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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 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 Kenya answer the call for employment?

Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour shattered records, becoming the highest-grossing concert tour of all time, redefining what’s possible and confirming a new era in the business of touring. 

As streaming transformed how we listen to music, selling records is no longer the financial centrepiece it once was for artists. Instead, exclusivity has been transferred to the live experience. But staging shows on this scale requires enormous investment and complex production. At the same time, ticket scarcity fuels extraordinary demand and rising prices, which mean big ticket prices.

Tanya Beckett explores how technology, fandom and economics turn modern concert tours into multi-billion-dollar ventures.

This week on The Inquiry, we’re asking: How did music megatours become such a money spinner?

Contributors 

Kevin Kim, Head of Asia at music distribution company Route Note, Seoul, South Korea

Serona Elton, professor at the Frost School of Music at the University of Miami, United States

Adam Behr, Reader and Head of Music at Newcastle University, United Kingdom

Poppy Reid, music journalist and founder of Curious Media, Sydney, Australia

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

(Photo: Taylor Swift during The Eras Tour. Credit: Erika Goldring/TAS24/Getty Images)

How did music megatours become such a money spinner?

Christmas is a time of year when many families and friends come together for a period of joy, peace and goodwill. 

The story of the birth of Jesus Christ has been translated into thousands of languages over thousands of years.

And while you may hear it differently, the message is the same.

From carols to conversations, Christmas reminds us how united we can be. But there’s still one thing that sets us apart and prevents us from truly understanding one another - language.

Esperanto, created in the late 1800s, was the most ambitious direct attempt at creating a singular way of speaking. 

Its struggle to spread beyond a committed community shows us how deeply languages are tied to identity, power and history.

This week on The Inquiry we’re asking: Will there ever be a single global language?

Contributors:
Esther Schor, author Bridge of Words: Esperanto and the Dream of Universal Language, professor of English at Princeton University, United States 
Patrick Foote, author Immigrant Tongues: Exploring How Languages Moved, Evolved, and Defined Us, YouTuber, United Kingdom
Salikoko Mufwene, professor of linguistics at the University of Chicago, United States
Celeste Rodriguez-Louro, associate professor, chair of linguistics, director of language lab at the University of Western Australia

Presenter and Producer: Daniel Rosney
Researcher: Evie Yabsley
Production Management Assistant: Liam Morrey
Technical Producer: James Bradshaw
Editor: Tom Bigwood

(Photo: Earth. Credit: Planet Observer/Getty Images)

Will there ever be a single global language?

In November gunmen seized more than 300 pupils and a dozen teachers from a Catholic school in northern Nigeria. While authorities have rescued around 100 children, many remain missing. 

Kidnapping has become a recurring reality in many parts of the country, and in late 2025 President Bola Tinubu declared the crisis a national security emergency. He pledged to boost security in remote areas, but rights groups say the true scale of abductions is hidden by widespread underreporting. 

The sheer number of kidnappings has also drawn international attention. The United States President has spoken of sending troops to assist, and France’s President Emmanuel Macron has offered broader help to tackle insecurity.

This week on The Inquiry, we’re asking: How can Nigeria stop its kidnap crisis?

Contributors 

Dr Kachi Madreke, politics and international relations scholar, University of Aberdeen, UK

Dr Jumo Ayandele, clinical assistant professor at New York University’s Center for Global Affairs, US

James Barnett, non-resident research fellow at the Centre on Armed Groups

Dengiyefa Angalapu, research analyst at the Centre for Democracy and Development in Abuja, Nigeria

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

(Photo: Nigeria demonstration about student kidnapping. Credit: Kola Sulamon/Getty Images)

How can Nigeria stop its kidnap crisis?

Changing tastes, climatic conditions, health warnings, economic factors are all creating a perfect storm for the global wine industry. 
 
The origins of wine-making date back to around 9,000 years ago, when it was a drink mostly associated with elite society. Since then, it has had a long association with major occasions like weddings and funerals, as the beverage of choice. And it has been integral to different forms of worship and spirituality. Up until the 20th Century it was even considered a healthy tipple. 

But demand for wine has been steadily declining across the globe. In France, home to some of the world’s most famous brands, the government has now had to step in to support the producers and their vineyards. And there is increasing competition everywhere from both the beer and spirits industry, who are marketing more alcohol-free or low-alcohol options. Is it last orders for the wine industry? 

We speak to four key experts: Jane Anson, author, wine critic, Bordeaux, France; Roderick Phillips, author, professor of History, Carleton University, Ottawa, Canada; Stefano Castriota, author, professor of Economics, University of Pisa, Italy; Peter McAtamney, founder of Wine Business Solutions, New South Wales, Australia.

Presenter: Charmaine Cozier
Producer: Jill Collins
Researcher: Evie Yabsley
Production management assistant: Liam Morrey
Sound engineer: Mark Burrows
Editor: Tom Bigwood 

(Photo: A bunch of grapes. Credit: Gabriel Bouys/AFP)

Is it last orders for the wine industry?

On 10 December 2025, Australia will become the first country in the world to ban under-16s from using social media apps. Children will have their accounts deactivated on most platforms including TikTok, Instagram, Snapchat, X, and Facebook.

Critics say the ban could push children to unregulated platforms, but prime minister Anthony Albanese argues the new law is to safeguard vulnerable members of society. World leaders are watching with interest.

Politicians from the UK, Denmark, Greece and France have all suggested tighter controls could be coming soon. New Zealand’s government wants tougher rules too, and public debates are also beginning in Japan and Indonesia.

Will Australia’s social media ban start a global trend? We speak to Terry Flew, professor of digital communication and culture at the University of Sydney, Australia; Sonia Livingstone, professor in the department of media and communications at the London School of Economics, United Kingdom; Lisa Given, professor of information sciences at RMIT University in Melbourne, Australia and Jessica Galissaire, senior policy researcher at Interface, France

Producer/presenter: Daniel Rosney
Researcher: Evie Yabsley
Production management assistant: Liam Morrey
Sound engineer: James Bradshaw
Editor: Tom Bigwood

(Photo: A child looking at a mobile phone. Credit: David Gray/AFP)

Will Australia’s social media ban start a global trend?

The eastern Mediterranean island of Cyprus has been divided since 1974, when Turkey invaded the north after a military coup backed by Greece. Since then, the northern third has been run by a Turkish-Cypriot government. This self-declared Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus is recognised as an independent state only by Turkey, while the rest of the world sees it as part of Cyprus. The southern two-thirds of the island is run by an internationally recognised government led by Greek-Cypriots. Whilst the physical division between the two is maintained by a United Nations peacekeeping force. 

Negotiations aimed at reunification have been attempted over the years and stalled. One of the biggest barriers has been the differences over what a future settlement would look like, with Turkey pushing for a two-state solution and the recognition of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus. The last formal attempt, supported by the United Nations, was in 2017 and took place in Crans-Montana, Switzerland. And even though informal talks have continued since then, there has been little progress. Key sticking points remain over issues including political equality and what it means between the two communities, issues of governance and security. 

But in October of this year, a new Turkish Cypriot leader, Tufan Erhürman, was elected. He supports federation and is in favour of the resumption of reunification talks. Is Cyprus moving closer to reunification?

Contributors: 
Mete Hatay, Senior Research Consultant, PRIO Cyprus Centre, Oslo, Norway 
Lefteris Adilinis, Political Analyst, Cyprus 
Dr. Dorothée Schmid, Director, Middle East Programme, French Institute of International Relations, Paris, France
Kathleen Doherty, Former United States Ambassador to Cyprus, USA

Presenter: Charmaine Cozier
Producer: Jill Collins
Researcher: Maeve Schaffer
Production Management Assistant: Liam Morrey
Technical Producer: James Bradshaw
Editor: Tom Bigwood

(Photo: A United Nations worker rides bike through the UN Buffer Zone. Credit: Scott Barbour/Getty Images)

Is Cyprus moving closer to reunification?

Cardinal Robert Prevost made history earlier this year, when he became the first American pontiff to lead the Catholic Church. And when he stepped out onto the balcony of St Peter’s Basilica as Pope Leo XIV, dressed in traditional papal robes, some conservatives in the church took it as a sign of a symbolic shift away from what they saw as the liberal drift of his predecessor the late Pope Francis. 

Francis, who had put social justice at the heart of his papacy, divided opinion. Some Catholics praised his stance on issues like same-sex blessings, whilst others claimed that he had abandoned tradition for wokeness. 

Now six months into his papacy, Pope Leo XIV is also coming under similar scrutiny, he’s already been criticized by some Catholics from the Make America Great Again (Maga) movement in the United States for blessing a block of Greenland ice. Whilst on the issue of same-sex blessings, his stated intention is to continue the same course as Pope Francis, that the Church’s teaching is not going to change on this issue.

But though he may also be advocating diversity, equity and inclusion, Pope Leo XIV may not necessarily be a carbon copy of his predecessor. As he prepares for his first apostolic visit to Turkey and Lebanon, Pope Leo XIV already appears to be charting a more nuanced path, grounded in pastoral instincts rather than divisive politics. 

So, on The Inquiry this week we’re asking, ‘Is the new Pope woke?’

Contributors:
Dr Massimo Faggioli, Professor in Ecclesiology, Loyola Institute, Trinity College Dublin, Ireland
Inés San Martín, Vice President of Communications, The Pontifical Mission Societies, New York, USA
Christopher White, Author ‘Pope Leo XIV: Inside the Conclave and the Dawn of New Papacy’, Associate Director, Initiative on Catholic Social Thought and Public Life, Georgetown University, Washington DC, USA
Elise Ann Allen, Senior Correspondent for Crux, Author ‘Leo XIV: Citizen of the World, Missionary of the 21st Century’, Rome, Italy 

Presenter: William Crawley
Producer: Jill Collins
Researcher: Maeve Schaffer
Production Management Assistant: Liam Morrey
Technical Producer: Craig Boardman
Editor: Tom Bigwood

(Photo: Pope Leo XIV at the Vatican in May 2025. Credit: Mondadori Portfolio/Getty Images)

Is the new Pope woke?

From floods in Pakistan to droughts in the Horn of Africa, extreme weather events are already forcing millions of people to move. Most are displaced within their own countries but rising temperatures and sea levels could soon push many across national borders.

Yet international law offers little protection for those uprooted by the changing climate, and few countries appear ready for the scale of movement predicted in coming decades.

Charmaine Cozier explores how communities, governments and international systems could respond as the number of people displaced by climate change grows.

This week on The Inquiry, we’re asking: Is the world ready for more climate migration?

Presenter: Charmaine Cozier
Producer: Matt Toulson
Researcher: Maeve Schaffer
Editor: Tom Bigwood
Technical Producer: Craig Boardman
Production Management Assistant: Liam Morrey

Contributors:

Amali Tower, founder and executive director of Climate Refugees

Dr Lagipoiva Cherelle Jackson, Samoan climate journalist and professor of Pacific Island Studies at Portland State University, US

Alessio Terzi, professor of Public Policy at the University of Cambridge, UK

Gaia Vince, writer, Anthropocene researcher and the author of Nomad Century: How to Survive the Climate Upheaval

(Photo: Kuakata Sea Beach Patuakhali District, Bangladesh. Credit: NurPhoto/Getty Images)

Is the world ready for more climate migration?

It’s nearly a century since it was discovered that the sun and other stars are powered by nuclear fusion. It’s when hydrogen atoms merge to form helium, and release huge amounts of energy. 

Since then, scientists have dreamed of reproducing the process here on Earth, with one Nobel Laureate calling it “the sun in a box”. 

It holds the promise of virtually limitless energy, with few emissions and waste. But recreating the conditions where fusion can take place are a vast engineering challenge. So how close are we to having a working reactor powered by fusion? And will the process solve all our energy problems? 

Presenter: Tanya Beckett
Producer: Louise Clarke-Rowbotham

Will nuclear fusion solve our energy problems forever?

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