20 Questions With

Maurizio Bragagni is Chairman and CEO of Tratos Ltd, a multinational company that sells cables around the world. Born and raised in Italy, Bragagni is a champion of British manufacturing. Here he tells the story of his third generation family business, now based in the UK, that makes billions of metres of cables a year. Honoured by both Italy and San Marino, Bragagni has been awarded an OBE and is a Freeman of the City of London. He is passionate about both British and Italian culture, an admirer of Renaissance art and a lover of the English pub. What's it like to run an enterprise with a turnover of hundreds of millions of pounds? How does he lead? How does he inspire? How does he manage his time? How does he care for his staff? Why did he choose to manufacture in Britain? And what's the story behind the bid to make the longest Tiramisu in history? This is a chance to hear from one of Britain's leading manufacturers.

Best-selling author of The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency, Sir Alexander McCall Smith takes us on the journey of his remarkable life, from a childhood in British-run Rhodesia to world-wide fame as a Scottish writer. He discusses his influences and passions, his preoccupations and his sense of moral empathy. From cave drawings in Botswana to receiving his knighthood in a kilt and bonnet, via setting up The Really Terrible Orchestra for the musically challenged, McCall Smith's range of interests and experiences are vividly evoked with his endearing and infectious energy in an interview full of insight into the world of one of our most loved authors.

Multi-award-winning journalist, and Channel 4 News anchor, Matt Frei appears on the 20 Questions With podcast from Israel during the third week of the war with Iran. Fresh from dashing around the country covering missile strikes, taking shelter in a bunker, and interviewing the Israeli President, he gives his insight into what it's like working in war zones, revealing the mix of fear, adrenaline and curiosity. Frei lets us into his own views on the conflict between America, Israel and Iran, and describes the effect the 47th President of the US is having on the world. He interviewed Trump himself before he ran for the first time and shares his reflections from that encounter in 2014. Born in West Germany, Frei moved to England when he was eight, and he was in Berlin as a BBC correspondent for the fall of the Wall. He describes the time in East Timor when a gun was pointed at him and the trigger pulled, just as his wife was about to give birth to the second of their four children. This is an extraordinary episode, in which one of Britain's most celebrated foreign correspondents and best known news anchors takes us behind the scenes of some of the biggest international stories of his generation.

Sir Richard Peto is Emeritus Professor of Medical Statistics and Epidemiology at the University of Oxford. He has helped to reduce the premature deaths of tens of millions of people across the world with his research into smoking, breast cancer, and heart attacks. Here he explains his methods, details his pioneering work in statistics, and outlines improvements he'd like to see in his field. This is a rare chance to hear from one of the world's most impactful epidemiologists.

Entrepreneur, manufacturer, style icon, sportsman and a star of The Great British Sewing Bee, Patrick Grant talks fashion, business, TV, men's clothes, representing Scotland at rugby, growing a beard, keeping trim, barely drinking, ageing, mortality, passion, career trajectory, AI, championing British manufacturing, post-industrial towns and cities, provenance, caring, childhood, and taking risks.