She is the woman who clinched the 2019 interview with Prince Andrew, described as 'a plane crashing into an oil tanker, causing a tsunami, triggering a nuclear explosion'. She is many things beside: the first in her family to go to university; a trained barrister; a single mum; a master of persuasion.

In her former BBC colleagues' words, she was the 'booker extraordinaire', responsible for many of Newsnight's exclusives over the past decade, including Stormy Daniels, Sean Spicer, Brigitte Hoess, Steven Seagal, Mel Greig and Julian Assange.

After 12 years producing content for Newsnight, McAlister reflects with candour on her experience, sharing not just the secrets of how the best news gets made, but also the changes to the BBC, the future of 'mainstream media' in the age of clickbait and the role of power and privilege in shaping our media landscape.

This is a backstage pass to the most unforgettable journalism of our times. (Waterstones)

Sam met Jack at The Wolseley in Mayfair on Piccadilly, Central London.

Follow and subscribe to The Booking Club:

YouTube: @bookingclubpod

Twitter/X: @bookingclubpod

Instagram: @bookingclubpod

TikTok: @bookingclubpod

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.