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BBC World Service

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.

HARDtalk

‘Our fight for freedom is a fight for peace, and an act of love’

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
Producers: 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/POOL/EPA/Shutterstock)

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

‘We are pushing very hard to end this and preserve the future of Sudan’

Waihiga Mwaura speaks to Dr. Badr Abdelatty, Egypt’s Foreign Minister, during the G20 summit that took place at the end of November in South Africa.

Dr. Abdelatty took up the post last year, following a long diplomatic career across Europe, North America and Asia. He’s tasked with representing Egypt and the government of President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, who has been in power since 2014 following a military coup the previous year.

Egypt is currently facing a number of issues including an economic crisis at home and political instability along its borders.

Libya, to the west, is still dealing with the fallout from the collapse of the Gaddafi regime nearly 15 years later. And On Egypt’s eastern border, much of Gaza lies in ruins. Meanwhile, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees has estimated that over 1.5 million Sudanese people have sought safety in Egypt as a brutal civil war rages across the border to the south.

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: Waihiga Mwaura
Producer: Ben Cooper
Editor: Justine Lang

Get in touch with us on email TheInterview@bbc.co.uk and use the hashtag #TheInterviewBBC on social media.

(Image: Badr Abdelatty Credit: AMER HILABI/AFP via Getty Images)

Dr. Badr Abdelatty, Egyptian Foreign Minister: we’re pushing hard to end Sudan conflict

Katie Razzall, the BBC’s culture and media editor, speaks to American singer-songwriter Patti Smith during her UK tour marking the 50th anniversary of her ground-breaking debut album Horses.

Best-known for her hit Because the Night, she shares the story behind the song, co-written with Bruce Springsteen, and reflects about being at the vanguard of a new wave of artists in the 1970s.

Patti also opens up about her new memoir, Bread of Angels, a deeply personal journey through her music, her relationships, and the chance discovery of a devastating secret that changed everything. 
 
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: Katie Razzall
Producers: Melanie Abbott, Roxanne Panthaki and Ben Cooper
Editor: Justine Lang

Get in touch with us on email TheInterview@bbc.co.uk and use the hashtag #TheInterviewBBC on social media.

(Image: Patti Smith. Credit: Stefania D'Alessandro/WireImage)

Patti Smith: Artists have a responsibility to speak up

Zoe Kleinman, the BBC’s Technology editor, speaks to Canva CEO Melanie Perkins about the current tech and AI revolution that is transforming the internet and the world. Perkins, who is still only in her late-30s, is well-known for her entrepreneurial drive, having quit university at just 19 years old to launch her first venture.

Unlike many of today’s Silicon Valley-based big tech companies, Canva started out in the Australian city of Perth with a mission to ‘empower the world to design’.

It offers a variety of templates and tools to help users without technical skills or a design background to create a range of professional-looking graphics and presentations, from wedding invitations to business pitch decks. 

Since launching in 2013, it has grown to become a multi-billion dollar business used by around 250 million people every month.

The success of Canva has catapulted Perkins into a number of lists ranking the world’s most powerful women, compiled by the likes of Forbes and Fortune. But it is a far cry from the very early days, when she was rejected by over 100 investors as she sought to get it off the ground.

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: Zoe Kleinman
Producers: Ben Cooper and Philippa Wain
Editor: Justine Lang

Get in touch with us on email TheInterview@bbc.co.uk and use the hashtag #TheInterviewBBC on social media.

(Image: Canva CEO Melanie Perkins holds a microphone. Credit: Alisha Jucevic/Getty Images)

Melanie Perkins, Canva CEO: From information to imagination

“This is giving parents another weapon in their arsenal for their lives and for the happiness and mental wellbeing of their children.”

Katy Watson speaks to Australia’s Communication Minister Anika Wells about the world’s first social media ban for children under 16.
 
Under the new law, social media companies will face fines of up to about US $32 million if they fail to take steps to ensure that under-16s in Australia cannot set up accounts. It has wide public support and comes about after research shows that seven out of ten Australian young people are suffering harm online.
 
However, the law has its opponents too, from those who fear children could be cut off, or driven to darker, unregulated sites to the huge international technology companies and even the US President, but Anika Wells is undaunted. Her government wants to promote the mental health of its young people, and she maintains that even if the law is flawed, ‘Australians will look back and ask, why did that take so long? Not why did they do that?’
 
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: Katy Watson
Producers: Simon Atkinson, Clare Williamson & Farhana Haider
Editor: Justine Lang

Get in touch with us on email TheInterview@bbc.co.uk and use the hashtag #TheInterviewBBC on social media

(Image: Anika Wells. Credit: Quinn Rooney/Getty Images)

Anika Wells, Communications Minister: Australia’s social media ban

Nick Robinson speaks to Shabana Mahmood, British Home Secretary, about her far-reaching proposals to shake up the UK immigration system, designed to make asylum seekers think twice before attempting to enter the country illegally.

She also shares her own experience of racism as the daughter of Pakistani immigrants, and her belief that ensuring secure borders is the best way to combat this. 
 
Under her plans, refugee status will be made temporary, with frequent reviews, meaning people could be returned to their home country if it is deemed safe. Refugees will also need to live in the UK for 20 years before they can apply to stay permanently, a signifcant increase on the current five years. The removal of failed asylum seekers will be speeded up, and Shabana Mahmood is revoking the legal duty to provide them with support such as housing and money.

Presenter: Nick Robinson
Producer: Lucy Sheppard and Daniel Kraemer
Editor: Justine Lang

Get in touch with us on email TheInterview@bbc.co.uk and use the hashtag #TheInterviewBBC on social media.

(Image: Shabana Mahmood. Credit: Wiktor Szymanowicz/Getty Images)

Shabana Mahmood, British Home Secretary: Do not make that boat crossing

Marianna Spring, the BBC’s social media investigations correspondent, speaks to Nobel Peace Prize-winning journalist Maria Ressa, co-founder of the independent Filipino news outlet Rappler.

With over 40 years in journalism, Maria describes today’s information landscape as a war zone, where online attacks, including doxxing, misogynistic hashtags, and manipulated images don’t just stay online. They spill into real-world intimidation and violence.

This conversation explores the rise of online misogyny, the weaponisation of social media by authoritarian regimes, and the global impact on press freedom. Maria draws on her experience in the Philippines to offer insights for resisting digital repression and calls out tech giants for failing to protect democracy.

She also shares her vision for accountability and action and what needs to happen to safeguard journalism and democracy in the digital age.
 
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: Marianna Spring
Producer(s): Clare Williamson, Farhana Haider
Editor: Justine Lang

Get in touch with us on email TheInterview@bbc.co.uk and use the hashtag #TheInterviewBBC on social media.

(Image: Maria Ressa Credit: Neilson Barnard/Getty Images)

Maria Ressa: The information apocalypse is threatening democracy

Amol Rajan speaks to Sir Nick Clegg - former deputy Prime Minister of the UK and, more recently, former President of Global Affairs at Meta - about big tech, AI and the future of social media.

Sir Nick first appeared on the world stage back in 2010, when he became the UK’s deputy prime minister after his Liberal Democrats party went into a coalition government with David Cameron’s Conservatives.

After leaving Westminster in 2017, he surprised many political observers when he was hired by Facebook, now known as Meta, to head up their global affairs and communications. In 2022, Sir Nick was then promoted to become the company’s president of global affairs, where he oversaw policy and government relations.

Sir Nick subsequently worked closely with Facebook co-founder Mark Zuckerberg for several years, but decided to step down at the beginning of this year.

And now, amid growing concerns over the regulation of big tech, the growth of AI and the future of the internet itself, he’s drawing on his vast experience from both Westminster and Silicon Valley to offer insight into what could be ahead.

Thank you to the Radical with Amol Rajan 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. 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: Ben Cooper, Anna Budd and Lewis Vickers
Editor: Justine Lang

Get in touch with us on email TheInterview@bbc.co.uk and use the hashtag #TheInterviewBBC on social media.

(Image: Sir Nick Clegg. Credit: Chris J. Ratcliffe/Bloomberg/Getty Images)

Sir Nick Clegg: Social media’s power paradox

‘When it comes to women's lives, things have progressed, maybe not always in a linear way.’

Devina Gupta speaks to author and columnist Twinkle Khanna about the lives of women in 21st century India.
 
Khanna’s column in the Times of India, Mrs Funnybones, captures the contradictions of being a modern Indian woman — one day praying to a cow, the next filing a tax return. It was turned into a book in 2015 that sold over 100,000 copies in its first year alone.

Born into a family of Bollywood royalty, Khanna initially followed her parents Dimple Kapadia and Rajesh Khanna into acting. However, despite appearing in dozens of films and receiving accolades for her performances, she considers herself to have been a ‘failed actress’.

After a short stint as an interior designer, she turned her hand to writing, and soon realised how much she could make people laugh.

As a prominent writer, however, Khanna has faced significant backlash - including for comments challenging both traditional roles within marriage and religious customs that label women impure during menstruation. Her outspoken views on gender norms and marital expectations have led to heated debate on social media, and made her the subject of widespread trolling.

So with the follow-up Mrs Funnybones book coming out over a decade later, she’s now asking the much larger question: what, if anything, has changed for Indian women in that time.
 
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: Devina Gupta
Producers: Ben Cooper, Clare Williamson and Aakriti Thapar
Editor: Justine Lang

Get in touch with us on email TheInterview@bbc.co.uk and use the hashtag #TheInterviewBBC on social media.

(Image: Twinkle Khanna: Credit: SUJIT JAISWAL/AFP via Getty Images)

Twinkle Khanna: Indian women’s aspirations have changed

“The current state of the art AI technology is prone to some errors… you have to learn to use these tools for what they are good at, and not blindly trust everything they say.”

Faisal Islam speaks to Sundar Pichai, chief executive of Google and its holding company Alphabet, about artificial intelligence and its impact on how we live and work. 

He tells me that we are at an extraordinary moment in technology, with the potential for enormous benefits but also risks. AI should not be blindly trusted, he says, as it is still prone to errors. And it will disrupt society through its impact on jobs, but also on the climate, thanks to its “immense” energy needs. 
 
Trillions are being invested in artificial intelligence, raising fears it could create a bubble reminiscent of the dotcom boom in the 1990s. If it were to burst, Sundar Pichai warns no company, not even his, would be immune. 

Thank you to Faisal Islam and Priya Patel 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. 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
Producers: Lucy Sheppard and Priya Patel
Editor: Justine Lang

(Image: Sundar Pichai. Credit: CAMILLE COHEN/AFP via Getty Images)

Sundar Pichai CEO of Google: AI prone to errors

Science is constantly changing and deepening our understanding of ourselves and our planet. So is it time to give scientists a more prominent role in the debate about humanity's strategic choices; economic, political and environmental?

HARDtalk’s Stephen Sackur speaks to Sir John Sulston, a Nobel Prize-winning molecular biologist who has led a Royal Society study into the global impact of population growth two decades on from the Rio Earth Summit. 

Can science help the human species change its ways?

Sir JOHN SULSTON – Nobel Prize-winning scientist

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