Podcast · News

The Interview

by BBC World Service · English · News

New episodes: Several times a week
Typical length: 23 min
Latest: 6 Oct 2026
Language: English

Latest episode

6 Oct 2026 · 25 minNew

Shami Chakrabarti, human rights lawyer: Healthy democracies need a free media

“There aren't enough lawyers and judges on the planet if journalists are silent, because abuses of power just don't come to light, in my experience, without this relationship between a free media, fair courts, fair trials, robust judges, investigators, the police and so on. Without journalists there'd be no human rights protection and the rule of law.” Anna Holligan speaks to human rights lawyer and European Council special rapporteur Shami Chakrabarti. Born in London in 1969, Chakrabarti rose to prominence in the early 2000s when she was appointed director of the human rights organisation,…

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Earlier episodes 29 most recent

4 Oct 2026 · 23 minNew

Olara Otunnu, diplomat: UN cannot be diplomatic ivory tower

“I do not want the United Nations of New York, Geneva or Vienna to be an ivory tower, a diplomatic ivory tower. I want to see the UN not of power and privilege, but the UN of service and impact. That is the UN I want see.” James Copnall speaks to Olara Otunnu, Ugandan diplomat, lawyer and former Foreign Minister. He has spent decades working at the highest levels of international diplomacy. He has also served as a United Nations Under-Secretary-General and Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict. Now Uganda has formally nominated him for UN Secretary-General, putting him among…
1 Oct 2026 · 23 min

Kai Bird, Author: Roy Cohn, the man who shaped Trump?

“He had no guardrails. He had no rules. He told Donald Trump, you know, when criticised, attack, attack, attack, deny, deny deny, always go on the offensive, never apologise. And Trump, when he met Roy Cohn, he began mimicing how he talked.” BBC Newsnight presenter Paddy O’Connell, speaks to author Kai Bird about Roy Cohn, Donald Trump’s former lawyer and mentor. Cohn rose to prominence as Senator Joe McCarthy’s chief counsel in the early 1950s, helping drive the campaign against alleged communists in the United States. Decades later, he became Donald Trump’s lawyer and mentor shaping his…
29 Sep 2026 · 24 min

Abhijeet Dipke, youth campaigner: There’s an underlying frustration in India

“I think there’s been this underlying frustration among the youth of India for a very long time. If we look at the unemployment data, India currently has the highest unemployment rate in the last 40 years, and even when it comes to education, every year there’s not been one single government examination where the paper isn’t leaked, or the paper or the exam isn’t cancelled. So people are really frustrated with unemployment, and with the education ministry in India, which isn’t accountable at all.” Yogita Limaye speaks to youth campaigner Abhijeet Dipke, founder of the satirical Cockroach…
27 Sep 2026 · 27 min

Estelle Brachlianoff, Veolia CEO: We need to rethink waste

Justin Rowlatt speaks to Estelle Brachlianoff, chief executive of environmental firm Veolia. The corporation’s origins can be traced all the way back to 19th Century France, when it was established as a water company during the country’s industrial revolution. More than a century-and-a-half later, it’s grown to become one of the world’s leading operators of environmental services, working across five continents - providing water supplies, waste management and energy services. In this exclusive, wide-ranging interview, Brachlianoff reveals how a multi-billion dollar corporation operates, as…
24 Sep 2026 · 23 min

Roelf Meyer, South African Ambassador: Trump has been misled

Ione Wells speaks to Roelf Meyer, South Africa’s new ambassador to the United States. In the 1990s, Meyer was one of the leading negotiators in the talks that helped bring apartheid to an end. Now he takes up his new post amid a serious rupture in relations with the US President Trump has cut aid, expelled the previous South African ambassador and offered refugee status to white Afrikaners he says are fleeing persecution, claiming the community faces “genocide”. The South African government rejects that allegation. Meyer, himself an Afrikaner, explains why he believes Trump has been given…
22 Sep 2026 · 23 min

Earl Spencer, Diana’s brother: King Charles told me the world would forget her

“I can tell you here and now, those are exactly the words he said. I've only ever had two calls on the line with Prince Charles at any stage of my life. I was hyper alert to what he was saying, and those are precisely the words that he said, and I promise that to you now. Genuinely, that is what he said.” Laura Kuenssberg speaks to Earl Spencer, brother of Diana, Princess of Wales. Diana was one of the most famous women in the world and was once expected to become queen. Her campaigning broke with royal convention and brought global attention to her chosen causes. Relentlessly pursued by the…
20 Sep 2026 · 23 min

Fally Ipupa, musician: Speak out on DRC suffering

“Not just African musician. Everybody, even journalist, even president, even football player, even promoter. We need to do it for those people who suffer, who don’t have food or security. We need everybody to denounce it. Speak louder, talk more loudly about the situation. Not just for Congo, but all Africa.” Jewel Kiriungi speaks to Congolese musician Fally Ipupa, one of Africa’s biggest music stars. His music has taken brought Congolese rumba to audiences around the world, earning him the Democratic Republic of Congo’s highest honour, a knighthood in the National Order of the Leopard.…
17 Sep 2026 · 27 min

Mirjana Spoljaric, president of the ICRC: The rules of war are being ignored

‘I compare the erosion of international humanitarian law with bankruptcy it happens gradually at first and then all of a sudden instantly. This is what is happening with the Geneva Conventions at the moment. You look away, you look away, you look away, you increase your tolerance level until all of a sudden you realize we've crossed the line. We've crossed the red line, and we've done so collectively, because these things are happening under international watch.’ Imogen Foulkes meets Mirjana Spoljaric, the first woman to lead the International Committee of the Red Cross. The ICRC is 163…
15 Sep 2026 · 23 min

David Vigneault, ex-intelligence chief: Democracies are being destabilised

“This is one of the exact aspect of hybrid warfare of Russia… They are targeting us specifically to create dissensions, to create and to prop up artificially some voices in our societies that otherwise would be quite marginal and create dissensions. So they want to attack us and make sure that our democracies are more fragile, because the more fragile we are, the less we're able to counter their aggressive actions.” Evan Davis speaks to David Vigneault, Chief Intelligence Officer at Strider Technologies and former director of Canada’s intelligence services, about the geopolitical…
13 Sep 2026 · 23 min

Amir Khan Muttaqi, Afghan FM: Not everything is banned for women

Lyse Doucet, the BBC’s chief international correspondent, meets Afghanistan’s Foreign Minister, Amir Khan Muttaqi as the Taliban seeks greater international recognition. The Taliban returned to power five years ago but Russia is still the only country to have formally recognised their rule. Afghanistan is pushing for stronger diplomatic relations, but their treatment of women and girls remains one of the biggest obstacles. We ask the foreign minister why Afghan women and girls are facing growing restrictions on education, work and public life. “The conduct with women shouldn’t be looked at…
10 Sep 2026 · 23 min

Sophia Amoruso, Nasty Gal founder: I was out of my league

“I had hired a CEO for the last two years. The company was at a place where revenue had plateaued. I wasn’t someone who could look at a spreadsheet 50 tabs wide and tell my CFO what to do. I was definitely out of my league and I didn’t like that job, and a lot of different things happened before we ended up filing for bankruptcy.” Leanna Byrne speaks to Sophia Amoruso, founder of online fashion retailer Nasty Gal. What began as a one-woman eBay shop selling vintage clothes became one of online fashion’s most recognisable brands. Within a few years, Nasty Gal was valued at $350 million,…
8 Sep 2026 · 23 min

Vadym Skibitsky, Ukrainian intelligence: We are fighting for survival

“We don’t have another way for surviving, because we are an independent state, it's our territory, it's our land, it’s our culture, it’s our history, and we must fight to prevent the full occupation by the Russian Federation our territory.” Dan Johnson speaks to Vadym Skibitsky, deputy chief of the GUR, Ukraine’s military intelligence service, about the ongoing war with Russia. Formed shortly after Ukraine declared independence from the Soviet Union in 1991, the GUR is tasked with defending the country at home and abroad through the use of political and military intelligence. Following…
6 Sep 2026 · 24 min

Rene Haas, Arm CEO: AI demand won’t slow

“Let's go back to the timeframe with the internet building out. We didn’t have an issue that the internet 20 years later is not a valuable utility… If you don't have access to a smartphone, try to get into a sporting event or a concert - it’s not going to happen. That's the internet at its backbone. So artificial intelligence will be the same. It's going to be table stakes for everything that we do. We may see a short-term bump in the road or some pause or whatever you want to call it, and then people will freak out and say ‘AI's dead’, which is complete nonsense because it's only going to…
3 Sep 2026 · 23 min

Leah Solivan, TaskRabbit founder: How the gig economy falls short

“People just wanted to own the way they worked, but with that comes these institutional structures that have been built around the history of work that doesn’t allow for benefits programs or paid time off, or insurance. So there were all these things I knew that weighed on me. It wasn’t a perfect system.” The BBC’s Sarah Rogers speaks to Leah Solivan, founder and former chief executive of TaskRabbit, an app that connects people who need one-off tasks done by workers they can hire easily. Typical tasks include: errands, gardening, moving and furniture assembly. Founded in 2008, TaskRabbit…
1 Sep 2026 · 23 min

Daron Acemoglu, Economist: Liberal democracy is in crisis

BBC Newsnight presenter Paddy O’Connell speaks to Nobel Prize-winning economist Daron Acemoglu about why he thinks liberal democracy is in crisis, and how artificial intelligence could make it worse. Daron argues that liberal democracy worked because people were given a say in how they were governed and then benefited from their country’s economy as it prospered. But western governments have made major decisions on issues like immigration without first building public agreement, something which was once important. In an interview with BBC Newsnight, he says that together, these changes have…
30 Aug 2026 · 23 min

Michelle Bachelet, UN Chief candidate: Time for a woman to lead

“For 80 years, we only have men [lead the UN] and I think it is not about women because she is a woman … The idea is a woman because she has the experience, the leadership, the capacity, the knowledge, the ability to do things that need to be done…So I hope that that will be something that members could understand that it will be fantastic. But, to be honest, I'm not sure that every country is ready for that.” James Copnall speaks to Michelle Bachelet, a former President of Chile and one of the world’s most prominent human rights advocates. Bachelet made history as Chile’s first woman…
27 Aug 2026 · 24 min

Kristina Wilfore: Male anxieties being weaponised

“It's a distortion of real pressures. When I'm analysing trends around men…they are wanting to lean into what being a man means. In many cases strength, loyalty, protection. Those are not bad values. Those are being exploited, weaponised, and redirected in order to either sell a product or sell an idea.” Marianna Spring and Matt Shea speak to Kristina Wilfore, Director at Reset Tech, about their new report into the so-called ‘Male Grievance Industry’, which Kristina says is capitalising on the loneliness, economic anxiety, and identity of men. She argues it’s a growing business on social…
25 Aug 2026 · 23 min

Joe Ngai, McKinsey: Domestic rivalry drives Chinese firms

“More Chinese companies are put out of business by other Chinese companies. Chinese companies are not put out of business because of Western companies, so this whole competition is not, from a Chinese guy's mind, like a US-China competition. It’s more ‘how do I survive this gym?’ because it's damn hard to keep staying alive at home. That in turn makes you very competitive in the rest of the world.” Maura Fogarty speaks to Joe Ngai, Chairman of the China region for global consulting firm McKinsey. He advises senior management at Chinese and multinational corporations in the region which gives…
23 Aug 2026 · 23 min

María Fernanda Espinosa, UN secretary general candidate: The UN risks becoming irrelevant

“Sometimes we confuse activity with impact. And here I think the way we measure results should be different. How many lives has the UN saved? How many people has the UN helped to live out of poverty? How many people have we prevented from conflict? How many people were we able to support?” The BBC’s Anne Soy speaks to María Fernanda Espinosa, Ecuador’s former foreign minister and a candidate to become the first woman secretary general of the United Nations. She is seeking the role at a time when the UN faces severe financial pressure, falling international aid budgets and questions about its…
20 Aug 2026 · 23 min

Mopreme Shakur on Tupac: The sensitive man behind the music

“I think Pac was actually traumatised by the poverty. You know, poverty can be very, very traumatic. Having no lights, having no food from time to time, having no clothes while you’re going to school, and bumming clothes. Them stories, it was real. That really happened to Pac. Pac was sensitive, so he felt things deeply.” The BBC’s Shaimaa Khalil speaks to Mopreme Shakur, step-brother of iconic rapper Tupac Shakur. Tupac was shot dead in Las Vegas in 1996, and now, almost 30 years later, Duane “Keffe D” Davis is on trial in connection with his murder. He has pleaded not guilty. Through music…
18 Aug 2026 · 23 min

Hunter Biden: Father’s pardon not good for country

“Was it good for our Constitution? Was it good for the American people? Was it good for my dad's legacy? No, on all counts. It was not. All I know is that I'm grateful that he did it for me.” BBC Newsnight presenter Paddy O’Connell speaks to Hunter Biden, son of former president Joe Biden, about his father’s controversial decision to give him a presidential pardon at the end of his one term in office. The unconditional pardon was issued in December 2024, as Hunter faced sentencing for two criminal cases. In a statement at the time, the president said his son had been "singled out" and called…
16 Aug 2026 · 24 min

Celeste Saulo, WMO: Extreme weather is the new normal

“[This weather] is a new norm, and we need to make sure that we are prepared to deal with that…these extreme wildfires put more responsibility onto improving our forecasting tools to support the brigades, to support communities.” Victoria Gill speaks to Professor Celeste Saulo, head of the World Meteorological Organisation, about the extreme weather events making headlines in recent months. She says the wildfires, heatwaves, droughts and flooding are the new normal and the ability to forecast these events are more important than ever. The WMO helps countries build resilience to weather,…
13 Aug 2026 · 23 min

Dmitry Muratov, journalist: Putin can’t claim victory in Ukraine

"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…
11 Aug 2026 · 23 min

Yemi Alade, singer: I wanted to be a mega superstar

“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…
9 Aug 2026 · 23 min

Sonam Wangchuk, Indian activist: Hunger strike for education reform

“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…
6 Aug 2026 · 24 min

Carlos Acosta, dancer: Ballet is for everyone

“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,…
4 Aug 2026 · 25 min

Srinivasan Muralidhar: The trauma of Palestinian children

‘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…
2 Aug 2026 · 25 min

Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, Ghana’s Foreign Minister: Slavery scars our collective conscience

“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…
30 Jul 2026 · 23 min

Sumant Sinha: Green tech to triumph over drilling

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…

About The Interview

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 emailTheInterview@bbc.co.uk and use the hashtag #TheInterviewBBC on social media.

The Interview is a English news podcast from BBC World Service. Melo plays each episode straight from the publisher's own feed — no ads added, no account needed — and remembers where you stopped, in this browser only.

Publisher: BBC World Service
Language: English
Category: News
New episodes: Several times a week
Typical length: 23 min
Latest episode: 6 Oct 2026
Feed: RSS — paste into any podcast app
Apple Podcasts: podcasts.apple.com/podcast/id494517111
Rights: (C) BBC 2026

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