The Why? Curve

The US presidential election has been upended by the replacement of one candidate, and the attempted assassination of the other. Can Karmala Harris unite the Democrats and compete effectively with Donald Trump? Has a near-death experience changed The Donald, or just made more of his supporters sure he is God’s chosen leader? And why did Joe Biden wait so long to acknowledge his obvious incapacity? Phil and Roger get the picture from Dr Thomas Gift , Associate Professor in Political Science at University College London, and Director of the Centre on US Politics

As the new Labour government pushes to get the UK economy growing, is it time we became a big manufacturer once again? For decades the driver of the economy has been services, but is that too difficult to sustain? Should we go back to making stuff - this time microprocessors, software, AI programs? Ali Bigdeli, Professor of Industrial Service Innovation at Aston University tells Roger and Phil what the shape of the new economy could be. It's all to do with servitisation apparently.

We all need a holiday right now, somewhere drier and hotter than Britain. But do our favourite resorts want US? Protesters fire water pistols at visitors in Barcelona, thousands turn out in Tenerife to tell holidaymakers to go home. Tourists, they say, force up prices, clog the streets and destroy the very thing they have come for - beauty, tranquility and local culture. Are we all too addicted to travelling too often and in the wrong way? Phil and Roger ask Marina Novelli, Professor of Marketing and Director of the Sustainable Travel and Tourism Advanced Research Centre at Nottingham University/

What's the point in voting? The answer, if you're not in a seat where there's a chance your candidate will come first or second, is not much. The first-past-the-post system means many, or even most of us, are effectively disenfranchised at each general election. So is there a better, fairer way to run our polling? A proportional system, perhaps? Or is there a risk that that would mean no clear outcome and we will have constant unstable coalition governments? Dr Heinz Brandenberg, senior lecturer in politics at the University of Strathclyde, picks through the options for democracy with Phil and Roger.

Just a week to go before a voting day that’s likely to lead to a radical change in the UK’s political landscape. But what have we learnt about the parties and the personalities that will dominate the new politics, after a parliamentary clean-out of the old team? Will Labour have to cut back even its modest ambitions in the face of economic reality? Will the Conservatives suffer a reversal, or a full-on existential catastrophe? Rob Ford, Professor of Politics at the University of Manchester, and co-author of Brexitland, takes Phil and Roger through what may happen on and after July 4th

With Labour almost certain to take the reins of power on July 5th, almost none of the incoming ministers have ever run anything bigger than a church fete. Right away they will have to take over billion-pound budgets and huge departments. Is it ridiculous to put gifted but untrained amateurs in charge of the world’s sixth-largest economy? Sir Geoff Mulgan thinks there should be tuition in how to govern for all politicians. The former Blair adviser - now professor of Collective Intelligence, Public Policy and Social Innovation at University College, London - tells Roger and Phil that having leaders who know what they’re doing from day one is crucial for our democracy

TV debates, TikTok stunts, falling off a paddleboard - does any of it influence how people vote? What works in an election campaign? Does ANYONE read a manifesto? How can politicians connect effectively with the public? Or has everyone already made up their minds? Dr Matt Walsh, head of the School of Journalism, Media and Culture at the University of Cardiff, tells Phil and Roger what, if anything, actually moves the dial.

Promises galore - more doctors’ surgeries, pension triple-lock plus, free social care, a boost in the size of the army - but how much of any of this can we afford, whoever gets into Number 10 on July 5th? The huge public debt, lack of investment and productivity, and politicians refusal to countenance tax increases all point to sums that don’t add up. Dr Michael Nower of Durham University takes Phil and Roger through the harsh realities behind the campaign rhetoric in the UK’s 2024 election.

Are leaders ever held to account for starting wars or killing civilians. The International Criminal Court has already issued an arrest warrant for Vladimir Putin, and one is in prospect for Israel’s prime minister, Binyamin Netanyahu. Is it right to try to prosecute the leader of a democracy with a functional justice system of its own? Does a court that has mainly jailed African dictators over the last 20 years but ignored the actions of great powers, have any credibility? Dr Clare Frances Moran, lecturer in public international law at Aberdeen University tells Phil and Roger what’s at stake and why it matters.