
The Big Interview
In-depth conversations with global leaders in art, design, literature, politics, business, and food. Learn from the best about their craft and successes.
Latest Episodes

Vitali Shkliarov
The Belarusian-American democratic activist and political strategist sits down with Christopher Cermak to discuss what it was like to work on Barack Obama and Bernie Sanders’ presidential campaigns, his imprisonment in Belarus and his…

Poppy Northcutt
The women’s rights attorney and former Nasa engineer speaks to Emma Nelson about working on the male-dominated space programme in the 1960s, what it was like to help retrieve the Apollo 13 astronauts after…

Vikas Swarup
Vikas Swarup, the Indian author and former diplomat, tells Georgina Godwin about his postings across the world, pivoting to writing after a decades-long diplomatic career and his international best-selling book ‘Q&A’, which was adapted…

Shukria Barakzai
Georgina Godwin meets the Afghan politician, journalist and women’s rights activist to discuss the US’s withdrawal from Afghanistan, the Taliban government and her criticisms of Western involvement in her country.

Katharine Hayhoe
Katharine Hayhoe, the Canadian atmospheric scientist, sits down with Andrew Mueller to discuss the climate crisis and her new book ‘Saving Us: A Climate Scientist’s Case for Hope and Healing in a Divided World’.

Jack Barsky
How did a young scientist in East Germany become a spy for the KGB, live a secret double life as an undercover agent in the US and, years later, get American citizenship? The former…

Kristin Hersh
The US singer-songwriter sits down with Andrew Mueller to discuss her musical career fronting alternative rock bands Throwing Muses and 50FootWave, her solo albums, and her new book ‘Seeing Sideways: A Memoir of Music…

Kateryna Yushchenko
The former first lady of Ukraine sits down with Emma Nelson to discuss her upbringing in Chicago, her husband’s poisoning during his election campaign and what it was like to meet Russian president Vladimir…

Astronaut series: Naoko Yamazaki
The second Japanese woman in space talks to Georgina Godwin about the International Space Station’s robotic arm, adjusting to life back on Earth and what the war in Ukraine could mean for space exploration.

Astronaut series: Soyeon Yi
Soyeon Yi, South Korea’s first and only astronaut, speaks to Georgina Godwin about her trip to space, the view from the International Space Station and a complicated return to Earth in which she landed…