The Interview

“The state of Lebanon needs to have an exclusivity of arms. And definitely, Hezbollah needs to be disarmed… Disarming a group or a community is not possible by force, it's possible by conviction. You put pressure, but you cannot eliminate a whole society, a whole community. We need to have an exclusivity of arms in the hand of the state, an exclusivity of decision through a political process, pressuring Hezbollah to disarm, but getting also in parallel a full withdrawal of the Israelis from occupied Lebanese territories and a full cessation of hostilities.”
Jeremy Bowen speaks to Gebran Bassil, the Lebanese politician who served as the country’s Foreign Minister between 2014 and 2020.
Mr. Bassil, who is from the country’s Maronite Christian ethnic group, leads the right-wing Free Patriotic Movement political party. The party was founded over 30 years ago by the former President of Lebanon, Michel Aoun, who is also Bassil’s father-in-law.
In October 2024, a year after the Hamas-led attacks of 7 October started the current Middle East conflict, the Free Patriotic Movement party announced that it was cutting ties with Hezbollah. Bassil slammed the Iranian-backed militant group for threatening the safety and stability of Lebanon when it launched its own attacks on Israel in support of Hamas.
As the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah continues in southern Lebanon, Bassil and his party are part of growing calls for the country to take a new direction.

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 World Health Organisation’s Hanan Balkhy; Ali Bahreini, Iranian ambassador to the UN; and Syrian Minister, Hind Kabawat. 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: Jeremy Bowen
Producers: Samantha Granville and Ben Cooper
Editor: Justine Lang
Get in touch with us on email TheInterview@bbc.co.uk and use the hashtag #TheInterviewBBC on social media.
(Image: Gebran Bassil. Credit: Getty)

“There is more spending in defence and less spending in global health or in public health or health security, which makes us vulnerable...Because the invisible enemy could be more impactful. Imagine, have you ever seen a war in recent memory that killed 20 million people? Why can't we come to our senses?”
Justin Webb speaks to Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of the World Health Organisation, about the invisible threat of viruses and the rapid spread of a new strain of Ebola.
Tedros recently visited the Democratic Republic of Congo where this latest outbreak started. It is particularly challenging because it involves a rare species of Ebola for which there is no vaccine, and the epicentre is in an area affected by conflict. There are also cases in neighbouring Uganda.
The WHO General-Director claims governments are focusing too much on defence spending, and he makes an impassioned plea for countries to allocate more money to global health, and to prevent future pandemics.
Thank you to the Today 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 with President of the International Rescue Committee David Miliband, Former Sudanese leader Aisha Musa and writer Maggie O’Farrell. 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: Justin Webb
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: Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. Credit: Reuters)

Mark Savage speaks to musician Paul McCartney. Born in Liverpool, England, during the Second World War, he found fame as a member of the legendary British band The Beatles in the 1960s, widely regarded as one of the most influential acts in music history.
McCartney shared primary singing and songwriting duties with bandmate John Lennon, and along with George Harrison and Ringo Starr, the four-piece became a global pop music sensation with hits such as Twist and Shout, Yesterday and Hey Jude.
They remain one of the best-selling musical acts of all time alongside the likes of Elvis Presley and Michael Jackson.
McCartney was knighted for his services to music in 1997, but despite his huge achievements, the 83-year-old seems to be showing no interest in retirement — he’s releasing his 19th solo album.
The Boys of Dungeon Lane is inspired by his experiences growing up in post-war Liverpool, during which a young McCartney, carrying a guitar and wearing a bowler hat to catch attention, would hitchhike with John Lennon to places as far away as Paris.

The Interview brings you conversations with people shaping our world, from all over the world. The best interviews from the BBC, including episodes with Chaka Khan, Pete Townshend and, Paul McCartney’s bandmate, Ringo Starr. 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: Mark Savage
Producers: Steven Wright and Ben Cooper
Editor: Damon Rose
Get in touch with us on email TheInterview@bbc.co.uk and use the hashtag #TheInterviewBBC on social media.
(Image: Paul McCartney. Credit: Getty Images)

“I do want to make money, but I want to make money in the right way, ethically. But more importantly, I want use this money to be able to give back.”
Charles Gitonga speaks to entrepreneur and businessman Mohammed Dewji about becoming one of Africa’s youngest billionaires and how he wants to use his wealth.
Mohammed Dewji is a Tanzanian businessman, entrepreneur and philanthropist who has primarily accumulated his wealth from his family business, an East African conglomerate founded by his grandparents and expanded by his father in the 1970s. It deals with textile manufacturing, flour milling, beverages and edible oils.
About twenty-five years ago, Africa had no dollar billionaires. Today, there are still only 23, not a huge number for a continent rich in mineral wealth and an abundance of relatively cheap labour. Their combined wealth has grown to more than 100 billion US dollars.
Dewji signed the Giving Pledge in 2016 promising to donate at least half his fortune to philanthropic causes. He explains why he believes billionaires have a responsibility to give back.
Thank you to the Focus on Africa 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 Sierra Leone’s first lady Fatima Bio, former Sudanese leader Aisha Musa, and SungAh Lee from the International Organisation for Migration. 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: Charles Gitonga
Producer: Cordelia Hemming
Editor: Justine Lang
Get in touch with us on email TheInterview@bbc.co.uk and use the hashtag #TheInterviewBBC on social media.
(Image: Mohammed Dewji. Credit: Getty)

‘We are transforming feelings of revenge into reconciliation. We are transforming despair into hope, trauma into healing. So the future is peace is also like a manual, like a guide, not just for a shared journey across the holy land, but a guide for human conscience.’
Rajan Datar speaks to Palestinian and Israeli authors and peace activists Aziz Abu Sarah and Maoz Inon.
Maoz Inon‘s parents were killed during the Hamas attacks of October 7th. Aziz Abu Sarah’s brother died after being detained for nearly a year in an Israeli military prison. Together, they have forged an unlikely friendship across the Israeli Palestine divide, become leading voices for reconciliation, arguing that peace can only be built through empathy, dialogue and a recognition of each other’s humanity.
Their new book, The Future Is Peace, chronicles their eight day drive across Israel and Palestine.
They talk about loss, forgiveness, and why they remain hopeful despite the devastation of war.

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: Rajan Datar
Producer: Farhana Haider
Editor: Justine Lang
Get in touch with us on email TheInterview@bbc.co.uk and use the hashtag #TheInterviewBBC on social media.
(Image: Aziz Abu Sarah and Maoz Inon. Credit: Getty)