The Why? Curve

Is Reform UK looking increasingly like Conservatives 2.0? High-profile defections like Robert Jenrick and Suella Braverman help add experience to Nigel Farage's party, but will they also mean it's not really the new force in UK politics many of its adherents want? And, as Kemi Badenoch's Tories drift further to the right, where do centre-conservative voters go? What is the future of the right in Britain? Tim Bale, Professor of Politics at Queen Mary University of London, tells Phil and Roger.

There has been a seismic and permanent shift in the international order, and the President of the European Commission says this new world is defined by raw power. So where do the pieces fall after Donald Trump's threats to take Greenland, and his intervention in Venezuela? Is the global order now just a matter of money and military force? Is Europe in any position to say no to the man in the White House? Phil and Roger ask Stefan Wollf, Professor of International Security at the University of Birmingham

Australia has launched itself into combatting the bad effects of social media on kids by banning under 16s from using them. It’s a world first, and a huge experiment that’s brought resentment from some young people, scepticism from many adults, and a collective shrug from most social media companies. So a month into the ban - is it working? Is it an infringement of free speech? And will youngsters just find a way around the restrictions? Or is it the start of a global push back against the power of Meta, TikTok and the rest? Phil and Roger have been speaking to Paul Wallbank, a tech journalist with the Sydney Daily Telegraph

As divorce lawyers enter their busiest season, how sustainable is modern marriage? Plenty of couples never bother to formally marry, and the rate of break-ups in those who do has been rising. Does the model of lifelong partnership, sanctioned by law, work in an era of constant choice about everything from mobile phones to relationships? Are permanent couples the happiest form of human interaction? Phil and Roger get guidance from Dr Veronica Lamarche, senior psychology lecturer at the University of Essex.

Is Donald Trump aiming to reshape Hollywood? His supporters are putting money into making movies that reflect the MAGA outlook - old-fashioned heroes in action films - and bury what they see as the liberal woke influence on moviegoers. The struggle between Netflix and Skydance over who will buy Warner Bros is part of that. So will 2026 be the year that cinema turned to the right? Sarah Atkinson, Professor of Screen Media at King’s College London, tells Phil and Roger what to expect

The first Christmas for the new Archbishop of Canterbury, and the first Christmas message by a woman in that office at the head of the Anglican communion. Sarah Mullally leads a global church in crisis - over child abuse, gay marriage and diminishing congregations. Can it survive the huge divisions on doctrine and practice between the faithful in the global south, and those in the rich West? Phil and Roger ask Professor Andrew McGowan, Dean of the Divinity School at Yale University.

Just eighteen months after a massive electoral victory, the man who leads the Labour party and the country seems to be unable to govern effectively, and it's widely assumed he will be replaced in 2026. Sir Keir Starmer has some of the worst poll ratings in modern political history, and few of his MPs want him to stay prime minister, but who will replace him? When, and how? And what chance will they have of dealing with the country's myriad problems? Robert Ford, Professor of Political Science at Manchester University, tells Phil and Roger what lies ahead for the Labour Party and British politics.

With growing numbers of claimants for benefits, pensions and social care, and little sign of growth in the economy, how can we balance the books? Has the whole idea of supporting every member of society ‘from the cradle to the grave’ been superseded by financial conditions? Or is it just a matter of raising more taxes from the richest in society, following the Scandinavian pattern? Phil and Roger ask Peter Starke, Professor of Political Science and Public Management at the University of Southern Denmark.