On June the 12th of last year the 27 health ministers of the European union signed off on a plan to buy vaccines on behalf of all the EU’s member countries. The aim was to secure enough doses to immunise all of its 450 million citizens. But the delivery and vaccination programme has lagged far behind countries like the UK and US. Tanya Beckett finds out why. (Waiting to be vaccinated at Santa Maria Hospital in Lisbon, Portugal. Photo: Patricia de Melo Moreiro /Getty Images)
Feb 11, 2021•23 min•Transcript available on Metacast With President Trump no longer in office and a clampdown by social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter, what is the future for the QAnon conspiracy theory? It’s had a considerable following from the Republican rank and file who supported Donald Trump but was strongly associated with the attack on Capitol Hill. Now Republican party leaders have warned QAnon is dangerous. But will ordinary Americans turn their backs on it? With Tanya Beckett. (A pro-Trump mob confronts U.S. Capitol police ou...
Feb 04, 2021•24 min•Transcript available on Metacast Donald Trump has moved out of the White House, he’s been banned from Twitter and suspended from Snapchat, Facebook and YouTube. Parler, a twitter alternative for conservatives, went offline after Amazon stopped hosting it. Amazon say this is because they found dozens of posts on the service which encouraged violence. All of this has raised questions about the power of tech companies and who should decide who’s voice is heard on social media. So this week Charmaine Cozier asks, has big tech gone ...
Jan 28, 2021•23 min•Transcript available on Metacast It has been called the world’s biggest protest. In November 2020, thousands of farmers marched to New Delhi to protest against new laws that the Indian government says will modernise farming. The farmers set up camp in and around the capital, blocking major highways. Over 50 days later they are still there, in spite of freezing temperatures. Even after the Supreme Court stayed the laws until further notice, the farmers say they aren’t budging until they are repealed completely. They say these re...
Jan 21, 2021•23 min•Transcript available on Metacast With countries shutting their doors to foreign recyclable waste and a lack of processing capacity back home, is the recycling system broken? China used to accept 55% of the world’s plastic and paper waste. But it closed its doors in 2018. Initially other countries in South East Asia, like Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam took over China’s waste processing role. But they too are now sending much of the waste back, arguing it is contaminated and is harming their own environments. This has...
Jan 07, 2021•23 min•Transcript available on Metacast There’s a problem in education – and it’s probably not what you expect. Around the world, from schools to universities, boys are trailing girls in their academic performance. It’s a complex problem which has divided expert opinion and leads us to complex questions of genetics and social conditioning. David Grossman examines what’s going on and how to fix it.
Dec 31, 2020•23 min•Transcript available on Metacast The idea of a breakaway football league for Europe’s elite clubs has been discussed for decades. It hasn’t happened yet, but could that be about to change? Industry experts say officials from the continent’s biggest and most successful teams are meeting behind-closed-doors to discuss the proposition. So we’re asking - has the time come for a European Super League?
Dec 17, 2020•23 min•Transcript available on Metacast The French brand of secularism - laïcité - is central to the country’s national identity. It requires that public spaces – whether state classrooms, workplaces or ministries - be free of religion. But the way the French government is applying the concept has come under fresh criticism. Many French Muslims claiming this cornerstone of French identity is now being used as a weapon against them. This week, Tanya Beckett asks has French secularism gone too far? A boy holds a sign asking 'Liberty, fr...
Dec 10, 2020•24 min•Transcript available on Metacast In Ethiopia, a political battle has sparked a bloody conflict. Federal Forces have engaged in combat with the Tigray People’s Liberation Front - or TPLF. Hundreds have reportedly been killed and tens of thousands displaced. Just last year, Abiy Ahmed, the Ethiopian Prime Minister, won a Nobel Prize for his part in brokering peace with neighbouring Eritrea. So, Charmaine Cozier asks why Ethiopia’s Nobel Peace Prize winner is bombing his own country?
Dec 03, 2020•23 min•Transcript available on Metacast Test results from coronavirus vaccines are fast emerging, fuelling hopes that the end of the pandemic is in sight. But are countries ready to share the vaccine fairly? Global efforts to coordinate are already gaining ground - but some are concerned the battle for who gets what will mean some lower income countries could get left behind.
Nov 26, 2020•23 min•Transcript available on Metacast For nearly two weeks last month, angry young Nigerians took to the streets in their tens of thousands, blocking major roads in cities across Africa's most populous nation. What began as a protest against the hated police Special Anti-Robbery Squad, or SARS, soon became a conduit for a wider anger with the people who have been in charge of Nigeria for decades. in this week's Inquiry, Kavita Puri asks: will the EndSARS movement change Nigeria?
Nov 12, 2020•23 min•Transcript available on Metacast Pro-democracy protests have happened before in Thailand, but there’s something new about the latest one - the king is being publicly criticised. It’s a serious criminal offence to do that. This week, Charmaine Cozier asks why people are protesting against the Thai monarchy.
Nov 05, 2020•23 min•Transcript available on Metacast National polls ahead of the US presidential election suggest a clear win for challenger Joe Biden. But could they be getting it wrong as they did four years ago? In 2016, Hillary Clinton won the popular vote, but - because of the US electoral system - lost the election. Could history repeat itself? In this week’s Inquiry, Tanya Beckett asks: can President Trump still win?
Oct 29, 2020•23 min•Transcript available on Metacast When he was elected, President Trump promised to put ‘America First’, but how has he governed? Charmaine Cozier looks at trade, diplomacy, defence and the environment to examine the results of four years of a very different approach to international affairs. (Image: Donald Trump at public address, Credit: Getty Images)
Oct 23, 2020•23 min•Transcript available on Metacast As new students start at universities in many countries around the world, governments are grappling with how to contain a second wave of Coronavirus. Already many universities have put lectures online and students are being told to stay in their rooms. But is this fair? Covid-19 is a deadly virus but not so much for the young. Can or should we keep the world locked down until there’s a vaccine or cure? Or, Tanya Beckett asks: should we learn to live with Covid? (Students wait to start their entr...
Oct 15, 2020•25 min•Transcript available on Metacast In 2018, the electric car maker, Tesla, was struggling to get the Model 3 electric vehicle off the production line. Its CEO, tech entrepreneur Elon Musk, was working up to 22 hours a day on the factory floor, trying to solve a host of problems on the car he’d bet the company on. It was close to running out of money. Two years later, the company’s doing better. It says it will grow 30-40% this year. No surprise then that Tesla’s share price has gone up. But the amount may surprise you – up eight ...
Oct 08, 2020•23 min•Transcript available on Metacast In July, billionaire musician Kanye West announces on Twitter that he’s standing as a candidate in November’s US presidential election. After a scramble to meet the registration deadlines, his name is on the ballot in fewer than 20 states. His manifesto is confusing, his motive unclear. In the past, Kanye West has been a vocal supporter of president Donald Trump. And it seems his campaign is being run largely by those with close ties to the Republican party. The Democrats say his entry in the ra...
Oct 01, 2020•24 min•Transcript available on Metacast On the 29th September the two US presidential candidates Donald Trump and Joe Biden will take part in the first of three 90-minute live televised debates ahead of the presidential election in November. Tanya Beckett asks can the debates affect the outcome of the election? (Composite image of Joe Biden (Credit: Jonathan Ernst/Reuters) and Donald Trump (Credit: John G Mabanglo/EPA)
Sep 24, 2020•24 min•Transcript available on Metacast Online fraud takes many forms, from deceptive e-mails and websites which trick us into paying money to the wrong bank account, to romance scams and malicious software copying our bank and credit card details. It's regarded by criminals as a highly lucrative and relatively low risk crime, so why is it so easy for fraudsters to manipulate our personal data and steal our money, what can be done to end online fraud? Charmaine Cozier talks to some of those trying to disrupt the scammers and protect t...
Sep 17, 2020•24 min•Transcript available on Metacast President Trump says opening up November’s election to more postal voting will make it more vulnerable to fraud and election interference. Many more Americans are expected to avoid going in person to polling stations because of the coronavirus pandemic and will rely on postal voting to ensure their voices are heard. Tanya Beckett examines President Trump’s claims and how the US postal service will cope with millions of ballots. Producer: Sharon Hemans and Diane Richardson (A voter drops off a ma...
Sep 10, 2020•23 min•Transcript available on Metacast A maverick American general, a call to the Russian ambassador and allegations of spying on Donald Trump’s incoming administration. But what exactly is “Obamagate” and what impact might it have on this year’s US presidential election? With Tanya Beckett.
Sep 03, 2020•23 min•Transcript available on Metacast The massive explosion that tore through Beirut on August 4th left more than 200 people dead, 6,000 injured, and as many as 300,000 homeless. The explosion was caused by a fire that ignited 2,750 tons of ammonium nitrate stored at the port. When the blast hit, Lebanon was already in the middle of an unprecedented economic and political crisis that has triggered hyperinflation, poverty, and hunger. Many Lebanese feel that the blast was not the cause of catastrophe in Lebanon, but the result of it....
Aug 27, 2020•24 min•Transcript available on Metacast Researchers around the world are racing to develop a vaccine against Covid-19, with more than 170 candidate vaccines now in development. Most vaccines take years of testing and additional time to produce at scale, but scientists are hoping to develop a coronavirus vaccine at record speed. Several potential vaccines are now in the final phase of testing but it could still be months before we discover if they are safe and can effectively prevent people from being infected. If a vaccine can be foun...
Aug 20, 2020•24 min•Transcript available on Metacast US lawmakers are deciding whether to act against the country’s powerful tech giants. Some believe the likes of Facebook, Amazon, Google and Apple are stifling competition. The companies have made huge profits during the Covid crisis and critics believe they will use this cash to buy competitors. With Charmaine Cozier. Clockwise from top left: Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, Google CEO Sundar Pichai, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, Apple CEO Tim Cook. Getty Images
Aug 13, 2020•24 min•Transcript available on Metacast Winter is coming in the northern hemisphere and traditionally it is time for colds and flu. This has raised fears that coronavirus will surge when the seasons change, possibly leading to a second wave of the disease that is even bigger than the first. However, predicting what a Covid winter will look like is complex and uncertainty reigns - there are reasons both to be worried and to be reassured. Contributors: . Micaela Martinez, an Assistant Professor in the Department of Environmental Health ...
Aug 06, 2020•24 min•Transcript available on Metacast With an estimated million Uighurs in detention camps, China has used a variety of means to successfully stifle world criticism. They include its economic muscle, political alliances with like-minded countries and sanitized tours of the facilities for opinion formers. With Charmaine Cozier. (Uighur prisoners shackled and blindfolded in Xinjiang, China. Still from anonymous drone footage.)
Jul 30, 2020•24 min•Transcript available on Metacast The presidential opposition candidate Joe Biden has barely emerged from his home since America’s lockdown at the end of March. But polls suggest that the low-key strategy is working in his favour – as his rival President Donald Trump comes under increasing pressure over his handling of the coronavirus and a resurgence of racial tension. With four months to go until the election, is staying in the basement Joe Biden’s best option? What are the risks if he does? And how could Donald Trump turn thi...
Jul 23, 2020•23 min•Transcript available on Metacast The recent border clash between China and India is seen as a watershed moment in the two nuclear nations’ relationship. How will its repercussions affect Asia, and the rest of the world? Contributors: . Chris Dougherty - a senior fellow with the Defence Programme at the Centre for New American Securities. . Ananth Krishnan – a correspondent for the Hindu newspaper. And the author of “India’s China Challenge” . Tanvi Madan – a senior fellow in the Foreign Policy programme at the Brookings Institu...
Jul 16, 2020•24 min•Transcript available on Metacast Why are Covid cases dramatically increasing in some U.S. states, where rates had been low? The number of new coronavirus infections in a single day has passed fifty five thousand. Is it because of more testing, or is something else going on? (Demonstrators outside the State Capitol in Auston.Texas protesting against Coronavirus restrictions. Credit: Gary Miller/Getty Images)
Jul 09, 2020•23 min•Transcript available on Metacast President Vladimir Putin has been in power for 20 years. The Russian people have been voting on a change to the constitution that could keep him in the Kremlin until 2036. While world leaders and opponents struggle to second guess him, some objectives appear to be clear: stability at home, respect abroad and power maintained for his inner circle. Presented by Charmaine Cozier (President Vladimir Putin at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, February 2020. Credit: Mikhail Svetlov/Getty Images)...
Jul 02, 2020•24 min•Transcript available on Metacast 
