The Inquiry
Episodes
Can Europe give up Russian gas?
28 Apr 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Since the invasion of Ukraine, European countries have sought alternatives to Russian gas. There are different options. Piped gas from countries such...
Why did Sri Lanka’s organic farming dream fail?
21 Apr 2022
Contributed by Lukas
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....
Can we create a universal Covid vaccine?
14 Apr 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Can scientists develop a vaccine which can combat the coronavirus and all its variants? There have been three lethal outbreaks caused by coronaviruses...
Are drones the future of warfare?
07 Apr 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Throughout history nations have competed to exert the latest military developments over their enemies, always with the goal of inflicting maximum dama...
Can Putin be prosecuted for war crimes?
31 Mar 2022
Contributed by Lukas
On Wednesday 23 March the US administration declared that Russian troops had committed war crimes in Ukraine. It claims to have evidence showing nume...
Why is Russia’s invasion plan failing?
24 Mar 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Russia's military dwarfs Ukraine's by comparison, so it was expected that Ukraine would fall under Russian occupation quickly. One month later and Rus...
Who are the Wagner Group, and why are they in Ukraine?
17 Mar 2022
Contributed by Lukas
According to media reports, Ukraine's president, Volodymyr Zelensky, has survived two assassination attempts from the band of mercenaries known as the...
Does Putin’s view of history explain why he invaded Ukraine?
10 Mar 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Russia’s President Vladimir Putin has offered historical justification for his invasion of Ukraine by claiming its lands have long been part of Rus...
Will sanctions stop Russia in Ukraine?
03 Mar 2022
Contributed by Lukas
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 helpi...
What’s happened to the left in France?
24 Feb 2022
Contributed by Lukas
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 de...
What will end the war in Yemen?
17 Feb 2022
Contributed by Lukas
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 ...
Why have military coups returned to West Africa?
10 Feb 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Elected governments have been overthrown by military coups in Burkina Faso, Mali and Guinea. Each has some popular support as people grow frustrated w...
Do we have enough lithium to power the future?
03 Feb 2022
Contributed by Lukas
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 ...
Is Turkey heading for an economic meltdown?
27 Jan 2022
Contributed by Lukas
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 ...
What’s going on in Kazakhstan?
20 Jan 2022
Contributed by Lukas
What has caused the worst unrest and political infighting in Kazakhstan’s recent history? Scores of deaths and thousands of arrests prompted the su...
Are we heading for space wars?
13 Jan 2022
Contributed by Lukas
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 s...
Can we get drugs out of prisons?
06 Jan 2022
Contributed by Lukas
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 overc...
Can we solve our space junk problem?
30 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
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 pi...
How will Afghanistan survive the winter?
23 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
How will the 23 million Afghans who need food assistance get through the winter? The country has lost funding from Western donors and government sala...
Should we be worried about the return of inflation?
16 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
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...
How will we cope with the Omicron variant?
09 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
What are the possible implications as the Omicron variant spreads around the world? Experts from South Africa, the US and Europe assess the potential ...
Are the US Democrats in big trouble?
02 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
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 a...
Why aren’t countries doing more to stop climate change?
25 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
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...
What is the metaverse and why is Facebook so obsessed with it?
18 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
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 d...
What are hypersonic missiles and why do they matter?
11 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
America, China and Russia are engaged in a new arms race, spending billions to develop new missile technology, but how different are these hypersonic ...
Why are we seeing global shortages?
04 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Empty shelves are becoming commonplace. And prices are rising. Charmaine Cozier explores the role that the pandemic, and a sudden demand explosion, h...
Do climate conferences make a difference?
28 Oct 2021
Contributed by Lukas
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 l...
Are we running out of water?
21 Oct 2021
Contributed by Lukas
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 leas...
Is Britain paying the price for its green energy push?
14 Oct 2021
Contributed by Lukas
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 ...
Is China’s economy in trouble?
07 Oct 2021
Contributed by Lukas
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 gover...
Is Brazil heading for a constitutional crisis?
30 Sep 2021
Contributed by Lukas
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’...
Will America ban abortion?
23 Sep 2021
Contributed by Lukas
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 citizen...
Should the knowledge needed to make the Covid-19 vaccines be freely available to all?
16 Sep 2021
Contributed by Lukas
In May, the Biden administration surprised the world by saying it would not object on an intellectual property waiver for Covid-19 vaccines. America...
Did America get its response to the attacks of 9/11 right?
09 Sep 2021
Contributed by Lukas
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....
Which president is most responsible for the failure in Afghanistan?
02 Sep 2021
Contributed by Lukas
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 f...
Is our fascination with sharks bad for them?
26 Aug 2021
Contributed by Lukas
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. F...
Are our phones spying on us?
19 Aug 2021
Contributed by Lukas
A leaked list of thousands of phone numbers - including Presidents and activists - has drawn attention to spyware. It’s supposed to stop terrorists...
Can we run the world on electricity?
12 Aug 2021
Contributed by Lukas
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...
What’s behind the recent rioting in South Africa?
05 Aug 2021
Contributed by Lukas
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 ...
Why was the president of Haiti assassinated?
29 Jul 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Haiti was the first Caribbean country to gain its independence after a successful revolt against slavery. But the country has been troubled ever since...
Can China raise its birth rate?
22 Jul 2021
Contributed by Lukas
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 younge...
Why did so many indigenous children die in Canada’s residential schools?
15 Jul 2021
Contributed by Lukas
The recent discoveries of unmarked graves at the sites of so-called Indian Residential Schools has put Canada’s treatment of its indigenous peoples ...
Is Nigeria becoming impossible to govern?
08 Jul 2021
Contributed by Lukas
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 milita...
Can we make the super-rich pay more tax?
01 Jul 2021
Contributed by Lukas
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 fo...
Are the Tokyo Olympic games in trouble?
24 Jun 2021
Contributed by Lukas
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 b...
Could Covid-19 have come from a lab leak?
17 Jun 2021
Contributed by Lukas
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...
Belarus: Can President Lukashenko be overthrown?
10 Jun 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Over his 26 years in power, Belarus’s president Alexander Lukashenko has taken more and more control. He has detained protesters and tortured politi...
Do we need more nuclear power to help deal with climate change?
03 Jun 2021
Contributed by Lukas
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 ...
What are NFTs and are they really the next big thing?
27 May 2021
Contributed by Lukas
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...
Why are murder rates in Chicago so high?
20 May 2021
Contributed by Lukas
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 murde...
Will the Taliban rule Afghanistan again?
13 May 2021
Contributed by Lukas
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...
Is peace under threat in Northern Ireland?
07 May 2021
Contributed by Lukas
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. ...
Covid: What went wrong in India?
29 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
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 h...
Is the legal cannabis business about to go global?
22 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Changes to the laws governing cannabis use are happening around the world. The number of States in the USA legalising cannabis is increasing rapidly. ...
Is Africa the new power base for the Islamic State group?
15 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
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 i...
Why has Peru had such a bad pandemic?
08 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
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...
How will the concussion issue affect the future of sport?
01 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
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 sp...
Are ‘killer robots’ the future of warfare?
25 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
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 artifici...
Why do Italy’s governments keep collapsing?
18 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
After the government of Giuseppe Conte collapsed amid an economic and public health crisis, Mario Draghi has formed Italy’s 65th administration in 7...
Is Antifa the threat it’s made out to be?
11 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Vivid and sometimes wild claims about the antifascist group Antifa have been circulating in America. Some say that the group participates in widesprea...
Why did Alexei Navalny return to Russia?
04 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
After surviving an assassination attempt, the opposition leader returned to Russia - and was immediately arrested and jailed. What does he have to gai...
What is the future for Myanmar?
25 Feb 2021
Contributed by Lukas
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 charg...
Can we solve our space junk problem?
18 Feb 2021
Contributed by Lukas
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 pi...
How did Europe fall behind in the vaccine race?
11 Feb 2021
Contributed by Lukas
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 c...
Will QAnon survive?
04 Feb 2021
Contributed by Lukas
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 conspir...
Is online censorship going too far?
28 Jan 2021
Contributed by Lukas
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 al...
Why do the Indian farmer protests matter?
21 Jan 2021
Contributed by Lukas
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 Ind...
Is recycling broken?
07 Jan 2021
Contributed by Lukas
With countries shutting their doors to foreign recyclable waste and a lack of processing capacity back home, is the recycling system broken?China used...
Why are boys academically underperforming?
31 Dec 2020
Contributed by Lukas
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 ...
Has the time come for a European Super League?
17 Dec 2020
Contributed by Lukas
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...
Has French secularism gone too far?
10 Dec 2020
Contributed by Lukas
The French brand of secularism - laïcité - is central to the country’s national identity. It requires that public spaces – whether state classr...
Why is Ethiopia’s Nobel Peace Prize winner bombing his own country?
03 Dec 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In Ethiopia, a political battle has sparked a bloody conflict.Federal Forces have engaged in combat with the Tigray People’s Liberation Front - or T...
Do we have a vaccine to end the pandemic?
26 Nov 2020
Contributed by Lukas
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 th...
Will the EndSARS protest change Nigeria?
12 Nov 2020
Contributed by Lukas
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 ...
Why are Thai students risking jail to call for reform of the monarchy?
05 Nov 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Pro-democracy protests have happened before in Thailand, but there’s something new about the latest one - the king is being publicly criticised. It’...
Can President Trump still win the US presidential election?
29 Oct 2020
Contributed by Lukas
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...
How has Trump changed America’s relationship with the world?
23 Oct 2020
Contributed by Lukas
When he was elected, President Trump promised to put ‘America First’, but how has he governed? Charmaine Cozier looks at trade, diplomacy, defence...
Should we learn to live with Covid?
15 Oct 2020
Contributed by Lukas
As new students start at universities in many countries around the world, governments are grappling with how to contain a second wave of Coronavirus. ...
Are shares in Elon Musk’s Tesla vastly overvalued?
08 Oct 2020
Contributed by Lukas
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 M...
Is Kanye West really running for US president?
01 Oct 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In July, billionaire musician Kanye West announces on Twitter that he’s standing as a candidate in November’s US presidential election. After a s...
Will the US presidential debates change the course of the election?
24 Sep 2020
Contributed by Lukas
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 deba...
Can the world stop online fraud?
17 Sep 2020
Contributed by Lukas
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 ma...
Will votes be safe in the US presidential election?
10 Sep 2020
Contributed by Lukas
President Trump says opening up November’s election to more postal voting will make it more vulnerable to fraud and election interference. Many more...
What is “Obamagate?”
03 Sep 2020
Contributed by Lukas
A maverick American general, a call to the Russian ambassador and allegations of spying on Donald Trump’s incoming administration. But what exactly ...
What’s gone wrong in Lebanon?
27 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
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 explo...
How close are we to a vaccine for Covid-19?
20 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Researchers around the world are racing to develop a vaccine against Covid-19, with more than 170 candidate vaccines now in development. Most vaccines...
Will America’s 'Big Tech' firms be reined in?
13 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
US lawmakers are deciding whether to act against the country’s powerful tech giants. Some believe the likes of Facebook, Amazon, Google and Apple ar...
Will the pandemic get worse in the winter?
06 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
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...
Why isn’t the world doing more to help the Uighurs?
30 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
With an estimated million Uighurs in detention camps, China has used a variety of means to successfully stifle world criticism. They include its eco...
Should Joe Biden stay in the basement?
23 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
The presidential opposition candidate Joe Biden has barely emerged from his home since America’s lockdown at the end of March. But polls suggest tha...
Is China versus India the most important rivalry of the 21st century?
16 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
The recent border clash between China and India is seen as a watershed moment in the two nuclear nations’ relationship. How will its repercussions a...
Why are Covid cases rising in the US?
09 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
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 ha...
What does Putin want?
02 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
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 th...
Why do we care about statues?
25 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
The killing of African American George Floyd ignited anti-racist protests around the world - many centred on statues associated with colonialism and s...
How will Hollywood respond to the Black Lives Matter and Me Too movements?
18 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
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...
Will Covid-19 change cities?
11 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
From the bubonic plague and cholera to tuberculosis, pandemics have changed the ways cities have been designed and built. The coronavirus has been no ...
Why do US cops keep killing unarmed black men?
03 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
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 kille...
How far can the Chinese government be blamed for Covid-19?
28 May 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Ever since a mysterious virus was reported in December 2019 in the Chinese city of Wuhan, the world has been watching China.Silenced whistleblowers, u...
How will the world pay for Covid-19?
21 May 2020
Contributed by Lukas
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 he...
Why does Germany have such a low number of deaths from Covid-19?
14 May 2020
Contributed by Lukas
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, I...