The Why? Curve

By Phil DobbieSociety & Culture Business News

The Why? Curve episodes

December 14, 2023 Rwandan safety? The uncomfortable truth.
Rishi Sunak’s Rwanda bill has passed its first hurdle - it says, as a matter of law, the East African state is “safe”. But is it? Is it a place we could confidently send those who have arrived on our shores seeking asylum, and be sure they would not be at risk? Or is it, in fact, a dictatorship with a history of persecuting and killing those who disagree with the president? Michela Wrong, a journalist who has spend decades reporting on Rwanda, and wrote the book Do Not Disturb - an account of the murder of a Rwandan opposition leader - give Phil and Roger a clear picture of just how safe Rwanda is.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
42 min
December 07, 2023 Can It Be Profitable To Save The Planet?
The COP28 was big on promises, but can they be taken seriously when the location the president and so many of the participants are signed up to big oil? Is the secret to getting serious on mitigating climate change, getting capitalism on board? So that making money from saving the planet can become a real option? Julian Caldecott, Director of Creatura, an environmental consultancy, guides Phil and Roger around the necessities and mechanisms of making capitalism a true friend of the earth.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
41 min
November 30, 2023 The Forgotten War - Whatever Happened To The Ukraine Conflict?
All eyes have been on Gaza since October, but what has been happening in the confrontation between Ukraine and Russia - the biggest European land war since 1945? Has the West lost hope of defeating Vladimir Putin here, and is President Zelenskyy being persuaded to turn a stalemate into some sort of truce? Ukrainian doctoral research scholar and security specialist Igor Shchebetun at Sumy State University, tells Phil and Roger his country is deliberately being starved of weapons to make such a settlement inevitable - containing Russian ambitions but not defeating them
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
39 min
November 23, 2023 A tax cut that’s good for Britain or a last-ditch hope for the Tory party?
Jeremy Hunt delivered his Autumn statement this week, with 110 policy measures. The most significant of those was a 2% cut in National Insurance contributions. Roger and Phil ask Simon French, Chief Economist and Head of Research at UK investment bank, Panmure Gordon, whether the main aim of the cuts was to bolster the chances of a win for the Conservatives at the next election? On this week’s podcast Simon says that, political cynicism aside, there is a need to boost growth in the economy, and administering cuts in tax through National Insurance ensures that it is the working population that benefits. But will it make that much difference, when those same people face higher tax contributions through the freezing of the income tax thresholds? A wide-ranging discussion that includes the need for more comprehensive tax reform, plus a snapshot on the economic wellbeing of Phil’s barber.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
35 min
November 16, 2023 The real bill for energy
Drill, baby, drill - but does it make sense to hand out, every year, new North Sea extraction licences for oil and gas as the UK government has promised? Aren’t we supposed to be ending our reliance on fossil fuels? Or is it essential for energy security to harvest what we have on our doorstep? And is the cost of a more rapid transition to renewable sources of energy too high for hard-pressed families struggling to pay their bills? Phil and Roger quiz Gavin Bridge, Professor of Economic Geography at the University of Durham, and Fellow of the Durham Energy Institute, on the costs and benefits of more North Sea extraction.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
41 min
November 09, 2023 Animal Rights and Wrongs
Should animals have rights? Should dogs and cats be able to sue you for not feeding them on time? Should farm animals be able to get an injunction to stop us eating them? There’s a growing movement to recognise that many of our fellow creatures are sentient, feel pain and loss, and therefore, perhaps, should have legal rights. But how could this work? How would it change our lives? And where do we draw the line - fairness for fleas? Justice for microbes? Phil and Roger consult Dr Stephen Cooke, associate professor of Political Theory at the University of Leicester.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
42 min
November 02, 2023 AI - technology breakthrough, or the end of humanity?
Artificial intelligence is everywhere - and politicians and business leaders are rushing to get on top of what could be an advance bigger than the Industrial Revolution. But could it also be a risk to human life on the scale of an asteroid collision or nuclear war? Is there any practicable way to control something we barely understand? Or will caution stop us from reaping the huge benefits for universal prosperity? Tony Prescott, Professor of Cognitive Robotics at Sheffield University lays out to Phil and Roger both the risks and gains from AI.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
40 min
October 26, 2023 What is racism, and is it on the rise?
Accusations of attempted genocide from one side of the current Middle East crisis, and furious claims of anti-semitism from the other, show how deeply perceptions of racism still inform global conflicts. But what causes racism? What is the basis of the fear and anger it creates? Has it always been part of human society? How do we deal with it in a world where borders signify less and less, and communities increasingly come from many diverse backgrounds? Phil and Roger get guidance from Professor Alastair Bonnett of Newcastle University, author of “Multiracism: Rethinking Racism in Global Context”
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
44 min
October 19, 2023 Middle East on the Brink
It’s a dangerous moment in one of the world’s most volatile regions. How far will Israel go to avenge the brutal killings inflicted by Hamas? Will the slaughter of innocent Palestinian civilians change global sympathies? Will Israel get bogged down in a long bloody battle inside Gaza. And will Iran and Lebanon get dragged into a widening conflict that brings violence from angry Muslims onto the streets of Europe and the US? Michele Groppi of the Defence Studies Department at King’s College, London, tells Phil and Roger about what went wrong at the start of the latest violence, and what could happen next
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
42 min
October 12, 2023 Keir Starmer - not enough glitter?
Labour has a real chance of forming the next government, but does it have the sense of mission, the “vision thing” to carry voters with it? Matthew Flinders, Professor of Politics at Sheffield University tells Phil and Roger that Keir Starmer is still on course to lose next year’s election, unless he and his party can uncork some of the spirit that brought Tony Blair into Number 10 in 1997
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
36 min

About The Why? Curve

From the publisher's feed

Each week Phil Dobbie and Roger Hearing get to grips with one issue that impacts our lives. It could be economic, social, technological or geopolitical. Whatever the subject, they'll talk to the…