The Inquiry

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 Fam...

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...

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 i...

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, Massachu...

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...

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 Research...

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...

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...

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 constitu...

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 prov...

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...

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...

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...