The Big Interview

The Nobel Foundation’s executive director tells us about its 125th anniversary, what it’s like to organise a peace prize in the era of Donald Trump and plans for a new home for Nobel laureates in Stockholm.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Long before The White Stripes shook the music world with its unique garage sound, Jack White was honing his artistic skills in Detroit. ‘Jack White: These Thoughts May Disappear’ at London’s Newport Street Gallery marks his first major exhibition, connecting craftsmanship and the visual language of the American Midwest. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Why musician Billy Bragg has outsourced his memoir. More than 600 friends, associates, collaborators and fans collaborate in ‘Billy Bragg: A People’s History’, a book about the life and works of a songwriter whose work has become a soundtrack to people’s lives.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Pioneer of behavioural economics Richard Thaler discusses the arc of his career, from ‘heretic’ to Nobel Prize winner, and why it was so difficult to convince economists that behaviour and human nature contradict their theories. Also: his rules for a better way to play Scrabble.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Russian politician, historian and journalist Vladimir Kara-Murza speaks to Andrew Mueller about surviving solitary confinement in a Siberian prison, Putin’s future and why he hasn’t lost faith in Russian democracy.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

New Zealand’s former prime minister Jacinda Ardern speaks to Andrew Mueller about her new memoir and the role that empathy plays in leadership, especially in times of crisis. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Andrew Ross Sorkin – CNBC Squawk Box host, Dealbook founder, co-creator of TV series ‘Billions’ and author of ‘Too Big To Fail’ – has released a new book, ‘1929’, exploring the characters behind the Great Depression. He speaks with Chris Cermak about its lessons and when the next financial bubble will burst.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The long-time anchor of BBC World News America on becoming a US citizen the day after Donald Trump’s election and how her family’s history of slave ownership led her to apologise and offer reparations.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The president of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, founded after the Cold War, discusses Ukraine’s rebuilding and the institution’s newfound purpose in an age of retrenching from foreign aid.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Jen Easterly led the agency keeping the US safe from cyber attacks for four years. She’s worried about where things have gone over the past few months. Emma Nelson discusses her life of service.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.