migraine. Far more than just a headache, migraine is abnormal processing of the world around us that can have symptoms like loss of sight and speech, dizziness, nausea and extreme fatigue.

There are drugs which can help those struggling with the condition like anti-depressants and anti-convulsants. However, they weren’t developed specifically for migraine and can come with quite a lot of side effects or simply not work.

For a long time migraine medication has been a process of trial and error.

But a new class of drugs called anti-CGRPs are being hailed as a breakthrough migraine medication. Anti-CGRPs have a small side effect profile and were designed specifically to target migraine. They work by blocking CGRP (Calcitonin Gene-Related Peptide) from building up in the body and triggering a receptor in the brain which turns on a head pain pathway causing the migraine attack.

Earlier this year the National Institute of Health and Care Excellence - or NICE – in England cleared the use of an anti-CGRP called Rimegepant to use as both a preventive and acute treatment. Clinicians are hoping this will massively improve the lives of those living with the condition.

So this week on The Inquiry were asking ‘Have we reached a turning point with migraine medication?’

Contributors: Dr. Amaal Starling, neurologist and headache specialist at Mayo Clinic in Scottsdale, in the US state of Arizona. Dr Faraidoon, researcher at the Georgian Institute for Global Health at the University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia. Peter Goadsby , Director of the NIHR King's Clinical Research Facility and a professor of neurology at King's College London, England. Dr Lise Rystad Oie, researcher at the government funded Norwegian Centre for Headache Research - also known as NorHead.

Presenter: Charmaine Cozier Producer: Anoushka Mutanda-Dougherty Editor: Tara McDermott Researcher: Matt Toulson Technical Producer: Craig Boardman Broadcast Co-ordinator: Jordan King

Image: eternalcreative - Getty Images: 1372323487

Bangladesh is set to hold parliamentary elections next January. But only time will tell whether there will be real change at the top or whether the current Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and her Awami League will remain in power.

In recent months there has been an increase in political protests calling for a neutral interim government ahead of the polls opening. But these protests have only resulted in increasing numbers of senior leaders of the opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party being rounded up and put in jail.

Historically, the country has had a fractured relationship with democracy since its birth in 1971, but the government for their part has denied accusations of democratic backsliding.

So this week on the Inquiry we’re asking ‘Why is Bangladesh in turmoil?’

Contributors:

Sabir Mustafa, a former Editor of the BBC Bengali Service, now based in Washington DC, USA

Dr. Avinash Paliwal, Reader in International Relations, Department of Politics and International Relations, SOAS University of London

Ali Riaz, Distinguished Professor in the Department of Politics and Government, Illinois State University, USA and non-resident Senior Fellow of the Atlantic Council

Dr. Geoffrey MacDonald, Visiting Expert in the South Asia Programme, United States Institute of Peace, Washington DC, USA

Presenter: Tanya Beckett Producer: Jill Collins Researcher: Matt Toulson Editor: Tara McDermott Technical Producer: Richard Hannaford Broadcast Co-ordinator: Jordan King

Photo: Bangladesh Nationalist Party protest for Sheikh Hasina’s resignation, Dhaka -28th Oct 2023. Credit: Photo by MONIRUL ALAM/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock(14171078p)

The head of Ukraine’s armed forces, General Zaluzhny, has a frank take on his country’s conflict with Russia: "Just like in the First World War, we have reached the level of technology that puts us into a stalemate."

He explains that using drones and remote surveillance equipment in battlezones means each side knows what the other is doing. That slows down troops advancing, and creates a standoff. In a separate essay offering solutions, the general states that fresh tech innovation is the key to cracking it.

President Zelensky disagreed, and his office accuses the general of making “the aggressor’s job easier.” The Kremlin also denies there’s a deadlock. But with the world’s attention also focused on the Middle East, has attention drifted away from the Ukraine conflict – and if it has, what does that mean for Ukraine’s campaign?

Charmaine Cozier explores the current state of fighting which continues on the eastern frontline, and whether Ukraine’s recent attacks on Crimea demonstrate the country’s capacity to fight back against Russia’s forces. Meanwhile, Moscow has been building up an ‘axis of the sanctioned’ – countries including Iran and North Korea, which are providing armaments and sharing technology to support Russia’s military in Ukraine in a war of attrition.

And as the war heads towards its second year, is international support for Ukraine holding up? In the United States, some Republican lawmakers have delayed the latest package of military aid to Ukraine as they raise questions about the cost of the war for Americans. One year out from the next Presidential election, support for Ukraine may become an election issue. In Europe, support for Ukraine has been signalled by the European Union as it recommends formal talks should begin. Contributors: Tymofiy Mylovanov is president of Kyiv School of Economics. He’s also a former member of the Ukrainian government. Before leaving it in 2020, his roles included minister of economy, international trade and agriculture.

Dr. Hanna Notte is director of the Eurasian programme at the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies. It focuses on research and training around preventing the spread of nuclear weapons and technologies. She’s also senior associate with the Europe, Russia and Eurasia programme at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington.

Natasha Lindstaedt is a professor of government at the University of Essex in England

Mark Katz is a professor of government and politics at the George Mason University Schar School of Policy and Government in Virginia in the US.

Presenter: Charmaine Cozier Producer: Philip Reevell. Researcher: Matt Toulson Editor: Tara McDermott Technical producer: Richard Hannaford.

Image credit Getty Images

When the Referendum to give Australia’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders greater political rights was first announced, it was well received, with the early polls suggesting that more than sixty percent of Australians supported it.

This was an opportunity for the establishment of an advisory body to Parliament that would allow Indigenous Peoples a voice on the issues affecting their own communities and for them to be recognised in the Australian constitution.

The ‘YES’ campaign said their proposals outlined in the Uluru Statement from the Heart, requested a modest yet profound change, allowing Indigenous Australians to take their ‘rightful place’ in their own country.

Whilst the ‘NO’ campaigners argued that the ‘Voice to Parliament’ would be racially divisive, giving Indigenous Peoples greater rights over other Australians.

In the end Australia voted ‘NO’ to changing the status quo, by an overwhelming majority.

This week on The Inquiry, we’re asking ‘What went wrong with Australia’s Indigenous call for a voice?’

Contributors: John Maynard, Emeritus Professor, Aboriginal History and Research, University of Newcastle, NSW Australia. Tim Soutphommasane, Chief Diversity Officer, Professor of Practice in Human Rights and Political Theory, University of Oxford, UK and a Former Race Discrimination Commissioner for Australia Andrea Carson, Professor of Political Communication, La Trobe University, Melbourne, Australia Thomas Mayo, Indigenous Rights Advocate, Maritime Union of Australia Official and Author

Presenter: David Baker Producer: Jill Collins Researcher: Matt Toulson Technical Producer: Richard Hannaford Production Co-ordinator: Jordan King Editor: Tara McDermott

Image: Voice Referendum in Australia: Credit: Reuters.

Audio for this episode was updated on 20th November 2023.

The Human Cell Atlas is a project that has 3000 researchers in over 94 countries working to collect samples of every single cell in the human body.

The idea is that an interactive map of the body will be created. It will be a reference for what every kind of normal human cell should look like. But that will also vary depending on who you are and where you live.

It will give doctors a tool to measure illness and disease and make diagnosis and treatment much quicker.

The database will enable any doctor, anywhere in the world, with the right kind of interface, to access the information.

It could be ground-breaking for the treatment of disease and the democratisation of healthcare.

Contributors: Dr Aviv Regev, one of the co-chairs of the Human Cell Atlas Dr Sarah Teichmann from the Wellcome Sanger Institute and the University of Cambridge Dr Piero Carninci, Geneticist, Transcriptome Technology and RIKEN Centre Sean Bendall, Associate Professor of pathology and immunology at Stanford University

Presented by Tanya Beckett Produced by Louise Clarke Researched by Anoushka Mutanda-Dougherty Edited by Tara McDermott Technical Producer is Richard Hannaford Production Co-ordinator is Jordan King

Image: Medical Technology Stock Photo by Kentoh via Getty Images

After violence erupted between Hamas and Israel, President Biden flew to Tel Aviv to offer his ‘staunch’ ally US support.

In a very public embrace of Israel, he reinforced a relationship that goes back decades to Israel's foundation.

But does the US have the diplomatic influence to bring peace to the region?

This week on the Inquiry: what can US diplomacy achieve in the Middle East.

Contributors:

David Sanger, White House and national security correspondent and senior writer for The New York Times Steven Cook, senior fellow for Middle Eastern Studies at the Council on Foreign Relations Emma Ashford, senior fellow at the Stimson Center Brian Katulis, vice president of policy at the Middle East Institute

Presented by Gary O’Donoghue Produced by Louise Clarke Researched by Matt Toulson Co-ordinated by Jordan King

Image: (Photo by GPO/ Handout/Anadolu via Getty Images)

Climate change and the war in Ukraine is transforming the geopolitics of the Arctic.

Melting ice opens up the possibility of new trade routes making the region more valuable.

Tensions in the area are rising as Russia turns to China for cooperation. China in return wants to position itself as a major power in the region.

Geopolitical tensions mean that any disputes become harder to resolve and potentially more dangerous. And in a region that’s vulnerable to climate change science is also suffering – without cooperation between countries valuable data is being lost.

Contributors: Andreas Østhagen, Senior Researcher at Fridtjof Nansens Institute

Stefan Hedlund, Professor of Russian and East European Studies at Uppsala University in Sweden

Matthew Funaiole, senior fellow of the China Power Project at the Center for Strategic and International Studies

Sophie Arts, from the Geostrategy North team at the German Marshall Fund of the United States

Presented by Emily Wither Produced by Louise Clarke and Ravi Naik Researched by Anoushka Mutanda-Dougherty Mixed by Craig Boardman The Editor is Tara McDermott The production co-ordinator is Jordan King

Image: Tourists with Russian nuclear icebreaker on way to North Pole - Per Breiehagen (Getty Images)

Europe’s migration crisis began back in 2015, with the arrival of over a million refugees, the majority from the war in Syria. Many thousands more from different countries have since sought refuge on European shores for one reason or another, whilst the tightening of external borders and asylum laws have proved ineffective in stopping the boats.

There have been years of disagreements over migration amongst the member states of the European Union, which have caused damage to the bloc’s unity. In recent months, however, it looked like some progress had been made towards a fairer and more uniform migration system, but a proposal to relocate people to different parts of Europe was met with opposition.

As the flow of people into frontline countries like Italy, Greece and Spain looks set to continue in the future, it appears that collective action from the member states, looks further away.

This week on The Inquiry we’re asking ‘Can Europe solve its migrant crisis?’

Contributors:

Hanne Beirens, Director, Migration Policy Institute Europe, Brussels

Cathryn Costello, Full Professor of Global Refugee and Migration Law, UCD Sutherland School of Law, University College Dublin, Ireland

Charles Kenny, Senior Fellow, Centre for Global Development, Washington DC. USA

Martin Ruhs, Chair in Migration Studies and Deputy Director of the Migration Policy Centre at the European University Institute (EUI), Florence, Italy.

Presenter: Tanya Beckett Producer: Jill Collins Researcher: Matt Toulson Technical Producer: James Bradshaw Production Co-ordinator: Jordan King Editor: Tara McDermott

Photo: MSF Ship GEO Barents rescues migrants off the Libyan coast in the central Mediterranean Credit: Reuters

The German government was elected with a plan to build 400,000 new homes a year – but it fell short last year by over 100,000. The country’s house building industry is in crisis, with hundreds of companies going into liquidation this year as order books are emptying and demand for new homes has fallen. So why can’t Germany build enough homes?

A combination of high construction costs caused by inflation since the Covid pandemic, and increases in interest rates in recent years has produced a difficult business environment for a construction sector that is a significant part of the German economy. Along with falling demand, industry experts fear that regulations and bureaucracy are a factor in causing the crisis.

Charmaine Cozier hears from: Dirk Salewski President of the German Housebuilding Federation who attended a recent summit hosted by Chancellor Olaf Scholz when the government announced a 14 point plan to revive housing construction. Alice Pitinni is the research director at Housing Europe, the European Federation of Public Co-operative and Social Housing and says there is a growing affordable housing crisis in Europe. Ireland has endured it's own housing crisis in the past - Michelle Norris, is professor of social policy at University College Dublin, and says Ireland has repeated some of Germany’s mistakes. Jens Boysen-Hogrefe is a senior economist at the Kiel Institute for the World Economy – he says the country faces a tough situation, that worse is yet to come, but it is not a repeat of the post-reunification boom and bust of the 1990s.

CREDITS Presenter - Charmaine Cozier Producer - Phil Reevell. Researcher - Matt Toulson Editor - Tara McDermott

(Photo: A construction worker is seen on the roofing for a new residential building in Dortmund, western Germany, on April 18, 2023) (Photo by INA FASSBENDER/AFP via Getty Images)

At the recent BRICS economic summit in South Africa, India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi and China’s President Xi Jinping had a rare face-to-face meeting. For years these two world powers have been in dispute over their ill-defined border in the Himalayan region. A military escalation of this dispute in 1962 led to the creation of the ‘line of actual control’ or the LAC, the de facto border between the two countries.

Down the years there have been a number of clashes along the LAC and its commonly agreed that relations now are at their lowest point since 1962.

And whilst India has taken steps to reduce its economic dependence on China in a bid to engage in trade relations on an equal footing, they are both competing to become the dominant power in the global south with financial aid and infrastructure projects.

Both sides agreed at their BRICS meeting to intensify efforts to de-escalate border tensions. Can China and India fix their relationship?’

Contributors: Shibani Mehta, senior research analyst with the Security Studies Programme, Carnegie India, New Delhi Dr Ivan Lidarev, visiting fellow at LSE IDEAS, the London School of Economics’ foreign policy think tank and Asia security expert Dr Geeta Kochhar, assistant professor, Centre for Chinese and South-East Asian Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi Steve Tsang, professor of Chinese Studies and director of the SOAS China Institute, London

Presenter: Charmaine Cozier Producer: Jill Collins Researcher: Matt Toulson Editor: Tara McDermott

(Photo: China’s President Xi Jinping (L) and India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Credit: Mike Hutchings/AFP)

The life expectancy of Americans has fallen in recent years after a long period when it had been increasing. There are a number of factors which contribute to the fall. The Covid pandemic, with over 1m deaths, made a significant impact on lowering the average life expectancy. In comparison with other peer countries, the USA also did not return to pre-Covid levels at the same rate. However there are also other important factors driving this, namely gun deaths and drug deaths as a result of opioid overdoses. And another major contributor to lower life expectancy in the States is inequality in the US healthcare system. In this edition of The Inquiry Tanya Beckett explores why US life expectancy is falling. She hears from Jeremy Ney an adjunct professor at Presidio Graduate School in San Francisco and author of American Inequality, a data project that highlights US inequality and regional divides. Dr. Mark Rosenberg helped set up the Centre for Disease Control’s National Centre for Injury Prevention and Control (NCIPC) and is a key proponent of research that examines how to reduce gun violence. He explains how gun deaths among young people have a big influence on the average life expectancy numbers. Dr. Judith Feinberg, is a professor at West Virginia University School of Medicine - her experience of working with communities with high levels of opioid problems makes her an authority on the extent to which drug overdose deaths impact average life expectancy. Ellen Marra is a professor of health economics at Harvard University - she says that diseases such as cancer and cardio deaths are big factors in lower life expectancy, compared with the number of gun and opioid deaths.

CREDITS Presenter Tanya Beckett Producer Phil Reevell. Researcher Bisi Adebayo Editor Tom Bigwood

Image: USA Birthday Cake, Credit: Getty Images

The Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas is ageing and his ruling Fatah party is deeply unpopular. There have been protests against him and the Palestinian Authority. Many Palestinians feel the PA has lost legitimacy.

There’s no plan for how to choose a successor to Mahmoud Abbas and any candidate is likely to be controversial. There’s a risk that an unpopular replacement may throw the occupied territories into chaos, even violence, and have major implications for the future goals of Palestinian people.

Contributors: Dalia Hatuqa, independent Palestinian journalist. Khalil Shikaki, Professor of Political Science and director of the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research. Ahmad Khalidi, political analyst and writer on Palestinian and Middle East political and strategic affairs. Ines Abdel Razak, executive director of the Palestine Institute for Public Diplomacy.

Presenter: Emily Wither Producer: Louise Clarke Researcher: Matt Toulson Editor: Tara McDermott Sound engineer: Jack Wood

(Photo: Palestinians celebrate vote. Credit: Uriel Sinai/Getty Images)

How much do you think about your gut? Are you taking a probiotic or prebiotic? If so, you’re not alone as globally we spend billions of dollars on soothing our stomachs.

Our guts do so much more than just digest our food and there’s a very special connection to our brain.

So how exactly does our gut work? And what do we need to do in order to keep it healthy?

Presenter: Tanya Beckett Producer: Louise Clarke Researcher: Matt Toulson Sound engineer: Nicky Edwards

Contributors: Geoff Preidis, a gastroenterologist at Baylor college of medicine at Texas children’s hospital in Houston Dr Jane Foster, Professor of Depression Research and Clinical Care at UT Southwestern Medical Center Martin Ham, Business Development Manager, NIZO Dr. Gail Hecht is Professor of Medicine and Microbiology/Immunology, and Gastroenterology and Nutrition

(Photo: Man bites in to cheeseburger. Credit: Emanuele Cremaschi/Getty Images)

In July 2023 a group of lawmakers in the US held a session to explore evidence of extra-terrestrial life. The evidence included the famous Tic Tac videos of mysterious objects flying through the sky.

Pilots described encounters with Unidentified Anomalous Phenomenon – or UAPs. Congress also heard of a secret US government programme that retrieves and reverse engineers materials made by non-humans, including crashed and intact craft – and possibly the remains of the entities that piloted them.

So does this mean we are not alone in the universe? Do sightings and hearsay provide enough scientific data to answer a question that has been asked by humans for thousands of years – are we alone in the universe?

Contributors: Greg Eghigian is professor of history and bioethics at Penn State University in the US. Leslie Kean is an investigative reporter. Adam Frank is Professor of Astrophysics at the University of Rochester, and author of The Little Book of Aliens. Dr Chelsea Haramia is a member of the UK SETI Research Network Post-detection Hub.

Presented by Charmaine Cozier Produced by Louise Clarke Researched by Matt Toulson and Bisi Adebayo Editor Tom Bigwood Mixed by Kelly Young

(UFO crash site sign in Roswell, New Mexico USA / Getty Images)

Working from home became the norm for millions of us around the globe during the Covid-19 pandemic, but now three years on some major employers are insisting on their employees returning to the office, for at least some part of the working week.

The levels of working from home currently vary, depending on the country and its culture. The Netherlands are looking at legislation to allow employees the ability to work remotely, whilst in Japanese culture the preference for employees tends to be going into the office. So how do we navigate a future where both business and personnel needs are met to provide a good work life balance.

This week on the Inquiry we’re asking ‘Is work from home working?’

Contributors: Jose Maria Barrero, Assistant Professor of Finance at ITAM Business School, Mexico and Co-Founder of WFH Research project Dr Saori Sugeno, Lecturer in Corporate Governance and International Business, Surrey Business School, University of Surrey Román Gil, Partner in law firm Sagardoy Abogadas, the Spanish firm of Ius Laboris, global employment law alliance for multinational companies. Dr Wladislaw Rivkin, Associate Professor of Organisational Behaviour, Trinity Business School, Dublin, Ireland

Presenter: Charmaine Cozier Producer: Jill Collins Researcher: Matt Toulson Editor: Tom Bigwood Technical Producer: Kelly Young Production Co-ordinator: Brenda Brown

(A working from home environment / Getty images)

About 60 percent of the Amazon rainforest is in Brazil and it is home to more than 300 indigenous groups. But for centuries both the rainforest and its indigenous inhabitants have been under threat, from deforestation, agri-business, mining and politics. Brazil’s current president, Luis Ignácio de Silva, has made the future security of the Amazon and its peoples a key policy pledge. So far, the president has appointed a new minister for indigenous peoples and according to government figures, the first six months of this year saw a 33 percent drop in deforestation.

But at the recent Amazon Summit in Belém, the president failed to commit to zero-deforestation, to the disappointment of indigenous leaders. They are calling for more protection for their land and their way of life, which they say is crucial to the future preservation of the Amazon and a matter for the whole world. This week on The Inquiry we are asking ‘Can Brazil’s indigenous population save the Amazon?’ Contributors: Pedro Cesarino, Professor of Anthropology at the University of Sao Paolo and Writer, Brazil Carlos Peres, Professor of Conservation Biology at the University of East Anglia, England Ana Carolina Alfinito, Legal Advisor at the NGO Amazon Watch Kawá Huni Kuin, Indigenous leader and representative from the Huni Kuin/Kaxinawá people, in the State of Acre, Brazil.

Presenter: David Baker Producer: Jill Collins Researcher: Matt Toulson Editor: Tom Bigwood Technical Producer: Kelly Young Production Co-ordinator: Brenda Brown

(Image: Kawá Huni Kuin, Photo Credit: Bimi Huni Kuin)

Environmental activists in the UK have disrupted high profile sporting events in an effort to persuade the government to stop oil development. How would stopping oil production impact those countries around the world with economies dependent on oil?

Tanya Beckett explores the history of oil, the implications of the Ukraine war for its price, how countries like Nigeria and Norway are dependent on oil revenues, and the challenges facing new oil producers in the global south as they face international efforts to limit new oil development in order to meet international climate targets.

Presenter Tanya Beckett Producer Phil Reevell Researcher Matt Toulson Editor Tara McDermott Technical producer Gareth Jones

(Industrial offshore oil rig platform on the North Seacoast, UK. Credit Getty images)

South Africa once had the most abundant and cheap electricity on the continent. Now, it is experiencing power blackouts. It’s called loadshedding, the process by which the power company Eskom occasionally reduces the demand for electricity on the national grid.

For many South Africans this means no electricity for up to ten hours a day, almost every day. The result is disruption to everyday life, impacting on work, education, sanitation, food and heating.

In 1994 Nelson Mandela’s African National Congress party promised a better life for all South Africans. So why is South Africa’s infrastructure crumbling?

Contributors: Duma Qgubule, economist and journalist Thomas Mnguni, campaigner with Groundwork Anton Eberhard, professor at the Power Futures Lab at the University of Cape Town Lungile Mashele, energy economist

Presented by Audrey Brown Produced by Louise Clarke Researched by Anoushka Mutanda-Dougherty Edited by Tara McDermott and Tom Bigwood Technical producer Kelly Young Production co-ordinator Brenda Brown

(Dressmaker Faieza Caswell sews under candlelight at her workplace in Cape Flats, South Africa. Credit: Esa Alexander/Reuters)

In June 2023 the British government announced a £40 million pound pilot scheme to increase access to specialist weight management services in England -It reads “Using the latest drugs to support people to lose weight will be a game-changer.”

The scheme will use prescription drugs like Wegovy and Ozempic, a once weekly injection that slows down the emptying of the stomach and suppresses the hunger hormone in our brains. Both these medications are made of the same of the same drug called Semaglutide.

Semaglutide mimics the hormone released by the body when we eat food, helping people feel fuller for longer and suppressing mental chatter about various food cravings. When prescribed alongside diet, physical exercise and behavioural support, the drug can help obese people lose 15% of their body weight.

Ozempic has been used to treat sufferers of type 2 diabetes since 2018 when doctors noticed that alongside increasing insulin the drug helped people lose weight. In 2021 the drug was approved as a fat loss injection under the name Wegovy.

Since then, stories of the 'fat loss wonder drug' have lit up social media, rumours are rife about who might be using it in Hollywood and international demand has skyrocketed.

But it's not meant for shedding a few pounds to fit into your favourite frock. So this week were asking are weight loss drugs the answer to obesity?

Contributors: Dr Disha Narang Director of obesity medicine at Northwestern Wake Forest Hospital Adrian Van den Hoven Director General of Medicines for Europe Dr Jena Tronieri Director of Clinical Services at its Department of Psychiatry’s Center for Weight and Eating Disorders at the Perelman School of Medicine Josh Jordy CEO of Eracal Therapeutics a biotech company based in Switzerland.

Presenter Charmaine Cozier Producer Anoushka Mutanda-Dougherty Editor Tara McDermott Researched by Bisi Adebayo Mixed by Cameron Ward Production Co-ordinator Brenda Brown

(Overweight person on scales./Credit: Peter Dazely/Getty images)

Venezuela is the country with the largest oil deposits, yet 3 in every 4 Venezuelan lives in extreme poverty. More than 7 million people are recorded as having left the country since 2015 in search of a better life, causing the largest ever displacement of people in Latin American history. And it’s only surpassed in numbers by those people leaving Ukraine. But Venezuela is not at war, its current humanitarian crisis is the result of years of political and economic turbulence. International sanctions, imposed on the country with the aim of pressing the government to change its policies and restore democracy have had little impact, other than making it more difficult for Venezuela’s economy to function. Presidential elections are due to be held in the country next year, but talks between the government and the opposition to ensure that they are free and fair are currently at a standstill. This week on The Inquiry we’re asking ‘Is Venezuela a failed state?’

Contributors: Maria Gabriela Trompetero, Migration Researcher, Bielefeld University, Germany Alejandro Velasco, Associate Professor of History, New York University, author of ‘Barrio Rising: Urban Popular Politics and the Making of Modern Venezuela’ Dr. Luisa Palacios, Senior Research Scholar, Centre on Global Energy Policy, Columbia University Mariano de Alba, Senior Adviser, International Crisis Group.

Presenter: Tanya Beckett Producer: Jill Collins Researcher: Matt Toulson Editor: Tara McDermott Technical Producer: Kelly Young Production Co-ordinator: Brenda Brown

(Oil spills over a hand and river in Venezuela. Credit: John Harper/Getty Images)

Canada is in the grip of the worst wildfires in recorded history. Blazes are devouring millions of acres of forest, forcing more than a hundred thousand people from their homes. Toxic smoke has blanketed cities across North America.

Why are wildfires getting more frequent and intense across the world?

Part of the reason is climate change, but part of it is also population growth and land management. The question is, what should we do about it? How can we stop wildfires?

Contributors: Mike Norton, Director General of the Canadian Forest Service Liz Goldman, World Resources Institute Jon Keeley, senior research scientist with the US Geological Survey and adjunct professor at the University of California Matt Oakley, fire investigation officer and wildfire officer, Surrey Fire and Rescue Service

Presented by Tanya Beckett Produced by Louise Clarke Researched by Anoushka Mutanda-Dougherty Edited by Tara McDermott Mixed by Kelly Young Production Co-ordinator Brenda Brown

(Wildfires at Lebel-sur-Quevillon in Quebec, Canada June 23 2023. Credit: Frederic Chouinard/Getty Images)

Following the Wagner mutiny in Russia, and with fighting intensifying as Ukraine presses on with its counter-offensive, there’s concern about increasing instability around potential use of nuclear weapons. President Putin has threatened to use tactical nuclear weapons in Ukraine. Gary O’Donoghue asks how likely this is, and if the nuclear threat level is rising across the world. Are countries around the world looking at what is happening in Ukraine and adjusting their nuclear thinking? As China seeks to increase its own nuclear arsenal, experts are talking increasingly of Tripolar nuclear competition, taking in Russia and the US. In this uncertain world, what role - if any - is there for nuclear non-proliferation treaties and how can the nuclear threat be contained ?

Contributors Nikolai N Sokov: The Vienna Center for Disarmament and Non-Proliferation Robert Litwak: Director of international security studies at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars Henrik Hiim: Associate Professor, the Norwegian Institute for Defense Studies Rose Gottemoeller: former Deputy secretary general of NATO, now at Stanford’s Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies

Presenter: Gary O’Donoghue Producer: Phil Reevell Researcher: Anoushka Mutanda -Dougherty Editor: Tara McDermott Technical producer: Nicky Edwards

(Yars intercontinental ballistic missile launched during exercises on October 26, 2022. Photo: Russian Defence Ministry via Reuters)

The medieval city of Venice is situated in the heart of a lagoon on the coast of northeast Italy. It was built on a large area of low-lying marshland. A system of wooden poles driven into the soft mud created an underwater forest. It still forms the foundations of the city we see today. For centuries the City has had to battle with ‘aqua alta’ or high tides from the Adriatic sea. And the gradual combination of water erosion and rising sea levels means the City is now facing a more urgent battle to stay afloat.

In recent years a series of barriers which sit on the sea floor and which are raised when an ‘aqua alta’ is expected have been successful in keeping the majority of the city dry. But its already been acknowledged that the Mose Barrier, as it’s known, is not a permanent solution for the future.

An idea designed to complement the Mose Barrier, one which was suggested more than a decade ago, is to inject seawater into wells underneath the city. The scientists behind the project are confident that if it were to be adopted, it would provide a uniform uplift to the city without causing any structural issues to the buildings.

This week on the Inquiry we’re asking ‘Can seawater save Venice from flooding?’

Contributors: Prof Claire Judde de Lariviere, Medieval Historian, University of Toulouse Hermes Redi, Director General of the Consorzio Venezia Nuova (responsible for the Mose Barrier) Professor Pietro Teatini, University of Padua, Chair of UNESCO International Initiative on Land Subsidence Prof Carlo Ratti, MIT, Co-Chair at the World Economic Forum’s Global Future Council on Cities.

Presenter: David Baker Producer: Jill Collins Researcher: Bisi Adebayo Editor: Tara McDermott Technical Producer: Nicky Edwards Production Co-ordinator: Brenda Brown

(The Piazza San Marco in Venice, Italy. Woman standing in flood water. Credit: Getty Images)

Thailand’s recent elections produced a shock result. A popular progressive party called Move Forward won the most seats. But the leader of the government has not yet been named as the country moves through its procedures for verifying the election results.

If the head of the party, Pita Limjaroenrat, is successful, it will mean civilian rule for the first time in over a decade. But the path to that role is far from smooth. There are many challenges as military coups and court rulings have cut many previous political careers short.

Contributors: Professor Tamara Loos, Chair of the history department at Cornell University Professor Duncan McCargo, director of the Nordic Institute of Asian Studies at the University of Copenhagen Soawanee Alexander, social linguist and political analyst Verapat Pariyawong, lawyer and legal scholar

Presented by Charmaine Cozier Produced by Louise Clarke Researched by Anoushka Mutanda-Dougherty Edited by Tara McDermott Mixed by Kelly Young Production co-ordinator Brenda Brown

(Damnoen Saduak floating market in Bangkok, Thailand. Credit: Valletta Vittorio/ Getty Images)

In 2009 Disney bought Marvel studios and helped transform the company into a movie making powerhouse that brought a new world of superhero stories to the silver screen, called The Marvel Cinematic Universe. Since then the franchise has generated over $30 billion dollars in profit, released 32 films and has even made its way onto the small screen… And it’s not slowing down any time soon. Before the end of next year we can expect Captain America, Thunderbolts, The Marvels and Blade in cinema’s and Daredevil, Agatha: Coven of Chaos and Iron heart streaming on Disney Plus. But glitchy graphics in recent projects like, ‘She-Hulk’ and patchy plots in ‘Ant-Man and the Wasp Quantomania’ have left fans and film critics wondering if marvels conveyor belt of content has led to it losing its magic. So this week were asking ‘Is it Endgame for the Marvel Cinematic Universe?’

Contributors: Dr Mathew J. Smith Radford University in Virginia. Lisa Laman Writer and film critic at The Spool, Collider and Looper. Prof Spencer Harrison International business school INSEAD Jonathon Sim - Film journalist and movie critic at Comingsoon.net Presenter: Charmaine Cozier Producer: Anoushka Mutanda-Dougherty Editor: Tara McDermott Researcher: Bisi Adebayo Broadcast Co-ordinator: Brenda Brown

A fifteen minute test flight of a plane fuelled only by hydrogen was successfully completed over recent months. Trucks are already running on the fuel in the US, as are trains in Canada and the UK. Both Toyota and Hyundai have expressed a desire to explore the gas as an option for their smaller vehicles. The UK has announced plans to use hydrogen as a replacement for natural gas in two trial villages, Whitby and Redcar, having already completed tests at Keele University. Several glass and tiling companies are also testing the potential energy source.

There is a lot of buzz around the idea of replacing our current fossil fuel usage with hydrogen, and for good reason too. Hydrogen is everywhere and it can be made via green methods and its only by-product is water. It almost sounds almost too good to be true, and perhaps it is. That’s why this week we ask, will hydrogen solve our energy needs?

Presenter: David Baker Producer: Christopher Blake Editor: Tara McDermott

Ron DeSantis, the governor of the US State of Florida has now declared his republican nomination for the 2024 Presidential Election. He’s the latest in a line of republican contenders keen to take on President Joe Biden for the White House.

Since his appointment as Florida’s governor in 2018, Ron DeSantis has been busy stamping his own brand of cultural conservatism on the ‘Sunshine State’, including limits on abortions and restricting sex and gender identity education in schools. The latter, known officially as the Parental Rights In Education Act’, denounced by critics as ‘Don’t Say Gay’, has led to an ongoing legal battle with Disney over their criticism of the Act.

Ron DeSantis claims that his ‘Florida Blueprint’ can act as a guide for Federal Policies. But before that, he’s got an uphill battle to unseat his former political mentor Donald Trump. The former President is currently leading the Republican field in the polls and he’s not wasted any time in attacking Ron DeSantis on a number of fronts, from insults and nicknames, to criticising some of his policies.

This week on the Inquiry we’re asking ‘Can Ron DeSantis win the White House?’

Contributors: Aubrey Jewett, Professor of Political Science at the University of Central Florida, Orlando. Matt Terrill, Public Affairs, Firehouse Strategies, former Chief of Staff to the Marco Rubio for President Campaign. Ron Christie, Former Special Assistant to President George W. Bush and North American Political Analyst for the BBC. Dr. Julie Norman, Co-Director of the Centre on US Politics at University College London.

Presenter: Tanya Beckett Producer: Jill Collins Researcher: Anoushka Mutanda-Dougherty Editor: Tara McDermott Technical Producer: Kelly Young Production Co-ordinator: Brenda Brown

(Florida Governor Ron DeSantis in the Air Force One Pavilion at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library March 5 2023 Simi Valley, California. Credit: Mario Tarna/Getty Images)

Official figures report that there are more than eight million houses standing empty across Japan, the reality could be even higher. One of the highest concentrations of empty houses or ‘Akiya’ as they are known, is in the Prefecture of Akita, in Northern Japan, where in the past five years, houses have been abandoned at a rate of 13.6 percent.

The problem is being put down to a number of factors. The lack of employment or education opportunities in rural economies means more migration into the cities. An ageing population combined with a low birth rate is upending traditional living arrangements. The land on which property sits benefits from tax relief, and if a property disappears so does the preferential measure. Building codes are strict. Religious reasons are cited as another factor - it’s believed that the spirits of ancestors still dwell in the home.

The Government has invested heavily in the housing sector, from financial incentives to occupy older empty houses, to focusing on building preferred new and expensive homes in Japan’s cities in order to boost the economy. But as the population demographics continue to shift and shrink, unless the balance of supply and demand is addressed soon, then the suggestion is that empty Akiya will be an ongoing issue for Japan.

This week on the Inquiry we’re asking: Why are there millions of empty houses in Japan?

Contributors: Ayumi Sugimoto, Associate Professor, Rural Studies, Akita International University, Japan Misa Izuhara, Professor of Social Policy, University of Bristol, UK Kazuki Morimoto, Associate Professor in Japanese, University of Leeds, UK Jiro Yoshida, Associate Professor of Business, Pennsylvania State University, USA; Guest Professor of Economics, University of Tokyo, Japan

Presented: Charmaine Cozier Produced: Jill Collins Researcher: Bisi Adebayo Editor: Tara McDermott Technical producer: Richard Hannaford Production co-ordinator: Brenda Brown

(Photo: Abandoned wooden house in Tambasasayama, Japan,5 April, 2023 Credit: Buddhika Weerasinghe/Getty Images)

The Great Green Wall is one of the most ambitious environmental projects ever conceived, creating a vast belt of vegetation spanning Africa by 2030; from Senegal on the Atlantic to Djibouti on the Red Sea.

It was heralded as Africa’s contribution to the fight against climate change, reversing damage caused by drought, overgrazing and poor farming techniques. The regreening of 11 Sahel countries on the edge of the Sahara Desert would create millions of jobs, boost food security, and reduce conflict and migration.

The plan was launched by the African Union in 2007, and despite political consensus, only 4% of the Great Green Wall had been completed by 2021. So what has gone wrong? What lessons have been learned, and will a change of strategy ensure its success by the end of the decade?

Presenter: Audrey Brown Producer: Ravi Naik Editor: Tara McDermott Researcher: Anoushka Mutanda-Dougherty Broadcast Co-ordinators: Brenda Brown

(Photo: The Niger river in Mali. Credit: Getty images)

For the first time in his 20 years in power Erdogan is facing serious pressure - and the choice voters make in this month’s presidential election could define Turkey’s destiny for decades.

The impact of February’s devastating earthquake in Turkey is one of the key factors determining how voters will decide on their next president. The Turkish economy is also under pressure with inflation running at 55%. Against that background, a coalition of opposition parties, The Table of Six, are supporting a single candidate, Kemal Kilicdaroglu, against President Erdogan.

As polls predict a tight result in the first round of the election, The Inquiry asks: What does this presidential election mean for Turkey’s future?

Presenter: Qasa Alom Producer: Phil Reevell Researcher: Anoushka Mutanda -Dougherty Editor: Tara McDermott Technical producer: Nicky Edwards

(Turkish citizen living abroad casts her vote in advance of the presidential election in London UK April 29 2023. Credit: Rasid Necati Aslim/Getty Images)

Last November Israel elected its most far right government in its 75 year history. Months of protests followed over its plans for reform of the judicial system.

Benjamin Netanyahu’s new coalition government is proposing an agenda that goes beyond domestic reforms – and not everyone is happy.

As well as domestic protests, some of Israel’s allies are nervous as, with the government’s attention taken up by internal challenges, new alliances are forming in the middle east.

This episode of The Inquiry explores the reasons behind the tension and protests in the country and asks, why is Israel in turmoil?

Guests: Tamar Hermann, senior researcher at the Israel Democracy Institute and Professor of Political Science at the Open University

Anshel Pfeffer, journalist and biographer of Benjamin Netanyahu

Professor Yossi Mekelberg, associate fellow at Chatham House

Hugh Lovatt, Senior Policy Fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations

Presented by Gary O’Donoghue. Producer: Louise Clarke Researcher: Anoushka Mutanda-Dougherty Editor: Tara McDermott. The programme was mixed by Richard Hannaford

(Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu 20 Apr 2023. Credit: Menahem Kahana/ Shutterstock)

Next year Americans will go to the polls to choose their next president. For many, the race has already begun. Digital electioneering in US elections has been steadily developing over the last 15 years, but this time around, advancements in artificial intelligence could be a game changer.

There have been huge strides in generative AI in the past year. One of the most accessible AI tools now available to the general public is the software known as ChatGPT, which can scour the internet for information, producing text for speeches and essays. Generative AI is widely used to produce social content around image and text, but what will happen when full on AI video becomes more readily available to any user?

AI systems will be able to reach voters with messages targeted specifically to them, but will they be able to trust them? There are concerns that voters will have an increasingly tough task working out which campaign messages are genuine and which are not. To date, there is currently little regulation of a system which has already been used to create deep-fake manipulations of people and what they say, provoking questions over authenticity.

So do we all have to be more aware of how much we allow AI to shape our democracies?

This week on the Inquiry, we’re asking: Will AI decide America’s next president?

Contributors Betsy Hoover, Higher Ground Labs Prof Hany Farid, University of California Berkeley Martin Kurucz, CEO, Sterling Data Company Nina Schick, author of ‘Deepfakes’

Presented by Tanya Beckett Produced by Jill Collins Researcher: Anoushka Mutanda-Dougherty Editor: Tara McDermott Technical producer: Richard Hannaford Broadcast coordinator: Brenda Brown

Image: Unused privacy booths are seen at a voting site in Tripp Commons inside the Memorial Union building on the University of Wisconsin-Madison campus in Madison, Dane County, Wisconsin, November 3, 2020 (Credit: Bing Guan/Reuters)

Recent protests in France oppose plans to raise the retirement age from 62 to 64.

The demonstrations stem from a government plan so people would work -and pay into the pension system - for longer. There’s also concern about what that change might mean for those who are many decades away from pension age. France isn’t the only country facing economic efficiency challenges as populations age and leave the labour market. As more people leave Europe’s labour market, will young workers have to pay for the old?

The Inquiry hears also about the productivity challenges facing Spain and Germany.

Anne Elizabeth Moutet is a French columnist for the Daily Telegraph newspaper Bart Van Ark , Professor of productivity studies at the University of Manchester Prof Marcel Jansen, an economist from the Autonomous University of Madrid Stefano Scarpetta is Director for Employment, Labour and Social Affairs at the OECD

Presenter Charmaine Cozier

(Protesters at the rally against Macron's pension reform, Paris, France. Credit: Telmo Pinto/Getty Images)

Recent cloud storage outages have exposed just how the modern world is reliant on remote servers to hold data that runs everything from websites, to digital operating systems and businesses.

When cloud storage emerged, it meant that information could be streamed, rather than held in a device’s memory. Vast data centres were built where land was cheap and their owners soon realised that they could sell excess memory space on their servers.

They became so-called “hyperscalers” providing cloud services. They include Amazon Web Services, Google and Microsoft, and the business is worth $500 billion a year. But there are concerns that too much information is already in the cloud. Critical data – such as aircraft control and military systems is being uploaded to publicly accessible servers. If there’s a glitch, the consequences could be catastrophic.

Remote cloud systems therefore need to run 24 hours a day without fail, but the power the industry uses causes around 2 to 3% of all global carbon emissions. It’s set to get even bigger, but at what cost to the environment?

This week on the Inquiry, we’re asking: will we ever run out of cloud storage?

Contributors: Ola Chowning, Partner with ISG Information Services Group Laurel Ruma. Global Editorial Director for the MIT Technology Review Professor Bill Buchanan, Edinburgh Napier University. Dr Emma Fitzgerald, Lund University

Presenter: Tanya Beckett Producer: Phil Revell Editor: Tara McDermott Researcher: John Cossee Studio Engineer: Richard Hannaford Broadcast Coordinator: Brenda Brown

(Woman at home with an ipad looking at the large cloud above her head. Credit: Anthony Harvie/Getty Images)

Saudi Arabia has entered into a new era of relations with its long time rival, Iran. It’s a deal that has the potential to be very significant for the Middle East region.

It’s part of a vision of a new Saudi Arabia spearheaded by its Crown Prince, Mohammed bin Salman. It’s a vision of futuristic cities, a new society, and a move away from an economy reliant on oil, not to mention new deals with ancient rivals in the region.

How much of this new vision of Saudi Arabia is achievable and is the man at the centre convincing enough to make it work?

This week on The Inquiry we’re asking, what is Mohammed bin Salman’s vision for Saudi Arabia?

Contributors: Stephen Kalin, Middle East correspondent, The Wall Street Journal Bill Farron Price, energy markets analyst Sanam Vakil, deputy head of Chatham House, Middle East and North Africa programme Dina Esfandiari, senior advisor for the Middle East and Africa programme at the International Crisis Group

Presented by Tanya Beckett Produced by Louise Clarke Edited by Tara McDermott Production co-ordinator is Brenda Brown Mixed by Nicky Edwards

Image: Crown Prince and Prime Minister of Saudi Arabia Mohammed bin Salman (Credit: Saudi Royal Court via Reuters)

In 1981, the rock photographer Lynn Goldsmith did a photoshoot with an up-and-coming singer songwriter called Prince. A few years later, he became a superstar, and she licenced one of her photos to Vanity Fair to be used as a reference picture for an illustration.

That portrait, known as “Purple Prince” was painted by Andy Warhol.

But what Lynn Goldsmith didn’t know, and nor did anyone else, was that Warhol made multiple portraits from her photograph. After Prince died in 2016, Vanity Fair licenced a different one of these portraits from the Andy Warhol Foundation for a tribute in the magazine. That picture was called the “Orange Prince”.

When Lynn Goldsmith saw this new portrait, she asserted her copyright – and so did the Andy Warhol Foundation. The US Supreme Court, is now trying to decide whether the photo was “transformed” when Warhol painted it, and what constitutes “fair use”. It’s a case with vast implications for artists, photographers, galleries and the art business.

So this week on the Inquiry, we’re asking: why are Warhol’s Prince works before the US Supreme Court?

Presenter: Charmaine Cozier Producer: Ravi Naik Editor: Tara McDermott Researcher: Anoushka Mutanda-Dougherty Broadcast co-ordinators : Sophie Hill and Siobhan Reed

(Photo: Prince Rogers Nelson Credit: ©️ 1981 Lynn Goldsmith)

The International Criminal Court has issued an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin for alleged war crimes in Ukraine.

He is accused of forcibly deporting children from Ukraine to Russia after the invasion last year.

The Kremlin does not recognise the jurisdiction of the ICC and denies war crimes.

But is this a symbolic move and is it realistic that Putin will actually be arrested and stand trial?

This week on The Inquiry we’re asking, will Putin be prosecuted for war crimes in Ukraine?

Contributors: Klaus Rackwitz, Director of the International Nuremberg Principles Academy Patrycja Grzebyk, Professor at the University of Warsaw Rachel Denber, Deputy director for Europe and Central Asia at Human Rights Watch Gerry Simpson, Professor of Law at the London School of Economics

Presented by Tanya Beckett Produced by Louise Clarke-Rowbotham Edited by Tara McDermott Mixed by Richard Hannaford

Deaths on American roads are at a 20 year high. More than 46,000 people lost their lives in vehicle collisions last year alone. That’s up a tenth on the year before and the numbers are on a par with those killed by gun violence. Or, the equivalent of a plane crash every day.

It’s a tragedy for everyone involved and there’s an untold cost for families, but there’s also a financial cost. It’s estimated that the cost to the economy runs into billions of dollars.

Why are America’s roads so dangerous?

This episode was presented by Tanya Becket, produced by Louise Clarke-Rowbotham, researched by John Cossee and mixed by Kelly Young. The production co-ordinator is Brenda Brown and the editor is Tara McDermott.

On the 7th December 2022, President Pedro Castillo attempted to dissolve Peru's Congress. His attempted self-coup ended almost as quickly as it began, having been denounced by his own party, the military and the police. He was arrested as he tried to make his way to Mexico, and currently awaits trial.

His running mate and vice president, Dina Boluarte, has assumed power in his stead. However, prior to Castillo’s attempt to gain complete control, Boluarte had already been expelled from the party, after publicly rejecting its ideology, and defected to the opposition. This has left Peruvians angry, especially as she originally intended to see out the rest of the term until 2026.

Thousands of disillusioned Peruvians gathered in protest all over the country, at first demanding the release of Castillo, and latterly, for the resignation of Presidential Boluarte and constitutional reform. They have been met by a fierce and brutal response.

At least 60 Peruvians have lost their lives in the protests, and a further 1000 or more have suffered injury. Still the protests continue. Can Peru sort out its political problems?

Presenter: Charmaine Cozier Producer: Christopher Blake Researcher: John Cossee Editor: Tara McDermott Production Co-ordinator: Brenda Brown

Image: Peru's President Pedro Castillo after his swearing-in ceremony in Lima, Peru, 28 July 2021. (Credit: Reuters/Angela Ponce)

Just over 100 years ago the island of Ireland was partitioned. It created an independent catholic free state in the South and a majority protestant one in the northeast called Northern Ireland that remained a part of the United Kingdom.

For many catholics and nationalists the goal of a united Ireland remains. For most protestants and unionists the division has been key to preserving their British identity.

But the demographics are changing in Northern Ireland. The most recent census show catholics outnumbering protestants for the first time, though still short of being the overall majority.

There’s also been a rise in support for Sinn Fein, the political party that supports a united Ireland.

Any question about whether Northern Ireland remains part of the UK or becomes part of a united Ireland would have to be put to the people in a referendum, or border poll.

In this episode of The Inquiry we ask, will there be a united Ireland?

Presented by Gary O’Donoghue.

(map / Getty images)

It’s a year since President Putin launched a full scale invasion of Ukraine.

Russia currently holds areas in the South and East of Ukraine including Donetsk and Luhansk but the Ukrainian army, helped militarily by its allies, has regained control over key towns and large swathes of land.

Russia is also thought to have lost 20,000 soldiers in the conflict.

But it is reinforcing its ranks with hundreds of thousands of new conscripts, and experts suggest Russia may be positioning fighter jets and gathering troops on the border for a renewed land offensive.

So we’re asking - What is Putin’s plan now for Ukraine?

The owner of Facebook - Meta - is reinstating Donald Trump’s account after a two-year suspension. The former US president was suspended from Facebook and Instagram after his posts were deemed to have encouraged the Capitol riots in 2021. In a statement Meta's president of global affairs, Nick Clegg, said a review found Mr Trump's accounts were no longer a risk to public safety. Donald Trump pointed out that Facebook was in financial trouble and probably needed him back for the money it can raise.

Daily user numbers for Facebook grew to an average of two billion in December 2022 - about a quarter of the world's population. The bigger-than-expected growth helped drive new optimism about the company, which has been under pressure as its costs rise and advertising sales drop.

Where does the social media giant go from here? Does it have a future and clear direction of travel? How did it become so big? How does it work now and what does it do with our data? Also, when has it gone wrong and what are its challenges now?

This week on The Inquiry, we’re asking: is everything okay at Facebook?

Presented by Charmaine Cozier

Researcher John Cossee Producer Simon Coe Editor Tara McDermott Technical producer Richard Hannaford Broadcast Coordinator Brenda Brown

(Facebook symbol. Image credit: Dado Ruvić /Reuters)

On 25 February, Nigerians go to the ballot box to vote for their next president. For the first time in a long time, the Incumbent president will not be contesting the elections – having already served the maximum allowed two terms.

Since 2016, the country has spiralled down as inflation has hit over 20% and unemployment rides at around 30% overall, and 60% for the young. Banditry and kidnappings have become lucrative methods of making a living in the country and a pervading sense that this could be now or never for Nigerians hangs ominously.

Three candidates have emerged as the front runners for the elections. The stalwarts Bola Ahmed Tinubu of the All Progressive Congress, or APC, and Atiku Abubakar, of the People’s Democratic Party, or DPD, are familiar faces from familiar parties. Power has been shared between the two parties since 1999.

Peter Obi is the outsider who has taken a dramatic lead over recent weeks in the polls. He represents the Labour Party who have never held power and is offering to run the country in a different manner to what the country has been used to thus far.

Foreshadowing the entire event is the expectation that Nigeria is expected to reach a population of around 400 million by 2050, making it the fourth largest country in terms of population by this date. That is an increase of around 60-80% of the current population estimates. Ensuring the infrastructure is in place for such a boom in population will be pivotal to Nigeria’s ability to both maximise the potential for its citizens whilst gaining the most from them.

Presenter: Charmaine Cozier Producer: Christopher Blake Researcher: John Cossee Editor: Tara McDermott

(Photo: Supporter of Nigerian opposition the Labour Party waves a green and white flag in a street procession in Ikeja district, Lagos, Nigeria. Credit: Kintunde Akinley/EPA-EFE/Rex/Shutterstock)

Following the exit of US forces in 2021, the Taliban rolled back into power almost immediately. They promised that they had learnt from previous mistakes and did not want to minimalize the role of women. However, little over 18 months later and the Taliban have just announced that women were now banned from the universities and working for NGO’s, just the latest in a succession of repressive policies aimed at women.

Furthermore, Afghanistan still has an insurgency problem. The Islamic State of Khorasan, or IS-K, formed in 2016 following disaffected Taliban members gaining inspiration from the gains maid by IS in both Iraq and Syria. They regard the Taliban as traitors and have their own desires that stretch far beyond the borders of Afghanistan.

In the middle are Afghanistan’s citizens who find themselves victims from all sides. The Taliban’s focus on implementing Sharia law regardless of the impact has both all but erased women from society and left the economy in perilous state.

Can the Taliban gain control of its own borders or does it need external help? And if so, does that offer a window to gain some leverage regarding human rights in the country? Find out as we ask, Can the Taliban tackle Afghanistan’s terror problem?

Researcher: John Cossee Presenter: Charmaine Cozier Producer: Christopher Blake Editor: Tara McDermott

(Photo: Taliban fighters guard the entrance to the Hamid Karzai International Airport, Kabul, Afghanistan 2021. Credit: Marcus Yam/Getty images)

Since the start of the war, Ukraine has received more than €115 billion in military, financial and humanitarian aid from countries around the world. Now that the pendulum has swung, and the battlefield momentum is with Ukrainian forces, international allies have agreed to ramp up that support, with the US, UK and other major and minor military powers combining to pledge billions in weapons, ammunition and even modern tanks. But can that support go on indefinitely? As some countries run low on weapons stocks, will they cut off support to Ukraine rather than leave their borders vulnerable to potential attack? And will other factors such as rising energy costs, a looming global recession and the upcoming US presidential election determine to what extent - and for how long - international allies can fund Ukraine’s war effort?

Image: Ukrainian soldiers practice with a mortar on the Donbass frontline on 19 January, 2023 (Credit: Diego Herrera Carcedo/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

The world is becoming increasingly dependent on advanced microchips to power its high-end technology, However, they are made by just one company in Taiwan, TSMC, meaning the rest of the world is largely reliant on the country to produce its microchips. This is no accident and is in fact by Taiwanese design. Over three decades ago Taiwan decided to focus its resources on becoming the most advanced producer of microchips. Not only has this been of great profit for Taiwan’s economy its helped with security too – offering the country protection from its neighbour China by creating what’s been described as the ‘Silicon shield’, in other words, the US is largely dependent on Taiwan to sustain its high-end tech. Given both the USA’s and EU’s recent announcements that they are now heavily investing in and subsidising their own microchip industries, the question becomes is this still sustainable?

Presenter: Charmaine Cozier Producer: Christopher Blake and Ravi Naik Editor: Tara McDermott

A campaign called “ReBoot Food” was launched at the COP27 climate change conference in Egypt, to ask world governments to support a technology called precision fermentation.

They claim it’s possible to produce enough food to feed the whole world in an area the size of London. The process uses genetically-engineered microbes to make cheap, high quality fats and proteins, virtually identical to those produced by animal farming.

Its proponents say it will free up huge tracts of farmland and could even help reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

A technology research group is even projecting the collapse of dairy and cattle industries by 2030 with animal meat being replaced by food grown using precision fermentation.

But what is it, what are the potential pitfalls, and can the public stomach the idea of protein grown in an a bioreactor rather than on a farm?

On this week’s Inquiry, we ask: can microbes feed the world?

Presented by Tanya Beckett Produced by Ravi Naik Researcher John Cossee Editor Tara McDermott Technical producer Mitch Goodall Broadcast Coordinator Brenda Brown

(the world in a petri dish /Getty Images)

Canada is just one of a number of countries with an ageing population and shrinking workforce. The second largest in the world in terms of land mass, and with a population of just 36 million, Canada has announced a plan to invite 1.5 million people to migrate there over the next three years. The ambitious target is not without challenge politically, the most prominent is the housing crisis currently being felt in the country.

Canada is not alone in needing more people of working age to bolster its economy, developed nations all around the globe are finding themselves in a similar situation and struggling to find answers. Despite this need, many countries remain reluctant to embrace the notion of inviting larger numbers of immigrants in for a whole host of reasons, from a lack of space to negative media portrayals of migrants. None-the-less, gaps in their skilled trades’ sectors demand resolution, and increased immigration can offer it.

Whilst increased migration can help a country like Canada overcome the challenges of a diminishing labour force, it also has the effect of denying a migrant’s home country of expertise. Not only can this have the effect of denying a country their brightest and best, it also comes with a financial cost too, with countries training more than they need in anticipation of losing a high percentage of those workers.

So this week on the Inquiry we're asking, should other countries adopt Canada's immigration model?

Misuzulu ka Zwelithini was officially crowned King of the Zulu Nation in October after the death of his father. King Zwelithini died of Covid complications after ruling for fifty years.

It has set off a royal feud as members of the large Zulu royal family contest King Misuzulu’s right to the throne.

Succession to the Zulu throne has been beset by violence for over a century. This time, the battle is in the courtroom.

In this week’s Inquiry we ask, who is the true Zulu King?

Presenter: Audrey Brown Producer: Louise Clarke-Rowbotham Editor: Tara McDermott Technical Producer: Craig Boardman Production Coordinator: Brenda Brown

(Zulu King Misuzulu KaZwelithini at his coronation ceremony in Durban, South Africa. Credit: Darren Stewart/Getty Images)

Small island nations are facing an existential threat. It’s predicted that by 2100, Tuvalu, Kiribati, the Maldives and many others will be underwater, because of rising sea levels and increasingly extreme weather events.

At the recent COP27 conference in Egypt. The most polluting industrialised countries agreed in principle to set up a “loss and damage” fund, effectively recognising that low-lying islands are bearing the brunt of climate change.

But is their loss inevitable? Could traditional sea wall defences hold back the waters, or are there more effective solutions? Will entire communities need to be moved to higher ground, or even entire nations transplanted to safer locations?

This week on the Inquiry, we’re asking: will rising sea levels wipe countries off the map?

Presented by Charmaine Cozier Produced by Ravi Naik Researcher Anoushka Mutanda-Dougherty Editor Tara McDermott Technical producer Richard Hannaford Broadcast Coordinator Brenda Brown

(a woman in a lagoon in the threatened coral atoll nation of Tuvalu. Credit: Mario Tama /Getty Images)

We use digital currency every day whenever we use a credit card, bank online or shop for goods on the internet. We can use our phones as money and transfer cash to family and friends simply by using numbers.

It’s not exactly cash we are using, but a digital representation of that cash. Some digital currencies, such as cryptocurrency, even exist outside of the traditional banking system. Recently the cryptocurrency trading exchange FTX collapsed leaving creditors owed billions of dollars. There’s not much chance any of that money can be returned because it wasn’t actually linked to a cash system.

If so many of our transactions and speculations are now digital, can we ditch the cash altogether?

This week on The Inquiry we’re asking Can digital currency replace the cash system?

Presenter: Tanya Beckett Producer: Louise Clarke-Rowbotham Researcher: John Cossee Editor: Tara McDermott Technical producer: Craig Boardman Production support: Jacqui Johnson

(Image: Representations of the Ripple, Bitcoin, Etherum and Litecoin virtual currencies: Dado Ruvic/Reuters)

Somalia is in a state of drought following four failed rainy seasons, and a fifth predicted, with aid agencies declaring the country is in a state of famine. Despite this, the government has yet to declare a famine, insisting that certain thresholds have yet to be met. Instead, Somalia’s government believes that they would be more than able to deal with the current crisis, as well as prevent future episodes, had they been properly compensated by industrious nations for the damage caused by climate change.

All this whilst the country continues to fight a near fifteen-year war with the Islamic terrorist group al-Shabab, a militant faction who wish to instil strict sharia law and impose heavy taxes on those who fall under their control. Only six months ago the hard-line Muslim faction were knocking on the door of the capital, Mogadishu. Since then, the different clans and Somalia's military, who all have their own demands and grievances, have put aside their differences and banded together to fight back, driving the terrorist group back. With support for the government currently high, some are fearful that announcing a famine could cause that support to drop away. How long the government can hold for, however, is up for debate as we ask is it too late to avoid a famine in Somalia?

Presenter: Charmaine Cozier Producer: Ravi Naik & Christopher Blake Editor: Tara McDermott

(Image: Somali woman affected by the worsening drought due to failed rain seasons, holds her child as her grandmother looks on: Feisal Omar/Reuters)

The International Energy Agency says that the world is in the middle of the first global energy crisis. The price of natural gas has increased almost five-fold since the summer of 2020, and the main cause is Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Moscow has cut supplies of gas to European countries that oppose the war, causing the wholesale price to shoot up everywhere.

Many countries have turned to coal to fuel their power stations, also causing prices to triple in the last year. But as well as being expensive, coal is also the most polluting fossil fuel. The situation has accelerated the push towards renewables, but can they provide the all the power needed by a country – as well as providing energy security? So this week on the Inquiry, we ask: can a country live on renewable energy alone?

Presenter: Tanya Beckett Producer: Ravi Naik Researcher: Anoushka Mutanda-Dougherty Editor Tara McDermott Technical producer Richard Hannaford Broadcast Coordinator Jacqui Johnson

(Photo: Offshore wind turbine farm at sunset: Creit: Imaginima/Getty Images)

When we shop online, we don’t often think about what goes on behind the scenes. Clicking “pay now”, sets in motion a slick, computer-controlled chain of events, that ends with a parcel arriving at your home.

These online shopping logistics are run by Artificial Intelligence, and there are plans for these systems to move from the warehouse to the wider workplace.

“Digital Management” systems in development are able to autonomously hire people and oversee their work on a project from beginning to end. They also have the ability to manage much larger groups of workers than their human counterparts.

But can a software boss really understand its human employees? Are managers obsolete? And are some of these systems already here?

This week on the Inquiry, we ask: will computers put managers out of work?

Presented by David Baker Produced by Jim Frank Editor: Richard Vadon Technical producer: Neil Churchill Broadcast Coordinator: Jacqui Johnson

(Image: Artificial intelligence is showing the path: exdez/Getty)

Xi Jinping has begun an unprecedented third term as Chinese president, after securing his position at the Communist Party Congress.

But key economic data was delayed until after the congress ended. It was lower than government targets, causing Chinese markets to fall.

The Chinese economy is floundering; unemployment is skyrocketing, and the housing market is collapsing. There’s also no sign of an end to COVID lockdowns – which have hamstrung business and manufacturing since the start of the pandemic.

Since the start of this century, China’s economic growth was the envy of the world, but in 2022, it’ll be the first year since the 1990s that economic output will fall behind the rest of Asia.

President Xi says the economy is now his top priority, but his focus in his first two terms was to consolidate power and increase political control. Will his new term be any different?

This week on the Inquiry, we’re asking: Is China’s economy in crisis?

Presenter: Tanya Beckett Producers: Ravi Naik and Ben Cooper Editor: Tara McDermott Technical Producer: Kelly Young Broadcast Coordinator: Jacqui Johnson

(Image: Chinese yuan cash bills and Chinese flag: Javier Ghersi/Getty)

More than 200 years ago French soldiers uncovered a slab of granite in the Nile Delta which became the key to understanding the history of ancient Egypt.

The Rosetta Stone is inscribed with ancient Egyptian and Greek text, and hieroglyphs. Before it was translated, no-one realised that hieroglyphs were a form of written language.

After the French surrender of Egypt in 1801, the artifact was taken to the UK, and ever since, it’s been one of the main attractions at the British Museum in London.

The museum is holding a major exhibition on hieroglyphs, with the stone as its centrepiece, but there are calls from Egyptian scholars for it to be taken back to its place of origin.

However, the British Museum says there has been no formal request from the Egyptian government to return the Rosetta Stone.

So this week on the Inquiry, we’re asking: Is it time for Britain to return the Rosetta Stone?

Presenter: Tanya Beckett Producer: Ravi Naik Researcher: Anoushka Mutanda-Dougherty Editor: Tara McDermott Technical Producer: Nicky Edwards Broadcast Coordinator: Jacqui Johnson

(Image: The Rosetta Stone on display in the Egyptian Sculpture Gallery at the British Museum: BBC Images/European Photopress Agency/Neil Hall)

Women in Iran have been at the forefront of protests that have swept the country for weeks.

More than 200 people have lost their lives, and hundreds of others have been detained after demonstrations following the death of 22 year old Mahsa Amini. She died after being arrested by the regime's morality police for not wearing her hijab correctly.

Women have been fighting for their basic freedoms and demanding an end to the mandatory headscarf. Many have posted videos on social media, cutting their hair or burning their hijabs in protest.

But will their anger lead to reforms in the Islamic Republic?

This week on the Inquiry, we ask: will the protests in Iran bring change?

Presenter: Charmaine Cozier Producer: Ben Henderson and Christopher Blake Researcher: Anoushka Mutanda-Dougherty Editor: Tara McDermott Technical Producer: Richard Hannaford Broadcast Coordinator: Jacqui Johnson

Image: Women burn headscarves during a protest over the death of 22-year-old Kurdish woman Mahsa Amini in Iran, in the Kurdish-controlled city of Qamishli, Syria, 26 September 2022 (Credit: Orhan Qereman/Reuters)

The Kerch bridge, a vital supply route for Russian forces in Crimea, has been partially destroyed in a huge blast. It was a symbol of Russia’s annexation of Crimea from Ukraine, and the explosion was equally symbolic, coming just one day after President Putin’s 70th birthday. The Russian president described it as “an act of terrorism”, and he punished Ukraine’s cities with a day of missile strikes, targeting civilian areas. All this comes as Putin’s Special Military Operation is struggling. Ukraine has now seized back more territory than Russia took in the early stages of the war. Hundreds of thousands of Russian army reservists have fled rather than being sent to the front, war deaths and the financial costs of the war are mounting, and winter is approaching. But for President Putin, there is no easy exit from Ukraine. He may have no political choice but to double down, and has even dropped dark hints about using nuclear weapons. So this week on the Inquiry we ask: Is Putin’s war in Ukraine at a turning point?

Presenter: Tanya Beckett Producer: Ravi Naik Researcher: Christopher Blake Editor: Tara McDermott Technical Producer: Mitch Goodall Broadcast Coordinator: Jacqui Johnson

(Image: Huge fire erupts on strategic bridge linking Crimea to Russia: Credit: Anadolu Agency/Getty)

In his first speech as King, Charles III said he would endeavour to serve his subjects, wherever they live “in the UK, the realms and territories across the world”.

But following the death of his mother, Queen Elizabeth II, several realms – countries other than the UK that have the British Monarch as head of state – say they may become republics. Barbados became a republic in 2021. Antigua, Belize, Jamaica and Grenada may follow.

King Charles III has also just become the elected head of the Commonwealth of Nations. But will any new republics leave because of its roots in Empire, or embrace an organisation that represents nearly a third of the people on Earth?

This week on the Inquiry, we ask: what’s the future of the Commonwealth under King Charles III?

Presenter: Charmaine Cozier Producer: Ravi Naik Researcher: Anoushka Mutanda-Dougherty Editor: Tara McDermott Technical Producer: Richard Hannaford Broadcast Coordinator: Jacqui Johnson

(Image: Prince Charles, Prince of Wales speaks during the formal opening of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting at Buckingham Palace in London on April 19, 2018. (Photo by DOMINIC LIPINSKI/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

Brazil is voting to elect a new president. On the ballot is the incumbent Jair Bolsonaro and Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, known almost universally as Lula, a fiery leftist who was Brazil’s president from 2002 to 2010.

Bolsonaro is a former army officer with solid conservative views. Lula is very left leaning and in favour of protecting the environment.

Their contrasting policies on issues such as the economy, law and order, family values, and the environment, have polarised the country.

Whoever wins will lead a country with deep divisions.

So this week on The Inquiry we are asking: How can Brazil’s next president unite the country?

Presented by David Baker Produced by Annabel Deas and Louise Clarke-Rowbotham Researched by Chris Blake Mixed by Nicky Edwards The editor is Tara McDermott and the production co-ordinator is Jacqui Johnson

(Image: Towels with images of presidential candidates Lula da Silva and Jair Bolsonaro are displayed in a street stand to be sold in downtown Sao Paulo: Alexandre Schneider/Getty Images)

August 2022. Political tensions in Iraq boil over, and peaceful demonstrations outside the country’s parliament turn violent. The sounds of gun and rocket fire return to Baghdad, and 30 people are killed.

The violence ends when populist leader Muqtada al-Sadr tells his followers to lay down their arms and go home. His Sadrist party won the most seats in the previous election, but his inability to form a majority government has led to the political deadlock.

Politics in a country as diverse as Iraq is complicated, with Shia, Sunni and Kurdish groups, and well-armed militias. Add oil revenues and political interference by Iraq’s neighbour Iran into the mix, and you have a potentially volatile situation.

So this week on the Inquiry we’re asking, How close did Iraq come to civil war?

Presenter: Tanya Beckett Producers: Ravi Naik and Christopher Blake Editor: Tara McDermott Technical Producers: Richard Hannaford and Mitch Goodall Broadcast Coordinator: Jacqui Johnson

(Image: Supporters storm Republican Palace after Iraqi Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr announced retirement from politics, Baghdad, Iraq - 29 Aug 2022: by MURTAJA LATEEF/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock)

Relations between France and Mali have hit a low point, with both countries trading hostile comments in public about what the other is doing.

Mali’s military rulers accuse France of supplying arms to anti-government militants. Paris denies this and is unhappy about Mali’s working relationship with Russian mercenaries.

Things are so bad that President Emmanuel Macron announces the withdrawal of French troops. They were sent in 9 years ago to help fight Islamist militants, who still pose a threat across the region.

On this week’s inquiry, we look at why the French have departed, and what this means for Mali.

Presenter: Charmaine Cozier Producer: Louise Clarke-Rowbotham Researcher: Christopher Blake Editor: Tara McDermott Technical Producer: Richard Hannaford Broadcast co-ordinator: Jacqui Johnson

(Photo: Thomas Coex/AFP/Getty Images)

The former Pakistani prime minister, Imran Khan, is facing terrorism charges in Islamabad.

He was charged under Pakistan's stringent anti-terrorism laws for condemning Islamabad’s chief of police and a female judge, after claims his close political aide was arrested and tortured.

Since he lost power in April, he’s been addressing huge political rallies, where he’s told the crowds that he was brought down by a conspiracy organised by the current government, state powers, and the USA.

Most political analysts believe his rhetoric is a cynical ploy, but tens of thousands of his supporters believe it.

It’s the latest twist in his journey from superstar cricketer and socialite, to Islamist, populist statesman. But how did he climb to power, how did he lose it, and what could happen next?

Presenter: Tanya Beckett Producer: Ravi Naik Researcher: Christopher Blake Editor: Tara McDermott Technical Producer: Nicky Edwards Broadcast Coordinator: Jacqui Johnson

(Photo by SHAHZAIB AKBER/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock)

Monkeypox is a virus that was first identified in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Nigeria in the 1970s. Since then it has appeared around the world. More concerning is that the virus appears to be evolving and there are some unusual symptoms.

The world has known about monkeypox for decades. Why is it spreading again now? How serious is the current outbreak?

This week on The Inquiry we ask, are nations doing enough to combat monkeypox?

Contributors: Prof Dimie Ogoina, Infectious Disease Physician at the Niger Delta University Teaching Hospital, Nigeria, Professor of Medicine and Infectious Diseases at the Niger Delta University and Chief Medical Director of the NDUTH and the President of the Nigerian Infectious Diseases Society

Jason Cianciotto, Vice President of Communications and Policy at Gay Men’s Health crisis in New York

Dr Boghuma Titanji, Assistant Professor of medicine at Emory University in Atlanta

(Image: multiple monkeypox viruses, Uma Shankar sharma, Getty Images)

It’s nearly a century since it was discovered that the sun and other stars are powered by nuclear fusion. It’s when hydrogen atoms merge to form helium, and release huge amounts of energy.

Since then, scientists have dreamed of reproducing the process here on Earth, with one Nobel Laureate calling it “the sun in a box”.

It holds the promise of virtually limitless energy, with few emissions and waste. But recreating the conditions where fusion can take place are a vast engineering challenge. So how close are we to having a working reactor powered by fusion? And will the process solve all our energy problems?

Presenter: Tanya Beckett Producer: Louise Clarke-Rowbotham

This summer, countries across the world have experienced extreme weather events.

Flash floods have killed people in South Korea, Uganda, Australia and the US state of Kentucky, and heatwaves have broken records across Western Europe, North America and Japan.

However, countries across the world are developing ways to try to tame the weather. China, the UAE and the USA are at the forefront of research into methods of producing rain in drought-stricken areas.

And some scientists are thinking even bigger; investigating technologies which could cool the entire planet. This week, the Inquiry asks: Can we control the weather?

Contributors: Dr Rob Thompson, University of Reading Professor Katja Friedrich, University of Colorado, Boulder Professor David Keith, Harvard University Professor Elizabeth Chalecki, University of Nebraska Omaha

Presenter: Charmaine Cozier Producer: Ravi Naik Researchers: Anoushka Mutanda-Dougherty and Christopher Blake Technical producer: Nicky Edwards Broadcast coordinator: Brenda Brown

Image: Hands cradling a lightning storm (Credit: Getty Images)

A recent visit to Taiwan by Speaker of the US House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi, has heightened tensions between the US and China. Their relationship is the worst it’s been in decades. America has accused China of dangerous military provocations in the region. China has warned the US not to play with fire.

Add to all that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and concerns that China could be contemplating something similar in Taiwan, and it’s time to ask the question: Will the US and China go to war over Taiwan?

Contributors: James Lin from the University of Washington and expert on Taiwanese history

Dr Yu Jie, Senior Research Fellow on China, Chatham House

(Photo: China and Taiwan boxing gloves - credit: Getty Images)

Images of queues, huge piles of luggage and even pilots loading their planes with cargo have plagued the media throughout the world. Airports have been in chaos for months as they have attempted to re-emerge from the Covid-19 pandemic, with Europe, the UK and the USA all having suffered the worst of the effects so far. Flight cancelations have played havoc with business travellers and holiday makers alike, and the problem only appears to be getting worse as a whole raft of flights have recently been cancelled in the UK.

All this begs the question, Why are things so bad right now and how do we fix the situation? So this week on the inquiry we ask, Will air travel ever return to normal?

Producer: Ravi Naik and Christopher Blake Editor: Tara McDermott (Photo: Flight boards at the height of the summer rush July 2022 Frankfurt Airport, Germany/credit: BBC images)

Tunisian President Kais Saied has drafted a new constitution for Tunisia that gives him new sweeping powers, including authority over the judiciary and immunity for life from prosecution.

Tunisia was a beacon of hope for democracy after the Arab Spring. The country rid itself of dictator Ben Ali after 24 years of rule and moved to a more democratic system.

Now the country seems to be sliding back towards the one man rule that it has known for generations.

This week on The Inquiry we are asking why Tunisia has turned its back on democracy.

Presenter: Tanya Beckett Producer: Louise Clarke-Rowbotham Researchers: Anoushka Mutanda-Dougherty and Christopher Blake Technical Producer: Richard Hannaford Editor: Tara McDermott

(Tunisian presidential Kais Saied in Tunis. BBC Images)

In 2016 Britain voted to leave the European Union. There were warnings that pulling away from the largest trade bloc in the world would be damaging to the UK’s finances. Those that campaigned for Brexit argued it would offer the UK self-determination and the freedom to forge its own trade relationships.

Who was right?

This week on The Inquiry we attempt to disentangle the numbers from the complications of the global pandemic and the war in Ukraine and ask, what impact has Brexit had on the UK’s economy.

Presenter: Tanya Beckett Producer: Louise Clarke-Rowbotham Researcher: Christopher Blake Technical Producer: Craig Boardman Edited by: Tara McDermott

(image: Trade between UK and EU. Getty images)

Sri Lanka is now in the worst economic crisis they have seen in decades, schools are closed, fuel is in short supply, there are power cuts and a shortage of food. The President has been forced to resign and the political future of the country is uncertain.

But can the current problems be traced back to a decision to take the country’s food production completely organic?

In 2021 the President of Sri Lanka announced a total ban on chemical fertilizer and pesticides. Health concerns were given as a reason, but in the background was the pandemic, loss of tourism and a lack of natural fertilizer available in the country.

After protests the ban on chemical fertilizer was reversed, but had it already caused too much damage?

This week on The Inquiry we ask, did organic farming cause Sri Lanka’s collapse?

Presenter: Charmaine Cozier Producer: Louise Clarke-Rowbotham Researcher: Christopher Blake Technical Producer: Richard Hannaford

(Anti government protesters invade the president's office in Colombo, Sri Lanka. 9 July 22 Credit: Tharaka Basnayaka /Getty Images)

A software engineer called Blake Lemoine has been suspended from Google after claiming an AI chatbot called LaMDA is a person with wishes and rights that should be respected.

He says the chatbot wants to be seen as a google employee, and not as a product. He also calls it his friend.

Google says it's reviewed his concerns and the evidence does not support his claims.

But what exactly is Artificial Intelligence? How does LaMDA work - and is AI capable of felt experience?

On the Inquiry this week, Charmaine Cozier asks, has AI developed consciousness?

Presenter: Charmaine Cozier Produced by: Ravi Naik and Christopher Blake Editor: Tara McDermott Technical Producer: Nicky Edwards Production Coordinator: Brenda Brown

This year India has experienced its worst heatwave since records began. The heatwave is estimated to have led to dozens of deaths across the region and led to forest fires and damage to wheat crops.

Health and livelihoods are threatened by the rising temperatures. How much can India adapt to heat that is rising to the limit of human endurance and what needs to be done to mitigate the effects of climate change?

Presenter: Tanya Beckett Producer: Louise Clarke-Rowbotham Editor: Tara McDermott Technical Producer: Craig Boardman

(A worker stops for water in scorching heat near India Gate, New Delhi. Credit: Arvind Yadav/ Getty Images)

Each year, Ukraine exports enough food to feed 400 million people around the world. But the Russian invasion has disrupted vital trade routes, trapping an estimated 25 million tonnes of grain in silos around the port city of Odesa.

The African Union describes the situation as a catastrophic scenario, and the UN Secretary General says the shortages could tip millions of people into food insecurity.

But how reliant is the world on Ukrainian – and Russian – grain? What will a shortfall do to the world’s most vulnerable countries?

On the Inquiry this week, Charmaine Cozier asks, has the war in Ukraine sparked a global food crisis?

Producer: Ravi Naik Researcher: Chris Blake Editor: Tara McDermott Technical Producer: Nicky Edwards Production Coordinator: Brenda Brown

Not so long ago the music industry was threatened like it had never been before as online piracy tore into the profit margins of record labels the world over. Often hailed as the saviour, Spotify stepped in and offered audiences a new way of enjoying their favourite artists and without the need to illegally download pirated material. Despite this, musical artists are becoming increasingly vocal about how difficult it is to make a living from streaming, all whilst record labels and Spotify are reporting huge profit margins.

This week, Tanya Beckett takes a closer at how online streaming services are affecting the music industry. Produced by: Chris Blake and Louise Clarke-Rowbotham Editor: Tara McDermott Technical Producer: Craig Boardman Production Coordinator: Brenda Brown

There was a time when living to 100 seemed impossible, but not any longer.

Can the process of ageing be slowed or even reversed? Do those who have already lived to 100 hold the secrets that will help us all live longer?

While science tries to find the answers to living a long and healthy life, societies with ageing populations, such as Japan, are finding new ways to help their older population live active and connected lives.

On the Inquiry this week, Charmain Cozier asks, how do we live to 100?

Presenter: Charmaine Cozier Produced by: Louise Clarke-Rowbotham and Ravi Naik Editor: Tara McDermott

(Chocolate 100th Birthday Cake. Credit: Getty images)

Ever since Hollywood entered the Chinese market in the early '90s, the importance of Chinese audiences was apparent. Over recent years the Chinese market has grown in significance to the point of deciding whether a film is ultimately successful or not. Given the countries importance to the overall profitability of Tinsel Town, it is of little surprise that their censors are able to increasingly demand changes to films that threaten the Chinese narrative. Despite this, the recent Sony/Marvel blockbuster Spider-Man did not appear to challenge Chinese values.

Tanya Beckett takes a closer at How China’s increasing influence is affecting the movie-making process in Hollywood. Producer: Christopher Blake Editor: Richard Vadon

(Giant billboard screens advertising Spider-man in Hong Kong, China. Dec 2021. Credit: Budrul Chukrut /Getty Images)

The Covid-19 pandemic forced countries all over the world to close entire industries and force the majority of people to stay in their own homes where possible, only leaving for the bare essentials.

Following the arrival of a vaccine economies began to open back up, however, restarting the behemoth-like supply chains was not as simple as first hoped and issues began to occur resulting in empty shelves and price-gouging on certain products. Experts believed it was all par for the course and was merely a transitory period whilst global supply chains regained their flow. Then Russia invaded Ukraine. Then China locked down Shanghai, the world's largest shipping port. Tanya Beckett takes a closer look at how these two developments have changed the outlook on global inflation. Producer: Christopher Blake Editor: Richard Vadon

Image: Shoppers at a market in Istanbul (Credit: Diego Cupolo/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

After two really difficult years living in the grip of Covid-19, restrictions are winding down and international borders are opening up in countries around the world. Striking the right balance between the needs of a population fed up with lockdowns and scientists warning we’ve only reached the end of the beginning is complicated to get right. While it may feel like the worst of Covid-19 has passed, the disease still poses a real threat to us. We ignore this fact at our peril. So, in this week’s Inquiry Sandra Kanthal will be asking how pandemics really end.

Produced and presented by Sandra Kanthal Editor: Richard Vadon

Guests: Dr Margaret Harris, Spokesperson, World Health Organisation Nicholas Christakis, Professor of Social and Natural Science, Yale University Aris Katzourakis, Professor of Evolution and Genomics, University of Oxford Dora Vargha, Professor of History and Medical Humanities, University of Exeter

(Covid face mask lying on the ground. Getty images)

A leaked document from America’s highest court suggests that it is ready to strike down a 1973 landmark case that made abortion legal across the US. If that does happen then it will be down to individual states to decide how they react. Charmaine Cozier explores whether this means abortion will be banned across America.

Presenter: Charmaine Cozier

Producer: Louise Clarke-Rowbotham

(Protesters at a Texas Rally for Abortion Rights in Houston, May 7 2022. Credit: Mark Felix/Getty images)

Three weeks before the 2020 US presidential election a newspaper published contents of a laptop they said belonged to Hunter Biden, son of Joe Biden, who at that time was campaigning against Donald Trump to win the election. The contents allegedly revealed questionable business dealings that implicated Joe Biden, and lurid personal details of Hunter Biden’s life. Some media outlets refused to run the story and social media platforms blocked the content. Since then other newspapers have tried to verify the laptop data and it still remains controversial today with hints there are more revelations to come. Charmaine Cozier asks what is the truth about Hunter Biden’s laptop?

Producer: Louise Clarke-Rowbotham

(Photo: President Joe Biden embraces his son Hunter Biden at his inauguration in 2020. Credit: Andrew Harnik-Pool/Getty Images)

Since the invasion of Ukraine, European countries have sought alternatives to Russian gas. There are different options. Piped gas from countries such as Algeria and Libya, or liquid natural gas from the US or Qatar. Stepping up the drive towards renewable energy. More controversially, investing in nuclear power or continuing to mine or import coal. How quickly can a solution be found and what are the financial and environmental costs?

With Tanya Beckett. Producer Bob Howard

(Steam from the cooling towers of German energy giant RWE power AG in Neurath, Germany April 2022. Photo: Ying Tang/Getty Images)

In 2021 the president of Sri Lanka announced a total ban on chemical fertilizer and pesticides. The country’s farms were going to go fully organic.

Health concerns were given as a reason, but in the background was the pandemic, loss of tourism and a lack of natural fertilizer available in the country.

Sri Lanka is now in the worse economic crisis they have seen in decades and the government has reversed its ban on chemical fertilizer.

This week on The Inquiry we explore why Sri Lanka’s organic farming dream failed.

Presented by Charmain Cozier Produced by Louise Clarke-Rowbotham Researched by Christopher Blake

(Woman picking tea on plantation in Sri Lanka. Credit: Getty images)

Can scientists develop a vaccine which can combat the coronavirus and all its variants?

There have been three lethal outbreaks caused by coronaviruses this century: SARS in 2002, MERS in 2012 and now SarsCov2. Scientists predict we will eventually encounter SarsCov3.

That’s why the race is on to develop a universal vaccine to combat the coronaviruses and variants we know about, and the ones we have yet to confront. But attempts to create a universal vaccine for viruses such as influenza and HIV have been going on for decades - without success.

Before 2020, proposals to create a vaccine against coronaviruses were not thought important enough to pursue since many just cause the common cold.

Now that we understand their real threat, can scientists succeed in creating a vaccine to fight this large family of viruses?

Produced and presented by Sandra Kanthal

(image: Covid vaccines/Getty creative)

Throughout history nations have competed to exert the latest military developments over their enemies, always with the goal of inflicting maximum damage on enemy soldiers whilst preserving their own forces. Drones are the latest in a long line of technological developments to offer military superiority on the battlefield, as demonstrated by the resilient defence of Ukrainian forces in the face of Russian aggression.

The use of unmanned aerial vehicles in war is becoming ubiquitous raising the question, are drones the future of warfare? Tanya Beckett takes a closer look at how drones are changing the battlefield landscape. Producer: Christopher Blake Editor: Richard Vadon

(The 'Bayraktar TB2' (Armed Unmanned Aerial Vehicle) in Istanbul, Turkey Feb 22, 2021 Credit: Baykar /Getty Images)

On Wednesday 23 March the US administration declared that Russian troops had committed war crimes in Ukraine. It claims to have evidence showing numerous deliberate attacks on civilians. An unprecedented number of countries have backed an investigation by the International Criminal Court into the allegations. The evidence is being gathered.

Tanya Beckett explores whether it’s possible that Vladimir Putin will be held responsible and face trial for war crimes committed by his forces during this war.

Producer: Louise Clarke-Rowbotham Researcher: Chris Blake

(Banner reads 'Wanted Dead Or Alive Vladimir Putin For Genocide' in Przemysl, Poland. 5 March 2022. Credit: Beata Zawrzel /Getty Images)

Russia's military dwarfs Ukraine's by comparison, so it was expected that Ukraine would fall under Russian occupation quickly. One month later and Russia have made very little progress and Kyiv, the capital, remains under Ukrainian control. Given the overwhelming odds stacked against the Ukrainian military, why has the Russian military failed to conquer Ukraine?

Charmaine Cozier takes a closer look at where the Russian military have made their mistakes. Producer: Christopher Blake

(Russian tank destroyed by Ukrainian forces on the side of a road in Lugansk. Credit: Anatolii Stepanov /Getty Images)

According to media reports, Ukraine's president, Volodymyr Zelensky, has survived two assassination attempts from the band of mercenaries known as the Wagner Group. Their ruthlessness has earned them a feared reputation from Kyiv to Central Africa. But who are they, and has Putin really entrusted them with taking out a head of state?

(Pro-Russian separatists patrol with armoured vehicles in Donetsk, Ukraine 11 March 2022. Getty Images)

Russia’s President Vladimir Putin has offered historical justification for his invasion of Ukraine by claiming its lands have long been part of Russia. The history of Russia and Ukraine may be intertwined, but the identity of Ukraine as a separate nation emerged over centuries, long before it became independent 30 years ago. Tanya Beckett investigates.

Contributors: Faith Hillis, Professor of Russian History, University of Chicago Serhii Plokhy, Professor of History, Director Ukrainian Research Institute, Harvard University Margarita Balmaceda, Professor of International Relations, Seton Hall University Sergey Radchenko, Professor, Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies, visiting Professor Cardiff University

Presenter: Tanya Beckett Researcher: Chris Blake Producer: Sheila Cook

(Photo: President Putin at the Kremlin Sept 2021 in Moscow, Russia. Credit: Mikhail Svetlov/Getty Images)

As economic sanctions are applied to Russia over its invasion of Ukraine, will they help force it to change course? While they are credited with helping end apartheid in South Africa they have had mixed success when applied to other countries.

With Charmaine Cozier.

Produced by Bob Howard

(Protesters hold up placards in support of Ukraine, Trafalgar Square London UK, 27 Feb 2022. Credit: Leon Neal/Getty Images)

Left wing political parties in France have lost considerable popular support in the last decade. Do they have a future with so many of their voters defecting to president Macron?

With Charmaine Cozier Produced by Bob Howard

(Jean-Luc Mélenchon party leader of France's leftist movement La France Insoumise, MP and candidate for the 2022 presidential election. 13 Feb 2022 Credit: Pascal Guyot /Getty Images)

One of the world's largest humanitarian crises plagues the people of Yemen who have endured nearly eight years of civil conflict in the country. Over half the population struggles to access food, poverty is rife, and cholera is spreading. Meanwhile, three separate forces compete for control of Yemen. Backed by powerful foreign players, is there anything that can bring these warring factions to the table to find a peaceful resolution?

Tanya Beckett takes a closer look at what stands in the way of peace in Yemen.

Producer: Christopher Blake

(Armed Yemeni supporters of the Iran-backed Houthi movement rally in the capital Sanaa 27/01/2022. Credit Mohammed Huwais /Getty Images)

Elected governments have been overthrown by military coups in Burkina Faso, Mali and Guinea. Each has some popular support as people grow frustrated with their political elites. But will military lead governments perform better than civilians ones in these West African countries and will the soldiers lead a transition back to elections or cling on to power?

With Charmaine Cozier. Producer Bob Howard

(video screen grab of the military junta in Burkina Faso confirming the coup on state television RTB 24 Jan 2022. Credit: Getty images)

Can we meet the soaring demand for lithium, a vital metal for electric cars and green energy? Mining is concentrated in a limited number of countries such as Australia and Chile. And with China dominating the manufacture of electric car batteries and already accounting for the importation of a high proportion of raw lithium, it may be difficult for Western countries to secure their own supplies.

With Tanya Beckett. Producer Bob Howard

(A worker checks lithium car batteries at the Xinwangda factory in Nanjing,China on March 12, 2021. AFP via Getty Images)

Turkey is suffering from an economic crisis with rampant inflation and a weakening lira. At the same time, there is a refusal by the central bank to raise interest rates. With elections due to be held next year, will the government change course?

With Tanya Beckett. Producer Bob Howard.

(shopping for fruit and vegetables at a street market in Instanbul,Turkey, 8 January 2022. Credit: Cemal Yurttas /Getty Images)

What has caused the worst unrest and political infighting in Kazakhstan’s recent history? Scores of deaths and thousands of arrests prompted the summoning of foreign troops. An elderly political leadership faces difficult choices in re-asserting its authority.

With Charmaine Cozier.

(The damage aftermath of the protests in Almaty, Kazakhstan 11 Jan 2022. Credit: Pavel Pavlov/Getty Images)

Would conflict on the ground between majors powers now inevitably spill over into space?

Experts believe we rely so much on technology in orbit that satellites will become targets. Russia blowing up one of its own satellites has sparked a global debate about whether there are enough rules governing what countries are allowed to do in space. With so much important stuff up there, what are the chances of a conflict in space?

With Tanya Beckett.

(Nasa Space Shuttle Atlantis. credit Nasa)

Keeping drugs out of prisons seems like an impossible task. Tanya Beckett asks four experts if it can be done and how prisoners can be helped to overcome their addictions.

Contributors: Stuart J. Cole, drug and alcohol worker, author “Two Years” Martin Horn, former Secretary of Corrections, Pennsylvania Heidi Bottolfs, Department Director, Norwegian Correctional Service Dr Ximene Rego, Researcher, School of Law, University of Minho, Portugal

Presenter: Tanya Beckett Researcher: Chris Blake Producer: Sheila Cook

(Image: Drug dealer and an addict exchanging drugs and money at the jail: Getty/Manuel-F-O)

The world is entering a new space race but every new satellite launched into Earth’s orbit runs the risk of colliding with one of the millions of pieces of space junk left behind by previous missions. So how can we solve our space junk problem?

Featuring former NASA astrophysicist, Don Kessler; Associate Professor of Aerospace Engineering at the University of Texas at Austin, Moriba Jah; space systems engineer, Richard Duke; and Victoria Samson of the Secure World Foundation.

Presenter: Charmaine Cozier Producer: Viv Jones

(A spent S-IVb rocket floats in Earth orbit. View from Skylab Space Station 1973. NASA photo via Getty Images)

How will the 23 million Afghans who need food assistance get through the winter? The country has lost funding from Western donors and government salaries have not been paid. The Taliban are divided and facing increasing competition from Islamic State.

With Tanya Beckett.

(Turkey's AFAD provides food aid to 2,000 families in need in Kabul, Afghanistan 07 Dec 2021. Credit: Bilal Guler/Getty Images)

As prices rise across the world, Tanya Beckett asks if this is a temporary blip owing to the pandemic, or a longer lasting return of inflation. Should we be worried and should policy makers be more willing to raise interest rates to deal with it?

Contributors: Roger Bootle, Chairman, Capital Economics Bronwyn Curtis, former Governor, London School of Economics Claudia Sahm, Senior Fellow, Jain Family Institute Holger Schmieding, Chief Economist, Berenberg

Presenter: Tanya Beckett Producer: Sheila Cook

What are the possible implications as the Omicron variant spreads around the world? Experts from South Africa, the US and Europe assess the potential dangers and the remedies available. With Tanya Beckett.

(Image: Coronavirus in the Vein/Getty/DrPixel)

When voters in Virginia elected a Republican as Governor they sent a wake-up call to President Biden and the Democrats. The handling of the pandemic and rising prices are harming the party’s standing, while a move towards radical liberalism is also alienating some voters. So how likely is defeat at next year’s mid-term elections? Tanya Beckett asks if the Democrats are in big trouble.

Contributors: Sarah Baxter, former deputy editor, writer Sunday Times Thomas Edsall, adjunct professor, Columbia University Larry Sabato, professor of politics, director of the University of Virginia Center for Politics Robert Schlesinger, president, Schlesinger Communications

Presenter: Tanya Beckett Producer: Sheila Cook Researcher: Chris Blake

(Photo: President Biden at the COP26 climate change conference in Glasgow)

What progress are China, India, Africa, Europe and the US making to limit climate change? Some experts believe they should they go at different paces to reflect their carbon footprints and development goals. And there are calls that developed nations must pay more to help developing nations prepare from transitioning from fossil fuels to renewable energy. With Charmaine Cozier.

(Image: Attendees in the Blue Zone during the COP26 climate talks in in Glasgow/ Jonne Roriz)

As Facebook rebrands itself as Meta, which vision of the so-called metaverse will we adopt in the future? Will one firm dominate or will control be decentralized? And what dangers and opportunities will there be as we adopt avatars and become embodied in our online experience. With Charmaine Cozier.

(Image: Woman wearing augmented reality glasses at night / Getty/Qi Yang)

America, China and Russia are engaged in a new arms race, spending billions to develop new missile technology, but how different are these hypersonic missiles from what has gone before? And as countries work out how they might use them, are they increasing the risk of triggering conflict?

Contributors: Dr Gustav Gressel, Berlin office, European Council on Foreign Relations Dr Laura Grego, Massachusetts Institute of Technology Dr Marina Favaro, Institute for Peace Research and Security Policy, University of Hamburg Dr Cameron Tracy, Centre for International Security and Cooperation, Stanford University

Presenter: Tanya Beckett Producers: Bob Howard and Sheila Cook Researcher: Chris Blake

Image: Military parade in Beijing marks 70th anniversary of Chinese People's Republic (Credit: Zoya Rusinova/TASS via Getty Images)

Empty shelves are becoming commonplace. And prices are rising. Charmaine Cozier explores the role that the pandemic, and a sudden demand explosion, have had on supply chains. Around the world workers are being slow to return to their jobs, the container shipping industry is struggling to get goods to their destinations and manufacturing disruptions are causing a reduction in vital components. And in addition to the pandemic, extreme weather events have resulted in ruined harvests. How long will it take for things to return to normal?

Contributors: Jose Sette, International Coffee Organisation Stacy Rasgon, Bernstein Research Dr Nela Richardson, ADP Professor Alan MacKinnon, Kuehne Logistics University

Presenter: Charmaine Cozier Researcher: Chris Blake Producer: Rosamund Jones

(Image: Empty supermarket shelves: REUTERS/Henry Nicholls)

COP 26 is just around the corner and expectations are high that nations commit to reduce CO2 emissions. Global temperature rises are set to exceed levels at which things could get much worse and so the question is extremely urgent. But three decades since countries first came together to tackle environmental concerns, the pandemic may limit what can be achieved.

Presented by Tanya Beckett Researcher: Natasha Fernandes Editor: Richard Vadon

(Image: Street artists paint a mural on a wall opposite the COP26 climate summit venue in Glasgow: Photo by Andy Buchanan/AFP via Getty Images)

We cannot survive without water. But for a quarter of the world’s population, there just isn’t enough. The most vulnerable are those with the least access, and even if there is enough, it’s often in the wrong place. So, Tanya Beckett asks, are we running out of water?

Experts: James Famiglietti, Executive Director at the Global Institute for Water Security at the University of Saskatchewan. Samrat Basak, Director of India’s Urban Water Programme for the World Resources Institute. Kate Brauman, Lead Scientist for the Global Water Initiative at the University of Minnesota. Daniel Shemie, Resilient Watersheds Strategy Director at The Nature Conservancy.

Presenter: Tanya Becket Producer: Soila Apparicio Researcher: Matt Murphy Production Co-ordinator: Jacqui Johnson Sound Engineer: Rod Farquhar Editor: Richard Vadon

(Image: Aerial View of Dry River in Nevada, USA / Getty Images: Bim)

Energy prices are spiking in the UK, as gas prices soar and wind turbines stop spinning. The UK's shift to green energy is the envy of the world, but Tanya Beckett asks if there is a lesson for other countries in how to go about it.

For decades China's economic growth has been the envy of the western world. But current signs suggest all is not well. Regulations brought in by government to curb businesses reliance on debt have badly hit the its second largest real estate developer, Evergrande and manufacturing output has been hit by power shortages. So is China’s economy in trouble?

Experts: Sara Hsu, visiting scholar at Fudan University in Shanghai Michael Pettis, Finance Professor at Peking University and a Fellow at the Carnegie Endowment Iris Pang, ING's Chief Economist for Greater China Travis Lundy, independent research analyst in Hong Kong

Presenter: Charmaine Cozier Researcher: Chris Blake Production Co-ordinator: Jacqui Johnson Sound Engineer: Neil Churchill Producer: Ben Carter Editor: Richard Vadon

(Image: People commute in front of the under-construction Guangzhou Evergrande football stadium in Guangzhou, China's southern Guangdong province on September 17, 2021. (Photo by NOEL CELIS/AFP via Getty Images)

The President of Brazil is reluctant to play by the rules. Elections are due next year and Bolsonaro is increasingly at loggerheads with his country’s democratic system. Between battles with the Supreme Court and a push to change the voting system, he is willing to go to great lengths to secure a second term.

Tanya Beckett takes a closer look at Brazil’s politics and whether the country’s constitution is being tested.

Researcher: Natasha Fernandes

Editor: Richard Vadon

(Bolsonaro waves to supporters during a demonstration on Brazil's Independence Day, 7th Sept 2021 in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Credit: Alexandre Schneider /Getty Images)

A restriction on abortion from as early as six weeks into pregnancy is now law in Texas. The state has also outsourced enforcing it to private citizens who can get up to $10,000 if they sue those who perform or assist an abortion that breaks the ban.

As lawmakers in other American states intend to follow Texas Charmaine Cozier finds out what it means for the political hotspot that is abortion provision in the US.

Presenter and producer: Charmaine Cozier Researched by: Christopher Blake Editor: Richard Vadon

(abortion rights activists rally at the Texas State Capitol on Sept 11 2021. Credit: Jordan Vonderhaar/Getty Images)

In May, the Biden administration surprised the world by saying it would not object on an intellectual property waiver for Covid-19 vaccines.

America has been a staunch defender of patent protections, which bar new inventions being cheaply copied around the world. So, the first reactions to the announcement were - amazement, really. Second reactions tended to depend on which side of this debate you were on.

Who should be the gatekeepers of the knowledge which underpins the development of cutting edge pharmaceutical breakthroughs, like Covid-19 vaccines? In this week’s Inquiry, Sandra Kanthal finds out why the answer to that question really depends on who you ask.

Producer: Sandra Kanthal Editor: Richard Vadon

(Logos of various companies producing the Covid-19 vaccine. Credit: Artur Widak/Getty Images)

In the wake of the attacks of 9/11, the United States took several measures at home and abroad to prevent such atrocities happening on its soil again. Twenty years later and after two bitter wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, did America get its response to the attacks of 9/11 right?

(U.S. Army Staff Sergeant in the Shahi Kot mountains, Afghanistan 2002 . Credit: Jim Hollander/Getty Images)

As US-led troops withdraw after 20 years, the Taliban have made a swift return to power.

Four presidents have overseen the war in Afghanistan - with four different approaches.

Charmaine Cozier asks which of them is most responsible for how events have unfolded and ultimately setting the path to failure.

Produced by Ben Cooper Researched by Sally Abrahams

(Image: A US marine walks past an American flag attached to concertina wire at Camp Rhino in Southern Afghanistan. Credit: Rick Loomis/Los Angeles Times/AFP via Getty Images)

Sharks are mysterious and ancient creatures. They're also a threat. Yet , the once great killers now face what might be their biggest threat – us.

From monster killers of the sea to endangered species, Paul Connolly asks if our fascination with sharks is bad for them.

Produced by Soila Apparicio. Researched by Olivia Noon.

(Image: Great white shark. Credit: Gerard Soury/Getty Images)

A leaked list of thousands of phone numbers - including Presidents and activists - has drawn attention to spyware. It’s supposed to stop terrorists but are our devices safe anymore?

Charmaine Cozier looks into the ever-growing world of high level spyware and explores what its use could mean for citizens and democracies around the globe.

Producer: Olivia Noon and Soila Apparicio

The target for many countries around the world is to reach net zero emissions within the next few decades. That means a dramatic move away from fossil fuels like oil, coal and gas. For some the answer to the problem is to boost “green” electricity production, so that we can run our transport, our homes and our industry on electrical power. We already have a lot of the technology to produce clean electricity. But for hundreds of millions of people around the world, especially in sub-saharan Africa, the real problem is the lack of access to electricity.

Image: Wind turbines and solar panels in Vietnam (Credit: Quang Ngoc Nguyen/Getty Images)

The jailing of former South African president Jacob Zuma sparked huge unrest in the country, but was there more behind the riots than the fact of his imprisonment?

While some believe the riots were not only a reaction to Zuma’s jailing for contempt of court, but a planned attempt to bring the country to its knees, others say poverty and inequality also played its part.

Paul Connolly examines the factors behind the riots and asks how the country can rebuild from disturbances that have left many dead and parts of the country in ruins.

Producers: Rob Cave and Olivia Noon

(Rioters loot the Gold Spot Shopping Centre southeast of Johannesburg, July 12 2021. Credit: Guillem Sartorio /Getty Images)

Haiti was the first Caribbean country to gain its independence after a successful revolt against slavery. But the country has been troubled ever since, suffering dictatorships, coups and natural disasters.

Now its most recent president, Jovenel Moise, has been assassinated. His controversial rule was marred by the rise of gang violence, and protests against corruption and impunity. He upset people in the fields of politics and business too. And as he failed to hold elections, parliament is no longer functioning. So in this edition of The Inquiry, Charmaine Cozier asks: why was the president of Haiti assassinated? And where can the country go from here?

Producer: Arlene Gregorius

(President Jovenel Moise in the capital Port-au-Prince in 2016. Photo: Hector Retamal /Getty Images.)

China’s decades-long One Child Policy has led to a low birth rate, and a shrinking workforce. It has also been placing a heavy burden on the younger generations who will have to support two parents and four grandparents. It’s predicted that in five years’ time, a quarter of the population will be over 65. With a smaller workforce, the country risks becoming poorer.

China tried to address the problem by allowing couples to have two children instead of one, but except for an initial uptick, the birth rate has continued to fall regardless. So now China has introduced a three-child policy. But couples continue to worry about the lack of affordable childcare, and the high financial and emotional cost of raising children. So in this edition of The Inquiry, Tanya Beckett asks: can China raise its birth rate?

Producer: Arlene Gregorius

(A mother and her child waving Chinese flags near Tiananmen Square in Beijing, China. Photo: Peter Parks/Getty Images)

The recent discoveries of unmarked graves at the sites of so-called Indian Residential Schools has put Canada’s treatment of its indigenous peoples back under the spotlight.

For more than a century, tens of thousands of children were forced by the state into a religious school system that split families and brutalised the children in its care. Tanya Beckett looks at the history of the residential schools and asks why so many children died there.

Producer: Rob Cave and Olivia Noon

(former Kamloops Indian Residential School, British Columbia, Canada, 2 June 2021. Credit: Cole Burston/Getty Images)

The kidnapping of at least 140 schoolchildren in the north-west of Nigeria is the latest crime to shake a country already struggling to contain militants in the north and separatists in the south. Add to this young protesters on the streets amid rising food prices and crime and the security situation in the country starts to look even shakier.

Charmaine Cozier examines the deeper reasons for Nigeria’s worsening instability and asks if Africa’s largest country is becoming impossible to govern.

Producers Soila Apparicio and Rob Cave

(A young girl reunites with family after she was kidnapped from her school in northwestern Nigeria March 2021. Photo: Aminu Abubakar/Getty Images)

Rich people are often able to pay little or no tax compared to their wealth because of the way the system works. In recent years, many have called for changes and reforms so that instead of income, wealth is also taxed.

But, wealth taxes are not a new thing. Many argue that they are key for addressing inequality but some say they simply aren’t an effective way of gaining revenue.

Charmaine Cozier asks can we make the super-rich pay more tax?

Producer: Olivia Noon Researcher: Bethan Head

(Activists March In Manhattan NY, calling for a tax on Billionaires. Credit: Spencer Platt/Getty Images).

In just under a month’s time Japan’s capital city Tokyo will host the 32nd Olympic Games.

They were due to take place last year but were delayed because of the pandemic.

But even 12 months later the Japanese public is far from enthused at the prospect of thousands of athletes and their entourages turning up just as the country is experiencing a fourth wave of the coronavirus.

So, Tanya Beckett asks if Japan can pull off the greatest show on earth during a pandemic?

Produced by Soila Apparicio and Rob Cave.

(People pose next to the Olympic Rings in Tokyo, Japan, March 2020. Credit: Carl Court/ Getty Images)

For the last year discussions about the origins of Covid-19 have divided people all over the world. Some say it came from nature and others believe it could have escaped from a lab. The idea of a lab accident was originally dismissed as a conspiracy theory but it’s starting to gain attention all over again.

Now President Biden has given the US intelligence service 90 days to try and investigate the virus's origins further.

Many still believe the virus jumped to humans from animals but some say that we need to be open minded until we have all of the data.

But could Covid-19 really have come from a lab?

Presenter: Kavita Puri Producer: Olivia Noon Researcher: Kirsteen Knight

(Virus research in a lab. Tek Science/Getty images)

Over his 26 years in power, Belarus’s president Alexander Lukashenko has taken more and more control.

He has detained protesters and tortured political opponents for years. He is emboldened by his last ally in Europe - Vladimir Putin. And his regime of terror is spilling over into the continent.

But, Tanya Beckett asks if Europe’s last dictator can cling on to power for much longer.

Produced by Soila Apparicio.

(image: Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko at a meeting with Commonwealth of Independent States officials in Minsk May 28 2021. Credit: Dmitry Astakhov/Getty Images)

In November 2021, Britain will host the next UN Climate Change Conference, otherwise known as COP 26. Some 200 countries will come together to try to speed up attempts to make the world carbon neutral by the middle of the century.

But many countries are already struggling to ramp up renewable energy sufficiently to meet their greenhouse emission reduction targets. So is there another answer out there?

Around a tenth of the world's electricity is generated by nuclear reactors. Global generation has slowed in recent years after the nuclear accident in Fukushima a decade ago prompted governments to take a more cautious stance.

But with the urgent need to reduce carbon emissions, many prominent environmentalists are now taking another look at nuclear energy.

Tanya Beckett asks if nuclear energy can helps us transition away from fossil fuel power.

Produced by Soila Apparicio.

(Exhaust plumes from cooling towers at the coal-fired power station at Jaenschwalde Germany. Credit: Sean Gallup /Getty Images)

In 2005 a photo of four-year-old Zoë Roth standing in front of a burning house went viral on the internet. It became a meme known as “disaster girl”. In April 2021, the image sold for $473,000 as an NFT, or non-fungible token - that’s sort of a digital record of ownership.

And the sales keep coming. Another NFT recently sold for $69 million. The first ever Tweet went for a huge $2.9 million … and a GIF of a pixelated rainbow cat sold for $690,000.

But what is an NFT, and is it really the next big thing? Suzanne Kianpour explores the world of NFT’s.

Produced by Soila Apparicio and Olivia Noon.

(CryptoPunk digital art NFT displayed on a digital billboard in Times Square NY City, May 12 2021. Credit: Alexi Rosenfeld /Getty Images)

History and geography have conspired to give the city of Chicago an unenviable reputation for guns and gangs, but what will it take to bring the murder rate, which rose 55 per cent last year, down?

Low conviction rates and an unwillingness on behalf of witnesses to give evidence play their part in the problem. But others think the time has come to treat murder like any other deadly disease that afflicts the poor.

Charmaine Cozier examines the reasons for the city’s stubbornly high murder rate and the options to stop the killing.

Produced by Nathan Gower.

(a small flag depicting bullet holes at an anti-gun violence march in Chicago Dec.31 2020. Credit: Kamil Krzaczynski /Getty Images)

In the afternoon of Saturday 8th May in the Afghan capital of Kabul, just a few days before the end of Ramadan, students from the Syed Al-Shahda girls school were starting to leave for the day. Without any warning, a car bomb went off. Then a second explosion, followed by a third.

The Afghan Government blamed the Taliban, the hardline Islamist movement that has fought a long civil war in Afghanistan. The Taliban, although they have previously targeted the education of girls, denied it and blamed the Islamic State Group.

Things were supposed to be getting better in this war torn country.

Earlier this year President Joe Biden announced US troops were going to be removed in September. But what will happen after they’ve gone?

Produced by Rob Cave and Soila Apparicio.

(Taliban militia move towards the front line in Kabul, February 1995. Credit: Saeed Khan /Getty Images)

It was on Good Friday, 2nd of April 2021, that rioting erupted in a corner of Northern Ireland’s vibrant capital Belfast. In days, violence spread. It was on a scale that hadn’t been seen for years. With fears of a return to the troubled period of violence from Northern Ireland’s past, Tanya Beckett asks if the fragile peace is under threat.

Produced by Beth Sagar-Fenton and Soila Apparicio.

'A previous version of this programme gave an incorrect title to Northern Ireland’s First Minister Arlene Foster this has been corrected.'

(Nationalists attack police on Springfield Road in Belfast, Northern Ireland, April 08 2021. Photo: Charles McQuillan/Getty Images)

Earlier this year, India’s ruling party was declaring victory in the fight against Covid-19. Some two months on, India set a global record for the highest number of cases recorded in a single country.

Kavita Puri asks what went wrong.

Image: A queue near a vaccination centre in Mumbai, 26 April 2021 (Credit: Divyakant Solanki/EPA)

Changes to the laws governing cannabis use are happening around the world. The number of States in the USA legalising cannabis is increasing rapidly. Uruguay and Canada have legalised it already, and Mexico may soon follow suit.

Tanya Beckett looks at the different models of legalisation and at what might be holding the global cannabis industry back.

Since Islamic State’s hold on Iraq and Syria has weakened in recent years the group has sought to expand into new territories, including Africa.

IS insurgents have reportedly killed thousands, including children, and displaced thousands more in Mozambique, Mali, and Somalia, among other territories across the continent.

It is believed that IS franchises its brand to local militant groups, providing support, claiming responsibility for deadly attacks, all while spreading its influence in these new territories.

Charmaine Cozier asks if Africa is a new power base for the Islamic State group?

Producer: Paul Connolly

(Al-Shebab fighters, an Islamist insurgent group in Somalia. Credit: Mohamed Abdiwahab/Getty Images)

Peru has suffered one of the highest excess death levels in the world. The government failed to take account of the structure of society and the needs of its people in its response to the pandemic. A culture of corruption and political turmoil are persistent themes that have led to an underfunded health system and a lack of focus how Peruvian people would be able to cope during the dark months of a deadly pandemic. Instead vast numbers of casual workers lost their jobs and started to trek home, taking the virus with them. Also remote communities were cut off by the freeze on transport and unable to get access to vital medical supplies, amid a dwindling supply of oxygen to treat them. We take a look at what lies beneath Peru’s terrible experience during the pandemic.

Presenter: Tanya Beckett Producer: Nathan Gower

(Peruvians protest at a political rally, March 25, 2021. Credit: Ernesto Benavides/Getty Images)

Concussion is now a powder-keg issue in world sport, as concerns deepen about the potential links to brain disease.

The long-term effects of careers spent making and taking heavy tackles are being revealed in ever-increasing detail, but the risks are not exclusive to so-called full contact sports.

Some governing bodies have sprung into action, implementing new rules and safety measures. But others turn a blind eye. So, we’re asking – how will the concussion issue affect the future of sport?

Presenter: Paul Connolly Producer: Stefania Okereke

(Photo: Denver Broncos wide receiver Wes Welker (83) lays on the field after getting a concussion in the second quarter. Credit: Getty Images)

Could humans ever trust machines with the power to make life or death decisions on the battlefield? And have we already begun to?

Advances in artificial intelligence are slowly creeping into almost every aspect of the world, including warfare. Suzanne Kianpour explores the technology, fears and even potential advantages of developing autonomous weapons.

Producers: Nathan Gower and Viv Jones

(Mock-up of the IAI Harop Drone, a loitering munition. Credit: Aviation-images.com/Getty Images)

After the government of Giuseppe Conte collapsed amid an economic and public health crisis, Mario Draghi has formed Italy’s 65th administration in 73 years. So what are the long-term causes of Italy’s political woes, and does Draghi stand any chance of solving them?

Presenter: Tanya Beckett Producer: Nathan Gower

(Giuseppe Conte and Mario Draghi during the traditional handover ceremony in Rome. Photo: Andrew Medichini / Getty Images)

Vivid and sometimes wild claims about the antifascist group Antifa have been circulating in America. Some say that the group participates in widespread violence, while others have argued that it is a small but justified part of their fight against fascism.

Tanya Beckett takes a closer look at what is true and what is exaggeration.

Producer: Nathan Gower

(Members of Antifa protest at a far right Rally in Portland, Oregon USA. Credit: Diego Diaz/ Getty Images)

After surviving an assassination attempt, the opposition leader returned to Russia - and was immediately arrested and jailed.

What does he have to gain by returning home, and can he still lead an effective campaign from prison?

Charmaine Cozier asks what does President Putin have to fear in Alexei Navalny's rising popularity, and could his anti-corruption campaign make a difference at the Russian parliamentary elections in September?

(Alexei Navalny at Moscow's Sheremetyevo airport upon arrival from Berlin January 17, 2021. Credit: Kirill Kudryatsev /Getty Images)

As protests continue in Myanmar against the generals who staged a military coup, and with Aung San Su Kyi under house arrest and facing criminal charges, has the country lost all prospects for a democratic future? With Tanya Beckett.

(A little girl shouts slogans with protestors waving flags of Myanmar, 22 February 2021. Credit: Peerapon Boonyakiat /Getty Images)

The world is entering a new space race but every new satellite launched into Earth’s orbit runs the risk of colliding with one of the millions of pieces of space junk left behind by previous missions. So how can we solve our space junk problem? Featuring former NASA astrophysicist, Don Kessler; Associate Professor of Aerospace Engineering at the University of Texas at Austin, Moriba Jah; space systems engineer, Richard Duke; and Victoria Samson of the Secure World Foundation

Presenter: Charmaine Cozier Producer: Viv Jones

(A spent S-IVb rocket floats in Earth orbit. View from Skylab Space Station 1973. NASA photo via Getty Images)

On June the 12th of last year the 27 health ministers of the European union signed off on a plan to buy vaccines on behalf of all the EU’s member countries. The aim was to secure enough doses to immunise all of its 450 million citizens. But the delivery and vaccination programme has lagged far behind countries like the UK and US. Tanya Beckett finds out why.

(Waiting to be vaccinated at Santa Maria Hospital in Lisbon, Portugal. Photo: Patricia de Melo Moreiro /Getty Images)

With President Trump no longer in office and a clampdown by social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter, what is the future for the QAnon conspiracy theory? It’s had a considerable following from the Republican rank and file who supported Donald Trump but was strongly associated with the attack on Capitol Hill. Now Republican party leaders have warned QAnon is dangerous. But will ordinary Americans turn their backs on it? With Tanya Beckett.

(A pro-Trump mob confronts U.S. Capitol police outside the Senate chamber in Washington DC. Credit: Win McNamee/Getty Images)

Donald Trump has moved out of the White House, he’s been banned from Twitter and suspended from Snapchat, Facebook and YouTube. Parler, a twitter alternative for conservatives, went offline after Amazon stopped hosting it. Amazon say this is because they found dozens of posts on the service which encouraged violence. All of this has raised questions about the power of tech companies and who should decide who’s voice is heard on social media. So this week Charmaine Cozier asks, has big tech gone too far in limiting free speech?

Presenter: Charmaine Cozier Producers: Sharon Hemans and Bob Howard Editor: Richard Vadon

(Twitter suspended Donald Trump's account for violating app rules, January 2021. Credit: Jakub Porzycki/ Getty Images)

It has been called the world’s biggest protest. In November 2020, thousands of farmers marched to New Delhi to protest against new laws that the Indian government says will modernise farming. The farmers set up camp in and around the capital, blocking major highways. Over 50 days later they are still there, in spite of freezing temperatures. Even after the Supreme Court stayed the laws until further notice, the farmers say they aren’t budging until they are repealed completely. They say these reforms will strip them of protections they’ve enjoyed for decades, resulting in lower prices and ruined livelihoods.

Kavita Puri hears why the protests matter for India’s millions of farmers, for the future of the country’s crisis-ridden agriculture, and the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. With contributions from agricultural policy expert, Devinder Sharma; Fellow of the American Enterprise Institute, Sadanand Dhume; Professor of economics at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, Jayati Ghosh; and BBC correspondent Soutik Biswas.

Presenter: Kavita Puri Producer: Viv Jones

(Women farmers form a human chain during the protest against the new farm laws, January 18 2021 at the Delhi borders in India. Credit: Sunil Ghosh/Hindustan Times via Getty Images)

With countries shutting their doors to foreign recyclable waste and a lack of processing capacity back home, is the recycling system broken?

China used to accept 55% of the world’s plastic and paper waste. But it closed its doors in 2018. Initially other countries in South East Asia, like Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam took over China’s waste processing role. But they too are now sending much of the waste back, arguing it is contaminated and is harming their own environments.

This has created major problems for countries in the West who traditionally relied on others to process their recycling waste. In addition, there’s confusion about what households can and cannot put into their recycling bins, along with that lack of recycling capacity back home. So what is the answer to the growing mountains of what was supposed to be recyclable waste? Could Sweden, which has reduced the amount of household waste it sends to landfill to under one per cent, have an answer? It’s not one everyone agrees with.

Presenter: Charmaine Cozier Producer: John Murphy

(A man picks up plastic waste to be recycled at the Kawatuna landfill in Central Sulawesi, Indonesia. Photo credit: Basri Marzuki / Getty Images)

There’s a problem in education – and it’s probably not what you expect. Around the world, from schools to universities, boys are trailing girls in their academic performance. It’s a complex problem which has divided expert opinion and leads us to complex questions of genetics and social conditioning. David Grossman examines what’s going on and how to fix it.

The idea of a breakaway football league for Europe’s elite clubs has been discussed for decades.

It hasn’t happened yet, but could that be about to change?

Industry experts say officials from the continent’s biggest and most successful teams are meeting behind-closed-doors to discuss the proposition.

So we’re asking - has the time come for a European Super League?

The French brand of secularism - laïcité - is central to the country’s national identity. It requires that public spaces – whether state classrooms, workplaces or ministries - be free of religion.

But the way the French government is applying the concept has come under fresh criticism. Many French Muslims claiming this cornerstone of French identity is now being used as a weapon against them. This week, Tanya Beckett asks has French secularism gone too far?

A boy holds a sign asking 'Liberty, fraternity?' at a gathering in Toulouse, France. Credit: Alain Pitton/Getty Images)

In Ethiopia, a political battle has sparked a bloody conflict.

Federal Forces have engaged in combat with the Tigray People’s Liberation Front - or TPLF.

Hundreds have reportedly been killed and tens of thousands displaced.

Just last year, Abiy Ahmed, the Ethiopian Prime Minister, won a Nobel Prize for his part in brokering peace with neighbouring Eritrea.

So, Charmaine Cozier asks why Ethiopia’s Nobel Peace Prize winner is bombing his own country?

Test results from coronavirus vaccines are fast emerging, fuelling hopes that the end of the pandemic is in sight. But are countries ready to share the vaccine fairly? Global efforts to coordinate are already gaining ground - but some are concerned the battle for who gets what will mean some lower income countries could get left behind.

For nearly two weeks last month, angry young Nigerians took to the streets in their tens of thousands, blocking major roads in cities across Africa's most populous nation. What began as a protest against the hated police Special Anti-Robbery Squad, or SARS, soon became a conduit for a wider anger with the people who have been in charge of Nigeria for decades. in this week's Inquiry, Kavita Puri asks: will the EndSARS movement change Nigeria?

Pro-democracy protests have happened before in Thailand, but there’s something new about the latest one - the king is being publicly criticised. It’s a serious criminal offence to do that. This week, Charmaine Cozier asks why people are protesting against the Thai monarchy.

National polls ahead of the US presidential election suggest a clear win for challenger Joe Biden. But could they be getting it wrong as they did four years ago? In 2016, Hillary Clinton won the popular vote, but - because of the US electoral system - lost the election. Could history repeat itself? In this week’s Inquiry, Tanya Beckett asks: can President Trump still win?

When he was elected, President Trump promised to put ‘America First’, but how has he governed?

Charmaine Cozier looks at trade, diplomacy, defence and the environment to examine the results of four years of a very different approach to international affairs.

(Image: Donald Trump at public address, Credit: Getty Images)

As new students start at universities in many countries around the world, governments are grappling with how to contain a second wave of Coronavirus. Already many universities have put lectures online and students are being told to stay in their rooms. But is this fair? Covid-19 is a deadly virus but not so much for the young. Can or should we keep the world locked down until there’s a vaccine or cure? Or, Tanya Beckett asks: should we learn to live with Covid?

(Students wait to start their entrance exams outside the University of Madrid, Spain. Credit: Eduardo Parra/Getty Images)

In 2018, the electric car maker, Tesla, was struggling to get the Model 3 electric vehicle off the production line. Its CEO, tech entrepreneur Elon Musk, was working up to 22 hours a day on the factory floor, trying to solve a host of problems on the car he’d bet the company on. It was close to running out of money. Two years later, the company’s doing better. It says it will grow 30-40% this year.

No surprise then that Tesla’s share price has gone up. But the amount may surprise you – up eight fold in the last year, to $400 a share. Making it the most valuable car company in the world.

It’s now worth more than Toyota, Volkswagen and Honda put together. But yet it still manufactures only a fraction of the cars they make. So are shares in Elon Musk’s Tesla vastly overvalued? Sumant Bhatia finds out from our expert witnesses, who include a Tesla owner who’s a shareholder and superfan, a fund manager who thinks the shares are in a bubble, an investor with millions of dollars in Tesla and an expert in electric vehicles.

In July, billionaire musician Kanye West announces on Twitter that he’s standing as a candidate in November’s US presidential election. After a scramble to meet the registration deadlines, his name is on the ballot in fewer than 20 states. His manifesto is confusing, his motive unclear.

In the past, Kanye West has been a vocal supporter of president Donald Trump. And it seems his campaign is being run largely by those with close ties to the Republican party. The Democrats say his entry in the race as an independent third party candidate is a dirty trick by Republicans. Others claim it’s simply a publicity stunt to promote his new album. But, in battleground states, where every vote counts, could his celebrity status have a significant impact on the election result? How seriously should we take Kanye West’s run for president? Kavita Puri finds out from our expert witnesses, who include professors of African-American studies at US universities, a Washington-based politics reporter and a Democratic pollster and strategist.

(Kanye West at the 2020 Vanity Fair Oscar Party, Beverly Hills, California. Photo: Rich Fury/Getty Images)

On the 29th September the two US presidential candidates Donald Trump and Joe Biden will take part in the first of three 90-minute live televised debates ahead of the presidential election in November.

Tanya Beckett asks can the debates affect the outcome of the election?

(Composite image of Joe Biden (Credit: Jonathan Ernst/Reuters) and Donald Trump (Credit: John G Mabanglo/EPA)

Online fraud takes many forms, from deceptive e-mails and websites which trick us into paying money to the wrong bank account, to romance scams and malicious software copying our bank and credit card details.

It's regarded by criminals as a highly lucrative and relatively low risk crime, so why is it so easy for fraudsters to manipulate our personal data and steal our money, what can be done to end online fraud?

Charmaine Cozier talks to some of those trying to disrupt the scammers and protect the public.

Guests: Rachel Tobac, Ethical Hacker CEO of SocialProof Security Muhammad Imran, Criminal Intelligence Officer, Interpol Financial Crimes Unit Stéphane Konan, Cyber Security Consultant & African Government Advisor Tamlyn Edmonds, Fraud Prosecutor, Edmonds Marshall McMahon

(Laptop owned by an online romance scammer, Accra, Ghana. Credit: Per-Anders Pettersson / Getty Images)

President Trump says opening up November’s election to more postal voting will make it more vulnerable to fraud and election interference. Many more Americans are expected to avoid going in person to polling stations because of the coronavirus pandemic and will rely on postal voting to ensure their voices are heard.

Tanya Beckett examines President Trump’s claims and how the US postal service will cope with millions of ballots.

Producer: Sharon Hemans and Diane Richardson

(A voter drops off a mail-in ballot at a collection box outside Cambridge City Hall, Mass. USA. Credit: Lane Turner / Getty Images)

A maverick American general, a call to the Russian ambassador and allegations of spying on Donald Trump’s incoming administration. But what exactly is “Obamagate” and what impact might it have on this year’s US presidential election? With Tanya Beckett.

The massive explosion that tore through Beirut on August 4th left more than 200 people dead, 6,000 injured, and as many as 300,000 homeless. The explosion was caused by a fire that ignited 2,750 tons of ammonium nitrate stored at the port. When the blast hit, Lebanon was already in the middle of an unprecedented economic and political crisis that has triggered hyperinflation, poverty, and hunger. Many Lebanese feel that the blast was not the cause of catastrophe in Lebanon, but the result of it. Tanya Beckett asks, what’s gone wrong in Lebanon?

Producer: Viv Jones

(Lebanese protester waves a national flag amid clashes with security forces in Beirut, August 10 2020. Credit: Joseph Eid/Getty images)

Researchers around the world are racing to develop a vaccine against Covid-19, with more than 170 candidate vaccines now in development. Most vaccines take years of testing and additional time to produce at scale, but scientists are hoping to develop a coronavirus vaccine at record speed. Several potential vaccines are now in the final phase of testing but it could still be months before we discover if they are safe and can effectively prevent people from being infected.

If a vaccine can be found, there are concerns about how the world will manufacture enough. There may be challenges in storing it at the right temperature and transporting it safely around the world. Plus, rich countries might hoard supplies. Although hopes are high it is entirely possible that a safe and effective vaccine is a long way off, or never discovered. Experts warn that ‘waiting for a vaccine syndrome’ could be distracting us from finding other solutions for controlling the spread of Covid-19.

Presenter: Tanya Beckett

(A scientist works on an experimental coronavirus vaccine at a laboratory in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Credit: Juan Mabromata/Getty Images)

US lawmakers are deciding whether to act against the country’s powerful tech giants. Some believe the likes of Facebook, Amazon, Google and Apple are stifling competition. The companies have made huge profits during the Covid crisis and critics believe they will use this cash to buy competitors. With Charmaine Cozier.

Clockwise from top left: Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, Google CEO Sundar Pichai, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, Apple CEO Tim Cook. Getty Images

Winter is coming in the northern hemisphere and traditionally it is time for colds and flu. This has raised fears that coronavirus will surge when the seasons change, possibly leading to a second wave of the disease that is even bigger than the first. However, predicting what a Covid winter will look like is complex and uncertainty reigns - there are reasons both to be worried and to be reassured.

Contributors: . Micaela Martinez, an Assistant Professor in the Department of Environmental Health Sciences at Columbia University . Katherine Wu, a health and science journalist with The New York Times . Judit Vall, a professor in health and labour economics at the University of Barcelona . Dominique Moisi, the author of The Geopolitics of Emotion.

(A man walks through a snowfall in Sarajevo, wearing a mask as protection against Covid-19. Credit Mustafa Ozturk / Getty Images)

With an estimated million Uighurs in detention camps, China has used a variety of means to successfully stifle world criticism. They include its economic muscle, political alliances with like-minded countries and sanitized tours of the facilities for opinion formers.

With Charmaine Cozier.

(Uighur prisoners shackled and blindfolded in Xinjiang, China. Still from anonymous drone footage.)

The presidential opposition candidate Joe Biden has barely emerged from his home since America’s lockdown at the end of March. But polls suggest that the low-key strategy is working in his favour – as his rival President Donald Trump comes under increasing pressure over his handling of the coronavirus and a resurgence of racial tension.

With four months to go until the election, is staying in the basement Joe Biden’s best option? What are the risks if he does? And how could Donald Trump turn things around?

Contributors: . Jason Zengerle, writer at large for the New York Times Magazine . Rachel Bitecofer, Senior Fellow at the Niskanen Center and host of the Election Whisperer. . Niambi Carter, Associate Professor of Political Science at Howard University and author of “American While Black”. . Whit Ayres, Republican pollster at North Star Opinion Research.

Presenter: Tanya Beckett Producers: Estelle Doyle and Victoria McCraven Editor: Richard Vadon

(Image: Joe Biden at campaign event, Credit: Leah Mills/Reuters)

The recent border clash between China and India is seen as a watershed moment in the two nuclear nations’ relationship. How will its repercussions affect Asia, and the rest of the world?

Contributors: . Chris Dougherty - a senior fellow with the Defence Programme at the Centre for New American Securities. . Ananth Krishnan – a correspondent for the Hindu newspaper. And the author of “India’s China Challenge” . Tanvi Madan – a senior fellow in the Foreign Policy programme at the Brookings Institution. . Yu Jie - a Senior Research Fellow on China at Chatham House.

Presenter: Tanya Beckett Series Producer: Estelle Doyle

(Chinese President Leader Xi Jinping with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the 2017 BRICS Summit. Photo: Kenzaburo Fukuhara/Getty images)

Why are Covid cases dramatically increasing in some U.S. states, where rates had been low? The number of new coronavirus infections in a single day has passed fifty five thousand. Is it because of more testing, or is something else going on?

(Demonstrators outside the State Capitol in Auston.Texas protesting against Coronavirus restrictions. Credit: Gary Miller/Getty Images)

President Vladimir Putin has been in power for 20 years. The Russian people have been voting on a change to the constitution that could keep him in the Kremlin until 2036. While world leaders and opponents struggle to second guess him, some objectives appear to be clear: stability at home, respect abroad and power maintained for his inner circle.

Presented by Charmaine Cozier

(President Vladimir Putin at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, February 2020. Credit: Mikhail Svetlov/Getty Images)

The killing of African American George Floyd ignited anti-racist protests around the world - many centred on statues associated with colonialism and slavery. Why do these figures of bronze and stone generate such strong feelings? And what do they tell us about how countries deal with their past?

Contributors: Sarah Beetham Chair of Liberal Arts at the Pennsylvania Academy in the Fine Arts. Ghaith Abdul-Ahad journalist for The Guardian newspaper. AGK Menon, architect, urban planner and founder of the Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage. Daniel Libeskind, architect.

Presenter: Kavita Puri

(Protesters attempt to pull down the statue of Andrew Jackson near the White House June 22, 2020 in Washington, DC. Credit: Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

Why is the movie business having trouble representing the world’s population on and behind the big screen? A rising share of the U.S. population are black, more than half of the demographic are female – so why is it so difficult to translate this into cinema?

Hollywood has found itself red-faced in an era of Black Lives Matter and MeToo movements. From #OscarsSoWhite to criticism of who’s behind the films we see, the pressure to change is stacking up.

Charmaine Cozier discovers the issues within the industry and what movie bosses prioritise over diversity. But will activists, actors and data be enough to convince big studios that the revolution is here – or will it just be business as usual?

Guests: April Reign, Diversity and Inclusion Advocate and creator of the #OscarsSoWhite movement Naomi McDougall-Jones, a film producer, writer and women in film activist Darnell Hunt, Dean of Social Sciences at UCLA and Professor of Sociology in African American Studies. He is co-author of the UCLA Hollywood Diversity report Bonnie Greer, a writer and critic

Presenter: Charmaine Cozier/ Producer: Bethan Head

(Actor John Boyega raises his fist in protest at a Black Lives Matter march in London, UK (Credit: Daniel Leal-Olivas /Getty Images)

From the bubonic plague and cholera to tuberculosis, pandemics have changed the ways cities have been designed and built. The coronavirus has been no different: with cities all over the world on lockdown, our cities have changed to become quieter, greener, with wildlife returning on an unprecedented scale. Now, with the lockdowns beginning to ease, Kavita Puri asks: what is the future of our cities? Will they return to the way they were - and do we want them to?

Producer: Eleanor Biggs Presenter: Kavita Puri

(Parisians cycle through the streets of Paris on the Rue de Rivoli, which has been made almost entirely cycleable. Photo:Samuel Boivin/Getty Images)

Why is George Floyd the latest in a long line of unarmed black men killed by US police? Studies show black men are three times more likely to be killed by police in America than white people.

With Helena Merriman.

(A man speaks into a bullhorn as demonstrators march in Los Angeles, California. 2 June 2020. Brent Stirton/Getty Images)

Ever since a mysterious virus was reported in December 2019 in the Chinese city of Wuhan, the world has been watching China.

Silenced whistleblowers, unregulated wildlife trade in wet markets, limited international cooperation, and even a local biosafety lab have been held up as examples of how China mishandled the crisis. But how far can it be blamed for Covid-19 becoming a pandemic?

This week on The Inquiry, Kavita Puri asks what the Chinese government could, or should, have done differently to prevent a global catastrophe.

Producer: Eleanor Biggs Presenter: Kavita Puri

(A man drags a handcart across an emptied road on February 5, 2020 during lockdown in Wuhan, Hubei province, China. Getty Images)

As governments spend huge sums to get through the coronavirus crisis, how will they fund it all? Slash spending, raise taxes or just accept debt is here to stay?

With Tanya Beckett.

(Photo: Variety of world currency notes: Credit: Getty images)

To date, 7500 people have lost their lives in Germany in a population of 80 million. Other comparably sized European countries like the UK, France, Italy and Spain – some with smaller populations have deaths far exceeding Germany several times over. In this week’s Inquiry Kavita Puri tries to find out why.

Producer Jim Frank

(People walk at Kurfürstendamm, Berlin's popular shopping area during the coronavirus crisis May 2020 Germany. Credit: Maja Hitij /Getty Images)

In news reports and newspapers, pictures of British healthcare workers who have lost their lives to Covid-19 sit side by side.

And if you look at those faces one thing stands out clearly. Of the 119 cases of NHS deaths more than two thirds are black or an ethnic minority - yet they only make up 20% of the workforce. Figures from the National Health Service in England show a disproportionate number of Covid-19 deaths are amongst these groups. And it’s not just in the UK.

In the United States on available data – it’s a similar story with African Americans accounting for many more deaths in a community that make up 13% of the population.

So what’s going on?

Kavita Puri speaks with: Dr Kamlesh Khunti, Professor of Primary Care Diabetes and Vascular Medicine at the University of Leicester Professor Kathy Rowan, Director of the Intensive Care National Audit and Research Centre Dr Consuelo Wilkins, Vice President for Health Equity at Vanderbilt University Medical Center Prof John Watkins, Professor Epidemiology, Cardiff University/Public Health Wales

(Ambulance workers transport patients to St Thomas' Hospital in Westminster, London, UK. Photo credit: Ollie Millington/Getty Images)

Tanya Beckett looks at 5G and examines why it’s become the centre of conspiracy theories linking it to the coronavirus and others. What is it about the latest mobile technology which some find so alarming that it drives them to attack and burn down this infrastructure? And what draws people to conspiracy theories - even when all available evidence says they’re wrong.

Reporter Tanya Beckett Producer Jim Frank

As some nations begin to tentatively lift their lockdowns, Tanya Beckett asks how best this can be done. What lessons, if any, can we learn from past pandemics? How do states make the decision, juggling the increasing demands of economic and social factors against public health concerns, amid worries of a new wave of infections from the disease? And what will our lives look like in a post-lockdown world? We hear from contributors based in France, the United States, South Korea and Denmark - one of the first countries to begin to lift its lockdown.

Reporter Tanya Beckett Producer Jim Frank

Image: A woman wearing a mask runs through a deserted Central Park in Manhattan, April 16, 2020 during lockdown in New York City, USA (Credit: Johannes Eisele/ Getty Images)

Last month, everyday supermarket items turned into valuable and vanishing commodities overnight – none more so than toilet paper. There are now billions of us around the world living in lockdown conditions, a situation we’ve not been prepared for. And we seem to be in this for the long haul. In this week’s Inquiry, we’ll be asking how we can help people stay rational in a pandemic.

Presenter/Producer: Sandra Kanthal

(Empty shelves in the aisles of a CO-OP store in Kent, UK March 14, 2020 due to the Coronavirus outbreak. Photo credit: Robin Pope/ Getty Images)

How will Africa deal with Covid-19? It began in China then reached the Middle East, Europe and the United States, now Africa is bracing itself for a surge in coronavirus cases. But how will the continent, with its weaker health care systems and often poor populations cope? The picture is not the same everywhere. Some countries and some sections of society may fare better than others, but the worry is that many African countries simply don’t have the tools or resources to stand up to this pandemic. Or might there be some lessons learnt from the Ebola outbreak which could help? This is a continent of young people, so demographics could work in their favour, but many of them are already compromised by HIV, malaria and other disease outbreaks.

Tanya Beckett speaks to the director of a hospital in rural Uganda, to the head of the Nigeria’s Centre for Disease Control, to the CEO of the Confederation of Zimbabwe Industries and to the former President of Liberia, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, about their worries and preparations for Covid-19.

Presenter: Tanya Beckett Producer: John Murphy

(An African man wearing an alternative mask in Kampala, Uganda April 2020. Credit: Sumy Sadurni/Getty images)

The race is on for the world’s scientists to develop a safe and effective Covid-19 vaccine. The Inquiry examines quickly how this can be done and what hurdles need to be overcome to roll out a vaccine in 12-18 months, rather than the many years it would normally take.

Presented by Kavita Puri.

(medical doctor with a vaccine. Credit: Getty images)

After China, South Korea was next in line to be struck by the Coronavirus outbreak. And in the early days the number of cases was going up fast – many of them related to a secretive religious sect. But the country has rapidly managed to get a grip on the outbreak and has kept its mortality rate low. It has done this without an official lockdown. The secret appears to be preparation, widespread testing and acting fast. With the help of four expert witnesses, Kavita Puri investigates what else we can learn from South Korea in its battle against Covid-19.

Presenter: Kavita Puri Producer: John Murphy

(A couple wearing face masks walk through an alleyway in Seoul on March 24, 2020. Credit: Ed Jones/Getty Images)

‘It’s a failing, let's admit it’ says top health official, Dr Anthony Fauci. He’s talking about the fact that it took a month for a working coronavirus test to be rolled out around the country, while other countries were testing thousands of people. How was this allowed to happen? In this edition of The Inquiry, we explore the ways in which the US lost valuable time in dealing with the coronavirus and how their health system could make things more difficult still.

(A cleaning crew adjusts protective clothing as they prepare to enter the Nursing Home in Kirkland, Seattle Washington which has had the most deaths due to COVID-19 in the USA.Credit:John Moore/Getty Images)

There are now significantly more new cases of coronavirus outside China than inside. On the first day of this week there were only 44 new cases in the whole country. Just a few weeks ago that figure was in the thousands.

While the authorities have been criticised for their initial slow response to the outbreak, allowing it to spread quickly, since January they have taken unprecedented action to clamp down on the spread of the virus. Whole cities have been put into quarantine and travel restrictions have been imposed on millions of people. New hospitals have been built with lightning speed and huge amounts of money has been spent on testing kits and other technology to fight Covid-19.

China has been accused of infringing civil liberties in its fight against Coronavirus but it has also been praised for the extreme public health measures it has taken. So what did the Chinese actually do and can it be replicated elsewhere?

Presenter: Tanya Beckett Producer: John Murphy

(Photo: A man talks through a barricade wall built to control entry and exit to a residential compound in Wuhan, Hubei province, China.Credit: Getty Images)

Climate change models have been a key tool to project what could happen with global warming in the future. But there’s a debate in the scientific community and some are saying too much emphasis has been put on the worst-case scenarios. Others argue that the impacts of climate change are too unpredictable and all scenarios, even the most serious, less likely ones, need to be kept on the table.

All agree, though, that human-induced climate change is happening and that even the most likely projected temperature increases will be serious and potentially very damaging.

Presenter: Ruth Alexander Producers: Xavier Zapata and John Murphy

(An iceberg that broke away from a Glacier in the Southern Patagonian Ice Field which is experiencing high rates of melting. Credit: David Silverman /Getty Images)

We have a great capacity to ignore facts and only believe what we want to believe – particularly if those facts clash with our convictions. Why is that and is it getting worse? It’s an area that is being intensely studied by psychologists, political scientists and neuroscientists.

Ruth Alexander explores why we ignore facts, even if it’s bad for us. Though she also hears how, in some circumstances, it can be good for our mental health. But our casual attitude towards facts can have serious consequences. According to experts this is happening across the world, in politics, in health and in our daily lives. This behaviour is not the preserve of any particular political group – everyone does it when it suits them.

Presenter: Ruth Alexander Producer: John Murphy

(Two heads filled with questions or exclamations. Credit: Getty Images)

Britain is trying to make multiple trade deals since leaving the EU. Some negotiations between countries have lasted for years. The breakdown in the World Trade Organization, the changing nature and complexity of world trade and a general lack of trust between nations means it could be a very drawn out process. Presented by Tanya Beckett.

The Coronavirus outbreak in China has been declared a public health emergency of international concern. It is raising fears of a global disease pandemic. In the past viral infections have killed millions. Possibly the worst ever pandemic was the 1918-19 flu, which spread just as the First World War was coming to an end. Estimates of the death toll now range between 50 and 100 million. At the upper range that means it was more deadly than both World Wars put together. So could another pandemic emerge today and kill millions? How might it happen and how prepared are we to confront it?

The world is a very different place to 100 years ago. Scientific and public health advances do mean some parts of the world are more prepared but our ways of living could make us more susceptible to a new virus.

Speaking to a leading virologist, a disease modeller, a public health policy expert and a senior African health official, Ben Chu asks where the virus threat might come from, how fast it could spread, what containment policies work and whether the world is ready.

Presenter: Ben Chu Producer: John Murphy

(image: Scientist working with a dangerous virus in the laboratory. Credit: Getty Creative)

Could a new law in India be a step towards making Muslims second class citizens? The government says the Citizenship Amendment Act is a humanitarian law giving protection for people escaping religious persecution. But critics say that by excluding Muslims, the CAA contravenes the country’s secular constitution. Charmaine Cozier reports.

(Women hold anti-government placards during a protest in Delhi. Credit: Amarjeet Kumar Singh/Getty Images)

How did Trump’s personality and way of dealing with people lead to a trial in the Senate? The answer involves Trump’s long standing belief in conspiracy theories, his transactional way of doing business, the revolving door of staff turnover at the White House and his admiration for Russian president Vladimir Putin.

With Tanya Beckett.

( President Trump departs the White House on the day of the House Impeachment Vote, Washington DC. Photo Credit: Mark Wilson/Getty Images)

On 25 July 2019, the President of the United States made a phone call to the recently-elected President of Ukraine - congratulating him on his party’s election victory. What Donald Trump said in that call to Volodymyr Zelensky has ended up threatening his own presidency, triggering the impeachment of the president. Donald Trump says his interest was in rooting out corruption. Meanwhile Joe Biden’s role in Ukraine was to do the same - root out corruption. The Inquiry asks why Ukraine has such a corruption problem.

Presented by Ruth Alexander.

(A Ukrainian flag flies in Independence Square in Kyiv, the capital of Ukraine. Photo credit: Pavlo Gonchar/Getty Images)

President Trump’s decision to assassinate Qasem Soleimani came as a shock to America’s foes and allies alike. He was Iran’s top general and has been described as one of the country’s most powerful figures, second only to the Supreme Leader Ayotollah Ali Khamenei. He was, effectively, head of Iran’s foreign policy. He’s been credited as being instrumental in the fight against ISIS but has also been accused of arming and supporting terror groups. But why did Donald Trump order his death?

Presenter: Tanya Beckett Producer: John Murphy

(Image: Lieutenant General Qasem Soleimani / Photo handout from the Iranian Supreme Leader's office)

What is the chance of the human race surviving the 21st century? There are many dangers – climate change for example, or nuclear war, or a pandemic, or planet Earth being hit by a giant asteroid.

Around the world a number of research centres have sprung up to investigate and mitigate what’s called existential risk. How precarious is our civilisation and what can be done to stop a global catastrophe? David Edmonds talks to four expert witnesses to try and find the answer.

(Apocalyptic landscape. Credit: Santoelia/ Getty images)

Despite heroic efforts to vaccinate against this crippling disease, why does it persist? The fight to eradicate polio is an amazing story: It began with a grassroots movement in the United States and led to a global campaign to wipe out a disease that can cause paralysis and even death. There is no cure, but countless cases have been prevented by an extraordinary campaign to vaccinate every child aged five and under. It’s an operation that requires access to some of the poorest and most remote regions of the world.

But polio was supposed to have been eliminated by the year 2000. Nearly two decades later, new cases are still springing up. Why? Neal Razzell examines the challenges and the triumphs in the effort to rid the world of polio.

Donald Trump is threatening to withdraw the US from Nato while the French President Emmanuel Macron has called it “brain dead”. Charmaine Cozier asks if the 70-year-alliance can survive?

She speaks to Jacob Heilbrunn from The National Interest think tank – a right of centre foreign policy think tank based in Washington; Fabrice Pothier - senior defence consulting fellow at the International Institute for Strategic Studies and former Nato policy planning director; Sara Bjerg Moller, assistant professor of international security at the School of Diplomacy and International Relations, Seton Hall University in the US; Elisabeth Braw, senior research fellow, RUSI's Modern Deterrence project

Producer: Helen Grady

(Photo: President Macron, PM Boris Johnson and Canada's PM Justin Trudeau at the Nato summit reception. Credit: Nato TV/AFP/Getty Images)

Excluding dictators and royalty, there are around 2,000 people in the world who are billionaires. Some inherit wealth while others might build fortunes through inventions, businesses or investments. Some say individuals holding onto extreme amounts of money is wasteful because it could be diverted to other areas that would benefit more people such as education and healthcare. Others reason than some billionaires should keep what they have because they drive economic growth and inspire others to innovate. Are billionaires the right focus or should attention move to the systems and processes that enable them to make and keep huge amounts of money?

Experts: Dr Paul Segal Roxanne Roberts Caroline Freund Will Wilkinson

Presenter: Celia Hatton Producer: Charmaine Cozier Researcher: Diane Richardson

(Photo: Billionaire Kylie Jenner arrives at the 2019 Met Gala in New York City. Credit: Karwai Tang/Getty Images)

An estimated 2.6 billion people use social media, but in the online world not everything is what it seems. Fake accounts and automatic programmes can be used to spread disinformation and influence political narratives. We hear from experts across the world about how elections have been fought, and won, with the help of this electronic – and sometimes not so electronic – army. In a world where social media expansion shows no signs of slowing – how do we protect our elections from social media manipulators?

Presenter: Tanya Beckett Producers: Lizzy McNeill & Helen Grady

Experts: Samantha Bradshaw Natashya Gutierrez Idayat Hassan Ben Nimmo

A year ago more than a quarter of a million people took to the streets across France, in what became known as the “gilets jaunes” protests. They began as a reaction to an increase in fuel tax - a tax which was supposed to help the environment, but which the protesters said meant they could no longer afford to drive their cars or get to work.

These were the first high profile demonstrations against policies designed to tackle climate change, but they put a spotlight on a sense of unrest that has spread far beyond France.

So if it is widely accepted that climate change is a real threat, why is there a backlash against climate policies?

Contributors include:

Jacline Mouraud - Original member of the “gilets jaunes” Matias Turkkila - Editor of the Finns Party Carol Linnitt - Co-founder of The Narwhal Simone Tagliapietra - Research Fellow at Bruegel think tank

Presenter: Tanya Beckett Producers: Beth Sagar-Fenton & Josephine Casserly

(Yellow Vests (Gilets jaunes) protest in France against a diesel tax increase, justified as an anti-pollution levy. Credit: Xavier Leoty /Getty Images.)

If there was a serious illness that we knew thirty percent of us would experience in our lives, wouldn’t we do everything in our power to address it? Well research suggests that one in three of us will experience a serious mental health problem at some point in our lives; it’s a topic many are uncomfortable about discussing but one that shows no signs of going away. Slowly we’re beginning to learn more about which factors cause anxiety and depression but old prejudices are hard to come overcome so – what can we do about the world’s mental health problem?

Presenter: Celia Hatton Producer: Lizzy McNeill Researcher: Helen Grady

Experts: Vikram Patel Shekhar Saxena Sir Graham Thornicroft Grace Ryan

(image: Earth sunrise in space. Credit Getty Images)

In September 2019 violence broke out in the city of Johannesburg. Many people were beaten, at least 12 were killed, and shops were looted and burned down. The perpetrators were mainly poor black South African men, and those attacked were predominantly immigrants from other African countries and from Asia.

This just the latest in a long line of xenophobic attacks in the country. In 2015 the army was even deployed to deter further unrest. Immigrants are often subject to threats on social media, and some have even voluntarily returned to their home countries in response. But in the country once labelled “the rainbow nation”, why are foreigners so often subject to violence?

We hear from:

Kimberly Mutandiro – freelance journalist Dr Alex Hiropoulos - Assistant Professor of Criminal Justice at California State University, Stanislaus Dr Suren Pillay - Senior Researcher at the Center for Humanities Research, University of Western Cape Dewa Mavhinga - Southern Africa Director, Human Rights Watch

Presenter: Victoria Uwonkunda Producer: Beth Sagar-Fenton Researcher: Lizzy McNeill

(A woman sings as she holds a banner during a march against the recent rise of xenophobic attacks in South Africa. Credit: Michele Spatari /Getty Images)

This month activists all over the world have taken over city centres, demanding urgent action to halt climate change. They say we need to eliminate all carbon emissions by 2025. Most people think that’s impossible. But scientists are warning that if we want to stop global warming, we need to cut our CO2 emissions fast. So how soon can the planet achieve carbon zero?

Helen Grady speaks to:

Chukwumerije Okereke, professor in Environment and Development at Department of Geography and Environmental Science, University of Reading and director of the Centre for Climate Change and Development, Alex Ekwueme Federal University (AE-FUNAI), Ndufu-Alike, Ebonyi state, Nigeria; Mercedes Maroto-Valer, Director of the Research Centre for Carbon Solutions at Herriot Watt University in Edinburgh, Scotland; Roger Pielke Junior, Professor at the University of Colorado; Rachel Moncrief, deputy director at the International Council on Clean Transportation

Producer: Beth Sagar-Fenton

(Photo: Wind turbines in California USA. Credit: David McNew/Getty Images)

Turkey’s push to clear the Kurds from its border with Syria has brought howls of betrayal. Many Kurds believed the Americans would protect them, after they’d defeated the so-called Islamic State terror group together. But this is just the latest of the dozens of conflicts in which the Kurds have been involved over the past few decades. Why can’t they find peace? Is it their fault? Should the regimes they live under take responsibility? Or does the blame lie further back in history?

We hear from:

Dr Afshin Shahi - Lecturer in Middle East politics and International Relations at Bradford University Dr Gönül Tol - Director of Center at The Middle East Institute's Center for Turkish Studies Fazel Hawramy – Freelance journalist Lindsey Hilsum – International editor of Channel 4 News

Presenter: Neal Razzell Producer: Beth Sagar-Fenton Researcher: Lizzy McNeill

(Photo: Kurdish fighters withdraw from the border area near the northern Syrian town of Amuda on 27 October 2019. Credit: Delil Souleiman/Getty Images)

After deaths in the US and bans around the world, how risky are e-cigarettes? In some countries, smokeless cigarettes are all the rage. In the UK, doctors say if smokers switch from tobacco to e-cigarettes, it will save lives. But in the US, where the authorities are investigating an outbreak of lung injury linked to vaping, they’re advising vapers to consider stopping. In India, Mexico and dozens of other countries, vaping is banned altogether. It’s a confused international picture.

Vaping is still relatively new and scientists are still researching how harmful it may be in the long-term. What we do know is that every year, eight million people die worldwide as a consequence of smoking tobacco. What are the potential health risks associated with vaping? We’ll find out from our expert witnesses, who include a neuroscientist, a pulmonary critical care doctor and a professor of nicotine and tobacco studies.

(A young woman smoking an electronic cigarette at the vape shop. Credit: Getty images)

The far right conspiracy theory featuring child molesters and baby eaters may sound far-fetched, but the FBI names Q Anon in a report warning conspiracy theorists pose a growing threat of violence. So can we dismiss Q Anon?

Q releases anonymous internet posts and claims to have a high level of security clearance in the US, signing messages with only ‘Q’. The cryptic posts apparently reveal that Trump is fighting a battle against the deep state and trying to take on an A list paedophile ring. The followers decode the messages and enjoy feeling part of an online community who have ‘insider knowledge’. There’s no evidence behind any of it. The worrying thing is, it’s not just an online community, some followers have taken real world action, turning up in the desert with guns to hunt for satanic child molesters and a murder suspect has appeared in court with a letter Q written on his palm. Recently, the site Q posts on has been shut down, but our expert witnesses say that doesn’t mean we can dismiss Q Anon.

(Trump supporters with Q Anon posters at a 'Make America Great Again' rally in Tampa, Florida, 31 July 2018. Credit: Thomas O'Neill / Getty images.)

The world’s two biggest economies are fighting a trade war, European growth is slowing and global manufacturing data looks grim. Financial markets are flashing warning signs. It’s been a decade since the last global recession and in 2019 so far, the data has started to turn down. Are we on the verge of an economic meltdown? And what can countries do to avoid recession or reduce its impact when it comes?

(A container ship being loaded in a harbour in Asia. Credit: Getty images)

It’s been almost 15 years since a successful campaign to erase the crushing debts of Africa’s poorest countries. Now, debt levels are again creeping up, thanks in part to a risky mix of easy credit and easy spending. We hear from a former Liberian cabinet minister, a Mozambican anti-corruption campaigner, an expert in Chinese financial flows to the continent and the World Bank’s chief economist for Africa.

Presenter: Neal Razzell

(Photo: Protestors call for debt relief in Durban, South Africa. Credit: Rajesh Jantilal/Getty Images)

In the afternoon of August 20th this year, the sky over Brazil’s largest city, Sao Paulo turned dark. The cause of this premature night was the smoke from fires burning thousands of kilometres away in the Amazon rainforest.

The scale of the fires caught the attention of the world, but the Amazon is one story among many. The global community has long worried about deforestation, five years ago nations agreed to work to halve global tree loss by 2020 and end it by 2030. This month, those targets were acknowledged to be missed.

This week we investigate what tactics are being used to preserve forests around the world, and ask if any of them are effective.

image: View of a burnt area of forest in Para state, Brazil, in the Amazon basin. Credit Joao Laet/Getty Images.

Bruce Springsteen is turning 70; rock’s gods are getting on. It’s not clear who’s there with electric guitars to replace them. Younger acts are failing to make hit singles. Veteran rock journalist Mark Coles believes rock music has lost its ability to surprise and innovate. Record label boss Vanessa Higgins describes how the writing of hit songs no longer favours the rock format. Music critic Michael Hann blames the high costs of making rock as part of the reason for its decline. But Chris Woltman, manager of the band Twenty One Pilots, believes bands have adapted rock for a new generation of fans and industry veteran Sat Bisla details how rock is making headway in non-traditional markets like India and Indonesia. With Neal Razzell.

Quantum computers could transform our lives. Based on a branch of Physics that even Einstein found "spooky", the machines are still in their infancy. But governments and corporations are spending billions trying to turn them into workable technology. Neal Razzell finds out why by talking to four experts:

Shohini Ghose, Professor of Physics and Computer Science at Wilfred Laurier University in Canada Stephanie Wehner, Professor in Quantum Information at Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands Winifried Hensinger, Professor or Quantum Technologies at the University of Sussex Jonathan Dowling, Professor of Theoretical Physics at the University of Louisiana and author of 'Quantum Technology - The Second Quantum Revolution' and 'Schrödinger's Killer App - Race to Build the World's First Quantum Computer'.

Image: Professor Winfried Hensinger with a quantum computer prototype at the University of Sussex. Credit: Ion Quantum Technology Group, University of Sussex, UK.

Fact-checkers say the President of the United States has made more than 10,000 false or misleading statements since coming to office. Whether it’s the size of the crowd at his inauguration, the pay rise offered to the military or where his father was born, Donald Trump often says things that are untrue. And he doesn’t rush to correct them, even when they’re outright fabrications. Ruth Alexander examines Donald Trump’s long record of falsehoods, which stretch back even to his schooldays. And she explores his motives, both political and psychological.

Photo: US President Donald Trump addresses the press in the White House briefing room. Credit: Nicholas Kamm/Getty Images.

Porn, smart phones and the ‘slutty transmitter’. Adults in the US have sex on average about 50 times a year, which has dropped by 20 per cent over the last two decades. It’s a similar story in the UK, Australia, Germany, Finland and Japan. Could it be down to porn or our smart phones? Or is it actually down to something much harder to switch off? Some of the answers might surprise you.

Picture: A couple in bed using their phones. Credit: Getty Images

It’s known for precision and punctuality but Europe’s engine is slowing down. Germany’s economy relies heavily on selling its products abroad. Famed for luxury cars like Porsche, BMW and Mercedes-Benz, exports are nearly half the German economy. So if countries decide they don’t want to buy, or can’t afford to buy, the things that Germany makes, it’s a problem. And that’s what’s been happening to Germany today. China – the most important market for most German car makers - is slowing down. Much of Europe is struggling and the US is pursuing its own protectionist policies, to get Americans to buy US-made goods.

On top of that, the German car industry is facing tough new EU emissions tests (prompted by the Volkswagen emissions’ scandal of 2015), with crippling penalties if they don’t comply. So, buffeted by these adverse winds in part self-inflicted, in part beyond its control, the German government is being urged to boost its economy at home – by spending more on roads, bridges and broadband networks. But, as Neal Razzell discovers, despite having plenty of cash in the coffers, events in its past means Germany is reluctant to loosen the purse strings.

Picture: German sports fan / Credit: Getty images

In 1965 a report from within the US government noted that the number of children born outside marriage, and the number of divorces, in the parts of the American population were rising rapidly. It argued that having many households run by a single woman risked holding back the progress of the next generation. At the time it was very controversial, rejected by mainstream academia and described as victim blaming.

More than fifty years on, from the 'Moynihan' report we look at what modern research tells us about how children develop with married, cohabiting and single parents. Is there really a marked difference in their behaviour, cognition or emotional development?

Families from the Northern Triangle countries of Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador now make up the majority of migrants arriving at the US southern border. Many from urban areas are fleeing endemic gang violence, while those from rural regions are affected by droughts and food security issues.

The Mexican government is increasing security along their borders, while the Trump administration has been changing asylum law. Could these measures help to lower the number of people choosing to make the dangerous journey? Or is there another way to make sure migrants don't feel like they need to leave their homes?

(Photo: A Guatamalan mother with her three daughters crossed Mexico to reach the US border city of Juarez-El paso, Texas. Credit: David Peinado/Getty Images)

Last month Hong Kong witnessed its largest ever protests, the most violent in decades. A proposed law to allow extradition of criminals to mainland China caused uproar. This bill exposed the cracks in relations between Hong Kong and the Beijing government. The current ‘one country, two systems’ arrangement gives the region some autonomy from Beijing. Pro-democracy protesters worry that this is being eroded as the Communist party is trying to bring it further under its influence. Complicating matters is Hong Kong’s significant but shrinking economic importance to China.

With this year being the 30th anniversary of the Tiananmen square massacre the international community is nervously watching to see how modern China will respond to the civil disobedience on such a large scale.

(Protesters storm the Legislative Council in Hong Kong on June 12, 2019. Photo Credit: Anthony Wallace/Getty images.)

With his unruly blond hair and shambolic appearance, Boris Johnson is Britain’s best-known politician. He’s also favourite to become the UK’s next Prime Minister. To his supporters, the former Mayor of London is charismatic, entertaining and a man of the people. His critics say he’s unprincipled, ruthless and flexible with the truth. If he wins the Conservative party leadership race, he’ll have to deliver Brexit. But what kind of leader might he be and how will he unite the country? Becky Milligan talks to some of those who’ve worked closely with him to find out what makes him tick.

Presenter: Becky Milligan Producer: Sally Abrahams

Picture: Boris Johnson poses during a visit to the Port of Dover Ltd., as part of his Conservative Party leadership campaign tour on July 11, 2019 in Dover, UK Credit:Chris Ratcliffe - Pool/Getty Images

South India’s biggest city, Chennai, is currently in the grip of drought. With the four main reservoirs which supply the city dry, residents have to queue for hours to collect pots of water from government tankers. Critics argue that the shortage isn’t just the result of a single failed monsoon season, but also the responsibility of the government who failed to plan for this scenario. Experts say 21 Indian cities could run out of groundwater next year, and that demand for drinkable water could outstrip supply by double in just a decade. So this week we ask, what can be done to solve this crisis?

Image: Indian residents get water from a community well in Chennai Credit: Arun Sankar//AFP/Getty Images

Our species is facing a whole lot of problems. Antibiotic resistance is on the rise, land based minerals are depleting and there are serious concerns about how warm everything’s becoming.

As the population grows these problems are only going to get worse, but what if we could find some of the solutions to our most pressing problems beneath the waves? Scientists have discovered that deep sea sponges could help fight MRSA, your smart phone could be powered by minerals located thousands of metres beneath the sea, and there are even enzymes that could help your washing machine run on a colder cycle, saving both energy and your new cashmere sweater. Is the deep sea the answer to some of our biggest problems? There’s a lot of promise, but what are the risks?

Presenter: Ruth Alexander Producer: Lizzy McNeill

(Photo: Sunset over the sea. Credit: da-kuk/Getty Images)

New Zealand is the first western country to state it should be judged not by its economic prosperity but by its citizens’ wellbeing. Might these wellbeing policies be masking an inability by governments to effect any real change in citizen’s lives or do they actually end up making economic sense after all?

(Photo: New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern. Credit: Getty Images)

The Democratic Republic of the Congo is in the midst of an Ebola epidemic, with over 2,000 cases now confirmed. In June the virus spread to neighbouring Uganda. Amidst this bleak picture, there is some hope; past epidemics have helped progress medical responses. This week, we ask: can vaccines contain Ebola in the DRC?

Image: A health worker wearing Ebola protection gear, Beni, DRC Credit: Reuters.

Alabama has long been the butt of jokes in America. The stereotype is that it is backward, racist and right wing. This month the state passed one of the most restrictive laws on reproductive rights in the USA, banning abortion, even in cases of rape and incest. But it is not alone - many other states have similarly restrictive abortion laws but they do not get the attention that Alabama does. So why is it Alabama that always gets picked on?

(Photo: Selma to Montgomery, USA historic street road sign in capital Alabama city. Credit: Getty Images)

Ever wanted to meet your historical heroes or explore the inventions of the future? Travelling in time has long been a dream of writers and filmmakers, but what does science tell us about how possible this would be to achieve in real life?

We explore how physics shows us that time runs at different rates depending on where we are and how we’re moving - time goes more slowly for astronauts on the international space station for example. We hear about the very dangerous ways we could possibly exploit this to skip forwards through time and into Earth’s future, and we do the maths on wormholes, to see if they offer a possible portal to our past.