The Mishal Husain Show

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 with male vulnerability and reflects on artificial intelligence and the shifting nature of the media. Contact The Mishal Husain Show [email protected] Subscribe today on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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 that have shaped him, the unusual process behind his writing and what might eventually make him leave America. Contact The Mishal Husain Show [email protected] Subscribe today on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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 what it means to him, and how the song has helped him teach students at Arizona State University. Contact The Mishal Husain Show [email protected] Subscribe today on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Illustration: Uli Knörzer for Bloomberg; Source Photo: Sterling Hampton IVSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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/mishalContact The Mishal Husain Show [email protected] Subscribe today on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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 feminism has exploited women in the workplace. Contact The Mishal Husain Show [email protected] Subscribe today on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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 [email protected] Subscribe today on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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, joined Mishal Husain in front of an audience of Bloomberg subscribers to mark the anniversary.Contact The Mishal Husain Show [email protected] today on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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 describes as a “long marriage.”  Contact The Mishal Husain Show [email protected] Subscribe today on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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 - Writing “Keeper of my Kin”04:09 - A love-hate relationship with Cuba 05:40 - The Cuba of Castro 07:11 - Leaving Cuba in 196308:13 - Leaving her brother Poly behind12:08 - Letters from Poly15:48 - Cuba’s history of migration 17:58 - Helping family in Cuba 22:50 - People in Cuba are “suffering”24:01 - A threat to US national security?26:51 - A shared experience with Rubio32:19 - Cuban-Americans and Trump34:04 Obama’s visit to Cuba 37:52 - Calling myself an American 39:52 - The books is a “testament of love” Contact The Mishal Husain Show [email protected] Subscribe today on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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 specializes in governance and public policy. In this conversation with Mishal Husain, he traces the story behind the Xi-Trump talks, the handshakes and the social media posts–and what may lie ahead.Mahbubani also reveals how his own successes were made possible by Singapore’s remarkable growth.Read this interview with Mishal’s notes on Bloomberg Weekend: www.bloomberg.com/Mishal 03:34 - “The most important contest of our time”5:50  - “It's not about personalities”6:26 - “China can no longer be stopped”07:28 - US versus China: It’s a “zero-sum” game08:40 - Bill Clinton’s first meeting with Jiang Zemin12:35 - Cold War Comparisons18:30 - Growing up in Singapore in the 1950s19:53 - "My mother never cracked”26:25 - “China has become a tiger”30:24 - US war is a “gift” to ChinaContact The Mishal Husain Show [email protected] Subscribe today on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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 write nowadays, how the memories of his childhood came flooding back during the Covid pandemic, why he sees capitalism as an obstacle to protecting the environment and thinks India has lost its way diplomatically.  Read this interview with Mishal’s notes on Bloomberg Weekend: www.bloomberg.com/latest/weekend-interview03:37 - “She had a near-death experience”05:37 - Reincarnated past lives08:05 - “The world has lost all its wonder”08:28 - Growing up in Kolkata10:56 - Kolkata and New York are the “opposite ends of the telescope”11:44 - “I really learned to think against the grain”12:13 - Creating a “bubble of tranquility” to write12:32 - Writing from “within the crisis”14:45 - India has lost its way diplomatically16:25 - Watching Zohran Mamdani grow up 19:12 - India and China 23:11 - Writing a story to be read in 100 years27:31 - Writing books by hand  Contact The Mishal Husain Show [email protected] Subscribe today on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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 Tom Cruise and how becoming a father affected his acting. Read this interview with Mishal’s notes on Bloomberg Weekend: www.bloomberg.com/latest/weekend-interview02:32 - Hamlet “never goes out of fashion"03:39 - “The old order is falling apart”05:00 - “Is it the world that’s gone crazy or is it me?”07:50 - The dream of playing Hamlet09:51 - To be, or not to be is “misunderstood”13:40 - “It's authentic. I'm not acting”17:00 - Bait “it’s a very personal show”17:24 - Why Barbara Broccoli said yes to using Bond21:43 - Looking for acceptance22:34 - “Culture works in cycles”25:04 - Acting was an extension of real life28:20 - “I don’t like being pinned down”28:42 - SNL UK30:01 - Working with Tom Cruise32:21 - “My weekends are really simple” Contact The Mishal Husain Show [email protected] Subscribe today on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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 that publication and her novel also feature in this episode. In the written version of this conversation, you’ll find more information on how Mishal Husain researched and prepared for this interview, including her own notes, data, historical context and further quotes from Lionel Shriver. www.bloomberg.com/latest/weekend-interview 02:27 - Inspiration for A Better Life03:39 - Extended adolescence06:32 - A metaphor for America10:21 - Shriver’s political journey12:42 - Declining populations17:02 - ICE tactics20:34 - From North Carolina to Northern Ireland22:57 - Rebelling against church24:30 - Transgender debate30:07 - Why Shriver left the UK 32:26 - Muslim immigration35:32 - Novels versus columns40:12 - Writing for shorter attention spans41:30 - Shriver’s recovery from illness Contact The Mishal Husain Show [email protected] Subscribe today on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.