Insight
HIV / AIDS Season: Insight with Elizabeth Pisani: The Wisdom of Whores
Elizabeth Pisani has spent ten years working as a scientist in the bloated AIDS industry. In The Wisdom of Whores, she unfolds a universe of brothels and bureaucracies, of bickering junkies and squabbling charities, of men who sell sex and men who would rather prohibit it. Illustrating solid science with ribald tales from the frontlines of sex and drugs, The Wisdom of Whores explains how we could shut down HIV everywhere except sub-Saharan Africa. We could do it with a few, simple steps. We could do it with less money than we already have. But we won’t.
Insight with Jon Ronson: The Men Who Stare at Goats and Other Stories
Why are Iraqi prisoners of war being forced to listen to Barney the Purple Dinosaur’s theme tune repeatedly, at top volume? Why have 100 de-bleated goats been secretly placed inside the Special Forces command centre at Fort Bragg, North Carolina? Has the US army really enlisted the help of Uri Geller? In The Men Who Stare at Goats, soon to be made into a feature film with an all-star cast, author Jon Ronson searches for answers to these and many other questions, revealing some of the extraordinary beliefs at the core of the War on Terror.
Insight: Lula of Brazil – with Richard Bourne
Richard Bourne’s Lula of Brazil is an objective study of one man set against the contemporary history of a major emerging power. From climate change to inequality, Lula and his country are grappling with the greatest challenges facing the modern world.
Insight with David Loyn: Afghanistan – 200 Years of Intervention
Afghanistan has been a strategic prize for foreign empires for more than 200 years. The British, Russians and Americans have all fought across its beautiful and inhospitable terrain, in conflicts variously ruthless, misguided and bloody. A century ago, the common sneer about how British soldiers treated Afghan tribesmen was that they would ‘butcher’ them, then ‘bolt’. This violent history is the subject of David Loyn’s book.
Insight with Abdul Bari Atwan – From the Refugee Camp to the Front Page
In this revealing memoir, A Country of Words, newspaper editor Abdul Bari Atwan recounts with humour and honesty his journey from Palestinian refugee camps to the front page. He depicts both the horror of camp massacres and the unexpected consequences of Britain’s involvement in the region.
Insight with Philippe Sands: Torture Team
Philippe Sands investigates in his new book Torture Team – how the Rumsfeld Memo – a Memo signed by Donald Rumsfeld in 2002 that listed eighteen techniques of interrogation which defied international definitions of torture – set the stage for a divergence from the Geneva Convention and the Torture Convention.
Insight with Lord Malloch-Brown: An Unlikely Diplomat
Unlikely diplomat Lord Mark Malloch-Brown has never been afraid to speak his mind on Britain’s role on foreign policy and continues to divide opinion in his current role as Minister for Africa, Asia and the Middle East.
Insight with Andrew Mueller: I Wouldn’t Start from Here
I Wouldn’t Start from Here is the result of Mueller’s curiosity to go to some of the most troubled places on earth. An alternative guidebook to the modern world, with dispatches from Africa, Europe, America and the Middle East his book offers snapshots of civil wars, religious conflicts, terrorism and tyrannical dictatorships. He hangs out with the IRA, is arrested for espionage in Cameroon, goes on night patrol in Basra and has hundreds of enlightening (and less enlightening) encounters with the locals.
Insight with Misha Glenny: McMafia
McMafia is a fearless, encompassing, wholly authoritative investigation of the now proven ability of organized crime worldwide to find and service markets driven by a seemingly insatiable demand for illegal wares. Whether discussing the Russian mafia, Colombian drug cartels, or Chinese labor smugglers, Misha Glenny makes clear how organized crime feeds off the poverty of the developing world, how it exploits new technology in the forms of cybercrime and identity theft, and how both global crime and terror are fueled by an identical source: the triumphant material affluence of the West.
Insight with Ahmed Rashid: The War against Islamic Extremism
Ahmed Rashid talks about his latest book – Descent Into Chaos – How the War Against Islamic Extremism is being lost in Pakistan, Afghanistan and Central Asia.
Insight with Alan Rusbridger, Editor of The Guardian: Getting it Right on the Left
Stephen Sackur talks to Alan Rusbridger about his role as one of Fleet Street’s longest-serving editors. What have been the high and low points during his time on the paper? How is The Guardian coping with the challenges facing print? With major changes taking place within The Guardian and the biggest editorial overhaul in the paper’s history, will The Guardian’s multi-media strategy be enough to survive the current climate?
FULLY BOOKED Insight with Joseph E. Stiglitz: The Real Cost of the Iraq War
Winner of the 2001 Nobel Prize in Economics, Joseph E. Stiglitz of Columbia University is the author of The Three Trillion Dollar War: The True Cost of the Iraq Conflict. The book assesses the true cost of the Iraq War as $3 trillion – and counting – rather than the $50 billion projected by the White House and measures what the US taxpayer’s money would have produced if instead it had been invested in the further growth of the US economy.
Insight with Heidi Holland: Dinner with Mugabe
At a time when the world waits anxiously to see what will happen next in Zimbabwe, Heidi Holland talks about her book which gets to grips with the man at the helm of a corrupt regime; the man behind the monster.
Insight with Alex de Waal: the Crisis in Darfur
Alex de Waal, author of Darfur: a Short History of a Long War, talks about the history of Darfur, its conflicts, and what the future holds in store.
Insight with Matt Frei: US Elections special – FULLY BOOKED
As the race for the US elections continues to attract world attention, Matt Frei, BBC Washington correspondent, explains the intricacies of the election process and gives us his views on the remaining candidates.
Insight with Professor Shai Feldman: Israel at Sixty – What Chance for Peace?
May 14th marks the 60th anniversary of the State of Israel. We talk to Professor Shai Feldman, one of the world’s leading experts on the Middle East, who talks about the political and ideological challenges that face Israel in its 60th year.
Insight with Sir Menzies Campbell – War, Politics and the Lib Dems
Former foreign affairs spokesman and leader of the Liberal Democrats, Sir Menzies Campbell, talks about the party, the war in Iraq and British politics.
Insight with Edward Lucas – Russia and the West – the New Cold War? – FULLY BOOKED
Edward Lucas, the Central and Eastern Europe correspondent for The Economist, talks about Russia’s increasing military muscle, its use of energy politics to pursue its international agenda and the affect of a resurgent Kremlin on the rest of the world.
Insight with Robert Fisk – Covering wars, insurgencies and massacres – FULLY BOOKED
Robert Fisk, the iconic Middle East correspondent for the Independent, talks about his reporting career spanning three decades.
Insight with Patrick Cockburn – the real Muqtada Al-Sadr – FULLY BOOKED
Award winning war correspondent Patrick Cockburn examines the role of Muqtada al-Sadr – the man who leads a movement in Iraq that opposed both Saddam Hussein and the US occupation.
Insight with Tyler Brule – Global Affairs in Style – FULLY BOOKED
Style and media guru and creator of the ground-breaking magazines Wallpaper* and Monocle, Tyler Brule talks to John Owen about the media, consumerism, style and world politics.
Insight with Sir Hilary Synnott – Britain’s Man in Southern Iraq, Pakistan and India
British diplomat and former regional coordinator for the Coalition Provisional Authority in southern Iraq, Sir Hilary Synnott gives an insider’s account of the high politics of occupation. Sir Hilary is also the author of The Causes and Consequences of South Asia’s Nuclear Tests.
Insight with Matthew Green – In Search for Africa’s Most Wanted War Criminal – FULLY BOOKED
West Africa Correspondent for the Financial Times and former East Africa reporter for Reuters, Matthew Green talks about General Joseph Kony and unveils hidden and forgotten layers of the bloody conflict that plagues Northern Uganda.
This event is now FULLY BOOKED.
Insight with Jonathan Steele – Why they lost Iraq
Senior foreign correspondent and in-house columnist on international affairs for the Guardian, Jonathan Steele argues that the Coalition was not defeated in Iraq because of inadequate planning but for much more deep-rooted reasons.
Insight with Jeremy Paxman – the Art of Asking the Right Question – FULLY BOOKED
Award winning journalist and TV presenter gives his opinions on the media, current affairs, politics and politicians.
FULLY BOOKED.
Insight with Christina Lamb – the Flak Jacket in my Wardrobe – covering stories from Pakistan to Zimbabwe – FULLY BOOKED
Award-winning journalist Christina Lamb talks about how a friendship with Benazir Bhutto led to 20 years spent covering Afghanistan, Pakistan and Zimbabwe reporting on wars, politics, famines and dictators. FULLY BOOKED.
Insight with David Horovitz – editor-in-chief of The Jerusalem Post
David Horovitz, editor-in-chief of The Jerusalem Post, talks about the Middle East and the Israeli media.
Insight with James Appathurai – NATO in Afghanistan and beyond
NATO’s principal spokesman and member of the alliance’s senior policy board talks about the organisation’s role in international affairs – especially Afghanistan, Kosovo and relations with Russia.
Insight with Kasra Naji – Who is Mahmoud Ahmadinejad? – FULLY BOOKED
Internationally acclaimed journalist Kasra Naji, a native Persian speaker, has spent years in Iran interviewing friends, family and colleagues of President Ahmadinejad and now tells the real story of his rise to power.
FULLY BOOKED.
Insight with Sir Jeremy Greenstock – Britain’s position in the world
London’s former ambassador to the UN and the first British envoy to Iraq talks about British foreign policy in the new world order.