The Inquiry

Jurgen De Wispelaere, longtime basic income researcher, maps global pilots and policy uptake. Daron Acemoglu, MIT institute professor and 2024 Nobel laureate, debates AI’s impact on jobs and policy choices. Dr Catarina Neves, philosopher and researcher, outlines basic income types and experiments. Dr Jenny Dagg, sociologist, reports on Ireland’s artists’ payments and effects on wellbeing and creativity. They discuss pilots, AI, inequality and policy response.

Jürgen de Wispelaere, long‑time basic income researcher, maps global pilots. Daron Acemoglu, 2024 Nobel laureate in economics, offers a critical take on UBI and AI’s labour effects. Dr Catarina Neves, philosopher, parses different unconditional income experiments. Dr Jenny Dagg, sociologist, reports on Ireland’s artists’ cash scheme and wellbeing impacts. They debate pilots, policy adoption, AI pressures and alternative responses.

Renata Segura, programme director at the International Crisis Group, explains U.S. pressure, the fuel blockade and humanitarian fallout. Lillian Guerra, professor of Cuban and Caribbean history, traces 20th century transformations and the revolution's political economy. They discuss fuel shortages, blackouts, Venezuela’s oil role and whether current strain will force economic opening without full political change.

Steve Carver, rewilding professor and IUCN adviser, outlines principles and people-focused approaches. David Nogues Bravo, biodiversity professor, warns of risks from species introductions. Brendan Fisher, conservation researcher, explores trade-offs and leakage. Carolina Soto-Navarro, Rewilding Europe leader, describes landscape-scale restoration. They discuss carbon storage, resilience, measurement challenges and realistic limits of rewilding.

Rafal Benecki, ING chief economist in Poland, outlines diversification, tech talent and defence-driven R&D. Katarzyna Rzentarzewska, Erste Group macro economist, analyses the impact of Ukrainian arrivals on labour supply. Iga Magda, Warsaw School of Economics labour researcher, discusses employment shifts and demographics. Dr Pawel Bukowski, UCL economist, traces post-communist institutional change and investment.

Ismael Gálvez Iniesta, assistant professor of applied economics, explains Spain’s planned amnesty and its policy and macroeconomic roots. He discusses who could qualify and how timing, signatures and union support shaped the plan. The conversation covers past regularisations, labour market impacts, EU contrasts and what the 2026 measure might mean for mobility and public services.

Dr Patrick Schröder, a Chatham House researcher on mining and recycling; Kalim Siddiqui, an international economist on trade and industrial strategy; Sophia Kalanzakos, an NYU Abu Dhabi professor on industrial policy and geopolitics; and Julie Michelle Klinger, a geographer of critical minerals. They discuss China's rise to dominance, the environmental costs of mining and refining, why catching up is hard, and the role of recycling and industrial strategy.

Dr Johan Rewilak, sport management researcher at Loughborough, and Dr Christina Philippou, sport finance expert at Portsmouth, debate the 2026 World Cup's expansion and costs. They discuss FIFA's growth aims, how dynamic and tiered pricing raised ticket prices, the travel and accommodation burden across three countries, and whether ticket revenue truly funds global development.

Prof Bridget Scanlon, groundwater expert studying industry and data-centre impacts. Augusto Getirana, satellite hydrology scientist tracking large-scale water deficits. Jayshree Vencatesan, ecologist who defended Chennai’s wetlands. They discuss urban Day Zero crises, deforestation’s effect on rainfall, the thirsty rise of AI data centres, and integrated solutions like recycling and desalination.

Constantino Xavier, an India-Bangladesh relations expert; Rounaq Jahan, a scholar of Bangladesh’s democratic institutions; Zia Chowdhury, a Dhaka-based political reporter; and Shaheen Mamun, a think-tank director in London. They discuss the fallout from Sheikh Hasina’s ousting, Tarique Rahman’s return and BNP’s promises. Conversations cover the two-party dynastic rivalry, prospects for free votes, institutional rebuilding and India’s strategic calculations.