The Inquiry BBC Podcasts

Bangladesh is set to hold parliamentary elections next January. But only time will tell whether there will be real change at the top or whether the current Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and her Awami League will remain in power.
In recent months there has been an increase in political protests calling for a neutral interim government ahead of the polls opening. But these protests have only resulted in increasing numbers of senior leaders of the opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party being rounded up and put in jail.
Historically, the country has had a fractured relationship with democracy since its birth in 1971, but the government for their part has denied accusations of democratic backsliding.
So this week on the Inquiry we’re asking ‘Why is Bangladesh in turmoil?’
Contributors:
Sabir Mustafa, a former Editor of the BBC Bengali Service, now based in Washington DC, USA
Dr. Avinash Paliwal, Reader in International Relations, Department of Politics and International Relations, SOAS University of London
Ali Riaz, Distinguished Professor in the Department of Politics and Government, Illinois State University, USA and non-resident Senior Fellow of the Atlantic Council
Dr. Geoffrey MacDonald, Visiting Expert in the South Asia Programme, United States Institute of Peace, Washington DC, USA
Presenter: Tanya Beckett
Producer: Jill Collins
Researcher: Matt Toulson
Editor: Tara McDermott
Technical Producer: Richard Hannaford
Broadcast Co-ordinator: Jordan King
Photo: Bangladesh Nationalist Party protest for Sheikh Hasina’s resignation, Dhaka -28th Oct 2023. Credit: Photo by MONIRUL ALAM/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock(14171078p)

The head of Ukraine’s armed forces, General Zaluzhny, has a frank take on his country’s conflict with Russia: "Just like in the First World War, we have reached the level of technology that puts us into a stalemate."
He explains that using drones and remote surveillance equipment in battlezones means each side knows what the other is doing. That slows down troops advancing, and creates a standoff. In a separate essay offering solutions, the general states that fresh tech innovation is the key to cracking it.
President Zelensky disagreed, and his office accuses the general of making “the aggressor’s job easier.” The Kremlin also denies there’s a deadlock. But with the world’s attention also focused on the Middle East, has attention drifted away from the Ukraine conflict – and if it has, what does that mean for Ukraine’s campaign?
Charmaine Cozier explores the current state of fighting which continues on the eastern frontline, and whether Ukraine’s recent attacks on Crimea demonstrate the country’s capacity to fight back against Russia’s forces. Meanwhile, Moscow has been building up an ‘axis of the sanctioned’ – countries including Iran and North Korea, which are providing armaments and sharing technology to support Russia’s military in Ukraine in a war of attrition.
And as the war heads towards its second year, is international support for Ukraine holding up? In the United States, some Republican lawmakers have delayed the latest package of military aid to Ukraine as they raise questions about the cost of the war for Americans. One year out from the next Presidential election, support for Ukraine may become an election issue. In Europe, support for Ukraine has been signalled by the European Union as it recommends formal talks should begin.

Contributors:
Tymofiy Mylovanov is president of Kyiv School of Economics. He’s also a former member of the Ukrainian government. Before leaving it in 2020, his roles included minister of economy, international trade and agriculture.
Dr. Hanna Notte is director of the Eurasian programme at the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies. It focuses on research and training around preventing the spread of nuclear weapons and technologies. She’s also senior associate with the Europe, Russia and Eurasia programme at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington.
Natasha Lindstaedt is a professor of government at the University of Essex in England
Mark Katz is a professor of government and politics at the George Mason University Schar School of Policy and Government in Virginia in the US.
Presenter: Charmaine Cozier
Producer: Philip Reevell.
Researcher: Matt Toulson
Editor: Tara McDermott
Technical producer: Richard Hannaford.
Image credit Getty Images

When the Referendum to give Australia’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders greater political rights was first announced, it was well received, with the early polls suggesting that more than sixty percent of Australians supported it.
This was an opportunity for the establishment of an advisory body to Parliament that would allow Indigenous Peoples a voice on the issues affecting their own communities and for them to be recognised in the Australian constitution.
The ‘YES’ campaign said their proposals outlined in the Uluru Statement from the Heart, requested a modest yet profound change, allowing Indigenous Australians to take their ‘rightful place’ in their own country.
Whilst the ‘NO’ campaigners argued that the ‘Voice to Parliament’ would be racially divisive, giving Indigenous Peoples greater rights over other Australians.
In the end Australia voted ‘NO’ to changing the status quo, by an overwhelming majority.
This week on The Inquiry, we’re asking ‘What went wrong with Australia’s Indigenous call for a voice?’
Contributors:
John Maynard, Emeritus Professor, Aboriginal History and Research, University of Newcastle, NSW Australia.
Tim Soutphommasane, Chief Diversity Officer, Professor of Practice in Human Rights and Political Theory, University of Oxford, UK and a Former Race Discrimination Commissioner for Australia
Andrea Carson, Professor of Political Communication, La Trobe University, Melbourne, Australia
Thomas Mayo, Indigenous Rights Advocate, Maritime Union of Australia Official and Author
Presenter: David Baker
Producer: Jill Collins
Researcher: Matt Toulson
Technical Producer: Richard Hannaford
Production Co-ordinator: Jordan King
Editor: Tara McDermott
Image: Voice Referendum in Australia: Credit: Reuters.
Audio for this episode was updated on 20th November 2023.

The Human Cell Atlas is a project that has 3000 researchers in over 94 countries working to collect samples of every single cell in the human body.
The idea is that an interactive map of the body will be created. It will be a reference for what every kind of normal human cell should look like. But that will also vary depending on who you are and where you live.
It will give doctors a tool to measure illness and disease and make diagnosis and treatment much quicker.
The database will enable any doctor, anywhere in the world, with the right kind of interface, to access the information.
It could be ground-breaking for the treatment of disease and the democratisation of healthcare.
Contributors:
Dr Aviv Regev, one of the co-chairs of the Human Cell Atlas
Dr Sarah Teichmann from the Wellcome Sanger Institute and the University of Cambridge
Dr Piero Carninci, Geneticist, Transcriptome Technology and RIKEN Centre
Sean Bendall, Associate Professor of pathology and immunology at Stanford University
Presented by Tanya Beckett
Produced by Louise Clarke
Researched by Anoushka Mutanda-Dougherty
Edited by Tara McDermott
Technical Producer is Richard Hannaford
Production Co-ordinator is Jordan King
Image: Medical Technology Stock Photo by Kentoh via Getty Images

After violence erupted between Hamas and Israel, President Biden flew to Tel Aviv to offer his ‘staunch’ ally US support.
In a very public embrace of Israel, he reinforced a relationship that goes back decades to Israel's foundation.
But does the US have the diplomatic influence to bring peace to the region?
This week on the Inquiry: what can US diplomacy achieve in the Middle East.
Contributors:
David Sanger, White House and national security correspondent and senior writer for The New York Times
Steven Cook, senior fellow for Middle Eastern Studies at the Council on Foreign Relations
Emma Ashford, senior fellow at the Stimson Center
Brian Katulis, vice president of policy at the Middle East Institute
Presented by Gary O’Donoghue
Produced by Louise Clarke
Researched by Matt Toulson
Co-ordinated by Jordan King
Image: (Photo by GPO/ Handout/Anadolu via Getty Images)

Climate change and the war in Ukraine is transforming the geopolitics of the Arctic.
Melting ice opens up the possibility of new trade routes making the region more valuable.
Tensions in the area are rising as Russia turns to China for cooperation. China in return wants to position itself as a major power in the region.
Geopolitical tensions mean that any disputes become harder to resolve and potentially more dangerous. And in a region that’s vulnerable to climate change science is also suffering – without cooperation between countries valuable data is being lost.
Contributors:
Andreas Østhagen, Senior Researcher at Fridtjof Nansens Institute
Stefan Hedlund, Professor of Russian and East European Studies at Uppsala University in Sweden
Matthew Funaiole, senior fellow of the China Power Project at the Center for Strategic and International Studies
Sophie Arts, from the Geostrategy North team at the German Marshall Fund of the United States
Presented by Emily Wither
Produced by Louise Clarke and Ravi Naik
Researched by Anoushka Mutanda-Dougherty
Mixed by Craig Boardman
The Editor is Tara McDermott
The production co-ordinator is Jordan King
Image: Tourists with Russian nuclear icebreaker on way to North Pole - Per Breiehagen (Getty Images)