The McKay Interview
Michael McKay conducts in depth interviews with decision makers and local leaders. The McKay Interview was founded on a simple idea: that listeners would tune in regularly to listen to intelligent yet relaxed, English-language conversation between Michael McKay and interesting people who do interesting things. A variety of prominent and thoughtful people have accepted the invitation and a wide range of topics have been covered.
Episodes
In this third appearance on The McKay Interview, retired Lieutenant General Ben Hodges returns with hard truths and strategic insight into the war in Ukraine and its global implications. Speaking from Frankfurt, the former Commander of U.S. Army Europe reflects on what’s changed — and what hasn’t — in the 15 months since his last visit.
We cover:
The state of the battlefield in Ukraine: territory, logistics, morale, and momentum
R...
In this episode of The McKay Interview, Michael McKay sits down with Jeremy Lack, a Geneva-based independent lawyer and one of Switzerland’s leading experts in dispute resolution. Trained as a barrister in England and admitted to the bars of New York, Geneva, and England and Wales, Jeremy has built a unique international career at the intersection of law, neuroscience, and cross-cultural conflict resolution.
Jeremy reveals how he pi...
In this episode of The McKay Interview, we discover the Genolier Innovation Hub, Switzerland’s groundbreaking medical and biotech innovation center. Located in the French-speaking canton of Vaud, the Hub is revolutionizing how medical advancements move from research labs to real-world patient care.
Joining Michael are Antoine Hubert, Founder and Chairman of the Board, and Anna Gräbner, CEO of the Genolier Innovation Hub, who share i...
In this episode of The McKay Interview, Michael McKay speaks with Pamela Coke-Hamilton, Executive Director of the International Trade Centre (ITC), for an in-depth discussion on the evolving landscape of global trade and the economic forces shaping our world today.
With a career dedicated to international commerce, sustainability, and economic development, Koch Hamilton provides expert insight into the growing challenges and opp...
In this episode, Jean Daniel Ruch, a recently retired Swiss ambassador, joined us on the 7th January 2025, for an insightful discussion on diplomacy, neutrality, and global geopolitics.
With a distinguished career spanning multiple high-stakes postings—including Serbia and Montenegro, Israel, and Turkey—Ruch brings a wealth of firsthand experience from some of the world’s most complex regions. From his time advising on the Yugoslavi...
Switzerland is often described as the "hole in the EU doughnut", a country deeply intertwined with the European economy but not a member of the European Union. Today, I sit down, on January 12, 2025, with Ambassador Petros Mavromichalis, the EU’s Ambassador to Switzerland and Liechtenstein, to discuss the complexities of this relationship.
We cover:
- Switzerland’s EU Negotiations: Why Switzerland prefers bilateral agreements over ...
Just two weeks after Donald Trump’s victory over Kamala Harris, on the 19th November 2024, I sit down with Ambassador Jean-Arthur Regibeau, Belgium’s recently retired ambassador to the U.S. and Russia, to discuss the complex relationship between America, Russia, and Europe.
We cover:
- The U.S. Election Outcome: Why Trump’s landslide victory was both expected and surprising.
- Why the Democrats Lost: Did they lose touch with ordinary ...
In this episode, I sit down with Alexandre Fasel, Switzerland’s State Secretary for Foreign Affairs, at the Federal Palace in Bern on 25th November 2024. With the world in flux, we discuss Switzerland’s evolving role in global diplomacy, security, and multilateralism.
We explore:
- The war in Ukraine and European security: How Switzerland is engaging diplomatically amid rising geopolitical tensions.
- Swiss neutrality and sanctions on...
In this episode, I sit down once again with Dame Stephanie Shirley, the remarkable IT pioneer, entrepreneur, and philanthropist, whose extraordinary life journey—from a Kindertransport refugee to one of Britain’s most influential businesswomen—has inspired many.
We discuss:
- From war refugee to tech trailblazer: How Dame Steve arrived in the UK as a child and went on to build a pioneering software company.
- Breaking barriers for wom...
In this episode, recorded on the 6th June 2024, I sit down with Jean Ayoub, Secretary General and CEO of International Social Services (ISS), to uncover the remarkable century-long history of this little-known yet crucial organization. While the Red Cross and Geneva Conventions are globally recognized, ISS has been quietly working across borders for 100 years, handling individual social cases that often fall through the cracks of l...
In this episode, recorded on the 16th June 2024, I sit down with James Fleming, critically acclaimed author and nephew of Ian Fleming, the legendary creator of James Bond. From the picturesque French countryside near Geneva, we discuss Ian Fleming’s literary and personal legacy, the origins of 007, and the enduring appeal of Bond in both literature and film.
We discuss:
- Ian Fleming’s Swiss connection: His time in Geneva, early ro...
In this episode, I sit down with Maggie Jackson, an award-winning American author and journalist, to explore insights from her latest book, Uncertain: The Wisdom and Wonder of Being Unsure. Jackson challenges our conventional aversion to uncertainty and presents it as a vital skill for creativity, resilience, and adaptability in today's fast-changing world.
We discuss:
- The nature of uncertainty: The difference between aleatory (e...
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 t...
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 wi...
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,...
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. An...
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.
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