The Mishal Husain Show

Why Iran Isn’t Breaking: Vali Nasr on Pain, Patience and the Uprising That Isn’t Coming

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 ayatollah10:03 - How Iranians view the US and Israel12:07 - War will last “longer” than Trump hopes14:00 - School strike, destruction of heritage sites15:35 - Lessons from the Iran-Iraq war19:03 - “This is the final battle”20:17 - Impact of US sanctions22:40 - Will Iran pursue a nuclear bomb?26:02 - Iran’s experience of foreign intervention28:27 - Can Reza Pahlavi, son of the Shah, succeed? 30:48 - Nasr’s experience fleeing Iran in 197935:15 - Mood among Iranian-Americans39:32 - Iran’s “rightful place in the world” Contact The Mishal Husain Show mishalshow@bloomberg.net Read this interview with Mishal’s notes on Bloomberg Weekend: www.bloomberg.com/latest/weekend-interviewSubscribe today on Apple Podcasts and SpotifySee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Middle East Expert Bernard Haykel on the Three Futures for Iran After the Strikes

Within 24 hours of the US and Israeli strikes on Iran, a host of other countries were drawn into the latest conflict in the Middle East. Iran retaliated by targeting sites in Israel and across the Gulf, including the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait and Bahrain, as well as Iraq, Oman and Jordan. Israel, meanwhile, has carried out air strikes on Lebanon and sent in ground troops as it seeks to dismantle Iranian ally Hezbollah.For this conversation, Mishal Husain has turned to an expert on the broad sweep of Middle East politics. Bernard Haykel is a professor of Near Eastern Studies at Princeton University. Born in Lebanon, he is known for weaving together knowledge of history, religion and social change across the region. His forthcoming book is about contemporary Saudi Arabia and its leader, Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman, with whom he is in regular contact. 02:45 - “I was not surprised”03:40 - The Iranian retaliation09:00 - The three scenarios in this conflict11:00 - “This regime will survive”13:20 Protests after Khamenei's death 15:35 Did MBS encourage the strikes on Iran? 18:40 The Saudi Air Force will get “involved”21:30 Trump and MBS25:00 MBS “doesn’t want wars”27:00 Saudi competition with UAE29:18 MBS is “a bit like Elon Musk”30:30 MBS is an authoritarian 33:00 The US has a “role to play” in the Middle East Read this interview with Mishal’s notes on Bloomberg Weekend: www.bloomberg.com/latest/weekend-interviewContact The Mishal Husain Show mishalshow@bloomberg.net Subscribe today on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

WHO Chief Tedros on Covid, China and Texting RFK Jr

When President Donald Trump returned to the White House last year, one of his first acts was to sign an executive order withdrawing the US from the World Health Organization. The administration's rupture with the WHO began in Trump’s first term, when relations deteriorated as the Covid-19 pandemic set in. In this conversation with Mishal Husain, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus reveals he remains in close contact with US Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. despite that break. He also talks about the lessons learned from Covid and why the WHO is still waiting for answers from China as it seeks to understand the origins of the virus. Beyond the politics of global health, Ghebreyesus opens up about his own childhood trauma and why the death of his brother in 1970 makes the fight against preventable disease personal for him. 02:51 - Being a child of war 06:25 - Working in conflict zones08:07 - “War and disease are old friends”09:34 - “Don’t forget the invisible enemy”11:35 - How far away is the next pandemic? 12:48 - US withdrawal from the WHO14:50 - Covid and China16:50 - Personal attacks from the US18:16 - The US flag has been returned 18.51 Argentina is leaving the WHO21:22 - Was Covid a lab leak? 22:49 - Waiting for answers from China 26:46 - Vaccine skeptics27:26 - Texting RFK Jr. 28:56 - “My brother died”31:06 - “He could have survived”33:46 - “Defunding mRNA research is the wrong decision”34:20 - Will MAHA work? 37:27 - A message for President Trump39:26 - “Viruses get advantage when we are divided” Read this interview with Mishal’s notes on Bloomberg Weekend: www.bloomberg.com/latest/weekend-interview Contact The Mishal Husain Show mishalshow@bloomberg.net Subscribe today on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

‘KPop Demon Hunters’ Creator Maggie Kang on the Global Hit No One Saw Coming

“KPop Demon Hunters” is the brainchild of Korean-Canadian animator Maggie Kang. It’s Netflix’s biggest-ever film and follows Rumi, Mira and Zoey, members of the girl band Huntrix, as they battle to save the world from dark forces. As you’ll hear, Kang grew up loving Korean pop music long before it was globally cool and forged a Hollywood career on films including “The Lego Ninjago Movie” and “Kung Fu Panda 3.” In this conversation with Mishal Husain, Kang explains how she had always hoped a story about Korea would one day come her way. But it never did, so she came up with her own. Kang is in the middle of a life-changing moment. Her movie has already scored wins at the Golden Globes and the Grammys, and now all eyes are on the Oscars. The extraordinary thing is that no one expected “KPop Demon Hunters” to be such a smash hit. Husain asks Kang what it’s been like adjusting to all the attention, and of course whether there’s a sequel in the works. 03:06 - “A global phenomenon”04:17 - The screaming fans05:01 - The movie theater screenings 06:49 - Pitching “KPop Demon Hunters”09:27 - Living between two cultures12:04 - Growing up as an “outsider”16:34 - Kang’s first animation book 17:16 - “I liked to draw” 18:21 - Recording the voiceover, over and over20:11 - The story of “Golden” 21:39 - Rumi, Mira and Zoey in “Golden”23:00 - Waiting for “the tingles”25:25 - “We kinda worried it was a little cheesy”27:27 - Helping the world find Korean culture29:30 - Choosing the title for a “kooky” movie34:20 - A message from Kang to the fans34:48 - “There’s a sequel, surely?”35:14 - Live action “KPop Demon Hunters”? 37:01 - “I’m still very grounded”37:22 - Diving back into the sequel? 38:00 - “Wow! You are going to the Oscars!” Read this interview with Mishal’s notes on Bloomberg Weekend: www.bloomberg.com/latest/weekend-interview Contact The Mishal Husain Show mishalshow@bloomberg.net Visit https://www.bloomberg.com/mishal Contact The Mishal Husain Show mishalshow@bloomberg.net Subscribe today on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Bonus Episode: The Andrew Story

The Feb. 19 arrest of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, the brother of King Charles, puts the British Royal Family into uncharted territory. The former Prince Andrew was detained on suspicion of misconduct in public office after further details emerged of his relationship with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. For this bonus episode, Mishal Husain speaks to Allegra Stratton, a contributing editor to Bloomberg who previously worked for Prime Minister Boris Johnson. She’s also joined by Harry Wilson, a reporter on Bloomberg UK’s finance team who’s been involved in reporting on Epstein’s emails and has previously broken stories about Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor. They discuss Andrew’s business links and the significance of today’s events for the monarchy and the UK. Contact The Mishal Husain Show mishalshow@bloomberg.net Subscribe today on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.