The car industry across the European Union employs over thirteen million people, both directly and indirectly, that’s around six percent of the bloc’s workforce. But in recent years, Europe’s manufacturers have been struggling to cope with issues like economic downturns, clean energy requirements and the digital revolution. Some of the oldest, biggest carmakers are considering plant closures and job cuts in order to try and stay afloat. They are also facing fierce competition in the electric vehicle market from China, who have taken a lead in producing cars that are much more competitively priced and equipped with much more sophisticated technology. China’s own economy has been flagging, so the EU provides it with its largest overseas market in terms of the electric car industry. But now, in a bid to protect their own car industry, the EU has introduced tariffs on electric cars made in China. These tariffs are set to rise from ten percent up to forty five percent for the next five years. Beijing has condemned them as protectionist and there are concerns that it could spark a trade war between Brussels and Beijing. So, on this week’s Inquiry, we’re asking ‘Is Europe’s car industry at a crossroads?’ Contributors:
Carsten Brzeski, Global Head of Macro Research, ING, Germany
Tu Le, Founder and Managing Director, Sino Auto Insights, United States of America
Beatrix Keim, Director, CAR Centre for Automotive Research, Germany
Stefan Deix, Director, EUCAR, European Council for Automotive R&D, Belgium Presenter: Tanya Beckett
Producer: Jill Collins
Researcher: Matt Toulson
Editor: Tara McDermott
Technical Producer: Matthew Dempsey
Production Co-ordinator: Liam Morrey Image Credit: Westend61 via Getty Images
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22:58
What’s the future for Syria’s divided north?
When protests against decades of rule by the Assad family were crushed by Syrian government forces in the spring of 2011, opposition groups took up arms and the country descended into civil war. The conflict drew in Syria’s Kurds, jihadi groups including Islamic State and al-Qaeda, and the international community.13 years on President Assad controls around two thirds of the country, but northern Syria remains out of the regime's grip and is highly volatile. Internal divisions, international influences and a worsening humanitarian situation may be about to further destabilise the region, with potentially serious consequences for Syria and the world. So, in this episode of The Inquiry, we’re asking ‘What’s the future for Syria’s divided north?’Contributors
Dr Burcu Ozcelik, Senior Research Fellow for Middle East Security at the Royal United Services Institute.
Charles Lister, Director of the Syria and Countering Terrorism & Extremism programs, Middle East Institute.
Qutaiba Idlbi, Director of the Syria Initiative at the Atlantic Council.
Emma Beals, Senior Advisor at the European Institute of Peace and a non-resident scholar at the Middle East Institute in Washington.Presenter: Emily Wither
Production: Diane Richardson and Matt Toulson
Broadcast Co-ordinator: Ellie Dover & Liam Morrey
Editor: Tara McDermott
Technical Producer: Cameron Ward
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22:59
Can Boeing turn it around?
Aerospace giant Boeing has had big problems to overcome since the crashes of two of its 737 Max aircraft. Its situation was compounded this year with another safety scare and a strike losing it billions of dollars. It has a new CEO who has pledged to return the company to its engineering roots and away from cost cutting and in October, Boeing managed to raise 21bn US dollars by issuing new shares in the company. However, catching up on lost production will take time and money and financially the company is nowhere near out of the weeds.Can Boeing regain the trust of regulators, airlines and passengers?
Contributors:
Richard Aboulafia, AeroDynamic Advisory, a US aerospace consultancy
Sharon Turlep, an aviation industry reporter at the Wall Street Journal
Christine Negroni, an aviation journalist specialising in safety
Scott Hamilton, aviation analystPresented by David Baker.
Produced by Bob Howard.
Researched by Matt Toulson.
Edited by Tara McDermott.
Mixed by David Crackles.
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22:59
Is YouTube’s disruption of TV now complete?
Earlier this year the global video sharing platform You Tube dominated TV viewership in the United States, knocking Disney off the top spot and leaving major media names like Netflix, Paramount, Amazon and Fox in its wake. In a first for the streaming platform, the time people spent watching YouTube on television accounted for 10.4 percent of total TV in the month of July. In terms of its world reach, the platform is now available in more than one hundred countries and pulls in nearly three billion users every month, the majority of which are between 25 and 34 years old, that’s younger than the core audience for traditional television. Launched in 2005, YouTube has since expanded and diversified, but it’s niche area for dominating the market is still in user generated content and the advertising income it draws in provides the platform with its main source of revenue, leaving the traditional TV market in its wake.So, on this week’s Inquiry, we’re asking ‘Is YouTube’s disruption of TV now complete?’ Contributors:
Mark Bergen, Reporter with Bloomberg Technology, Author of ‘Like, Comment, Subscribe: Inside YouTube’s Chaotic Rise to World Domination’, London, UK.Chris Stokel-Walker, Journalist, Author of ‘YouTubers: How YouTube Shook Up TV and Created a New Generation of Stars’, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK
Rahul Telang, Professor of Information Systems, Carnegie Mellon University, Co-Author of ‘Streaming, Sharing, Stealing: Big Data and the Future of Entertainment’, Pennsylvania, USA Dr. Marlen Komorowski, Professor for European Media Markets, Vrije Universiteit Brussels, Senior Research Fellow, Cardiff University, Wales, UK
Presenter: Charmaine Cozier
Producer: Jill Collins
Researcher: Kirsteen Knight
Editor: Tara McDermott
Technical Producer: Cameron Ward
Production Co-ordinator: Tim FernleyImage: Silhouettes of laptop and mobile device users are seen next to a screen projection of the YouTube logoCredit: Reuters/Dado Ruvić
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22:59
What will happen after the International Space Station?
The International Space Station will be decommissioned in 2030 and crash down into the Pacific Ocean, ending more than three decades of international cooperation. Launched in the wake of the Cold War, the ISS is seen as a triumph of global diplomacy between the US, Russia and other nations. Its demise will mark the end of an era.Nasa has awarded contracts to commercial companies to develop potential successors to the ISS, and maintain a U.S. presence in low earth orbit. Meanwhile Russia and India have said they plan to launch their own individual stations, and China has already got its own space station, Tiangong. As the era of the International Space Station nears its end, this week on The Inquiry, we’re asking ‘What will happen after the International Space Station?’ Presenter: Tanya Beckett
Producer: Matt Toulson
Researcher: Kirsteen Knight
Editor: Tara McDermott
Technical Operator: Ben HoughtonContributors:
Jennifer Levasseur, Museum Curator at the Smithsonian Institution’s National Air and Space Museum, Washington D.C., USMark McCaughrean, former Senior Advisor for Science & Exploration at the European Space Agency and astronomer at the Max Planck Institute for Astronomy, Heidelberg, GermanyMai'a Cross, Professor of political science at Northeastern University, and director for the Center for International Affairs and World Cultures, Massachusetts, USWendy Whitman Cobb, Professor of strategy and security studies at the School of Advanced Air and Space Studies, Alabama, USCREDIT: State of the Union address, 1984; Courtesy Ronald Reagan Presidential Library