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BBC World Service

The Inquiry gets beyond the headlines to explore the trends, forces and ideas shaping the world.

The Inquiry

In February, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk posted a social media video celebrating new figures from the International Monetary Fund suggesting that the average person in Poland now has slightly more spending power than the average person in Spain, the European Union’s fourth largest economy. 

It’s a symbolic milestone for a country that emerged from communism just over three decades ago and once struggled with hyperinflation and economic upheaval. In 2025, Poland’s economy also passed the trillion-dollar mark, putting it in an elite group of just 20 countries globally.

Investment from across the EU has helped drive growth. But can Poland keep its edge as labour shortages grow and the war in neighbouring Ukraine continues to shape the region? 

This week on The Inquiry, Tanya Beckett asks: Why is Poland’s economy booming?

Contributors:
Dr Pawel Bukowski, lecturer in economics at University College London and Polish Academy of Sciences, UK
Iga Magda, associate professor at the Warsaw School of Economics, Poland
Katarzyna Rzentarzewska, chief CEE macro economist at Erste Group Bank AG, Austria 
Rafal Benecki, chief economist at ING, Poland

Presenter: Tanya Beckett
Producer: Matt Toulson
Researcher: Evie Yabsley
Editor: Tom Bigwood
Technical Producer: Cameron Ward
Production Management: Phoebe Lomas and Liam Morrey

(Photo: A high street in Warsaw. Credit: NurPhoto/Getty Images)

Why is Poland’s economy booming?

Half a million people are in Spain without official permission. 

They come mainly from Colombia, Peru, Honduras, Paraguay, and Argentina. It’s thought that most outstay their work, student, or tourist visas. 

An amnesty to grant them legal status to remain and work is due to start within weeks.

It's a very different approach from most other countries in Europe that have been tightening controls on migration.

The prime minister has admitted “Some say we've gone too far, that we're going against the current”.

Opposition parties argue that this policy puts pressure on public services.

This week on The Inquiry, we’re asking: “How will Spain’s migrant amnesty work?”

Contributors:
Ismael Gálvez Iniesta, assistant professor, department of applied economics, Universitat de les Illes Balears, Spain
Donna Cabrera, independent researcher, international migration lecturer, Pontificia Universidad Javeriana, Colombia
Alana Moceri, international relations professor, IE University, Spain
Joan Monràs, economics professor, Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Spain

Presenter: Charmaine Cozier
Producer: Daniel Rosney
Researcher: Evie Yabsley
Editor: Tom Bigwood
Technical Producer: James Bradshaw
Production Management: Phoebe Lomas and Liam Morrey

(Photo: Pedro Sánchez the Prime Minister of Spain. Credit: NurPhoto / Getty Images)

How will Spain’s migrant amnesty work?

Control of critical minerals is becoming a source of geopolitical tension. They are essential to modern technology and industries around the world, and China currently dominates the mining and processing industry.

As demand grows, governments in the United States and elsewhere are looking at ways to reduce their reliance on Chinese supply chains. That means investing in new mines and processing facilities even though they are expensive and environmentally toxic. 

Ultimately, the US and EU have a goal of diversifying the control of these lucrative elements. 

This week on The Inquiry, Tanya Beckett explores whether the rest of the world can catch up with China in the race for rare earths.

Contributors:
Julie Michelle Klinger, Associate Professor of Environmental Studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, US
Sophia Kalanzakos, global distinguished professor of environmental studies and public policy in the Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayan scholars programme at NYU Abu Dhabi, UAE
Kalim Siddiqui, international economist, UK
Dr Patrick Schröder, senior research fellow in the Environment and Society Centre at Chatham House, UK

Presenter: Tanya Beckett
Producer: Matt Toulson
Researcher: Evie Yabsley 
Editor: Tom Bigwood
Technical Producer: Richard Hannaford 
Production Management: Phoebe Lomas and Liam Morrey

(Photo: Trucks transporting minded materials. Credit: Las Vegas Review-Journal/Getty Images)

Can the world catch China in the rare earths race?

The 2026 men’s football World Cup will be the biggest ever staged. For the first time, 48 teams will compete, playing more than 100 matches across North America.

But the expanded scale comes at a cost. Ticket prices are far higher than at the last World Cup in Qatar. With matches also spread across the US, Mexico and Canada, attending the tournament is becoming unaffordable for many global fans.

FIFA says higher revenues will be reinvested to grow the game worldwide and has released some lower-priced tickets for dedicated supporters, but some fan groups say this isn’t going far enough. 

This week on The Inquiry, we’re asking: Is the 2026 World Cup an own goal?

Contributors:
Dr Christina Philippou, associate professor in sport finance at the University of Portsmouth, UK
Dr Victor Matheson, professor of economics at the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Massachusetts, US
Dr Johan Rewilak, associate professor of sport management at Loughborough University, UK
Miguel Delaney, chief football writer, The Independent newspaper in the UK

Presenter: Tanya Beckett
Producer: Matt Toulson
Researcher: Evie Yabsley
Editor: Tom Bigwood
Technical Producer: Cameron Ward
Production Management: Phoebe Lomas and Liam Morrey

(Photo: FIFA World Cup Trophy is displayed during the FIFA World Cup 2026. Credit: Pool/Getty Images)

Is the 2026 World Cup an own goal?

Chennai, São Paulo, Mexico City, Tehran, Cape Town - these cities have all faced the threat of a ‘Zero Day’, or, having no fresh water left in their taps. 

The UN says we’re entering a ‘water bankruptcy’ era, meaning our water ‘current accounts’ are running empty, while our ‘savings accounts’ - the long term stores of water deep underground - have been depleted, with some beyond repair. 

So how did we get here?

From clearing forests for cattle grazing, to thirsty AI data centres, Rajan Datar examines the pressures on our global water supply and looks for solutions.

Contributors:
Jayshree Vencatesan, Co-founder, Care Earth Trust, India
Augusto Getirana, research scientist at NASA's Hydrological Sciences Laboratory, USA
Prof Bridget Scanlon, Bureau of Economic Geology, University of Texas, USA 
Dr Jie-Sheng Tan Soo, Director, Institute for Environment and Sustainability, National University of Singapore

Presenter: Rajan Datar
Producer: Phoebe Keane
Researcher: Evie Yabsley
Editor: Richard Fenton-Smith
Technical Producer: Cameron Ward
Production Management Assistant: Liam Morrey

(Photo: Indian women with empty plastic pots protest as they demand drinking water. Credit: Arun Sankar/Getty Images)

Why are our taps running dry?

Bangladesh will hold a national election in February, after years of political turmoil and the ousting of long-time leader Sheikh Hasina. Her rule of more than a decade delivered strong economic growth but was also accompanied by tighter political control and repeated confrontations with protesters.

Sheikh Hasina’s party, the Awami League, has been banned. This has brought renewed focus on the Bangladesh Nationalist Party’s leader Tarique Rahman, who is the son of former prime minister Khaleda Zia, as well as several emerging challengers.

Following years of unrest, the vote is seen as a test of whether Bangladesh can move towards political stability.

This week on The Inquiry, we’re asking: What does the national election mean for the future of Bangladesh?

Contributors:
Shaheen Mamun, Executive Director of the Jargoron Foundation, London, UK
Zia Chowdhury, journalist, Dhaka, Bangladesh 
Rounaq Jahan, Distinguished Fellow at the Centre for Policy Dialogue, Dhaka, Bangladesh 
Constantino Xavier, Senior Fellow at the Centre for Social and Economic Progress, New Delhi, India 

Presenter: Tanya Beckett
Producer: Matt Toulson
Researcher: Evie Yabsley 
Editor: Tom Bigwood
Technical Producer: Cameron Ward
Production Management Assistant: Liam Morrey

This programme has been updated since the original broadcast.

(Photo: A woman casting her ballot during the 2024 national election in Bangladesh. Credit: Ahmed Salahuddin/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

What does the national election mean for the future of Bangladesh?

Boosting, swiping or the five finger discount - many countries around the world are seeing a rise in retail theft. 

From Japan to the UK, the USA to Germany, retailers are struggling to tackle shoplifting - but the factors fueling this trend are as varied as the people carrying out these crimes. Poverty, opportunism, thrill-seeking - and technology - are some of the factors experts say are to blame. 
 
But a more costly problem is the rise in organised crime, as gangs of thieves strategically target shops and steal to order, turn to online marketplaces to anonymously sell on stolen goods for big profits.

Charmaine Cozier reveals how the justice system and surveillance technology are being used to combat this rising crime wave, as The Inquiry asks what’s behind the rise in shoplifting?

Contributors: 
Dr Nicole Bögelein, sociologist at the University of Cologne, Germany
Assistant Chief Constable Alex Goss, national lead for retail crime at the UK National Police Chiefs Council 
Tony Sheppard. Vice President of Retail Risk Solutions at Think LP, USA
Khris Hamlin, Retail Industry Leaders Association in the USA

Presenter: Charmaine Cozier
Producer: Phoebe Keane
Researcher: Evie Yabsley
Editor: Richard Fenton-Smith
Technical Producer: Cameron Ward
Production Management Assistant: Liam Morrey

(Photo: A warning sign in Canada. Credit: NurPhoto/Getty Images)

What's behind the rise in shoplifting?

Iran has been shaken by protests on a scale not seen since its 1979 revolution. 

Demonstrations that began in the country’s capital over the state of the economy have spread to multiple cities, with wider calls for political change.

The government has called the demonstrations "riots" backed by the nation’s enemies.

Thousands have been killed.

For some, the scenes bring back memories of the uprising that toppled the monarchy more than four decades ago. 

Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi, the exiled son of Iran’s last monarch, has emerged as a figure that could challenge the existing order.

This week on The Inquiry, we’re asking ‘Is history repeating itself in Iran?’

Contributors:
Naghmeh Sohrabi, modern Middle East historian, director for research at the Crown Center for Middle East Studies at Brandeis University, United States
Azadeh Kian, author of ‘Rethinking Gender, Ethnicity and Religion in Iran’, emerita professor of sociology and gender studies at the University of Paris Cité, France
Sara Bazoobandi, non-resident research fellow at the Institute for Security Policy of Kiel University, Germany
Siavash Ardalan, BBC Persia senior reporter, United Kingdom

Presenter: Daniel Rosney
Producer: Megan Lawton
Technical producer: James Bradshaw
Editor: Tom Bigwood
Production Management: Phoebe Lomas and Liam Morrey

(Photo: Car on fire on a street in Iran. Credit: WANA/Reuters/BBC Images)

Is history repeating itself in Iran?

In February 2026, the last remaining nuclear arms control treaty bilateral between Russia and the United States is set to expire. The aim of the New START agreement was to reduce and limit the number of strategic nuclear warheads, but once this treaty comes to an end it means there will no longer be rules on the cap of these nuclear weapons. The legal provisions in the treaty for a one-time five-year extension, were used in 2021. 

The multilateral Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) is still in place, to which 190 countries are signatories. The general idea behind the NPT was for nuclear countries to reduce their stockpiles of nuclear weapons, with the goal of complete disarmament. Whilst those countries without nuclear weapons would commit to not pursuing them. In 1995 the members agreed to extend the treaty indefinitely, but it is not without its challenges. Four nuclear powers sit outside the NPT and there are rifts between the non-nuclear and nuclear states. 

So, on The Inquiry this week we’re asking, ‘Is nuclear disarmament set to self-destruct?’

Contributors: 
Hermann Wentker, Professor of Modern History, University of Potsdam and Head of Berlin Research Department, The Leibniz Institute for Contemporary History, Germany
Alexandra Bell, President and CEO, Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, USA 
Mike Albertson, arms-control expert, former negotiator on New START arms reduction treaty, USA 
Nathalie Tocci, Professor of Practice, Johns Hopkins SAIS (School of Advanced International Studies), Italy

Presenter: Charmaine Cozier
Producer: Jill Collins
Researcher: Evie Yabsley
Production Management Assistant: Liam Morrey
Technical Producer: Richard Hannaford
Editor: Tom Bigwood

(Photo: Deck of the nuclear submarine Saphir. Credit: Alexis Rosenfeld/Getty Images)

Is nuclear disarmament set to self-destruct?

Kenya is facing rising public discontent over allegations of political corruption, economic stagnation and a shortage of good quality jobs, particularly for the country’s Gen Z. 

One of the government’s flagship responses is an ambitious push into digital outsourcing. It argues that call centres, coding work and other IT-enabled services can position the country as a global hub and generate a million new jobs within five years.

The model has worked before in countries such as India and the Philippines, but the global landscape is shifting. Advances in artificial intelligence are already transforming the very roles Kenya hopes to attract, raising questions about whether this strategy can deliver long-term employment at scale.

Tanya Beckett asks whether Kenya’s vision for digital outsourcing can provide stability and opportunity for the country.

This week on The Inquiry, we’re asking: Can Kenya answer the call for employment?

Contributors
Joy Kiiru, senior lecturer at the Department of Economics and Development Studies at the University of Nairobi, Kenya

Marcus Larsen, professor at the Copenhagen Business School, Copenhagen, Denmark

Deepa Mani, faculty member and deputy Dean for academic programmes at the Indian School of Business, Hyderabad, India 

Boaz Munga, research consultant at the Kenya Institute for Public Policy Research and Analysis, Nairobi, Kenya 

Presenter: Tanya Beckett
Producer: Matt Toulson
Researcher: Evie Yabsley
Editor: Tom Bigwood
Technical Producer: Craig Boardman
Production Management Assistant: Liam Morrey

(Photo: President of Kenya William Ruto. Credit: Luis Tato/Getty Images)

Can the world catch China in the rare earths race?

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