The Inquiry

Is the revolution in Cuba over?

21 Mar 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Cuba is facing one of its most severe humanitarian crises in decades.For years, Cuba relied heavily on oil from Venezuela. Those supplies have largely...

How can rewilding help combat climate change?

17 Mar 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Rewilding, or letting nature take care of itself, can restore stability to damaged ecosystem components which support life on earth, like fungi, bacte...

Why is Poland’s economy booming?

10 Mar 2026

Contributed by Lukas

In February, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk posted a social media video celebrating new figures from the International Monetary Fund suggesting tha...

How will Spain’s migrant amnesty work?

03 Mar 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Half a million people are in Spain without official permission. They come mainly from Colombia, Peru, Honduras, Paraguay, and Argentina. It’s though...

Can the world catch China in the rare earths race?

24 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Control of critical minerals is becoming a source of geopolitical tension. They are essential to modern technology and industries around the world, an...

Is the 2026 World Cup an own goal?

17 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

The 2026 men’s football World Cup will be the biggest ever staged. For the first time, 48 teams will compete, playing more than 100 matches across N...

Why are our taps running dry?

10 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Chennai, São Paulo, Mexico City, Tehran, Cape Town - these cities have all faced the threat of a ‘Zero Day’, or, having no fresh water left in th...

What does the national election mean for the future of Bangladesh?

03 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Bangladesh will hold a national election in February, after years of political turmoil and the ousting of long-time leader Sheikh Hasina. Her rule of ...

What's behind the rise in shoplifting?

27 Jan 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Boosting, swiping or the five finger discount - many countries around the world are seeing a rise in retail theft. From Japan to the UK, the USA to Ge...

Is history repeating itself in Iran?

22 Jan 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Iran has been shaken by protests on a scale not seen since its 1979 revolution. Demonstrations that began in the country’s capital over the state of...

Is nuclear disarmament set to self-destruct?

13 Jan 2026

Contributed by Lukas

In February 2026, the last remaining nuclear arms control treaty bilateral between Russia and the United States is set to expire. The aim of the New S...

Can Kenya answer the call for employment?

06 Jan 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Kenya is facing rising public discontent over allegations of political corruption, economic stagnation and a shortage of good quality jobs, particular...

How did music megatours become such a money spinner?

30 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour shattered records, becoming the highest-grossing concert tour of all time, redefining what’s possible and confirming a ne...

Will there ever be a single global language?

23 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Christmas is a time of year when many families and friends come together for a period of joy, peace and goodwill. The story of the birth of Jesus Chri...

How can Nigeria stop its kidnap crisis?

16 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

In November gunmen seized more than 300 pupils and a dozen teachers from a Catholic school in northern Nigeria. While authorities have rescued around ...

Is it last orders for the wine industry?

09 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Changing tastes, climatic conditions, health warnings, economic factors are all creating a perfect storm for the global wine industry. The origins...

Will Australia’s social media ban start a global trend?

02 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

On 10 December 2025, Australia will become the first country in the world to ban under-16s from using social media apps.Children will have their accou...

Is Cyprus moving closer to reunification?

25 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The Eastern Mediterranean island of Cyprus has been divided since 1974, when Turkey invaded the north after a military coup backed by Greece. Since th...

Is the new Pope woke?

18 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Cardinal Robert Prevost made history earlier this year, when he became the first American pontiff to lead the Catholic Church. And when he stepped out...

Is the world ready for more climate migration?

11 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

From floods in Pakistan to droughts in the Horn of Africa, extreme weather events are already forcing millions of people to move. Most are displaced w...

Is trouble brewing for the worldwide tea industry?

04 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Matcha, a long-time popular drink in Japan, has gone global. Major chains now serve it, and coffee start-ups are competing to offer their own photogen...

Is the UN Security Council still relevant?

28 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

In the aftermath of World War Two, the charter that founded the United Nations was signed, with the aim of preventing a third global conflict. The UN ...

Can Benin win back its diaspora?

21 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Benin has long tried to highlight its role in the transatlantic slave trade through monuments and memorials in the country, in the hope it would attra...

Can Gen Z shape a new Nepal?

14 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

At the beginning of September 2025, within 48 hours, Nepal’s government had been toppled, and more than 70 people had been killed, with many more in...

Is Trump building a crypto economy?

07 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Donald Trump once dismissed cryptocurrencies as a scam. But since returning to office, his view of them has shifted dramatically. In July, President T...

Why are more people getting Lyme disease?

30 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Lyme disease is a bacterial infection passed on to humans by infected ticks. Symptoms can range from fatigue, joint pain and a circular shaped rash to...

Why does Mexico owe the US water?

23 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The major rivers of the Rio Grande and the Colorado run through both the United States and Mexico and they are the source of a water sharing agreement...

Is it time to copyright your face?

16 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Deepfakes are videos, picture or audio clips made with artificial intelligence to look real.Although sometimes used for fun, they can also be used to ...

Is time up for TikTok in the US?

09 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

In January, the popular Chinese social media app TikTok went offline for its 170 million Americans. The outage marked a turning point in a long-runnin...

How much of a threat is satellite warfare?

03 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

“There is no longer any debate that space is a war fighting domain,”These were the words of Commander General Stephen Whiting from the US governme...

Is Japan moving to the right?

26 Aug 2025

Contributed by Lukas

A far-right party which came to prominence during the Covid-19 pandemic recently showed itself to be a contender to Japan’s centrist political estab...

Can Indonesia afford free lunches?

19 Aug 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Children in Indonesia are now receiving free school meals — part of a bold new plan by President Prabowo Subianto to tackle malnutrition. Around one...

How are drones changing the landscape of modern warfare?

12 Aug 2025

Contributed by Lukas

When the war in Ukraine began back in February 2022, the remote-controlled unmanned aerial vehicle or drone as its commonly known, was peripheral to t...

What does Syria’s recent conflict tell us about al-Sharaa’s presidency?

05 Aug 2025

Contributed by Lukas

In July, a brutal highway hijacking in southern Syria sparked tit-for-tat clashes between Druze and Bedouin fighters. During the week-long violence, o...

How has one leaked phone call shaken Thai politics?

25 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

What lies behind the clashes on the Thai Cambodian border is a fractured friendship between the two nations. In July both countries strike each other ...

What will Chile’s latest telescope tell us about the universe?

22 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

In Chile, a powerful new telescope has just given a taster of what we can expect from it later this year, when it will be used to survey the cosmos ov...

Is AI eroding our critical thinking?

15 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

More and more of the tasks we perform in our daily lives are been guided by artificial intelligence, from searching the internet for answers to relyin...

Can Brazil’s supercows feed the world?

08 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Brazil’s Zebu cattle, or “supercows” are bred for size, strength, and meat quality. Every year the animals are showcased at ExpoZebu, Brazil’s...

Does Trump care about Taiwan?

01 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Ahead of last year’s US Presidential elections, Donald Trump was asked if he would defend China against Taiwan, he responded that Taiwan should pa...

How crucial is the Strait of Hormuz to global oil supplies?

25 Jun 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The Strait of Hormuz remains one of the most important energy corridors in the world. It is the only sea route from the Persian Gulf to the open ocean...

Are we closer to a European army?

17 Jun 2025

Contributed by Lukas

During a speech to the Spanish parliament earlier this year, the country’s Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez claimed there’s one thing that would guara...

Have we seen a breakthrough in preventing genetic diseases?

10 Jun 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The creation of a landmark gene editing drug used to treat a baby with a rare genetic mutation which could help transform personalized medicine. Bl...

Are diamonds forever in Botswana?

03 Jun 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The economic fortunes of the Southern Africa country of Botswana were transformed back in the mid 1960s when shortly after gaining independence from B...

Can we stop killer fungi?

27 May 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Fungal diseases are becoming more common, more dangerous, and more difficult to treat. There’s concern that they may cause the next global pandemic...

What does Japan’s rice crisis say about its economy?

20 May 2025

Contributed by Lukas

A domestic rice shortage in Japan has caused supermarket shelves to empty and prices to double. Rice is more than a staple food in Japan—it carries ...

Why are global cases of measles rising?

13 May 2025

Contributed by Lukas

“Measles is back, and it’s a wake-up call,” proclaimed one regional director from the World Health Organisation who went on to add, “without h...

Will Serbia’s mass protests unseat the president?

06 May 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Serbia’s citizens have been protesting for over six months, taking part in demonstrations around the country in reaction to their government’s all...

Is extinction a thing of the past?

30 Apr 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Scientists at a bio-technology firm made headlines when they announced the “de-extinction” of the dire wolf, a species of wolf that went extinct o...

What is President Trump’s economic plan?

22 Apr 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Earlier this month President Trump announced radical new taxes on foreign imports amounting to what he described as ‘Liberation Day' for the United ...

What does President Putin want now?

15 Apr 2025

Contributed by Lukas

For Russia’s President Putin, the return of President Donald Trump to the White House ushered in a new world order. This has created new diplomatic...

Is SpaceX ok?

01 Apr 2025

Contributed by Lukas

SpaceX has revolutionised space travel, making reusable rockets a reality and dramatically reducing the cost of reaching orbit. But two high-profile S...

What will happen now with Romania’s elections?

26 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

In November, a far right, pro-Russia figure came from almost nowhere to become favourite for the presidency. Calin Georgescu, with no affiliated polit...

Do we need a new Nato?

18 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

European leaders have had cause to rethink their roles within Nato recently, in light of statements coming from the US Government. The Trump administr...

Can South Africa solve land inequality?

13 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

At the beginning of this year, South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa signed a bill into law which allows for private land to be seized by the gov...

Can the world rely on its undersea cable network?

05 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Undersea cables form the backbone of global communication, with over 95% of global internet traffic relying on hundreds of fibre-optic cables criss-cr...

Do we need the International Criminal Court?

25 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The International Criminal Court was founded to prosecute the world’s worst crimes—genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity. It has secur...

Are we ready for the new male contraceptives?

18 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Women have been using the female contraceptive pill for over 60 years, and many other options have followed. Yet, after decades of research, there is ...

How can Panama satisfy President Trump?

11 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The Panama Canal, a crucial artery for global trade, is at the centre of growing tensions between the United States and China. Donald Trump has claime...

Where are we in the battle against inflation?

04 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

In the decade that followed the Great Financial Crisis, inflation rates remained low and steady, and in some cases even threatened to turn negative, a...

Why is China building the world’s biggest dam?

28 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

China has approved the construction of what will become the world’s largest hydropower dam in Tibet. Located in the lower reaches of the Yarlung Tsa...

What next for Syria?

21 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

In December 2024, the decades-old Assad regime in Syria fell following 13 years of brutal civil war.The Islamist rebel group, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, se...

Is fake alcohol a global threat?

14 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Drinks with toxic ingredients have been linked to deaths and poisonings in Turkey, Laos and India in 2024. Fake alcohol is unrecorded and unregulated ...

Are we close to a cancer vaccine?

07 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Cancer is a disease that will affect 1 in 5 people in our lifetime, and it’s estimated that around 20 million people worldwide will be diagnosed wit...

Can RFK Jnr ‘make America healthy again?’

02 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Robert F Kennedy Jr, nephew of America's 35th President, John F. Kennedy, has been nominated to be the next US health secretary by President-elect Don...

Can Bhutan retain its happiness?

24 Dec 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The Himalayan Kingdom of Bhutan, sandwiched between China and India, is perhaps best known around the globe for its unconventional measure of national...

Can Nato protect the Baltic Sea?

17 Dec 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Accusations of sabotage have been made after a Chinese merchant ship cut through two important undersea cables in the Baltic Sea. Eight of the nine st...

Does Germany need to reinvent itself?

10 Dec 2024

Contributed by Lukas

When Chancellor Olaf Scholz fired his finance minister, Christian Lindner last month, Germany’s ‘traffic light’ government collapsed, an uneasy ...

Is Europe’s car industry at a crossroads?

03 Dec 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The car industry across the European Union employs over thirteen million people, both directly and indirectly, that’s around six percent of the bloc...

What’s the future for Syria’s divided north?

27 Nov 2024

Contributed by Lukas

When protests against decades of rule by the Assad family were crushed by Syrian government forces in the spring of 2011, opposition groups took up ar...

Can Boeing turn it around?

21 Nov 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Aerospace giant Boeing has had big problems to overcome since the crashes of two of its 737 Max aircraft. Its situation was compounded this year with ...

Is YouTube’s disruption of TV now complete?

14 Nov 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Earlier this year the global video sharing platform You Tube dominated TV viewership in the United States, knocking Disney off the top spot and leavin...

What will happen after the International Space Station?

04 Nov 2024

Contributed by Lukas

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

How can Canada fight its wildfires?

28 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

This year wildfires in Canada have caused devastation to the country’s treasured town of Jasper. The wildfires have ravaged the landscape, destroye...

How might the next US President affect the war in Ukraine?

22 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Ukraine’s President Zelensky recently presented his ‘Victory Plan’ to end the war in Ukraine to both Kamala Harris and Donald Trump, the two can...

What’s the succession plan for Murdoch’s empire?

15 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

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 ...

Can anyone broker peace in the Middle East?

09 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

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 pos...

Can Greece fix its overtourism problem?

30 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In September Greek Tourism Minister Olga Kefalogianni announced the introduction of special fees for passengers disembarking from cruise ships at Myko...

How are the Taliban governing Afghanistan?

24 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

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 recogn...

Can Germany’s far right win the country?

16 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

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 mar...

Can we trust Google?

10 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

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 a...

What does Hezbollah want?

27 Aug 2024

Contributed by Lukas

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

Is Pope Francis ‘betraying’ China’s Catholics?

20 Aug 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In 2018 an historic document known as the ‘Provisional Agreement’ was signed between the Catholic Church and the People’s Republic of China. So...

How might Project 2025 shape the future of the US?

09 Aug 2024

Contributed by Lukas

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, ‘...

Can Canada overcome its drug overdose crisis?

07 Aug 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Last year the Canadian province of British Columbia, launched a landmark three-year pilot programme on drug decriminalisation. For a number of years n...

Can the statues of Easter Island survive climate change?

29 Jul 2024

Contributed by Lukas

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 ...

What can a rusting warship tell us about tensions in the South China Sea?

22 Jul 2024

Contributed by Lukas

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 ...

How worried should humans be about bird flu?

16 Jul 2024

Contributed by Lukas

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 i...

Can the Democrats replace Biden?

10 Jul 2024

Contributed by Lukas

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...

What will a Hungarian presidency mean for the EU?

04 Jul 2024

Contributed by Lukas

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 ...

Do we have enough energy to power AI?

27 Jun 2024

Contributed by Lukas

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 onli...

Why is Kenya getting involved in Haiti?

20 Jun 2024

Contributed by Lukas

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, ...

What does a designer handbag say about South Korean politics?

13 Jun 2024

Contributed by Lukas

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 record...

Is Georgia turning its back on Europe?

06 Jun 2024

Contributed by Lukas

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 wor...

What can the world’s biggest iceberg tell us?

30 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

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 proce...

Is Myanmar on the brink of collapse?

23 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

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, m...

Is Turkey getting more dangerous for women?

16 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

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 ...

Has US military aid come in time for President Zelensky?

09 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

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...

Can Texas go it alone on border control?

02 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Last year the US state of Texas introduced a controversial law designed to control the huge number of undocumented migrants crossing its southern bord...

Who is country?

25 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

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 fro...

Are synthetic opioids a global problem?

18 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

An increasing number of people are dying from misuse of synthetic opioids. In 2022, the US recorded over 70,000 overdose deaths involving synthetic op...