In this episode, I sit down with David Moran, a seasoned diplomat with extensive experience in Central Asia, the South Caucasus, and Europe. Moran shares his deep insights into the geopolitical complexities of Eurasia, drawing from his time as UK ambassador to countries such as Switzerland and Kazakhstan. Together, we explore a wide range of topics that highlight the historical, cultural, and political dynamics shaping the region today.

We discuss:

• Russia’s influence in Eurasia: How former Soviet states navigate their independence while dealing with Russian aggression.
• The impact of climate change: The environmental challenges facing Central Asia, from glacier melt to water scarcity.
• Public aspirations: How youth in the region are redefining national identities and striving for prosperity.
• China's growing presence: The opportunities and risks posed by the Belt and Road Initiative.
• Religion in governance: The role of Christianity in the South Caucasus and the challenges of promoting moderate Islam in Central Asia.
• Brexit reflections: Moran’s observations on the UK’s departure from the EU and lessons from Switzerland's model of engagement.

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Join us for a compelling discussion on the interplay of history, geopolitics, and culture that defines one of the world’s most dynamic regions.

In this episode, we sit down with Dr. Daniel Warner to analyze Donald Trump's historic victory over Kamala Harris in the 2024 U.S. Presidential Election, held on November 5th. As Trump returns to the White House, becoming both the forty-fifth and forty-seventh president, Dr. Warner provides an in-depth assessment of what Trump did right and where Harris fell short.

We discuss:

• What key strategies led to Trump’s convincing win, and where Harris's campaign faltered.

• The voting trends among hyphenated Americans and their sectarian, partisan tendencies.
• How economic concerns, emotional connection, and nostalgia shaped voter sentiment.
• The implications of Trump’s victory for U.S. allies and America’s international standing.
• The potential impact on “international” Geneva and multilateral diplomacy under Trump’s leadership.

Join us for this thought-provoking conversation on the deeper forces that shaped the election and its potential consequences for the United States and the world.

I discuss the imminent, US Presidential Election with Ed Flaherty, an American/Swiss attorney of long experience, based in Geneva, and who is also Legal Counsel to Republicans Overseas Switzerland.

We cover the following topics:

• His prediction of the result
• His views on the campaigns of Donald Trump and Kamala Harris, and why the votes of the Electoral College are so vitally important
• The continuing appeal of Donald Trump, seen by so many as a flawed character
• What would or could happen should the result be contested in a democracy with more guns than citizens.

In this McKay Interview I ask Charles Adams

• To explain if he thought the bundling of President Joe Biden out of running for a second term was unseemly for a head of state
• What he thought of Kamala Harris, as very few of us seem to know anything about her
• Whether he thought the attempted assassination of Donald Trump was a piece of theatre or real.

Of course, we talked about many other things too!

Insights into the success of managing the most connected airport in the world.

In this episode we discuss:

-The reasons for his new airport's success

-His plans for the future

-How he manages the risks and "unknowns" of such a large and dynamic airport.

My discussion with Professor Dubuis centres around food and nutrition, and vaccine and food security.

In this episode we discuss:

-What functional food is and its place in the diet of a healthy population.

-Whether the poor of the world are badly served by the relatively rich north, which appears to pamper itself.

-What Switzerland needs to do to ensure security of the supply of vaccines in the event of the next pandemic.

Over a career in finance spanning almost 50 years, Clive Thompson watches, among other things, growing levels of government debt, especially in the USA, and worries about it.

In this episode we discuss

-Why growing government debt is a problem, especially for the USA.

-What happens when government debt becomes intolerable.

-As we both live in Switzerland, we spend a little time talking about government debt in this country. And at the end

-Where all this leading. His story is rather sombre!

As André Schneider's mandate comes to an end after 8 years as CEO, he talks openly to me about the airport, air travel and business. We also discuss his achievements and disappointments; and to what extent air travel has returned to pre-Covid levels. In this episode we discuss: -How the airport makes money

-The present day realities of decarbonisation

-The airport's exciting plans for future expansion.