Monocle on Saturday

Journalist Vincent McAviney joins Georgina Godwin to discuss Washington’s threat to abandon Ukraine, life on the UK’s nuclear submarines and robots running in a Beijing half-marathon. Plus: Monocle’s Monica Lillis speaks to Kevin Evers, senior editor at ‘Harvard Business Review’, about his new book on the strategic genius of Taylor Swift.

Isabel Hilton, founder of China Dialogue, joins to discuss tariffs and all the news from Beijing. We also consider how Chinese people are using Tiktok to make light of the news, Germany’s coalition takes form and which books have been banned from the US Naval Academy’s library? Plus: Monocle’s Rory Jones speaks to UK designer Lee Broom about his collaboration with Spanish porcelain ceramicists Lladró at Salone del Mobile in Milan.

As Donald Trump’s sweeping tariffs caused chaos this week, geopolitical risk analyst and author Charles Hecker joins Georgina Godwin to unpack the US president’s push to roll back globalisation. Plus: Monocle’s luxury markets editor, Brenda Tuohy, speaks to the creative director and founder of MB&F at Watches and Wonders in Geneva. Finally, Zimbabwe-born singer-songwriter Eska joins us in the studio to discuss her music and the event she co-curated, ‘Love to Love You Baby: Donna Summer Reimagined’.

UK correspondent for Austrian magazine ‘Falter’, Tessa Szyszkowitz, joins Georgina Godwin following her trip to Silicon Valley to discuss today’s #TeslaTakedown protests and the local backlash to Jeff Bezos’s Venetian wedding. Plus: Monocle’s Toronto correspondent, Tomos Lewis, explores independent bookshop Flying Books at Neverland. Then: Sanjoy K Roy and Anand George discuss food and music at the inaugural Voices of Faith festival.

Daniella Peled, managing editor of the Institute for War and Peace Reporting, joins Georgina Godwin to discuss the week’s news and culture, including protests in Turkey, Israel embracing Europe’s far-right and drones on Mount Everest. Plus: Hay Festival CEO, Julie Finch, joins the programme to discuss the 2025 spring lineup. Then: journalist and friend of Monocle Radio, Juliet Linley, joins from Zürich, where Monocle’s Hanami Market kicks off, selling authentic Japanese goods and treats.

Historian and writer Alex von Tunzelmann joins Georgina Godwin to discuss why the latest averted US government shutdown could signal a sea change for US politics and more of the week’s news and culture. Plus, Monocle’s Balkans correspondent, Guy De Launey, joins from a protest in Belgrade and we hear from Eugene Serebrennikov and Vicente Garcia Morillo, co-founders of the New York-based design studio Burn & Broad, on their new One World Flag project.