The Mishal Husain Show

Best known as a member of Monty Python, Michael Palin has been many things  — sketch writer, comedian, actor, and for almost four decades, world traveler.

In his latest series, “Michael Palin in the Philippines” - on UK channel 5 - Palin meets the nation’s president, Ferdinand Marcos Jr., visits an overcrowded prison and witnesses firsthand rising tensions in the South China Sea.

In his conversation with Mishal Husain, he speaks about what his travels have taught him, the realities of seeing the world in his 80s and Monty Python’s unlikely diplomatic power.

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As US journalist Azadeh Moaveni was writing her latest book, ‘The East Wing’, a history of America's first ladies and their staff, President Donald Trump’s demolition of that very part of the White House was underway. 

Moaveni presents her book as a “parallel women’s history,” tracing how the wives of US presidents, who traditionally had offices in the now-vanished annex, helped shape alliances at home and abroad.

Moaveni, a journalism professor at New York University, is a longtime reporter on Iran and the Middle East. She explains in her conversation with Mishal Husain how when she...

Amid the furious debate over the pace and potential risks of AI development, top tech executives have publicly united around a call for their industry to be regulated.

As Google's senior vice president of technology and society, James Manyika says his role is to help ensure artificial intelligence turns out well for the company and the rest of us. But with US President Donald Trump rejecting new guardrails and public skepticism about the motivations of AI giants calling for them, proponents of the technology face an increasingly tough room.

In this conversation with Mishal Husain...

“Our region has experienced what I can only describe as an earthquake.” That was how Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, Qatar’s prime minister, began remarks at a special UN General Assembly edition of the Qatar Economic Forum.

Seven months of the US-Israel war with Iran have ravaged Qatar’s gas exports, which rely on passage through the Strait of Hormuz. While the country has long prided itself on conflict mediation, this time its own economy and stability are at stake.

In front of an audience in New York, Sheikh Mohammed discussed with Mishal Husain r...

Few journalists have watched Donald Trump as closely or for as long as Maggie Haberman.

The New York Times reporter first encountered him as a tabloid fixture in the 1990s and has since chronicled his ascent to the White House, the period between his presidencies and the transformation of the office itself.

Her book, Regime Change: Inside the Imperial Presidency of Donald Trump, written with Jonathan Swan, examines the Republican’s second term through the first weeks of the US-Israel war with Iran.

In this conversation with Mishal Husain, Haberman looks ahead to the...

Author Jon Ronson has spent years focusing on the unusual people and societal undercurrents of our changing world.

He has written a series of bestselling books featuring extremists, conspiracy theorists and psychopaths. The Men Who Stare at Goats was made into a film starring George Clooney, and his popular culture war podcast, Things Fell Apart, is returning next year for its third season.

In this conversation with Mishal Husain, Ronson discusses his latest book, The Castle, which features men struggling to find purpose amid economic, social and political upheaval. He also shares his own experience wit...

Chinese artificial intelligence companies are rapidly closing the gap with their American rivals despite years of US restrictions on advanced chips.

But the race between the world’s two AI superpowers is part of a much bigger transformation, says China AI pioneer and investor Kai-Fu Lee: one that’s upending companies, jobs and even how people think about work.

Few have watched this historic moment unfold from as many vantage points as Lee, who has worked at Apple and led Microsoft and Google teams in China. In this interview with Mishal Husain, he talks about what...

The writer Colm Tóibín knows something about leaving home. As a young man living in Spain, he discovered a freedom he hadn’t known growing up in Ireland. Later, he would settle in America.

Tóibín’s latest books revisit these journeys. The Bridge is set in the remote regions of Spain that first captivated him, while The News From Dublin includes a short story about an undocumented Irish immigrant preparing to leave the US as Donald Trump is re-elected.

In this conversation with Mishal Husain, Tóibín talks about the places tha...

It's been 25 years since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks and the US-led invasion of Afghanistan that brought Hamid Karzai, then a little-known tribal leader, to power.

Two decades later, Karzai witnessed the chaotic withdrawal of American forces as the Taliban swept back into Kabul in 2021. While many people left Afghanistan, he chose to stay.

Today, Karzai lives under virtual house arrest and rarely gives interviews. He says his eldest daughter, like all girls over the age of 12,  is no longer able to go to school.

In this conversation with Mishal Husain, he explains why he w...

The Grammy award winning musician, tech CEO and college professor will.i.am says he believes in the power of artificial intelligence to assist human creativity. He tells Mishal Husain why his attitude toward technology is different from that of many other creatives.

The founding member of Black Eyed Peas also discusses why there should be different ways for platforms to recognize music created solely by humans, and a system that protects identity and likeness. Ultimately, will.i.am says human performance will always survive. 

They also talk about the song “Where Is The Love?”and w...

“Bridgerton” has been a global television phenomenon for more than six years, thanks in part to British actor Adjoa Andoh. She has described her role playing Lady Danbury in the Shondaland creation as “life changing.” The character is best known for stealing scenes with her sharp wit and no-nonsense wisdom.

In this conversation with Mishal Husain, Andoh takes us behind the scenes of the hit show and shares how she has shaped Lady Danbury over the years, from her backstory to jewelry and even her hats.

Contact The Mishal Husain Show mishalshow@bloomberg.net

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Uncertainty about the US-Israel war with Iran and its endgame continues to cast a long shadow over global trade, while Ukraine’s increasingly sophisticated counterattacks are imposing mounting costs on Russia.

What are the combined implications of these two wars? In this conversation with Mishal Husain, Oxford University historian Peter Frankopan argues we are entering an era of consolidation and new alliances, especially between middle powers, and that predictions of US decline are wrong.

Read Mishal’s notes on this conversation www.bloomberg.com/mishal

Contact The Mishal Husain Show mishalshow@bloomberg.net

Over the last few years, artificial intelligence tools have revolutionized the way many people work and learn. 

But industry critic Karen Hao, author of Empire of AI, argues the choices AI companies make about scale, power and profit deserve far more scrutiny.

In this conversation with Mishal Husain, Hao explains her “empire” analogy and why she hopes the industry adopts higher standards as more initial public offerings draw near.

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Tucker Carlson was one of Donald Trump’s most prominent allies when he campaigned for re-election and through his first year back in the White House.

The US-Israel war with Iran, however, marked a decisive split between the two men. Carlson, a right-wing media personality, now argues that Trump has abandoned his “America First” agenda and allowed Israel to drive US foreign policy.

In this conversation, Carlson tells Mishal Husain about how he advised against starting the war with Iran. He also talks about his faith in Vice President JD Vance and his belief that femini...

Andy Burnham appears set to walk into 10 Downing Street and take power as the UK’s latest prime minister.

Behind the mid-term departure of Keir Starmer has been, at least in part, the rise of Reform UK leader Nigel Farage. Farage himself has dominated the headlines this week, amid an investigation and his decision to re-contest his parliamentary seat.

In this conversation with Mishal Husain, longtime UK political commentator Steve Richards examines Burnham’s record and looks at what he stands for. They also discuss how the new Labour leader might deal with his own part...

For America’s 250th anniversary, the Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Jill Lepore joins Mishal Husain to take her through her book on the US Constitution.

We The People explores how the Constitution came about and, crucially, how there was an expectation that it would likely change over time.

This is not, however, an episode entirely set in the past, because Jill Lepore is acutely alive to the pressures of the moment and of the contested sense of what America is or should be.

Contact The Mishal Husain Show mishalshow@bloomberg.net

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In November, California will choose a new governor to replace Gavin Newsom, pitting Democratic candidate Xavier Becerra, a former US Secretary of Health and Human Services, US Congressman and state attorney general, against an unlikely Republican rival: Steve Hilton.

Hilton was born in the UK and became a US citizen only five years ago. He had a career in center-right British politics, working as an adviser for former Conservative Prime Minister David Cameron.

In 2012, Hilton moved to California, where he worked as a tech entrepreneur and as a host on right-leaning Fox News.

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It’s 10 years since the United Kingdom voted to leave the European Union. It was an enormous decision, one that has contributed to the churn of British prime ministers since, a phenomenon that has continued this week with the resignation of Keir Starmer.

What effect has Brexit had on UK politics and the British economy over the last decade? This bonus episode of The Mishal Husain Show is an opportunity to reflect and look ahead.

Earlier this month, Alastair Campbell, Co-Host of The Rest Is Politics podcast, and Jacob Rees-Mogg, a presenter on GB News, jo...

Meredith Whittaker has spent years arguing that privacy is a prerequisite for a free society.

As the president of the nonprofit foundation behind the encrypted messaging app Signal, she now finds herself defending that principle in the face of mounting pressure from governments and tech companies alike.

In this conversation with Mishal Husain, Whittaker says she believes business models that rely on data collection, the rise of artificial intelligence assistants and even well-meaning efforts to protect children online risk undermining private communication. She also explains why Signal would rather leave a market than weaken the p...

For decades, Gary Lineker anchored live sporting events for the BBC. Now he’s a podcaster and media boss. In this conversation with Mishal Husain, he talks about his new Netflix show and hopes for an England World Cup win.

Lineker co-founded Goalhanger Productions, the UK’s fastest growing private company. Throughout the World Cup, his podcast “The Rest Is Football” will be streamed on Netflix.

He talks about the politics around the tournament and FIFA boss Gianni Infantino’s relationship with US President Donald Trump. They also discuss Lineker’s departure from the BBC, which he des...

Peter Piot first encountered the Ebola virus in a laboratory in Antwerp in 1976. At the time, the pathogen was largely unknown. Now, almost 50 years later, a new outbreak is spreading through parts of Central Africa, triggering travel restrictions and quarantines across the globe.

In this conversation with Mishal Husain, Piot, one of the world's leading authorities on the disease, discusses why Ebola, while deadly, is not easily spread. The Belgian scientist also explains the challenge of controlling outbreaks in conflict zones and lessons the world still hasn’t learned from Covid-19.

06:44 - "No future in in...

Ada Ferrer won the Pulitzer Prize in 2022 for her acclaimed book, Cuba: An American History, which examined the island’s relationship with the US.

Her latest work, Keeper of My Kin, tells her family story: a mother who fled the island nation carrying an infant daughter, while leaving a brother behind.

Now, as Donald Trump increases pressure on Cubans and their leaders, cutting off oil while  obtaining an indictment of Raul Castro for the 1996 shootdown of a small plane, Ferrer tells Mishal Husain about the human cost of Cuba’s long crisis.

03:26 - Writi...

David Dimbleby was for decades the face of election programs on the BBC. He anchored coverage of 10 UK general elections, as well as the 1975 and 2016 referendums on European membership, the funeral of Princess Diana and a host of other royal and state occasions.

He’s seen prime ministers come and go, from Margaret Thatcher to Tony Blair and many more since. With Prime Minister Keir Starmer facing a potential leadership challenge, Dimbleby is uniquely placed to understand the characters and conflicts shaping Britain’s volatile politics today.

In this conversation with Mishal Husain he gives his...

Beyond this week’s talks between Chinese President Xi Jinping and US President Donald Trump, there’s an epic tale that has been unfolding for decades. It’s a battle to be the world’s number one power and a much bigger story than the latest meeting of these two men. 

Kishore Mahbubani is a former Singaporean diplomat who served as president of the United Nations Security Council. For two decades, he has argued that the West fundamentally misunderstands the rise of China and its challenge to American supremacy.

Mahbubani. who eventually turned to academia, now speci...

For a brief moment in 2017, Anthony Scaramucci became a unit of time. His 11-day stint as White House communications director was so short-lived that it entered the political lexicon.

Almost a decade on, he has proven more durable than the joke. The Trump loyalist-turned-critic, Wall Street financier and podcast host remains a well-known figure in American political culture.

Scaramucci is still holding forth on the US president he once backed, as well as bets that have shaped his own career, including on crypto and Sam Bankman-Fried.

In this conversation with Mishal Husain, Scaramucci...

For more than 30 years, the Indian-born writer Amitav Ghosh has built a global following with novels that draw on deep historical research. 

But his latest offering, Ghost-Eye, is more esoteric. The plot moves back and forth between India and the US, using past lives to explore the ties between the personal and the political.

The plot centers on a psychiatrist treating a 3-year-old who shocks her family by insisting she remembers a past life in a fishing community.

In this conversation with Mishal Husain, Ghosh explains why he’s finding it harder to wri...

We’re now eight weeks on from the start of the US-Israel war with Iran, a conflict that’s been watched with increasing alarm by Wendy Sherman, architect of the 2015 nuclear deal between the US and Iran and a former deputy secretary of state.

Having spent years across the table from Iranian officials, she sees a far more volatile landscape today. In this conversation with Mishal Husain, she shares how her concerns go beyond the Middle East and explains how China and Russia are beneficiaries of the war.

Read this interview with Mishal’s notes on Blo...

A new and radical take on Shakespeare’s Hamlet is out in US cinemas. The force behind it is actor, writer, producer and musician Riz Ahmed. He says the 400-year-old story has never felt more current.

Ahmed, Oscar-nominated for Sound of Metal and star of the Oscar-winning live-action short The Long Goodbye, has a new series on Prime Video called Bait. It’s a black comedy about an actor on the cusp of a life-changing role as James Bond. 

In this conversation with Mishal Husain, Ahmed talks about creativity and politics, discusses his upcoming movie with...

After almost six weeks of war, how did Pakistan manage to get the US and Iran to talk?

Amid a still-fragile situation in the Middle East, that question sits at the heart of this conversation with Maleeha Lodhi. She has served as Pakistan’s ambassador to Washington, as well as to the UK and United Nations.

For her, the Islamabad talks mark a moment of wider significance, as the middle powers demonstrate their capacity to influence geopolitics.

Read this interview with Mishal’s notes on Bloomberg Weekend: www.bloomberg.com/latest/weekend-interview

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Lionel Shriver has often tackled complex or contentious issues in her fiction. From school shootings in We Need to Talk About Kevin to economic collapse in The Mandibles. 

Her new novel, A Better Life, is the story of a family home taken over by outsiders. In this conversation with Mishal Husain, Shriver discusses the sociological concerns behind the story, which she says is a metaphor for the increase in undocumented US immigration during the Biden administration. 

Shriver is a regular columnist for The Spectator, a conservative UK magazine. The link between the writing styles in th...

With attention fixed on the potential developments between the US and Iran, could the Israeli government be forced to end the war earlier than it might like?

The last few weeks have seen daily air strikes by Israel on Iran, and retaliatory attacks that have killed and injured Israelis. The wider picture is of two and a half years of constant conflict, particularly in Gaza.

In this conversation, Mishal Husain speaks to Shira Efron, who has been a Middle East analyst for the last 20 years and is now Distinguished Chair for Israel Policy at RAND...

US Representative Ro Khanna of California helped force Donald Trump to release the Epstein files. Now he wants to end the war with Iran. Earlier this month, the Democratic Congressman joined forces with Representative Thomas Massie of Kentucky, a Republican, on a War Powers resolution seeking to halt the military action, though it ultimately failed in the GOP-controlled House.

Speaking to Mishal Husain almost three weeks after the US and Israel began coordinated attacks on Iran, Khanna says he believes that  opposing war in the Middle East and taxing billionaires could unite progressives and disaffected Trump voters.

Despite the intensity of the US-Israel bombing campaign, Iran’s regime, now under a new supreme leader, hasn’t given President Donald Trump the “unconditional surrender” he’s seeking.

Mishal Husain speaks with Vali Nasr, a professor at Johns Hopkins University’s School of Advanced International Studies and a preeminent scholar on the Islamic Republic. His life has been shaped by the story of Iran over the last 50 years, starting when his family fled amid the 1979 revolution.

His life’s work has been to study the region and its relationship with the US. He’s also worked  as...

Within 24 hours of the US and Israeli strikes on Iran, a host of other countries were drawn into the latest conflict in the Middle East.

Iran retaliated by targeting sites in Israel and across the Gulf, including the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait and Bahrain, as well as Iraq, Oman and Jordan. Israel, meanwhile, has carried out air strikes on Lebanon and sent in ground troops as it seeks to dismantle Iranian ally Hezbollah.

For this conversation, Mishal Husain has turned to an expert on the broad sweep of Middle East politics. Bernard Haykel is...

When President Donald Trump returned to the White House last year, one of his first acts was to sign an executive order withdrawing the US from the World Health Organization. The administration's rupture with the WHO began in Trump’s first term, when relations deteriorated as the Covid-19 pandemic set in. 

In this conversation with Mishal Husain, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus reveals he remains in close contact with US Secretary of Health and Human Services  Robert F. Kennedy Jr. despite that break. He also talks about the lessons learned from Covid and why the WHO is still...

“KPop Demon Hunters” is the brainchild of Korean-Canadian animator Maggie Kang. It’s Netflix’s biggest-ever film and follows Rumi, Mira and Zoey, members of the girl band Huntrix, as they battle to save the world from dark forces. 

As you’ll hear, Kang grew up loving Korean pop music long before it was globally cool and forged a Hollywood career on films including “The Lego Ninjago Movie” and “Kung Fu Panda 3.” In this conversation with Mishal Husain, Kang explains how she had always hoped a story about Korea would one day come her way. But it never did, so she c...

The Feb. 19 arrest of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, the brother of King Charles, puts the British Royal Family into uncharted territory. The former Prince Andrew was detained on suspicion of misconduct in public office after further details emerged of his relationship with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

For this bonus episode, Mishal Husain speaks to Allegra Stratton, a contributing editor to Bloomberg who previously worked for Prime Minister Boris Johnson. 

She’s also joined by Harry Wilson, a reporter on Bloomberg UK’s finance team who’s been involved in reporting on Epstein’s emails and has previousl...

This winter has been exceptionally brutal in Ukraine. Already the coldest in more than a decade, it’s been made worse by Russian attacks on energy infrastructure that have left millions with no heating and intermittent power.

As Russia’s war approaches its fourth anniversary, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy is under intense pressure from Donald Trump to hold elections and accept a peace deal within months. But inside Ukraine and among its allies, there remains deep skepticism that Vladimir Putin is truly interested in a durable peace.

Celebrated writer Andrey Kurkov has lived the  reality of th...

In 2007 when he was UK Foreign Secretary, David Miliband delivered an address to the Labour Party conference. He described a world with “fewer countries at war” and “more democracies than ever before.”

Two decades later, with that vision further from view, Miliband is head of the New York-based International Rescue Committee, one of the world’s largest aid agencies. Its “Emergency Watchlist” cites 20 urgent crises, from Haiti to Sudan and the Middle East to Myanmar. The group finds itself increasingly constrained by widening conflict and shrinking government aid.

The IRC role, however, gave Miliband new purpose after...

The killing of two US citizens by federal agents in Minneapolis has made January a dark month for many across America. Both Alex Pretti and Renee Good were quickly labeled “domestic terrorists" by the Trump administration, which accused them of endangering the lives of law enforcement. Video evidence soon appeared to contradict government claims, but it’s still a label that filmmaker Laura Poitras says she finds chilling.

Poitras has been producing and directing documentaries for more than 20 years, winning both an Oscar and a Pulitzer Prize for her 2014 work “Citizenfour,” which focussed on the whistleblower Edward Snowden...