In January, the popular Chinese social media app TikTok went offline for its 170 million Americans. The outage marked a turning point in a long-running dispute over data privacy and national security, with US lawmakers concerned about the app’s Chinese ownership. A law passed by Congress required ByteDance, TikTok’s parent company, to sell its US operations or face a ban. Although ByteDance did not meet the deadline, the newly inaugurated President Trump postponed enforcement, introducing a timeline for a potential sale. That deadline has since been extended multiple times, with the current cutoff now set for 17 September. But with complex negotiations still underway and Beijing reluctant to approve any deal, Trump has signalled he may grant yet another extension leaving the app’s fate in the US uncertain. This week on The Inquiry, we’re asking: Is it time up for TikTok in the US?

Contributors: Alan Rozenshtein, Associate Professor of Law at the University of Minnesota Dr Joanne Gray, Senior Lecturer in Digital Cultures in the Discipline of Media and Communications at the University of Sydney Anupam Chander, Professor of Law and Technology at Georgetown University Isabella Wilkinson, Research Fellow in the Digital Society Initiative at Chatham House

Presenter: David Baker Producer: Matt Toulson Researcher: Maeve Schaffer Editor: Louise Clarke Technical Producer: James Bradshaw Production Management Assistant: Liam Morrey

“There is no longer any debate that space is a war fighting domain,”

These were the words of Commander General Stephen Whiting from the US government’s Space Command at a conference earlier this year. China, the US, India and Russia have tested anti-satellite weapons in space, and technology is blurring the lines between civilian and military satellites.

But will there be war in space?

Joining us to discuss the threat of satellite warfare are: Dr Raji Rajagopalan, a resident senior fellow with the Australian Strategic Policy Institute in Canberra; Juliana Suess, an associate with the German Institute for International and Security Affairs; Saadia Pekkanen, professor at the University of Washington in Seattle, USA and Dr Bleddyn Bowen is an associate professor of Astro politics with the Space Research Centre at Durham University in the UK.

Presenter: Charmaine Cozier Producer: Vicky Farncombe Researcher: Maeve Schaffer Technical producer: Nicky Edwards Production Coordinator: Tammy Snow Editor: Tara McDermott

Image: Getty Images

A far-right party which came to prominence during the Covid-19 pandemic recently showed itself to be a contender to Japan’s centrist political establishment, when it grew from one seat, three years ago to 15 seats in the recent elections.

Known as Sanseito, the party is led by Kamiya Sohei, whose YouTube videos spread conspiracy theories about vaccinations. Its political platform is a nationalist ‘Japanese first’ agenda and warns against a ‘silent invasion of foreigners’.

Whilst for Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party coalition, the election results were bruising. The LDP lost its majority in the Upper House, having already lost control of the Lower House last year. But its embattled Prime Minister, Shigeru Ishiba, whilst facing calls from within his party to resign, has said he has no plans to quit.

Against this backdrop, there’s a growing unease amongst Japanese voters over issues like immigration, over-tourism and the economy and Sanseito are tapping into that.

Joining us to discuss Japan's political climate are Kenneth Mori McElwain, professor of Comparative Politics, University of Tokyo, Japan; Dr Fabian Schäfer, chair of Japanese Studies, Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, Germany; Jeffrey Hall, author and lecturer, Kanda University of International Studies, Eastern Japan; Dr Kristi Govella, associate professor of Japanese Politics and International Relations, University of Oxford, UK.

Presenter: William Crawley Producer: Jill Collins Researcher: Evie Yabsley Technical producer: Craig Boardman Production management assistant: Liam Morrey Editor: Tara McDermott

Children in Indonesia are now receiving free school meals — part of a bold new plan by President Prabowo Subianto to tackle malnutrition. Around one in five children in the country are stunted, meaning they are too short for their age. The lunch programme is central to Prabowo’s vision of a “Golden Indonesia” – a prosperous, high-income nation by 2045. But not everyone is happy. To fund this and other populist pledges, the president has reallocated billions in public funds, cutting budgets from ministries including health and education. There have also been reports of food poisoning linked to the programme. Meanwhile, millions of Indonesians are struggling. The International Monetary Fund warns the country's unemployment rate will rise to 5% this year — the highest among the Southeast Asian economies it tracks. On this week’s Inquiry, we’re asking: ‘Can Indonesia afford free lunches?’ Contributors: Dini Widiastuti, Executive Director, Yayasan Plan International Indonesia Julia Lau, Senior Fellow and Coordinator, Indonesia Studies Programme, ISEAS – Yusof Ishak Institute, Singapore Dr Suman Chakrabarti, Associate Research Fellow in the Nutrition, Diets, and Health Unit, International Food Policy Research Institute, New Delhi, India Bhima Yudhistira, Executive Director, Center of Economic and Law Studies (CELIOS), Indonesia

Presenter: Tanya Beckett Producer: Vicky Farncombe Researcher: Maeve Schaffer Editor: Tara McDermott Technical Producer: Nicky Edwards Production Management Assistant: Liam Morrey

Image Credit: Dimas Rachmatsyah via Getty Images