The Inquiry

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Why Are the Taliban So Resilient? Feb 08, 2018

Show notes

The Taliban have staged devastating attacks in the capital of Afghanistan, Kabul, in recent weeks. And a BBC study has discovered the group is active across the majority of the country – pushing beyond its traditional southern stronghold into eastern, western and northern parts. Seventeen years after the Taliban were toppled by a US-led invasion, it is clear the insurgent group has not been defeated. Why are the Taliban so resilient?

Presenter: Helena Merriman Producers: Ruth Alexander and Josephine Casserly

How Did We Get Hooked on Plastic? Feb 01, 2018

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The story of how the search for a material to replace ivory changed our lives forever. In the 19th century a billiard ball company placed an advert in a newspaper offering $10,000 to anyone who could come up with a substitute for ivory. There was growing concern that companies were hunting elephants into extinction so they could use their ivory for billiard balls, buttons and umbrella handles. The story that follows takes us from explosive factories that often went up in smoke to the modern world we find ourselves in today. How did plastics go from being a saviour of the environment to a cause for concern? How did we get hooked on plastic?

Presenter: Helena Merriman Producer: Phoebe Keane

Photo: A man checks used plastic bottles for recycling at a recycling station in Agartala Credit: ARINDAM DEY/AFP/Getty Images

What Does China Want in the South China Sea? Jan 25, 2018

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China has long been keen to assert its authority in the South China Sea. In recent years, it has undertaken a huge programme of island-building to stake its claim to the region. Fiery Cross, once a tiny reef, is now a fortified airbase. And this is just one of China’s seven artificial islands in the Sea.

But China is not the only one. Bordered by seven states, many others also claim parts of the South China Sea as their own. Experts warn these hotly contested waters could be a flashpoint for conflict in 2018.

Why is the South China Sea so important to China?

(Photo: Fiery Cross. Credit: CSIS Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative/DigitalGlobe)

What’s the Greatest Threat to Poland? Jan 18, 2018

Show notes

The EU’s launched the ‘nuclear option’ against Poland, the first time it’s triggered the disciplinary measure in its history. They say recent changes to the legal system mean there is a serious threat to the rule of law and as a punishment, Poland could lose its voting rights in the European Union. The ruling party say this is an attack on Poland and that the EU should not be telling them what to do. The government says that actually their judiciary is threatened by the legacy of communism which is why they have made the legal reforms. They also say they’re being singled out by the EU for their refusal to take refugees, which they claim pose a threat to their country. If you believe the government, there are lots of threats to Poland, but what is actually being threatened and is there something far greater at stake? What is the greatest threat to Poland?

Presenter: Ruth Alexander Producer: Phoebe Keane

(Photo: Right-wing nationalist protesters burn the European Union flag in 2015. Credit: Natalia Dobryszycka/AFP/Getty Images)

What is IS doing in the Philippines? Jan 11, 2018

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In 2017 the black flag of the Islamic State group flew in the southern Philippines as a mixture of local and foreign fighters attacked the Islamic City of Marawi.

While the government did eventually regain control, it took five months to break the siege and many terrorist leaders escaped during the fighting. It's led to fears that the extremist violence could spread.

In this Inquiry we investigate the long history of conflict which provided a fertile place for IS's Islamist ideas to grow, and ask how important the region is to IS now that they're retreating in the Middle East.

(Image: Destroyed buildings in what was the main combat area in Marawi. Photo: Merlyn Manos/Getty Images)

Is Zero Tolerance the Right Approach for FGM? Jan 04, 2018

Show notes

In 1994 a United Nations conference, backed by 173 countries, announced that ‘female genital mutilation’ was a “violation of basic rights and a major lifelong risk to women’s health”. Agreeing it should end, international agencies and charities quickly swung into action, and over the next two decades millions were spent on campaigns to eradicate the practise around the world. Today though, pricking or cutting of the genitalia still happens to an estimated 3 million girls a year in 30 countries, and some experts are saying we should rethink how we tackle it. In this episode of The Inquiry we talk to four expert witnesses, all with very different views on what the next steps should be.

This programme contains frank discussions of a physical and sexual nature.

(Image: A demonstration against female genital mutilation at the Nairobi World Social Forum in Nairobi, Kenya. Credit: Marco Longari/Getty Images)

What’s The Point Of Bitcoin? Dec 28, 2017

Show notes

Making sense of the digital currency and the ideology of its founders, fans and future.

In 2010 a developer spent 10,000 bitcoin to buy two pizzas. Seven and a half years later that was the equivalent of over $80m.

Bitcoin has been exploding in value throughout 2017 as more and more people buy into the idea of a digital currency. Traditional financial institutions have even begun to get involved. But far from a mainstream investment, Bitcoin started life as an idea from the radical cypherpunk movement, who wanted to use decentralised technologies as a way to disrupt governments and corporations.

In this edition of The Inquiry we trace the history and development of Bitcoin – and ask whether its future will stay true to its libertarian roots.

(Image: The Digital Cryptocurrency Bitcoin. Photo Credit: Dan Kitwood/ Getty Images)

North Korea deep dive Dec 22, 2017

Show notes

What next for North Korea? Kim Jong-un's nuclear ambitions and their global repercussions are explored in this special, extended edition of the programme.

After a year of repeated weapons testing by the secretive regime that’s sparked a war of words with the United States, Ruth Alexander brings together six expert witnesses to dive deep into the detail of what is one of the biggest geopolitical challenges of our time.

Their discussion examines North Korea’s weapons capability, the mind-set of its leader, the chance of war breaking out and the possibilities of finding a diplomatic solution.

(North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un, flanked by vice-chair of the State Affairs Commission Choe Yong-Hae (L) at an opening ceremony. Photo credit: Ed Jones/Getty Images)

How Do We Rule The Universe? Dec 21, 2017

Show notes

Governing moon miners, asteroid hunters and space junk sounds pretty tricky, but we better get our act together. This year the majority of space launches included commercial enterprises. Space is no longer just the playground of governments but companies; companies that want to mine the moon for water that they could sell as rocket fuel, companies that want to mine the moon for helium -3 which could be sold and used as energy back on earth and companies that want to mine asteroids for platinum that they could sell for huge profits. But is this legal? The Outer Space Treaty, a set of laws written in the 1960s, says no state can conquer or own the moon or any other celestial body. So if you can’t own the moon, can you sell what you find on it? Perhaps it’s time for a new set of laws. So, how do we rule the universe?

(digital illustration: Somewhere in the Universe: NASA's Kepler mission discovers a world orbiting two stars. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech via Getty Images)

How Powerful is Facebook's Algorithm? Dec 14, 2017

Show notes

There is a place on the internet where almost two billion of us regularly go – many of us, every day. Facebook: the social network which Mark Zuckerberg started in his university dorm room and which has grown, in a little over a decade, into one of the most valuable companies in the world. But what does Facebook’s lines of computer code do with the data we give it – and what could it do in the future? Just how powerful is Facebook's algorithm? The answer will surprise you.

Produced by Estelle Doyle and Sarah Shebbeare This programme was first broadcast in April 2017.

(Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg delivers a keynote address during Facebook's F8 conference in San Francisco, California. Credit: Getty Images)

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