The Interview

“When we only had reconnaissance drones, we learned fast. We began attaching warheads to the drones. Grenades, then homemade munitions that we produced ourselves. We would locate the enemy with the drone and drop them on him. Then FPV drones entered our lives. An FPV drone is a one-way, disposable drone. That was when the way of war began to change”

(Image: Robert Brovdi Credit: Oleksii Samsonov/Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images)

“I saw the damage, the loss. The buildings being destroyed, the infrastructure being completely damaged in that area. And it was sad and heartbreaking.”

Waihiga Mwaura speaks to SungAh Lee, from the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) about the war in Sudan which has entered its fourth year and has led to one of the worst humanitarian crisis and biggest displacements of people.

SungAh Lee recently travelled to Sudan to assess the situation on the ground. She tells us how it felt to return to parts of the country she had spent time in as a child. She explains how current conflicts are changing migration patterns and what impact cuts to government aid budgets are having on people effected by war.

Thank you to the Focus on Africa team in its help in making this programme.

Presenter: Waihiga Mwaura

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(Image: SungAh Lee Credit: IOM/ Muse Mohammed)

“If you play piano, bass guitar, saxophone, I don’t care - I'll play with you all night. That's how I did it. And I tell all my grandkids - get an event, get a few of your schoolmates together. They're practising and playing by themselves. Get with people!”

Regan Morris speaks to musician Ringo Starr about his career.

After joining John Lennon, Paul McCartney and George Harrison in 1962, the four-piece became a global pop music sensation through hits such as ‘She Loves You’, ‘Yesterday’, ‘Penny Lane’, and ‘Hey Jude’. They also released multiple studio albums and starred in five major motion pictures.

Although the band split up in 1970, their legacy continues to live on. They remain one of the best-selling musical acts of all time over half a century later. And such was his and the band’s cultural impact, that Ringo, one of two surviving members of The Beatles, received a knighthood at Buckingham Palace for his services to music in 2018.

But despite achieving seemingly all that can be achieved in a music career, the 85-year-old seems to be showing no interest in retirement — he’s just released his third country album, which is his 22nd album as a solo artist.

Presenter: Regan Morris

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(Image: Ringo Starr Credit: Jason Kempin/Getty Images)

“One thing I have learned from my childhood til now is that when you fall, you get up, dust yourself off, and do it over and over again. I’ve had a lot of up and downs in my business life in America. I’ve had many failures and people only talk about successes, but failures in my mind are the foundation of success.”

Rahul Tandon speaks to Iranian-American entrepreneur Isaac Larian.

The 72-year-old billionaire is the founder and chief executive of US-based MGA Entertainment, one of the world’s largest toy companies. Over the years, he’s been involved in several high-profile toy launches, including the ‘Bratz’ range of dolls back in 2001.

But his success today, regularly appearing on rich lists compiled by the likes of Forbes, is a far cry from his early years growing up Tehran, where his family often struggled to put food on the table in a home without electricity or running water.

His father ran a small textile shop that a young Larian would work in, buying and selling stock. And at the age of just 17, Larian took this business experience with him when he bought a one-way ticket to America to seek his fortune.

Thank you to the Business Daily team for their help in making this programme.

Presenter: Rahul Tandon

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(Image: Isaac Larian Credit: Eugene Gologursky/Getty Images for The Toy Foundation)

“We were able to improve the health of the gorillas and people together. What we do is we improve the health and the livelihoods of the local communities. Because as long as people are poor, they're going to keep entering the forest to poach and collect firewood and they're going to end up making the gorillas sick, or picking up diseases from wildlife in the forest.”

When she began her work in 1994, their numbers had fallen to just a few hundred. Not just because of habitat loss and poaching, but because of human diseases.

Rather than focusing only on treating the animals, she realised the solution lay with the people living alongside them. Better health and livelihood opportunities meant less poaching and less need to rely on the forest, reducing the risk of disease and protecting the gorillas.

The Interview brings you conversations with people shaping our world, from all over the world. The best interviews from the BBC, including episodes with Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelensky, and Antonio Guterres, Secretary General of the UN. 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.

(Image: Dr Gladys Kalema Zikusoka Credit Kibuuka Mukisa)

“I don't necessarily want it to be the most giant album of all time and be selling out stadiums. I want something that lasts and that feels timeless and thoughtful.”

Mark Savage speaks to Mercury Prize-winning singer-songwriter Arlo Parks about her life and music career.

Born in London, the half Nigerian, quarter Chadian and quarter French artist, real name Anaïs Marinho, has enjoyed great success in her music career since her debut album was released in 2021.

Having broken onto the music scene two years prior, Parks has performed twice at the Glastonbury music festival in England, supported the likes of Harry Styles and Billie Eilish on tour, and even written for Beyoncé.

It’s been something of a whirlwind journey for the 25-year-old, who has returned with a new album after taking some time out of the spotlight in order to reclaim some normality in her life.

Presenter: Mark Savage

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(Image: Arlo Parks Credit: Todd Owyoung/NBC via Getty Images)

Victoria Derbyshire speaks to survivors of paedophile Jeffrey Epstein, the disgraced financier who died in prison in 2019 while awaiting a trial for sex trafficking.

The interview took place in Washington DC, two weeks before Melania Trump, US First Lady, gave an unexpected press conference at the White House where she called for congressional hearings for the Epstein survivors.

Millions of documents, emails and photographs are now in the public domain and show Epstein’s connections to high profile figures from politics, business and royalty.

In this interview, which some listeners may find upsetting, Chauntae Davies, Joanna Harrison, Jena-Lisa Jones, Wendy Pesante and Lisa Phillips share their experiences, and discuss the impact that the abuse has had on their lives.

Thank you to the Newsnight team for their help in making this programme.

If you’ve been affected by this programme, you can reach out to Befrienders Worldwide for help by visiting befrienders.org

The Interview brings you conversations with people shaping our world, from all over the world. 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: Victoria Derbyshire

Get in touch with us on email [email protected] and use the hashtag #TheInterviewBBC on social media.

“It was three submarines. We tracked them 24/7 for over a month to make sure that we are able to say to Putin, we see what you’re doing, we’re watching you. It means that if there is ever any damage to our cables or our pipelines, we know we can hold Putin to account. We know he can’t deny it.”

(Image: John Healey Credit: Thomas Traasdahl / Ritzau Scanpix / AFP via Getty Images)

“The fact that we are now the world's largest funder of the World Health Organisation should be a major embarrassment to every country on this planet.”

Sam Fenwick speaks to Mark Suzman, CEO of Gates Foundation, the world’s largest philanthropic organisation, about why he thinks cuts to global aid spending is costing lives.

He says the Foundation has overtaken world governments to become the largest financial backer of the WHO. Last year, the United States scaled back parts of its overseas aid budget. It wasn’t the only county to do so, with many governments including the UK, Germany, France and Japan all spending less.

For an institution with little democratic accountability, Mark Suzman is asked whether there is too much reliance on the Gates Foundation globally and whether its priorities are the right ones.

Thank you to the Business Daily team for its help in making this programme.

This interview was recorded on 29 January 2026. This is not mentioned in the episode. Since the interview was recorded, the BBC has reported on Bill Gates and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Articles include:

Presenter: Sam Fenwick

Get in touch with us on email [email protected] and use the hashtag #TheInterviewBBC on social media.

(Image: Mark Suzman Credit: Hollie Adams/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Amol Rajan speaks to Simukai Chigudu, associate professor of African Politics at Oxford University about the legacy of empire and how to reckon with the past.

A member of the first generation born after the end of colonial rule in Zimbabwe, Simukai Chigudu came to the UK as a teenager and later became one of the founding members of a campaign to try to get the statue of imperialist Cecil Rhodes moved from Oriel College in Oxford.

Now an associate professor of African politics at the University of Oxford, he has written a memoir called Chasing Freedom: Coming of Age at the End of Empire.

He discusses the legacy of the Rhodes Must Fall campaign, why he thinks we should be decolonising the curriculum and whether countries like Britain should pay reparations for slavery.

Thank you to the Radical with Amol Rajan team for its help in making this programme.

Presenter: Amol Rajan

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(Image: Simukai Chigudu)