In 1973 America ended a draft that had been in effect since before it entered the second World War, and for the last fifty years the US Army, Navy, Air Force and Marines have been an all-volunteer military.

But, recently, of the four major branches which make up the US armed services, only the Marines have achieved their target for new recruits. And the biggest force, the Army, has been struggling most of all. In the past two years its missed its recruiting target by several thousand.

In this edition of the Inquiry, Sandra Kanthal looks at the myriad reasons the American Army is failing to enlist enough new soldiers, and why this may affect what impact it can have on global security.

Guests:

Production Team:

Image Credit: Bo Zaunders\Getty

Something strange started happening in early 2023 in the waters off south-western Europe, where the Mediterranean sea meets the Atlantic ocean. Orcas began slamming into the sides of fishing and sailing vessels. The killer whales then dived underneath to locate and destroy the rudders used to steer the boats. Once finished, the orcas departed, leaving shocked crews and thousands of dollars of damage behind. Some of the attacks were over in a matter of minutes, but others lasted hours.

It’s very unusual behaviour for this particular mammal, but orcas are under a lot of threat from man-made hazards. Factors like underwater noise pollution, overfishing, toxic waste and climate change to name a few are making orca life extremely difficult. Could all of this have caused this change in behaviour?

Contributors:

Billy Heaney, zoologist, wildlife tour guide and presenter

Presenter: Charmaine Cozier

Image: An orca showing its teeth (Credit: Marcos del Mazo/LightRocket via Getty Images)

Sargassum seaweed was recorded as far back as the 15th century when Christopher Columbus wrote in his expedition diaries about miles and miles and miles of dense seaweed as he crossed the Atlantic Ocean.

Various research projects are looking into ways of containing this seaweed, as no one has found a viable solution on an industrial scale. But whilst it is causing problems onshore, offshore in the deep ocean of the Sargasso Sea, the sargassum provides a unique ecosystem for a variety of marine life including turtles and swordfish.

So, this week on The Inquiry we’re asking, ‘What’s going on with sargassum seaweed?’

Contributors:

Dr. Chuanmin Hu, Professor of Oceanography, University of South Florida College of Marine Science, USA

Dr. David Freestone, Executive Secretary, The Sargasso Sea Commission, Washington DC, USA

Dr. Marie-Louise Felix, Marine Biologist and Lecturer, Sir Arthur Lewis Community College, Consultant to the Department of Fisheries, St Lucia

Ajit Subramaniam, Biological Oceanographer, Lamont Research Professor, Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory of Columbia University, New York, USA

Presenter: Charmaine Cozier

Image: Miami Beach, Florida, North Beach Atlantic Ocean shoreline, large quantity of arriving seaweed sargassum macroalgae, tourist trying to swim. (Photo by: Jeffrey Greenberg/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)

Toyota has unveiled a revolutionary electric car battery, able to travel 1,200 kilometres in one go and can be charged in just ten minutes.

Toyota’s CEO Koji Sato said that “commercialisation of solid state batteries is a thing of the future... now within reach, changing the future of cars". The company also claims to be on the brink of being able to manufacture them.

So is this, as some are claiming, a ‘watershed moment’ in car making? Can these new batteries now be produced at scale? What impact will this have on the popularity of electric cars and their uptake?

Has Toyota solved the electric car battery problem?

Contributors:

Paul Shearing, chair in sustainable energy engineering and director of the Zero Institute at the University of Oxford.

Image: Olga Rolenko via Getty Images - 1403000871

Tensions between South American neighbours Venezuela and Guyana have ratcheted up a notch in recent weeks over the disputed oil rich region of Essequibo. The territory, which is roughly the size of Florida, currently makes up around two thirds of Guyana and vast oil reserves were discovered here in 2015 which have helped make Guyana’s economy one of the fastest growing in the world.

So this week on The Inquiry, we’re asking ‘Is Venezuela about to invade its neighbour?’

Contributors:

Presenter: David Baker

Image credit: Anadolu\Getty

In less than a year, France will play host to the Olympic and Paralympic Games. The opening ceremony will be played out along the River Seine in the nation’s capital city Paris. The Seine is also set to be the scene of the open-water swimming events and work is now being done to make sure the polluted waterway will be clean and safe enough for the Olympic participants.

To accommodate the expected influx of visitors to the Games, new transport links are been built. Whilst its already been acknowledged that some of the network is planned to link up a number of Olympic sites, it won’t be ready in time for the Games. There are plans to provide extra river boats and cycle lanes.

In addition to all this is the question of whether the French themselves are in the mood to celebrate the Games. This summer saw waves of social and political unrest in the country, but traditional sporting events like the Rugby World Cup have played a role in bringing the country together.

This week on The Inquiry, we’re asking ‘Is Paris Ready for the 2024 Olympics?’

Contributors:

Presenter: Tanya Beckett

Photo: Olympic Rings to celebrate the IOC official announcement that Paris won the 2024 Olympic bid are seen in front of the Eiffel Tower at the Trocadero square in Paris, France, September 16, 2017. Credit: Reuters

Around 1 billion people around the world suffer from a mysterious neurological condition called migraine. Far more than just a headache, migraine is abnormal processing of the world around us that can have symptoms like loss of sight and speech, dizziness, nausea and extreme fatigue.

There are drugs which can help those struggling with the condition like anti-depressants and anti-convulsants. However, they weren’t developed specifically for migraine and can come with quite a lot of side effects or simply not work.

For a long time migraine medication has been a process of trial and error.

But a new class of drugs called anti-CGRPs are being hailed as a breakthrough migraine medication. Anti-CGRPs have a small side effect profile and were designed specifically to target migraine. They work by blocking CGRP (Calcitonin Gene-Related Peptide) from building up in the body and triggering a receptor in the brain which turns on a head pain pathway causing the migraine attack.

Earlier this year the National Institute of Health and Care Excellence - or NICE – in England cleared the use of an anti-CGRP called Rimegepant to use as both a preventive and acute treatment. Clinicians are hoping this will massively improve the lives of those living with the condition.

So this week on The Inquiry were asking ‘Have we reached a turning point with migraine medication?’

Contributors:

Presenter: Charmaine Cozier

Image: eternalcreative - Getty Images: 1372323487

Bangladesh is set to hold parliamentary elections next January. But only time will tell whether there will be real change at the top or whether the current Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and her Awami League will remain in power.

In recent months there has been an increase in political protests calling for a neutral interim government ahead of the polls opening. But these protests have only resulted in increasing numbers of senior leaders of the opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party being rounded up and put in jail.

Historically, the country has had a fractured relationship with democracy since its birth in 1971, but the government for their part has denied accusations of democratic backsliding.

So this week on the Inquiry we’re asking ‘Why is Bangladesh in turmoil?’

Contributors:

Sabir Mustafa, a former Editor of the BBC Bengali Service, now based in Washington DC, USA

Dr. Avinash Paliwal, Reader in International Relations, Department of Politics and International Relations, SOAS University of London

Ali Riaz, Distinguished Professor in the Department of Politics and Government, Illinois State University, USA and non-resident Senior Fellow of the Atlantic Council

Dr. Geoffrey MacDonald, Visiting Expert in the South Asia Programme, United States Institute of Peace, Washington DC, USA

Presenter: Tanya Beckett

Photo: Bangladesh Nationalist Party protest for Sheikh Hasina’s resignation, Dhaka -28th Oct 2023. Credit: Photo by MONIRUL ALAM/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock(14171078p)

The head of Ukraine’s armed forces, General Zaluzhny, has a frank take on his country’s conflict with Russia: "Just like in the First World War, we have reached the level of technology that puts us into a stalemate."

He explains that using drones and remote surveillance equipment in battlezones means each side knows what the other is doing. That slows down troops advancing, and creates a standoff. In a separate essay offering solutions, the general states that fresh tech innovation is the key to cracking it.

President Zelensky disagreed, and his office accuses the general of making “the aggressor’s job easier.” The Kremlin also denies there’s a deadlock. But with the world’s attention also focused on the Middle East, has attention drifted away from the Ukraine conflict – and if it has, what does that mean for Ukraine’s campaign?

Charmaine Cozier explores the current state of fighting which continues on the eastern frontline, and whether Ukraine’s recent attacks on Crimea demonstrate the country’s capacity to fight back against Russia’s forces. Meanwhile, Moscow has been building up an ‘axis of the sanctioned’ – countries including Iran and North Korea, which are providing armaments and sharing technology to support Russia’s military in Ukraine in a war of attrition.

And as the war heads towards its second year, is international support for Ukraine holding up? In the United States, some Republican lawmakers have delayed the latest package of military aid to Ukraine as they raise questions about the cost of the war for Americans. One year out from the next Presidential election, support for Ukraine may become an election issue. In Europe, support for Ukraine has been signalled by the European Union as it recommends formal talks should begin.

Dr. Hanna Notte is director of the Eurasian programme at the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies. It focuses on research and training around preventing the spread of nuclear weapons and technologies. She’s also senior associate with the Europe, Russia and Eurasia programme at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington.

Natasha Lindstaedt is a professor of government at the University of Essex in England

Mark Katz is a professor of government and politics at the George Mason University Schar School of Policy and Government in Virginia in the US.

Presenter: Charmaine Cozier

Image credit Getty Images

When the Referendum to give Australia’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders greater political rights was first announced, it was well received, with the early polls suggesting that more than sixty percent of Australians supported it.

This was an opportunity for the establishment of an advisory body to Parliament that would allow Indigenous Peoples a voice on the issues affecting their own communities and for them to be recognised in the Australian constitution.

The ‘YES’ campaign said their proposals outlined in the Uluru Statement from the Heart, requested a modest yet profound change, allowing Indigenous Australians to take their ‘rightful place’ in their own country.

Whilst the ‘NO’ campaigners argued that the ‘Voice to Parliament’ would be racially divisive, giving Indigenous Peoples greater rights over other Australians.

In the end Australia voted ‘NO’ to changing the status quo, by an overwhelming majority.

This week on The Inquiry, we’re asking ‘What went wrong with Australia’s Indigenous call for a voice?’

Contributors:

Presenter: David Baker

Image: Voice Referendum in Australia: Credit: Reuters.

Audio for this episode was updated on 20th November 2023.