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The McKay Interview episodes
- David Willey OBE, papal biographer and former BBC Rome Correspondent
A sequel to my "McKay Interview" with David Willey in 2013 about prominent issues in the Vatican. We pick up our conversation from 9 years ago and talk about many things, including:
-David Willey's Italian grandparents, the present crises in the Vatican-The difference that the first ever Jesuit Pope has made-The state of Pope Francis’s health-The speculative prospect of three Popes in the Vatican at the same time, as Pope Emeritus Benedict lives, a mere 500 metres away, almost on the Pontiff’s doorstep,36 min - Christoph Maeder, President of economiesuisse, Switzerland's premier business organisation.
An overview of the current state of the Swiss economy and Swiss business.
In this episode we discuss:
-The recurring problem of a strong, safe-haven currency, namely the Swiss Franc
-The increasing cost of living in Switzerland-The present impasse between Switzerland and the European Union.30 min - Debora MacKenzie, acclaimed science writer and journalist on emerging diseases and one of the first to suggest that it could become a pandemic.
In this episode we discuss Covid19: where it came from, what the current status of the pandemic is, and what the future holds.
In this episode we cover the following topics:
Debora MacKenzie tells me her views on Wuhan and the way the Chinese handled the outbreak. We also talk about the so-called "Swedish" model; and many other things relating to Covid19 and pandemics in general.
26 min - General Sir Richard Shirreff, former NATO Deputy Supreme Allied Commander Europe
In this epsiode, General Sir Richard Shirreff, talks about the war in Ukraine.
We cover the following topics:
-Who is wining the war in Ukraine
-Why writers like Clausewitz and Sun Tzu are still relevant and the risk of war between nuclear powers
33 min - Martin Chungong, Secretary-General of the Inter-Parliamentary Union
In this epsiode Martin Chungong talks about the GESDA Science Diplomacy Week Open Forum and his role as Geneva Coalition co-Chair.
We cover the following topics:
-What is GESDA?
-Why the coupling of Science and Diplomacy?
-Who is involved?
-And how will objectives be achieved?
33 min - Robert Sinclair, CEO, London City Airport, UK
How the air travel sector in general, and London City Airport in particular, are performing post-pandemic?
In this episode we discuss:
- I ask Robert if things are really getting better in the air travel industry;
- What has been his experience of the decarbonisation of aviation, and the net zero debate;
- How he gets on with this neighbours, as London City is almost in the heart of London;
- The arithmetic and trading process of buying aviation fuel as prices as gone up so much, recently.
31 min - Ted Souder, X-Googler; former Vice-Chair & advisor to the Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce; and Board Director at 1871, the top-rated technology incubator in the world.
The future of computing, AI, regulation and many other data-related topics from an industry leader with more than 20 years of experience at Google.
In this episode we discuss:
- If the Model T Ford of 1908 was the most influential car of the 20th century, compare the automobile timeline with the data and IT timelines: where is Google now on the comparable timeline of the 21st century?
- Do you have a dystopian view of the future regarding Big Data? Or are you optimistic?
24 min - Lucie Kunz-Harris, Syndic of the Commune of Founex in the Swiss Canton of Vaud.
A conversation about the importance of communes in the vibrant, bottom-up democracy of Switzerland.
Some of my questions are:
- Why do we have two "parties" or "groups" during elections in such a small community?
- How do you deal with wealthy and important persons of families who might be tempted to use their influence to get there way?
- How "international" is Founex?
26 min - Ambassador Yevheniia Filipenko, Ukraine's Permanent Representative to the UN & other International Organizations in Geneva
Ambassador Filipenko explains how her work at the UN & International Organizations, as well as other institutions in "international" Geneva, underpin her country's fight against the illegal invasion.
Some of my questions are:
- How do you assess the current situation on Ukraine, as we speak, on the 29th March?
- What can you say about the 17% Russian speakers in your country? What are they thinking and saying?
- Had they, as is claimed by some, been treated badly by Ukrainians, prior to the invasion?
24 min - Ambassador Elisabeth Tichy-Fisslberger, Austria’s Permanent Representative to the UN and other International Organizations in Geneva
We discussion Austria's history, how Austria's sees it future, multilateralism, Austria and United Nations Geneva, Human Rights, Austria's special neutrality and Russia's illegal invasion of Ukraine.
27 min
About The McKay Interview
From the publisher's feed
Michael McKay conducts in depth interviews with decision makers and local leaders.
The McKay Interview was founded on a simple idea: that listeners would tune in regularly to listen to intelligent yet relaxed, English-language conversation between Michael McKay and interesting people who do interesting things.
A variety of prominent and thoughtful people have accepted the invitation and a wide range of topics have been covered.