The Mediator's Studio
What happens behind closed doors when peace agreements are negotiated? The Mediator’s Studio gives you a glimpse into the normally hidden world of peace diplomacy. Host Adam Cooper brings you first-hand stories from mediators, armed groups and governments on what it takes to end wars. The Mediator’s Studio is a podcast from the Oslo Forum, the world’s leading mediation retreat. It’s brought to you by the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue.
- Update frequency
- every 7 days
- Average duration
- 28 minutes
- Episodes
- 45
- Years Active
- 2020 - 2024
Rustem Umerov on negotiating for Ukraine in the midst of war
Special Envoy of President Zelensky, Rustem Umerov, takes us back to the day of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, recalling nightly conversations with the presidential office and the first attempts at…
Sneak Peek: The Mediator’s Studio – Season 4
Welcome back to the fourth season of The Mediator's Studio, bringing you stories from behind the scenes! The new season, recorded at the Oslo Forum 2022, brings you conversations with a freedom fight…
Teresa Whitfield on optimism in the midst of adversity
Director of the Policy and Mediation Division at the UN Department of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs, Teresa Whitfield, takes us through the highlights and challenges of her career in conflict m…
Mohamed Ibn Chambas on a mediator’s “baptisms of fire”
Former Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for West Africa and the Sahel, Mohamed Ibn Chambas, offers insights from decades mediating conflicts across Africa, from Liberia to Sudan. He…
Muna Luqman on fighting for peace in Yemen
Yemeni activist and international peace advocate, Muna Luqman, reflects on her efforts to reduce suffering in her country’s deadly war – from helping open humanitarian corridors across battlefields t…
Haile Menkerios on engaging with the powerful
Former freedom fighter turned UN diplomat, Haile Menkerios, recounts his role in Eritrea’s war of independence and the devastation of being exiled from the country he had fought to create. Reflecting…
Lakhdar Brahimi on hopes and failures in Afghanistan
Veteran Algerian diplomat and distinguished conflict mediator, Lakhdar Brahimi, provides a front-row perspective on key moments in Afghanistan’s troubled history – beginning with his appointment as U…
Sneak peek: The Mediator’s Studio – Season 3
Join us next week for a new season of The Mediator’s Studio podcast. Guests include a veteran mediator in Afghanistan and Syria, a former freedom fighter turned UN diplomat, a peacemaker with decades…
Miriam Coronel-Ferrer on bridging the gap “between heaven and earth” to find peace in the southern Philippines
Former Lead Negotiator for the Government of the Philippines, Miriam Coronel-Ferrer, takes us inside the peace talks that ended half a century of insurgency in the southern Philippines. She reveals h…
Jeffrey Feltman on the risk of accidental war
Former UN Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs, Jeffrey Feltman, reveals behind-the-scenes moments from his missions to Iran and North Korea. He also reflects on a career in the US Foreign S…
Victoria Sandino and Sergio Jaramillo Caro: former enemies talk peace
Former FARC commander, Victoria Sandino, now a Senator in Colombia, and the country’s former High Commissioner for Peace, Sergio Jaramillo Caro, were once enemies, facing each other over the negotiat…
Stephanie Williams on inviting the public to Libya’s ‘National Barbecue Session’
Former Acting Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Libya, Stephanie Williams, reveals how Zoom calls and digital dialogues helped put the country on the path to elections after a de…
Ibrahim Saleh Hassan on forgiveness and community dialogue in Nigeria
Businessman turned local mediator, Ibrahim Saleh Hassan, recalls being caught up in intercommunal violence in his home city of Jos and explains why, in the aftermath of this traumatic experience, he …
Catherine Ashton on safe spaces for difficult conversations
Former EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Catherine Ashton, reveals the inner workings of negotiations to secure a deal on Iran’s nuclear programme and looks ahead to pro…
Mohamed El Hacen Lebatt on tears and elation in Sudan’s political transition
Special Envoy of the African Union to Sudan, Mohamed El Hacen Lebatt, recounts his mediation role in the political transition in Sudan; his arrival in Khartoum in an atmosphere of fear just ten days …
Martin Griffiths on breaking new ground in mediation
Special Envoy of the UN Secretary-General for Yemen, Martin Griffiths, takes us back to the origins of private diplomacy and his early efforts to bring peace to the Indonesian province of Aceh and th…
Hanna Tetteh on revitalising peace in South Sudan
Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General to the African Union, Hanna Tetteh, charts her journey from the legal profession where she defended disadvantaged women to Ghanaian politics, where,…
Meredith Preston McGhie on how to become a mediator
Secretary General of the Global Centre for Pluralism, Meredith Preston McGhie, reveals the backroom story of working closely with Kofi Annan to resolve Kenya’s violent political crisis in 2008, typin…
Said Djinnit on Africa’s forgotten conflicts
Special Adviser to the African Centre for the Constructive Resolution of Disputes, Ambassador Said Djinnit, recalls the nightmares of a childhood under colonial rule in his native Algeria. With a chi…
Betty Bigombe on making peace with the Lord’s Resistance Army
Special Envoy of Uganda to South Sudan, Betty Bigombe, retraces her steps to northern Uganda as government negotiator, engaging one of the most brutal armed groups the world has known in her efforts …