Podcast
BBC World Service
1951 episodes · en
Conversations with people shaping our world, from all around the globe. Listen to The Interview for the best conversations from the BBC, the world's most trusted international news provider. We hear from titans of business, politics, finance, sport and culture. Global leaders, decision-makers and cultural icons. Politicians, activists and CEOs. Each interview is around 20-minutes, packed full of insight and analysis, covering some of the biggest issues of our time. How does it work? Well, at the BBC, our journalists interview amazing people every single day. And on The Interview, we bring them to you. It’s your one-stop-shop to the best conversations coming out of the BBC, with the people shaping our world, from all over the world. Get in touch with us on [email protected] and use the hashtag #TheInterviewBBC on social media.
Aug 13, 2026 · 23 min
"There are repressions, political repressions, against freedom of speech, against elections, against the rights of citizens to hold mass events. To such an extent that we don't know what the real public mood is.” The BBC’s Russia editor Steve Rosenberg meets Dmitry Muratov one of Russia’s most prominent independent journalists. For more than 30 years, he has been one of Russia’s staunchest defenders of independent journalism, and one of the Kremlin’s most outspoken critics. Dmitry Muratov co-founded Novaya Gazeta, the newspaper known for exposing corruption and human rights abuses - work that has come at a cost, with several of its journalists murdered. In 2021, Muratov was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts “to safeguard freedom of expression.” Since then, Russia’s war in Ukraine has brought an even greater crackdown on dissent and independent media. In this exclusive interview, he talks about journalism under Putin, the war in Ukraine and the fight to keep telling the truth. The Interview brings you conversations with people shaping our world, from all over the world. The best interviews from the BBC, including episodes with Russia’s nuclear envoy Mikhail Ulyanov, UNICEF chief Catherine Russell and music legend Ringo Starr. You can listen on the BBC World Service on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 0800 GMT. Or you can listen to The Interview as a podcast, out three times a week on BBC Sounds or wherever you get your podcasts. Presenter: Steve Rosenberg Producers: Ben Tavener and Farhana Haider Editor: Damon Rose Get in touch with us on email [email protected] and use the hashtag #TheInterviewBBC on social media. (Image: Dmitry Muratov. Credit: Europa Press News via Getty Images)
Aug 11, 2026 · 23 min
“I just knew that I wanted to be a mega superstar and I didn't know how…I feel like Africa chose me before I even chose Africa, and I feel music chose me before I chose music.” Nkechi Ogbonna speaks to Nigerian singer and songwriter Yemi Alade about becoming one of Africa's biggest music stars and a trailblazer who has helped take Afrobeats to the world. Alade has collaborated with artists including Beyoncé and became the first female African Afrobeats artist to surpass 100 million views on a single music video. She's now touring the continent to promote her latest album. Alade reflects on the challenges women face in Africa’s music industry, myths around success and some of the difficulties she’s faced touring on a Nigerian passport. Thank you to the Focus on Africa team for its help in making this programme. The Interview brings you conversations with people shaping our world, from all over the world. The best interviews from the BBC, including episodes with Gugu Zuma-Ncube and Thuli Zuma, executive producers of South Africa Netflix hit ‘The Polygamist’, legendary musician Paul McCartney, and ballet star Carlos Acosta. You can listen on the BBC World Service on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 0800 GMT. Or you can listen to The Interview as a podcast, out three times a week on BBC Sounds or wherever you get your podcasts. Presenter: Nkechi Ogbonna Producer: Cordelia Hemming Editor: Damon Rose (Image: Yemi Alade. Credit: Gilbert Flores/Billboard via Getty Images)
Aug 9, 2026 · 23 min
“This movement was by young people who had hardly anything to lose. We had no fear and that's what spread across the country and today people are raising their voices. This time it stopped at the education ministry, but if this continues, I think the younger generation may not stop at just education.” Rajini Vaidyanathan speaks to Indian activist Sonam Wangchuk, whose 26-day hunger strike made him a central figure in youth-led protests over leaked exam papers. The anger about leaks broadened into frustration over limited opportunities for young people, and the demonstrations became one of the biggest public displays of dissent against Narendra Modi’s BJP government. Sonam ended his fast after receiving assurances on education reform. Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan later resigned, one of the key demands from the protestors. He explains his belief that non-violent protest can influence those in power, the physical risk you take if you stage a hunger strike, and why the movement may not stop at education. The Interview brings you conversations with people shaping our world, from all over the world. The best interviews from the BBC, including episodes with Google CEO Sundar Pichai and author Maggie O’Farrell. You can listen on the BBC World Service on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 0800 GMT. Or you can listen to The Interview as a podcast, out three times a week on BBC Sounds or wherever you get your podcasts. Presenter: Rajini Vaidyanathan Producer: Osman Iqbal Editors: Farhana Haider and Damon Rose (Image: Sonam Wangchuk. Credit: Getty)
Aug 6, 2026 · 24 min
“It's very important that we expose this work early on, so that people from different cultures see ballet as a way of a career. But in the 1990s or 2000s, it was pretty much closed, we didn't have - even in school - a lot of black ballet dancers from which to choose from. But now, obviously, things have moved on. Now, diversity is at the top of every director's agenda… it's great that we’ve seen a big shift and we see the right kind of representation of the world as we have it today, on stage.” Michael Berkeley speaks to ballet star Carlos Acosta about his life and career. Born in 1973, Acosta grew up in a poor part of Havana, where he was the 11th child in a very large family. He began training at the National Ballet School of Cuba at 9 years old, and quickly rose to prominence. At 18, he became the youngest principal dancer at the English National Ballet. After gaining further international experience, Acosta joined the Royal Ballet in 1998 - making it his home for nearly two decades, and performing every major classical role. Such was his impact, in 2014 he received a CBE in Queen Elizabeth’s honours list for services to ballet. Now the Director of Birmingham Royal Ballet, he’s fostered some unexpected collaborations, including a show based on the music of the city’s heavy rock legends Black Sabbath, as well as classics like Swan Lake and the Nutcracker. Thank you to the Private Passions team for their help in making this programme. The Interview brings you conversations with people shaping our world, from all over the world. The best interviews from the BBC, including episodes with Oscar-winning filmmaker Sir Christopher Nolan, music icon Chaka Khan, and artist Tracey Emin. You can listen on the BBC World Service on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 0800 GMT. Or you can listen to The Interview as a podcast, out three times a week on BBC Sounds or wherever you get your podcasts. Presenter: Michael Berkeley Producers: Ben Cooper and Clare Walker Editor: Damon Rose Get in touch with us on email [email protected] and use the hashtag #TheInterviewBBC on social media. (Image: Carlos Acosta. Credit: Tolga Akmen/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock)
Aug 4, 2026 · 25 min
‘When it comes to humanitarian crisis, we should not allow children's future to be subject to geopolitics. We can't say that there are politically compulsions as a result of which we are allowing children to die of starvation. We can't say there are political compulsions because of which we are allowing children to die of want of medical aid. So the request before the Security Council was this. Cannot all countries agree on the minimum norms of humanitarian aid?’ Jugal Purohit speaks to Srinivasan Muralidhar, a lawyer turned judge in India for over four decades, in November 2025, he was appointed by the UN to lead an independent International Commission of Inquiry on the occupied Palestinian territory, including East Jerusalem, and Israel. The commission examined alleged Israeli violations against Palestinian children from the beginning of Israel’s war on Gaza in October 2023 to October 2025. In June 2026 it published its 94-page report. Israel did not cooperate or provide information to the commission. It rejected the report and disputed its conclusions after publication. The report found that Israel had deliberately targeted Palestinian children, resulting in genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes in the Gaza Strip, as well as war crimes in the occupied West Bank. Srinivasan Muralidhar talks about how the commission documented and verified the evidence of violations against children, the challenges it faced in establishing the facts, and the key conclusions it reached in its report. This episode of The Interview contains discussion of the killing of children and other consequences of conflict. The Interview brings you conversations with people shaping our world, from all over the world. The best interviews from the BBC, including episodes with the UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, former Israeli hostage Keith Siegel, and the author Maggie O’Farrell. You can listen on the BBC World Service on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 0800 GMT. Or you can listen to The Interview as a podcast, out three times a week on BBC Sounds or wherever you get your podcasts. Presenter: Jugal Purohit Producer: Farhana Haider Editor: Justine Lang Get in touch with us on email [email protected] and use the hashtag #TheInterviewBBC on social media. (Image: Srinivasan Muralidhar. Credit: BBC)
Aug 2, 2026 · 25 min
“The time has come for the international community to be honest, not to be hypocritical, not be selective, not engage in erasure, but to admit that the gravest crime against humanity took place and it took place on this continent. And that the time to repair what was broken, what undermines our collective humanity, what is a scar on our collective conscience, the time and the only way to repair that is now.” Aleem Maqbool speaks to Ghana’s Foreign Minister, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, about his country leading a global campaign for reparations for the transatlantic slave trade. Earlier this year, the United Nations adopted an historic resolution that declared the transatlantic slave trade "the gravest crime against humanity", although every European nation chose to abstain in the vote. Meanwhile, the US was one of three countries to vote against. Between the 16th and 19th centuries, it’s estimated that around 12 million people were forcibly trafficked from Africa to European colonies in the Americas, although some historians place this figure even higher. Accra’s campaign has been supported by countries all over the world, and although not so much by European nations, it has been recognised by some European institutions, like the Church of England. The Interview brings you conversations with people shaping our world, from all over the world. The best interviews from the BBC, including episodes with former Sudanese leader Aisha Musa, microfinance pioneer Jennifer Riria, and Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of the World Health Organisation. You can listen on the BBC World Service on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 0800 GMT. Or you can listen to The Interview as a podcast, out three times a week on BBC Sounds or wherever you get your podcasts. Presenter: Aleem Maqbool Producers: Catherine Wyatt and Ben Cooper Editor: Justine Lang Get in touch with us on email [email protected] and use the hashtag #TheInterviewBBC on social media. (Image: Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa. Credit: Getty)
Jul 30, 2026 · 23 min
Leanna Byrne speaks to Sumant Sinha, the founder of ReNew, one of India's largest renewable energy companies about why he thinks green and clean energy will win out. Sinha began his career in finance, working in New York and London, before walking away from the corporate world to make a bet on renewable energy. He founded his company in India, which is one of the world’s most polluted countries. It also imports around 85% fossil fuels. Sinha says that moving as quickly as possible to clean energy will also help ensure the country’s energy security. Thank you to the Business Daily team for its help in making this programme. The Interview brings you conversations with people shaping our world, from all over the world. The best interviews from the BBC, including episodes with Rafael Grossi, Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency, US journalist Maggie Haberman, and Jim Continenza CEO of Kodak. You can listen on the BBC World Service on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 0800 GMT. Or you can listen to The Interview as a podcast, out three times a week on BBC Sounds or wherever you get your podcasts. (Image: Sumant Sinha speaks and gestures with his hands. He has short black hair and wears a blue jacket, a white shirt and light blue tie. Credit: Getty Images) Presenter: Leanna Byrne Producer: Cordelia Hemming Editor: Justine Lang
Jul 28, 2026 · 23 min
“This is a legitimate concern of South Africans, where there’s illegal foreigners, people with no paperwork. No country in the world allows that to happen. Why should we? Our message is very simple. We say, South Africa is open for our brothers on the continent, but come here legitimately. Come here like a civilised human being that wants to come and contribute towards our country.” Waihiga Mwaura speaks to Gayton McKenzie, South Africa’s Minister of Sport, Arts and Culture and leader of the Patriotic Alliance, a party that has built much of its support on a hardline stance on illegal migration. As South Africa is gripped by protests, violence and political division over immigration, McKenzie responds to criticism that his views betray Nelson Mandela’s legacy of humanity, social justice and freedom. He rejects accusations that he’s blaming migrants for South Africa’s wider problems and argues his approach reflects the concerns of many South Africans. The Interview brings you conversations with people shaping our world, from all over the world. The best interviews from the BBC, including episodes with Google CEO Sundar Pichai and author Maggie O’Farrell. You can listen on the BBC World Service on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 0800 GMT. Or you can listen to The Interview as a podcast, out three times a week on BBC Sounds or wherever you get your podcasts. Presenter: Waihiga Mwaura Producer: Osman Iqbal Editor: Justine Lang (Image: Gayton McKenzie. Credit: Reuters)
Jul 26, 2026 · 23 min
‘Their love was so innocent, so sweet, so organic and we just wanted them to end up together because even they knew that some of the queer films always end in tragedy and they were worried that something like that's going to happen but that didn't happen and so people were really happy with it.’ Nikki Bedi speaks to Rohan Kanawade, the acclaimed director whose debut feature Cactus Pears or Sabar Bonda, made history as the first Marathi-language film to premiere at the prestigious Sundance Film Festival. It also became the first Indian drama to win the festival's International Grand Jury Prize. Set in Kanawade’s home state of Maharashtra, Cactus Pears is a groundbreaking Marathi-language love story between two men. Drawing on his experience of mourning his father, he reveals how grief, memory and identity found their way into his film. He also talks about growing up in a poor area of Mumbai with parents who accepted and supported his sexuality. Thank you to the Arts Hour team for their help in making this programme. The Interview brings you conversations with people shaping our world, from all over the world. The best interviews from the BBC, including episodes with director Christopher Nolan, actor Diego Calva and the legendary musician Ringo Starr. You can listen on the BBC World Service on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 0800 GMT. Or you can listen to The Interview as a podcast, out three times a week on BBC Sounds or wherever you get your podcasts. Presenter: Nikki Bedi Producer: Farhana Haider Editor: Damon Rose Get in touch with us on email [email protected] and use the hashtag #TheInterviewBBC on social media. (Image: Rohan Kanawade. Credit: Getty)
Jul 23, 2026 · 23 min
“Due to geopolitical divides, countries are having second thoughts about non-proliferation or their non-proliferation obligations, in the sense that many countries were relying or are still relying on nuclear umbrellas which they might feel are not so protective as they used to be in the past… Without wishing to exaggerate things, there is a perception that the nuclear factor is back on the table and it is growing in its relevance in terms of decision making, in terms of what nations do.” Rob Young speaks to Rafael Grossi, Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency. The IAEA was founded in 1957, and is an autonomous international organisation within the UN system. Its job is to promote the safe, secure and peaceful use of nuclear technology, and to check that nuclear material is not used for military purposes, including nuclear weapons. Grossi, a former Argentinian diplomat, was appointed in 2019 and has steered the IAEA through multiple challenges. When Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, concerns were raised about the prospect of nuclear weapons being used, but also about Ukraine’s nuclear power plants coming under attack. The organisation’s resources were stretched further still when the recent Middle East conflict began. The US, along with Israel, have had concerns over Iran’s nuclear ambitions for many years, and reject the country’s claim that their nuclear program is only for peaceful purposes. Rafael Grossi is considered a front-runner to become the new Secretary General of the UN which he believes should be accepted more as a keeper of the peace. Thank you to the Newsday team for their help in making this programme. The Interview brings you conversations with people shaping our world, from all over the world. The best interviews from the BBC, including episodes with Russia’s nuclear envoy Mikhail Ulyanov, UNICEF chief Catherine Russell, and Artemis 2 astronaut Victor Glover. You can listen on the BBC World Service on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 0800 GMT. Or you can listen to The Interview as a podcast, out three times a week on BBC Sounds or wherever you get your podcasts. Presenter: Rob Young Producers: Sharon Hemans, Farhana Haider, and Ben Cooper Editor: Damon Rose Get in touch with us on email [email protected] and use the hashtag #TheInterviewBBC on social media. (Image: Rafael Grossi. Credit: Reuters)
Jul 21, 2026 · 23 min
“We all need to be speaking up about it. Not just the survivors. And we put so much burden on the people who've actually suffered the most, the most vulnerable among us.” Naga Munchetty speaks to Amy Wallace, co-author of Virginia Giuffre’s memoir Nobody's Girl. Giuffre accused the then Prince Andrew, and late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, of sexual abuse. The former prince, now Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, told Newsnight in 2019 that he did not remember meeting Giuffre, and he has strenuously denied any wrongdoing. Virginia Giuffre's father has also denied all allegations of abuse. The memoir, published six months after Giuffre took her own life, describes her encounters with Epstein and his former girlfriend Ghislaine Maxwell. Amy Wallace says she expected to be a ghostwriter in the shadows, but after Giuffre’s death, she decided to step forward and speak up for her. This episode discusses rape and sexual abuse. If this episode has affected you there are people who can give you support. If you’re in the UK search for the BBC’s Actionline or outside the UK search for befrienders.org Thank you to the team at BBC Radio 5 Live with Naga Munchetty for their help in making this programme. The Interview brings you conversations with people shaping our world, from all over the world. The best interviews from the BBC, including episodes with writer Maggie O’Farrell, Sierra Leone’s first lady Fatima Bio and head of the World Health Organisation Dr Tedros. You can listen on the BBC World Service on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 0800 GMT. Or you can listen to The Interview as a podcast, out three times a week on BBC Sounds or wherever you get your podcasts. Presenter: Naga Munchetty Producer: Cordelia Hemming Editor: Damon Rose (Image: Amy Wallace. Credit: Patricia Shields)
Jul 19, 2026 · 23 min
“One of the things that’s fascinating about him simply as a historical study is the recognition that shamelessness is a superpower, and he refuses to be shamed in almost any action that he takes. He also realised that he doesn’t have to abide by the US system, which is primarily norms and not laws. He is testing them in a way they have never been tested before.” Paddy O’Connell speaks to Maggie Haberman, White House correspondent for The New York Times and co-author of Regime Change: Inside the Imperial Presidency of Donald Trump. Maggie gives her take on Trump’s second administration, from the influence of Elon Musk to his increasingly fraught dealings with world leaders. She also explains her belief Trump’s second presidency is fundamentally different from his first, and how he is testing the limits of presidential power. The Interview brings you conversations with people shaping our world, from all over the world. The best interviews coming from the BBC, including episodes with Google CEO Sundar Pichai and author Maggie O’Farrell. You can listen on the BBC World Service on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 0800 GMT. Or you can listen to The Interview as a podcast, out three times a week on BBC Sounds or wherever you get your podcasts. Presenter: Paddy O’Connell Producer: Osman Iqbal Editor: Damon Rose (Image: Maggie Haberman. Credit: Getty)
Jul 16, 2026 · 24 min
“The biggest risk in motion pictures is to not take a risk. You have to be putting it out there and offering people something new, and that's what will get them out of their houses.” Katie Razzall speaks to Oscar-winning filmmaker Christopher Nolan. The 55-year-old, whose directing credits include Inception, Interstellar and Oppenheimer, is widely considered one of the 21st century’s most influential filmmakers. Born in London in 1970, his career began in the mid-1990s, when he would proofread scripts, operate cameras and direct for corporate information films. Barely a decade later, he was chosen to direct Christian Bale as Batman in The Dark Knight trilogy, setting a new standard for how superheroes were portrayed on screen. A string of blockbusters followed, making him one of the highest-grossing directors of all time, and was later knighted in 2024 for his services to film. He’s now releasing his latest project, The Odyssey - an ambitious adaptation of Homer’s ancient Greek story, starring a Hollywood A-List cast, including Matt Damon, Anne Hathaway and Zendaya. Thank you to the Culture team for their help in making this programme. The Interview brings you conversations with people shaping our world, from all over the world. The best interviews from the BBC, including episodes with fellow Oscar-winning director Guillermo del Toro, tennis champion Martina Navratilova, and legendary musician Sir Paul McCartney. You can listen on the BBC World Service on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 0800 GMT. Or you can listen to The Interview as a podcast, out three times a week on BBC Sounds or wherever you get your podcasts. Presenter: Katie Razzall Producers: Ben Cooper, Roxanne Panthaki, Alex Stanger and Steven Wright Editor: Damon Rose Get in touch with us on email [email protected] and use the hashtag #TheInterviewBBC on social media. (Image: Christopher Nolan. Credit: Reuters)
Jul 14, 2026 · 23 min
“We were losing about $160 million a year. We burned through our cash and we had to make some changes. I don’t mean a financial restructuring. I mean transformation of the business. It’s a skill and an art. I asked, ‘What does Kodak do today?’ and I couldn’t get an answer. And I thought we had to get our identity back. What are our skills? What do we do?” Leanna Byrne speaks to Jim Continenza, chief executive of Kodak, the company that once dominated photography and became one of the world’s most recognisable brands. The rise of digital photography helped trigger one of the most dramatic corporate collapses of its era, leading to Kodak filing for bankruptcy in 2012. Jim joined the company’s board during the bankruptcy process, after building a career as a turnaround specialist. He had served on more than 30 boards, often stepping in when struggling businesses needed to be reconstructed. He discusses how he helped to give the company a new identity, rebuild itself as an industrial manufacturer and brought the business back from the brink. The Interview brings you conversations with people shaping our world, from all over the world. The best interviews coming from the BBC, including episodes with Google CEO Sundar Pichai and author Maggie O’Farrell. You can listen on the BBC World Service on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 0800 GMT. Or you can listen to The Interview as a podcast, out three times a week on BBC Sounds or wherever you get your podcasts. Presenter: Leanna Byrne Producer: Osman Iqbal Editor: Farhana Haider (Image: Jim Continenza. Credit: Getty)
Jul 12, 2026 · 23 min
“As there is more drone warfare, more artificial intelligence in the decision making, we’re going to have to completely reimagine how we cover [war]” Business presenter Felicity Hannah speaks to Patrick Tiernan, who runs the 337-year-old insurance marketplace, Lloyds of London. He says that autonomous weapons and AI-driven decision-making could change how conflict risk is calculated and insured, because traditional assumptions about how wars escalate may no longer hold. He says the current risk environment is unlike anything in his company’s long history, and that a major state-backed cyber-attack remains one of their realistic disaster scenarios. Thank you to the BBC Big Boss team its help in making this programme. The Interview brings you conversations with people shaping our world, from all over the world. The best interviews from the BBC, including episodes with chief EU Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier, head of the commonwealth games Katie Sadleir and astronaut Victor Glover. You can listen on the BBC World Service on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 0800 GMT. Or you can listen to The Interview as a podcast, out three times a week on BBC Sounds or wherever you get your podcasts. Presenter: Felicity Hannah Producer: Cordelia Hemming Editor: Damon Rose (Image: Patrick Tiernan. Credit: Lloyd's)
Jul 9, 2026 · 23 min
“It's a subject that I know I've lived, I've seen up close…That includes watching my father. That includes the relationships that I saw him have.” Presenter Anne Soy speaks to Gugu Zuma-Ncube and Thuli Zuma, executive producers of The Polygamist, one of Netflix’s biggest new dramas which takes on the topic of polygamy - the practice of having more than one spouse at the same time. They are also the daughters of former South African president Jacob Zuma - a proud polygamist who is greatly respected by his supporters for upholding his cultural and traditional Zulu beliefs. The Zulu language drama was an instant hit, attracting two million views in the first week and becoming number four on Netflix's top 10 list for non-English series globally. Thank you to the Newsday team for its help in making this programme. The Interview brings you conversations with people shaping our world, from all over the world. The best interviews from the BBC, including episodes with Kenyan businesswoman Jennifer Riria, astronaut Victor Glover, and Hinge dating app CEO Jackie Jantos. You can listen on the BBC World Service on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 0800 GMT. Or you can listen to The Interview as a podcast, out three times a week on BBC Sounds or wherever you get your podcasts. Presenter: Anne Soy Producer: Cordelia Hemming Editor: Damon Rose (Image: Thuli Zuma and Gugu Zuma-Ncube. Credit: Stained Glass TV)
Jul 7, 2026 · 23 min
“I'm a proud American. I became a citizen in 2021. I feel at home here both in America and actually, in a way I actually have never felt before. I feel like this is where I'm meant to be, and I couldn't be more honoured that people now are putting their faith in me to turn the state around.” Nick Robinson speaks to Steve Hilton, the British-born Republican candidate for governor of California in November’s US midterm elections. Once a senior adviser to former UK prime minister David Cameron, Hilton left British politics to build a new life in America. Now endorsed by President Donald Trump, he explains why he believes the Republican Party best represents what he calls “positive populism”. Hilton reflects on his upbringing as the son of Hungarian refugees, the opportunities he says transformed his life, and why he feels a stronger sense of belonging in America than he ever did in Britain. The Interview brings you conversations with people shaping our world, from all over the world. The best interviews from the BBC, including episodes with former US Secretary of State John Kerry and LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman. You can listen on the BBC World Service on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 0800 GMT. Or you can listen to The Interview as a podcast, out three times a week on BBC Sounds or wherever you get your podcasts. Presenter: Nick Robinson Producer: Osman Iqbal Editor: Damon Rose (Image: Steve Hilton. Credit: Reuters)
Jul 5, 2026 · 23 min
“The last thing to come into view was this blue glow, and we could see craters and the surface of the Moon. But the Sun is on the other side, so what was lighting the Moon? It was ‘Earthshine’, the light of the Earth reflecting off the near side of the Moon. I don’t think our brains are evolved to understand what we were seeing. I called Houston and said, ‘I think we’ve just gone into sci-fi.’” Paddy O’Connell speaks to Artemis II astronaut Victor Glover, who was part of the first crewed mission to the Moon in more than 50 years. Glover and his crewmates travelled further from Earth than any humans before them, witnessing sights no one had ever seen before. He explains why humanity may be closer to reaching Mars than many think, and reflects on how travelling into space changed his perspective on life. The Interview brings you conversations with people shaping our world, from all over the world. The best interviews from the BBC, including episodes with Sundar Pichai and Julia Gillard. You can listen on the BBC World Service on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 0800 GMT. Or you can listen to The Interview as a podcast, out three times a week on BBC Sounds or wherever you get your podcasts. Presenter: Paddy O’Connell Producer: Osman Iqbal Editor: Damon Rose (Image: Victor Glover. Credit: Josh Valcarcel/NASA)
Jul 2, 2026 · 23 min
Sean Farrington speaks to Jackie Jantos, CEO of popular mobile dating app Hinge, about finding romance in today’s rapidly-changing digital world. Launched back in 2013, US-based Hinge has steadily grown to become one of the world’s biggest mobile dating apps. As of 2025, there were 30 million users on the platform looking for romance all over the world - up from half a million just 10 years before. Hinge encouragingly bills itself as the ‘app to be deleted’, and unlike many competitor apps, its focus is on creating real interactions - for example, encouraging users to like photos or prompts - rather than quickly swiping left or right. In a crowded industry worth billions of dollars, the app, owned by the American dating giant Match Group, has a difficult balancing act to maintain. It has to innovate to attract new users and make a profit, while also ensuring their users find romance and so do not have to keep using the app. Thank you to the Big Boss Interview team for their help in making this programme. The Interview brings you conversations with people shaping our world, from all over the world. The best interviews from the BBC, including episodes with music icon Chaka Khan, Anthropic co-founder Jack Clark, and entrepreneur Emma Grede. You can listen on the BBC World Service on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 0800 GMT. Or you can listen to The Interview as a podcast, out three times a week on BBC Sounds or wherever you get your podcasts. Presenter: Sean Farrington Producer: Jeevan Nerwan and Ben Cooper Editor: Damon Rose Get in touch with us on email [email protected] and use the hashtag #TheInterviewBBC on social media. (Image: Jackie Jantos smiles as she looks to the side. She has brown hair and glasses and wears a black jumper. Credit: Stuart C. Wilson/Getty Images)
Jun 30, 2026 · 23 min
“It had grown to be quite an expensive event. Our members wanted to host the games, and because of the size and the scale of the event that was not possible.” Mani Djazmi speaks to Katie Sadleir, CEO of the Commonwealth Games about how hosting the event had become unaffordable for many Commonwealth countries. This summer’s games were to be held in Victoria, Australia, but they withdrew due to expanding costs. Speaking ahead of the Games which now take place in Glasgow, Scotland from the end of July, she talks about the new strategy she launched to make them more sustainable. Despite having fewer sports now, she says the event is still important. Sadleir started her sporting career in artistic swimming, competing in major events such as the 1984 LA Olympics, and the Edinburgh Commonwealth Games soon after. You’ll hear about her journey from the water to the boardroom, and then to head of the Commonwealth Games. The Interview brings you conversations with people shaping our world, from all over the world. The best interviews from the BBC, including episodes with legendary musician Paul McCartney, AI entrepreneur Kate Kallot, and acclaimed writer Maggie O’Farrell. You can listen on the BBC World Service on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 0800 GMT. Or you can listen to The Interview as a podcast, out three times a week on BBC Sounds or wherever you get your podcasts. Presenter: Mani Djazmi Producers: Cordelia Hemming and Farhana Haider Editor: Damon Rose (Image: Katie Sadleir. Credit: Fiona Goodall/Getty Images)
Jun 28, 2026 · 23 min
Waihiga Mwaura speaks to former US Secretary of State John Kerry about why he thinks governments are retreating from efforts to deal with climate change. He spoke to the BBC during this year’s Our Ocean Conference, an international forum which Kerry launched in 2014 to help protect the world’s oceans. He was the first US special presidential envoy for climate from 2021 to 2024, and since then has continued his work in climate solutions. With other world events in mind, Kerry helped negotiate a nuclear deal with Iran as President Barack Obama's secretary of state and we get his take on the current US-Iran conflict and subsequent peace plan. Thank you to the Focus on Africa team for its help in making this programme. The Interview brings you conversations with people shaping our world, from all over the world. The best interviews from the BBC, including episodes with one of Africa’s youngest billionaires Mohammed Dewji, former Sudanese leader Aisha Musa and Sierra Leone’s First Lady Fatima Bio. You can listen on the BBC World Service on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 0800 GMT. Or you can listen to The Interview as a podcast, out three times a week on BBC Sounds or wherever you get your podcasts. Presenter: Waihiga Mwaura Producer: Cordelia Hemming Editor: Damon Rose (Image: John Kerry smiles and wears a black jacket, white shirt and bow tie. Credit: Reuters)
Jun 25, 2026 · 25 min
Katya Adler speaks to Michel Barnier who served as the EU’s chief Brexit negotiator, on the 10th anniversary of the highly consequential referendum. On 23 June 2016, the British public went to the polls to decide its future with the European Union. An unusually high number of people voted, and by 52% to 48%, the decision was to leave the bloc. Barnier, then a European Commissioner who had served as a minister in a number of French governments, represented the EU at negotiations to help agree the terms of the UK’s departure and future relationship. It was a long, hard process, with the UK seeing three different prime ministers from 10 Downing Street before formally leaving the Union in January 2020. Monsieur Barnier reflects on the UK’s decision and how both European and international politics have changed since. The Interview brings you conversations with people shaping our world, from all over the world. The best interviews from the BBC, including episodes with European Investment Bank President Nadia Calviño, and Vitali Klitschko, Mayor of Kyiv. You can listen on the BBC World Service on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 0800 GMT. Or you can listen to The Interview as a podcast, out three times a week on BBC Sounds or wherever you get your podcasts. Presenter: Katya Adler Producer: Ben Cooper and Kathy Long Editor: Damon Rose Get in touch with us on email [email protected] and use the hashtag #TheInterviewBBC on social media. (Image: Michel Barnier. Credit: PA.)
Jun 23, 2026 · 23 min
Jamie Coomarasamy speaks to Patricia Cornwell, one of the world’s best-selling crime writers, whose books have sold more than 120 million copies worldwide. She reflects on a childhood marked by trauma, instability and family mental illness, and the lasting impact those experiences have had on her life. Her imagination became a refuge during difficult years, shaping the stories and characters she would later create. The Interview brings you conversations with people shaping our world, from all over the world. The best interviews coming from the BBC, including episodes with Google CEO Sundar Pichai and and author Sir Salman Rushdie. You can listen on the BBC World Service on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 0800 GMT. Or you can listen to The Interview as a podcast, out three times a week on BBC Sounds or wherever you get your podcasts. Presenter: Jamie Coomarasamy Producer: Osman Iqbal and Nigel Doran Editor: Damon Rose Get in touch with us on email [email protected] and use the hashtag #TheInterviewBBC on social media. (Image: Patricia Cornwell. Credit: Getty Images)
Jun 21, 2026 · 30 min
Nada Tawfik speaks to Catherine Russell, executive director of Unicef, the United Nations agency responsible for protecting and supporting children. Before taking up the role in 2022, she spent decades in government and diplomacy, including as assistant to President Joe Biden as well as serving in senior roles at the US State Department focused on global women’s issues and international development. Now leading Unicef at a time of unprecedented conflict, displacement and humanitarian need, she talks about the impact of aid cuts and the challenges facing children around the world. The Interview brings you conversations with people shaping our world, from all over the world. The best interviews from the BBC, including episodes with the World Health Organisation’s Hanan Balkhy, former Sudanese leader Aisha Musa and musical icon Sir Paul McCartney. You can listen on the BBC World Service on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 0800 GMT. Or you can listen to The Interview as a podcast, out three times a week on BBC Sounds or wherever you get your podcasts. Presenter: Nada Tawfik Producer: Cordelia Hemming and Farhana Haider Editor: Justine Lang Get in touch with us on email [email protected] and use the hashtag #TheInterviewBBC on social media. (Image: Catherine Russell. Credit: Unicef/UN0795033/Deeb)
Jun 18, 2026 · 23 min
“Right now, it’s like the AI industry has a gas pedal, but it doesn’t have a brake pedal in the car. And what we’re saying is we want to build that brake pedal so we in the world have an option. In the future, you might say: ‘Let’s get all of the benefits we can for, say, biology and medical research, and let’s take a pause on AI research, where we can absorb the societal changes.’” Faisal Islam speaks to Jack Clark, co-founder of Anthropic, one of the companies at the forefront of the artificial intelligence revolution and the maker of the Claude chatbot. Jack says AI systems are becoming dramatically more capable, changing how work happens even inside Anthropic itself. He argues that artificial intelligence could accelerate scientific discovery, reshape industries and transform economies. But he also warns that increasingly powerful AI systems will require new forms of oversight and control. As these technologies become more capable, he argues that governments and society need mechanisms to slow development if it moves too far, too fast. The Interview brings you conversations with people shaping our world, from all over the world. The best interviews from the BBC, including episodes with Sundar Pichai and Julia Gillard. You can listen on the BBC World Service on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 0800 GMT. Or you can listen to The Interview as a podcast, out three times a week on BBC Sounds or wherever you get your podcasts. Presenter: Faisal Islam Producer: Osman Iqbal Editor: Damon Rose and Justine Lang (Image:Jack Clark. Credit: Getty)
Jun 16, 2026 · 23 min
“The state of Lebanon needs to have an exclusivity of arms. And definitely, Hezbollah needs to be disarmed… Disarming a group or a community is not possible by force, it's possible by conviction. You put pressure, but you cannot eliminate a whole society, a whole community. We need to have an exclusivity of arms in the hand of the state, an exclusivity of decision through a political process, pressuring Hezbollah to disarm, but getting also in parallel a full withdrawal of the Israelis from occupied Lebanese territories and a full cessation of hostilities.” Jeremy Bowen speaks to Gebran Bassil, the Lebanese politician who served as the country’s Foreign Minister between 2014 and 2020. Mr. Bassil, who is from the country’s Maronite Christian ethnic group, leads the right-wing Free Patriotic Movement political party. The party was founded over 30 years ago by the former President of Lebanon, Michel Aoun, who is also Bassil’s father-in-law. In October 2024, a year after the Hamas-led attacks of 7 October started the current Middle East conflict, the Free Patriotic Movement party announced that it was cutting ties with Hezbollah. Bassil slammed the Iranian-backed militant group for threatening the safety and stability of Lebanon when it launched its own attacks on Israel in support of Hamas. As the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah continues in southern Lebanon, Bassil and his party are part of growing calls for the country to take a new direction. The Interview brings you conversations with people shaping our world, from all over the world. The best interviews from the BBC, including episodes with the World Health Organisation’s Hanan Balkhy; Ali Bahreini, Iranian ambassador to the UN; and Syrian Minister, Hind Kabawat. You can listen on the BBC World Service on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 0800 GMT. Or you can listen to The Interview as a podcast, out three times a week on BBC Sounds or wherever you get your podcasts. Presenter: Jeremy Bowen Producers: Samantha Granville and Ben Cooper Editor: Justine Lang Get in touch with us on email [email protected] and use the hashtag #TheInterviewBBC on social media. (Image: Gebran Bassil. Credit: Getty)
Jun 14, 2026 · 23 min
“There is more spending in defence and less spending in global health or in public health or health security, which makes us vulnerable...Because the invisible enemy could be more impactful. Imagine, have you ever seen a war in recent memory that killed 20 million people? Why can't we come to our senses?” Justin Webb speaks to Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of the World Health Organisation, about the invisible threat of viruses and the rapid spread of a new strain of Ebola. Tedros recently visited the Democratic Republic of Congo where this latest outbreak started. It is particularly challenging because it involves a rare species of Ebola for which there is no vaccine, and the epicentre is in an area affected by conflict. There are also cases in neighbouring Uganda. The WHO General-Director claims governments are focusing too much on defence spending, and he makes an impassioned plea for countries to allocate more money to global health, and to prevent future pandemics. Thank you to the Today team for its help in making this programme. The Interview brings you conversations with people shaping our world, from all over the world. The best interviews from the BBC, including episodes with with President of the International Rescue Committee David Miliband, Former Sudanese leader Aisha Musa and writer Maggie O’Farrell. You can listen on the BBC World Service on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 0800 GMT. Or you can listen to The Interview as a podcast, out three times a week on BBC Sounds or wherever you get your podcasts. Presenter: Justin Webb Producer: Cordelia Hemming Editor: Damon Rose Get in touch with us on email [email protected] and use the hashtag #TheInterviewBBC on social media. (Image: Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. Credit: Reuters)
Jun 11, 2026 · 25 min
Mark Savage speaks to musician Paul McCartney. Born in Liverpool, England, during the Second World War, he found fame as a member of the legendary British band The Beatles in the 1960s, widely regarded as one of the most influential acts in music history. McCartney shared primary singing and songwriting duties with bandmate John Lennon, and along with George Harrison and Ringo Starr, the four-piece became a global pop music sensation with hits such as Twist and Shout, Yesterday and Hey Jude. They remain one of the best-selling musical acts of all time alongside the likes of Elvis Presley and Michael Jackson. McCartney was knighted for his services to music in 1997, but despite his huge achievements, the 83-year-old seems to be showing no interest in retirement — he’s releasing his 19th solo album. The Boys of Dungeon Lane is inspired by his experiences growing up in post-war Liverpool, during which a young McCartney, carrying a guitar and wearing a bowler hat to catch attention, would hitchhike with John Lennon to places as far away as Paris. The Interview brings you conversations with people shaping our world, from all over the world. The best interviews from the BBC, including episodes with Chaka Khan, Pete Townshend and, Paul McCartney’s bandmate, Ringo Starr. You can listen on the BBC World Service on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 0800 GMT. Or you can listen to The Interview as a podcast, out three times a week on BBC Sounds or wherever you get your podcasts. Presenter: Mark Savage Producers: Steven Wright and Ben Cooper Editor: Damon Rose Get in touch with us on email [email protected] and use the hashtag #TheInterviewBBC on social media. (Image: Paul McCartney. Credit: Getty Images)
Jun 9, 2026 · 23 min
“I do want to make money, but I want to make money in the right way, ethically. But more importantly, I want use this money to be able to give back.” Charles Gitonga speaks to entrepreneur and businessman Mohammed Dewji about becoming one of Africa’s youngest billionaires and how he wants to use his wealth. Mohammed Dewji is a Tanzanian businessman, entrepreneur and philanthropist who has primarily accumulated his wealth from his family business, an East African conglomerate founded by his grandparents and expanded by his father in the 1970s. It deals with textile manufacturing, flour milling, beverages and edible oils. About twenty-five years ago, Africa had no dollar billionaires. Today, there are still only 23, not a huge number for a continent rich in mineral wealth and an abundance of relatively cheap labour. Their combined wealth has grown to more than 100 billion US dollars. Dewji signed the Giving Pledge in 2016 promising to donate at least half his fortune to philanthropic causes. He explains why he believes billionaires have a responsibility to give back. Thank you to the Focus on Africa team for its help in making this programme. The Interview brings you conversations with people shaping our world, from all over the world. The best interviews from the BBC, including episodes with Sierra Leone’s first lady Fatima Bio, former Sudanese leader Aisha Musa, and SungAh Lee from the International Organisation for Migration. You can listen on the BBC World Service on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 0800 GMT. Or you can listen to The Interview as a podcast, out three times a week on BBC Sounds or wherever you get your podcasts. Presenter: Charles Gitonga Producer: Cordelia Hemming Editor: Justine Lang Get in touch with us on email [email protected] and use the hashtag #TheInterviewBBC on social media. (Image: Mohammed Dewji. Credit: Getty)
Jun 7, 2026 · 38 min
‘We are transforming feelings of revenge into reconciliation. We are transforming despair into hope, trauma into healing. So the future is peace is also like a manual, like a guide, not just for a shared journey across the holy land, but a guide for human conscience.’ Rajan Datar speaks to Palestinian and Israeli authors and peace activists Aziz Abu Sarah and Maoz Inon. Maoz Inon‘s parents were killed during the Hamas attacks of October 7th. Aziz Abu Sarah’s brother died after being detained for nearly a year in an Israeli military prison. Together, they have forged an unlikely friendship across the Israeli Palestine divide, become leading voices for reconciliation, arguing that peace can only be built through empathy, dialogue and a recognition of each other’s humanity. Their new book, The Future Is Peace, chronicles their eight day drive across Israel and Palestine. They talk about loss, forgiveness, and why they remain hopeful despite the devastation of war. The Interview brings you conversations with people shaping our world, from all over the world. You can listen on the BBC World Service on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 0800 GMT. Or you can listen to The Interview as a podcast, out three times a week on BBC Sounds or wherever you get your podcasts. Presenter: Rajan Datar Producer: Farhana Haider Editor: Justine Lang Get in touch with us on email [email protected] and use the hashtag #TheInterviewBBC on social media. (Image: Aziz Abu Sarah and Maoz Inon. Credit: Getty)
Jun 4, 2026 · 26 min
“It's what we call a new world disorder: 60 wars, 120 million people - refugees and displaced, 300 million people hungry, plus another 45 million according to the World Food Program as a result of the constrictions in the Strait of Hormuz. That's a disordered world. And people can inveigh against international institutions as much as they like, but the problem we're facing is not that there's too strong an international system - it's too weak.” Caitríona Perry speaks to David Miliband, President of the International Rescue Committee. Miliband, who was previously British Foreign Secretary, first took up the post in 2013, overseeing the New York-headquartered organisation whose humanitarian relief operations are active in over 40 war-affected countries. As the world navigates multiple conflicts across the Middle East and Africa, in places such as Sudan, Lebanon and Gaza, humanitarian crises continue to grow. They are further compounded by cuts to international aid, the breakdown of the rules-based order, plus trade and shipping difficulties due to the conflict in Iran. This means aid organisations like the IRC are increasingly having to adapt how they respond. The Interview brings you conversations with people shaping our world, from all over the world. The best interviews from the BBC, including episodes with the World Health Organisation’s Hanan Balkhy; former US Ambassador to the UN, Samanthan Power; and humanitarian chef José Andrés. You can listen on the BBC World Service on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 0800 GMT. Or you can listen to The Interview as a podcast, out three times a week on BBC Sounds or wherever you get your podcasts. Presenter: Caitríona Perry Producers: Ben Cooper and Chloe Ross Editor: Damon Rose Get in touch with us on email [email protected] and use the hashtag #TheInterviewBBC on social media. (Image: David Miliband. Credit: EPA/Shutterstock)
Jun 2, 2026 · 23 min
Amol Rajan speaks to tech billionaire Reid Hoffman, about why he thinks artificial intelligence could transform the future of work. Reid Hoffman is best known for co-founding LinkedIn, the largest professional networking platform in the world, and revolutionising the world of work. He wants to do it again with a rapid adoption of AI in the workplace in a way he says is safe and ethical. As one of the world’s richest men he also gives his thoughts on tech billionaires and his former relationship with the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Thank you to the Radical with Amol Rajan team for its help in making this programme. The Interview brings you conversations with people shaping our world, from all over the world. The best interviews from the BBC, including episodes with entrepreneur Emma Grede, CEO of Otter.ai Sam Liang, and First Lady of Sierra Leone Fatima Bio. You can listen on the BBC World Service on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 0800 GMT. Or you can listen to The Interview as a podcast, out three times a week on BBC Sounds or wherever you get your podcasts. Presenter: Amol Rajan Producer: Cordelia Hemming Editor: Farhana Haider Get in touch with us on email [email protected] and use the hashtag #TheInterviewBBC on social media. (Image: Reid Hoffman. Credit: Jason Alden/Getty Images)
May 31, 2026 · 23 min
“Historically, as a region, we’ve been extracted at two levels. If you look at the AI value chain, a lot of our youth, some who have studied computer science, are left at data labelling roles at the bottom of the value chain, where the least value is created. In a different way, a lot of our data is being extracted for free to train those systems. We want to make sure we don’t go into similar models that we had during colonisation.” Leanna Byrne speaks to Kate Kallot, founder of the Kenyan artificial intelligence company Amini, which is building AI infrastructure across Africa, the Caribbean and Latin America. She warns that billions of people risk being left out of the artificial intelligence systems shaping modern life, with languages, cultures and knowledge from large parts of the world underrepresented in the technology being built today. Kate argues that AI risks repeating old patterns of global inequality, with poorer countries supplying valuable data while richer nations reap the rewards. She explains why the Global South should help shape the future of AI, rather than simply supply the data behind it. The Interview brings you conversations with people shaping our world, from all over the world. The best interviews from the BBC, including episodes with Sundar Pichai and Julia Gillard. You can listen on the BBC World Service on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 0800 GMT. Or you can listen to The Interview as a podcast, out three times a week on BBC Sounds or wherever you get your podcasts. Presenter: Leanne Byrne Producer: Osman Iqbal Editor: Farhana Haider and Damon Rose Get in touch with us on email [email protected] and use the hashtag #TheInterviewBBC on social media. (Image: Kate Kallot. Credit: Getty)
May 28, 2026 · 23 min
“I was born in Coleraine, then I moved to Wales and then I moved to Ireland. It's very complicated and I feel there's a strange sense if you grow up somewhere different from where you were born. That's just true of everyone. If your accent doesn't match your name - as in my case - I think you walk alongside all your life a kind of ghost-self in that there's always a sense of ‘who would I have been if we'd stayed?’” Katie Razzall speaks to acclaimed writer Maggie O’Farrell. The 54-year-old has been a published author for more than 25 years, with her books translated into more than 40 languages. O’Farrell shot to wider international fame following the award-winning screen adaptation of her 2020 novel Hamnet, a story about the son of the English playwright William Shakespeare. She’s now publishing Land, her sweeping new tale centred around an Irish map-maker working for the British army at the time of the Great Famine in Ireland in the mid-19th century. Between 1845 and 1852, at least one million people died due to starvation and disease, with a further two million people fleeing Ireland to escape the famine. The book is about colonisation and devastation, set against a backdrop of families left to die of starvation on estates owned by British aristocrats and landowners. Drawing on her own family history during that period, it’s O’Farrell’s most political work yet - and as she explains, its themes still resonate with the world today. The Interview brings you conversations with people shaping our world, from all over the world. The best interviews from the BBC, including episodes with Oscar-winning director Chloe Zhao, author Sir Salman Rushdie, and comedian Eric Idle. You can listen on the BBC World Service on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 0800 GMT. Or you can listen to The Interview as a podcast, out three times a week on BBC Sounds or wherever you get your podcasts. Presenter: Katie Razzall Producers: Ben Cooper and Roxanne Panthaki Editors: Farhana Haider and Justine Lang Get in touch with us on email [email protected] and use the hashtag #TheInterviewBBC on social media. (Image: Maggie O’Farrell. Credit: Getty)
May 26, 2026 · 23 min
“I feel numb. It feels unreal to me, having been in Sudan all my life. I have never imagined that it will turn into a war field, it looks like a nightmare. At first that it is just days or months or even a year, but it went on and it kept escalating. Even our homes are no longer habitable. One of my sons went back to have a look and he said you wouldn't even find a spoon for your tea.” James Copnall speaks to Aisha Musa, one of the civilian figures who helped lead Sudan after the overthrow of Omar al-Bashir in 2019. After popular protests led to Bashir’s fall, Sudan’s presidency was replaced by a Sovereign Council made up of military and civilian representatives. Aisha Musa was one of only two women appointed to the body, an unprecedented position of influence for a woman in Sudan. But hopes of democratic change collapsed with the outbreak of civil war in 2023 between Sudan’s army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces. Aisha reflects on working alongside the generals responsible for Sudan’s civil war, what it would take to rebuild democracy and her frustration at UK visa restrictions for Sudanese refugees. The Interview brings you conversations with people shaping our world, from all over the world. The best interviews from the BBC, including episodes with Volodymyr Zelensky and António Guterres. You can listen on the BBC World Service on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 0800 GMT. Or you can listen to The Interview as a podcast, out three times a week on BBC Sounds or wherever you get your podcasts. Presenter: James Copnall Producer: Osman Iqbal Editor: Farhana Haider Get in touch with us on email [email protected] and use the hashtag #TheInterviewBBC on social media. (Image: Aisha Musa Credit: Mahmoud Hjaj/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
May 24, 2026 · 26 min
“This is a calling. It's bigger than anything in your life as an individual. If you found the thing that you were put on this planet to do, and a lot of people are put on this planet and they don't know, it's such a gift to find it.” Nick Grimshaw and Annie Macmanus speak to global music icon Chaka Khan about her life and career. Born Yvette Marie Stevens in the US city of Chicago in 1953, her big break came at the age of 20 when her band Rufus signed its first record deal. With her powerful vocals and striking stage presence, she quickly caught the public’s attention. The band enjoyed commercial and critical success in the years that followed, before Chaka decided to go it alone around a decade later… a decision which transformed her life and career. Worldwide hits such as I’m Every Woman and I Feel For You followed, as well as collaborations with legends like Whitney Houston and Prince, multiple Grammy Awards, and an induction into the Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall of Fame. As a new musical telling her story begins its run, the 73-year-old has a lot to reflect on. Thank you to the Sidetracked team for their help in making this programme. The Interview brings you conversations with people shaping our world, from all over the world. The best interviews from the BBC, including episodes with Beatles drummer Ringo Starr, Oscar-winning director Guillermo del Toro, and artist Tracey Emin. You can listen on the BBC World Service on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 0800 GMT. Or you can listen to The Interview as a podcast, out three times a week on BBC Sounds or wherever you get your podcasts. Presenters: Nick Grimshaw and Annie Macmanus Producers: Ben Cooper, Gráinne Morrison and Christine Czerniec Editor: Damon Rose Get in touch with us on email [email protected] and use the hashtag #TheInterviewBBC on social media. (Image: Chaka Khan. Credit: Getty)
May 21, 2026 · 24 min
“Most of Africa is rural, and although urbanisation is taking root now, the systems that deliver financial services to women are still eluding them.” Leanna Byrne speaks to microfinance pioneer Dr Jennifer Riria about her life, career, and personal mission to improve the lives of women in some of Africa’s poorest communities. Having started life in a poor, rural village in Kenya, Dr Riria worked her way up to develop and run one of the biggest microfinance institutions for women in Africa. Microfinance is a banking service providing small loans and more, to people with low income who might lack access to traditional banking. It’s aimed at fostering self-sufficiency, financial education, and entrepreneurship in developing areas. Her focus is not limited to finance. She also draws on her experiences of teaching at university, and consulting for UNICEF, the UN children’s aid agency, in order to progress women’s development in education and leadership. Thank you to the Business Daily team for their help in making this programme. The Interview brings you conversations with people shaping our world, from all over the world. The best interviews from the BBC, including episodes with Botswana’s president Duma Boko, entrepreneur Emma Grede, and astronaut Jeremy Hansen. You can listen on the BBC World Service on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 0800 GMT. Or you can listen to The Interview as a podcast, out three times a week on BBC Sounds or wherever you get your podcasts. Presenter: Leanna Byrne Producers: Ben Cooper, Ahmed Adan and Amber Mehmood Editor: Damon Rose Get in touch with us on email [email protected] and use the hashtag #TheInterviewBBC on social media. (Image: Jennifer Riria. Credit: Getty)
May 19, 2026 · 23 min
“This is a war. We will treat it as a war, and first thing that we want is the war to end. We want peace. We want a better life for our people, especially for our youth.” Caitriona Perry speaks to Ecuador President Daniel Noboa about his hard-line military crackdown on violent criminal gangs, which has involved measures that human rights groups warn could pose a risk to civil liberties. President Noboa, who is one of the world’s youngest leaders, has warned about the levels of crime faced in Ecuador. He claims that due to its location between Colombia and Peru, the world's two largest producers of cocaine, it has become a major location for drug-trafficking gangs. He talks about the attempts that have been made on his life, and the threats his family have faced. He calls on the cooperation from other countries to help fight international crime organisations. The Interview brings you conversations with people shaping our world, from all over the world. The best interviews from the BBC, including episodes with Volodymyr Zelensky, Azar Nafisi and Julia Gillard. You can listen on the BBC World Service on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 0800 GMT. Or you can listen to The Interview as a podcast, out three times a week on BBC Sounds or wherever you get your podcasts. Presenter: Caitriona Perry Producer: Ellyn Duncan, Chloe Ross and Cordelia Hemming Editor: Farhana Haider Get in touch with us on email [email protected] and use the hashtag #TheInterviewBBC on social media. (Image: Daniel Noboa. Credit: Getty)
May 17, 2026 · 23 min
BBC journalist Megha Mohan speaks to Sierra Leone’s first lady, Fatima Bio, about escaping child marriage at the age of 13, rebuilding her life as a refugee in London, and her rise to become one of the country’s most outspoken public figures. Since becoming first lady, Bio has transformed the role in Sierra Leone, campaigning publicly on issues including child marriage, sexual violence and period poverty. To supporters, she is a refreshing voice in politics, who speaks up for women and girls, while others say she has overstepped her remit and that she is too vocal and too involved in the running of her husband’s party. The Interview brings you conversations with people shaping our world, from all over the world. The best interviews from the BBC, including episodes with Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelensky, and Antonio Guterres, Secretary General of the UN. You can listen on the BBC World Service on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 0800 GMT. Or you can listen to The Interview as a podcast, out three times a week on BBC Sounds or wherever you get your podcasts. Presenter: Megha Mohan Producer: Osman Iqbal Editor: Damon Rose and Justine Lang Get in touch with us on email [email protected] and use the hashtag #TheInterviewBBC on social media. (Image: Fatima Bio. Credit: Getty Images)
May 14, 2026 · 23 min
James Menendez speaks to Leopoldo Lopez, once the most prominent face of Venezuela’s opposition, he is now living in exile in Spain. He spent more than a decade attempting to unseat Nicolás Maduro’s authoritarian government and was imprisoned for over three years, accused of inciting the 2014 anti-government protests. Following the capture and arrest of Maduro by US forces in January, the country has entered a new and uncertain phase, with Vice-President Delcy Rodríguez now acting as interim leader. Leopoldo Lopez talks to us about the prospect of elections in Venezuela and the personal cost of standing up for political change. The Interview brings you conversations with people shaping our world, from all over the world. The best interviews from the BBC, including episodes with Venezuelan opposition leader and Nobel prize winner Maria Corina Machado, director Chloe Zhao and musical icon Ringo Starr. You can listen on the BBC World Service on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 0800 GMT. Or you can listen to The Interview as a podcast, out three times a week on BBC Sounds or wherever you get your podcasts. Presenter: James Menendez Producer: Farhana Haider Get in touch with us on email [email protected] and use the hashtag #TheInterviewBBC on social media. (Image: Leopoldo Lopez. Credit: Reuters)
May 12, 2026 · 23 min
“Russians collected all Kenyans and did everything for them to go to the front line, to go to the death zone.” Waihiga Mwaura speaks to Yurii Tokar the Ukraine ambassador to Kenya. The Ukrainian claims Russia deliberately deployed many conscripted Kenyans to the front line of the Russia-Ukraine war shortly before the Kenyan foreign minister arrived in Moscow with the intention of stopping recruitment of his countrymen. The Russian embassy in Kenya did not immediately respond to the BBC's request for comment. It has previously denied any Government involvement in the illegal recruitment of Kenyan citizens. A representative of Kenya's Ministry of Foreign Affairs told the BBC that "the government is not aware of such allegations and treats them as possible rumours and propaganda.” Thank you to the Focus on Africa team for its help in making this programme. The Interview brings you conversations with people shaping our world, from all over the world. The best interviews from the BBC, including episodes with John Healey, Nadia Calviño and Volodymyr Zelensky. You can listen on the BBC World Service on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 0800 GMT. Or you can listen to The Interview as a podcast, out three times a week on BBC Sounds or wherever you get your podcasts. Presenter: Waihiga Mwaura Producer: Cordelia Hemming Editor: Damon Rose Get in touch with us on email [email protected] and use the hashtag #TheInterviewBBC on social media. (Image: Yurii Tokar. Credit: Getty Images)
May 10, 2026 · 22 min
“It’s outrageous because these nuclear plant facilities were certified by the International Atomic Energy Agency as purely peaceful facilities. The inspectors, they spent, there, a lot of time, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Iran is the most verifiable country, thousands of inspections. The agency knows everything about what is going on.” BBC journalist Farnaz Ghazizadeh speaks to Mikhail Ivanovich Ulyanov, Russia’s ambassador to the International Atomic Energy Agency in Vienna, about the collapse of diplomacy over Iran’s nuclear programme and whether negotiations can still be rescued. With decades of experience in disarmament and nuclear negotiations, Ulyanov insists Iran’s nuclear programme is already among the most heavily monitored in the world, and argues concerns over the programme have been exaggerated. Now, as conflict in the region intensifies, Russia is offering to act as a mediator. The Interview brings you conversations with people shaping our world, from all over the world. The best interviews from the BBC, including episodes with Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelensky, and Antonio Guterres, Secretary General of the UN. You can listen on the BBC World Service on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 0800 GMT. Or you can listen to The Interview as a podcast, out three times a week on BBC Sounds or wherever you get your podcasts. Presenter: Farnaz Ghazizadeh Producers: Osman Iqbal Editor: Damon Rose and Justine Lang Get in touch with us on email [email protected] and use the hashtag #TheInterviewBBC on social media. (Image: Mikhail Ulyanov. Credit: Reuters)
May 7, 2026 · 23 min
“During the recent conflict [in Iran], there was a pause, not a full stop or halt of the functions. Once the airspace opened up again, we reprioritized the delivery of those life-saving kits to the member states, and we came back on track… We still find hope in the communication between the different member states, between the different partners to secure some of these supplies, or keep supply chains alive.” Daniel Dadzie speaks to Hanan Balkhy, the World Health Organisation’s Regional Director for the Eastern Mediterranean, about navigating the challenges posed by recent conflicts in Sudan and Iran. It’s one of six regional WHO offices around the world, covering a total population of nearly 745 million people from Morocco in the west to Pakistan in the east, and as far south as Sudan. The WHO works with governments and local authorities to improve access to basic healthcare and provide support during humanitarian emergencies. Global supply chains were severely disrupted when the conflict in Iran began just over two months ago. Although much of the focus of this disruption has been on oil and trade, crucial medical supplies have also been delayed in reaching where they’re needed most. The Interview brings you conversations with people shaping our world, from all over the world. The best interviews from the BBC, including episodes with entrepreneur Isaac Larian, African politics professor Simukai Chikudu, and campaigner Baroness Arminka Helic. You can listen on the BBC World Service on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 0800 GMT. Or you can listen to The Interview as a podcast, out three times a week on BBC Sounds or wherever you get your podcasts. Presenter: Daniel Dadzie Producers: Ben Cooper and Simon Mbai Editor: Damon Rose Get in touch with us on email [email protected] and use the hashtag #TheInterviewBBC on social media. (Image: Hanan Balkhy. Credit: Getty)
May 5, 2026 · 23 min
“There's this idea that you [can] sail your way to success or have some overnight success or kind of come upon success relatively easily. And that has just never, ever been.” Amol Rajan speaks to entrepreneur and businesswoman Emma Grede about the trade-offs we have to make to get to where we want to be in life. Emma Grede is co-founder of the clothing brand Skims, which she created with her husband Jens and Kim Kardashian. From ordinary beginnings in East London to the forefront of global consumer brands and social influence in LA, Emma Grede argues that focus, trade-offs and relentless effort matter more than comfort if you are to succeed. She says that opportunity still exists, if you’re willing to chase it. Thank you to the Radical with Amol Rajan team for its help in making this programme. The Interview brings you conversations with people shaping our world, from all over the world. The best interviews from the BBC, including episodes with Arlo Parks, Parmy Olson and Chloé Zhao. You can listen on the BBC World Service on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 0800 GMT. Or you can listen to The Interview as a podcast, out three times a week on BBC Sounds or wherever you get your podcasts. Presenter: Amol Rajan Producer: Cordelia Hemming Editor: Damon Rose and Farhana Haider Get in touch with us on email [email protected] and use the hashtag #TheInterviewBBC on social media. (Image: Emma Grede. Credit: Reuters)
May 3, 2026 · 23 min
‘The power of AI is that it's able to capture everything, it’s able to try to interpret everyone objectively. Human beings are imperfect in terms of their capability to listen and understand. Everyone unconsciously, when they listen, they don't hear everything.’ Zoe Kleinman speaks to Sam Liang chief executive and co-founder of artificial intelligence transcription start-up Otter.ai Sam Liang was born in China and moved to the US in 1991. He received a PhD from Stanford University before joining Google, where he led the search engines location services. He co-founded California based Otter.ai in 2016. The start-up has evolved from a voice-to-text transcription service to offer AI-powered recordings of live events, meeting summaries and content searches. The Interview brings you conversations with people shaping our world, from all over the world. The best interviews from the BBC, including episodes with Karim Beguir, boss of Africa’s biggest AI firm, the former Prime Minister of Australia Julia Gillard and musical icon Ringo Starr. You can listen on the BBC World Service on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 0800 GMT. Or you can listen to The Interview as a podcast, out three times a week on BBC Sounds or wherever you get your podcasts. Presenter: Zoe Kleinman Producer: Farhana Haider Get in touch with us on email [email protected] and use the hashtag #TheInterviewBBC on social media. (Image: Sam Liang. Credit: Bloomberg / Contributor via Getty)
Apr 30, 2026 · 23 min
“When we only had reconnaissance drones, we learned fast. We began attaching warheads to the drones. Grenades, then homemade munitions that we produced ourselves. We would locate the enemy with the drone and drop them on him. Then FPV drones entered our lives. An FPV drone is a one-way, disposable drone. That was when the way of war began to change” In a rare interview, Sarah Rainsford speaks to Robert Brovdi, commander of Ukraine’s drone forces, about the rapid evolution of drone warfare and how it is reshaping Russia’s war in Ukraine. Drones are now being used to strike oil facilities and military targets deep inside Russian territory but initially were used just to spot Russian forces. Commander Brovdi was among the first to see their true potential and, as technology advanced, drones began to change everything on the battlefield. The Interview brings you conversations with people shaping our world, from all over the world. The best interviews from the BBC, including episodes with Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelensky, and Antonio Guterres, Secretary General of the UN. You can listen on the BBC World Service on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 0800 GMT. Or you can listen to The Interview as a podcast, out three times a week on BBC Sounds or wherever you get your podcasts. Presenter: Sarah Rainsford Producers: Osman Iqbal Editor: Farhana Haider Get in touch with us on email [email protected] and use the hashtag #TheInterviewBBC on social media. (Image: Robert Brovdi Credit: Oleksii Samsonov/Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images)
Apr 28, 2026 · 23 min
“I saw the damage, the loss. The buildings being destroyed, the infrastructure being completely damaged in that area. And it was sad and heartbreaking.” Waihiga Mwaura speaks to SungAh Lee, from the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) about the war in Sudan which has entered its fourth year and has led to one of the worst humanitarian crisis and biggest displacements of people. SungAh Lee recently travelled to Sudan to assess the situation on the ground. She tells us how it felt to return to parts of the country she had spent time in as a child. She explains how current conflicts are changing migration patterns and what impact cuts to government aid budgets are having on people effected by war. Thank you to the Focus on Africa team in its help in making this programme. The Interview brings you conversations with people shaping our world, from all over the world. The best interviews from the BBC, including episodes with the head of UNAids Winnie Byanyima, Nigeria’s Information Minister Mohammed Idris, and UN chief Antonio Guterres. You can listen on the BBC World Service on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 0800 GMT. Or you can listen to The Interview as a podcast, out three times a week on BBC Sounds or wherever you get your podcasts. Presenter: Waihiga Mwaura Producer: Cordelia Hemming Editor: Farhana Haider Get in touch with us on email [email protected] and use the hashtag #TheInterviewBBC on social media. (Image: SungAh Lee Credit: IOM/ Muse Mohammed)
Apr 26, 2026 · 23 min
“If you play piano, bass guitar, saxophone, I don’t care - I'll play with you all night. That's how I did it. And I tell all my grandkids - get an event, get a few of your schoolmates together. They're practising and playing by themselves. Get with people!” Regan Morris speaks to musician Ringo Starr about his career. Born in Liverpool, England, during the Second World War in 1940, Ringo, real-name Richard Starkey, found fame as the drummer of the legendary British band The Beatles - widely regarded as one of the most influential acts in music history. After joining John Lennon, Paul McCartney and George Harrison in 1962, the four-piece became a global pop music sensation through hits such as ‘She Loves You’, ‘Yesterday’, ‘Penny Lane’, and ‘Hey Jude’. They also released multiple studio albums and starred in five major motion pictures. Although the band split up in 1970, their legacy continues to live on. They remain one of the best-selling musical acts of all time over half a century later. And such was his and the band’s cultural impact, that Ringo, one of two surviving members of The Beatles, received a knighthood at Buckingham Palace for his services to music in 2018. But despite achieving seemingly all that can be achieved in a music career, the 85-year-old seems to be showing no interest in retirement — he’s just released his third country album, which is his 22nd album as a solo artist. The Interview brings you conversations with people shaping our world, from all over the world. The best interviews from the BBC, including episodes with Stevie Wonder, Patti Smith and Pete Townshend. You can listen on the BBC World Service on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 0800 GMT. Or you can listen to The Interview as a podcast, out three times a week on BBC Sounds or wherever you get your podcasts. Presenter: Regan Morris Producer: Ben Cooper Editor: Farhana Haider Get in touch with us on email [email protected] and use the hashtag #TheInterviewBBC on social media. (Image: Ringo Starr Credit: Jason Kempin/Getty Images)
Apr 24, 2026 · 23 min
“One thing I have learned from my childhood til now is that when you fall, you get up, dust yourself off, and do it over and over again. I’ve had a lot of up and downs in my business life in America. I’ve had many failures and people only talk about successes, but failures in my mind are the foundation of success.” Rahul Tandon speaks to Iranian-American entrepreneur Isaac Larian. The 72-year-old billionaire is the founder and chief executive of US-based MGA Entertainment, one of the world’s largest toy companies. Over the years, he’s been involved in several high-profile toy launches, including the ‘Bratz’ range of dolls back in 2001. But his success today, regularly appearing on rich lists compiled by the likes of Forbes, is a far cry from his early years growing up Tehran, where his family often struggled to put food on the table in a home without electricity or running water. His father ran a small textile shop that a young Larian would work in, buying and selling stock. And at the age of just 17, Larian took this business experience with him when he bought a one-way ticket to America to seek his fortune. Thank you to the Business Daily team for their help in making this programme. The Interview brings you conversations with people shaping our world, from all over the world. The best interviews from the BBC, including episodes with AI expert Parmy Olson, Syrian politician Hind Kabawat, and Finland’s president Alexander Stubb. You can listen on the BBC World Service on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 0800 GMT. Or you can listen to The Interview as a podcast, out three times a week on BBC Sounds or wherever you get your podcasts. Presenter: Rahul Tandon Producers: Victoriya Holland and Ben Cooper Editor: Farhana Haider Get in touch with us on email [email protected] and use the hashtag #TheInterviewBBC on social media. (Image: Isaac Larian Credit: Eugene Gologursky/Getty Images for The Toy Foundation)
Apr 22, 2026 · 23 min
“We were able to improve the health of the gorillas and people together. What we do is we improve the health and the livelihoods of the local communities. Because as long as people are poor, they're going to keep entering the forest to poach and collect firewood and they're going to end up making the gorillas sick, or picking up diseases from wildlife in the forest.” Myra Anubi speaks to Dr Gladys Kalema-Zikusoka, a Ugandan wildlife vet and founder of Conservation Through Public Health, about the approach she developed to help save mountain gorillas from extinction. When she began her work in 1994, their numbers had fallen to just a few hundred. Not just because of habitat loss and poaching, but because of human diseases. Rather than focusing only on treating the animals, she realised the solution lay with the people living alongside them. Better health and livelihood opportunities meant less poaching and less need to rely on the forest, reducing the risk of disease and protecting the gorillas. The Interview brings you conversations with people shaping our world, from all over the world. The best interviews from the BBC, including episodes with Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelensky, and Antonio Guterres, Secretary General of the UN. You can listen on the BBC World Service on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 0800 GMT. Or you can listen to The Interview as a podcast, out three times a week on BBC Sounds or wherever you get your podcasts. Presenter: Myra Anubi Producers: Osman Iqbal Editor: Justine Lang and Damon Rose Get in touch with us on email [email protected] and use the hashtag #TheInterviewBBC on social media. (Image: Dr Gladys Kalema Zikusoka Credit Kibuuka Mukisa)
Apr 19, 2026 · 23 min
“I don't necessarily want it to be the most giant album of all time and be selling out stadiums. I want something that lasts and that feels timeless and thoughtful.” Mark Savage speaks to Mercury Prize-winning singer-songwriter Arlo Parks about her life and music career. Born in London, the half Nigerian, quarter Chadian and quarter French artist, real name Anaïs Marinho, has enjoyed great success in her music career since her debut album was released in 2021. Having broken onto the music scene two years prior, Parks has performed twice at the Glastonbury music festival in England, supported the likes of Harry Styles and Billie Eilish on tour, and even written for Beyoncé. It’s been something of a whirlwind journey for the 25-year-old, who has returned with a new album after taking some time out of the spotlight in order to reclaim some normality in her life. The Interview brings you conversations with people shaping our world, from all over the world. The best interviews from the BBC, including episodes with director Guillermo del Toro, author Azar Nafisi and actor Arden Cho. You can listen on the BBC World Service on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 0800 GMT. Or you can listen to The Interview as a podcast, out three times a week on BBC Sounds or wherever you get your podcasts. Presenter: Mark Savage Producer: Ben Cooper Editor: Damon Rose Get in touch with us on email [email protected] and use the hashtag #TheInterviewBBC on social media. (Image: Arlo Parks Credit: Todd Owyoung/NBC via Getty Images)
Apr 16, 2026 · 23 min
Victoria Derbyshire speaks to survivors of paedophile Jeffrey Epstein, the disgraced financier who died in prison in 2019 while awaiting a trial for sex trafficking. The interview took place in Washington DC, two weeks before Melania Trump, US First Lady, gave an unexpected press conference at the White House where she called for congressional hearings for the Epstein survivors. Millions of documents, emails and photographs are now in the public domain and show Epstein’s connections to high profile figures from politics, business and royalty. In this interview, which some listeners may find upsetting, Chauntae Davies, Joanna Harrison, Jena-Lisa Jones, Wendy Pesante and Lisa Phillips share their experiences, and discuss the impact that the abuse has had on their lives. Thank you to the Newsnight team for their help in making this programme. If you’ve been affected by this programme, you can reach out to Befrienders Worldwide for help by visiting befrienders.org The Interview brings you conversations with people shaping our world, from all over the world. You can listen on the BBC World Service on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 0800 GMT. Or you can listen to The Interview as a podcast, out three times a week on BBC Sounds or wherever you get your podcasts. Presenter: Victoria Derbyshire Producers: Katherine Hodgson, Charlotte Sexton, Carys Nally and Ben Cooper Editor: Damon Rose Get in touch with us on email [email protected] and use the hashtag #TheInterviewBBC on social media.
Apr 14, 2026 · 22 min
“It was three submarines. We tracked them 24/7 for over a month to make sure that we are able to say to Putin, we see what you’re doing, we’re watching you. It means that if there is ever any damage to our cables or our pipelines, we know we can hold Putin to account. We know he can’t deny it.” Adam Fleming speaks to John Healey, the UK Defence Secretary, after he revealed Russian submarines have been carrying out covert operations over the UK’s deep-sea cables and pipelines, critical to energy and internet traffic. He says the activity could form part of a wider strategy to map infrastructure in peacetime, and target it during conflict. While global attention is focused on the Middle East, he argues Britain cannot be distracted from what he calls its “primary threat”, and that the UK and its Nato allies must remain on constant alert to Russian activity. The Interview brings you conversations with people shaping our world, from all over the world. The best interviews from the BBC, including episodes with Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelensky, and Antonio Guterres, Secretary General of the UN. You can listen on the BBC World Service on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 0800 GMT. Or you can listen to The Interview as a podcast, out three times a week on BBC Sounds or wherever you get your podcasts. Presenter: Adam Fleming Producers: Osman Iqbal Editor: Justine Lang and Damon Rose Get in touch with us on email [email protected] and use the hashtag #TheInterviewBBC on social media. (Image: John Healey Credit: Thomas Traasdahl / Ritzau Scanpix / AFP via Getty Images)
Apr 12, 2026 · 23 min
“The fact that we are now the world's largest funder of the World Health Organisation should be a major embarrassment to every country on this planet.” Sam Fenwick speaks to Mark Suzman, CEO of Gates Foundation, the world’s largest philanthropic organisation, about why he thinks cuts to global aid spending is costing lives. He says the Foundation has overtaken world governments to become the largest financial backer of the WHO. Last year, the United States scaled back parts of its overseas aid budget. It wasn’t the only county to do so, with many governments including the UK, Germany, France and Japan all spending less. For an institution with little democratic accountability, Mark Suzman is asked whether there is too much reliance on the Gates Foundation globally and whether its priorities are the right ones. Thank you to the Business Daily team for its help in making this programme. This interview was recorded on 29 January 2026. This is not mentioned in the episode. Since the interview was recorded, the BBC has reported on Bill Gates and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Articles include: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cx2vdekdweqo https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c309qv9zglno https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cnv6rjp468ro (7 May 2026) The Interview brings you conversations with people shaping our world, from all over the world. The best interviews from the BBC, including episodes with Joy Phumaphi, Executive Secretary of the African Leaders Malaria Alliance, and Samantha Power, former US Ambassador to UN. You can listen on the BBC World Service on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 0800 GMT. Or you can listen to The Interview as a podcast, out three times a week on BBC Sounds or wherever you get your podcasts. Presenter: Sam Fenwick Producer: Cordelia Hemming Editor: Damon Rose Get in touch with us on email [email protected] and use the hashtag #TheInterviewBBC on social media. (Image: Mark Suzman Credit: Hollie Adams/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Apr 9, 2026 · 23 min
Amol Rajan speaks to Simukai Chigudu, associate professor of African Politics at Oxford University about the legacy of empire and how to reckon with the past. A member of the first generation born after the end of colonial rule in Zimbabwe, Simukai Chigudu came to the UK as a teenager and later became one of the founding members of a campaign to try to get the statue of imperialist Cecil Rhodes moved from Oriel College in Oxford. Now an associate professor of African politics at the University of Oxford, he has written a memoir called Chasing Freedom: Coming of Age at the End of Empire. He discusses the legacy of the Rhodes Must Fall campaign, why he thinks we should be decolonising the curriculum and whether countries like Britain should pay reparations for slavery. Thank you to the Radical with Amol Rajan team for its help in making this programme. The Interview brings you conversations with people shaping our world, from all over the world. The best interviews from the BBC, including episodes with Helen Thompson, professor of political economy at Cambridge University, and acclaimed author Sir Salman Rushdie. You can listen on the BBC World Service on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 0800 GMT. Or you can listen to The Interview as a podcast, out three times a week on BBC Sounds or wherever you get your podcasts. Presenter: Amol Rajan Producer: Cordelia Hemming Editor: Damon Rose Get in touch with us on email [email protected] and use the hashtag #TheInterviewBBC on social media. (Image: Simukai Chigudu)
Apr 7, 2026 · 23 min
“These companies don't really care what governments do. Their priority is their shareholders, their own existence and the next quarter of growth. There is the possibility that governments can regulate them, but they just don't. They don't regulate them properly. The most they get are multi-billion dollar fines, which sounds like a lot, but actually in the grand scheme of things it's pocket change. It is a parking ticket for these companies.” Misha Glenny speaks to technology writer Parmy Olson about artifical intelligence, power and politics. As AI rapidly reshapes economies and societies, Parmy has been tracking the growing power of the companies driving this technological revolution. With tech giants now valued in the trillions, she also questions whether governments are equipped to regulate them effectively, or if their influence has already outpaced political control. The Interview brings you conversations with people shaping our world, from all over the world. The best interviews from the BBC, including episodes with Google boss Sundar Pichai and Mustafa Suleyman, CEO of Microsoft AI. You can listen on the BBC World Service on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 0800 GMT. Or you can listen to The Interview as a podcast, out three times a week on BBC Sounds or wherever you get your podcasts. Presenter: Misha Glenny Producers: Lucy Shepperd and Osman Iqbal Editor: Damon Rose and Justine Lang Get in touch with us on email [email protected] and use the hashtag #TheInterviewBBC on social media. (Image: Parmy Olson Credit: Kim Farinha)
Apr 5, 2026 · 12 min
“I think there's nothing off limits [with comedy] because it's subconscious, it's examining things. I find it quite interesting. And Monty Python was particularly good at not allowing ourselves to be censored, although people tried with ‘The Life Of Brian’... But that’s what made it a hit.” John Wilson speaks to English comedian, writer, musician and actor Eric Idle about his life and career. He’s best-known for being a founding member of the comedy troupe Monty Python, writing and performing across their four television series and their films, including ‘The Life Of Brian’ and ‘The Meaning Of Life’. Idle is also behind the Tony Award-winning musical ‘Spamalot’, based on the film ‘Monty Python and The Holy Grail’. It ran twice in London’s West End and on Broadway, and has also been staged in 14 countries around the world. Thank you to the This Cultural Life team for their help in making this programme. The Interview brings you conversations with people shaping our world, from all over the world. The best interviews from the BBC, including episodes with Mexican actor Diego Calva, tennis champion Martina Navratilova, and global music icon Stevie Wonder. You can listen on the BBC World Service on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 0800 GMT. Or you can listen to The Interview as a podcast, out three times a week on BBC Sounds or wherever you get your podcasts. Presenter: John Wilson Producers: Ben Cooper and Edwina Pitman Editors: Justine Lang and Damon Rose Get in touch with us on email [email protected] and use the hashtag #TheInterviewBBC on social media. (Image: Eric Idle Credit: Sarah Jeynes/BBC)
Apr 2, 2026 · 23 min
“I hope humanity will stop for a moment when four humans are on the far side of the moon and be reminded that we can do a better job as humans of just lifting each other up. Not destroying, but creating together.” Rebecca Morelle and Tim Peake speak to Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen ahead of the launch of Artemis II. Hansen is one of four crew members of NASA’s latest mission into Space. Launching from Kennedy Space Centre in Florida, Artemis II will be heading to the Moon and will circle it before returning home. Although they won’t be landing, it’s the first time in over half a century that humans have ventured to the Moon. If the mission is successful, it’ll result in some historic firsts: Hansen will become the first non-American to leave low-Earth orbit with crewmates Christina Koch the first woman and Victor Glover the first person of colour to do so too. Thank you to the 13 Minutes team for their help in making this programme. The Interview brings you conversations with people shaping our world, from all over the world. The best interviews from the BBC, including episodes with Oscar-winning director Guillermo del Toro, former Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard, and Ugandan human rights lawyer Nicholas Opiyo. You can listen on the BBC World Service on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 0800 GMT. Or you can listen to The Interview as a podcast, out three times a week on BBC Sounds or wherever you get your podcasts. Presenters: Rebecca Morelle and Tim Peake Producers: Ben Cooper, Alex Mansfield and Sophie Ormiston Editor: Damon Rose Get in touch with us on email [email protected] and use the hashtag #TheInterviewBBC on social media. (Image: Jeremy Hansen Credit: Miguel J. Rodriguez Carrillo / AFP via Getty Images)
Mar 31, 2026 · 23 min
Winnie Byanyima, head of UNAids. has devoted her life to advancing human rights and equality, first in her home country Uganda, and then on the global stage: “We live in a complex world, a challenging world. I am somebody who fights for social justice and gender equality, and I continue to do so. It's maybe a tough environment, but I do not change my position. I don't alter it at all.” Part of the pro-democracy movement in Uganda, she is now a critic of the country’s leadership and what she believes to be the wrongful arrest and detention of her husband Kizza Besigye. And as the leader of a global organisation charged with co-ordinating the response to HIV Aids, she is having to weigh up funding cuts, a loss of trust in the UN and increasing global conflict. The Interview brings you conversations with people shaping our world, from all over the world. The best interviews from the BBC, including episodes with Joy Phumaphi of the African Leaders Malaria Alliance and artist Tracey Emin. You can listen on the BBC World Service on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 0800 GMT. Or you can listen to The Interview as a podcast, out three times a week on BBC Sounds or wherever you get your podcasts. Presenter: Catherine Byaruhanga Producers: Clare Williamson and Osman Iqbal Editor: Damon Rose Get in touch with us on email [email protected] and use the hashtag #TheInterviewBBC on social media. (Images: Winnie Byanyima Credit: Fabrice Coffrini/AFP)
Mar 29, 2026 · 23 min
“I don't think they failed. I think that more work needs to be done. Nigerian security agencies are working around the clock to ensure that this does not happen again. We don't want to see people being attacked, we don't to see people denied sleep as a result of the activities of these criminals and religious extremists.” Victoria Uwonkunda speaks to Mohammed Idris, Nigeria’s Information Minister, about renewed concerns over security following a wave of deadly suicide bombings in the country’s north-east, which killed more than 20 people and injured more than 100. The violence has raised fresh questions about whether the authorities can prevent such attacks. Nigeria is Africa’s most populous country and one of its largest economies, but it faces pressing challenges. From tackling brain drain and creating opportunities for a young and fast-growing population, to managing its role as a major oil producer in an uncertain global economy. The Interview brings you conversations with people shaping our world, from all over the world. The best interviews from the BBC, including episodes with Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelensky, and Antonio Guterres, Secretary General of the UN. You can listen on the BBC World Service on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 0800 GMT. Or you can listen to The Interview as a podcast, out three times a week on BBC Sounds or wherever you get your podcasts. Presenter: Victoria Uwonkunda Producers: Lucy Sheppard and Osman Iqbal Editor: Justine Lang and Damon Rose Get in touch with us on email [email protected] and use the hashtag #TheInterviewBBC on social media. (Image: Mohammed Idris Credit: REUTERS)
Mar 27, 2026 · 23 min
“The global economy is full of uncertainty… business doesn't do that well with uncertainty. So with respect to trade… what is going on in the Middle East will have a significant impact on trade” Ben Thompson speaks to Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala Director General of the World Trade Organisation. The global trade system - embodied by the WTO - is supposed to bring countries together by setting and enforcing the rules for them to sell goods and services to each other as well as resolve trade disputes. This week in Cameroon a WTO ministerial Conference is taking place against the backdrop of war in the Middle East and unprecedented challenges to the established world trading system. The war, President Trump's tariffs and a growing urge for independence are all impacting the way goods and services flow across borders. In this interview Dr Okonjo-Iweala discusses the restrictions coming into force and their impact on global trade. She also talks about the need to reform the trading system so it works better for all parties. The Interview brings you conversations with people shaping our world, from all over the world. The best interviews from the BBC, including episodes with Samantha Power, former US ambassador to the UN and Dame Sarah Mullally, the archbishop of Canterbury. You can listen on the BBC World Service on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 0800 GMT. Or you can listen to The Interview as a podcast, out three times a week on BBC Sounds or wherever you get your podcasts. Presenter: Ben Thompson Producers: Jonathan Josephs, Clare Williamson Editor: Damon Rose Get in touch with us on email [email protected] and use the hashtag #TheInterviewBBC on social media. (Image: Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala Credit: PIERRE ALBOUY/AFP via Getty Images)
Mar 25, 2026 · 23 min
“Malaria is an all of society challenge. When you look at the environmental issues, addressing the breeding sites for mosquitoes, it’s an all of society issue…it is not just the responsibility of the heads of state.” Daniel Dadzie hears from Joy Phumaphi, Executive Secretary of the African Leaders Malaria Alliance, or ALMA. ALMA was founded with the goal of eradicating malaria in Africa by 2030. Now, Joy Phumaphi concedes this is not going to happen. In fact, she says only a few countries across the continent will hit this target, thanks to a “perfect storm” of climate change, insecticide and drug resistance, spiralling costs and cuts in aid. She also highlights the risk that private sector development projects can create breeding grounds for mosquitoes. Thank you to Daniel Dadzie, Albert Kirui and Brian Khisa their help in making this programme. The Interview brings you conversations with people shaping our world, from all over the world. The best interviews from the BBC, including episodes with South Africa’s Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi and Sarah Mullally, the Archbishop of Canterbury. You can listen on the BBC World Service on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 0800 GMT. Or you can listen to The Interview as a podcast, out three times a week on BBC Sounds or wherever you get your podcasts. Presenter: Daniel Dadzie Producer: Albert Kirui, Brian Khisa and Lucy Sheppard Editors: Damon Rose and Justine Lang Get in touch with us on email [email protected] and use the hashtag #TheInterviewBBC on social media. (Image: Joy Phumaphi Credit: Andrew H. Walker/Getty Images)
Mar 23, 2026 · 23 min
“We put the money where Europe's priorities are. Many people may think defence is about tanks. No, defence is also about energy security. It is about social cohesion and territorial cohesion. That's the European brand. So we need to act in all these areas in order to ensure peace, security, stability on our continent.” Peter Macjob speaks to Nadia Calviño, President of the European Investment Bank, about Europe’s shifting priorities, and the growing urgency around defence and security. With wars, energy shocks and tariffs reshaping the global economy, Europe is being forced to rethink its position in a changing world. The EIB is the EU’s lending arm, mobilising billions of euros to finance infrastructure, energy and technology projects across Europe and the developing world. Calviño, a former Spanish finance minister, took on the role in 2024 at a time of war in Ukraine, rising geopolitical tensions and growing strain on global trade. The Interview brings you conversations with people shaping our world, from all over the world. The best interviews from the BBC, including episodes with UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres and free speech campaigner Maria Ressa. You can listen on the BBC World Service on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 0800 GMT. Or you can listen to The Interview as a podcast, out three times a week on BBC Sounds or wherever you get your podcasts. Presenter: Peter Macjob Producers: Osman Iqbal and Lucy Sheppard Editor: Justine Lang and Damon Rose Get in touch with us on email [email protected] and use the hashtag #TheInterviewBBC on social media. (Image: Nadia Calviño Credit: Krisztian Bocsi/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Mar 20, 2026 · 23 min
“Donald Trump was indicating that they will attack Iran for a few days and then the system will collapse, and then they will repeat what they have done in Venezuela. And everything went into a different direction. The Iranian nation is not a nation to surrender.” Evan Davis speaks to Ali Bahreini, Iran’s Ambassador to the United Nations, about the ongoing war. He talks about Iran’s nuclear negotiations, how it says the war is unfolding, and why it believes their strikes on neighbouring countries are justified. Bahreini has represented the Islamic Republic of Iran in international diplomacy since 1999. He is now speaking at a time of heightened regional and global tension, following a wave of strikes by the United States and Israel, and Iran’s retaliatory attacks across the Middle East. Despite senior Iranian figures being killed, Bahreini insists Iran remains defiant and will never surrender. Thank you to the PM team for its help in making this programme. The Interview brings you conversations with people shaping our world, from all over the world. The best interviews from the BBC, including episodes with Polish President Karol Nawrocki and Antonio Guterres, UN Secretary General. You can listen on the BBC World Service on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 0800 GMT. Or you can listen to The Interview as a podcast, out three times a week on BBC Sounds or wherever you get your podcasts. Presenter: Evan Davis Producers: Guy Emanuel, Caleb Darwin, Lucy Shepperd, Osman Iqbal Editor: Justine Lang and Damon Rose Get in touch with us on email [email protected] and use the hashtag #TheInterviewBBC on social media. (Image: Ali Bahreini Photo by SALVATORE DI NOLFI/EPA/Shutterstock (16721914l)
Mar 18, 2026 · 23 min
“The changing date was the war in Ukraine in February 2022, and then probably the new American administration. So we don't know where the world is going to land. We live a little bit in a world of disorder right now.” Matt Chorley speaks to Alexander Stubb, President of Finland about shifting global priorities and allegiances. President Stubb is known for his good relationship with his American counterpart Donald Trump, forged in part over their shared love of golf. But in spite of this he believes it is right that Nato, as a defensive alliance, should stay out of the war in Iran. This, he says, is the US and Israel’s conflict. Thank you to the BBC Newsnight team for its help in making this programme. The Interview brings you conversations with people shaping our world, from all over the world. The best interviews from the BBC, including episodes with Polish President Karol Nawrocki and the Mayor of Kyiv Vitali Klitschko. You can listen on the BBC World Service on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 0800 GMT. Or you can listen to The Interview as a podcast, out three times a week on BBC Sounds or wherever you get your podcasts. Presenter: Matt Chorley Producers: Jonathan Aspinwall, Adam Bowen, Katherine Hodgson, Jack Hunter and Osman Iqbal Editor: Justine Lang and Damon Rose Get in touch with us on email [email protected] and use the hashtag #TheInterviewBBC on social media. (Image: Alexander Stubb Credit: Jason Alden/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Mar 16, 2026 · 23 min
“When you've been really nihilistic in your life when you're younger, and then you feel you've been given a second chance.” Emma Barnett speaks to artist Dame Tracey Emin about her life and career. Emin rose to fame in the 1990s as a disruptor of the art world, with her works, such as the sculpture ‘My Bed’, gaining widespread media attention. Having been at the forefront of the modern art scene for over three decades, a solo exhibition has now opened at the Tate Modern in London showcasing 40 years of her work. She’s well-known for channelling her life experiences into her artwork. Following a troubled childhood, in which she was a victim of sexual abuse, Emin battled alcohol addiction throughout her adult life. However, she gave up alcohol after being diagnosed with an aggressive form of cancer in 2020 - which is now in remission. Emin views the experience as a ‘second life’, and believes the lifestyle change has been for the better. Thank you to the Ready to Talk with Emma Barnett team for their help in making this programme. The Interview brings you conversations with people shaping our world, from all over the world. The best interviews from the BBC, including episodes with UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, free speech campaigner Maria Ressa, and Olympic cyclist Sir Bradley Wiggins. You can listen on the BBC World Service on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 0800 GMT. Or you can listen to The Interview as a podcast, out three times a week on BBC Sounds or wherever you get your podcasts. Presenter: Emma Barnett Producers: Ben Cooper, Mark Ward and Clare Williamson Editor: Justine Lang and Damon Rose Get in touch with us on email [email protected] and use the hashtag #TheInterviewBBC on social media. (Image: Tracey Emin posing beside her artwork during a preview of her upcoming show, Tracey Emin: A Second Life at The Tate Modern in London. Credit: ADRIAN DENNIS / AFP via Getty Images)
Mar 13, 2026 · 23 min
“We need to get back to something where freedom of navigation and peaceful navigation is restored, and that will depend on some kind of deal between the two sides in that war.” Jonathan Josephs speaks to Vincent Clerc, CEO of Maersk the world’s second largest shipping company. The conflict between Iran, Israel and the United States has led to the closure of the vital Strait of Hormuz. It’s one of the world’s most important shipping routes which before this war, carried about a fifth of global oil supplies. Cargo ships there are being targeted, and seafarers have been killed. The disruption is halting the transport of vital cargo containers and pushing up energy prices. Countries in the Gulf region like Saudi Arabia, rely heavily on energy exports, and, Asia, where much of it is sold, will be hit hard. Food and fertiliser supplies are also being affected. It's not just the Strait of Hormuz that's being disrupted. Security threats mean shipping is also avoiding the Red Sea route through the Suez Canal, which because of the sheer volume of cargo traffic, is arguably more important to global trade. Vincent Clerc says the cost of war will have to be passed on, leading to higher prices for consumers around the world. Thank you to Jonathan Josephs for his help in making this programme. The Interview brings you conversations with people shaping our world, from all over the world. The best interviews from the BBC, including episodes with Majid Takht-Ravanchi, Iran’s deputy foreign minister, Jamie Dimon Chief Executiveof JP Morgan Chase and many others. You can listen on the BBC World Service on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 0800 GMT. Or you can listen to The Interview as a podcast, out three times a week on BBC Sounds or wherever you get your podcasts. Presenter: Jonathan Josephs Producer: Clare Williamson Editor: Damon Rose Get in touch with us on email [email protected] and use the hashtag #TheInterviewBBC on social media. (Image: Vincent Clerc Credit: BBC)
Mar 11, 2026 · 23 min
“People are too gloomy about AI, particularly in the developing world it is seen as a threat, that people are going to be using AI systems, rather than offshoring jobs and the like. That's true, but you could use AI yourself and develop solutions to the challenges you have in your community, in your country, and create unprecedented wealth.” BBC presenter Ed Butler speaks to Karim Beguir, co-founder and boss of InstaDeep, Africa’s biggest AI firm. InstaDeep’s technology played a key role during the pandemic, tracking new disease variants to support the development of targeted vaccines. And while he acknowledges artificial intelligence does need control and direction, he believes it has the potential to bring enormous benefit to the developing world. The Interview brings you conversations with people shaping our world, from all over the world. The best interviews from the BBC, including episodes with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, and political economist Professor Helen Thompson. You can listen on the BBC World Service on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 0800 GMT. Or you can listen to The Interview as a podcast, out three times a week on BBC Sounds or wherever you get your podcasts. Presenter: Ed Butler Producer: Hannah Mullane, Niamh McDermott, Lucy Sheppard Editors: Justine Lang and Damon Rose Get in touch with us on email [email protected] and use the hashtag #TheInterviewBBC on social media. (Image: Karim Beguir Credit: JULIEN DE ROSA/AFP via Getty Images)
Mar 9, 2026 · 23 min
“The destruction of USAID is not only one of the cruellest acts that I've seen in my career, but of course also one of the dumbest.” Caitriona Perry speaks to Samantha Power, the former American ambassador to the United Nations. She went on to lead the U.S. Agency for International Development until January 2025 when Donald Trump came to power. President Trump later closed USAID down. She is scathing about his decision, describing it as a “soft power suicide” which will lead to the avoidable deaths of millions of people around the world. Ambassador Power also warns of gridlock in the United Nations, thanks to the use of veto powers by permanent members of the Security Council. Thank you to Caitriona Perry and Abby Godard for their help in making this programme. The Interview brings you conversations with people shaping our world, from all over the world. The best interviews from the BBC, including episodes with Nigel Casey, the UK ambassador to Russia, and the Colombian President Gustavo Petro. You can listen on the BBC World Service on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 0800 GMT. Or you can listen to The Interview as a podcast, out three times a week on BBC Sounds or wherever you get your podcasts. Presenter: Caitriona Perry Producers: Abby Godard and Lucy Sheppard Editors: Damon Rose and Justine Lang Get in touch with us on email [email protected] and use the hashtag #TheInterviewBBC on social media. (Image: Samantha Power Credit: Hollie Adams/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Mar 6, 2026 · 28 min
“One of the things that was going to combat gender inequality in our world was that sense of progress and then to see in the research that actually the younger generation is more conservative on these questions than people my age, that deeply troubled me.” Lucy Hockings speaks to Julia Gillard former Australian PM and chair at the Global Institute for Women’s Leadership, King’s College London about new research on equality. Having worked her way to the top in the male dominated world of Australian politics, Julia knows about sexism and misogyny. She famously called it out in a speech against opposition leader Tony Abbott in 2012 and has always been a proponent of equality for women. But 14 years on and research from the organisation she now leads finds that more and more young men want a traditional wife that obeys her husband and that’s not too independent*. So what has gone wrong? Lucy and Julia unpick the research and analyse the factors behind this backsliding, and they also discuss Julia’s time as Australia’s first ever female head of government. The Interview brings you conversations with people shaping our world, from all over the world. The best interviews from the BBC, including episodes with Ukrainian President Volodomyr Zelensky and former New Zealand Prime Minister, Jacinda Ardern. You can listen on the BBC World Service on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 0800 GMT. Or you can listen to The Interview as a podcast, out three times a week on BBC Sounds or wherever you get your podcasts. Presenter: Lucy Hockings Producer: Clare Williamson Editor: Justine Lang Get in touch with us on email [email protected] and use the hashtag #TheInterviewBBC on social media. *31% of Gen Z men (born between 1997 and 2012) agree that a wife should always obey her husband and one third (33%) say a husband should have the final word on important decisions, according to a new global study of 23,000 people in 29-countries conducted by Ipsos UK and the Global Institute for Women’s Leadership at King’s Business School, King’s College London. (Image: Julia Gillard Credit: Vicki Couchman for King’s College London)
Mar 4, 2026 · 27 min
“I have never made a movie I didn't believe was necessary for me or for someone in the world, whether to entertain or to connect at a spiritual level or something. It's been only done for the art.” John Wilson speaks to Oscar-winning Mexican director, screenwriter, and producer, Guillermo del Toro about his life and career. Born in Guadalajara in 1964, his life suddenly changed at the age of five after his father, then a motorcycle racer, won the lottery. While his parents travelled the world with the winnings, del Toro was raised at home by his Catholic great aunt, a deeply religious figure who exposed him to concepts including purgatory and sin. Fascinated and frightened in equal measure, it piqued his interest in the supernatural, leading him to seek out books and films on the genre. And when his father presented him with a video camera a few years later, the two interests combined and set the young del Toro on a path to becoming an Oscar winner renowned for making films that mix fantasy, horror, and Gothic romance, to create modern fairy tales. Thank you to the This Cultural Life team for their help in making this programme. The Interview brings you conversations with people shaping our world, from all over the world. The best interviews from the BBC, including episodes with education campaigner Malala Yousafzai, social psychologist Jonathan Haidt, and artificial intelligence pioneer Mustafa Suleyman. You can listen on the BBC World Service on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 0800 GMT. Or you can listen to The Interview as a podcast, out three times a week on BBC Sounds or wherever you get your podcasts. Presenter: John Wilson Producers: Ben Cooper and Edwina Pitman Editor: Damon Rose Get in touch with us on email [email protected] and use the hashtag #TheInterviewBBC on social media. (Image: Guillermo del Toro. Credit: Tibrina Hobson/Getty Images for Santa Barbara International Film Festival)
Mar 2, 2026 · 23 min
“Africa is flowing with resources from oil, diamonds, critical minerals. But at times we find that in our cities, at the bus stations, there's no toilets with running water in a continent which is rich with possibilities. So it's how that intentionality, that political will, to put resources to what matters most.” Daniel Dadzie speaks to Dr Nyaradzayi Gumbonzvanda, UN Assistant Secretary-General and UN deputy director for women, about the need for Africa to focus on the priorities of its people, such as water and sanitation. The interview took place at the African Union summit in Addis Abbaba, Ethiopia, where the theme was: “Ensuring sustainable water availability and safe sanitation systems.” It’s part of Agenda 2063 - the organisation’s 50-year strategic framework. But Gumbonzvanda says these things can’t wait fifty years, and that they need to be a priority for African leaders now. In her role as deputy lead for UN Women, she is also increasingly concerned by the stories she’s been hearing from the women of Sudan, where the civil war continues to rage. She says that regional bodies and the UN are not doing enough to protect the war-torn country’s women and children. The Interview brings you conversations with people shaping our world, from all over the world. The best interviews from the BBC, including episodes with Taiwan’s cyber ambassador Audrey Tang, author Sir Salman Rushdie, and South African health minister Dr Aaron Motsoaledi. You can listen on the BBC World Service on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 0800 GMT. Or you can listen to The Interview as a podcast, out three times a week on BBC Sounds or wherever you get your podcasts. Presenter: Daniel Dadzie Producers: Albert Kirui, Brian Khisa, and Clare Williamson Editor: Damon Rose Get in touch with us on email [email protected] and use the hashtag #TheInterviewBBC on social media. (Image: Dr Nyaradzayi Gumbonzvanda Credit: Roy Rochlin/Getty Images for The Ford Foundation)
Feb 27, 2026 · 23 min
“We stand and fight for survival. We are an independent state. We will definitely not lose this war” Jeremy Bowen, the BBC’s International Editor, speaks to the Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in an interview marking the fourth anniversary of the Ukraine war. Official figures put the number of Ukrainian soldiers killed at 55,000 since the full-scale Russian invasion began, but that is believed to be an underestimate, with many more missing. The number of Russian soldiers killed is believed to be much higher. The civilian death toll in Ukraine stands at more then 14,000. Repeated attempts at a peace deal have failed. In the face of ongoing Russian aggression, President Zelensky remains defiant. Russia has started the Third World War, he says, and must not be allowed to win. Thank you to Imogen Anderson and Jeremy Bowen for their help in making this programme. The Interview brings you conversations with people shaping our world, from all over the world. The best interviews from the BBC, including episodes with Germany’s Chancellor Friedrich Merz and Colombian President Gustavo Petro. You can listen on the BBC World Service on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 0800 GMT. Or you can listen to The Interview as a podcast, out three times a week on BBC Sounds or wherever you get your podcasts. Presenter: Jeremy Bowen Producers: Imogen Anderson and Lucy Sheppard Editors: Justine Lang and Damon Rose Get in touch with us on email [email protected] and use the hashtag #TheInterviewBBC on social media. (Image: Volodymyr Zelensky Credit: Leon Neal/Getty Images)
Feb 25, 2026 · 23 min
Laura Kuenssberg speaks to former British Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, and former head of the British Armed Forces, Admiral Sir Tony Radakin, about the war in Ukraine. Johnson was in Downing Street four years ago, when the Russian invasion of Ukraine began. As one of the driving forces behind the West’s initial response, he has been critical of the slowness of allies in providing support to President Zelensky, which Johnson says has cost lives. The two men believe the conflict could have been prevented altogether if Western allies had paid more attention to Putin's increasing aggression and annexation of Crimea in 2014. The Interview brings you conversations with people shaping our world, from all over the world. The best interviews from the BBC, including episodes with the Mayor of Kyiv, Vitali Klitschko, Iranian author Azar Nafisi, and the President of Somalia, Hassan Sheikh Mohamud. You can listen on the BBC World Service on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 0800 GMT. Or you can listen to The Interview as a podcast, out three times a week on BBC Sounds or wherever you get your podcasts. Presenter: Laura Kuenssberg Producers: Paul Twinn and Ben Cooper Editors: Diana Martin and Damon Rose Get in touch with us on email [email protected] and use the hashtag #TheInterviewBBC on social media. (Image: Boris Johnson and Sir Tony Radakin. Credit: Jeff Overs)
Feb 23, 2026 · 23 min
“Food is a human right that should be supported by everybody, no children should go to bed hungry, even less in a conflict." Caitriona Perry speaks to José Andrés world-renowned chef and humanitarian. Andrés was born in Spain and trained as a chef before moving to the United States, where he helped popularise Spanish cuisine and built a global restaurant empire. He later founded World Central Kitchen, an organisation that has transformed the way humanitarian aid responds to crisis, delivering meals in war zones, after natural disasters, and in communities where hunger is a daily reality. José Andrés reflects on food, power, and why feeding people is inseparable from dignity and justice. The Interview brings you conversations with people shaping our world, from all over the world. The best interviews from the BBC, including episodes with Hind Kabawat Syria's only woman minister, Antonio Guterres the UN Secretary General and the director Chloe Zhao.. You can listen on the BBC World Service on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 0800 GMT. Or you can listen to The Interview as a podcast, out three times a week on BBC Sounds or wherever you get your podcasts. Presenter: Caitriona Perry Producers: Chloe Ross, Farhana Haider Editor: Damon Rose Get in touch with us on email [email protected] and use the hashtag #TheInterviewBBC on social media. (Image: José Andrés Credit: Pief Weyman/NBC via Getty Images)
Feb 18, 2026 · 23 min
“They have said in private conversation through Oman that they're interested to have this matter being resolved through peaceful means. But at the same time, one can question why the American forces are building up around Iran, why they are using threats, why they resorting to intimidation.” Lyse Doucet speaks to Majid Takht-Ravanchi, Iran’s deputy foreign minister, in an interview recorded before the second round of talks with the US. The talks are aimed at curbing Iran’s nuclear programme in return for the lifting of sanctions that have crippled the country’s economy. The latest round of talks follow US-led military strikes on Iran’s nuclear infrastructure last summer, amid growing concerns that Tehran was pursuing nuclear weapons. US President Trump has threatened further strikes if a deal cannot be reached, with the US building up its military presence in the region. As concerns grow over the slow pace of current negotiations, the US says Iran is to blame. The talks also come against a backdrop of ongoing nationwide protests against the Islamic regime in Tehran. According to human rights groups, thousands have been killed by the government in an attempt to quell the uprising. The Interview brings you conversations with people shaping our world, from all over the world. The best interviews from the BBC, including episodes with Iranian author Azar Nafisi, Google CEO Sundar Pichai, and Venezuelan opposition leader Henrique Capriles. You can listen on the BBC World Service on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 0800 GMT. Or you can listen to The Interview as a podcast, out three times a week on BBC Sounds or wherever you get your podcasts. Presenter: Lyse Doucet Producer: Charlotte Scarr Editor: Damon Rose Get in touch with us on email [email protected] and use the hashtag #TheInterviewBBC on social media. (Image: Majid Takht-Ravanchi Credit: SAFIN HAMID/AFP via Getty Images)
Feb 17, 2026 · 23 min
**This episode contains distressing details of rape and sexual assault** Gisèle Pelicot: “I wanted the shame to shift to the other side…Shame must be carried by the accused, not the victims.” Victoria Derbyshire speaks to Gisèle Pelicot, the woman at the centre of France's largest ever rape trial. In 2024 her husband and 50 other men were convicted of raping and assaulting her. For years, Mr Pelicot had repeatedly drugged her unconscious and invited dozens of men into their home to rape her. In an exclusive UK interview, Gisèle Pelicot talks of her horror at discovering what had been done to her, how hard it was telling her kids and why she chose to waive her anonymity at the trial. She also talks about the overwhelming public support she has received and her hopes for the future. Thank you to the Newsnight team for its help in making this programme. If you are suffering distress or despair and need support, you could speak to a health professional, or an organisation that offers support. Details of help available in many countries can be found at Befrienders Worldwide. Search befrienders.org. The Interview brings you conversations with people shaping our world, from all over the world. You can listen on the BBC World Service on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 0800 GMT. Or you can listen to The Interview as a podcast, out three times a week on BBC Sounds or wherever you get your podcasts. Presenter: Victoria Derbyshire Producers: Liz Rawlings, Jasmin Dyer, Farhana Haider, Clare Williamson Editor: Damon Rose Get in touch with us on email [email protected] and use the hashtag #TheInterviewBBC on social media. (Image: Gisèle Pelicot Credit: Dmitry Kostyukov/BBC Newsnight)
Feb 16, 2026 · 23 min
"There is a public health disaster. There is an education disaster. It all can be traced to the same cause, which is the change technology has made in our kids' childhood." Amol Rajan speaks to the American social psychologist Jonathan Haidt. In 2024 his book The Anxious Generation sparked a fierce debate about the impact of social media and technology on young people. Haidt believes it's behind the soaring number of mental health problems but social media companies claim this oversimplifies a deeply complex issue. Now he says we are at a tipping point in our relationship with technology, with countries moving towards much greater regulation of social media use for children. Thank you to the Radical team for its help in making this programme. The Interview brings you conversations with people shaping our world, from all over the world. The best interviews from the BBC, including episodes with Microsoft AI boss Mustafa Suleyman and Annika Wells, the minister in charge of Australia's social media ban for under-16s. You can listen on the BBC World Service on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 0800 GMT. Or you can listen to The Interview as a podcast, out three times a week on BBC Sounds or wherever you get your podcasts. Presenter: Amol Rajan Producers: Anna Budd and Lucy Sheppard Editor: Justine Lang Get in touch with us on email [email protected] and use the hashtag #TheInterviewBBC on social media. (Image: Jonathan Haidt Credit: Kristina Bumphrey/Variety via Getty Images)
Feb 13, 2026 · 23 min
Aleem Maqbool speaks to Dame Sarah Mullally, shortly before being confirmed as Archbishop of Canterbury. She's the first woman ever to lead the Church of England. It is a tough time for the Church and its leader who has to hold together people with a broad range of opinions across the Anglican Communion, one of the largest Christian communities in the world. Dame Sarah's election has upset some traditionalists who have threatened to leave the church because they are against the role of women in leadership. And, with her predecessor leaving because of his failings over abuse in the church, her stance on safeguarding, along with reparative justice and the blessings in church of same sex couples, are all in the spotlight. A former nurse, Dame Sarah rose to become England's chief nursing officer before being ordained. She says that there are strong links between nursing and being a priest - not always finding a cure, she says, but trying to heal. The Interview brings you conversations with people shaping our world, from all over the world. The best interviews from the BBC, including episodes with Hind Kabawat, Syria's only woman minister, and Nigel Casey, the UK's ambassador to Russia. You can listen on the BBC World Service on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 0800 GMT. Or you can listen to The Interview as a podcast, out three times a week on BBC Sounds or wherever you get your podcasts. Presenter: Aleem Maqbool Producers: Clare Williamson Editors: Justine Lang and Damon Rose Get in touch with us on email [email protected] and use the hashtag #TheInterviewBBC on social media. (Image: Dame Sarah Mullally Credit: Ray Tang/Getty Images)
Feb 11, 2026 · 23 min
'What the regime does to women is even if they don't kill us, when you stop a woman from being herself, stop her from speaking the way she wants to or stop her from connecting, it’s a kind of murder. And so we're fighting for our existence. We're fighting our survival.’ Svetlana Reiter speaks to the Iranian-American writer, Azar Nafisi, about the current instability in the country of her birth as Iranians continue to seek regime change in Tehran. Born in Tehran in 1956, the story of her life has been greatly shaped by the Iranian Islamic Revolution of 1979, when Nafisi taught English literature at the University of Tehran. She was expelled from the University for not wearing a hijab, and eventually left for the US less than two decades later. Nafisi is best-known for her New York Times bestseller, Reading Lolita in Tehran, in which she wrote about her experiences under the Islamic regime. The book focuses on a short period before she left Iran in 1997, when she would gather a group of young women at her house one morning every week to read and discuss forbidden works of Western literature. Thank you to the BBC Russian Service for their help in making this programme. The Interview brings you conversations with people shaping our world, from all over the world. The best interviews from the BBC, including episodes with Russian punk activist Maria Alyokhina, Wikipedia co-founder Jimmy Wales and author Sir Salman Rushdie. You can listen on the BBC World Service on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 0800 GMT. Or you can listen to The Interview as a podcast, out three times a week on BBC Sounds or wherever you get your podcasts. Presenter: Svetlana Reiter Producers: Anastasia Soroka and Ben Cooper Editor: Damon Rose Get in touch with us on email [email protected] and use the hashtag #TheInterviewBBC on social media. (Image: Azar Nafisi Credit: Massimo Valicchia/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
Feb 9, 2026 · 23 min
“Even though we say we want to be self-sufficient, we don't think global solidarity must be dropped. Because if it gets dropped, the world will be in trouble.” Mayeni Jones the BBC’s Africa correspondent speaks to Dr Aaron Motsoaledi South Africa’s health minister a year on since the US announced foreign aid cuts. At the time he called the USAID freeze a wake up call for Africa. Dr Motsoaledi, has been at the centre of South Africa’s public health response for more than a decade. A medical doctor by training, he first took on the health portfolio in 2009, overseeing the world’s largest HIV treatment programme. In this conversation he explains how the country is filling the aid gap and where progress stands in the fight against HIV and AIDS. The Interview brings you conversations with people shaping our world, from all over the world. The best interviews from the BBC, including episodes with Syria’s only female cabinet minister, Hind Kabawat, Ugandan human rights lawyer Nicholas Opiyo and Mexican actor, Diego Calva. You can listen on the BBC World Service on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 0800 GMT. Or you can listen to The Interview as a podcast, out three times a week on BBC Sounds or wherever you get your podcasts. Presenter: Mayeni Jones Producers: Ed Habershon, Farhana Haider Editor: Justine Lang Get in touch with us on email [email protected] and use the hashtag #TheInterviewBBC on social media. (Image: Dr Aaron Motsoaledi Credit: PHILL MAGAKOE/AFP via Getty Images)
Feb 6, 2026 · 23 min
“Most Venezuelans are thinking about the future: Will things improve? Will deep changes come? Will we reunite as a people with our history, dreams, and hopes?” BBC correspondent Norberto Paredes speaks to Henrique Capriles, a Venezuelan opposition leader, about his vision for a new Venezuela. In the aftermath of President Maduro’s capture by the United States, Henrique Capriles is one of the key political voices emerging - an alternative to the high-profile Maria Corina Machado, Nobel-prize winner and vocal supporter of Trump’s intervention. Now it is time for Venezuela’s opposition to unite, he says, and bring democracy to the country. Henrique Capriles narrowly lost out on the presidency in both 2012 and 2013, before being banned from standing for public office for many years. In 2025, he was elected to the National Assembly. Thank you to the BBC Mundo team for its help in making this programme. The Interview brings you conversations with people shaping our world, from all over the world. The best interviews from the BBC, including episodes with Colombian President Gustavo Petro, the President of Ecuador Daniel Noboa and President Lula da Silva of Brazil. You can listen on the BBC World Service on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 0800 GMT. Or you can listen to The Interview as a podcast, out three times a week on BBC Sounds or wherever you get your podcasts. Presenter: Norberto Paredes Producers: Nathalia Passarinho and Lucy Sheppard Editor: Justine Lang Get in touch with us on email [email protected] and use the hashtag #TheInterviewBBC on social media. (Image: Henrique Capriles Credit: REUTERS/Marco Bello)
Feb 4, 2026 · 23 min
Katy Watson speaks to Julie Inman Grant, Australia’s eSafety Commissioner about the country’s social media ban for under 16s: “To keep kids away until they're ready, I think that is the monumental circuit breaker move that we need to move to,” she says. Brought up in Seattle, North America Julie has spent her career in the technology sector working for Microsoft, Twitter and Adobe in public policy and safety before moving into government. She moved to Australia more than 25 years ago and from 2017 Julie has been working on online safety. In her role as commissioner she has become the target of free speech absolutists like Elon Musk, wh have accused of her trying to censor the internet. No stranger to controversy and abuse, she’s now the public face of Australia’s landmark social media ban for children under 16 which came into force in December. Now countries around the world are considering similar bans as cases of online addiction, self harm and abuse are reportedly on the rise. The Interview brings you conversations with people shaping our world, from all over the world. The best interviews from the BBC, including episodes with Antonio Guterres, Secretary General of the United Nations and Taiwan’s cyber ambassador Audrey Tang. You can listen on the BBC World Service on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 0800 GMT. Or you can listen to The Interview as a podcast, out three times a week on BBC Sounds or wherever you get your podcasts. Presenter: Katy Watson Producer: Dan Soekov, Clare Williamson, Farhana Haider Editor: Justine Lang Get in touch with us on email [email protected] and use the hashtag #TheInterviewBBC on social media. (Image: Julie Inman Grant Credit: Reuters)
Feb 2, 2026 · 24 min
'It's hard to be the only woman, I feel lonely sometimes because I’d like to have another woman colleague to talk to.’ The BBC’s Chief international correspondent, Lyse Doucet speaks to Hind Kabawat, Syria’s Minister for Social Affairs and Labour. and the only female minister in the transitional government. She was born in India and grew up across the Middle East and Europe. Her life has been shaped by movement, exile and conflict. She studied economics in Damascus, law in Beirut, and later continued her education in the United States. During Syria’s war, she worked abroad on diplomacy and legal reform, advising on negotiations and pushing for greater representation of women in public life. After the fall of the Assad regime and the creation of a transitional authority, she returned home to take up public office. In this conversation, she talks about power, responsibility, and what leadership means in a country still reckoning with more than a decade of conflict. Thank you to the Global Women team for their help in making this programme. The Interview brings you conversations with people shaping our world, from all over the world. The best interviews from the BBC, including episodes with the Colombian president Gustavo Petro, the Palestinian-American human rights lawyer Noura Erekat and Mexican actor Diego Calva. You can listen on the BBC World Service on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 0800 GMT. Or you can listen to The Interview as a podcast, out three times a week on BBC Sounds or wherever you get your podcasts. Presenter: Lyse Doucet Producers: Lina Shaikhouni, Farhana Haider Editor: Justine Lang Get in touch with us on email [email protected] and use the hashtag #TheInterviewBBC on social media. (Image: Hind Kabavat Credit: Beyza Comert/Getty Images)
Jan 30, 2026 · 23 min
‘We're fighting to survive in our home town, in our country, and at the same time we're fighting for our future, for our independence’ Nick Robinson speaks to Vitali Klitschko, Mayor of Kyiv, about Ukraine’s war with Russia as it approaches its fourth year. Born behind the Iron Curtain in 1971, he’s arguably best-known as a former heavyweight boxing world champion who made his name in the ring during the 1990s and 2000s. Having hung up his gloves following a series of injuries, when his native Ukraine endured political upheaval through the Orange Revolution, Vitali’s attentions turned to the political arena. Following a short stint in the Ukrainian Parliament, where he aligned with pro-Europeans, Vitali was elected mayor of Ukraine’s capital Kyiv in 2014 after heavily campaigning against corruption. But his greatest challenge in politics, and indeed even greater than becoming a world champion boxer, came when Vladimir Putin ordered the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Thank you to the Political Thinking with Nick Robinson team for their help in making this programme. The Interview brings you conversations with people shaping our world, from all over the world. The best interviews from the BBC, including episodes with Artificial Intelligence pioneer Mustafa Suleyman, Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado, and fantasy author Sir Philip Pullman. You can listen on the BBC World Service on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 0800 GMT. Or you can listen to The Interview as a podcast, out three times a week on BBC Sounds or wherever you get your podcasts. Presenter: Nick Robinson Producers: Daniel Kraemer and Ben Cooper Editor: Justine Lang Get in touch with us on email [email protected] and use the hashtag #TheInterviewBBC on social media. (Image: Vitali Klitschko Credit: Sergei GAPON / AFP via Getty Images)
Jan 28, 2026 · 23 min
“Regardless of whether it's Trump or anybody else in the White House, we should expect something quite significant to be going on in terms of the United States’ relationship with the rest of the world.” Amol Rajan speaks to Helen Thompson, professor of political economy at Cambridge University, about a new era of global power play. In this conversation, she traces the roots of the re-birth of US expansionism back to the 19th century, and America’s early presidents. She also explains how the dynamics of geopolitics are tied to the control of resources, in particular oil. Professor Thompson is an expert on the history of globalisation who has taught at Britain’s Cambridge University for more than 30 years. Her current research looks at the geopolitics of energy, and the long history of this century’s global disruptions. Thank you to the Radical team for its help in making this programme. The Interview brings you conversations with people shaping our world, from all over the world. The best interviews from the BBC, including episodes with the Colombian president Gustavo Petro, New Zealand’s former Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and Google CEO Sundar Pichai. You can listen on the BBC World Service on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 0800 GMT. Or you can listen to The Interview as a podcast, out three times a week on BBC Sounds or wherever you get your podcasts. Presenter: Amol Rajan Producers: Anna Budd, Lucy Sheppard Editor: Justine Lang Get in touch with us on email [email protected] and use the hashtag #TheInterviewBBC on social media. (Image: Helen Thompson Credit: Anna Budd/BBC)
Jan 26, 2026 · 23 min
‘All they have seen is a 40-year rule that has resulted in high unemployment rates, poor services, and an increased violation of human rights. This young population is yearning to see a different president, a different kind of Uganda.’ Catherine Byaruhanga speaks to human rights lawyer and activist Nicholas Opiyo about Ugandan politics, the rule of law, and the impact of 40 years of one leader on the nation. He’s taken on multiple cases of national significance, including successfully overturning the country’s anti-LGBTQ legislation back in 2014 - although this has since been re-instated, and represented a former rebel commander of the Lord’s Resistance Army. Opiyo has also represented Ugandan opposition politician Bobi Wine, who, despite previously being arrested and charged with treason in 2018, challenged the 81-year-old incumbent President Yoweri Museveni in January’s disputed elections. These elections were watched from afar by Opiyo, who was recently forced to flee his home country for his own safety, but still continues his human rights work. The Interview brings you conversations with people shaping our world, from all over the world. The best interviews from the BBC, including episodes with UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed, Botswana’s President Duma Boko, and Dr. Badr Abdelatty, Foreign Minister of Egypt. You can listen on the BBC World Service on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 0800 GMT. Or you can listen to The Interview as a podcast, out three times a week on BBC Sounds or wherever you get your podcasts. Presenter: Catherine Byaruhanga Producers: Clare Williamson, Ben Cooper and Farhana Haider Editor: Justine Lang Get in touch with us on email [email protected] and use the hashtag #TheInterviewBBC on social media. (Image: Nicholas Opiyo. Credit: Reuters)
Jan 23, 2026 · 23 min
‘It's so far from your reality because I didn't know anybody and I was an immigrant’ Anita Rani speaks to the Beijing-born director Chloé Zhao about her career and her latest film, Hamnet. Zhao made history in 2021 when, at the age of just 39, she became the first woman of colour - and, at the time, only the second woman ever - to win the best director award at the Oscars. Now, just five years after her Oscars triumph for Nomadland, Zhao is making headlines once again as the director of the critically-acclaimed movie Hamnet, a dramatisation about the son of the English playwright William Shakespeare. It won two Golden Globe awards, including one for ‘Best Drama Movie’, and has recently been nominated for 8 Academy Awards too. Thank you to the Woman’s Hour team for their help in making this programme. The Interview brings you conversations with people shaping our world, from all over the world. The best interviews from the BBC, including episodes with Indian author Twinkle Khanna, former US Vice President Kamala Harris, and Hollywood legend Sir Anthony Hopkins. You can listen on the BBC World Service on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 0800 GMT. Or you can listen to The Interview as a podcast, out three times a week on BBC Sounds or wherever you get your podcasts. Presenter: Anita Rani Producers: Emma Pearce, Ben Cooper and Lucy Sheppard Editor: Justine Lang Get in touch with us on email [email protected] and use the hashtag #TheInterviewBBC on social media. (Image: Chloé Zhao. Credit: Emma McIntyre/WireImage)
Jan 21, 2026 · 23 min
“There are those that believe the power of law should be replaced by the law of power” Anna Foster speaks to Antonio Guterres, Secretary General of the United Nations, about the threat to international law from states acting through power and influence instead, in particular America. Defending the rule of law is necessary, he says, if we are to have a better world. He also sets out the case for reform of the UN Security Council to allow it to remain effective and relevant in the face of increasingly complex global conflicts. Antonio Guterres has been at the head of the United Nations since 2017, and is now entering his final year in office. Thank you to the Today team for its help in making this programme. The Interview brings you conversations with people shaping our world, from all over the world. The best interviews from the BBC, including episodes with Colombia’s President Gustavo Petro, former Prime Minister of New Zealand Jacinda Ardern and Mustafa Suleyman, boss of Microsoft AI. You can listen on the BBC World Service on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 0800 GMT. Or you can listen to The Interview as a podcast, out three times a week on BBC Sounds or wherever you get your podcasts. Presenter: Anna Foster Producer: Lucy Sheppard Editor: Justine Lang Get in touch with us on email [email protected] and use the hashtag #TheInterviewBBC on social media. (Image: Antonio Guterres. Credit: Per-Anders Pettersson/Getty Images)
Jan 19, 2026 · 23 min
Nick Robinson speaks to Polish President Karol Nawrocki about Trump, Russia and the future of Europe. A historian and a boxer by background, he was elected in June 2025 with the support of Poland’s conservative opposition Law and Justice Party. A social conservative and devout Catholic, he is also an outspoken critic of the European Union and staunch supporter of Donald Trump, believing that the US President is the only person who can stop the threat to Europe from Vladimir Putin’s Russia: "Europe for a number of years was involved in not so important things, in ideological issues such as Green Deal for instance, climate policy, migration issues. It was not building its resilience and its security." The Interview brings you conversations with people shaping our world, from all over the world. The best interviews from the BBC, including episodes with Google CEO Sundar Pichai, American singer-songwriter Patti Smith and Jordan Bardella, leader of the National Rally in France. You can listen on the BBC World Service on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 0800 GMT. Or you can listen to The Interview as a podcast, out three times a week on BBC Sounds or wherever you get your podcasts. Presenter: Nick Robinson Producers: Oscar Pearson and Lucy Sheppard Editor: Justine Lang Get in touch with us on email [email protected] and use the hashtag #TheInterviewBBC on social media. (Image: Polish President Karol Nawrocki. Credit: Wojtek Radwanski/AFP)
Jan 16, 2026 · 23 min
I do believe US military action is a real threat, and the prospect of removing it depends on the ongoing conversations. The BBC’s South America correspondent Ione Wells speaks to Gusatvo Petro, Colombia’s first left-wing president about his fears of US military action against his country. Petro, a former guerrilla fighter turned reformist leader, has been in office since 2022, championing social justice, environmental policies and regional diplomacy. He responds to Donald Trump’s recent comments suggesting a military operation against Colombia “sounds good” and accusations that Petro himself is a drug trafficker—claims he strongly denies. Petro warns that the United States risks moving from global leadership to isolation through what he calls “imperial-style behaviour,” following the recent seizure of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro by US forces. He also expresses his belief that Washington needs a fundamental rethink of power and diplomacy. The Interview brings you conversations with people shaping our world, from all over the world. The best interviews from the BBC, including episodes with Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado and author Sir Salman Rushdie. You can listen on the BBC World Service on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 0800 GMT. Or you can listen to The Interview as a podcast, out three times a week on BBC Sounds or wherever you get your podcasts. Presenter: Ione Wells Producers: Alba Morgade, Farhana Haider Editor: Justine Lang Get in touch with us on email [email protected] and use the hashtag #TheInterviewBBC on social media. Image Credit: NurPhoto/Getty Images
Jan 14, 2026 · 23 min
“Rape and sexual violence against women and girls, babies, men and boys, is used as a part of ethnic cleansing and genocide.” We are in a new era where human rights have been replaced by trade and big businesses and they have almost entirely depleted our ability to show humanity to people on the other side. Lucy Hockings speaks to Baroness Arminka Helic, Member of the House of Lords and campaigner for refugees and victims of war. A former Bosnian refugee, she saw first hand the legacy of conflict-related sexual violence and the importance of ending impunity for rape and assault committed as a weapon of war. She tells of her warm welcome to the UK in 1992 and wants us always to remember the human beings behind the refugee statistics. Baroness Helic talks about the progress in raising awareness of the crimes and her own work in launching the ‘Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict Initiative’ in 2012. She says that it’s really hard for victims to speak out because of the stigma around rape but when they do, their voices need to be heard and the crimes documented. She also speaks about the plight of asylum seekers and the use of starvation in conflict zones like Gaza and Sudan. A Conservative peer, she’s keen to take the politics out of immigration and remember our humanity. The Interview brings you conversations with people shaping our world, from all over the world. The best interviews from the BBC. You can listen on the BBC World Service on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 0800 GMT. Or you can listen to The Interview as a podcast, out three times a week on BBC Sounds or wherever you get your podcasts. Presenter: Lucy Hockings Producers: Clare Williamson, Farhana Haider Editor: Justine Lang Get in touch with us on email [email protected] and use the hashtag #TheInterviewBBC on social media. (Image: Baroness Arminka Helic. Credit: Roger Harris/House of Lords)
Jan 12, 2026 · 23 min
Michael Berkeley speaks to Gabriel Zuchtreigel, Director of Pompeii in Southern Italy, one of the world’s most important archaeological sites. History, he says, comes alive through archaeology, helping us to appreciate our shared humanity with those who lived thousands of years ago, and providing a more democratic way of learning about the past. Mount Vesuvius, the volcano that erupted and buried Pompeii in ash and pumice, did not distinguish between the wealthy and the poor in its victims. Gabriel Zuchtriegel was appointed Director of Pompeii in 2021, and has since begun a major excavation, and made a number of significant finds. But it is walking around the site at night, emptied of the crowds, that he feels the ancient city come alive. It is as if, he says, the inhabitants only left a few minutes ago. The Interview brings you conversations with people shaping our world, from all over the world. The best interviews from the BBC, including with artist Doris Salcedo and author Sir Salman Rushdie. You can listen on the BBC World Service on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 0800 GMT. Or you can listen to The Interview as a podcast, out three times a week on BBC Sounds or wherever you get your podcasts. Presenter: Michael Berkeley Producers: Clare Walker and Lucy Sheppard Editor: Justine Lang Get in touch with us on email [email protected] and use the hashtag #TheInterviewBBC on social media. (Image: Gabriel Zuchtreigel Credit: Ivan Romano/Getty Images)
Jan 9, 2026 · 23 min
BBC presenter Amol Rajan speaks to the British artificial intelligence entrepreneur Mustafa Suleyman, Chief Executive of Microsoft AI. He believes in the enormous potential of AI to be a force for good in the world, changing how we live and work for the better. He is committed to developing a humanist superintelligence, one that always works to serve people and never vice versa. But he remains clear about what he sees as the risks, issuing a warning that without the right ethical safeguards, AI could grow powerful enough to overwhelm humanity. "As somebody who’s deeply techno-optimistic, I invite people to be also healthily afraid and sceptical," he says. The son of a London taxi-driver and a nurse, he dropped out of Oxford University and by his mid-twenties had co-founded DeepMind, the pioneering artificial intelligence research lab. By the time it was sold to Google four years later in 2014, it was worth a reported $400 million. The Interview brings you conversations with people shaping our world, from all over the world. The best interviews from the BBC. You can listen on the BBC World Service on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 0800 GMT. Or you can listen to The Interview as a podcast, out three times a week on BBC Sounds or wherever you get your podcasts. Presenter: Amol Rajan Producers: Kate Collins, Laura Cooper and Lucy Sheppard Editor: Justine Lang Get in touch with us on email [email protected] and use the hashtag #TheInterviewBBC on social media. (Image: Mustafa Suleyman Credit: Stephen Brashear/Getty Images)
Jan 7, 2026 · 23 min
Steve Rosenberg, the BBC’s Russia editor, speaks to Nigel Casey, the UK’s ambassador to Russia, about the challenges of working in Moscow on behalf of a government that views President Putin’s Russia as a threat to Britain. He believes this job is one of the most challenging - and important - of his career. In a wide ranging conversation, the ambassador describes his life in Moscow over the last two years, a period of heightened tensions between the UK and Russia after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. The number of diplomats in the city has been drastically reduced and, for a British ambassador in Moscow, there are daily challenges to deal with. You’re going to hear his experience of being followed wherever he goes in Russia and how, on occasions, his staff face harassment. He sees a key part of his job - defusing potentially dangerous diplomatic misunderstanding with the Russian government. He also reveals the gap between the anti-British rhetoric heard in the country’s state media and the genuine curiosity of ordinary Russians towards the UK. The Interview brings you conversations with people shaping our world, from all over the world. The best interviews from the BBC. You can listen on the BBC World Service on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 0800 GMT. Or you can listen to The Interview as a podcast, out three times a week on BBC Sounds or wherever you get your podcasts. Presenter: Steve Rosenberg Producers: Ben Tavener, Clare Williamson and Lucy Sheppard Editor: Justine Lang Get in touch with us on email [email protected] and use the hashtag #TheInterviewBBC on social media. (Image: Nigel Casey. Credit: UK Gov)
Jan 5, 2026 · 23 min
“In Latin America, we have way more than violence, we're more than salsa as our music, or food, or culture. It's a pleasure and a responsibility to share it with the world.” BBC presenter Nikki Bedi speaks to Mexican actor Diego Calva about his life and career. Diego Calva first made waves in independent cinema before landing major roles in hit series like Narcos: Mexico and the award-winning Hollywood epic Babylon, where he starred alongside Brad Pitt and Margot Robbie. It was his first American film — and it earned him widespread critical acclaim. Raised in Mexico City by a single mother, he originally set out to be a writer and director before fate intervened. One day, when an actor didn’t turn up for a college film he was working on, Diego was asked to step in. Since then he’s continued to build an impressive international career and has a starring role in the second series of The Night Manager, the acclaimed television drama based on the book by John le Carré. Diego Calva talks about navigating fame, challenging stereotypes, and the power of telling Latin American stories on the global stage. The Interview brings you conversations with people shaping our world, from all over the world. The best interviews from the BBC. You can listen on the BBC World Service on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 0800 GMT. Or you can listen to The Interview as a podcast, out three times a week on BBC Sounds or wherever you get your podcasts. Presenter: Nikki Bedi Producer: Farhana Haider Editor: Nick Holland Get in touch with us on email [email protected] and use the hashtag #TheInterviewBBC on social media. (Image: Diego Calva. Credit: Karwai Tang/WireImage)
Dec 29, 2025 · 23 min
2025 on The Interview A special episode of The Interview, featuring three of the most compelling conversations from 2025. The Archbishop of Canterbury is the symbolic leader of the Anglican Communion, a figurehead for more than 85 million people worldwide. Justin Welby stepped down from the role in late 2024 over his handling of abuse in the Church of England. In this interview, his first since his resignation, he tells BBC presenter Laura Kuenssberg he is deeply sorry for his failure, and that of the church, to serve the victims and survivors appropriately. Australia’s ground-breaking social media ban for under-16s drew the attention of the world when it was enacted in December. Communications Minister Anika Wells is in charge of the policy, and told the BBC’s Australia Correspondent Katy Watson that she is trying to save a generation, with seven out of ten Australian young people suffering harm online. Despite opposition from tech giants, she says she is standing firm on the side of parents not platforms. Music legend Stevie Wonder’s career spans seven decades and has brought him numerous awards including Grammys, a Golden Globe and an Oscar as well 100 million record sales. Whilst on tour in the summer, the American Ghanaian musician, who has been blind since birth, spoke to BBC presenter Annie Macmanus about his music and his childhood. Thank you to the all the teams across the BBC who have helped us make The Interview throughout 2025. The Interview brings you conversations with people shaping our world, from all over the world. The best interviews from the BBC. You can listen on the BBC World Service on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 0800 GMT. Or you can listen to The Interview as a podcast, out three times a week on BBC Sounds or wherever you get your podcasts. Presenter: Ben Cooper Producers: Ben Cooper, Clare Williamson, Farhana Haider, Lucy Sheppard Editor: Justine Lang and Nick Holland Get in touch with us on email [email protected] and use the hashtag #TheInterviewBBC on social media.
Dec 26, 2025 · 23 min
2025 on The Interview A special episode of The Interview, featuring three of the most compelling conversations from 2025. US Energy Secretary Chris Wright’s controversial challenge to climate orthodoxy was the subject of his conversation with the BBC’s climate editor Justin Rowlatt. Like his boss President Trump, Secretary Wright believes the threat from climate change is exaggerated, and the rush to decarbonisation by renewables has been an expensive mistake. In an interview with BBC presenter Paul Njie, Somalia’s president Hassan Sheikh Mohamud defends his efforts to tackle the terrorist insurgency in his country. And he stands firm in the face of demands for independence from the northern region of Somaliland - the unity of Somalia, he says, is sacrosanct. British Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood set out her plans for a radical reform of the UK asylum system in a conversation with the BBC’s Nick Robinson. It makes for an uncompromising message for those trying to enter Britain illegally. Thank you to the all the teams across the BBC who have helped us make The Interview throughout 2025. The Interview brings you conversations with people shaping our world, from all over the world. The best interviews from the BBC. You can listen on the BBC World Service on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 0800 GMT. Or you can listen to The Interview as a podcast, out three times a week on BBC Sounds or wherever you get your podcasts. Presenter: Lucy Sheppard Producers: Ben Cooper, Clare Williamson, Farhana Haider, Lucy Sheppard Editors: Justine Lang and Nick Holland Get in touch with us on email [email protected] and use the hashtag #TheInterviewBBC on social media.
Dec 24, 2025 · 23 min
2025 on The Interview A special episode from The Interview, featuring three of the most compelling conversations from 2025. US President Donald Trump spoke to the BBC’s Chief North America correspondent Gary O’Donoghue in July, in a wide-ranging and frank telephone conversation from the Oval Office. President Trump reflects on the assassination attempt that took place a year previously, and also expresses his frustration at the slow pace of attempts to bring peace to Ukraine. British royal Prince Harry was born into one of the world’s most famous families, and grew up in the public eye. In May, he lost a final court appeal to reverse the downgrading of security protection for him and his family since stepping down from royal duties. He gave his reaction to BBC correspondent Nada Tawfik in an emotional and deeply personal conversation. The Pakistani education activist Malala Yousafzai is known worldwide as the spirited girl who took on the Taliban and nearly lost her life, then went on to win the Nobel Prize and advocate for girls everywhere to go to school. But, as she explains to BBC presenter Madina Maishanu, although her public life defined her to the world, she did not know who she was. Thank you to the all the teams across the BBC who have helped us make The Interview throughout 2025. The Interview brings you conversations with people shaping our world, from all over the world. The best interviews from the BBC. You can listen on the BBC World Service on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 0800 GMT. Or you can listen to The Interview as a podcast, out three times a week on BBC Sounds or wherever you get your podcasts. Presenter: Farhana Haider Producers: Ben Cooper, Clare Williamson, Farhana Haider, Lucy Sheppard Editors: Justine Lang and Nick Holland Get in touch with us on email [email protected] and use the hashtag #TheInterviewBBC on social media.
Dec 22, 2025 · 23 min
‘Being born in America, feeling American, but having people treat me like I'm not.’ Chi Chi Izundu speaks to Korean American actor Arden Cho, star of the hit Netflix film KPop Demon Hunters, about her life and career. Cho is the voice of Rumi, a leading character who must come to terms with her own identity as part-human, part-demon. It’s a duality that resonated powerfully with her, as the daughter of Korean immigrants who struggled for acceptance, and faced racism while growing up in America. Now, Korean culture is increasingly popular worldwide, and she has become a leading role model for Asian American children, the kind she says she lacked when she was young. And despite KPop Demon Hunters being crowned as Netflix’s most-watched film ever, Cho warns that Asian-led film projects are still seen as a risk. The Interview brings you conversations with people shaping our world, from all over the world. The best interviews from the BBC. You can listen on the BBC World Service on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 0800 GMT. Or you can listen to The Interview as a podcast, out three times a week on BBC Sounds or wherever you get your podcasts. Presenter: Chi Chi Izundu Producers: Lucy Sheppard, Clare Williamson and Rebecca Thorn Editor: Nick Holland Get in touch with us on email [email protected] and use the hashtag #TheInterviewBBC on social media. (Image: Arden Cho. Credit: Jerod Harris/Getty Images)
Showing the latest 100 episodes.
