The Interview

“For 80 years, we only have men [lead the UN] and I think it is not about women because she is a woman … The idea is a woman because she has the experience, the leadership, the capacity, the knowledge, the ability to do things that need to be done…So I hope that that will be something that members could understand that it will be fantastic. But, to be honest, I'm not sure that every country is ready for that.”

James Copnall speaks to Michelle Bachelet, a former President of Chile and one of the world’s most prominent human rights advocates. Bachelet made history as Chile’s first woman president, serving two terms before going on to become the United Nations high commissioner for human rights. Now, she is one of the candidates vying to become the next secretary general of the United Nations, a position never held by a woman since the organisation was founded in 1945.

With the UN facing growing pressure to reform, Bachelet says the organisation needs to adapt to a changing world, become more effective and better reflect the people and countries it represents. She also argues that it is time for a woman to lead the United Nations, after eight decades in which the top job has been held exclusively by men.

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 Australian prime minister Julia Gillard and 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: James Copnall
Producers: Sharon Hemans, Farhana Haider
Get in touch with us on email TheInterview@bbc.co.uk and use the hashtag #TheInterviewBBC on social media.
(Image: Michelle Bachelet. Credit: Raul Bravo/AFP via Getty Images)

“It's a distortion of real pressures. When I'm analysing trends around men…they are wanting to lean into what being a man means. In many cases strength, loyalty, protection. Those are not bad values. Those are being exploited, weaponised, and redirected in order to either sell a product or sell an idea.”

Marianna Spring and Matt Shea speak to Kristina Wilfore, Director at Reset Tech, about their new report into the so-called ‘Male Grievance Industry’, which Kristina says is capitalising on the loneliness, economic anxiety, and identity of men. She argues it’s a growing business on social media which defrauds men by targeting them with content that distorts the real pressures they face.

She also reveals new data about looksmaxxing, the extreme cosmetic social media trend, which shows how just 216 accounts drove 14.6 billion views on this type of content within the last two years.

Thank you to the Top Comment 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 Hunter Biden, son of former US President Joe Biden, head of the World Meteorological Organisation Celeste Saulo, and independent Russian journalist Dmitry Muratov. 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 and Matt Shea
Producer: Cordelia Hemming
Editor: Damon Rose
Get in touch with us on email TheInterview@bbc.co.uk and use the hashtag #TheInterviewBBC on social media.
(Image: Kristina Wilfore. Credit: Photo by Rachel Hofer)

“More Chinese companies are put out of business by other Chinese companies. Chinese companies are not put out of business because of Western companies, so this whole competition is not, from a Chinese guy's mind, like a US-China competition. It’s more ‘how do I survive this gym?’ because it's damn hard to keep staying alive at home. That in turn makes you very competitive in the rest of the world.”
Maura Fogarty speaks to Joe Ngai, Chairman of the China region for global consulting firm McKinsey.
He advises senior management at Chinese and multinational corporations in the region which gives him a unique insight into the world’s second-largest economy.
Having written numerous books and reports on China’s economic landscape, Ngai’s expertise has been recognised by accolades from the likes of Forbes China and Bloomberg.
In this interview, we hear his thoughts about how the Chinese market has changed in the 25 years since the country joined the World Trade Organisation, and on how AI is developing and managing tensions with US competitors.
Thank you to the Asia Business 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 tech billionaire Reid Hoffman, director Chloé Zhao, 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: Maura Fogarty
Producers: Ben Cooper and Jaltson Akkanath Chummar
Editor: Damon Rose
Get in touch with us on email TheInterview@bbc.co.uk and use the hashtag #TheInterviewBBC on social media.
(Image: Joe Ngai. Credit: Getty)

“Sometimes we confuse activity with impact. And here I think the way we measure results should be different. How many lives has the UN saved? How many people has the UN helped to live out of poverty? How many people have we prevented from conflict? How many people were we able to support?”

The BBC’s Anne Soy speaks to María Fernanda Espinosa, Ecuador’s former foreign minister and a candidate to become the first woman secretary general of the United Nations.

She is seeking the role at a time when the UN faces severe financial pressure, falling international aid budgets and questions about its influence over major conflicts.

Espinosa believes the organisation remains essential, but warns that it could become irrelevant unless it changes how it works. She describes the choice facing the UN as “reform, transform or die”.

The Interview brings you conversations with people shaping our world, from all over the world. The best interviews from the BBC, including episodes with Russia’s nuclear envoy Mikhail Ulyanov and UNICEF chief Catherine Russell.

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: Anne Soy
Producer: Osman Iqbal, Sharon Hemands and Farhana Haider
Editor: Damon Rose
(Image: María Fernanda Espinosa. Credit: Getty)

“I think Pac was actually traumatised by the poverty. You know, poverty can be very, very traumatic. Having no lights, having no food from time to time, having no clothes while you’re going to school, and bumming clothes. Them stories, it was real. That really happened to Pac. Pac was sensitive, so he felt things deeply.”

The BBC’s Shaimaa Khalil speaks to Mopreme Shakur, step-brother of iconic rapper Tupac Shakur.

Tupac was shot dead in Las Vegas in 1996, and now, almost 30 years later, Duane “Keffe D” Davis is on trial in connection with his murder. He has pleaded not guilty.

Through music exploring poverty, racism and injustice, Tupac became one of hip-hop’s most loved and influential figures, selling more than 75 million records worldwide.

Mopreme recalls growing up with Tupac and explains why he believes poverty and politics shaped his brother and the music he went on to make.
He talks about Tupac's mother having been the section leader of the Harlem chapter of the Black Panther Party, and links Tupac’s own experience of abandonment to his concern with how neglected children can become hardened adults.

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: Shaimaa Khalil
Producers: Osman Iqbal and Regan Morris
Editor: Damon Rose
(Image: Mopreme Shakur. Credit: Getty)