Canada is in the grip of the worst wildfires in recorded history. Blazes are devouring millions of acres of forest, forcing more than a hundred thousand people from their homes. Toxic smoke has blanketed cities across North America.

Why are wildfires getting more frequent and intense across the world?

Part of the reason is climate change, but part of it is also population growth and land management. The question is, what should we do about it? How can we stop wildfires?

Contributors: Mike Norton, Director General of the Canadian Forest Service Liz Goldman, World Resources Institute Jon Keeley, senior research scientist with the US Geological Survey and adjunct professor at the University of California Matt Oakley, fire investigation officer and wildfire officer, Surrey Fire and Rescue Service

Presented by Tanya Beckett Produced by Louise Clarke Researched by Anoushka Mutanda-Dougherty Edited by Tara McDermott Mixed by Kelly Young Production Co-ordinator Brenda Brown

(Wildfires at Lebel-sur-Quevillon in Quebec, Canada June 23 2023. Credit: Frederic Chouinard/Getty Images)

Following the Wagner mutiny in Russia, and with fighting intensifying as Ukraine presses on with its counter-offensive, there’s concern about increasing instability around potential use of nuclear weapons. President Putin has threatened to use tactical nuclear weapons in Ukraine. Gary O’Donoghue asks how likely this is, and if the nuclear threat level is rising across the world. Are countries around the world looking at what is happening in Ukraine and adjusting their nuclear thinking? As China seeks to increase its own nuclear arsenal, experts are talking increasingly of Tripolar nuclear competition, taking in Russia and the US. In this uncertain world, what role - if any - is there for nuclear non-proliferation treaties and how can the nuclear threat be contained ?

Contributors Nikolai N Sokov: The Vienna Center for Disarmament and Non-Proliferation Robert Litwak: Director of international security studies at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars Henrik Hiim: Associate Professor, the Norwegian Institute for Defense Studies Rose Gottemoeller: former Deputy secretary general of NATO, now at Stanford’s Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies

Presenter: Gary O’Donoghue Producer: Phil Reevell Researcher: Anoushka Mutanda -Dougherty Editor: Tara McDermott Technical producer: Nicky Edwards

(Yars intercontinental ballistic missile launched during exercises on October 26, 2022. Photo: Russian Defence Ministry via Reuters)

The medieval city of Venice is situated in the heart of a lagoon on the coast of northeast Italy. It was built on a large area of low-lying marshland. A system of wooden poles driven into the soft mud created an underwater forest. It still forms the foundations of the city we see today. For centuries the City has had to battle with ‘aqua alta’ or high tides from the Adriatic sea. And the gradual combination of water erosion and rising sea levels means the City is now facing a more urgent battle to stay afloat.

In recent years a series of barriers which sit on the sea floor and which are raised when an ‘aqua alta’ is expected have been successful in keeping the majority of the city dry. But its already been acknowledged that the Mose Barrier, as it’s known, is not a permanent solution for the future.

An idea designed to complement the Mose Barrier, one which was suggested more than a decade ago, is to inject seawater into wells underneath the city. The scientists behind the project are confident that if it were to be adopted, it would provide a uniform uplift to the city without causing any structural issues to the buildings.

This week on the Inquiry we’re asking ‘Can seawater save Venice from flooding?’

Contributors: Prof Claire Judde de Lariviere, Medieval Historian, University of Toulouse Hermes Redi, Director General of the Consorzio Venezia Nuova (responsible for the Mose Barrier) Professor Pietro Teatini, University of Padua, Chair of UNESCO International Initiative on Land Subsidence Prof Carlo Ratti, MIT, Co-Chair at the World Economic Forum’s Global Future Council on Cities.

Presenter: David Baker Producer: Jill Collins Researcher: Bisi Adebayo Editor: Tara McDermott Technical Producer: Nicky Edwards Production Co-ordinator: Brenda Brown

(The Piazza San Marco in Venice, Italy. Woman standing in flood water. Credit: Getty Images)

Thailand’s recent elections produced a shock result. A popular progressive party called Move Forward won the most seats. But the leader of the government has not yet been named as the country moves through its procedures for verifying the election results.

If the head of the party, Pita Limjaroenrat, is successful, it will mean civilian rule for the first time in over a decade. But the path to that role is far from smooth. There are many challenges as military coups and court rulings have cut many previous political careers short.

Contributors: Professor Tamara Loos, Chair of the history department at Cornell University Professor Duncan McCargo, director of the Nordic Institute of Asian Studies at the University of Copenhagen Soawanee Alexander, social linguist and political analyst Verapat Pariyawong, lawyer and legal scholar

Presented by Charmaine Cozier Produced by Louise Clarke Researched by Anoushka Mutanda-Dougherty Edited by Tara McDermott Mixed by Kelly Young Production co-ordinator Brenda Brown

(Damnoen Saduak floating market in Bangkok, Thailand. Credit: Valletta Vittorio/ Getty Images)

In 2009 Disney bought Marvel studios and helped transform the company into a movie making powerhouse that brought a new world of superhero stories to the silver screen, called The Marvel Cinematic Universe. Since then the franchise has generated over $30 billion dollars in profit, released 32 films and has even made its way onto the small screen… And it’s not slowing down any time soon. Before the end of next year we can expect Captain America, Thunderbolts, The Marvels and Blade in cinema’s and Daredevil, Agatha: Coven of Chaos and Iron heart streaming on Disney Plus. But glitchy graphics in recent projects like, ‘She-Hulk’ and patchy plots in ‘Ant-Man and the Wasp Quantomania’ have left fans and film critics wondering if marvels conveyor belt of content has led to it losing its magic. So this week were asking ‘Is it Endgame for the Marvel Cinematic Universe?’

Contributors: Dr Mathew J. Smith Radford University in Virginia. Lisa Laman Writer and film critic at The Spool, Collider and Looper. Prof Spencer Harrison International business school INSEAD Jonathon Sim - Film journalist and movie critic at Comingsoon.net Presenter: Charmaine Cozier Producer: Anoushka Mutanda-Dougherty Editor: Tara McDermott Researcher: Bisi Adebayo Broadcast Co-ordinator: Brenda Brown

A fifteen minute test flight of a plane fuelled only by hydrogen was successfully completed over recent months. Trucks are already running on the fuel in the US, as are trains in Canada and the UK. Both Toyota and Hyundai have expressed a desire to explore the gas as an option for their smaller vehicles. The UK has announced plans to use hydrogen as a replacement for natural gas in two trial villages, Whitby and Redcar, having already completed tests at Keele University. Several glass and tiling companies are also testing the potential energy source.

There is a lot of buzz around the idea of replacing our current fossil fuel usage with hydrogen, and for good reason too. Hydrogen is everywhere and it can be made via green methods and its only by-product is water. It almost sounds almost too good to be true, and perhaps it is. That’s why this week we ask, will hydrogen solve our energy needs?

Presenter: David Baker Producer: Christopher Blake Editor: Tara McDermott

Ron DeSantis, the governor of the US State of Florida has now declared his republican nomination for the 2024 Presidential Election. He’s the latest in a line of republican contenders keen to take on President Joe Biden for the White House.

Since his appointment as Florida’s governor in 2018, Ron DeSantis has been busy stamping his own brand of cultural conservatism on the ‘Sunshine State’, including limits on abortions and restricting sex and gender identity education in schools. The latter, known officially as the Parental Rights In Education Act’, denounced by critics as ‘Don’t Say Gay’, has led to an ongoing legal battle with Disney over their criticism of the Act.

Ron DeSantis claims that his ‘Florida Blueprint’ can act as a guide for Federal Policies. But before that, he’s got an uphill battle to unseat his former political mentor Donald Trump. The former President is currently leading the Republican field in the polls and he’s not wasted any time in attacking Ron DeSantis on a number of fronts, from insults and nicknames, to criticising some of his policies.

This week on the Inquiry we’re asking ‘Can Ron DeSantis win the White House?’

Contributors: Aubrey Jewett, Professor of Political Science at the University of Central Florida, Orlando. Matt Terrill, Public Affairs, Firehouse Strategies, former Chief of Staff to the Marco Rubio for President Campaign. Ron Christie, Former Special Assistant to President George W. Bush and North American Political Analyst for the BBC. Dr. Julie Norman, Co-Director of the Centre on US Politics at University College London.

Presenter: Tanya Beckett Producer: Jill Collins Researcher: Anoushka Mutanda-Dougherty Editor: Tara McDermott Technical Producer: Kelly Young Production Co-ordinator: Brenda Brown

(Florida Governor Ron DeSantis in the Air Force One Pavilion at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library March 5 2023 Simi Valley, California. Credit: Mario Tarna/Getty Images)

Official figures report that there are more than eight million houses standing empty across Japan, the reality could be even higher. One of the highest concentrations of empty houses or ‘Akiya’ as they are known, is in the Prefecture of Akita, in Northern Japan, where in the past five years, houses have been abandoned at a rate of 13.6 percent.

The problem is being put down to a number of factors. The lack of employment or education opportunities in rural economies means more migration into the cities. An ageing population combined with a low birth rate is upending traditional living arrangements. The land on which property sits benefits from tax relief, and if a property disappears so does the preferential measure. Building codes are strict. Religious reasons are cited as another factor - it’s believed that the spirits of ancestors still dwell in the home.

The Government has invested heavily in the housing sector, from financial incentives to occupy older empty houses, to focusing on building preferred new and expensive homes in Japan’s cities in order to boost the economy. But as the population demographics continue to shift and shrink, unless the balance of supply and demand is addressed soon, then the suggestion is that empty Akiya will be an ongoing issue for Japan.

This week on the Inquiry we’re asking: Why are there millions of empty houses in Japan?

Contributors: Ayumi Sugimoto, Associate Professor, Rural Studies, Akita International University, Japan Misa Izuhara, Professor of Social Policy, University of Bristol, UK Kazuki Morimoto, Associate Professor in Japanese, University of Leeds, UK Jiro Yoshida, Associate Professor of Business, Pennsylvania State University, USA; Guest Professor of Economics, University of Tokyo, Japan

Presented: Charmaine Cozier Produced: Jill Collins Researcher: Bisi Adebayo Editor: Tara McDermott Technical producer: Richard Hannaford Production co-ordinator: Brenda Brown

(Photo: Abandoned wooden house in Tambasasayama, Japan,5 April, 2023 Credit: Buddhika Weerasinghe/Getty Images)

The Great Green Wall is one of the most ambitious environmental projects ever conceived, creating a vast belt of vegetation spanning Africa by 2030; from Senegal on the Atlantic to Djibouti on the Red Sea.

It was heralded as Africa’s contribution to the fight against climate change, reversing damage caused by drought, overgrazing and poor farming techniques. The regreening of 11 Sahel countries on the edge of the Sahara Desert would create millions of jobs, boost food security, and reduce conflict and migration.

The plan was launched by the African Union in 2007, and despite political consensus, only 4% of the Great Green Wall had been completed by 2021. So what has gone wrong? What lessons have been learned, and will a change of strategy ensure its success by the end of the decade?

Presenter: Audrey Brown Producer: Ravi Naik Editor: Tara McDermott Researcher: Anoushka Mutanda-Dougherty Broadcast Co-ordinators: Brenda Brown

(Photo: The Niger river in Mali. Credit: Getty images)

For the first time in his 20 years in power Erdogan is facing serious pressure - and the choice voters make in this month’s presidential election could define Turkey’s destiny for decades.

The impact of February’s devastating earthquake in Turkey is one of the key factors determining how voters will decide on their next president. The Turkish economy is also under pressure with inflation running at 55%. Against that background, a coalition of opposition parties, The Table of Six, are supporting a single candidate, Kemal Kilicdaroglu, against President Erdogan.

As polls predict a tight result in the first round of the election, The Inquiry asks: What does this presidential election mean for Turkey’s future?

Presenter: Qasa Alom Producer: Phil Reevell Researcher: Anoushka Mutanda -Dougherty Editor: Tara McDermott Technical producer: Nicky Edwards

(Turkish citizen living abroad casts her vote in advance of the presidential election in London UK April 29 2023. Credit: Rasid Necati Aslim/Getty Images)

Last November Israel elected its most far right government in its 75 year history. Months of protests followed over its plans for reform of the judicial system.

Benjamin Netanyahu’s new coalition government is proposing an agenda that goes beyond domestic reforms – and not everyone is happy.

As well as domestic protests, some of Israel’s allies are nervous as, with the government’s attention taken up by internal challenges, new alliances are forming in the middle east.

This episode of The Inquiry explores the reasons behind the tension and protests in the country and asks, why is Israel in turmoil?

Guests: Tamar Hermann, senior researcher at the Israel Democracy Institute and Professor of Political Science at the Open University

Anshel Pfeffer, journalist and biographer of Benjamin Netanyahu

Professor Yossi Mekelberg, associate fellow at Chatham House

Hugh Lovatt, Senior Policy Fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations

Presented by Gary O’Donoghue. Producer: Louise Clarke Researcher: Anoushka Mutanda-Dougherty Editor: Tara McDermott. The programme was mixed by Richard Hannaford

(Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu 20 Apr 2023. Credit: Menahem Kahana/ Shutterstock)

Next year Americans will go to the polls to choose their next president. For many, the race has already begun. Digital electioneering in US elections has been steadily developing over the last 15 years, but this time around, advancements in artificial intelligence could be a game changer.

There have been huge strides in generative AI in the past year. One of the most accessible AI tools now available to the general public is the software known as ChatGPT, which can scour the internet for information, producing text for speeches and essays. Generative AI is widely used to produce social content around image and text, but what will happen when full on AI video becomes more readily available to any user?

AI systems will be able to reach voters with messages targeted specifically to them, but will they be able to trust them? There are concerns that voters will have an increasingly tough task working out which campaign messages are genuine and which are not. To date, there is currently little regulation of a system which has already been used to create deep-fake manipulations of people and what they say, provoking questions over authenticity.

So do we all have to be more aware of how much we allow AI to shape our democracies?

This week on the Inquiry, we’re asking: Will AI decide America’s next president?

Contributors Betsy Hoover, Higher Ground Labs Prof Hany Farid, University of California Berkeley Martin Kurucz, CEO, Sterling Data Company Nina Schick, author of ‘Deepfakes’

Presented by Tanya Beckett Produced by Jill Collins Researcher: Anoushka Mutanda-Dougherty Editor: Tara McDermott Technical producer: Richard Hannaford Broadcast coordinator: Brenda Brown

Image: Unused privacy booths are seen at a voting site in Tripp Commons inside the Memorial Union building on the University of Wisconsin-Madison campus in Madison, Dane County, Wisconsin, November 3, 2020 (Credit: Bing Guan/Reuters)