World Questions

Democracy, the deepening polarisation of politics, race relations and President Macron’s grip on power – all are up for debate as Jonny Dymond is joined by a panel of leading French politicians who take questions from the public.

(Image: Demonstrators in Paris protest against President Macron's refusal to name a leftist Prime Minister. Credit: Reuters/Manon Cruz)

Claudia Sheinbaum, Mexico’s first female President takes office while protests still rage over changes to the constitution. World Questions explores the challenges she faces with a sharply divided panel facing questions from around the country. Does scrapping the national police force and putting the army on the street, mean a safer Mexico? Will forcing the country’s judges to fight for election loosen the grip of the drug cartels? Is it time to ban bullfighting for good? What is the future for relations with the USA? Jonny Dymond presents a deeply felt debate from a country undergoing change.

The Panel

Producer

With less than a month until the election, the BBC’s flagship political debate programme Question Time broadcasts from the key swing state of Pennsylvania. The programme hears directly from American voters as they get the chance to put their questions to a panel of politicians and prominent figures, holding them to account on the topics which matter most as they prepare to go to the polls.

On the panel, Republican and Democratic members of Pennsylvania’s House of Representatives, Martina White and Malcolm Kenyatta; the British-American political commentator Mehdi Hasan; Bryan Lanza, who’s an adviser to presidential candidate Donald Trump; and the BBC North American correspondent, Anthony Zurcher.

Chaired by Fiona Bruce, the debate was recorded at the National Constitution Centre in Philadelphia on 9 October 2024.

Mass migration, employment and opportunities, democracy, joining the EU and widespread corruption. Just some of the issues debated by a public audience in the Albanian capital, Tirana.

The panel:

Producer: Helen Towner

(Photo: Et'hem Bej mosque and Skanderbeg Monument, Tirana. Credit: Andrea Pistolesi/Getty Images)

Mongolia’s economy has tripled in size since becoming a democracy 30 years ago and the sudden growth has brought many challenges. It's a nation of sweeping grassland pastures and an ever-growing Gobi desert, sealed between Russia to its north and China to its south. Such large autocratic neighbours bring a sense of threat to this fledgling democratic nation. All those issues and more are raised by the public and debated by a panel of politicians at the moment a new coalition government is being formed.

Presenter Jonny Dymond is at the Chinggis Khaan Museum in the Mongolian capital, Ulaanbaatar. He is joined by:

(Photo: A nomadic Mongolian herder leads his camel and livestock over sand dunes beneath the Altai mountains. Credit: Timothy Allen/Getty Images)

Anu Anand presents a lively debate over the lack of affordable healthcare, access to clean water, racial disparities, the war in Gaza and the upcoming Presidential election in the swing state of Michigan, USA.

The panel:

Producer: Helen Towner

(Photo: Michigan State Capitol Building, Lansing. Credit: fotoguy22/Getty Images)

Is Spain’s unity under threat? Could a new amnesty law on Catalan independence pave the way for regions to breakaway from the kingdom? Spain is also facing complaints about corruption, a critical water shortage and a growing inequality between the old and the young. Jonny Dymond asks Spanish people how they see the future of their country.

On the panel:

Producer: Steven Williams

(Photo: Protesters from the Partido Popular carry Spanish flags and placards while demonstrating against plans to grant amnesty to Catalan separatists. Credit: Guillermo Gutierrez Carrascal/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)

Gaza, The West Bank and women's rights in Jordan. As war continues in neighbouring Israel, members of the public from around the Kingdom of Jordan raise questions for political leaders and key figures to debate. Jonny Dymond presents.

The panel:

Producer: Charlie Taylor

(Photo: Panoramic view of the city of Amman. Credit: Manuel Romaris/Getty Images)

Jonny Dymond presents a debate from Manila, the capital of the Philippines. A large and lively audience ask questions about Chinese aggression in the South China Sea, constitutional reform, divorce laws, poverty, transport and the record of their President, "Bong Bong" Marcos Jnr.

The Panel:

Producer: Helen Towner

(Photo: Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. Credit: Jam Sta Rosa/AFP via Getty Images)

After a bitter election, a new government takes power in Poland promising to de-politicise the state. But after courts are ignored, key people are sacked and opposition politicians are arrested in the Presidential Palace, is democracy being restored or undermined?

The Panel:

(Photo: Participants in the Poland's Independence Day march organised by nationalist groups in Warsaw. Photo by Wojtek Radwanski / AFP / Getty Images)