logo
episode-header-image
Jan 2018
35m 9s

Christina Lamb

Bbc Radio 4
About this episode

Christina Lamb is chief foreign correspondent for the Sunday Times and travels the world reporting from war zones and hot spots, speaking not just to key protagonists but also seeking out and detailing the daily impact of conflict on civilians.

An only child, and brought up in Carshalton Beeches, she was a voracious reader and dreamed of being an explorer. Although she was rebellious at school, and at one point was asked to leave, she won a place at Oxford and went on to edit the university newspaper. While working as an intern for the Financial Times, she interviewed Benazir Bhutto and was invited to her wedding in Pakistan. That experience led to her determination to be a reporter from the front line.

Her work has taken her to South Africa, Brazil, Zimbabwe, Afghanistan, Syria and Iraq, and among her best-selling books are two which tell the stories of remarkable young women - Nujeen Mustafa who escaped from Aleppo in her wheelchair, and the Nobel prize-winner Malala Yousafzai.

Presenter: Kirsty Young Producer: Cathy Drysdale.

Up next
Aug 2
Professor Liz Morris, glaciologist
Professor Liz Morris is a glaciologist whose work in some of the earth’s most inhospitable environments has broadened humanity’s understanding of climate change and polar science. Her accolades include the prestigious Polar Medal and an OBE for services to Polar Science.Liz was b ... Show More
51m 14s
Apr 2026
Sara Pascoe, comedian and writer
Sara Pascoe is a comedian and writer who has appeared on programmes including QI, Taskmaster and the Great British Sewing Bee. She is also a screenwriter and the author of three books including her debut novel Weirdo which won the inaugural Jilly Cooper Prize for fiction last yea ... Show More
50m 31s
Apr 2026
Jessie Buckley, actor
Jessie Buckley is an actor and singer. She recently won a BAFTA and a Golden Globe Award for her critically acclaimed role playing Shakespeare’s wife Agnes in Chloé Zhao’s film Hamnet. Her performance has also garnered her an Academy Award nomination.Jessie won an Olivier Award f ... Show More
50m 32s
Recommended Episodes
Jun 2023
Christina Patterson on Facing Adversity and Finding Strength
Christina Patterson is a journalist, writer, broadcaster, and coach. A former columnist at The Independent, today Christina writes for the Daily Mail, Observer Magazine and The Telegraph, and reviews for The Sunday Times. She is also a regular guest on the Sky News press preview. ... Show More
1h 33m
Feb 2022
Christiane Amanpour
Known across the world for fearlessly holding dictators to account, Christiane Amanpour, as a young staffer at CNN found herself kicked off the network after a disastrous first attempt at reporting. The knock-back did not stop her; Amampour went on to cover conflict hotspots in t ... Show More
43m 24s
May 2022
Clarissa Ward
Clarissa is a multi-award winning journalist and Chief International Correspondent for CNN. She’s been reporting for over 15 years from various countries in the region, including Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Iran and Afghanistan. More recently, she covered the US withdrawal from Afghani ... Show More
38m 22s
May 2022
Christiane Amanpour
<p>There is no such thing as a simple phone call with my beautiful friend Christiane Amanpour. Asking, as I did yesterday, where she’s been she answers “Ukraine”, asking where she is going, she says, “Afghanistan”.</p> <p>This is what it is like having a fearless friend you love, ... Show More
29m 23s
Jan 2021
This is Pakistan
This week, Thea Lenarduzzi and Lucy Dallas are joined by the Karachi-based journalist Sanam Maher to discuss cliché and originality in foreign correspondents' writing on Pakistan; a whistle-stop tour through (some) of the books of 2021; Lucy Scholes reviews a clutch of novels in ... Show More
48m 59s
Mar 2021
Dram drama
Adam chats to Liz Truss about why it’s such a whisky business being the Secretary of State for International Trade. And the BBC's Orla Guerin talks through what impact Yemen’s ongoing civil war has had on children in the country. Studio Director: Emma Crowe Producers: Georgia Coa ... Show More
30m 20s