The Inquiry
Episodes
Are We Really About to End World Poverty?
14 Jun 2016
Contributed by Lukas
“More than half the people of the world are living in conditions approaching misery,” declared President Truman at his second inauguration. “For...
Why Can't Egypt Stop FGM?
07 Jun 2016
Contributed by Lukas
Some 92% of married Egyptian women aged between 15-49 have had their genitals cut. FGM is more common in Egypt than anywhere else in the world. These ...
Are we Fighting Cancer the Right Way?
31 May 2016
Contributed by Lukas
The World Health Organisation says the number of cancer cases will rise by 70% over the next 20 years. A huge amount of effort and money is spent figh...
Would A New International Convention Help Refugees?
24 May 2016
Contributed by Lukas
The 1951 UN Refugee Convention was forged at a time when the world was recovering from a global war which had displaced vast numbers of people. Sixty-...
What's Killing White American Women?
10 May 2016
Contributed by Lukas
The rich world has got used to health and longevity getting better, and death rates falling – for everyone. But over the past few years data has bee...
What Happened to the European Dream?
03 May 2016
Contributed by Lukas
In June, the UK will vote on whether to become the first country ever to leave the European Union. Anti-EU political parties are on the rise across th...
Should We Give Homeless People Homes?
26 Apr 2016
Contributed by Lukas
It is a surprisingly simple idea - to end long-term homelessness, give every person living on the streets a home. It can also be surprisingly effectiv...
What Kind of Person Becomes a Violent Jihadi?
21 Apr 2016
Contributed by Lukas
For decades researchers, academics and psychologists have wanted to know what kind of person becomes a terrorist. If there are pre-existing traits whi...
Do We Have Enough Genders?
13 Apr 2016
Contributed by Lukas
Gender identity is considered more fluid than ever because of the success of the trans movement. But most trans people, just like everyone else, still...
What Happened To Al-Qaeda?
05 Apr 2016
Contributed by Lukas
A deadly al-Qaeda attack on an Ivory Coast resort town in March reminded the world that the terror network once led by Osama bin Laden has not gone aw...
Why Do Mexicans Drink So Much Soda?
29 Mar 2016
Contributed by Lukas
Most research places Mexico at the top of the chart when it comes to the consumption of sugary drinks – by some estimates, they get through half a l...
Can we Quake-Proof a City?
22 Mar 2016
Contributed by Lukas
They are at once the most predictable and unpredictable killers. We know continent-sized slabs of earth are moving beneath our feet. We know they move...
Why Are Wages So Low?
08 Mar 2016
Contributed by Lukas
Pay packets in developed economies have hardly grown in decades. Economic output and the number of people in jobs have both improved since the global ...
How Did Governments Lose Control of Encryption?
01 Mar 2016
Contributed by Lukas
The clash between Apple and the FBI is the latest battle in a century-long conflict over the power to keep secrets. The FBI wants Apple to build a “...
Has President Assad Won?
23 Feb 2016
Contributed by Lukas
Bashar al-Assad and his Syrian National Army appear to have the upper hand. The president has the momentum in a civil war that has raged for five year...
Why Don’t We Eradicate Mosquitoes?
15 Feb 2016
Contributed by Lukas
Mosquitoes are the most dangerous animals on the planet. They spread diseases - malaria, dengue and zika – that kill huge numbers of people and caus...
How Did Iceland Clean Up its Banks (And Why Can't We)?
09 Feb 2016
Contributed by Lukas
At 4pm on 6 October 2008, as the global financial crisis ravaged Iceland’s economy, its prime minister addressed the nation. "There is a danger, fel...
Are We Fighting Cancer the Right Way?
02 Feb 2016
Contributed by Lukas
The World Health Organisation says the number of cancer cases will rise by 70% over the next 20 years. A huge amount of effort and money is spent figh...
How Has the US Gun Lobby Been so Successful?
26 Jan 2016
Contributed by Lukas
When President Obama wept at a recent press conference to announce action on gun control, his tears might have been born of frustration as well as sad...
What is China Doing to Clear the Air?
19 Jan 2016
Contributed by Lukas
The air in much of China is so bad the government has repeatedly declared "war" on it. The enemy are tiny particulates which spew forth from countless...
Do We Have Enough Genders?
12 Jan 2016
Contributed by Lukas
Gender identity is considered more fluid than ever because of the success of the trans movement. But most trans people, just like everyone else, still...
How Much Inequality Is Too Much?
05 Jan 2016
Contributed by Lukas
The richest 10% of Americans earn half of all of income. In Britain, the top 10% hold 40% of all the income. Inequality is not just an issue for rich ...
Should We Solar Panel The Sahara?
29 Dec 2015
Contributed by Lukas
The world has a problem. The climate is changing. At least, most people think so. That’s why global leaders have been meeting in Paris to work out a...
How Will a Population Boom Change Africa?
22 Dec 2015
Contributed by Lukas
The UN forecasts that the number of people living in Africa will double in the next 35 years. Nigeria, the fastest-growing nation, is expected to beco...
Is Saudi To Blame For ‘IS’?
15 Dec 2015
Contributed by Lukas
Many claim that ‘Islamic State’ is the ideological offspring of Saudi Arabia; that the strict form of Islam originating in the Kingdom - and the S...
Should Governments Drop Money Out of Helicopters?
08 Dec 2015
Contributed by Lukas
Imagine waking up one morning to the sound of a helicopter overhead. You look out and see that packages are being dropped in front of the homes of eve...
How Do Cartels Get Drugs into the US?
01 Dec 2015
Contributed by Lukas
In November the US Drug Enforcement Administration issued its Drug Threat Assessment. Mexican ‘transnational criminal organisations’, it said, are...
Can ‘Islamic State’ Be Defeated?
21 Nov 2015
Contributed by Lukas
We first asked this question over a year ago. So far, the answer has been no. The attacks in Paris killed 129 people. The day before that 43 people di...
Have We Underestimated Plants?
17 Nov 2015
Contributed by Lukas
New research suggests plants might be capable of more than many of us might expect. Some – controversially – even describe plants as “intelligen...
Is it too Late to Save Syria’s Antiquities?
10 Nov 2015
Contributed by Lukas
Syria’s cultural heritage is being attacked from all sides - the Assad regime, opportunistic looters, opposition forces, Islamic State fighters and ...
Why was Mohammed Akhlaq Killed?
03 Nov 2015
Contributed by Lukas
Mohammed Akhlaq’s murder shocked India. A mob broke into his house last month and beat him to death. They believed a rumour that Mr Akhlaq, a Muslim...
How Do You Save the Rhino?
27 Oct 2015
Contributed by Lukas
Rhinos are in trouble. The ancient Sumatran rhino has just been declared extinct in Malaysia, following the fate of black rhinos in West Africa in 201...
Can Nigeria End Oil Corruption?
20 Oct 2015
Contributed by Lukas
Oil accounts for around 75% of Nigeria’s economy, but no-one knows how much the country produces or refines. It means corruption is rife. Hundreds o...
Is Russia Vulnerable?
13 Oct 2015
Contributed by Lukas
Russia’s intervention in Syria caught the world by surprise. Moscow gave Washington just one hour’s notice before it began its aerial bombardment....
What Does the President Need to Know?
06 Oct 2015
Contributed by Lukas
The CIA has just released 2,500 top secret presidential briefings from the 1960s. The President’s Daily Brief – or PDB – is the US intelligence ...
Do Drone Strikes Work?
29 Sep 2015
Contributed by Lukas
The United States, UK, Israel and now Pakistan all use drone strikes to kill. In September a general in the Pakistani army announced their first ever ...
Is Japan Abandoning Pacifism?
22 Sep 2015
Contributed by Lukas
Japan is a pacifist country - at least that is what its constitution says. The wording, introduced under the occupying forces after World War Two, see...
Why is Argentina Still so Sexist?
15 Sep 2015
Contributed by Lukas
Tens of thousands of people have marched in Buenos Aires and elsewhere in outrage at the astonishing frequency with which women are being killed in Ar...
How Will a Population Boom Change Africa?
07 Sep 2015
Contributed by Lukas
The UN forecasts that the number of people living in Africa will double in the next 35 years. Nigeria, the fastest-growing nation, is expected to beco...
Can We Learn to Live with Nuclear Power?
01 Sep 2015
Contributed by Lukas
In 2011, following a devastating tsunami, Japan’s Fukushima nuclear power station went into meltdown, leaking radiation. It was the most serious nuc...
Migrant Crisis: What Else Could Europe Try?
25 Aug 2015
Contributed by Lukas
Tens of thousands of migrants continue to queue at the borders of the European Union in search of a better life. Their journeys are often hazardous an...
What Will Happen When Robots Take Our Jobs?
18 Aug 2015
Contributed by Lukas
Robots are coming for your job. Blue-collar jobs in industries like manufacturing have been disappearing for years but now white-collar work is under ...
Should Anyone Ever Talk to IS?
11 Aug 2015
Contributed by Lukas
In June last year the world's attention became fixed on the progress of so-called Islamic State, or IS. They had just captured Mosul, Iraq's second-la...
What’s Behind the Anti-Vax Movement?
04 Aug 2015
Contributed by Lukas
This July, it was reported that a woman from Washington State in the US had died of measles. It was the first measles death in the country in 12 years...
Why do Tax Havens Still Exist?
28 Jul 2015
Contributed by Lukas
In 2009, UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown declared “the beginning of the end” for off-shore tax havens. Since then, the EU, the G20, President Obama...
What Does China’s Stock Market Crash Tell Us?
21 Jul 2015
Contributed by Lukas
China's economy was up 150% until June. Then it fell by nearly a third. Now it has had the strongest two-day rise since the 2008 global crisis. China’...
Is Streaming Good for Music?
14 Jul 2015
Contributed by Lukas
Streaming has transformed the way millions listen to music. Whether signed up to Spotify, Apple Music or others, music lovers can access tens of milli...
How Easy is it to Dope in Sport?
07 Jul 2015
Contributed by Lukas
The global effort to prevent athletes using performance-enhancing drugs is vast and sophisticated. You might think, in this era of advanced testing, i...
Has Austerity Worked?
30 Jun 2015
Contributed by Lukas
The global financial crisis reignited an old debate - is it better to cut spending and raise taxes in an economic downturn, or spend your way out of i...
Would Greece Be Better Off Out of the Euro?
23 Jun 2015
Contributed by Lukas
Despite the tense and increasingly bitter negotiations between Greece and its European creditors - who the Greek government accuse of demanding intole...
What Does China Want From Space?
16 Jun 2015
Contributed by Lukas
Fifteen years ago, manned space flight was still a dream for China. Now, they are looking to the moon. They have mastered space walking, they are buil...
Will Anyone Help the Rohingya?
08 Jun 2015
Contributed by Lukas
Shocking images have brought the Rohingya to the world’s attention - boatloads of people drifting aimlessly on the Indian ocean, sustained by bottle...
Is Opposition to GM Crops Irrational?
02 Jun 2015
Contributed by Lukas
Ask a scientist, and they will almost certainly tell you genetically modified food is safe to eat. Yet an awful lot of consumers disagree. Is their fe...
Who Can Fix Fifa?
22 May 2015
Contributed by Lukas
Fifa has been described as a “totalitarian” set-up “beyond ridicule” with a leadership “incapable of reform or cultural change”. A corrupt...
Why Do US Cops Keep Killing Unarmed Black Men?
19 May 2015
Contributed by Lukas
Recent high profile cases of unarmed black men dying at the hands of the US police have sparked outrage, protests and civil unrest in several American...
Why is South Africa Still So Unequal?
12 May 2015
Contributed by Lukas
The violent riots on the streets of South Africa in recent weeks have seen foreigners killed, their shops looted and 5,000 left homeless. They are acc...
Is Cyber Warfare Really That Scary?
05 May 2015
Contributed by Lukas
Last month Nato ran a military exercise involving over 400 people from 16 countries. It was the most advanced ‘live-fire’ cyber-defence exercise e...
How Has Rwanda Saved The Lives Of 590,000 Children?
28 Apr 2015
Contributed by Lukas
In 2000 the world committed to reduce child mortality rates by 2015. At the time, there were on average 90 under-five deaths per 1,000 live births glo...
What Is The Yemen Conflict Really About?
21 Apr 2015
Contributed by Lukas
In a matter of months rebels have swept through Yemen, capturing the capital, forcing the president into exile and causing hundreds of casualties as a...
Is There A New Nuclear Arms Race?
14 Apr 2015
Contributed by Lukas
Later this month 190 nations will meet in New York to discuss the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), 45 years after it came into force. The Treat...
Cuba: What Would Che Say?
07 Apr 2015
Contributed by Lukas
Ahead of a historic meeting between Cuba’s President Castro and US President Obama, The Inquiry asks if the island nation’s warmer relations with ...
Are We Tired Of Talking About Climate Change?
31 Mar 2015
Contributed by Lukas
It seems something is missing from newspapers and TV bulletins - climate change. A story which dominated the news five years ago has dropped steadily ...
Will The Dalai Lama Reincarnate?
24 Mar 2015
Contributed by Lukas
Who has authority in Tibet? Many Tibetans revere the Dalai Lama and support his goal of greater autonomy from Beijing. But officials there hold the op...
Has The War On Drugs Been Lost?
17 Mar 2015
Contributed by Lukas
Forty-four years after President Nixon declared “war on drugs”, four US states have now agreed to legalise the sale of marijuana and a majority of...
Who Wants What In Libya?
10 Mar 2015
Contributed by Lukas
The beheading of 21 Egyptian Christians on a Libyan beach has exposed the lawlessness of the country ruled by Colonel Gaddafi until 2011. The internat...
Is Life Getting Worse For Women In Erdogan’s Turkey?
03 Mar 2015
Contributed by Lukas
The murder and disfigurement of a 20-year-old woman in southern Turkey has prompted nationwide protests. Demonstrators have chanted the victim’s nam...
Could Europe Stop Migrants Dying In The Mediterranean?
24 Feb 2015
Contributed by Lukas
More than 3,000 people are estimated to have died in the Mediterranean Sea last year. The Pope has warned that the waters are in danger of becoming "a...
How Strong Is NATO?
17 Feb 2015
Contributed by Lukas
War in Ukraine and the threat of conflict in the Baltics raise fundamental questions about the West’s military alliance. What is NATO for? And is it...
Will The New King Change Saudi Arabia?
10 Feb 2015
Contributed by Lukas
79-year-old King Salman has taken the Saudi throne, promising security and stability. But what do his past and his first acts as king tell us about ho...
Is Nigeria’s Army Failing?
03 Feb 2015
Contributed by Lukas
Most of the nearly 300 girls kidnapped from a school in northern Nigeria last year are still missing. Their plight temporarily brought global focus to...
What does Kim Jong Un want?
27 Jan 2015
Contributed by Lukas
After the recent high-profile spat with the US over The Interview – a Hollywood film that mocks North Korea’s enigmatic leader – what do we know...
Is Pakistan Serious About Tackling Militants?
20 Jan 2015
Contributed by Lukas
The murder of more than 130 students at an Army school in Pakistan last month shocked the world. In the following days, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif pr...
Should we Fear Artificial Intelligence?
13 Jan 2015
Contributed by Lukas
Billions of dollars are pouring into the latest investor craze - artificial intelligence. But serious scientists like Stephen Hawking have warned that...
Can The Internet Be Policed?
06 Jan 2015
Contributed by Lukas
On 8 December at a summit in London Britain’s prime minister David Cameron told delegates from 50 countries and 26 tech firms that online child expl...
Is American Democracy Broken?
30 Dec 2014
Contributed by Lukas
In November President Obama stepped onto a plush red carpet at the end of a White House corridor. “My fellow Americans,” he said, “tonight I wan...
What Are The Consequences Of Cheap Oil?
23 Dec 2014
Contributed by Lukas
In the last six months the price of oil has collapsed dramatically. It has been called an oil shock. Previous oil shocks have had profound and long-la...
Can Europe Resist The Rise Of Radical Politics?
16 Dec 2014
Contributed by Lukas
Swedish politics has for decades been the very model of stability. Not any longer. Earlier this month a far-right party which holds the balance of pow...
The US And Iran: How Close Could They Get?
09 Dec 2014
Contributed by Lukas
How much do the Great Satan and the Axis of Evil have in common? Quite a bit, it turns out. They share a mutual antipathy towards Islamic State milita...
Why Aren't More Dishonest Bankers In Jail?
02 Dec 2014
Contributed by Lukas
Perhaps the most striking feature of the global financial crisis has been that no top banking executive has been successfully prosecuted for their rol...
Who Runs Mexico?
25 Nov 2014
Contributed by Lukas
Mexico is gripped with the story of 43 student protesters who vanished in September. They were allegedly killed on the orders of a mayor who wanted to...
Are Sanctions Hurting Putin?
18 Nov 2014
Contributed by Lukas
Vladimir Putin certainly knows how the West views his actions in Ukraine. Sanctions have been in place against Russia for months. There is talk of tou...
What Is Hong Kong’s Problem With China?
11 Nov 2014
Contributed by Lukas
Hong Kong's government is preparing to clear the streets after weeks of protest. The demonstrators want direct talks with Beijing over who gets on the...
Are Pandemics Inevitable?
04 Nov 2014
Contributed by Lukas
Outbreaks are inevitable, pandemics are optional,” says Dr Larry Brilliant, a leading figure in the successful global campaign to eradicate smallpox...
Can Islamic State Be Stopped?
28 Oct 2014
Contributed by Lukas
The sudden rise of Islamic State in June shocked the world. It now controls a swathe of the desert in Syria and Iraq and has declared a caliphate. Ira...