World Debate, The [world Service]

The fall of the Berlin Wall made revolution look easy. But behind the scenes, people power and the sudden end of Cold War certainties posed all kinds of political and security challenges.

In a special discussion programme, Sir John Tusa discovers what happened with key insiders from the British, German, US, Soviet and other governments.

Among those taking part are:

• Horst Teltschik, Helmut Kohl’s right-hand-man who rushed back with him to Berlin from a visit to Poland

• Andrei Grachev, adviser to Mikhail Gorbachev

• Jack Matlock, then US Ambassador in Moscow

• Miklos Nemeth, who as Prime Minister of Hungary made key decisions that began to weaken the Iron Curtain before the Berlin Wall fell

All were at the forefront and had real influence as the revolutions erupted, Germany rushed towards reunification amidst widespread international angst, and everyone wondered whether Gorbachev would survive the apparent collapse of Soviet power.

They reveal the inside story of those momentous weeks.

The fall of the Berlin Wall made revolution look easy. But behind the scenes, people power and the sudden end of Cold War certainties posed all kinds of political and security challenges.

In a special discussion programme, Sir John Tusa discovers what happened with key insiders from the British, German, US, Soviet and other governments.

Among those taking part are:

• Horst Teltschik, Helmut Kohl’s right-hand-man who rushed back with him to Berlin from a visit to Poland

• Andrei Grachev, adviser to Mikhail Gorbachev

• Jack Matlock, then US Ambassador in Moscow

• Miklos Nemeth, who as Prime Minister of Hungary made key decisions that began to weaken the Iron Curtain before the Berlin Wall fell

All were at the forefront and had real influence as the revolutions erupted, Germany rushed towards reunification amidst widespread international angst, and everyone wondered whether Gorbachev would survive the apparent collapse of Soviet power.

They reveal the inside story of those momentous weeks.

The world is wealthier than ever, but for whom? We are in Davos, where the world’s most powerful politicians and business leaders meet annually to discuss solutions to the world’s problems. BBC presenter Evan Davis will be joined by a high-level panel of decision-makers from the world of politics, business and banking – along with social activists and economists.

After the financial crisis of 2008, many people hoped a more equal world would emerge - that we might see a fresh start, reform of the banks, and a narrowing of the gap between rich and poor. But it has not quite gone to that plan. The richest 1% in the world, not only have lots of power, they still own nearly half the world’s wealth.

Evan Davis is joined in Davos by Christine Lagarde, from the International Monetary Fund, Mark Carney, Governor of the Bank of England, Sir Martin Sorrell, CEO of advertising giant WPP and Klaus Kleinfeld, CEO of Alcoa. Also joining are Robert J. Shiller, professor of Economics at Yale University and Winnie Byanyima, executive director at Oxfam International.

(Photo: Bank of England's Governor Mark J. Carney gestures during a session of the World Economic Forum (WEF) annual meeting, 2015. Credit: Fabrice Coffrini/AFP/Getty Images)

In partnership with the World Economic Forum in Jakarta, the BBC hosts a debate - Asia: Sharing the Wealth? - which will examine the issue of inclusive growth in Asia and question how its new prosperity can be sustained and shared across the region.

The debate will also look at issues including economic inequalities, the rise of the middle class and changing political expectations.

It will also ask whether individual countries in Asia can ensure that the new wealth they are enjoying is more fairly distributed to all sections of society.

Chaired by Mishal Husain the panel for the debate is:

• Abhisit Vejjajiva, Prime Minister of Thailand
• Mari Elka Pangestu, Minister of Trade, Indonesia
• Prashant Ruia, CEO, Essar Group
• Walden Bello, Congressman, Philippines, and senior analyst, Focus on the Global South

In partnership with the World Economic Forum in Jakarta, the BBC hosts a debate - Asia: Sharing the Wealth? - which will examine the issue of inclusive growth in Asia and question how its new prosperity can be sustained and shared across the region.

The debate will also look at issues including economic inequalities, the rise of the middle class and changing political expectations.

It will also ask whether individual countries in Asia can ensure that the new wealth they are enjoying is more fairly distributed to all sections of society.

Chaired by Mishal Husain the panel for the debate is:

• Abhisit Vejjajiva, Prime Minister of Thailand
• Mari Elka Pangestu, Minister of Trade, Indonesia
• Prashant Ruia, CEO, Essar Group
• Walden Bello, Congressman, Philippines, and senior analyst, Focus on the Global South

What are the fiscal and central bank challenges on the road to a resilient recovery? How do we ensure that growth is inclusive and delivers jobs? What structural reforms are still required to secure the recovery and ensure that it lasts?

- Christina Romer, former Economic Adviser to President Obama
- Dominique Strauss-Kahn, Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF)
- Joseph Stiglitz, Economist
- Zhao Xiaochuan, Governor of China's Central Bank

The debate will be chaired by Nik Gowing and recorded at the Annual Meeting of the World Bank Group and the IMF in Washington DC.

2014 will be a big year for Brazil with the football World Cup and presidential and other elections later in the year. President Rousseff is currently the favourite to win again, but economic growth has slowed under her presidency and, if the World Cup goes badly, that could count against her. Also some critics allege that Brazil’s emergence on the world stage has lost momentum under her leadership. Ritula Shah hosts a debate with a panel of experts in front of an audience at CEBRI, The Brazilian Centre for International Relations in Rio de Janeiro.

Picture: Men play football on Botafogo Beach in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Credit: Michael Regan/Getty Images

The World Debate comes from Nay Pyi Taw, in Burma, during the World Economic Forum on East Asia.

As Burma, also known as Myanmar, goes through major political and economic reforms, the panel will be discussing the future of the country, the opportunities and challenges facing the people. Nik Gowing will be moderating.

(Image: A young child, Credit: AFP/Getty Images)

Spain is facing a constitutional crisis. The autonomous region of Catalonia is threatening to implement a declaration of independence following a referendum held there on 1 October 2017. Stephen Sackur is in Barcelona to chair a debate on Catalonian independence. In front of a local audience, he brings together distinguished political figures from across the debate to ask what the crisis means for Catalonia, Spain and the rest of the European Union.

This programme was recorded on 25 October, 2017.

Spain is facing a constitutional crisis. The autonomous region of Catalonia is threatening to implement a declaration of independence following a referendum held there on 1 October 2017. Stephen Sackur is in Barcelona to chair a debate on Catalonian independence. In front of a local audience, he brings together distinguished political figures from across the debate to ask what the crisis means for Catalonia, Spain and the rest of the European Union.

This programme was recorded on 25 October, 2017.

Spain is facing a constitutional crisis. The autonomous region of Catalonia is threatening to implement a declaration of independence following a referendum held there on 1 October 2017. Stephen Sackur is in Barcelona to chair a debate on Catalonian independence. In front of a local audience, he brings together distinguished political figures from across the debate to ask what the crisis means for Catalonia, Spain and the rest of the European Union.

Published 150 years ago, Charles Darwin's seminal work, On the Origin of Species, continues to cause debate between scientists and some people of religious faith for whom the idea that man evolved from more primitive animals remains controversial.

Bridget Kendall chairs a debate about evolution and faith from a conference at the famous Bibliotheca Alexandrina in Egypt.

She is joined by an audience of students and academics and a panel including: John Hedley Brooke from the Theology Department of Oxford University; Nidhal Guessoum, Professor of Physics and Astronomy at the American University of Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates; Salman Hameed, Professor of Integrated Science and Humanities at Hampshire College in Massachusetts; Eugenie Scott, Director of the US National Centre for Science Education in California; and Samy Zalat, Professor of Biodiversity at the University of the Suez Canal.

They discuss how Darwin’s ideas were received around the world in his own time, and how attitudes vary today, from the Christian fundamentalist heartland in the USA to faith schools in the Middle East. Will there always be conflict between evolution and religion? Do they apply to different, non-overlapping worlds? Or can science live in harmony with faith?

The World Debate is at the World Economic Forum in Davos, where hundreds of business and political leaders will review the world’s most pressing issues. Following the recent US federal government shutdown, the Snowden scandal which has caused outrage from Berlin to Brasilia, and President Obama’s reluctance to intervene in Syria, Nik Gowing will be asking: Has America lost touch with the world? The panelists will include US senator John McCain, Russian parliament member, Alexey Pushkov and Saudi prince, Turki Al-Faisal. They will debate America’s role in the world in 2014 and whether the US is losing credibility, influence and power on the international scene.

Picture: The American Flag, Credit: Ronald Martinez/Getty Images

Hacking, leaking and disputing the facts - it’s never been easier to distort the truth. Can a free and fair media still operate in a digitised world and restore trust in political debate? Zeinab Badawi discusses the issues with a panel of political and media figures at the World Economic Forum in Davos, including: Joseph Kahn - Managing Editor, New York Times; Anna Belkina - Deputy Editor in Chief, RT; Jimmy Wales - Co-Founder, Wikipedia.

After 30 years of Hosni Mubarak in power, the caretaker military government in Egypt has promised elections this summer.

But opposition activists are increasingly concerned about the pace of change and want elections delayed to give the country time to prepare for a lasting democracy.

At the American University of Cairo, on Tahrir Square where only weeks ago hundreds of thousands of protestors brought down the old regime, Tim Sebastian debates important questions about revolution and democracy.

The motion is 'for the sake of democracy, Egyptian elections should be postponed'.

Speaking for the motion:

- Marwa Sharafeldin, women's rights campaigner and activist
- Shaheer George, pro-democracy activist involved in Egypt's post-Mubarak

Speaking against the motion:

- Dr Esam El-Erian, Chief Spokesman for the Muslim Brotherhood Party

- Sherif Taher, member of Al Waft, the largest liberal party in Egypt

After 30 years of Hosni Mubarak in power, the caretaker military government in Egypt has promised elections this summer.

But opposition activists are increasingly concerned about the pace of change and want elections delayed to give the country time to prepare for a lasting democracy.

At the American University of Cairo, on Tahrir Square where only weeks ago hundreds of thousands of protestors brought down the old regime, Tim Sebastian debates important questions about revolution and democracy.

The motion is 'for the sake of democracy, Egyptian elections should be postponed'.

Speaking for the motion:

- Marwa Sharafeldin, women's rights campaigner and activist

- Shaheer George, pro-democracy activist involved in Egypt's post-Mubarak

Speaking against the motion:

- Dr Esam El-Erian, Chief Spokesman for the Muslim Brotherhood Party

- Sherif Taher, member of Al Waft, the largest liberal party in Egypt

Africa is richly endowed with mineral resources.

According to the African Union, the continent holds two fifths of the world's uranium and gold, three quarters of the world's platinum and 90% of the world's diamonds.

Yet most Africans still live in poverty.

In 2010, out of 41 countries ranking lowest on the UN's Human Development list, 34 were African.

How can we explain the contradiction between this mineral wealth and the poverty of the people?

Is there a way to increase the flow of benefits from mining in Africa to the local population?

Africa is richly endowed with mineral resources.

According to the African Union, the continent holds two fifths of the world's uranium and gold, three quarters of the world's platinum and 90% of the world's diamonds.

Yet most Africans still live in poverty.

In 2010, out of 41 countries ranking lowest on the UN's Human Development list, 34 were African.

How can we explain the contradiction between this mineral wealth and the poverty of the people?

Is there a way to increase the flow of benefits from mining in Africa to the local population?

The term ‘soft power’ has gained global prominence over the last two decades. It refers to the ability of a state to get others to do what it wants by the power of attraction, rather than by coercion or ‘hard power’, which focuses on the use of military and economic strength.

A whole series of recent global events including the Russian intervention in Ukraine, suggest it is hard, not soft, power that states are turning to in order to pursue their national interests.

Ritula Shah debates the question of ‘soft power’ with a distinguished international panel and a live audience at the Center for Public Diplomacy at the University of Southern California.

The European Union is facing its biggest ever crisis of confidence, since its founders signed the treaty of Rome in 1957, inside the majestic Capitoline Palace.

Their vision was to build peace, prosperity and democracy after the devastation of the World War II.

Their heirs went further and established a bigger and ever-closer political and economic union.

Critics say it was too ambitious and thus doomed to failure.

Will the eurozone crisis destroy the European dream and how does all this impact on the rest of the world?

Zeinab Badawi chairs a debate from Rome.

Nik Gowing takes questions from our audience as The World Debate in Davos asks: Are democracies best equipped to deal with the increasingly complex challenges of the globalized world?

Europe is bogged down in deep economic crises and the US government is gridlock. China’s new leadership rejects democratic reform while the country’s economy continues to grow.

In the Middle East, the hope of freedom, democracy and prosperity promised by the Arab Spring is beginning to look tarnished. Why is democracy failing so badly to support economic prosperity?
Is autocracy more effective in a crisis? The World Debate in Davos asks: Is Democracy Winning?

The Constitutional Court in Johannesburg is required to uphold South Africa's Bill of Rights - including the right to live free of discrimination, whatever your sexual orientation.

But being gay in Africa can lead to imprisonment or death.

In this World Debate, Zeinab Badawi is joined by David Bahati, a Ugandan MP who has written and is promoting Uganda's anti-homosexuality bill, and Festus Mogae, former President of Botswana.

The conventional wisdom which started to develop from the middle of the last decade, and really gained hold with the 2008 financial and economic crisis, is that this is going to be the Asian century – particularly in the economic realm with the growth of China and India. But is this wisdom wrong? Is the dominance of Asia really inevitable?

It is a good time to be posing this question given the signs of life we are seeing from the US economy and President Obama’s much discussed pivot or rebalancing to Asia. The US’s continuing soft power advantage, coincides with the slow-down/rebalancing of the Chinese economy and economic/financial turbulence in India - which has been hit with slowing growth and is teetering on the edge of a currency and debt crisis again.

It is not simply an economic story given Asia is now the region where spending on defence and arms is rising fastest – as China modernises its military in competition with India and Japan, and south east Asian countries are also ramping up their defence spending – contrasting with declining defence spending in the US and Europe. The reason for Obama’s pivot to Asia is to focus scarcer military and economic resources on Asia and the Pacific.

The event will co-hosted by the Asia Society http://asiasociety.org/
Presenter: Ritula Shah

Belief and Modernity: Science and Culture in Islam.

Political change is sweeping through the Islamic world, with many countries questioning their traditions and looking for a new style of democracy. But just what is the relationship between science and belief in the region? A thousand years ago the Middle East was the main repository for ancient scientific knowledge, which was not only preserved but nurtured and developed, laying the foundations of fields such as mathematics, astronomy and medicine as well as philosophy. But today, not one of the world's top 400 universities is in a Muslim country. So what went wrong and can it now begin to change? Can a culture of religious belief foster the questioning approach essential for scientific breakthroughs and the building of a science-based economy?

Writer and science editor Ehsan Masood chairs a discussion before an audience at the American University of Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates. On his panel are Nidhal Guessoum, Professor of physics and astronomy at the American University of Sharjah; Rana Dajani, assistant professor of molecular biology at the Hashemite University, Amman, Jordan; writer and physicist Paul Davies who directs Beyond, the Center for Fundamental Concepts in Science at Arizona State University; and Qanta Ahmed, medical doctor and writer based in New York who has worked as a physician in Saudi Arabia. Also contributing are distinguished guests and students from the audience.

The conference Belief in Dialogue: Science, Culture and Modernity was jointly organised by the British Council, in partnership with the American University of Sharjah and in association with the International Society for Science and Religion (ISSR). The conference forms part of the British Council's global Belief in Dialogue program

Producer: Martin Redfern

As they visit Sweden to collect their awards, some of the Nobel Laureates of 2010 make time to meet the BBC's Matt Frei for a discussion about the significance of their work.

Joining Matt Frei round the table will be:

Andre Geim and Konstantin Novoselov (Physics)

Mario Vargas Llosa (Literature)

Peter Diamond, Dale Mortensen and Christopher Pissarides (Economics)

This debate has joint copyright between BBC World News and Nobel Media AB.

From the King's Library of the Royal Palace in Stockholm, Zeinab Badawi talks to some of the Nobel prize-winners about the challenges for science in the 21st Century.

The role of science in public policy, and the incredible path of revolutionary discoveries.

Guests include:

• Saul Perlmutter (Physics)
• Brian Schmidt (Physics)
• Adam Riess (Physics)
• Dan Schechtman (Chemistry)
• Jules Hoffmann (Medicine)
• Bruce Beutler (Medicine)
• Thomas Sargent (Economic Sciences)
• Christopher Sims (Economic Sciences)

Zeinab Badawi chairs a discussion from the Library of the Royal Palace in Stockholm, featuring some of the most celebrated scientists and academics of our age.

This year's Nobel Laureates for physics, chemistry, medicine and economics will be taking part in a debate encompassing their achievements, what they mean for the future of their disciplines, and what winning the award means for them.

The participants are:

Serge Haroche, Nobel Laureate in Physics
David Wineland, Nobel Laureate in Physics
Robert Lefkowitz, Nobel Laureate in Chemistry
Brian Kobilka, Nobel Laureate in Chemistry
Sir John Gurdon, Nobel Laureate in Medicine
Shinya Yamanaka, Nobel Laureate in Medicine
Alvin Roth, Nobel Laureate in Economics

(Image: Statue of Alfred Nobel, Credit: AFP/Getty)

Why are so many people in advanced democracies showing hostility towards so-called smug elites and establishment power? From Brexit to Trump, populist leaders have responded to the growing number of voters who feel disenchanted, disconnected and disenfranchised, and fear globalisation, immigration and terrorism. Frustrated at being economically left behind and politically ignored, is their disaffection dangerous or a temporary railing against the centres of power? Are the political elite in power now facing a rebellion of the forgotten – a populist insurgency, with a backlash from an electorate who are looking beyond the established and traditional parties and formations?

Join Zeinab Badawi and a high level panel of opinion formers from across Europe and America.

The panel includes:

Eric Cantor - Former Republican Congressman, US
Alexander De Croo - Deputy Prime Minister, Belgium
Dominic Raab - Conservative MP, UK
Elif Shafak - Turkish writer and commentator

Image: The panel for the debate, Credit: World Economic Forum/Ciaran McCrickard

As part of the Power of Asia season across the BBC's international news services - BBC World Service staged a panel discussion at the London Stock Exchange Theatre on Wednesday 29 June 2011.

The panel covered the reasons behind the rise of regional economies and asked whether democracy was necessary for economic development.

The agenda for the discussion was put together by some of the BBC's multilingual services including, BBC Burmese, BBC Chinese, BBC Hindi, BBC Indonesia and BBC Vietnamese.

The debate was chaired by Britt Yip of BBC Chinese and Hoang Nguyen of BBC Vietnamese.

The panel included:

Professor Athar Hussain, Director of the Asia Research Centre, London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE)

Professor Shaojia Liu, Economics and Finance, Brunel University

Dr Intan Syah Ichsan, University of Exeter

Martina Nguyen, Historian of Southeast Asia, University of California, Berkeley

Van Biak Thang, Assistant Editor of internet-based news agency, Chinland Guardian

You can listen to a shorter version of the debate or watch the debate in full via the four clips below.

For the West, the nuclear crisis in Japan and the upheaval in the Middle East have again raised concerns about energy supply and security.

In the developing world, there are still 1.6 billion people with no access to electricity, and energy demand is expanding dramatically in emerging economies.

The challenge and risks facing these countries are enormous, and the energy choices they make will have consequences for us all in terms of security and environment.

The World Debate asks, how do we power the developing world in the 21st century?

Chaired by Zeinab Badawi.

For the West, the nuclear crisis in Japan and the upheaval in the Middle East have again raised concerns about energy supply and security.

In the developing world, there are still 1.6 billion people with no access to electricity, and energy demand is expanding dramatically in emerging economies.

The challenge and risks facing these countries are enormous, and the energy choices they make will have consequences for us all in terms of security and environment.

The World Debate asks, how do we power the developing world in the 21st century?

Chaired by Zeinab Badawi.

With a debt crisis hanging over the Eurozone, an international protest movement occupying key financial centres, and slowing economic growth in Asia, what's next for the future of the global economy?

Is capitalism at a crisis point?

Nik Gowing chairs a panel of global decision makers at the World Economic Forum in Davos, featuring live questions from around the world via social media.

Tony Blair, the former Prime Minister of Britain, goes head-to-head with the author and atheist Christopher Hitchens to debate whether religion is a force for good in the world.

Does religion provide the common values and ethical foundations needed in the 21st Century or do deeply held religious beliefs promote intolerance and exacerbate ethnic divisions?

Chaired by Rudyard Griffiths in front of a 2,000 strong audience in Toronto, Canada.

Tony Blair, the former Prime Minister of Britain, goes head-to-head with the author and atheist Christopher Hitchens to debate whether religion is a force for good in the world.

Does religion provide the common values and ethical foundations needed in the 21st Century or do deeply held religious beliefs promote intolerance and exacerbate ethnic divisions?

Chaired by Rudyard Griffiths in front of a 2,000 strong audience in Toronto, Canada.

Tony Blair, the former Prime Minister of Britain, goes head-to-head with the author and atheist Christopher Hitchens to debate whether religion is a force for good in the world.

Does religion provide the common values and ethical foundations needed in the 21st Century or do deeply held religious beliefs promote intolerance and exacerbate ethnic divisions?

Chaired by Rudyard Griffiths in front of a 2,000 strong audience in Toronto, Canada.

Tony Blair, the former Prime Minister of Britain, goes head-to-head with the author and atheist Christopher Hitchens to debate whether religion is a force for good in the world.

Does religion provide the common values and ethical foundations needed in the 21st Century or do deeply held religious beliefs promote intolerance and exacerbate ethnic divisions?

Chaired by Rudyard Griffiths in front of a 2,000 strong audience in Toronto, Canada.

A string of terrorist attacks in France and Germany dominated the news agenda in summer 2016. Now, some journalists are asking if their approach needs to change.

More than 30 years after the former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher famously coined the phrase "the oxygen of publicity" when referring to media coverage of the Irish Republican Army (IRA), the leading French newspaper Le Monde has pledged to stop publishing photographs of terrorists in an attempt to deny them "posthumous glorification".

So should media outlets change the way in which they cover terrorism?

The BBC's Security Correspondent, Gordon Corera, and an expert panel of journalists and editors covering the UK, France, Germany and the Middle East debate the topic in front of an audience at Chatham House, the Royal Institute of International Affairs in London.

They discuss the different considerations journalists have both when reporting live on mass casualty attacks, and on reporting the aftermath.

Should the media treat terrorist killings differently to other types of murder? And what's the balance to be struck between reporting terrorism whilst suppressing terrorist propaganda?

DISCUSSION PANELLISTS:

Simon Jenkins, Columnist at The Guardian and former Editor of The London Times (1990-92)

Jonathan Munro, Head of Newsgathering, BBC News

Fatima Manji, News Correspondent, Channel 4 News (UK)

Amil Khan, Media consultant; Advisor to Syrian Opposition Coalition (2013-14); Middle East Correspondent, Reuters (2003-06)

Sophie Desjardin, Head, French Service, Euronews

Dr Peter Busch, Senior Lecturer, Department of War Studies, King's College London and Senior Broadcast Journalist, Zweites Deutsches Fernsehen (Germany)

CHAIR: Gordon Corera, BBC Security Correspondent
PRODUCER: Alex Burton

The global recovery has suffered more setbacks this year and risks remain high. Growth has disappointed around the globe. The euro area economy has contracted while activity has decelerated in other major advanced economies such as the UK and US.

Major emerging economies have suffered slower growth, notably China, Brazil and India. Economic policies appear to be failing to rebuild confidence. So what will it take to get the global economic recovery back on track?

Nik Gowing presents a debate on the world economy from the IMF in Tokyo. The panel includes;

• Christine Lagarde, Managing Director, IMF
• Peter Orszag, Vice Chairman of Global Banking, Citigroup
• Raghu Rajan, Chief Economist Advisor, Indian government
• Wolfgang Schäuble, Finance Minister, Germany

What should the international response be to the accelerating crisis and bloodshed in Syria?

Should the world continue to watch and wait as the Assad regime carries on its brutal suppression of internal opposition forces?

Or should the international community stage a Libya-style intervention, and risk triggering wider conflict in the Middle East?

Our presenter Stephen Sackur, is joined by leading international figures and members of the Syrian opposition.

The debate was recorded from the Arab World Institute in Paris on Friday 6 of July 2012, just after the next Friends of Syria meeting hosted by the French government.

(Image: Stephen Sackur)

What has been the US response to the Arab Spring so far?

And how has it differed in Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, Syria and the Gulf?

Has President Obama learnt the lessons of the past, and is he getting it right now?

The World Debate discusses US foreign policy in North Africa and the Middle East.

Presenter Matt Frei will be joined to debate this topic by:

• Elliott Abrams, Senior Fellow for Middle Eastern Studies at the Council on Foreign Relations

• Marwan Muasher, former Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister of Jordan

• Joseph Nye, Professor at Harvard, and former Dean of the Kennedy School

Ten years ago, in the course of just a few months, Wall Street was brought to its knees, almost dragging the global economy down with it. For the first time together in public since 2008, we hear from the three men who tried to hold back the tide.

US Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson, Federal Reserve Chair Ben Bernanke, and New York Fed chair Tim Geithner describe what it was like as some of the world's biggest banks crumbled around them, and reveal how close things came to collapse. And, as the impact of the crash continues to be felt today, they discuss the lessons learnt, and their biggest regrets.

Presented by Kai Ryssdal.

As the world continues to struggle with the global economic recession, a shift in power is also taking place.

America's role as world power is being challenged, and China is flexing its muscles.

But with power comes responsibility and questions are being asked of China's ability to engage with them.

Nik Gowing hosts a special debate with economic experts on the outlook for the world economy this year.

He asks his guests: With the dramatic growth of the emerging economies, is the era of Western global leadership over? Are China and other nations willing to assume new leadership responsibilities? And how far is the digital revolution changing the nature of political power?

The panel includes: Eric Cantor, Majority leader of the House of Representatives, Christine Lagarde, French Minister of Economy, and Anand Sharma, Minister for Commerce.

Founded in 2007 by Nelson Mandela, The Elders are a group of the world’s elder statesmen who use their experience to advise on conflict, resolution and human rights. Their most recent trip was to Moscow in April 2015 when six of them met President Putin.

In this special encounter the four elders are: Kofi Annan - Chair of The Elders, United Nations Secretary-General 1997-2006, Nobel Peace Laureate 2001, UN/Arab League Joint Special Envoy on the Syrian crisis 2012; Jimmy Carter - 39th President of the USA 1977-1981, Nobel Peace Laureate 2002; Mary Robinson, President of Ireland 1990-1997, appointed the UN Secretary-General's Special Envoy for Climate Change in 2014; Hina Jilani, founder of Pakistan’s first all-women law firm, advocate of the Supreme Court of Pakistan since 1992, UN Special Representative on Human Rights Defenders 2000-2008.

And in the studio audience, there will be 15 students from around the world. They pose questions to the Elders on a range of topics including the rise of Islamic State and the future of Syria and Iraq, Russia and Ukraine, migration and women’s rights and climate change.

Razia Iqbal meets three of the world's greatest engineers for a special event at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, held in collaboration with the Royal Commission of 1851. The record-breaking engineers are Bill Baker, the chief engineer of the Burj Khalifa - the world's tallest skyscraper; Michel Virlogeux, the chief engineer of the Millau Viaduct - the world's tallest bridge; Ilya Espino de Marotta, the chief engineer of one of the biggest engineering projects on the planet - the expansion of the Panama Canal.

(Photo: L-R, Razia Iqbal, Michel Virlogeux, Ilya Espino de Marotta, and Bill Baker)

Can engineering solve the world’s problems? Three of the world’s greatest bio engineers discuss climate change, crop failure and infertility at a special event staged in partnership with the Royal Commission for the Great Exhibition of 1851.

Professor Madeleine Van Oppen of the Australian Institute of Marine Science is developing heat resistant corals; the Ethiopian agronomist Gebisa Ejeta from Purdue University, USA is engineering drought and pest resistant crops; and Kathy Niakin leads a team at the Crick Institute, UK and is the first scientist worldwide to get national level approval to use CRISPR to edit the DNA of human embryos.

They join Razia Iqbal and a public audience at the Natural History Museum in London to discuss important and ground-breaking work.

Engineering shapes our world, robots will drive our future. Three of the world's greatest roboticists come together for a special event with Razia Iqbal and an audience at the Science Museum in London. The Engineers: Rise of the Robots explores automated cars, mobile science drones and the Mars Rover with Paul Newman, Ayanna Howard and Ashitey Trebi-Ollennu – world-leading roboticists of automated movement. In partnership with the Royal Commission for the Exhibition of 1851, they shine a light on the exciting complexities of modern robotics , and the profound effect it will have on all of our lives.

The Magna Carta is one of the most famous documents in history and is still revered by Americans as a core text of their democracy. Eight hundred years since it was sealed, the BBC World Service will be broadcasting a special debate from the Temple church in London. At the very site where much of Magna Carta was written, chief justices and experts from all over the world will be discussing the enduring legacy of the charter on democracy, human rights and political systems around the world.

Presenters Alex Jakana from BBC Africa and Julian Keane from The World Today, will be joined by an audience from the Congolese capital as they ask leading figures about whether their country is a failed state and whether there is a chance for Congo's vast natural resources to help the country rebuild itself.

Today is the last day of campaigning ahead of Congo's presidential and parliamentary elections, and the debate ends a week of broadcasting from throughout this vast country by the BBC.

The reports have highlighted the way many Congolese lives are dominated by physical and economic insecurity.

Every day there are random incidents of violence, many of which are usually unreported, and across large areas of this vast country the rule of law appears to have broken down.

Many observers maintain the effect of these many problems is to mark the DRC as a failed state.

But is this the full story?

Could any country faced with an inheritance of enormous wealth and endemic warfare survive?

The field of biology changed forever following the discovery of the structure of DNA in the 1950s, and now we live in an age of genomics. We can analyse our own DNA in great detail, learn about our past, where our ancestors came from, but also perhaps our future – the diseases our individual genetic make-up makes us susceptible to.

There are huge questions over the ownership and use of our genetic data. Claudia Hammond hosts a discussion from The Francis Crick Institute on the ethics, promise and pitfalls of genomic research.

Main Image copyright: The Francis Crick Institute

With his promise to build a border wall, Republican US presidential candidate Donald Trump has made immigration a key election issue. But many Latinos distrust Democrats on this too. Marco Werman presents a panel debate in front a live audience in the border state of Arizona, to explore the issues that could motivate America’s Latinos to vote in November - and elections to come.

In 2015, a range of events takes place across the UK commemorating the 750th anniversary of the first Westminster parliament and 800 years since the sealing of Magna Carta. These landmark moments underpinned the establishment of Parliamentary democracy and the legal system in the UK and around the world.

Michael Sandel, professor of Government at Harvard University, is known globally for the rigour he brings to the great ethical and philosophical questions of our time. He skilfully and entertainingly uses live audiences to help address such questions in his popular BBC series The Public Philosopher. In a special edition of The Public Philosopher, recorded in the Palace of Westminster as part of the BBC’s Democracy Day, he explores the nature and limits of democracy.

The BBC also turns the spotlight on itself, opening up several of its main decision making meetings to public scrutiny and broadcasting them live. It invites listeners worldwide to comment and contribute to the day's output.

Thirty-five years ago the longest conventional war of the 20th Century broke out when forces belonging to Saddam Hussein’s Iraq attacked neighbouring Iran, following the latter’s Islamic revolution and a long history of border disputes. It was to be eight long years before the fighting would end, and by then casualties were estimated at upwards of a million, and possibly much more. Today, with so many more recent crises gripping the Middle East, the conflict is in danger of being overlooked by the wider world. How were those involved affected? And, what are the longer term legacies for the region and the international order?

The first part of the programme consists of a documentary recounting the experiences of combatants, civilians, and others, amid a seemingly endless struggle that, like World War One before it, quickly came to epitomise the futility and immense suffering of war. We hear from the former soldiers of both sides, and some of their relatives, and learn about some of the personal consequence that the call to arms has had upon them.

But the Iran-Iraq war had some wider ramifications, including the fate of Iran’s Islamic revolution and those who have sought to reform it, the determination of Iran to become a nuclear power, and the attitude of both sides to the West and in particular, the United States. The Iraqi invasion of Kuwait in 1990, and all that has stemmed from that crisis, up to and including the fall of Saddam Hussein’s Sunni Muslim elite in Iraq and the subsequent sectarian conflict, can also be seen in the context of the war with Iran. These ideas are discussed within the documentary and in the debate which follows.

(Photo: Iraqi soldiers pose 20 April 1988 in front of a huge bullet-pocked mural of Iranian leader Ayatollah Khomeini in the Faw peninsula. Credit: Getty Images)

The recent revolts against autocratic governments in Libya, Tunisia, and Egypt, and protests against many governments across the region, make it clear that significant political change is underway.

With some regimes changed and others shaken, critical questions about the future of the region and the West’s policies there remain to be answered.

Has the West reacted too slowly and inappropriately to events? Have their past policies failed them, and the people of the region?

The BBC's Nik Gowing chairs a discussion with:

- Jeanne Shaheen, US Senator, Member of Foreign Relations Committee and African Affairs subcommittee

-Catherine Ashton, High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy of the European Union

- Nabil Fahmy, Dean, School of Global Affairs and Public Policy, American University in Cairo

This weekend the BBC World Service holds a live debate from Kiev, the capital of a country thrown into a turmoil by protests that cost a hundred lives and caused a president to flee.

It’s often described as a battle between East and West, between those who look to Europe and those who look to Russia for their future stability and prosperity, but where do the people of Ukraine see their future now? And who has the power? And how should the world respond?

Jamie Coomarasamy hosts this special live debate with guests and an audience in Kiev - asking what next for Ukraine, and what are the implications for Russia and the EU?

Hans Rosling, the man who makes statistics spellbinding and the World Health Organisation’s Ebola expert, Margaret Lamunu, talk to Tim Harford about their experience helping to fight the disease in West Africa on Monday at 13:00 GMT.

As part of A Richer World season, they discuss the unexpected difficulties and the unknown tactics used to battle this terrible disease in front of a live audience at the BBC Radio Theatre.

And Hans will explain a paradox - that this crisis shows us just how far Africa has come in development. You can put your own questions to Hans Rosling and Margaret Lamunu by using the twitter hashtag #bbcricherworld.

(Image: Hans Rosling. Credit: Gapminder/Stefan Nilsson)

In the last two years big banks and some large private industries have had to look to the state for assistance and the fate of millions of workers has been thrown into doubt as the recession continues in many parts of the world.

So how do young people decide where their future lies? Should they aspire to a career in traditional big businesses or in finance? Should they work for corporations whose reputations may have suffered after the recent slump? Or should they start up on their own with new ideas about changing the world?

For the past 40 years, the University of St Gallen in the north-east corner of Switzerland has hosted a famous Symposium where several hundred students from all over the world mingle with their Swiss counterparts, and with global leaders of business and ideas.

What makes the St Gallen Symposium unique is that it is organised entirely by the students themselves. BBC presenter Peter Day attends the Symposium and chairs a debate focussing on the big choices young people are facing.

He will be asking panellists and the Symposium audience: is it business as usual, or are there better ways of running the world? And is it time for a change?

Panellists include:

Gautam Thapar, CEO, Avantha Group, India
Faisel Rahman, Managing Director Fair Finance, UK
Alex Singleton, UK Newspaper Leader Writer
Professor Kishore Mahbubani, Dean and Professor of Public Policy, Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, University of Singapore

This Debate is part of a global event hosted by the BBC and 50 other broadcasters around the world. The debate explores the causes of and cures for the enduring problem of severe poverty which still affects many people in the world.

It was recorded in front of a live audience in Johannesburg earlier this year. On the panel are Tony Blair, former UK Prime Minister; Oby Ezekwesili from the Open Society Foundation, Africa and a former Nigerian government minister; Moeltesi Mbeki, South African author and Chair of SA Institute of International Affairs; and Vandana Shiva, Indian activist, environmentalist and scientist. Chaired by Zeinab Badawi.

(Image: A young boy crying. Credit: AP Photo/Wally Santana)

Is Europe at a tipping point? After the Paris terrorist attacks, there are increasing doubts that Europe’s passport-free open borders can survive in their current form. European solidarity is being put to the test, as countries struggle to agree on common solutions, both to the migrant crisis and to the terrorism threat. Is there a price to pay if Europe decides to tighten its borders? The free movement of people, trade and capital within Europe is a basic principle of the EU. At a time when Europe and its most fundamental values are facing renewed threats from outside – a growling Russian bear and a fanatical so-called Islamic State, to name but two - can the dream of a united Europe survive?

The debate will be moderated by the BBC’s chief international correspondent Lyse Doucet taking comments and questions from social media and front row VIP guests.

India is struggling with corruption at all levels of society, from petty bribery to multi-billion dollar scandals touching the highest levels of government.

In the last year there has been uproar over alleged corruption with the Commonwealth Games in Delhi and a 2G-spectrum telecoms scandal, which cost billions and led to the resignation of a top minister.

The scale of these scandals threatens to undermine India's economic gains and could slow its rapid growth.

Corruption in India is not a new phenomenon.

The country has been trying to crack down on graft since it gained independence.

But this year, millions of Indians, many from the middle classes, rallied around Anna Hazare, a septuagenarian activist and former soldier, who attempted two hunger strikes to force the government into implementing a rigorous anti-corruption bill.

Will this new movement be successful, or is India destined to operate with a culture of corruption?