300 episodes

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

The Inquiry BBC Podcasts

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

Listen on Apple Podcasts
Requires subscription and macOS 11.4 or higher

    Is our future underground?

    Is our future underground?

    More than half of the world’s population currently lives in cities, and by 2050, the UN estimates that figure will rise to nearly 7 in 10 people. The world is also getting hotter, with heatwaves and wildfires becoming increasingly common.
    So how can we deal with the dual challenges of increasing urbanisation and extreme weather caused by climate change? Perhaps we should look downwards.
    For millennia, humans have taken refuge underground from the elements, predators and from war. Even today, bomb shelters exist under major cities like Beijing and Seoul. Many cities across the world have subway systems for easy transportation – and some are integrated seamlessly with below-ground business and shopping centres.
    But what are the future challenges for urban planners and architects in this subterranean space, and how can we overcome the social stigma against those who live underground?
    This week on the Inquiry, we ask: is our future underground?
    Contributors:
    Martin Dixon, trustee of Subterranea Britannica, a society devoted to the study and investigation of man-made and man-used underground places.
    Jacques Besner, architect and urban planner; co-founder and general manager of Associated Research Centres for Urban Underground Spaces.
    Antonia Cornaro co-chair of ITACUS, the International Tunnelling and Underground Space Association's Committee on Underground Space.
    Professor Clara Irazábal, Director of the Urban Studies and Planning Program at the University of Maryland, USA.
    Presenter: Tanya Beckett
    Producer: Ravi Naik
    Editor: Tara McDermott
    Researcher: Matt Toulson
    Production Coordinators : Janet Staples & Liam Morrey
    Photo by BEHROUZ MEHRI via Getty Images

    • 23 min
    Can Mexico win its battle with US gun companies?

    Can Mexico win its battle with US gun companies?

    The Mexican government has won its appeal to bring a civil lawsuit against a number of American gun companies. Mexico, which has extremely restrictive gun laws, claims that the ‘deliberate’ business practices of these US firms results in the illegal flow of firearms into Mexico, contributing to the gun crime violence in the country. They are now seeking as much as ten billion dollars in compensation.
    The gun companies, which include some of America’s oldest established names in the firearms business, deny any wrongdoing. Since 2005, these companies have being granted immunity from prosecution under the ‘Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act’. This law protects the firearms manufacturers and dealers from being held liable when crimes have been committed with their products. But Mexico’s argument is that PLCAA, as it’s also known, only applies within the United States and therefore doesn’t protect the companies from liability.
    It’s a case which is also resonating with other Latin American countries who have been impacted by illegal gun trafficking from the United States. Some of these countries have supported Mexico’s claims in the courts. And they will be watching closely to see if Mexico’s lawsuit, the first by a sovereign state, can set a precedent.
    So on this week’s Inquiry, we’re asking ‘Can Mexico win its battle with US gun companies?’
    Contributors:
    Ioan Grillo, journalist and author focusing on Organised Crime, Mexico
    Adam Winkler, Cornell Professor of Law, UCLA School of Law, California, USA
    Robert Spitzer, Distinguished Service Professor Emeritus of Political Science, SUNY Cortland; Adjunct Faculty Member, College of William and Mary School of Law, USA
    Dr. León Castellanos-Jankiewicz, Senior Researcher, Asser Institute for International and European Law; Academic Supervisor, International Law Clinic on Access to Justice for Gun Violence, University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands.

    Presenter: Charmaine Cozier
    Producer: Jill Collins
    Journalism Researcher: Matt Toulson
    Editor: Tara McDermott
    Technical Producer: Cameron Ward
    Production Co-ordinator: Liam Morrey

    Image: Reuters via BBC Images

    • 23 min
    What’s going on with the pyramids?

    What’s going on with the pyramids?

    One of the most famous of Egypt’s pyramids, Menkaure’s pyramid on the Giza plateau, is the subject of controversy after the Egyptian authorities announced plans to restore it in what the country’s Head of Antiquities has called “the project of the century” and Egypt’s “gift to the world”.

    But not everyone believes such a restoration is in keeping with the demands of proper archaeological preservation.
    The plans met with opposition from archaeologists and Egyptologists both inside and outside the country. The project has now been paused after recommendations from a scientific committee commissioned by the Egyptian authorities.
    So what’s going on with the pyramids?
    Presenter: Gary O’Donoghue
    Producer: Louise Clarke
    Researcher: Matt Toulson
    Editor: Tara McDermott
    Technical producer: Nicky Edwards
    Production co-ordinator: Liam Morrey
    Contributors:
    Aidan Dodson, honorary Professor of Egyptology at Bristol university in the UK
    Dr Jennifer Hellum, senior lecturer in classics and ancient history at the University of Auckland in New Zealand
    Heba Saleh, Cairo correspondent for the Financial Times
    Salima Ikram, professor of Egyptology at the American University in Cairo
    Photo by KHALED ELFIQI/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock via BBC Images

    • 23 min
    Can Europe reverse its falling fertility rates?

    Can Europe reverse its falling fertility rates?

    Across the world fertility rates are falling and for the first time Europe is experiencing a sustained population decline. The average fertility rate for the European Union is 1.53 live births per woman. In Italy the fertility rate has remained low for the last thirty years, with an average 1.3 births per woman.
    Some governments, who are concerned that not enough people are being born to keep their economies functioning in the long term are spending billions on incentives and policies to try and reverse the trend. But even in the Nordic countries, which are noted for some of the best family focused policies, these are proving ineffective against a markedly high drop in fertility rates over the last decade.
    Society’s attitudes on when or whether to start a family are shifting, so does this mean that we need to change the way we approach the issue or even adapt to a future with fewer people?
    On this week’s Inquiry, we’re asking ‘Can Europe reverse its falling fertility rates?’
    Contributors:
    Anna Rotkirch, Research Director, Population Research Institute, The Family Federation of Finland, Helsinki
    Michael Herrmann, Senior Advisor on Economics and Demography, United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), Turkey
    Arnstein Aassve, Professor of Demography, Political Science Centre, Bocconi University, Milan, Italy
    Tomas Sobotka, Deputy Director, Vienna Institute of Demography, Austrian Academy of Sciences
    Presenter: Charmaine Cozier
    Producer: Jill Collins
    Journalism Researcher: Matt Toulson
    Editor: Tara McDermott
    Technical Producers: Nicky Edwards and Toby James
    Production Co-ordinator: Liam Morrey
    Image Credit: PA via BBC Images

    • 23 min
    Who will be next to walk on the moon?

    Who will be next to walk on the moon?

    In the next two or three years America’s National Aeronautics and Space Administration - NASA - plans to send a mission into space that will land people on the moon for the first time in over a half a century.
    The mission has already been pushed back and is widely expected to be delayed again.
    But America is not alone. Both China and India also have ambitions to land people on the lunar surface.
    Who is next to walk on the moon is driven by geopolitics and a desire to harness the moon’s resources. Different countries, and even the private companies involved, all have different agendas. Who gets there first may even determine the political ideology of any future permanent human settlement.
    Contributors:
    Oliver Morton, Senior Editor at The Economist and author of The Moon, A History for the Future
    Eric Berger, Senior Space Editor at Ars Technica
    Christopher Newman, Professor of space law and policy at Northumbria University
    Namrata Goswami, Professor at the Thunderbird School of Global Management at Arizona State University
    Presenter: Tanya Beckett
    Producer: Louise Clarke
    Journalism Researcher: Matt Toulson
    Editor: Tara McDermott
    Technical Producer: Richard Hannaford
    Production Coordinator: Liam Morrey
    Image: U.S. Flag On The Moon by Encyclopaedia Britannica via Getty Images
    Credit: NASA Youtube Channel

    • 23 min
    Are Ethiopians losing faith in their Orthodox Church?

    Are Ethiopians losing faith in their Orthodox Church?

    The Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church - once a powerful marker of nationhood - is deeply split as result of the recent civil war in Tigray which exacerbated historical tensions in the church.
    The Church, which traces its history to the fourth century, was once the biggest denomination in Ethiopia with nearly 44 percent of the population calling themselves Orthodox Christians, but now its centrality in Ethiopian spiritual and political life - once unquestioned - appears to hang in the balance, with a steady increase in the number of people joining other denominations and the number of people calling themselves Orthodox Christians diminishing.

    Ethiopia is a modern state, with the second largest population in Africa, led by Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, who won the Nobel Peace Prize for 2019. But months after he took power, Ethiopia was ripped apart by a civil war which broke out in November 2020 and left tens of thousands of civilians dead. In May 2021, four archbishops in Tigray announced that they were forming an independent structure. They accused the church of not opposing the war - and of being too close to Abiy Ahmed's government.

    Although a ceasefire was agreed in 2022, the recent splits highlight historic ethnic and religious tensions in Ethiopia.
    Contributors:
    Ralph Lee: Oxford Centre for Mission Studies in the UK.
    Mebratu Kelecha: London School of Economics. His research focuses on conflict, peace building and democracy.
    Yohannes Woldemariam: US-based academic specialising in the Horn of Africa and the Middle East.
    Jorge Haustein: Associate Professor of World Christianity at the University of Cambridge.
    CREDITS
    Presenter: Audrey Brown
    Producer: Philip Reevell.
    Researcher: Matt Toulson
    Technical Producer: Nicky Edwards.
    Production Coordinator: Tim Fernley
    Editor: Tara McDermott
    Main Image: Ethiopian Orthodox priests walk around the church during the Saint Michael's anniversary celebration at St. Michael church in Mekele, the capital of Tigray region, Ethiopia
    Image Credit: Yasuyoshi Chiba\AFP via Getty

    • 23 min

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