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“We don't have to have a fight, and we don't have to land in China, go to Beijing and win the war. All we have to do is prevent them to getting their objective of landing in Taiwan and conquering. It's not going to be easy, but we've been preparing for this for 77 years.” Sumi Somaskanda speaks to Alexander Yui Tah-ray, Taiwan’s representative to the US. The island, which lies roughly 100 miles off the coast of mainland China and is facing growing uncertainty both at home and abroad. As geopolitical tensions rise around the world, there’s increasing focus on the intentions of Chinese leader Xi Jinping. Beijing considers Taiwan part of China and has long-pursued what it calls reunification with the island. Mr. Yui Tah-ray has held the his current post since December 2023, having previously served as Taiwan’s deputy foreign minister. His role is central to maintaining one of Taipei’s most important international relationships: with the United States. Washington does not officially recognise Taiwan as an independent state - and only 12 countries around the world do. But the US remains Taiwan’s most important international backer, providing critical defence and security support. With President Trump back in the White House for a second term, questions remain over how Washington’s longstanding commitment to Taiwan will evolve and what that could mean for the island as tensions with Beijin continue. The Interview brings you conversations with people shaping our world, from all over the world. The best interviews from the BBC, including episodes with McKinsey China’s Joe Ngai, journalist Maggie Haberman, and Nobel Prize-winning economist Daron Acemoglu. 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: Sumi Somaskanda Producer: Abby Godard Editor: Farhana Haider Get in touch with us on email [email protected] and use the hashtag #TheInterviewBBC on social media. (Image: Alexander Yui Tah-ray. Credit: Getty)

“Private communication is a fundamental human right for a reason, because when those with power over you have access to your intimate thoughts and your communication, they use those to punish you. They can use them to persecute you. They can use them to shut you up.” Megha Mohan speaks to Meredith Whittaker, president of the Signal Foundation, which runs the encrypted messaging app Signal. Its end-to-end encyption means only the people in a conversation can read their messages. The protections are so strong that even Signal itself can’t see the contents. That privacy can be vital for journalists living under authoritarian governments, dissidents and other vulnerable people, but it can also allow scammers, child abusers and criminals to communicate beyond Signal’s view. Governments are demanding greater access to encrypted communications, but Whittaker says Signal would rather leave a country than weaken its protections. The Interview brings you conversations with people shaping our world, from all over the world. The best interviews from the BBC, including conversations with former Sudanese leader Aisha Musa, Ukrainian drone commander Robert Brovdi; plus 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: Megha Mohan Producer: Osman Iqbal Editor: Farhana Haider (Image: Meredith Whittaker. Credit: Reuters)

BBC special correspondent James Naughtie speaks to former Governor of California, Jerry Brown. He was first elected governor in 1974, succeeding Ronald Reagan, and went on to serve two eight-year terms in office, separated by nearly three decades. Over the course of his public life, he met every US president from John F. Kennedy to Donald Trump. Now retired on the California land where his ancestors settled in the nineteenth century, Brown reflects on a political career spanning five decades. He discusses the growing influence of technology and AI, the spiritual beliefs that shaped how he governed, and the profound changes he has witnessed in American politics since he first entered public life. The Interview brings you conversations with people shaping our world, including episodes with Hunter Biden, the journalist Maggie Haberman, and former US Secretary of State John Kerry. 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: Jim Naughtie Producers: Cordelia Hemming, Ben Cooper and Osman Iqbal Editor: Damon Rose and Farhana Haider (Image: Jerry Brown. Credit: Getty)

“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 Council of Europe 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, Liberty. She and her team made headlines around the world campaigning against what they considered excessive anti-terror legislation introduced in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks. She stepped down from the position just over a decade later, after being appointed a life peer in the British House of Lords. Since then, she’s been involved in a number of high-profile inquiries both in the UK and abroad. Most recently, she’s been tasked with leading a Council of Europe investigation into the fallout from the 2017 assassination of Maltese journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia. Caruana Galizia, one of Malta’s best-known anti-corruption journalists, was killed by a car bomb in October 2017. Her assassination and the continuing questions over the murder has raised serious concerns about the rule of law in Malta, an EU member state, as well as fears that corruption at the highest-levels could have wider implications for the European Union. Thank you to the Global Eye 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 Russian journalist Dmitry Muratov, the EU’s Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier, and Veolia CEO Estelle Brachlianoff. 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 Holligan Producers: Vara Szajkowski, Lucy Provan and Ben Cooper Editor: Farhana Haider Get in touch with us on email [email protected] and use the hashtag #TheInterviewBBC on social media.

“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 seven candidates in the running to succeed Antonio Guterres. It is a position widely regarded as the world’s top diplomatic job. Olara Otunnu talks about how he intends to bridge the gap between international politics and the needs of local people 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 UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, South Africa’s Ambassador to the US Roelf Meyer 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: James Copnall Producer: Sharon Hemans Editor: Farhana Haider Get in touch with us on email [email protected] and use the hashtag #TheInterviewBBC on social media. (Image: Olara Otunnu. Credit: Getty)

“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 approach to power. In an interview with BBC Newsnight, Kai argues that Cohn’s lessons in attacking, denying and never apologising provided a blueprint for Trump’s political life. 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: Farhana Haider (Image: Kai Bird. Credit: Getty)

“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 Janta Party. Dipke rose to prominence in India earlier this year after criticising the country’s Chief Justice, who had compared unemployed young people and social-media activists to cockroaches. Dipke was studying in the US when he posted "What if all cockroaches come together?" on the social media platform ‘X’ in response. He thought little of the post at the time. But it quickly went viral, snowballing into a youth protest movement that has shaken India’s political establishment and thrust Dipke himself into the spotlight. 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 activist Sonam Wangchuk, writer Twinkle Khanna, and film director Rohan Kanawada. 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: Yogita Limaye Producer: Ben Cooper Editor: Farhana Haider Get in touch with us on email [email protected] and use the hashtag #TheInterviewBBC on social media. (Image: Abhijeet Dipke. Credit: Reuters)

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 well as how Veolia adapts to the various challenges posed by climate change, and opportunities offered by technological advances. “Why is it important that we increase the recycling rates? It's not just for the CO2 emissions, although it's important, it's because it's a source of materials as opposed to importing it from elsewhere. So in a way, instead of mining the planet, what about mining our waste? Instead of importing paper and oil and plastic, because plastic of course is traditionally made out of oil and lithium to make batteries, what about mining our waste?” says Brachlianoff. (Image: Estelle Brachlianoff. Credit: Getty Images) Get in touch with us on email [email protected] and use the hashtag #TheInterviewBBC on social media. 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 entrepreneur Isaac Larian, meteorologist Celeste Saulo, and Arm CEO Rene Haas. 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 Rowlatt Producers: Ben Cooper and Olie D'Albertanson Editor: Damon Rose

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 the wrong picture and how his experience negotiating the end of apartheid could help repair relations with Washington. “The notion of a mass attack on the Afrikaner was misrepresented by those that might have conveyed the message. I mean, I’m an Afrikaner from South Africa myself. And I can say that I’ve never experienced something of that kind. We found it strange. So the source is misrepresented, unfortunately, something that just doesn’t exist,” says Meyer. (Photo: Roelf Meyer, South Africa’s ambassador to the US, wears a navy blazer with a white shirt and light blue tie. He has short white hair. Credit: Getty Images) 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: Ione Wells Producer: Osman Iqbal Editor: Damon Rose

“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 press, she was admired and attacked on a scale few public figures have experienced. Diana died at the age of 36 after a car crash in Paris. Now, nearly 30 years on, her brother has decided to set out the story as he remembers it. He attacks those he says harmed Diana, and what he sees as the royal establishment’s failure to protect her. Buckingham Palace has questioned whether grief has clouded his judgement and memory. Earl Spencer defends his recollections and explains why he believes his account must be placed on the historical record. Presenter: Laura Kuenssberg Producer: Osman Iqbal Editor: Damon Rose (Image: Earl Spencer. Credit: BBC)

“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. Fally discusses what it means to represent Congolese identity internationally as conflict in the east of the country fuels one of the world’s worst displacement crises. He recognises that his global success gives him a platform to draw attention to what is happening at home, but he argues that speaking out about the suffering is a wider responsibility. The Interview brings you conversations with people shaping our world, from all over the world. The best interviews from the BBC, including episodes with tech billionaire Reid Hoffman and Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, head of the World Trade 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: Jewel Kiriungi Producer: Osman Iqbal Editor: Justin Lang and Farhana Haider (Image: Fally Ipupa. Credit: EPA/Shutterstock)

‘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 years old. It works in war zones around the world, with one central mission: to uphold the Geneva Conventions, the rules designed to preserve some humanity, even in war. All 196 states have ratified the conventions, They established fundamental protections: civilians should not be targeted; hospitals and health workers must be protected and humanitarian aid must be allowed to reach those who need it. But in practice, Mirjana Spoljaric says, those rules are increasingly being flouted. She talks about the growing lack of accessing war zones, the ICRC being denied visits to prisoners of war, and what happens when even the most basic rules of war are ignored. 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 the World Meteorological Organisation, Celeste Saulo, the former Australian Prime Minister, Julia Gillard 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: Imogen Foulkes Producer: Farhana Haider Editor: Justine Lang Get in touch with us on email [email protected] and use the hashtag #TheInterviewBBC on social media. (Image: Mirjana Spoljaric. Credit: Joel Saget/Getty)

“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 instabilities and technologies that are re-shaping the world order. Between 2017 and 2024, he was responsible for the operations of CSIS, the country’s foreign intelligence and security agency. This period presented a number of challenges for Vigneault and his organisation, such as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the rise of AI, and an unpredictable Trump presidency across the border. You’re going to hear his take on current tensions around the world, what keeps him up at night, and why he thinks cooperation is key. Thank you to the PM 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 Ukrainian intelligence chief Vadym Skibitsky, the World Health Organisation’s Hanan Balkhy, and UN Secretary-General 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: Evan Davis Producers: Rosie Seed and Ben Cooper Editors: Justine Lang and Farhana Haider Get in touch with us on email [email protected] and use the hashtag #TheInterviewBBC on social media. (Image: David Vigneault. Credit: Reuters)

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 through the glasses of western culture and tradition. Afghan values should be considered... You can wander around Afghanistan, in Kabul in the cities, see the way women work, do business or go to elementary schools or to Madrassas, the situation isn’t the way it can be interpreted,” he says. Afghanistan also needs more aid and investment in the midst of a deepening humanitarian and economic crisis. Are the Taliban prepared to do more to achieve full international recognition? (Image: Amir Khan Muttaqi. Credit: Reuters) Get in touch with us on email [email protected] and use the hashtag #TheInterviewBBC on social media. 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, the former Chilean President, Michelle Bachelet and the film director Christopher Nolan. 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: Farhana Haider

“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, bringing expectations that it would grow like a technology company and become a billion-dollar business. Sophia reflects on feeling out of her depth running the company, criticism of its workplace culture and the decisions that led to bankruptcy. 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: Leanna Byrne Producer: Osman Iqbal Editor: Farhana Haider and Damon Rose (Image: Sophia Amoruso. Credit: Araya Doheny/Getty)