The Mishal Husain Show

Bloomberg
  • 4.7 (36)
  • SOCIETY & CULTURE

Make sense of the world with one essential conversation, every week. Mishal Husain, one of Britain's best interviewers, brings her signature blend of curiosity and tenacity to weekly conversations with world leaders, business titans, and cultural icons, revealing who they really are and how they see the world changing around them. Subscribe today at Bloomberg.com/audio or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. For annotated transcripts of Mishal's conversations head to Bloomberg.com/latest/weekend-interview

  1. Why Iran Isn’t Breaking: Vali Nasr on Pain, Patience and the Uprising That Isn’t Coming

    1D AGO

    Why Iran Isn’t Breaking: Vali Nasr on Pain, Patience and the Uprising That Isn’t Coming

    Despite the intensity of the US-Israel bombing campaign, Iran’s regime, now under a new supreme leader, hasn’t given President Donald Trump the “unconditional surrender” he’s seeking.Mishal Husain speaks with Vali Nasr, a professor at Johns Hopkins University’s School of Advanced International Studies and a preeminent scholar on the Islamic Republic. His life has been shaped by the story of Iran over the last 50 years, starting when his family fled amid the 1979 revolution.His life’s work has been to study the region and its relationship with the US. He’s also worked  as an adviser to the US State Department during the Obama administration.Nasr explains why Tehran believes time is on its side in the war, and that a prolonged conflict may only strengthen Iranian nationalism.02:34 - Why Iran is “prepared to suffer more”06:28 - What drives the new ayatollah10:03 - How Iranians view the US and Israel12:07 - War will last “longer” than Trump hopes14:00 - School strike, destruction of heritage sites15:35 - Lessons from the Iran-Iraq war19:03 - “This is the final battle”20:17 - Impact of US sanctions22:40 - Will Iran pursue a nuclear bomb?26:02 - Iran’s experience of foreign intervention28:27 - Can Reza Pahlavi, son of the Shah, succeed? 30:48 - Nasr’s experience fleeing Iran in 197935:15 - Mood among Iranian-Americans39:32 - Iran’s “rightful place in the world” Contact The Mishal Husain Show mishalshow@bloomberg.net Read this interview with Mishal’s notes on Bloomberg Weekend: www.bloomberg.com/latest/weekend-interviewSubscribe today on Apple Podcasts and Spotify See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    42 min
  2. Middle East Expert Bernard Haykel on the Three Futures for Iran After the Strikes

    MAR 6

    Middle East Expert Bernard Haykel on the Three Futures for Iran After the Strikes

    Within 24 hours of the US and Israeli strikes on Iran, a host of other countries were drawn into the latest conflict in the Middle East. Iran retaliated by targeting sites in Israel and across the Gulf, including the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait and Bahrain, as well as Iraq, Oman and Jordan. Israel, meanwhile, has carried out air strikes on Lebanon and sent in ground troops as it seeks to dismantle Iranian ally Hezbollah.For this conversation, Mishal Husain has turned to an expert on the broad sweep of Middle East politics. Bernard Haykel is a professor of Near Eastern Studies at Princeton University. Born in Lebanon, he is known for weaving together knowledge of history, religion and social change across the region. His forthcoming book is about contemporary Saudi Arabia and its leader, Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman, with whom he is in regular contact. 02:45 - “I was not surprised”03:40 - The Iranian retaliation09:00 - The three scenarios in this conflict11:00 - “This regime will survive”13:20 Protests after Khamenei's death 15:35 Did MBS encourage the strikes on Iran? 18:40 The Saudi Air Force will get “involved”21:30 Trump and MBS25:00 MBS “doesn’t want wars”27:00 Saudi competition with UAE29:18 MBS is “a bit like Elon Musk”30:30 MBS is an authoritarian 33:00 The US has a “role to play” in the Middle East Read this interview with Mishal’s notes on Bloomberg Weekend: www.bloomberg.com/latest/weekend-interviewContact The Mishal Husain Show mishalshow@bloomberg.net Subscribe today on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    38 min
  3. WHO Chief Tedros on Covid, China and Texting RFK Jr

    FEB 27

    WHO Chief Tedros on Covid, China and Texting RFK Jr

    When President Donald Trump returned to the White House last year, one of his first acts was to sign an executive order withdrawing the US from the World Health Organization. The administration's rupture with the WHO began in Trump’s first term, when relations deteriorated as the Covid-19 pandemic set in.  In this conversation with Mishal Husain, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus reveals he remains in close contact with US Secretary of Health and Human Services  Robert F. Kennedy Jr. despite that break. He also talks about the lessons learned from Covid and why the WHO is still waiting for answers from China as it seeks to understand the origins of the virus. Beyond the politics of global health, Ghebreyesus opens up about his own childhood trauma and why the death of his brother in 1970 makes the fight against preventable disease personal for him. 02:51 - Being a child of war 06:25 - Working in conflict zones08:07 -  “War and disease are old friends”09:34 -  “Don’t forget the invisible enemy”11:35 - How far away is the next pandemic? 12:48  -  US withdrawal from the WHO14:50 - Covid and China16:50 -  Personal attacks from the US18:16  - The US flag has been returned 18.51 Argentina is leaving the WHO21:22 - Was Covid a lab leak? 22:49 - Waiting for answers from China 26:46 - Vaccine skeptics27:26 - Texting RFK Jr. 28:56 - “My brother died”31:06 - “He could have survived”33:46 - “Defunding mRNA research is the wrong decision”34:20 - Will MAHA work? 37:27 - A message for President Trump39:26 - “Viruses get advantage when we are divided” Read this interview with Mishal’s notes on Bloomberg Weekend: www.bloomberg.com/latest/weekend-interview Contact The Mishal Husain Show mishalshow@bloomberg.net Subscribe today on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    42 min
  4. ‘KPop Demon Hunters’ Creator Maggie Kang on the Global Hit No One Saw Coming

    FEB 20

    ‘KPop Demon Hunters’ Creator Maggie Kang on the Global Hit No One Saw Coming

    “KPop Demon Hunters” is the brainchild of Korean-Canadian animator Maggie Kang. It’s Netflix’s biggest-ever film and follows Rumi, Mira and Zoey, members of the girl band Huntrix, as they battle to save the world from dark forces.  As you’ll hear, Kang grew up loving Korean pop music long before it was globally cool and forged a Hollywood career on films including “The Lego Ninjago Movie” and “Kung Fu Panda 3.” In this conversation with Mishal Husain, Kang explains how she had always hoped a story about Korea would one day come her way. But it never did, so she came up with her own. Kang is in the middle of a life-changing moment. Her movie has already scored wins at the Golden Globes and the Grammys, and now all eyes are on the Oscars. The extraordinary thing is that no one expected “KPop Demon Hunters” to be such a smash hit. Husain asks Kang what it’s been like adjusting to all the attention, and of course whether there’s a sequel in the works. 03:06 - “A global phenomenon”04:17 - The screaming fans05:01 - The movie theater screenings 06:49 - Pitching “KPop Demon Hunters”09:27 - Living between two cultures12:04 - Growing up as an “outsider”16:34 - Kang’s first animation book 17:16 - “I liked to draw” 18:21 - Recording the voiceover, over and over20:11 - The story of “Golden” 21:39 - Rumi, Mira and Zoey in “Golden”23:00 - Waiting for “the tingles”25:25 - “We kinda worried it was a little cheesy”27:27 - Helping the world find Korean culture29:30 - Choosing the title for a “kooky” movie34:20 - A message from Kang to the fans34:48 - “There’s a sequel, surely?”35:14 - Live action “KPop Demon Hunters”? 37:01 - “I’m still very grounded”37:22 - Diving back into the sequel? 38:00 - “Wow! You are going to the Oscars!” Read this interview with Mishal’s notes on Bloomberg Weekend: www.bloomberg.com/latest/weekend-interview Contact The Mishal Husain Show mishalshow@bloomberg.net Visit https://www.bloomberg.com/mishal Contact The Mishal Husain Show mishalshow@bloomberg.net Subscribe today on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    41 min

  5. FEB 19

    Bonus Episode: The Andrew Story

    The Feb. 19 arrest of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, the brother of King Charles, puts the British Royal Family into uncharted territory. The former Prince Andrew was detained on suspicion of misconduct in public office after further details emerged of his relationship with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. For this bonus episode, Mishal Husain speaks to Allegra Stratton, a contributing editor to Bloomberg who previously worked for Prime Minister Boris Johnson.  She’s also joined by Harry Wilson, a reporter on Bloomberg UK’s finance team who’s been involved in reporting on Epstein’s emails and has previously broken stories about Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor. They discuss Andrew’s business links and the significance of today’s events for the monarchy and the UK.  Contact The Mishal Husain Show mishalshow@bloomberg.net Subscribe today on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    25 min
  6. Author Andrey Kurkov on Winter in Kyiv and Why Putin Won’t Stop

    FEB 13

    Author Andrey Kurkov on Winter in Kyiv and Why Putin Won’t Stop

    This winter has been exceptionally brutal in Ukraine. Already the coldest in more than a decade, it’s been made worse by Russian attacks on energy infrastructure that have left millions with no heating and intermittent power. As Russia’s war approaches its fourth anniversary, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy is under intense pressure from Donald Trump to hold elections and accept a peace deal within months. But inside Ukraine and among its allies, there remains deep skepticism that Vladimir Putin is truly interested in a durable peace. Celebrated writer Andrey Kurkov has lived the  reality of the wartime winter in his home city of Kyiv. Best known for his 1996 novel “Death and the Penguin,” set in post-Soviet Ukraine, Kurkov also has written extensively about the current war, publishing three volumes of diaries alongside his fiction. While he’s been determined to remain in Ukraine throughout the conflict, he says the present conditions have been too much to bear. In this conversation with Mishal Husain, he talks about his hopes for peace and how he  plans to return to Kyiv in the spring.02:54 Situation in Kyiv: “Winter allied with Russia”04:53 Four years since full-scale invasion07:12 Ukraine is “fragmented”09:12 “Writing nonfiction is a duty”12:03 “Nobody’s winning”14:20 Kurkov’s relationship with Russia17:47 How the war changed Kurkov and his country20:19 Kurkov’s message to the Munich Security Conference21:53 Capitulation “camouflaged” as a peace deal24:15 Support for Zelenskiy in Ukraine26:15 Corruption scandals: “I’m very angry”2:49 “I hope the war will be over this year”31:43 Observing the war as a diarist33:14 Humor as a “psychological defense”35:17 “We are part of Europe” Watch this podcast here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLe4PRejZgr0Ns_wjGlmjlPz0cded0nTYS You can find the written version of this interview with Mishal’s notes on Bloomberg Weekend: https://www.bloomberg.com/latest/weekend-interviewContact The Mishal Husain Show mishalshow@bloomberg.net Subscribe today on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.Illustration: Uli Knörzer for Bloomberg; Photo: Leonardo Cendamo for Getty See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    37 min
  7. David Miliband on Global Disorder, Labour’s ‘Mistakes’ and Deploying $1 Billion on Crises

    FEB 6

    David Miliband on Global Disorder, Labour’s ‘Mistakes’ and Deploying $1 Billion on Crises

    In 2007 when he was UK Foreign Secretary, David Miliband delivered an address to the Labour Party conference. He described a world with “fewer countries at war” and “more democracies than ever before.”Two decades later, with that vision further from view, Miliband is head of the New York-based International Rescue Committee, one of the world’s largest aid agencies. Its “Emergency Watchlist” cites 20 urgent crises, from Haiti to Sudan and the Middle East to Myanmar. The group finds itself increasingly constrained by widening conflict and shrinking government aid.The IRC role, however, gave Miliband new purpose after his bid to lead Labour ended in dramatic and personal fashion when in 2010 he lost to his own brother. Now he sees his old friends and rivals back in power, forced to make decisions he finds painful. In this conversation with Mishal Husain, Miliband discusses the current state of politics in the UK, including Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s leadership. He talks about Donald Trump’s “Board of Peace” and his old boss, former Prime Minister Tony Blair. They also discuss Miliband’s family heritage. 02:30 - His refugee parents and link to work at IRC08:09 - Growing up, democracy “seemed like the norm”08:59 - 2007 speech at Labour Party Conference10:54 - Mark Carney’s 2026 speech at Davos12:49 - “America will no longer be Atlas”13:49 - “More autocracies than democracies in the world today”14:26 - “A revolution in America’s role in the world”15:42 - IRC work on the US-Mexico border17:55 - IRC’s 2026 Emergency Watchlist: Sudan and the Occupied Palestinian Territory18:36 - “Remediation of desperate suffering is our business”19:06 - “If you talk to the people you have hope.”23:31 - Jared Kushner’s plans for Gaza26:21 - Tony Blair and the Board of Peace32:12 - Cuts to foreign aid34:55 - “Challenging period” for UK Labour, Starmer36:06 - Threats from Reform and Andy Burnham39:07 - What next for Miliband?40:28 - Relationship with Hilary Clinton Watch this podcast here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLe4PRejZgr0Ns_wjGlmjlPz0cded0nTYS You can find the written version of this interview with Mishal’s notes on Bloomberg Weekend: https://www.bloomberg.com/latest/weekend-interview Contact The Mishal Husain Show mishalshow@bloomberg.net Subscribe today on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Illustration: Uli Knörzer for Bloomberg; Source Photo: Jose Sarmento Matos/Bloomberg See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    42 min
  8. Netflix’s ‘Cover-Up’ Director Laura Poitras on ICE, ‘Domestic Terrorists’ and US Surveillance

    JAN 30

    Netflix’s ‘Cover-Up’ Director Laura Poitras on ICE, ‘Domestic Terrorists’ and US Surveillance

    The killing of two US citizens by federal agents in Minneapolis has made January a dark month for many across America. Both Alex Pretti and Renee Good were quickly labeled “domestic terrorists" by the Trump administration, which accused them of endangering the lives of law enforcement. Video evidence soon appeared to contradict government claims, but it’s still a label that filmmaker Laura Poitras says she finds chilling. Poitras has been producing and directing documentaries for more than 20 years, winning both an Oscar and a Pulitzer Prize for her 2014 work “Citizenfour,” which focussed on the whistleblower Edward Snowden and mass surveillance. She too has her own experience of being regarded as a threat by the US government and says she was on a terrorist watch list for years. Her latest film, which this week was nominated for a BAFTA, profiles renowned US investigative journalist Seymour Hersh. “Cover-Up,” on Netflix, traces Hersh’s life from his early days in Chicago through his scoops of the 1960s to his current journalism on Substack. It’s a story of media both past and present. In this conversation with Mishal Husain, Poitras also reflects on the role of citizen journalism in documenting government violence in places like Minneapolis.02:53 - “Legendary investigative journalist” Seymour Hersh05:35 - Poitras and Hersh’s Iraq connection06:40 - US public “failed by our legacy media”09:06 - Cycles of impunity09:50 - Criticism of Hersh’s journalism11:30 - Hersh quits the film15:00 - Hersh’s early life 16:19 - Poitras’ lens on America17:40 - Parallels between Iraq and Venezuela19:30 - “Regime change” in Venezuela 20:20 - Poitras under surveillance23:00 - Leaving the US24:40 - Edward Snowden and NSA secrets28:15 - “I’m very happy he’s not in a US prison”32:00 - “Cover-Up” and the present day33:33 - “Whistleblowers face the consequences”35:00 - “Citizen journalists” 37:00 - Mishal speaks to Poitras for a second time38:00 - Alex Pretti and the violence in Minneapolis39:30 - “Domestic terrorist”40:17 - “Journalists have an obligation”40:50 - A tipping point for ICE?  Watch this podcast here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLe4PRejZgr0Ns_wjGlmjlPz0cded0nTYSYou can find the written version of this interview with Mishal’s notes on Bloomberg Weekend: https://www.bloomberg.com/latest/weekend-interviewContact The Mishal Husain Show mishalshow@bloomberg.net Subscribe today on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    46 min
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About

Make sense of the world with one essential conversation, every week. Mishal Husain, one of Britain's best interviewers, brings her signature blend of curiosity and tenacity to weekly conversations with world leaders, business titans, and cultural icons, revealing who they really are and how they see the world changing around them. Subscribe today at Bloomberg.com/audio or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. For annotated transcripts of Mishal's conversations head to Bloomberg.com/latest/weekend-interview

Information

  • Channel
    Bloomberg
  • Creator
    Bloomberg
  • Years Active
    2025 - 2026
  • Episodes
    24
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    2026 2025 iHeartMedia, Inc. © Any use of this intellectual property for text and data mining or computational analysis including as training material for artificial intelligence systems is strictly prohibited without express written consent from iHeartMedia
  • Show Website
    The Mishal Husain Show
  • Provider
    Bloomberg L.P.

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