New Weekly Global Affairs Podcast, The World with Richard Engel and Yalda Hakim

Sky News and NBC News have joined forces to launch ‘The World with Richard Engel and Yalda Hakim’ - a new podcast that will combine eyewitness reporting from the frontline of the world’s most hazardous areas, with in-depth analysis and conversation with some of the most important and influential figures on the global stage. 

Richard Engel is the Chief Foreign Correspondent for NBC News. Yalda Hakim is the Lead World News Presenter for Sky News. Well-known to news audiences for their courageous coverage of hot zones across the globe, they have known each other as friendly competitors over the course of their award-winning careers.   

Now under one roof at sister news organizations, they’ll come together each week to offer audiences a thoughtful look at our world’s most complex issues, as they give listeners the full story, on the people shaping global events.  

With their unparalleled first-hand experience and global connections, and through interviews with principals, policymakers, and eyewitnesses, Engel and Hakim will offer listeners a front-row seat to the most pressing issues of our time.

Episodes will be available every Wednesday from the 9th October, wherever you get your podcasts.

Yalda Hakim, Lead World News Presenter, Sky News: “I’m thrilled to be partnering with my friend Richard Engel, one of the most talented foreign correspondents of our time, on an exciting new project to help make sense of our world. This is a moment of intensifying conflict and polarisation. At times, it feels as if the idea of truth itself is vanishing, especially as technology makes it ever more difficult to tell the difference between what’s real and what’s fake, and as distrust between and within societies grows. I hope therefore this podcast can serve as a kind of port in the storm. We’ll be having discussions about the most important issues facing the planet with some of the smartest and most interesting people we know. I can’t wait!” 

Richard Engel, Chief Foreign Correspondent, NBC News: “The launch of this podcast comes at a crucial time in our world. We are in the midst of covering conflicts that have ripple effects across the globe. I can’t think of a better person than Yalda Hakim to explore these complex events with and delve into some of the most important issues. I’ve known Yalda for years. She’s an incredible reporter, caring, hard-working, and curious. Together, we’ll be talking to fascinating people about interesting and important subjects that have made us witnesses to history.” 

David Rhodes, Executive Chairman, Sky News Group: “These delicate times call for more insight and analysis – and that’s exactly the journalism that Yalda Hakim and Richard Engel can provide.  For more than five years now Sky News and NBC News have been under the same corporate umbrella.  Yalda and Richard’s collaboration will demonstrate the global capabilities of that partnership: bringing the full story, first, to audiences around the world"

David Verdi, EVP Global Newsgathering, NBC News: “We’re proud to partner with Sky News in bringing together these world-class journalists on one program that is available to audiences everywhere.”

The World with Richard Engel and Yalda Hakim – an incisive and illuminating analysis of current affairs, from the people who understand it best. 

Launching 9th October, with new episodes every Wednesday. Listen wherever you get your podcasts. 

To get in touch or to share questions for Richard and Yalda, email theworld@sky.uk

The World with Richard Engel and Yalda Hakim

The idea for The World podcast stems from two events in the careers of our presenters. 

In 2007 Richard was invited to the White House for a private one-on-one meeting with President George W Bush to discuss Iraq and Middle East policy. 

It was Richard’s ability to be in the thick of the fighting while at the same time provide fast, accurate and wide-reaching analysis of what was happening that interested the president. Since then, Richard’s in-depth knowledge and expertise has continued to be in demand among influential figures across the globe – and it is precisely this insight we will be offering to the audience every week. 

In 2021, immediately prior to the fall of Kabul, Yalda received a call from the Taliban live on air. In a world exclusive, the spokesman assured Yalda that no one in the city would be harmed by their troops when they entered the city.  

It was an episode that highlighted that Yalda is one of the best connected and well-respected journalists in the business – and the show will be drawing on her extensive contacts book to provide most knowledgeable and high-profile guests. 

Join Richard and Yalda for The World as they cross the globe from the mass migration routes of Mexico to the frontline battles of the Middle East as they report, probe and ask the questions to make sure you can really understand what is happening in the world today – and why it matters to you.

Yalda Hakim

Yalda is Lead World News presenter for Sky News and presents The World with Yalda Hakim, weekdays at 9pm. An award-winning international correspondent and documentary maker, Yalda has spent nearly two decades reporting from the frontlines of the world’s most consequential stories such as from Jerusalem for Sky News’ Israel-Hamas conflict coverage, extensively from Ukraine on the ongoing war, and on the collapse of the Afghan government in 2021. Yalda interviews high-profile world leaders including President Zelensky, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, and Afghanistan’s President Ashraf Ghani. She joined Sky in 2023 after a decade at BBC News, and is the founder of the Yalda Hakim Foundation, establishing scholarships for disadvantaged Afghan girls to receive an education.

Richard Engel is NBC News’ Chief Foreign Correspondent, reporting across all NBC News and MSNBC platforms, including NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt, TODAY, Meet the Press, Dateline NBC, NBC News NOW and NBCNews.com. He is widely regarded as one of America’s leading foreign correspondents for his extensive body of reporting work – including the coverage of wars, revolutions, and political transitions around the world for over twenty years. Notably, his outstanding reporting on the Syrian war, the 2011 revolution in Egypt, the conflict in Libya, and the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Most recently, Engel led NBC News’ coverage of the Israel-Hamas war reporting on the ground just two days after the attack. Engel has also reported extensively from inside Ukraine following Russia’s invasion, and from Afghanistan after the withdrawal of U.S. troops. Since 2017, Engel has also hosted the award-winning MSNBC series On Assignment with Richard Engel, which draws on his decades of experience of original reporting in the field.

At Sky News, our mission is to bring you the full story, first. We take you there, 24:7, reporting from the heart of the events changing our world. We ask the big questions of everyone – revealing what you want to know. And our style is bold and independent, giving you a fresh perspective. 

In the UK, Sky News is a compelling alternative to the public service broadcasters and opinion-driven news outlets, reaching one in three people every month. Across the world, we are one of the most-followed English language news brands on social media, bringing award-winning British journalism to a global audience.  

Sky News, free, wherever you get your news.

More Americans watch NBC News than any news organization in the world. Its leading and award-winning television news broadcasts include TODAY, NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt, Meet the Press with Kristen Welker and Dateline NBC. Additionally, NBC News produces TODAY with Hoda & Jenna, The 3rd Hour of TODAY, Sunday TODAY with Willie Geist, Weekend TODAY and NBC News Daily, as well as primetime specials and breaking news reports. The NBC News Digital Group consists of online destinations NBCNews.com – a top three news site – and TODAY.com – a top two lifestyle brand – as well as its streaming networks, NBC News NOW, Dateline 24/7 and TODAY All Day. Additionally, the organization’s award-winning audio unit is a top five podcast publisher in the U.S. and NBC News’ Stay Tuned, a first-of-its-kind social newscast, is the premier destination for the Gen Z audience across TikTok, Snapchat and YouTube. NBC News also operates NBC News Studios, a unit producing premium documentaries, docuseries, select scripted programming, and content for emerging platforms, and the NBC NewsChannel affiliate news service.

NBC News is part of the NBCUniversal News Group, a division of NBCUniversal, which is owned by Comcast Corporation. For more information about NBCUniversal, please visit www.NBCUniversal.com.