← The World with Richard Engel and Yalda Hakim
The World with Richard Engel and Yalda Hakim
50 Cent, Zelenskyy and Trump: a Christmas Q&A special
00:28:28
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- [00:03]
A
Sky News, the full story first. Hello, and welcome to the world with me, Yalda, and I'm currently in London.
- [00:20]
B
And me, Richard, I'm in Lisbon.
- [00:29]
A
I watched Home Alone with Alexander, and he was terrified. We had to stop watching after a while because he just couldn't cope.
- [00:38]
B
It was like the worst possible thing you could serve to someone who doesn't eat pork. Like, four rabbis would have just passed out looking at this. At this dish that I made. The world, it does have bad things in it. And there are also beautiful things, and there's wonderful things. And when you come into contact with those things, don't take it lightly. So I'm rescuing you. I come by like I'm on the ship that passes by, and I come in a rowboat, and I turn up, here's some water, and there's 50 cent going on in the background.
- [01:16]
A
Exactly. That would be great. Right?
- [01:27]
B
Yalda, how are you doing? This is our Christmas show. How are you feeling?
- [01:31]
A
I'm okay. I'm okay. End of the year, as you say, Christmas special, I'm getting ready to go home to Sydney and spend some time with family. So I know that your family are arriving to Portugal.
- [01:45]
B
Yes, yes, they are, actually. They could be walking in any moment. So I love the holiday time of year, and it's a great time to, you know, spend time with family. And this episode is gonna be a little different, so it's not gonna be on the news. Ex. We have a lot of questions. We've put out requests, and you guys have delivered out there. So we have many, many questions, and we look forward to them. Some are a little offbeat. Some are about jewelry that Yalda is wearing around her neck right now. We'll get into that in a second.
- [02:14]
A
Yeah, absolutely. And whether you're listening to this before or after Christmas, we hope you've had a wonderful time with your families. And as I said, certainly Richard and I have had pretty massive year covering all the twists and turns of global affairs. So we're really looking forward to having some downtime with our families.
- [02:32]
B
So you can listen to this on Christmas. Before Christmas, after Christmas, doesn't matter. And if you're doing it, then why not just subscribe to the YouTube page? Just go to the world with Richard and Yalda and hit subscribe. And of course, you can follow us on Apple and Spotify. And why not?
- [02:58]
A
All right, Richard, so we've got loads of questions, as you say, sent in from our listeners. We're going to break them up. The first section is going to be More journalistic and about our line of work and. And all that kind of stuff. And then the second part. The second part's going to be more fun. So let's get going. Okay, so to kick off, we've got a question here from Sarah from the UK who asks what was the defining story of 2025? For both of you, why don't you go first?
- [03:29]
B
Oh, I think the defining story was absolutely Donald Trump. The rise of Donald Trump, his desire to bend the United States and the rest of the world to his will, and his astonishing amount of success so far at doing just that from a world perspective. Related, I would say it was probably that meeting in the Oval Office with Zelensky. You're gambling with the lives of millions of people. You're gambling with World War 3. You're gambling with World War. And what you're doing is very disrespectful to the country, this country. You know, if you ask about what was a defining moment when Zelensky was sitting there in what many described as an ambush, he walked in and then suddenly he's peppered with these insulting questions on camera live. Have you said thank you once this entire meeting? No, in this entire meeting, have you said thank you? You went to Pennsylvania and campaigned for the opposition in October on offer some words of appreciation for the United States of America and the president who's trying to save your country. It set the tone that what many Ukrainians feared might happen was happening, that Trump was back and that he didn't have Zelensky, that he didn't have the Ukraine in his heart in the same way that it had been.
- [04:51]
A
And just to continue a little bit more about what you've just said, in terms of the defining moment being the re election of Donald Trump, to continue that into, in terms of our coverage, not just Ukraine, but also Gaza as well, there were some defining moments, some decisions that Donald Trump made that pushed things along in terms of a ceasefire. And these are the three things that we've really covered a lot in our work in the last 12 months, haven't we? The conflict in Ukraine, the peace talks and ceasefire talks with Gaza, and of course, Donald Trump driving a lot of this foreign policy. So, yeah, I would say Trump would be the overarching thing and then all of the brand that came out of how he was leading the world, the.
- [05:35]
B
Cascading effect of Trump, the ripple effect, which I think we're gonna be doing a lot more of in 2026. Can you believe it? Okay, now it's my turn. To ask that is this one from Elizabeth from Alabama. Her question is, and you start Yalda. The two of you are constantly traveling across time zones at odd hours. How do you sleep? Have you trained yourselves to fall asleep anywhere at any time or do you have constant jet? Laura from London continuing asks, with all the traveling that you do, what are your best recommendations for dealing with jet lag?
- [06:13]
A
Okay, so a couple of things just to give you a sense of my travel over just 24 hours. Last week I was in the Middle east in Doha. I came to London after a seven hour flight, dumped my bag in London, repacked, went to the Caribbean, so arrived in the Bahamas, was therefore 24 hours, 36 hours, couldn't get out, ended up in New York, took another flight out of New York back to London. And so within the space of like 24 hours, you know, 48 hours, I was in three different time zones and I am like a baby. Richard, I don't know about you, but as soon as I'm in a moving object, I fall asleep. So the rocking, the white noise, as soon as I'm in that aircraft, the.
- [06:53]
B
Motion is a swaddle.
- [06:55]
A
Oh my God, completely. I pass out and I sleep where I can in vehicles and in moving objects essentially. And then I adjust myself by not when I land, if it's daytime, I work and continue to keep myself busy till the evening. And then I sleep because that can also throw you carnage. And I make sure I don't have like coffee and I feel quite relaxed in the evening as much as I possibly can. That really helps me. But I sleep wherever I can. Like if I'm, I don't care what time zone when I'm traveling, where the next place is, I just go to sleep and try and catch up on.
- [07:29]
B
As much speech as possible. I would say my answer would be don't nap.
- [07:33]
A
Yeah, I'm not a napa.
- [07:34]
B
Don't nap. That would be my. And I think we're on the same page about a lot of things. Sleep when you can. But if you land at, I don't know, six in the morning and you do not, you didn't get any sleep the night before. Well, I'm sorry, you're not going to get it now. You're going to have to wait till at least 9, 10 o'. Clock. Yeah. Push through on the first day. And, and I don't know, I also, I trouble, I have trouble with sleeping. It's never been a good sleeper. But sometimes, you know, melatonin. A glass of red. Win. Yeah.
- [08:05]
A
Melatonin, I've just discovered. But I noticed, you know, we, my family came to visit yours in, in, I think we were together in Portugal or somewhere. We had a little family holiday together. And I remember you saying you, you were waking up quite early hours of the morning, like 5 o' clock in the morning.
- [08:20]
B
I sleep badly, I move around, I get up, I sometimes sleep on the floor and then I'll move to the couch and it's, it's a whole chaos, it's circus wherever I am at night. Sarah from the uk I, I wish. No, I'm sorry. Elizabeth from. And Laura from London. I wish I had the answer. If I had this magic potion, I would be taking it. Mary from London has a question, I believe.
- [08:46]
A
Yeah. So Mary from London says, after covering conflicts around the globe, how do you manage to stay positive and step back into your family lives without feeling the weight of it all, especially during the holiday season?
- [08:59]
B
You know, it's a, it's a great question. Should I start or you.
- [09:02]
A
Yeah, go ahead.
- [09:02]
B
Okay. It's a great question. And people sort of friends of mine have asked me that in quite a serious way over the years. You know, why aren't you more depressed and why aren't you more sort of morose? And I'm not, I'm not a depressive person in general. And even though I've seen a lot of terrible things and I've had personal tragedy and I lost a son and that was obviously devastating for our family. But I think in the end I try and stay positive by recognizing that the world, it does have bad things in it, and I know that. And I know that the world is hostile and it can hurt you and that there are bad politicians out there and there are criminals out there and you gotta defend yourself and your family from these people and work, you know, to protect the things that you like. And there are also beautiful things and there's wonderful things. And when you come into contact with those things, don't take it lightly. That would be 1, 2. Knowing that most people have it worse than you do. If you travel as much as we do, you see that most people live really, really tough lives and are experiencing at least what you are or have at one stage. And I would say the third lesson is when given the option to take the stairs or the escalator, always take the stairs. Health. People don't have exercise at any opportunity because without health you have nothing.
- [10:27]
A
Yeah, I think they're great tips. And actually, I have to say, Richard, given your personal tragedy, and we haven't spent much time talking about that on this podcast. We haven't really had the opportunity. But, you know, I think you're such a positive human being just in general, your energy, when you walk into a room, when you walk into a space, you want to entertain. You want people to be happy around you. You want to keep the children happy. I remember you were doing, you know, some magic tricks when my. When my little boy came over and teaching him magic, and he was the kids over.
- [10:58]
B
They.
- [11:01]
A
Exactly. And I think children do keep us grounded and, you know, focused, and they, you know, for me, certainly my son has taught me lessons in mindfulness, how to be in the moment, how to be in the moment with him. And he'll sometimes call me out and say, mummy, can you stop being on your phone? Because we're so used to working and being occupied and being engaged with what's happening in the world. And, you know, what. What stories are popping up on our phones or what contacts are saying to us at any given time, but actually, when we are with them, they teach. My son has taught me to be grateful and has taught me to, you know, be more focused and mindful and in the moment and enjoy the moment and be happy in the moment and not think about the next thing or kind of stress about what may be coming round the corner. So, you know, I've learned a lot from a very small human being. But as you say, just knowing that, you know, people, there are aspects of this world that can be quite tragic and heartbreaking and evil and, you know, we. We are quite lucky not to sou, Too. I don't know, worthy or. Or, you know, but yeah, sure. We also have dark moments, right? Like, I have moments where I suddenly remember something that we may have witnessed or I've covered and. And it can take me to quite a dark place. But. But I think overall, I think we're both quite optimistic, positive people.
- [12:25]
B
All right, this one from usup from Turkey. If you could interview one person from the past, who would it be and why?
- [12:34]
A
Oh, my gosh. You know, I don't know if you know this, but I've always really admired Charles de Gaulle. I'm a huge fan of Charles de Gaulle, the President of France. And he did this extraordinary interview when he arrived in Britain to the BBC in the 1940s, calling on his countrymen as this lone general who wanted recognition and was recognized by Winston Churchill. But he. He did this call on the BBC asking the French people not to, you know, basically surrender to the Nazis and just the Way he lived his life, this larger than life character, this very kind of fierce, you know, arrogant man, but at the same time, just kind of almost fearless as well. And I'm sure in many ways annoyed the leaders around him, but I've always admired him. And if I were to go back to the past, I'd want to interview that kind of youngish general.
- [13:31]
B
I would not have expected that. Okay, good. Let's. Let's go with another one. Thomas from Hungary. If you weren't a journalist, what kind of job would you do for me?
- [13:43]
A
I mean, I imagine you'd be a chef, frankly, if I was to speak for you. You could love to cook.
- [13:47]
B
I do love to cook.
- [13:49]
A
Do you want to tell.
- [13:49]
B
Nothing I like more than sitting in front of a chopping board with garlic and onions and making it all just sort of simmer alive and sizzling pans with olive oil. Yes. That is a happy, very happy place for me.
- [14:00]
A
I can't cook. But we went to Richard's house for dinner, and he said, oh, you know, for a couple of nights in a row, he was cooking, and he had delicious sort of platters and meals and food. It was all about food. It was incredible. And then we sat down, and I don't eat pork. And Richard put a massive pork chop on my plate. It was like a pork stew or something.
- [14:23]
B
It was a pasta with a very. It was like the worst possible thing you could serve to someone who doesn't eat pork.
- [14:28]
A
But I was trying to.
- [14:29]
B
Rabbis would have just passed out looking at this, at this dish that I. And yes, it was totally the wrong thing, but it was delicious. I made my own sausage, right. And then I made a sauce out of the sausage. I didn't put the casings around it. I made the sausage meat, marinating it with all kinds of different things. I got it from the butchery, ground it in front of me, down to different with the cuts that I wanted, and then I put the different season. It was beautiful. But if you don't like pork, it's a bit of a problem.
- [14:57]
A
Well, it's funny because we were in the playground together, and you said, I have to go, you know, because I've got to make dinner for. For you guys, and I'm gonna rush off. And so you had this whole afternoon of preparation, and then I was skirting around the meal, and then you finally said, what's happening here?
- [15:13]
B
I think I nailed it. Some other nights, though, we had some other winners, but, you know, I don't think I would be a chef, though. Well, you know why I like I'm in this racket for the travel. I love the journalism, I love the stories. I love meeting people. I like going to new places.
- [15:26]
A
So what would you do other than journalism?
- [15:29]
B
I don't know. I've thought maybe an archeologist would be fun. Oh, well, I know you get to work on like a dig for, you know, four years or something like that in some remote part of Syria or some remote part of Cairo. A little more lonely. I like the social aspect and I like the frequency of a traveler. So I don't think archaeology would work. I don't know. A chef? I don't know.
- [15:50]
A
You could be a global chef.
- [15:51]
B
Maybe like one of those guys who works for like the super rich boss who just has a boat and you just make meals and you travel around like Prigozhin. Yeah, maybe with the less pure sledgehammers. And what about you, if you were not doing what you're doing?
- [16:06]
A
I think I'd probably be a diplomat. I don't know, I think I'd be somewhere in that kind of.
- [16:14]
B
In that world, in that world of.
- [16:16]
A
Diplomacy and trying to sort of untangle.
- [16:20]
B
See, I think you'd be good at that, actually.
- [16:22]
A
I feel like I think you'd be.
- [16:23]
B
Really good at that. I think we just talked ourselves out of this career here. By the way, we are both resigning right now. I'm gonna get back to my 9 and cutting board and you're going to go, you know, become an ambassador.
- [16:35]
A
An ambassador or something. Exactly. Okay, so let's take a quick break and then when we come back, we'll answer some more questions for you guys.
- [16:43]
B
Sounds good. Welcome back to this special episode of the World podcast where we are answering some of your questions. And this one is a little bit fun. Yalda, you're up first. This one is about something you are wearing right now. This is from Eric in Brazil. I have noticed Yalda using a pendant necklace on TV with a word in Arabic script. However, it is very hard to read it on the screen and I would like to know what is written on it. I know Yalda is a hyper polyglot, so I wonder about the language of this word.
- [17:33]
A
Eric, thank you so much. I've actually got it on right now. I keep it on every day. It is a necklace that has my son's name, Alexander, but it's his Farsi name. So I grew up speaking English and Farsi at home. I went to Saturday schools. My parents and family speak Farsi. And you're right, it's Arabic Alphabet because that's what the, the Farsi speaking world use as well. But it says Iskander, which is, which is, you know, the Farsi version of. Of Alexander. But it, but it's. I keep it close to my heart.
- [18:06]
B
Of Alexander the Great Iskander.
- [18:08]
A
Exactly.
- [18:09]
B
Do you still have the long hair?
- [18:10]
A
He has the long curly hair. He still has the long hair. He's got really great hair.
- [18:15]
B
Okay, this one from James. I was wondering what your guys favorite books are. Fiction or nonfiction?
- [18:22]
A
Oh, gosh, you go first so I can. You're reading a lot at the moment.
- [18:26]
B
I'm reading a lot. I mostly read nonfiction. I like fiction. I just don't really sort of get to it as often. And I read a lot of books on sort of history, religious history, the Middle East. That's. I have a sort of a nice little collection of old books that I like to go through. So I read as much as I can. I would say at the moment I'm sort of tasting books. I'll pick up one, I'll sample it for a little while. I'll, you know, have a meal with it. I mean, not, you know, eating, eating a little bit of it, you know, a chapter or something like that, and then I'll grab another one. So I'm sort of grazing at the moment through a lot of books that I have, but I would say definitely on the nonfiction side.
- [19:10]
A
Yeah, I think as journalists, you know, I don't know about you, I don't. I feel quite guilty sometimes reading fiction. I tend to, you know, like, you read history books, military books, biographies. I read anything by Stephen Kotkin. He did a great series on Stalin. So, you know, and Robert Caro, he did a great series on lbj. So I loved, I loved all of those. So I read a lot of those during COVID actually. But I guess if I was thinking about fiction, I love a Suitable Boy. It's one of my favorite books. And you know, last year or a couple of years ago, Mira Nair, Zorhan Mamdani's mom made the film adaptation of it or she made a series of the Suitable Boy. So yeah, recently I'm sort of. Yeah, as always, just reading lots of nonfiction.
- [20:03]
B
All right, this one from Nilay, from India. What are your favorite Christmas films? Do you have one?
- [20:10]
A
Oh, God. Ah, maybe Love, actually or something, you know, is always a fun one to watch. Or Home Alone. I love the Home Alone.
- [20:18]
B
My wife Mary, you know, loves Home Alone. Like she has to watch that every year.
- [20:23]
A
That's such a great Film. I watched Home Alone with Alexander, and he was terrified. We had to stop watching after a while because he just couldn't cope.
- [20:30]
B
Yeah, some kids take to these dramas very emotionally, and others don't. Theo doesn't seem to mind, which maybe worries me a little bit. You know what?
- [20:44]
A
Theo is a wonderful little boy with so much energy. And all I'll say is he's a redhead. So if that gives anything away, he has.
- [20:54]
B
He has very few features.
- [20:55]
A
He has great hair as well.
- [20:56]
B
Yeah, he's got great hair. Fire. It's like fire.
- [20:59]
A
Exactly.
- [21:01]
B
All right. And now it's the quick Fire round, also known as the lightning round, which is going to be the most fun. I am sure. I'll read one and we'll just go into it. What's your favorite city in the world?
- [21:13]
A
I think for me, New York City. And Senaar.
- [21:18]
B
You get two choices now.
- [21:19]
A
Okay. Okay. New York City. I love New York City. Yeah.
- [21:21]
B
Yeah. Istanbul. What's your favorite cocktail?
- [21:24]
A
Spicy margarita.
- [21:26]
B
Oh, okay. Gin tonic. What would your death row meal be? Starter, main and dessert.
- [21:36]
A
You go first. You're the. You're the chef.
- [21:38]
B
You know, I've actually thought a decent amount about this.
- [21:40]
A
I know, because you were kidnapped.
- [21:42]
B
Yes, but that's not the only reason. I did make a meal, a kidnapping meal. And I'd promised myself I was. If I got out of the kidnapping, I was gonna make that meal and for the love of your life and. Yes. And I was gonna make it with this woman who I was dating at the time, named Mary. And I was like, if I get out of this situation, out of this horrible predicament that I'm in, I'm gonna marry that woman. I'm gonna make this meal. Cause I'd be running it over in my head, you know, to sort of try and stay sane and got out and made the meal. But I wouldn't say that's my death row meal. You know why? Yeah.
- [22:17]
A
Why?
- [22:17]
B
Because. Have you ever been to, like, an institution anywhere? Like, what are they gonna make for you? You know, they're putting you to death. So I would if I could.
- [22:27]
A
What is it, a hot dog or something?
- [22:29]
B
No, I thought about that, too. You probably want something prepackaged, right? Cause anything that's gonna come out of the canteen is gonna be totally disappointed.
- [22:36]
A
I wasn't gonna take it as literal. I was gonna.
- [22:38]
B
Literally, I would say if I could prepare it myself, I'm going right. They're gonna kill me the next day for whatever reason. And if I could prepare myself that last touch of Garlic and lemons and oil, like the last. But of course, they wouldn't do that. And the ingredients would be terrible. So I would say, just give me a piece of chocolate. Go ahead and give me a piece of chocolate.
- [22:57]
A
But you get the option of stardom main and dessert.
- [23:00]
B
Just three pieces of chocolate.
- [23:01]
A
Oh, my God.
- [23:02]
B
Cause just the best chocolate. I mean, how bad can they screw it up?
- [23:07]
A
I'm not getting so literal with the cafeteria. I'm thinking like my best meal before.
- [23:13]
B
I die by people who hate you and get paid. Nothing with horrible ingredients.
- [23:19]
A
Fine. Then I won't ask for raw fish, Japanese.
- [23:24]
B
Poison, death row sushi is what you want.
- [23:27]
A
Maybe I'll go with pasta or pizza or something. And maybe some ice cream.
- [23:33]
B
Ice cream I thought about, too. Just say a nice brand of ice cream that say, hey, please. If you have a sympathetic guard, here's 10 bucks. Go ahead, get a really nice thing. Ice cream.
- [23:43]
A
Question four. Favorite decade you've lived in?
- [23:47]
B
80S, early 90s, anything pre Internet.
- [23:49]
A
I feel like my best decade is yet to come. I've had some fun in the past.
- [23:54]
B
The question technically was favorite decade you've lived in.
- [23:59]
A
It's coming.
- [23:59]
B
I don't want to yell to Hakimi here, but you didn't answer the question. I'm going to have to repeat it to you until you do answer my question, because you're on my show now.
- [24:08]
A
So you must have watched my interview.
- [24:10]
B
From the other end. I watched all your interviews. I would never want to be on the other end. Although we do it every. Favorite decade you've lived in.
- [24:18]
A
The last one then. It was great.
- [24:21]
B
Alexander would appreciate that.
- [24:22]
A
Yeah, exactly. Exactly.
- [24:24]
B
And if you were stranded on a desert island and you can bring the work of one singer, who would it be?
- [24:32]
A
Well, you know, I'm a product of the 90s. That's when I was a young kid. I love hip hop. And I guess I would. I would go with 50 Cent or something.
- [24:44]
B
So I'm rescuing you. I come by like I'm on the ship that passes by, and I come in a rowboat. Here's some water. And there's 50 cent going on in the background.
- [24:55]
A
Exactly. That would be great. Right?
- [24:57]
B
I feel like this is. I don't know. I don't know. I'd be like, okay, maybe I'd leave the water behind. I'd row back off to my ships.
- [25:06]
A
Exactly.
- [25:07]
B
I'd have to call Amy Winehouse. Amazing.
- [25:09]
A
Nice one.
- [25:10]
B
You know, like, she's kind of the groove that I like when I come home, put on in the background.
- [25:15]
A
Very nice.
- [25:15]
B
Want to destroy a whole pile of onions. She's, she, she's a great someone to have around.
- [25:21]
A
I like it. Now before we go, the last question we have is from Peggy and she asks predictions, Richard, which has been kind of what we do on our predictions.
- [25:31]
B
I know.
- [25:32]
A
Can you give, can you give one in 30 seconds?
- [25:35]
B
I think it's going to be this continued ripple effect of Donald Trump and we will see if somebody really challenges him or he. Until now things have gone relatively smoothly. Until now, time of taping. Right. There hasn't been under Donald Trump. And I'm not saying that it's going well. I'm not saying that it's on the right track. I'm not saying any of that. What I'm saying is he hasn't faced some sort of, of moment, a Crisis, an existential 911 type of event or even of a Katrina level event where there's a true paralyzing moment for the nation. Not tragedies.
- [26:14]
A
There have been tragedies, but every president has one.
- [26:17]
B
Right. And how is he gonna react to that? And maybe that comes next year. And I think when that moment comes, that when that branch snaps and there has to be a reaction, some kind, I think it could happen next year and I think it could be very profound.
- [26:35]
A
Yeah, I think you're absolutely right. We've seen every president has one of these, frankly. The Biden administration had multiple, you know, the exit from Afghanistan, the war in Ukraine, the war in Gaza. There were so many things. And then of course the American economy. So there were a lot of things they were dealing with. It would be interesting to see what Donald Trump, Trump ends up dealing with. But in the same vein, you know, talking about spheres of influence and Donald Trump's relationship with the likes of Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping, the way that he cuts deals and he's so transactional. Be curious to see in early January what ends up happening in Venezuela in particular. You know, whether you and I find ourselves on that patch of land, I, I hope not. But if the mood music feels very much along the lines of some kind of regime change or destruction, some, some weird pathway treading again.
- [27:22]
B
It's certainly heading in that direction and sounds like regime change, but under the guise of a counter narcotics operation. Sounds a little bit like when the US went to war in Iraq under the guise of a, you know, counter 911 action. Even though Saddam Hussein wasn't involved in 9 11. Well, that is it. Much more to come. Thank you for joining us on this special episode. Of the World podcast. I've had a lot of fun doing this with y'. All. This is great. I enjoyed this episode, and I look forward to doing many more. Maybe we can do some fun ones again like this. This was. This was different for us. And we'll also, you know, try and break down the series stuff as it. As it comes up every week.
- [28:09]
A
Yeah, absolutely. Happy holidays, Richard, to you and your family and to all of our listeners.
- [28:14]
B
And to you and to yours. Absolutely. And to the listeners, of course. Without that, we're just talking to each other, Sam.