Government

The Interview

1

The Interview

BBC World Service
Westminster Hour

2

Westminster Hour

BBC Radio 4
No es el fin del mundo

3

No es el fin del mundo

El Orden Mundial
Pekingology

4

Pekingology

Center for Strategic and International Studies
Global Security Briefing

5

Global Security Briefing

The Royal United Services Institute
Irregular Warfare Podcast

6

Irregular Warfare Podcast

Irregular Warfare Initiative
NatSec Matters

7

NatSec Matters

Beacon Global Strategies LLC

3 DAYS AGO

1

Mustafa Suleyman, Artificial Intelligence pioneer: People should be healthily afraid of AI

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, Ollie Stone-Lee and Lucy Sheppard Editor: Justine Lang Get in touch with us on email TheInterview@bbc.co.uk and use the hashtag #TheInterviewBBC on social media. (Image: Mustafa Suleyman Credit: Stephen Brashear/Getty Images)

3 days ago

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23 min
5 DAYS AGO

2

Nigel Casey, UK ambassador to Russia: No communication is extremely dangerous

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 TheInterview@bbc.co.uk and use the hashtag #TheInterviewBBC on social media. (Image: Nigel Casey. Credit: UK Gov)

5 days ago

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23 min
11/12/2025

3

María Corina Machado, Venezuelan opposition leader: ‘our fight for freedom is a fight for peace’

Lucy Hockings speaks to Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado about the fight for democracy in the South American country. She’s been in hiding since last year’s presidential election in Venezuela, when incumbent Nicolás Maduro declared victory in a contest that was widely dismissed on the international stage as rigged, sparking widespread protests. Around 2,000 people were arrested in the crackdown which followed, among them many members of her opposition coalition. Machado, who had managed to unite the bitterly divided opposition ahead of the election, went into hiding for fear of arrest. She has however continued to give interviews and uploaded videos to social media urging her followers not to give up. The Nobel Institute awarded Machado the 2025 Peace prize for “her struggle to achieve a just and peaceful transition from dictatorship to democracy" in Venezuela. She defied a travel ban to reach Oslo, with Nobel Committee chair Jørgen Watne Frydnes describing her journey as "a situation of extreme danger". 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 Producer: Dylan Arzoni, Claire Noble and Ben Cooper Editors: Justine Lang and Nick Holland Get in touch with us on email TheInterview@bbc.co.uk and use the hashtag #TheInterviewBBC on social media. (Image: María Corina Machado. Photo by Ole Berg-Rusten/EPA/Shutterstock)

11/12/2025

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23 min
15/12/2025

4

Jacinda Ardern: Why world leaders need empathy

BBC presenter Kylie Pentelow speaks to Dame Jacinda Ardern, New Zealand’s former Prime Minister about the importance of empathetic leadership in the time of populism and strongman politics. In 2017 Ardern became the youngest Prime Minister in the world at the time, and only the second ever to have a baby whilst in office. She was praised for her humane approach and leadership through crises such as the 2019 Christchurch terrorist attack that saw 51 killed. She swiftly brought in gun laws and reached out to the Muslim community targeted in the attack. In her 5 years in politics she was a champion of climate change and LGBGTQ and indigenous rights, but she was also criticised for some of the harsh lockdown measures that her government enacted during the pandemic. Since leaving politics, Jacinda Ardern has been engaging in global work focused on empathy in leadership, combatting climate change and the prevention of online extremism. She’s written books, including one about being a working mother, and she now stars in a documentary about her life entitled simply, Prime Minister. She’s currently a distinguished fellow and part of the World Leaders Circle at Oxford University. Thank you to the Woman’s Hour 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. 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: Kylie Pentelow Producers: Dianne McGregor, Farhana Haider & Clare Williamson Editor: Justine Lang Get in touch with us on email TheInterview@bbc.co.uk and use the hashtag #TheInterviewBBC on social media. (Image: Jacinda Ardern Credit: Marvin Joseph/The Washington Post via Getty Images)

15/12/2025

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23 min
12/11/2025

5

Maria Alyokhina, Russian punk activist: The price of political art was prison

Vitaly Shevchenko speaks to Maria Alyokhina, founding member of the Russian punk activist group Pussy Riot, about the power and the price of protest. Pussy Riot came to the world’s attention with its Punk Prayer, an angry anti-Putin anthem performed in a Moscow church. Maria Alyokhina spent two years incarcerated in a penal colony as a result. It was worth it, she says, to show the world what life under President Putin was like. She was freed under an amnesty ahead of the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, but her ongoing activism saw her living under surveillance and then house arrest, eventually fleeing Russia in a dramatic escape. Today, she continues to challenge Putin’s regime from outside her home country. Thank you to the Ukrainecast 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. 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: Vitaly Shevchenko Producer: Lucy Sheppard Editor: Justine Lang Get in touch with us on email TheInterview@bbc.co.uk and use the hashtag #TheInterviewBBC on social media. (Image: Maria Alyokhina. Credit: Ina Fassbender/AFP)

12/11/2025

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23 min
6 DAYS AGO

6

246. Maduro ha caído: ¿qué busca Trump en Venezuela? - Exprés

En la madrugada del 3 de enero, fuerzas estadounidenses entraron en Caracas y capturaron al presidente venezolano, trasladándolo a un tribunal en Nueva York. Sin embargo, esta operación no ha supuesto un cambio de régimen: el chavismo permanece en el poder bajo el mando de Delcy Rodríguez. ¿Qué busca Trump con esta acción? ¿Por qué solo fue a por Maduro? ¿Cómo afecta esto al continente americano? Este episodio analiza las motivaciones detrás de la operación, desde el petróleo hasta el narcotráfico, y explora los escenarios que se abren para Venezuela y el resto de América Latina bajo la Nueva Doctrina Monroe. Hoy , en este episodio exprés de "No es el fin del mundo", hablamos de la caída de Maduro en Venezuela. 💟 Si te gusta este podcast, síguelo para no perderte nuestros episodios semanales. Y si puedes, ¡recomiéndanos a tus amigos, conocidos y familia! ⭐️ Pon 5 estrellitas donde escuches el podcast (dale a la campana de Spotify o YouTube, suscríbete desde iVoox, dale al "+" de arriba a la derecha de Apple Podcast...) 🌏 Y si quieres suscribirte y apoyarnos puedes hacerlo aquí: https://elordenmundial.com/suscribete/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

6 days ago

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1h 9m
3 DAYS AGO

7

China's Church Divided

In this episode of Pekingology, CSIS Senior Fellow Henrietta Levin is joined by Paul Mariani, Professor at Santa Clara University and author of the new book, China’s Church Divided: Bishop Louis Jin and the Post-Mao Catholic Revival. Paul unpacks the Communist Party's views on religion, how the Catholic Church navigated the turbulent politics of 1980's China, and why the Vatican has renewed a controversial deal with Beijing.

3 days ago

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40 min
14/11/2025

8

Brandi Carlile, singer-songwriter: I believe in the separation of church and state

‘I believe so profoundly in the separation of church and state, and in the dangers of theocracy creeping into the corners of a democracy’ BBC Music Correspondent Mark Savage speaks to US singer-songwriter, producer and performer Brandi Carlile about the personal and political stories behind her songs. An LGBTQ icon, she sets out her fears about the threat to same-sex marriage in today’s United States, and the impact that has had on her own family. And she shares the strain her own sexuality put on her relationship with her mother while growing up in rural America. It was country music, she says, that brought them together. Brandi Carlile has won eleven Grammy awards, been nominated for an Oscar, and worked with Elton John and Joni Mitchell. Now releasing her eighth album, she reveals she went into the studio with no songs prepared, only feelings and nostalgia, resulting in a deeply personal record reflecting on childhood memories, parenthood and politics. Thank you to Mark Savage 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. You can listen on the BBC World Service, 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: Lucy Sheppard Editor: Justine Lang Get in touch with us on email TheInterview@bbc.co.uk and use the hashtag #TheInterviewBBC on social media. (Image: Brandi Carlile Credit: Eric Thayer / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)

14/11/2025

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23 min
2 DAYS AGO

9

The Future of War Part III: Strategic Sabotage in an Era of Great-Power

Episode 144 of the Irregular Warfare Podcast continues the Future of War series with a sharp focus on strategic sabotage, indirect action, and deterrence below the threshold of armed conflict. The episode centers on “Special Delivery,” a near-future short story by August Cole set in 2037 amid intensifying U.S.–China competition. The story follows a small U.S. Special Operations team operating near Peru’s Port of Chancay, tasked with sabotaging Chinese-owned critical infrastructure as part of a broader effort to deter a potential blockade of Taiwan. Cole joins Rear Admiral Mark Schafer, Commander of SOCSOUTH, to explore how fiction can illuminate real strategic dilemmas and expose vulnerabilities embedded in global logistics, infrastructure, and access. The conversation examines how modern sabotage has evolved away from overt kinetic strikes toward a blend of cyber access, physical infiltration, logistics disruption, and information effects—designed less to destroy than to shape adversary decision-making. While emerging technologies like autonomous systems and AI-enabled tools play an important role, both guests emphasize that human skills—adaptability, cultural fluency, and teamwork—remain decisive. The episode closes by grappling with escalation risk, underscoring that strategic sabotage can provide policymakers with powerful options short of war, but only if applied with a deep understanding of adversary perceptions and regional dynamics.

2 days ago

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1h 1m
4 JAN

10

Westminster Hour 4th January 2026

Looking at the year ahead in politics

4 Jan

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49 min

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