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 la

Is Gene Editing Out of Control?

1 Jul 13th, 2017 23m 15s

"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 dou

Are Video Games a Waste of Time?

Aug 24th, 2017 24m 30s

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 som

How Powerful is Facebook's Algorithm?

Dec 14th, 2017 23m 58s

There is a place on the internet where almost two billion of us regularly go – many of us, every day. Facebook: the social network which Mark Zuckerberg started in his university dorm room and which has grown, in a little over a decade, into on

What Would an Iran-Saudi Arabia War Look Like?

Nov 30th, 2017 24m 2s

Missiles, fighter jets and mines waiting on the sea bed - war games in the gulf. Tension between Iran and Saudi Arabia is at an unprecedented level since a missile was intercepted over Saudi Arabia’s capital city. The Saudi Crown Prince blames

What Does the Saudi Crown Prince Want?

Nov 16th, 2017 23m 19s

He’s pushed through reforms but some fear there is a darker desire driving the ruler. In one night, Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman arrested over a dozen Princes and government ministers on corruption charges. To turn on his own royal family,

How Powerful is Iran’s Revolutionary Guard?

Nov 2nd, 2017 23m 51s

The growth and reach of a group labelled a ‘terror force’ by President Trump. On 13 October President Trump announced new sanctions against Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corp for supporting terrorism. But what is the Revolutionary Guard an

Is the Pope Catholic?

Oct 19th, 2017 22m 58s

The head of the Roman Catholic Church has been accused of aiding the spread of heresy. A petition criticising the ambiguity of Pope Francis' statements on the treatment of people who have divorced and remarried is the latest twist in a fierce d

Can We Teach Robots Ethics?

Oct 12th, 2017 23m 4s

From driverless cars to "carebots", machines are entering the realm of right and wrong. Should an autonomous vehicle prioritise the lives of its passengers over pedestrians? Should a robot caring for an elderly woman respect her right to life a

Could We Ban the Sale of Petrol and Diesel Cars Now?

Sep 28th, 2017 24m 25s

The list of nations legislating to ban the sale of petrol and diesel cars is growing. But these restrictions won’t come into effect for decades. Air pollution contributes to thousands of early deaths each year and the scandal known as Dieselga

Can China solve the North Korea problem?

Sep 21st, 2017 23m 15s

North Korea continues to rattle the world with its rapidly advancing weapons programme. Diplomacy with this Hermit Kingdom is broken and UN sanctions have little effect curtailing the nuclear ambitions of the country’s enigmatic leader Kim Jong

How Do We Stop People Dying in Floods?

Sep 15th, 2017 22m 58s

Do we have the power to avoid the natural forces of intense rainfall? With rising sea levels and the threat of climate change, the risk of death due to floods seems an insurmountable challenge. But there are some surprising facts in the figures

What Can We Do With Our Dead?

Sep 7th, 2017 23m 48s

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 In

How Has The Ku Klux Klan Lasted So Long?

Aug 31st, 2017 22m 58s

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 street

What's So Special About Qatar?

Jul 6th, 2017 23m 17s

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 disp

Is the Greatest Threat to Putin Really Alexei Navalny?

Jun 15th, 2017 22m 57s

On 12 June 2017 thousands of protesters took to the streets in over 160 towns and cities across Russia. Opposition leader Alexei Navalny called on people to march against corruption from Kaliningrad in the west to Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk in the east,

How do you launch a nuclear missile?

Jan 24th, 2017 23m 34s

'Do we want his finger anywhere near the button?' Hillary Clinton asked during the US election campaign, referring to Mr Trump and the nuclear arsenal. But how close is an American president's finger to 'the button'? How close is anyone’s? We e

Are Pandemics Inevitable?

Nov 4th, 2014 23m 12s

Outbreaks are inevitable, pandemics are optional,” says Dr Larry Brilliant, a leading figure in the successful global campaign to eradicate smallpox.But does the flawed international response to the Ebola outbreak suggest it is now less likely

Are We Missing a Bigger Opioid Crisis?

Dec 7th, 2017 24m 12s

Forty-two Americans die every day from an overdose involving painkilling prescription opioids. President Donald Trump recently declared the US opioid epidemic a national public health emergency. Yet in the world’s poorest countries, cancer pati

Who is country?

1 day ago 26m 24s

Beyonce has released an album that has gone straight to the top of the country music charts. The 27 tracks include the work of many collaborators from the world of country music, including Black country artist Linda Martell and Dolly Parton’s

Are synthetic opioids a global problem?

9 days ago 27m 31s

An increasing number of people are dying from misuse of synthetic opioids. In 2022, the US recorded over 70,000 overdose deaths involving synthetic opioids. The government is spending billions to combat the effects of these super strength drug

How secure is Benjamin Netanyahu’s leadership?

16 days ago 25m 22s

Six months into Israel’s war in Gaza and with no sign of a ceasefire or breakthrough in securing the release of the 130 hostages, as yet unaccounted for, pressure is mounting on Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. There have been wides

Are we close to a breakthrough for Multiple Sclerosis?

23 days ago 26m 17s

Multiple Sclerosis (MS) is a neurological disease which can lead to loss of mobility and vision. Almost 3 million people worldwide are affected by it. There is no cure, but attempts are being made to accelerate the healing process with treatmen

Is climate change impacting chocolate production?

30 days ago 24m 9s

For centuries chocolate has had a global appeal, the key ingredient of this confectionery is derived from the dried and fully fermented seed of the Theobroma cacao, whose origins began in northern Amazonia. From this tree, both cocoa solids an

Will neighbouring countries follow El Salvador's lead on crime?

Mar 21st, 2024 24m 35s

In February this year, El Salvador's president Nayib Bukele won re-election with nearly 85% of the vote. His flagship policy after he came to power in 2019 has been the mass arrest of thousands of alleged gang members, mainly young men.It is es