The Interview

“There are many parts of the world where people have retreated slightly. I think it's a very, very short-sighted myopic view of the world for people to deny the science and procrastinate and not do the things that we've been warned we need to do.”
Waihiga Mwaura speaks to former US Secretary of State John Kerry about why he thinks governments are retreating from efforts to deal with climate change.
He spoke to the BBC during this year’s Our Ocean Conference, an international forum which Kerry launched in 2014 to help protect the world’s oceans.
He was the first US Special Presidential Envoy for Climate from 2021 to 2024, and since then has continued his work in climate solutions.
With other world events in mind, Kerry helped negotiate a nuclear deal with Iran as President Barack Obama's secretary of state and we get his take on the current US-Iran conflict and subsequent peace plan.

Thank you to the Focus on Africa 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, including episodes with one of Africa’s youngest billionaires Mohammed Dewji, former Sudanese leader Aisha Musa and Sierra Leone’s First Lady Fatima Bio. 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: Cordelia Hemming
Editor: Damon Rose
(Image: John Kerry. Credit: Reuters)

Katya Adler speaks to Michel Barnier who served as the EU’s chief Brexit negotiator, on the 10th anniversary of the highly consequential referendum.
On 23 June 2016, the British public went to the polls to decide its future with the European Union. An unusually high number of people voted, and by 52% to 48%, the decision was to leave the bloc.
Barnier, then a European Commissioner who had served as a minister in a number of French governments, represented the EU at negotiations to help agree the terms of the UK’s departure and future relationship.
It was a long, hard process, with the UK seeing three different prime ministers from 10 Downing Street before formally leaving the Union in January 2020.
Monsieur Barnier reflects on the UK’s decision and how both European and international politics have changed since.

The Interview brings you conversations with people shaping our world, from all over the world. The best interviews from the BBC, including episodes with European Investment Bank President Nadia Calviño, and Vitali Klitschko, Mayor of Kyiv. 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: Katya Adler
Producer: Ben Cooper and Kathy Long
Editor: Damon Rose
Get in touch with us on email TheInterview@bbc.co.uk and use the hashtag #TheInterviewBBC on social media.
(Image: Michel Barnier. Credit: PA.)

Jamie Coomarasamy speaks to Patricia Cornwell, one of the world’s best-selling crime writers, whose books have sold more than 120 million copies worldwide.

She reflects on a childhood marked by trauma, instability and family mental illness, and the lasting impact those experiences have had on her life.

Her imagination became a refuge during difficult years, shaping the stories and characters she would later create.

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 and author Sir Salman Rushdie.

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: Jamie Coomarasamy
Producer: Osman Iqbal and Nigel Doran
Editor: Damon Rose

Get in touch with us on email TheInterview@bbc.co.uk and use the hashtag #TheInterviewBBC on social media.
(Image: Patricia Cornwell. Credit: Getty Images)

Nada Tawfik speaks to Catherine Russell, executive director of Unicef, the United Nations agency responsible for protecting and supporting children.
Before taking up the role in 2022, she spent decades in government and diplomacy, including as assistant to President Joe Biden as well as serving in senior roles at the US State Department focused on global women’s issues and international development.

Now leading Unicef at a time of unprecedented conflict, displacement and humanitarian need, she talks about the impact of aid cuts and the challenges facing children 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 World Health Organisation’s Hanan Balkhy, former Sudanese leader Aisha Musa and musical icon Sir Paul McCartney. 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: Nada Tawfik
Producer: Cordelia Hemming and 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: Catherine Russell. Credit: Unicef/UN0795033/Deeb)

“Right now, it’s like the AI industry has a gas pedal, but it doesn’t have a brake pedal in the car. And what we’re saying is we want to build that brake pedal so we in the world have an option. In the future, you might say: ‘Let’s get all of the benefits we can for, say, biology and medical research, and let’s take a pause on AI research, where we can absorb the societal changes.’”

Faisal Islam speaks to Jack Clark, co-founder of Anthropic, one of the companies at the forefront of the artificial intelligence revolution and the maker of the Claude chatbot.

Jack says AI systems are becoming dramatically more capable, changing how work happens even inside Anthropic itself. He argues that artificial intelligence could accelerate scientific discovery, reshape industries and transform economies.

But he also warns that increasingly powerful AI systems will require new forms of oversight and control. As these technologies become more capable, he argues that governments and society need mechanisms to slow development if it moves too far, too fast.

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: Faisal Islam
Producer: Osman Iqbal
Editor: Damon Rose and Justine Lang
(Image:Jack Clark. Credit: Getty)