What are the global issues we really talk about with our family and friends?

I know World Have Your Say doesn’t normally base a programme on a poll – let alone a BBC poll – but we just felt that this one was very relevant to what we really care about – what the world is talking about.

Join our new Facebook Fan Page

We’re always up for new ways for people to access WHYS. 

 So, we’ve set up a Facebook Fan Page  a) to find out if we actually have any fans and b) where you can pull apart each question we ask, and tell us what you think of the show.

Hopefully, it will complement the blog by being “open all hours”.

On air: Did China get away with it?

Did you watch the closing ceremony? It might be east to forget with Phelps and Bolt seared on our minds, but many people didn’t expect these Games to turn out like this.

On air: Is there a bad way to win?

I was working over at BBC World News yesterday in an office full of people I don’t know. That didn’t stop me involuntarily shouting ‘oh my God, he’s got it’ as Usain Bolt’s time flashed up for the 200m. By any sporting measure, it was astonishing. But was his sprint double celebrated in the right way? No is the answer of the Olympic boss. Do you agree with him?

Have you got a head for figures?

Can you do sums without using your fingers? Or do you need them to count on or to press the buttons on your computer or calculator? Just for a bit of fun – see how fast you are at our unscientific maths test.

I’m not going back

There are two debates suggested in the Talking Points page that we think warrant their own post. This from ZK. ‘Canada, traditionally a refuge for American military deserters, is preparing to begin deporting some back south to face trial. Any thoughts on this? Is Harper’s government right to do so?’ The man at the centre of this is American Corey Glass. Here, he makes his case for refusing to fight. Are you convinced? Are there circumstances where soldiers should be able to refuse to go to war?

Should we try and lower fuel prices?

I might not need to ask Spanish truck drivers and French fishermen to know their answer, but there’s a fierce debate surrounding the fuel prices that are affecting everyone’s live. There are protests all over the world. Here are some of the arguments being made.

Fuel for thought

If you want to get a heated discussion going around the watercooler anywhere in Europe, then bring up one topic: the rising cost of fuel. For the past few days across Europe, truckers and fishermen have been holding protests against rising world oil prices, demanding government action to hold down prices at the pumps. Yesterday in Britain, hundreds of truck drivers shut down highways in protest against green automobile taxes. Do they have a point? Or do they need to accept that the world is changing and oil is a finite commodity which is only going to get more expensive? If you live in Europe, would you be willing to pay higher taxes to combat climate change? Let us know what you think: would you prefer lower petrol prices, or a cleaner environment? Or can we have both?

On air: Is it harder to be a child than ever before?

Growing up is hard to do. That much we all know. But here are two key questions.

1) Are children today facing more challenges, dangers and restrictions than any before them?

2) Are parents’ efforts to protect and guide their children in danger of creating pressures and problems of their own? There are a number of reasons we’re talking about this….

On air: Do you want more space?

This is the No.1 story in the world however you measure it. It’s the most read and watched online, it’s sitting in the lead stories of hundreds of TV and radio stations, and many more newspapers. The Mars Phoenix has landed. That we’re interested in exploration beyond our world is beyond discussion. Whether it’s money well spent is not.