The jailing of former South African president Jacob Zuma sparked huge unrest in the country, but was there more behind the riots than the fact of his imprisonment? While some believe the riots were not only a reaction to Zumas jailing for contempt of court, but a planned attempt to bring the country to its knees, others say poverty and inequality also played its part. Paul Connolly examines the factors behind the riots and asks how the country can rebuild from disturbances that have left many de...
Aug 05, 2021•24 min•Transcript available on Metacast Haiti was the first Caribbean country to gain its independence after a successful revolt against slavery. But the country has been troubled ever since, suffering dictatorships, coups and natural disasters. Now its most recent president, Jovenel Moise, has been assassinated. His controversial rule was marred by the rise of gang violence, and protests against corruption and impunity. He upset people in the fields of politics and business too. And as he failed to hold elections, parliament is no lo...
Jul 29, 2021•24 min•Transcript available on Metacast Chinas decades-long One Child Policy has led to a low birth rate, and a shrinking workforce. It has also been placing a heavy burden on the younger generations who will have to support two parents and four grandparents. Its predicted that in five years time, a quarter of the population will be over 65. With a smaller workforce, the country risks becoming poorer. China tried to address the problem by allowing couples to have two children instead of one, but except for an initial uptick, the birth...
Jul 22, 2021•24 min•Transcript available on Metacast The recent discoveries of unmarked graves at the sites of so-called Indian Residential Schools has put Canadas treatment of its indigenous peoples back under the spotlight. For more than a century, tens of thousands of children were forced by the state into a religious school system that split families and brutalised the children in its care. Tanya Beckett looks at the history of the residential schools and asks why so many children died there. Producer: Rob Cave and Olivia Noon (former Kamloops...
Jul 15, 2021•23 min•Transcript available on Metacast The kidnapping of at least 140 schoolchildren in the north-west of Nigeria is the latest crime to shake a country already struggling to contain militants in the north and separatists in the south. Add to this young protesters on the streets amid rising food prices and crime and the security situation in the country starts to look even shakier. Charmaine Cozier examines the deeper reasons for Nigerias worsening instability and asks if Africas largest country is becoming impossible to govern. Prod...
Jul 08, 2021•24 min•Transcript available on Metacast Rich people are often able to pay little or no tax compared to their wealth because of the way the system works. In recent years, many have called for changes and reforms so that instead of income, wealth is also taxed. But, wealth taxes are not a new thing. Many argue that they are key for addressing inequality but some say they simply arent an effective way of gaining revenue. Charmaine Cozier asks can we make the super-rich pay more tax? Producer: Olivia Noon Researcher: Bethan Head (Activist...
Jul 01, 2021•24 min•Transcript available on Metacast In just under a months time Japans capital city Tokyo will host the 32nd Olympic Games. They were due to take place last year but were delayed because of the pandemic. But even 12 months later the Japanese public is far from enthused at the prospect of thousands of athletes and their entourages turning up just as the country is experiencing a fourth wave of the coronavirus. So, Tanya Beckett asks if Japan can pull off the greatest show on earth during a pandemic? Produced by Soila Apparicio and ...
Jun 24, 2021•24 min•Transcript available on Metacast For the last year discussions about the origins of Covid-19 have divided people all over the world. Some say it came from nature and others believe it could have escaped from a lab. The idea of a lab accident was originally dismissed as a conspiracy theory but its starting to gain attention all over again. Now President Biden has given the US intelligence service 90 days to try and investigate the virus's origins further. Many still believe the virus jumped to humans from animals but some say th...
Jun 17, 2021•24 min•Transcript available on Metacast Over his 26 years in power, Belaruss president Alexander Lukashenko has taken more and more control. He has detained protesters and tortured political opponents for years. He is emboldened by his last ally in Europe - Vladimir Putin. And his regime of terror is spilling over into the continent. But, Tanya Beckett asks if Europes last dictator can cling on to power for much longer. Produced by Soila Apparicio. (image: Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko at a meeting with Commonwealth of Ind...
Jun 10, 2021•24 min•Transcript available on Metacast In November 2021, Britain will host the next UN Climate Change Conference, otherwise known as COP 26. Some 200 countries will come together to try to speed up attempts to make the world carbon neutral by the middle of the century. But many countries are already struggling to ramp up renewable energy sufficiently to meet their greenhouse emission reduction targets. So is there another answer out there? Around a tenth of the world's electricity is generated by nuclear reactors. Global generation h...
Jun 03, 2021•24 min•Transcript available on Metacast In 2005 a photo of four-year-old Zo Roth standing in front of a burning house went viral on the internet. It became a meme known as disaster girl. In April 2021, the image sold for $473,000 as an NFT, or non-fungible token - thats sort of a digital record of ownership. And the sales keep coming. Another NFT recently sold for $69 million. The first ever Tweet went for a huge $2.9 million and a GIF of a pixelated rainbow cat sold for $690,000. But what is an NFT, and is it really the next big thin...
May 27, 2021•24 min•Transcript available on Metacast History and geography have conspired to give the city of Chicago an unenviable reputation for guns and gangs, but what will it take to bring the murder rate, which rose 55 per cent last year, down? Low conviction rates and an unwillingness on behalf of witnesses to give evidence play their part in the problem. But others think the time has come to treat murder like any other deadly disease that afflicts the poor. Charmaine Cozier examines the reasons for the citys stubbornly high murder rate and...
May 20, 2021•24 min•Transcript available on Metacast In the afternoon of Saturday 8th May in the Afghan capital of Kabul, just a few days before the end of Ramadan, students from the Syed Al-Shahda girls school were starting to leave for the day. Without any warning, a car bomb went off. Then a second explosion, followed by a third. The Afghan Government blamed the Taliban, the hardline Islamist movement that has fought a long civil war in Afghanistan. The Taliban, although they have previously targeted the education of girls, denied it and blamed...
May 13, 2021•24 min•Transcript available on Metacast It was on Good Friday, 2nd of April 2021, that rioting erupted in a corner of Northern Irelands vibrant capital Belfast. In days, violence spread. It was on a scale that hadnt been seen for years. With fears of a return to the troubled period of violence from Northern Irelands past, Tanya Beckett asks if the fragile peace is under threat. Produced by Beth Sagar-Fenton and Soila Apparicio. 'A previous version of this programme gave an incorrect title to Northern Irelands First Minister Arlene Fos...
May 07, 2021•23 min•Transcript available on Metacast Earlier this year, Indias ruling party was declaring victory in the fight against Covid-19. Some two months on, India set a global record for the highest number of cases recorded in a single country. Kavita Puri asks what went wrong. Image: A queue near a vaccination centre in Mumbai, 26 April 2021 (Credit: Divyakant Solanki/EPA)
Apr 29, 2021•24 min•Transcript available on Metacast Changes to the laws governing cannabis use are happening around the world. The number of States in the USA legalising cannabis is increasing rapidly. Uruguay and Canada have legalised it already, and Mexico may soon follow suit. Tanya Beckett looks at the different models of legalisation and at what might be holding the global cannabis industry back.
Apr 22, 2021•24 min•Transcript available on Metacast Since Islamic States hold on Iraq and Syria has weakened in recent years the group has sought to expand into new territories, including Africa. IS insurgents have reportedly killed thousands, including children, and displaced thousands more in Mozambique, Mali, and Somalia, among other territories across the continent. It is believed that IS franchises its brand to local militant groups, providing support, claiming responsibility for deadly attacks, all while spreading its influence in these new...
Apr 15, 2021•23 min•Transcript available on Metacast Peru has suffered one of the highest excess death levels in the world. The government failed to take account of the structure of society and the needs of its people in its response to the pandemic. A culture of corruption and political turmoil are persistent themes that have led to an underfunded health system and a lack of focus how Peruvian people would be able to cope during the dark months of a deadly pandemic. Instead vast numbers of casual workers lost their jobs and started to trek home, ...
Apr 08, 2021•23 min•Transcript available on Metacast Concussion is now a powder-keg issue in world sport, as concerns deepen about the potential links to brain disease. The long-term effects of careers spent making and taking heavy tackles are being revealed in ever-increasing detail, but the risks are not exclusive to so-called full contact sports. Some governing bodies have sprung into action, implementing new rules and safety measures. But others turn a blind eye. So, were asking how will the concussion issue affect the future of sport? Present...
Apr 01, 2021•24 min•Transcript available on Metacast Could humans ever trust machines with the power to make life or death decisions on the battlefield? And have we already begun to? Advances in artificial intelligence are slowly creeping into almost every aspect of the world, including warfare. Suzanne Kianpour explores the technology, fears and even potential advantages of developing autonomous weapons. Producers: Nathan Gower and Viv Jones (Mock-up of the IAI Harop Drone, a loitering munition. Credit: Aviation-images.com/Getty Images)...
Mar 25, 2021•23 min•Transcript available on Metacast After the government of Giuseppe Conte collapsed amid an economic and public health crisis, Mario Draghi has formed Italys 65th administration in 73 years. So what are the long-term causes of Italys political woes, and does Draghi stand any chance of solving them? Presenter: Tanya Beckett Producer: Nathan Gower (Giuseppe Conte and Mario Draghi during the traditional handover ceremony in Rome. Photo: Andrew Medichini / Getty Images)
Mar 18, 2021•23 min•Transcript available on Metacast Vivid and sometimes wild claims about the antifascist group Antifa have been circulating in America. Some say that the group participates in widespread violence, while others have argued that it is a small but justified part of their fight against fascism. Tanya Beckett takes a closer look at what is true and what is exaggeration. Producer: Nathan Gower (Members of Antifa protest at a far right Rally in Portland, Oregon USA. Credit: Diego Diaz/ Getty Images)
Mar 11, 2021•23 min•Transcript available on Metacast After surviving an assassination attempt, the opposition leader returned to Russia - and was immediately arrested and jailed. What does he have to gain by returning home, and can he still lead an effective campaign from prison? Charmaine Cozier asks what does President Putin have to fear in Alexei Navalny's rising popularity, and could his anti-corruption campaign make a difference at the Russian parliamentary elections in September? (Alexei Navalny at Moscow's Sheremetyevo airport upon arrival ...
Mar 04, 2021•23 min•Transcript available on Metacast As protests continue in Myanmar against the generals who staged a military coup, and with Aung San Su Kyi under house arrest and facing criminal charges, has the country lost all prospects for a democratic future? With Tanya Beckett. (A little girl shouts slogans with protestors waving flags of Myanmar, 22 February 2021. Credit: Peerapon Boonyakiat /Getty Images)
Feb 25, 2021•24 min•Transcript available on Metacast The world is entering a new space race but every new satellite launched into Earths orbit runs the risk of colliding with one of the millions of pieces of space junk left behind by previous missions. So how can we solve our space junk problem? Featuring former NASA astrophysicist, Don Kessler; Associate Professor of Aerospace Engineering at the University of Texas at Austin, Moriba Jah; space systems engineer, Richard Duke; and Victoria Samson of the Secure World Foundation Presenter: Charmaine ...
Feb 18, 2021•24 min•Transcript available on Metacast 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 EUs 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? Its 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 out...
Feb 04, 2021•24 min•Transcript available on Metacast Donald Trump has moved out of the White House, hes 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 whos voice is heard on social media. So this week Charmaine Cozier asks, has big tech gone to...
Jan 28, 2021•23 min•Transcript available on Metacast It has been called the worlds 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 arent budging until they are repealed completely. They say these refo...
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 worlds 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 Chinas 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 c...
Jan 07, 2021•23 min•Transcript available on Metacast 
