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The Inquiry

Latest episodes

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Sep 7, 2017 • 24min

What Can We Do With Our Dead?

Cemeteries around the world are fast running out of space. As more and more people choose to live in cities, some can't even cope with the ashes left after cremation. Deep questions about our communities, cultures and mortality emerge as The Inquiry asks: what can we do with our dead?The programme script says that "only the very wealthiest can afford to rest in the ground in Hong Kong and Singapore". This is true for Hong Kong but Singapore's National Environment Agency has been in touch to say that you do not have to be wealthy to be buried in the government run cemetery.(image: A crowded cemetery in Hong Kong. Photo credit: Dale De La Rey/Getty Images.)
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Aug 31, 2017 • 23min

How Has The Ku Klux Klan Lasted So Long?

North America’s most notorious racist group, the Ku Klux Klan fought the end of slavery in the 19th century, opposed civil rights in the 20th century and now forms part of a new extreme-right wing movement protesting openly, on America’s streets. Presented by James Fletcher and produced by Kate Lamble, The Inquiry asks four expert witnesses to answer this pressing question; how has the KKK managed to last so long? The answer can be found by looking at the origins of the KKK and the power of the white supremacist idea which became infamous for its’ distinctive costumes and deadly violence.The American concept of freedom of speech has also helped give the KKK longevity. The views of the groups’ members are not shut down by the authorities. Rather, the KKK is allowed to speak and operate openly, within certain limits of the law. The hope is that counter protest and dialogue will expose the hatred and bigotry of its members.Through hearing the views of one reformed racist, we learn how the group have been opportunistic in recruiting members. These include troubled young men, looking for family, security and meaning to their lives.Finally, modern day technology has helped to spread the KKK’s message throughout the world via the internet. The group has been managed to mobilise and has recently, become emboldened by the election of President Donald Trump.(Photo: Torchlight Parade by the Ku Klux Klan, October 1951. Photo credit: Keystone/Getty Images)
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Aug 24, 2017 • 25min

Are Video Games a Waste of Time?

Video games are a huge industry, bigger than Hollywood, and billions of people around the world play them for fun. But new economic research in the US suggests that young men are dropping out of work to play games more. This is both because some jobs are becoming harder to find and less rewarding, and because video games are becoming more and more attractive. The gamers say they are happy, but the research has sharpened long-standing concerns about video games. Will there be a 'lost generation' of young men sitting in their parents' basements, frittering their lives away on mindless games, with disastrous long-term effects for them and the economy? Are video games a waste of time?(Photo: A visitor plays on a computer while visiting the Gamescom 2017 video gaming trade fair in Cologne, Germany. Credit: Lukas Schulze/Getty Images)
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Aug 17, 2017 • 24min

How Do You Fix Someone Else's Election?

Smears, bots and bags of cash - we reveal some of the tricks used for fiddling elections around the world. German Chancellor Angela Merkel's security chiefs say Russian intelligence is actively trying to influence next month's German elections. Meanwhile, from the US to the Netherlands, countries are becoming increasingly wary of election interference. So how do you fix someone else’s election? Hear answers from people who've studied it and even been involved.Presenter: Neal Razzell Producers: Phoebe Keane, Emily Craig Editor: Emma Rippon(Photo: Voters go to the polls in the contentious presidential election between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump in Las Vegas, Nevada Credit: Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
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Aug 10, 2017 • 23min

Are South Africa's Police Failing?

A story of crime and often no punishment. South Africa's notoriously violent record has been getting worse. The number of murders and violent crimes is rising as public confidence in the police falls. Officers themselves have been linked to a series of high-profile cases, including spectacular heists at the country's main international airport. South Africa's police minister has called for "a firmer, disciplined force". So, are South Africa's police failing?(image: A riot police officer gets ready to fire a stun grenade into a crowd during clashes in Johannesburg May 8, 2017. Credit: Gulshan Khan/ Getty Images)
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Aug 3, 2017 • 24min

Who Gets to Have Their Own Country?

You might think simple rules decide the creation of nation states. You'd be wrong.There are plenty of people out there who want their own state - like in Iraqi Kurdistan and Catalonia, which both have independence referendums coming up. Yet the national governments in Baghdad and Madrid say the votes - whatever their outcome - won't result in new countries. So how do you start a new country? Making sense of an atlas dotted with exceptions, special cases and lands in limbo, we ask: who gets to have their own country?(Photo: Young boy holds a pro-Independence Catalan flag (Senyera) during Catalonia National Day. Credit: Quique Garcia/Getty Images)
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Jul 27, 2017 • 23min

What would war with North Korea look like?

Alarm about North Korea has spiked. Earlier this month, the North claimed to have successfully test-launched an intercontinental ballistic missile that could hit Alaska. Some experts estimate that North Korea is now 18 to 36 months away from launching a missile able to reach Los Angeles. President Trump has warned that a "major, major conflict" with North Korea is possible. His closest advisers have said that "the era of strategic patience is over".So, in this week's Inquiry, we take a look at the two sides' war plans and ask: what would war with North Korea look like? Producer: Sarah Shebbeare Presenter: Neal Razzell(image: A combined fire demonstration of the North Korean People's Army celebrating their 85th anniversary on 26 April 2017. Credit: STR/AFP/Getty Images)
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Jul 20, 2017 • 24min

Is it Time to Ban the Plastic Bottle?

Every single second, 20,000 single-use drinking bottles are sold around the world. That is more than a million pieces of non-biodegradable rubbish produced every minute. And as demand grows in developing economies, so will the mountains of waste, with much of it ending up in the ocean. We learn how the invention of the plastic bottle spawned an industry that has quickly got us hooked. We hear the consequences of our addiction from the man who has dedicated his life to The Great Pacific Garbage Patch. And, with one estimate that by 2050 there will be more plastic in our oceans than fish, we ask if we now need a radical solution. Is it time to ban the plastic bottle?Presenter: James Fletcher Producers: Simon Maybin and Sarah Shebbeare(Photo: A bottle of water sits on the floor inside a recycling facility. Credit: Getty Images)
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Jul 13, 2017 • 23min

Is Gene Editing Out of Control?

"This structure has novel features, which are of considerable biological interest." It was perhaps the greatest understatement of all time - the announcement more than six decades ago of the discovery of the shape of a single human DNA. The double-helix structure is now one of the world's most recognisable icons. Knowledge of it has transformed the fight against everything from disease to crime.That revolution was brought to us by an elite. It took the world's most eminent scientists, backed by the treasuries of the United States, the United Kingdom and private markets to go from the discovery of that one gene, in 1953, to map the more than 22,000 genes that make up a human being in 2000. Mapping the genome, as it was known, was likened to "learning the language in which God created life."Genetic research has since become democratised. Incredible new technologies now allow labs all over the world to not only learn the language of creation, but to write it...and edit it. Do-it-yourself gene editing kits are available online for less than $100. Gene editing offers breathtaking promise - eliminating disability and disease. But the rapid spread of this powerful technology is leading some who've been at the forefront of the research to warn against unintended consequences, and question whether the rush for miracle cures could bring hellish side-effects.So this week, The Inquiry asks, Is Gene Editing Out of Control?(Photo: CRISPR CAS 9 Clustered regularly inter spaced short palindromic repeats. segments of prokaryotic DNA containing short repetitions of base sequences. gene editing, genome editing. Credit: Shutterstock)
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Jul 6, 2017 • 23min

What's So Special About Qatar?

The tiny state behind a global diplomatic feud.Qatar's landmass is so small it could fit into the UK 20 times over. Its citizen population is just a few hundred thousand. Yet this desert country finds itself at the centre of a geopolitical dispute, with its powerful neighbour Saudi Arabia leading a blockade against it and President Donald Trump firing off critical Tweets.So how did this bantam-weight state end up slogging it out with the world's heavyweights? In other words, what's so special about Qatar?Presenter: James Fletcher Producer: Simon Maybin and Sarah Shebbeare(image: Doha city skyline, with armoured vehicles, Qatar. Credit: Karim Jaafar/Getty images)

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