EPISODE 11: How Can Small Voices Make a Difference? with Ambassador Yvette Stevens

What drives a woman to choose the harder road — to study in Soviet Moscow when the world said go West? To wire a nation’s power grid when no one believed a woman could? To speak truth to power in the corridors of the UN and still find laughter amid life’s ironies?

In this episode of Fading Causes, Mukesh Kapila sits down with Ambassador Yvette Stevens, Sierra Leone’s first female electrical engineer, a UN veteran, and a diplomat who has lived through the Cold War, civil war, and countless battles for gender equality.

What did it take to break barriers in a man’s world? How did her faith, humour, and fierce independence carry her through decades of diplomacy and disruption? And why does she now joke about colour-coordinating her own coffin?

Watch a fearless, funny, and deeply human conversation about ambition, resilience, and what it means to stay true to yourself, even when the world keeps changing the rules.

EPISODE 10: Should A Reporter's Camera Reflect or Frame Reality? with Ximena Borrazás

What compels a woman to trade a career in marketing for war zones, famine, and frontlines of sexual violence? What drives someone to document the unspeakable — not just to inform, but to demand justice?

In this searing episode of Fading Causes, Mukesh Kapila speaks with Ximena Borrazás — an award-winning photographer and filmmaker whose work doesn’t just show suffering, it confronts complicity. From the battle-scarred towns of Ukraine to the ravaged refugee camps of Tigray, she brings us face-to-face with atrocities that the world often chooses to ignore.

Why are the horrors of one war front-page news, while others vanish from view? What does it mean to be a “lucky migrant”? Can a photograph become legal evidence of a genocide — and should it?

What do we do with the pain of others once we see it?

Watch and listen.

EPISODE 9: Can We Afford Pessimism In Difficult Times? with Kul Gautam

Has the world kept its promises to children? Can the United Nations, now approaching its 80th year, reinvent itself to regain public trust? And what keeps a veteran of global service fighting for justice after decades at the heart of international diplomacy?

Host Mukesh Kapila speaks with Kul Gautam, the former Deputy Executive Director of UNICEF, whose path from a remote Nepali village to the highest ranks of the UN embodies both the promise and the frustrations of multilateralism.

Gautam reflects on a career spent championing children’s rights, navigating bureaucracies, and grappling with inequality across continents.

The conversation ranges from the struggles of his early life and improbable ascent to encounters with presidents, Nobel laureates and cultural icons.

But at its core lies a pressing question: in an era of fractured politics and fading faith in institutions, can the ideals that shaped Gautam’s life still inspire the world today?

Listen.

EPISODE 8: Why Is The History Of African Slavery Kept Hidden? with Martin Plaut

Can present-day African conflicts be understood without tracing their roots to slavery and colonialism? Should reparations be pursued as a path to justice, or do they risk deepening divides?

Historian and journalist Martin Plaut, whose upbringing under apartheid South Africa gives him a piercing lens on the unfinished business of history, shares his story from the Soweto uprising that jolted a generation into activism to the long shadow of slavery and colonialism.

Plaut reveals how the past still shapes the conflicts, inequalities, and prejudices of today. His book Unbroken Chains traces slavery’s complex story, one that extends beyond the transatlantic trade to include the complicity of African elites and the brutal mechanics of enslavement itself.

The legacy of slavery is not merely a matter of memory but a living force. The descendants of enslaved people still face stigma, while modern slavery thrives in new forms of exploitation, from human trafficking to bonded labor.

But if the arc of history does indeed bend towards freedom, what forces are pulling it back?

EPISODE 7: Can We Ever End Poverty And Hunger? with Mohsen Sarhan

In this conversation, Mohsen Sarhan opens up about his unlikely path—from a life of privilege to leading the Egyptian Food Bank, one of the region’s most impactful organizations tackling hunger. He reflects on the paradox of abundance in some corners of society, while millions remain trapped in cycles of poverty and food insecurity.

What does it take to break these cycles? Why do systemic inequalities continue to leave the most vulnerable behind, despite decades of aid and policy reforms?

EPISODE 6: Is Optimism For Tackling Climate Change And Migration Justified? with Ovais Sarmad

From surviving a plane crash to navigating the frontlines of the climate crisis, former Deputy Executive Secretary of the UNFCCC Ovais Sarmad’s life has been shaped by moments where the odds seemed insurmountable.

As a top UN climate official, he’s wrestled with the moral and political weight of a warming planet, the growing wave of climate migration, and the urgency to act before tipping points become irreversible.

Through it all, he holds onto an unshakable optimism, not as a naive belief, but as a deliberate choice. For Sarmad, hope is the engine of action. The question is: Can the rest of the world summon the same resolve before time runs out?

EPISODE 5: Is the Future of Global Governance Stuck in Bureaucratic Gridlock? with Claus Sorensen

Is the true architecture of peace and progress found in quiet, painstaking compromise or in bold vision?

Global economist Claus Haugaard Sorensen speaks to Mukesh Kapila on his journey from a skeptical young Dane resisting European integration to a key architect in helping Central and Eastern European countries join the European Union.

Yet, Sorensen does not shy away from acknowledging the limitations and contradictions that haunt the European project. The rise of nationalism, economic inequality, and the perception of a “fortress Europe” complicate the narrative of European unity and inclusivity.

If inclusivity and solidarity lie at the heart of European ideals, why are so many citizens in both old and new member states feeling left behind?

His warnings echo in the unsettled present: Are supranational projects like the European Union vulnerable to accusations of fortress mentality, or can they reinvent themselves to deliver justice and security for all?

When democracies struggle with distance—geographical, linguistic, and institutional—what will restore the social contract and bridge the gap between citizens and distant power centers?

Listen to the conversation

EPISODE 4: Can One Person's Passion Create Lasting Impact? with model Noella Coursaris Musunka

In a world longing for heroes and hopeful stories, Noella Coursaris Musunka stands as a shining beacon of what is possible when resilience meets purpose. From a childhood marked by loss and displacement in the Congo, to gracing international stages like the UN and the World Economic Forum, she has transformed her platform from fashion runways to real-world impact. How can we, regardless of our background or resources, harness the power within to uplift our communities and break cycles of hardship? And in an age of growing cynicism, how do we reclaim faith in humanity, turning compassion into lasting change?

True greatness lies not in status or fame, but in the courage to dream big, the commitment to act locally, and the compassion to build ecosystems where every child can thrive. Listen to the podcast.