The newly-appointed British ambassador to the United States, Sir Christian Turner, is a career diplomat whose experience spans almost three decades. He was about to take up the role of the UK's ambassador at the UN but after Lord Mandelson was abruptly pulled from his ambassadorial role in the US late last year, Sir Keir Starmer diverted Turner to replace him. Born in Crawley in 1972, Turner attended the prestigious Marlborough College, before pursuing English literature at the University of Manchester, and later a doctorate at York. After flirting with documentary-making, he pivoted to public service, entering the Cabinet Office in the late nineties. He has closely advised several prime ministers, including Theresa May with whom colleagues say he shared his love of card games.After an initial posting to Washington ended in 2006, his career has flourished at the foreign office. Mark Coles finds out more about the UK’s new man in DC, as he prepares to navigate ties with the Trump administration in a delicate moment for the so-called ‘special relationship’.Contributors:Lord Peter Ricketts, former National Security Adviser
Sir Simon Fraser, former Permanent Under-Secretary of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and current chair of Chatham House.
Tom Fletcher, United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator
Rachel Barber-Mack, sister-in-law
Richard Cooke, Royal Choral Society musical director
Jerry Koehler, Royal Choral Society singer
James Perry, friend
Richard Warlow, friend
Joel Burden, friendProduction team:Producers: Ben Carter, Katie Solleveld and Laurie Kalus
Sound: Rod Farquhar
Production co-ordinators: Maria Ogundele and Katie Morrison
Editor: Justine LangArchive:KTN News Kenya
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Folge vom 10.01.2026Sir Christian Turner
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Folge vom 03.01.2026Zohran MamdaniThe new Mayor of New York and at just 34, the youngest since 1892, is sworn in. He is the first Muslim and Indian American to lead the nation's largest city. Zohran Mamdani was born in Uganda, Africa, to parents of Indian descent and it was a childhood filled with bird song and nature. He was seven years old when his family moved to New York, to Manhattan's Upper West Side and that's where Mamdani began to make his mark. He started making music as rapper, Mr Cardamom but after releasing only a few songs, it seemed politics was a better fit. Zohran Mamdani ran an impressive campaign, recruiting an army of volunteers 100,000 strong to pound the pavements and knock on doors. His social media videos in multiple languages credited with vastly increasing voter turnout from a range of South Asian communities. A left-wing democratic socialist, his message was laser focused on affordability; he promised to freeze the rents and make buses free, all paid for by a tax on New Yorkers making over $1 million per year. But now he's won the election can he actually deliver on those promises? Mark Coles hears from Mamdani's mother the filmmaker Mira Nair, colleagues and journalists to find out what shaped the man making history.Contributors Mira Nair - film maker, mother Hari Kondabolu - standup comedian, friend Prof Brian Purnell - chair of the Africana Studies Department at Bowdoin College Cassie Wilson - volunteer for Mamdani's campaign, content creator and comedian Jagpreet Singh - political organiser for South Asian communities in New York, DRUM Beats Nada Tawfiq - BBC Correspondent in New YorkProduction Presenter: Mark Coles Producers: Phoebe Keane, Ben Crighton, Natasha Fernandes and Tom Farmer Production Coordinator: Maria Ogundele Sound: Gareth Jones Editor: Justine Lang
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Folge vom 27.12.2025Karl BushbyKarl Bushby, the British man walking around the world, is almost home. The former paratrooper set off from Chile in 1998. He walked through the Americas, crossed the frozen ocean from Alaska to Russia, and last year became the first person to swim the Caspian Sea between Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan. These are all huge achievements in their own right but for Bushby they were just sections he had to complete to finish his epic journey. Originally scheduled to finish in 2006, Bushby is now 56 and still going. Geopolitics has played its part, with Russian and Iranian visa rejections some of the main causes of delay. He arrived in Budapest last month and with the English Channel being the only obvious remaining obstacle to navigate, he should be back in Humberside by this time next year. Stephen Smith finds out who he is and what's kept him going for so long. Contributors Jonny Beardsall - Journalist and milliner Keith Bushby - Dad Genevieve Gil - Friend Dimitri Kieffer - Crossed the Bering Strait with Bushby Angela Maxwell - Swam the Caspian Sea with Bushby Art Mortvedt - Friend Damaris Mortvedt - Friend Kevin Shoesmith - JournalistProduction Presenter: Stephen Smith Producers: Ben Crighton, Alex Loftus and Mhairi MacKenzie Production Coordinator: Maria Ogundele Editor: Nick Holland Sound: Gareth Jones
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Folge vom 20.12.2025Mary BerryDame Mary Berry has been teaching Brits to cook for more than half a century. Aged 90, she remains a staple on our screens at Christmas. Born in Bath in 1935, Berry was the middle child of two brothers. She struggled in school and studied Home Economics class instead of Maths.Berry left school with no qualifications but continued to pursue her love of cooking, training at the famous Le Cordon Bleu school in France. In 1971, she began her TV career with slots on shows like Collector’s World and Good Afternoon with Judith Chalmers, where she’d teach viewers how use newfangled items like freezers and tinfoil.Over the next four decades, Berry would go on to write dozens of cookbooks, feature in and present her own cooking programmes, and teach thousands to cook in her Aga lessons, which she hosted in her own home. But it was her role as a judge on Bake Off that introduced her to a new generation of viewers, and cemented her as one of the nations best-loved cooks. Stephen Smith looks back on her decades-long career.Contributors: Belles Berry – Mary Berry’s daughter Maragret Berry – Mary Berry’s sister in law Rosie Millard – Journalist Kirsty Wark – Journalist and presenter Candice Brown – Winner of the Great British Bake Off 2016Production Presenter: Stephen Smith Producers: Tom Gillett, Mhairi Mackenzie and Alex Loftus Editor: Nick Holland Production Coordinator: Maria Ogundele Sound: Gareth Jones