The Inquiry

The International Energy Agency says that the world is in the middle of the first global energy crisis. The price of natural gas has increased almost five-fold since the summer of 2020, and the main cause is Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Moscow has cut supplies of gas to European countries that oppose the war, causing the wholesale price to shoot up everywhere. Many countries have turned to coal to fuel their power stations, also causing prices to triple in the last year. But as well as being expensive, coal is also the most polluting fossil fuel. The situation has accelerated the push towards renewables, but can they provide the all the power needed by a country – as well as providing energy security? So this week on the Inquiry, we ask: can a country live on renewable energy alone? Presenter: Tanya Beckett Producer: Ravi Naik Researcher: Anoushka Mutanda-Dougherty Editor Tara McDermott Technical producer Richard Hannaford Broadcast Coordinator Jacqui Johnson (Photo: Offshore wind turbine farm at sunset: Creit: Imaginima/Getty Images)

When we shop online, we don’t often think about what goes on behind the scenes. Clicking “pay now”, sets in motion a slick, computer-controlled chain of events, that ends with a parcel arriving at your home. These online shopping logistics are run by Artificial Intelligence, and there are plans for these systems to move from the warehouse to the wider workplace. “Digital Management” systems in development are able to autonomously hire people and oversee their work on a project from beginning to end. They also have the ability to manage much larger groups of workers than their human counterparts. But can a software boss really understand its human employees? Are managers obsolete? And are some of these systems already here? This week on the Inquiry, we ask: will computers put managers out of work? Presented by David Baker Produced by Jim Frank Editor: Richard Vadon Technical producer: Neil Churchill Broadcast Coordinator: Jacqui Johnson(Image: Artificial intelligence is showing the path: exdez/Getty)

Xi Jinping has begun an unprecedented third term as Chinese president, after securing his position at the Communist Party Congress. But key economic data was delayed until after the congress ended. It was lower than government targets, causing Chinese markets to fall. The Chinese economy is floundering; unemployment is skyrocketing, and the housing market is collapsing. There’s also no sign of an end to COVID lockdowns – which have hamstrung business and manufacturing since the start of the pandemic. Since the start of this century, China’s economic growth was the envy of the world, but in 2022, it’ll be the first year since the 1990s that economic output will fall behind the rest of Asia. President Xi says the economy is now his top priority, but his focus in his first two terms was to consolidate power and increase political control. Will his new term be any different? This week on the Inquiry, we’re asking: Is China’s economy in crisis? Presenter: Tanya Beckett Producers: Ravi Naik and Ben Cooper Editor: Tara McDermott Technical Producer: Kelly Young Broadcast Coordinator: Jacqui Johnson(Image: Chinese yuan cash bills and Chinese flag: Javier Ghersi/Getty)

More than 200 years ago French soldiers uncovered a slab of granite in the Nile Delta which became the key to understanding the history of ancient Egypt. The Rosetta Stone is inscribed with ancient Egyptian and Greek text, and hieroglyphs. Before it was translated, no-one realised that hieroglyphs were a form of written language. After the French surrender of Egypt in 1801, the artifact was taken to the UK, and ever since, it’s been one of the main attractions at the British Museum in London. The museum is holding a major exhibition on hieroglyphs, with the stone as its centrepiece, but there are calls from Egyptian scholars for it to be taken back to its place of origin. However, the British Museum says there has been no formal request from the Egyptian government to return the Rosetta Stone.So this week on the Inquiry, we’re asking: Is it time for Britain to return the Rosetta Stone? Presenter: Tanya Beckett Producer: Ravi Naik Researcher: Anoushka Mutanda-Dougherty Editor: Tara McDermott Technical Producer: Nicky Edwards Broadcast Coordinator: Jacqui Johnson (Image: The Rosetta Stone on display in the Egyptian Sculpture Gallery at the British Museum: BBC Images/European Photopress Agency/Neil Hall)

Women in Iran have been at the forefront of protests that have swept the country for weeks.More than 200 people have lost their lives, and hundreds of others have been detained after demonstrations following the death of 22 year old Mahsa Amini. She died after being arrested by the regime's morality police for not wearing her hijab correctly. Women have been fighting for their basic freedoms and demanding an end to the mandatory headscarf. Many have posted videos on social media, cutting their hair or burning their hijabs in protest.But will their anger lead to reforms in the Islamic Republic?This week on the Inquiry, we ask: will the protests in Iran bring change?Presenter: Charmaine Cozier Producer: Ben Henderson and Christopher Blake Researcher: Anoushka Mutanda-Dougherty Editor: Tara McDermott Technical Producer: Richard Hannaford Broadcast Coordinator: Jacqui Johnson Image: Women burn headscarves during a protest over the death of 22-year-old Kurdish woman Mahsa Amini in Iran, in the Kurdish-controlled city of Qamishli, Syria, 26 September 2022 (Credit: Orhan Qereman/Reuters)

The Kerch bridge, a vital supply route for Russian forces in Crimea, has been partially destroyed in a huge blast. It was a symbol of Russia’s annexation of Crimea from Ukraine, and the explosion was equally symbolic, coming just one day after President Putin’s 70th birthday. The Russian president described it as “an act of terrorism”, and he punished Ukraine’s cities with a day of missile strikes, targeting civilian areas. All this comes as Putin’s Special Military Operation is struggling. Ukraine has now seized back more territory than Russia took in the early stages of the war. Hundreds of thousands of Russian army reservists have fled rather than being sent to the front, war deaths and the financial costs of the war are mounting, and winter is approaching. But for President Putin, there is no easy exit from Ukraine. He may have no political choice but to double down, and has even dropped dark hints about using nuclear weapons. So this week on the Inquiry we ask: Is Putin’s war in Ukraine at a turning point? Presenter: Tanya Beckett Producer: Ravi Naik Researcher: Christopher Blake Editor: Tara McDermott Technical Producer: Mitch Goodall Broadcast Coordinator: Jacqui Johnson(Image: Huge fire erupts on strategic bridge linking Crimea to Russia: Credit: Anadolu Agency/Getty)

In his first speech as King, Charles III said he would endeavour to serve his subjects, wherever they live “in the UK, the realms and territories across the world”. But following the death of his mother, Queen Elizabeth II, several realms – countries other than the UK that have the British Monarch as head of state – say they may become republics. Barbados became a republic in 2021. Antigua, Belize, Jamaica and Grenada may follow. King Charles III has also just become the elected head of the Commonwealth of Nations. But will any new republics leave because of its roots in Empire, or embrace an organisation that represents nearly a third of the people on Earth? This week on the Inquiry, we ask: what’s the future of the Commonwealth under King Charles III?Presenter: Charmaine Cozier Producer: Ravi Naik Researcher: Anoushka Mutanda-Dougherty Editor: Tara McDermott Technical Producer: Richard Hannaford Broadcast Coordinator: Jacqui Johnson(Image: Prince Charles, Prince of Wales speaks during the formal opening of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting at Buckingham Palace in London on April 19, 2018. (Photo by DOMINIC LIPINSKI/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

Brazil is voting to elect a new president. On the ballot is the incumbent Jair Bolsonaro and Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, known almost universally as Lula, a fiery leftist who was Brazil’s president from 2002 to 2010.Bolsonaro is a former army officer with solid conservative views. Lula is very left leaning and in favour of protecting the environment. Their contrasting policies on issues such as the economy, law and order, family values, and the environment, have polarised the country. Whoever wins will lead a country with deep divisions. So this week on The Inquiry we are asking: How can Brazil’s next president unite the country?Presented by David Baker Produced by Annabel Deas and Louise Clarke-Rowbotham Researched by Chris Blake Mixed by Nicky Edwards The editor is Tara McDermott and the production co-ordinator is Jacqui Johnson(Image: Towels with images of presidential candidates Lula da Silva and Jair Bolsonaro are displayed in a street stand to be sold in downtown Sao Paulo: Alexandre Schneider/Getty Images)

August 2022. Political tensions in Iraq boil over, and peaceful demonstrations outside the country’s parliament turn violent. The sounds of gun and rocket fire return to Baghdad, and 30 people are killed. The violence ends when populist leader Muqtada al-Sadr tells his followers to lay down their arms and go home. His Sadrist party won the most seats in the previous election, but his inability to form a majority government has led to the political deadlock. Politics in a country as diverse as Iraq is complicated, with Shia, Sunni and Kurdish groups, and well-armed militias. Add oil revenues and political interference by Iraq’s neighbour Iran into the mix, and you have a potentially volatile situation. So this week on the Inquiry we’re asking, How close did Iraq come to civil war?Presenter: Tanya Beckett Producers: Ravi Naik and Christopher Blake Editor: Tara McDermott Technical Producers: Richard Hannaford and Mitch Goodall Broadcast Coordinator: Jacqui Johnson(Image: Supporters storm Republican Palace after Iraqi Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr announced retirement from politics, Baghdad, Iraq - 29 Aug 2022: by MURTAJA LATEEF/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock)

Relations between France and Mali have hit a low point, with both countries trading hostile comments in public about what the other is doing. Mali’s military rulers accuse France of supplying arms to anti-government militants. Paris denies this and is unhappy about Mali’s working relationship with Russian mercenaries. Things are so bad that President Emmanuel Macron announces the withdrawal of French troops. They were sent in 9 years ago to help fight Islamist militants, who still pose a threat across the region. On this week’s inquiry, we look at why the French have departed, and what this means for Mali. Presenter: Charmaine Cozier Producer: Louise Clarke-Rowbotham Researcher: Christopher Blake Editor: Tara McDermott Technical Producer: Richard Hannaford Broadcast co-ordinator: Jacqui Johnson(Photo: Thomas Coex/AFP/Getty Images)