logo
episode-header-image
May 2024
1m 7s

Season 9

UNITED NATIONS, MELISSA FLEMING
About this episode

Conflict, humanitarian disasters, climate change. Our world and its people are facing huge challenges. Wherever and whenever crisis hits, the United Nations staff are both on the ground saving lives and negotiating at the highest levels to alleviate suffering. This work is only possible due to the personal sacrifices made every day by UN staff around the world. So, what motivates someone to lead the global fight for human rights, equality, or justice?

Join UN chief communicator Melissa Fleming as she gets to know the extraordinary people behind the organisation.

Coming soon from the United Nations, Season 9 of Awake at Night.

Up next
Feb 3
Why peace begins with people, not power, with Bintou Keita - Former UN Secretary-General's Special Representative DRC
Bintou Keita knows instinctively that some moments call for a more human response than words alone can offer. Once, at a ceremony to mark the end of the devastating Ebola epidemic in Sierra Leone, she found herself hesitating to deliver her pre-prepared statement to a grief-stric ... Show More
46m 21s
Jan 27
Youth, power and possibility, with Felipe Paullier - UN Assistant Secretary-General for Youth Affairs
A medical doctor by training, Dr. Felipe Paullier is a passionate advocate for young people. Two years ago, aged just 32, his life took a new turn when he became the first-ever Assistant Secretary-General for Youth Affairs, the youngest senior appointment in the history of the Un ... Show More
39m 10s
Jan 20
How to lead forces for peace, with Cheryl Pearce - The UN's Acting Military Adviser for Peacekeeping Operations
After enlisting at 18, Cheryl Pearce battled rigid gender barriers to rise through the military ranks. Now the UN's Acting Military Adviser for Peacekeeping Operations, the Australian-born Lieutenant General is the highest ranking woman in uniform within the United Nations. "Peac ... Show More
35m 57s
Recommended Episodes
Feb 2024
Why we need the UN
<p>Gideon talks to Mark Malloch-Brown, former deputy secretary-general of the UN and president of the Open Society Foundations, about the role of the United Nations. While it sometimes struggles to make an impact on matters of global security, it plays a unique and often unrecogn ... Show More
25m 42s
Apr 2024
UN Emergency Relief Coordinator Martin Griffiths
Foreign aid workers feeding starving people are the latest to be killed in Israel’s war on Gaza. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called the deadly airstrike a “tragic accident,” which “happens in war,” and vowed to investigate. The seven who lost their lives worked for famed ch ... Show More
59m 6s
Jun 2024
Introducing: "To Save Us From Hell," Our New Podcast about the United Nations!
<p>"To Save Us From Hell" is a new weekly chat show about the United Nations. Each week, two veteran UN watchers break down the latest news from the United Nations, giving our audience insights into what is driving the agenda at UN headquarters and in its operations around the wo ... Show More
6m 16s
Nov 2018
The United Nations
Britain has been heavily criticised by the United Nations expert on extreme poverty and human rights, over what he describes as its “draconian” benefits sanctions. Philip Alston has taken a 12-day tour of some of the most deprived areas of the UK and he is not impressed with what ... Show More
42m 34s
Nov 2023
Sudan conflict: First victims are children, says senior UNHCR worker
The heavy fighting that erupted in Sudan on 15 April has forced more than six million people from their homes and created a humanitarian catastrophe that the world must not continue to ignore.That’s the urgent message from the UN refugee agency (UNHCR’s) Dominique Hyde, who’s jus ... Show More
8m 19s
Listen to millions of songs and podcasts on Anghami