The Mishal Husain Show

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

02:55 - Pakistan as a peacebroker
05:00 - Field Marshal Asim Munir and President Trump
07:49 - Pakistan and Iran
10:00 - Economic pain in Pakistan
13:40 - Israel and Lebanon
14:45 - “I'd like to be optimistic”
19:30 - US miscalculations
22:00 - “US dominance is fading”
23:00 Middle powers can “shape geopolitics”
23:53 - Is China a winner?
29:00 - Trump’s Board of Peace
29:50 - “Common ground can be found”
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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 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 Life
03:39 - Extended adolescence
06:32 - A metaphor for America
10:21 - Shriver’s political journey
12:42 - Declining populations
17:02 - ICE tactics
20:34 - From North Carolina to Northern Ireland
22:57 - Rebelling against church
24:30 - Transgender debate
30:07 - Why Shriver left the UK
32:26 - Muslim immigration
35:32 - Novels versus columns
40:12 - Writing for shorter attention spans
41:30 - 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.

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. They discuss Israeli public opinion on Iran, the extent of the military operation in Lebanon and what’s at stake in the Israeli election due later this year.
02:25 - Life in Tel Aviv
04:42 - Israeli public opinion on Iran
06:24 - “A feeling of deja vu”
07:42 - Netanyahu's calculation
09:17 - Will elections go ahead?
10:59 - Did the Mossad get it wrong?
12:44 - American public opinion
14:24 - US and Israeli relations
18:24 - “There's one boss and this boss is President Trump”
20:11 - The future of Lebanon
23:52 - “Everyone forgot where Gaza is”
31:21 - Smotrich’s plan
33:44 - “We are seeing a shift to the right”
37:37 - Looking ahead to 2028
Read this interview with Mishal’s notes on Bloomberg Weekend: www.bloomberg.com/latest/weekend-interview
Contact The Mishal Husain Show [email protected]
Subscribe today on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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.

02:57 - Hearing Epstein’s name for the first time
05:18 - Forcing the release of the Epstein files
10:07 - Holding this Epstein class accountable
11:05 - A new found confidence
11:59 - Hoping for a split in MAGA?
12:43 - “It’s a coalition that’s gonna win”
14:24 - Stopping the war in Iran
15:53 - Trump’s “looking for an off ramp to end the war”
17:21 - Increasing pressure on Trump over Iran
19:50 - Could Cuba be next?
21:21 - Khanna’s grandfather was an Indian MP
23:15 - Running for president in 2028?
24:58 - Taxing billionaires
30:08 - A progressive coalition
34:06 - “You can't help but be hopeful about the American story”

Read this interview with Mishal’s notes on Bloomberg Weekend: www.bloomberg.com/latest/weekend-interview
Contact The Mishal Husain Show [email protected]
Subscribe today on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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 an adviser to the US State Department during the Obama administration.

Nasr explains why Tehran believes time is on its side in the war, and that a prolonged conflict may only strengthen Iranian nationalism.

02:34 - Why Iran is “prepared to suffer more”
06:28 - What drives the new ayatollah
10:03 - How Iranians view the US and Israel
12:07 - War will last “longer” than Trump hopes
14:00 - School strike, destruction of heritage sites
15:35 - Lessons from the Iran-Iraq war
19:03 - “This is the final battle”
20:17 - Impact of US sanctions
22:40 - Will Iran pursue a nuclear bomb?
26:02 - Iran’s experience of foreign intervention
28:27 - Can Reza Pahlavi, son of the Shah, succeed?
30:48 - Nasr’s experience fleeing Iran in 1979
35:15 - Mood among Iranian-Americans
39:32 - Iran’s “rightful place in the world”
Contact The Mishal Husain Show [email protected]
Read this interview with Mishal’s notes on Bloomberg Weekend: www.bloomberg.com/latest/weekend-interview

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