Why is the BBC in semi-permanent crisis? There is clearly a campaign against it, but the corporation has made bad mistakes. So is there a need to rethink what it's for and how it works? Prof Simon Potter @bristoluni.bsky.social tells me and @phildobbie.bsky.social whycurve.com/episode/bbc-...

High level diplomacy in Washington and Alaska, but Ukraine is still under fire. So is peace any closer? @stefwolff.bsky.social @unibirmingham.bsky.social tells me and @phildobbie.bsky.social Donald Trump isn't prepared to do what's needed to end the conflict whycurve.com/episode/ukra...

Why are protesters being arrested for holding up signs? By banning Palestine Action - a group widely seen as non-violent - has the government moved the goalposts too far on what counts as terrorism? We asked @seethingmead.bsky.social @uniofeastanglia.bsky.social whycurve.com/episode/pale...

For anyone interested, some thought here whycurve.com/episode/pale...

I spoke with @phildobbie.bsky.social and @rogerhearing.bsky.social on The Why? Curve podcast about whether there is a crisis of representative democracy, why populists often fail to deliver, and how President Trump is attacking US democracy. Give it a listen here: whycurve.com/episode/demo...

Can there ever be real peace between India and Pakistan? 78 years of rivalry and on/off conflict despite (or because of) a shared history. @katesde.bsky.social @ox.ac.uk tells me and @phildobbie.bsky.social whycurve.com/episode/indi...

The Holy Spirit or political calculation? What will drive the choice of a new pope when the cardinals meet? @sarasilvestri.bsky.social @citystgeorges.bsky.social tells me and Phil Dobbie what to expect when the cardinals meet whycurve.com

Is it time to shrink the state? There’s an appetite on both sides of the Atlantic to cut back on what government does, improve efficiency and save money. But will it hurt more than help? Professor Patrick Diamond @qmul.ac.uk tells me and Phil Dobbie whycurve.com/episode/time...

The aid tap is being turned off - USAID is suspended, and the UK is moving funds to defence. What happens to those who depend on this assistance? Phil Dobbie and I hear from @mikejennings101.bsky.social @soasuni.bsky.social whycurve.com/episode/aid-...

The most powerful man in the world - once again - is Donald Trump. So what will the next four years be like for the US and the world? How far does he mean what he says? I and Phil Dobbie seek some answers from Dr Thomas Gift, Director of the UCL Centre on US Politics whycurve.com/episode/trum...

Starmer's stumbly start - the pound drops, damaging rows over grooming gangs and inheritance tax, social care kicked into the long grass. Prof Rohan McWilliam of Anglia Ruskin University tells me and Phil Dobbie what could still go right for the Labour government whycurve.com/episode/star...

You've survived the new year parties, but will you survive the new year? Nuclear war? Alien invasion? Another pandemic?Haydn Belfield of the Cambridge University Centre for the Study of Existential Risk takes me and Phil Dobbie through the latest research whycurve.com/episode/what...

Who'd be a farmer? Hard work, low returns, and heavy regulation - plus, in some cases now, inheritance tax. Dr Peter Gittins of Leeds University tells me and Phil Dobbie why it's still a worthwhile job whycurve.com/episode/trac...