The Inquiry

BBC World Service

The Inquiry gets beyond the headlines to explore the trends, forces and ideas shaping the world.

  • 23 minutes 1 second
    Can Nato protect the Baltic Sea?

    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 states in the Baltic are members of Nato but Russia has access to the sea from St Petersburg and for its Kaliningrad exclave.

    With previous incidents of damage to underwater pipelines and cables, there is concern that the security of critical underwater infrastructure is at risk from ‘grey zone’ activities - damaging but deniable incidents below the level of outright war.

    David Baker hears how countries’ security is threatened by incidents like these. The pipelines that were cut ran between Finland and Germany and Sweden and Lithuania. He asks who can intervene to protect these assets in the Baltic. Can Nato respond?

    Our experts this week are: Elizabeth Braw, senior fellow at the Atlantic Council Scowcroft Centre for Strategy and Security, and the author of an upcoming book called The Undersea War; Helga Kalm, director of the Lennart Meri Conference in Tallinn, Estonia; Marion Messmer, senior research fellow in the International Security Programme at Chatham House; Tormod Heier, professor at the National Defence University College in Oslo, Norway and a former officer in the Norwegian Intelligence Service.

    Presenter: David Baker Producer: Philip Reevell Researcher: Katie Morgan Editor: Tara McDermott Sound engineer: Craig Boardman

    Image Credit - Rex/Shutterstock via BBC Images

    17 December 2024, 2:00 pm
  • 23 minutes
    Does Germany need to reinvent itself?

    When Chancellor Olaf Scholz fired his finance minister, Christian Lindner last month, Germany’s ‘traffic light’ government collapsed, an uneasy coalition between parties with differing perspectives and strained relations, the Social Democrats, the Greens and the Free Democrats.

    At the heart of the political dispute lie deeply opposing views about spending plans, and how to fund much needed investment in infrastructure projects such as transport, education, green energy and digital technology, in order to boost Germany’s international competitiveness.

    Falling demand both domestically and overseas for manufacturing goods, the pandemic, war in Ukraine and high energy costs have weakened Germany’s economy. So how can Germany reinvigorate its exports and economic growth? On this episode of The Inquiry, we’re asking: Does Germany need to reinvent itself?

    Contributors Michaela Kuefner, Chief Political Editor, DW Deutsche Welle. Marcel Fratzscher, President, German Institute for Economic Research & Professor of Macroeconomics, Humboldt University. Julian Hinz, Professor of International Economics, Bielefeld University & Director, Trade Policy Research Group, Kiel Institute for the World Economy. Monika Schnitzer of Economics & Chairwoman of the German Council of Economic Experts.

    Presenter: Tanya Beckett Production: Diane Richardson and Matt Toulson Production Co-ordinator: Liam Morrey Technical Producer: Matthew Dempsey Editor: Tara McDermott

    Image credit - Reuters via BBC Images

    10 December 2024, 2:23 pm
  • 22 minutes 58 seconds
    Is Europe’s car industry at a crossroads?

    The car industry across the European Union employs over thirteen million people, both directly and indirectly, that’s around six percent of the bloc’s workforce. But in recent years, Europe’s manufacturers have been struggling to cope with issues like economic downturns, clean energy requirements and the digital revolution. Some of the oldest, biggest carmakers are considering plant closures and job cuts in order to try and stay afloat.

    They are also facing fierce competition in the electric vehicle market from China, who have taken a lead in producing cars that are much more competitively priced and equipped with much more sophisticated technology. China’s own economy has been flagging, so the EU provides it with its largest overseas market in terms of the electric car industry.

    But now, in a bid to protect their own car industry, the EU has introduced tariffs on electric cars made in China. These tariffs are set to rise from ten percent up to forty five percent for the next five years. Beijing has condemned them as protectionist and there are concerns that it could spark a trade war between Brussels and Beijing.

    So, on this week’s Inquiry, we’re asking ‘Is Europe’s car industry at a crossroads?’

    Contributors: Carsten Brzeski, Global Head of Macro Research, ING, Germany Tu Le, Founder and Managing Director, Sino Auto Insights, United States of America Beatrix Keim, Director, CAR Centre for Automotive Research, Germany Stefan Deix, Director, EUCAR, European Council for Automotive R&D, Belgium

    Presenter: Tanya Beckett Producer: Jill Collins Researcher: Matt Toulson Editor: Tara McDermott Technical Producer: Matthew Dempsey Production Co-ordinator: Liam Morrey

    Image Credit: Westend61 via Getty Images

    3 December 2024, 2:00 pm
  • 22 minutes 59 seconds
    What’s the future for Syria’s divided north?

    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 arms and the country descended into civil war. The conflict drew in Syria’s Kurds, jihadi groups including Islamic State and al-Qaeda, and the international community.

    13 years on President Assad controls around two thirds of the country, but northern Syria remains out of the regime's grip and is highly volatile. Internal divisions, international influences and a worsening humanitarian situation may be about to further destabilise the region, with potentially serious consequences for Syria and the world. So, in this episode of The Inquiry, we’re asking ‘What’s the future for Syria’s divided north?’

    Contributors Dr Burcu Ozcelik, Senior Research Fellow for Middle East Security at the Royal United Services Institute. Charles Lister, Director of the Syria and Countering Terrorism & Extremism programs, Middle East Institute. Qutaiba Idlbi, Director of the Syria Initiative at the Atlantic Council. Emma Beals, Senior Advisor at the European Institute of Peace and a non-resident scholar at the Middle East Institute in Washington.

    Presenter: Emily Wither Production: Diane Richardson and Matt Toulson Broadcast Co-ordinator: Ellie Dover & Liam Morrey Editor: Tara McDermott Technical Producer: Cameron Ward

    Image credit - NurPhoto via Getty Images

    27 November 2024, 10:26 am
  • 22 minutes 59 seconds
    Can Boeing turn it around?

    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 another safety scare and a strike losing it billions of dollars. It has a new CEO who has pledged to return the company to its engineering roots and away from cost cutting and in October, Boeing managed to raise 21bn US dollars by issuing new shares in the company. However, catching up on lost production will take time and money and financially the company is nowhere near out of the weeds.

    Can Boeing regain the trust of regulators, airlines and passengers?

    Contributors: Richard Aboulafia, AeroDynamic Advisory, a US aerospace consultancy Sharon Turlep, an aviation industry reporter at the Wall Street Journal Christine Negroni, an aviation journalist specialising in safety Scott Hamilton, aviation analyst

    Presented by David Baker. Produced by Bob Howard. Researched by Matt Toulson. Edited by Tara McDermott. Mixed by David Crackles.

    Image credit - Kevin Burkholder via Getty Images

    21 November 2024, 1:11 pm
  • 22 minutes 59 seconds
    Is YouTube’s disruption of TV now complete?

    Earlier this year the global video sharing platform You Tube dominated TV viewership in the United States, knocking Disney off the top spot and leaving major media names like Netflix, Paramount, Amazon and Fox in its wake. In a first for the streaming platform, the time people spent watching YouTube on television accounted for 10.4 percent of total TV in the month of July.

    In terms of its world reach, the platform is now available in more than one hundred countries and pulls in nearly three billion users every month, the majority of which are between 25 and 34 years old, that’s younger than the core audience for traditional television.

    Launched in 2005, YouTube has since expanded and diversified, but it’s niche area for dominating the market is still in user generated content and the advertising income it draws in provides the platform with its main source of revenue, leaving the traditional TV market in its wake.

    So, on this week’s Inquiry, we’re asking ‘Is YouTube’s disruption of TV now complete?’

    Contributors: Mark Bergen, Reporter with Bloomberg Technology, Author of ‘Like, Comment, Subscribe: Inside YouTube’s Chaotic Rise to World Domination’, London, UK.

    Chris Stokel-Walker, Journalist, Author of ‘YouTubers: How YouTube Shook Up TV and Created a New Generation of Stars’, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK Rahul Telang, Professor of Information Systems, Carnegie Mellon University, Co-Author of ‘Streaming, Sharing, Stealing: Big Data and the Future of Entertainment’, Pennsylvania, USA

    Dr. Marlen Komorowski, Professor for European Media Markets, Vrije Universiteit Brussels, Senior Research Fellow, Cardiff University, Wales, UK Presenter: Charmaine Cozier Producer: Jill Collins Researcher: Kirsteen Knight Editor: Tara McDermott Technical Producer: Cameron Ward Production Co-ordinator: Tim Fernley

    Image: Silhouettes of laptop and mobile device users are seen next to a screen projection of the YouTube logo

    Credit: Reuters/Dado Ruvić

    14 November 2024, 8:06 am
  • 22 minutes 59 seconds
    What will happen after the International Space Station?

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

    Launched in the wake of the Cold War, the ISS is seen as a triumph of global diplomacy between the US, Russia and other nations. Its demise will mark the end of an era.

    Nasa has awarded contracts to commercial companies to develop potential successors to the ISS, and maintain a U.S. presence in low earth orbit. Meanwhile Russia and India have said they plan to launch their own individual stations, and China has already got its own space station, Tiangong.

    As the era of the International Space Station nears its end, this week on The Inquiry, we’re asking ‘What will happen after the International Space Station?’

    Presenter: Tanya Beckett Producer: Matt Toulson Researcher: Kirsteen Knight Editor: Tara McDermott Technical Operator: Ben Houghton

    Contributors: Jennifer Levasseur, Museum Curator at the Smithsonian Institution’s National Air and Space Museum, Washington D.C., US

    Mark McCaughrean, former Senior Advisor for Science & Exploration at the European Space Agency and astronomer at the Max Planck Institute for Astronomy, Heidelberg, Germany

    Mai'a Cross, Professor of political science at Northeastern University, and director for the Center for International Affairs and World Cultures, Massachusetts, US

    Wendy Whitman Cobb, Professor of strategy and security studies at the School of Advanced Air and Space Studies, Alabama, US

    CREDIT: State of the Union address, 1984; Courtesy Ronald Reagan Presidential Library

    4 November 2024, 12:00 pm
  • 23 minutes
    How can Canada fight its wildfires?

    This year wildfires in Canada have caused devastation to the country’s treasured town of Jasper. The wildfires have ravaged the landscape, destroyed communities and displaced hundreds of thousands of people.

    The causes are many, and fires are a natural occurrence. But humans, and the climate, are making them worse. As the number and intensity of fires increase, the methods used to both prevent and fight them may need to change.

    How can Canada fight its wildfires?

    Presenter: Tanya Beckett Producer: Louise Clarke Researcher: Anoushka Mutanda-Dougherty Editor: Tara McDermott Technical producer: Cameron Ward

    Contributors: Mike Flannagan, Professor of wildland fire at Thompson Rivers University in Kamloops, British Columbia Liz Goldman, World Resources Institute John Keeley, senior research scientist with the U.S. Geological Survey and an adjunct professor at the University of California in Los Angeles Cordy Tymstra, former wildfire science coordinator for the Alberta Wildfire Management Branch

    (Image: Getty/ Anadolu)

    28 October 2024, 11:14 am
  • 22 minutes 58 seconds
    How might the next US President affect the war in Ukraine?

    Ukraine’s President Zelensky recently presented his ‘Victory Plan’ to end the war in Ukraine to both Kamala Harris and Donald Trump, the two candidates competing to be the next President of the United States of America. President Zelensky’s view is that if his plan is supported by Ukraine’s allies, then the war could be ended by next year.

    But both US Presidential candidates, whilst in agreement that the war has to stop, have expressed a very different approach to how they would work towards that. And there are concerns from Ukraine that there will be a significant decrease in getting support in the future, regardless of who will be sitting in the White House. The United States is the top donor to Ukraine in terms of military, financial and humanitarian aid, but if their support did wane, it would mean Ukraine would have to become much more reliant on European backing. Whilst Europe has pledged much in terms of military support, it has yet to deliver everything it has promised. And there is the issue of Europe’s political will and financial backing to fulfil its pledge. In light of this President Zelensky is hoping Europe too will be convinced by his ‘Victory Plan’ and perhaps act as an insurance plan to keep the US focus on this war.

    So, on this week’s Inquiry, we’re asking ‘How might the next US President affect the war in Ukraine?’

    Contributors: Mariia Zolkina, Head of Regional Security and Conflict Studies, Ilko Kucheriv Democratic Initiatives Foundation, Kyiv, Ukraine Mary Anne Marsh, Democratic Strategist and Political Analyst, Boston, USA Matthew Kroenig, Vice President and Senior Director, Atlantic Council’s Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security, Washington DC, USA Matthew Savill, Director of Military Sciences, Royal United Services Institute, London, UK

    Presenter: Charmaine Cozier Producer: Jill Collins Researcher: Matt Toulson Editor: Tara McDermott Technical Producer: Ben Houghton Broadcast Co-ordinator: Jacqui Johnson

    (Image: BBC file photo)

    22 October 2024, 3:36 pm
  • 22 minutes 59 seconds
    What’s the succession plan for Murdoch’s empire?

    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 inherit his empire on the 93 year old’s death.

    The succession battle, worthy of the TV drama Succession, which was partly inspired by the Murdoch dynasty, was played out behind closed doors and it’s unlikely that the decision, when it comes, will be made available to the public.

    Murdoch’s News Corp owns hundreds of newspapers and media outlets around the world. It includes the right-leaning Fox News in the US, which gave Donald Trump a major platform in the run-up to the 2016 Presidential election, as well as widely read newspapers like the Sun in the UK.

    Speculation over who is most likely to take control of the multi-billion dollar business currently centres around the eldest son Lachlan Murdoch, the sibling most closely aligned to his father in terms of their vision for the future. But at this point the outcome all depends on whether legally such a takeover can happen.

    So, on this week’s Inquiry, we’re asking ‘What’s the succession plan for Murdoch’s empire?’

    Contributors: Walter Marsh, Journalist and Author of Young Rupert: The Making of the Murdoch Empire, South Australia David Folkenflik, Media Correspondent NPR News, Author of Murdoch’s World: The Last of the Old Media Empires, USA Reid Weisbord, Distinguished Professor of Law, Rutgers Law School, Visiting Professor, Columbia University, USA Alice Enders, Chief Economist, Enders Analysis, UK

    Presenter: Tanya Beckett Producers: Louise Clarke and Jill Collins Researcher: Matt Toulson Editor: Tara McDermott Technical Producer: Nicky Edwards Broadcast Co-ordinator: Jacqui Johnson

    (Image: Reuters/Mike Segar)

    15 October 2024, 1:38 pm
  • 23 minutes 2 seconds
    Can anyone broker peace in the Middle East?

    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 position.

    The United States has been a big diplomatic influence on attempts at peace negotiations in the Middle East.

    The last major attempt at peace negotiations was in the spring of 2024 when the US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken visited the region to try and broker a ceasefire.

    But despite the efforts of not just the US, but Egypt, Qatar and Europe, there has been no agreement to cease hostilities.

    What would bring all the different parties to the negotiating table? And is there any country or organisation credible enough that will be listened to by all parties?

    This episode of The Inquiry asks: Can anyone broker peace in the Middle East?

    Contributors: Hugh Lovatt, Senior Policy Fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations Bilal Y Saab, Head of the US-Middle East Practice and an Advisor in the Scientific and Academic Council of TRENDS Research and Advisory Professor Christopher Phillips, Professor of International Relations at Queen Mary University of London Dr Burcu Ozcelik, Senior Research Fellow in Middle East security at The Royal United Services Institute

    Presenter: Victoria Uwonkunda Producer: Louise Clarke Researcher: Matt Toulson Editor: Tara McDermott Technical producer: James Bradshaw Production support: Jacqui Johnson

    (Image: Getty/FADEL ITANI)

    9 October 2024, 3:08 pm
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