The Inquiry

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 e...

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 f...

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...

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 probl...

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...

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 Niger...

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...

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 ask...

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 th...

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 So...

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 th...

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...

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 af...

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 Afghanist...

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 pr...

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, providin...

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...

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...

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-...

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. Ph...

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 Ra...