Description
Ask It Right, But First Listen is a podcast produced by the Sciences Po Journalism students where exceptional guests from a variety of professions share their insights about the art of listening, a rare skill in our polarised world. Each episode offers listening tips for everyday life.
This episode features Agnes Callamard, Secretary General of Amnesty International and former UN Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions.
Our guest has confronted powerful regimes, uncovered hidden truths, and— above all — asked the hard questions. We sit down to discuss her path to becoming a leading human rights advocate, her investigation of the brutal murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi and the attempted poisoning of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny. She takes us through the corridors of power of the UN and human rights work, to discuss the most challenging moments when asking the right questions.
Recommended reads :
Agnès Callamard & Alexandre Duyck. Une enquêtrice à l’ONU. Flammarion, 2025.
“Inquiry into the killing of Mr. Jamal Khashoggi,” Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), 2019
“Russia responsible for Navalny poisoning, rights experts say” UN News, 2021,
“Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories: End wave of mass killings,” Amnesty International, 2024,
“Tips for Interviewing Victims of Tragedy, Witnesses and Survivors,” Dart Center for Journalism and Trauma, 2021
Host: Xavier Amedeo Pallas;
Interviewers: Lilith Shahverdyan and Mateus Santa Rita
Editors: Xavier Amedeo Pallas, Nil Codina Martinez and Mateus Santa Rita
Sound design: Xavier Amedeo Pallas, Nil Codina Martinez and Mateus Santa Rita
Reporting and research by Lilith Shahverdyan, Mateus Santa Rita, Nil Codina Martinez
In Studio production : Marine Sehan
Episode art: Emma Carmichael
Music: Mind the Gap, Slipstream
Social media: Idil Yilmaz
Produced by Sciences Po School of Journalism (Marine Sehan) and its students, Lilit Shahverdyan, Mateus Mourao Santa Rita, Nil Codina Martinez, Idil Yilmaz, and Xavier Amedeo Pallas.
Executive producer for the series : Associate Professor Michaëla Cancela-Kieffer.
Hébergé par Ausha. Visitez ausha.co/politique-de-confidentialite pour plus d'informations.
