In this episode Jonathan speaks with Michael J. Abramowitz, the president of Freedom House - an independent watchdog organisation dedicated to the expansion of freedom in the world. As their website states: 'Freedom House is founded on the core conviction that freedom flourishes in democratic nations where governments are accountable to their people.' Before joining Freedom House in February 2017, Mike was director of the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum's Levine Institute for Holocaust...

In this episode, Jonathan speaks with the tireless Paul Williams. Paul is a former US State Department officer, Paul co-founded the Public International Law & Policy Group - a non-profit, pro bono global law firm advising everyone from sovereign governments to non-state armed groups. He also finds time to be a professor at American University, Washington DC. Public International Law & Policy Group - https://www.publicinternationallawandpolicygroup.org Formal bio: Paul R. Williams...

In this episode, Jonathan speaks with Sarah Leah Whitson an American human rights lawyer and advocate with a passion for advancing democracy and human rights in the Middle East. Sarah Leah has worked and volunteered for various civil society organisations, including the Arab-American Anti-Discrimination Committee, the Center for Economic and Social Rights and for Human Rights Watch. For over a decade and a half, Sarah Leah was in the leadership of Human Rights Watch - where she served as...

In this episode, Jonathan speaks with Sean Murphy - a former president of the American Society of International Law and currently the Special Rapporteur on Crimes Against Humanity for the UN's International Law Commission. In this role he has led efforts to draft articles for a world-first dedicated treaty to prevent and punish crimes against humanity. (https://legal.un.org/ilc/texts/instruments/english/draft_articles/7_7_2019.pdf) Professor Sean Murphy teaches, writes, and practices in the...

In this episode Jonathan chats with Nobel Peace Prize laureate Tilman Ruff on his lifelong pursuit of a world free of nuclear weapons. Tilman Ruff AO is an infectious diseases and public health physician, with particular focus on the urgent planetary health imperative to eradicate nuclear weapons. His work also addresses the broader public health dimensions of nuclear technology. He is Associate Professor in the Nossal Institute for Global Health in the School of Population and Global...

In this episode Jonathan talks with Maha Abdallah about her work in human rights advocacy focused on achieving and protecting Palestinian rights and her work on Business and Human Rights. Maha Abdallah is an international advocacy officer at the Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies. She is formerly a senior legal researcher and advocacy officer at Al-Haq, focusing on business and human rights and corporate accountability in occupied territory and conflict-affected settings. Maha holds an...

In this episode Jonathan speaks with Lucy Greenwood, an accomplished international commercial arbitrator who also champions more sustainable and green-friendly arbitrations and increasing the number of women in the profession. Lucy Greenwood is an independent international arbitrator specializing in commercial and investment disputes. She has over 20 years of experience in commercial and investment treaty arbitrations in a wealth of different industries and has acted as counsel or arbitrator...

In this episode Jonathan talks with Jeyashree Nadarajah. Jeyashree has had an incredible career in the realm of civilian protection in armed conflict that has taken her from her home in Malaysia around the world and back again. Jeyashree has worked for various United Nations agencies and offices - including the Office of the Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General on Sexual Violence in Armed Conflict, the Office of the Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for...

In this episode Jonathan talks with Sarah Holewinski. At the time of the interview Sarah was a 2020 Jennings Randolph Senior Fellow at the U.S. Institute of Peace, advising the Institute on security sector reform strategy. *** IN BREAKING NEWS - since recording the interview Sarah has been named as the new Washington DC director for Human Rights Watch. Congrats Sarah! *** Sarah previously served as senior advisor on human rights to the Office of the Chairman of The Joint Chiefs. Prior, she...

In this inaugural episode, Jonathan sits down with Yvette Zegenhagen, Head of International Humanitarian Law at Australian Red Cross. After a stint in commercial law, Yvette now spearheads a Red Cross team charged with advancing international humanitarian law - the "laws of war" - within Australian society. International Humanitarian Law is a set of international laws that set what can and cannot be done during an armed conflict. Their main purpose is to maintain some humanity in armed...