Lionel Barber joins LBC to host new podcast series

13 October 2020, 08:58 | Updated: 13 October 2020, 10:14

Lionel Barber's podcast What Next? launches on the Global Player on 20 October
Lionel Barber's podcast What Next? launches on the Global Player on 20 October. Picture: LBC

Lionel Barber, the former Editor of the Financial Times, is joining LBC – Britain’s biggest commercial news talk station – to host a brand-new podcast series available on Global Player.

In his first broadcast venture since the FT, What Next? with Lionel Barber focuses on life beyond the current pandemic and sees the multi-award-winning journalist and author discover how the world is adapting to it, what needs to change and, most importantly, what lessons we have learnt that will shape our lives for the future.

Each week, Lionel will speak to leading influential figures from health, politics, business, technology, the arts and environment. The 20-part series launches on 20th October, when Barber speaks to Dr Richard Hatchett, a leading co-ordinator of COVID-19 vaccines.

Now CEO of the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations, Hatchett served on the White House Homeland Security team under U.S. Presidents Barak Obama and George W. Bush.

Future guests for What Next? include the former Prime Minister Tony Blair; Elizabeth Cousens, President and CEO of the United Nations Foundation; ITV’s Chief Executive Dame Carolyn McCall; the author and former Chief Executive of BP, Lord Browne, and Ian Bremmer, President and Founder of Eurasia Group.

Lionel Barber speaks to Nick Ferrari about his new LBC podcast What Next?

Under his 15-year leadership as Editor of the Financial Times, Barber turned the publication into a hugely successful worldwide news brand. He interviewed numerous global leaders – from U.S. President Barack Obama to Germany’s Chancellor Angela Merkel – as well as high profile politicians and key decision-makers.

Among his many international awards, most recently, he received the 2020 Gerald Loeb Lifetime Achievement Award – one of the highest accolades in American business journalism.

Lionel Barber said: “I am excited to join LBC’s team of top-class broadcasters, the next step in my journalistic career after the Financial Times. My new podcast What Next? will explore fresh thinking from leaders in politics, business, the arts and science. My goal, shared by LBC, is to contribute to an informed debate in the age of the pandemic and beyond.”

LBC’s Managing Editor Tom Cheal said: “While LBC is the station where listeners ask the questions that matter, we also know that people are looking for answers. Who better to uncover the forces shaping our lives than one of the UK’s most respected and successful media editors. We’re thrilled to welcome Lionel Barber to LBC for his new podcast series What Next? and that he’s making his broadcasting debut with us.

Listen to the brand-new podcast What Next? with Lionel Barber on Global Player from 20th October. Global Player is Global’s entertainment hub, which allows listeners to enjoy all of Global’s radio brands, award-winning podcasts and expertly curated playlists all together and all for free.

Available on Global Player on your smart speaker, iOS or Android device and online.