Sam McAlister on Scandals, Scoops, and the Prince Andrew Interview (Part One)

Intelligence Squared

Arts, News, Society & Culture, News Commentary

4.2 • 1.1K Ratings

🗓️ 2 March 2025

⏱️ 25 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Sam McAlister is the woman who secured the now infamous Newsnight interview with Prince Andrew, when he claimed to Emily Maitlis that he was in a Pizza Express in Woking on the night Virginia Giuffre alleges he slept with her. This was the broadcast which set public opinion alight, and from which many have supposed the royal family will never quite recover. In February 2025, McAlister joined us on stage to discuss the behind the scenes drama of the Prince Andrew interview, the making of the film adaption Scoop, the EMMY-nominated Netflix film starring Billie Piper and Gillian Anderson, and the challenges of navigating truth, power, celebrity and accountability in today’s media landscape. --------- This is the first instalment of a two-part episode. If you'd like to become a Member and get access to all our full ad free conversations, plus all of our Members-only content, just visit intelligencesquared.com/membership to find out more. For £4.99 per month you'll also receive: - Full-length and ad-free Intelligence Squared episodes, wherever you get your podcasts - Bonus Intelligence Squared podcasts, curated feeds and members exclusive series - 15% discount on livestreams and in-person tickets for all Intelligence Squared events ... Or Subscribe on Apple for £4.99: - Full-length and ad-free Intelligence Squared podcasts - Bonus Intelligence Squared podcasts, curated feeds and members exclusive series … Already a subscriber? Thank you for supporting our mission to foster honest debate and compelling conversations! Visit intelligencesquared.com to explore all your benefits including ad-free podcasts, exclusive bonus content and early access. … Subscribe to our newsletter here to hear about our latest events, discounts and much more. https://www.intelligencesquared.com/newsletter-signup/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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1:08.0	Welcome to Intelligence Squared, where great minds meet.
1:11.6	I'm producer Mia Serente.
1:14.6	On the show today, Sam McAllister, the BAFTA and Emmy-nominated producer,
1:19.6	an author of Scoops, behind the scenes of the BBC's most shocking interviews.
1:25.6	Sam McAllister is the woman who secured the now infamous news night interview with Prince Andrew,
1:32.3	when he claimed to Emily Maitliss that he was in a pizza express in Woking on the night that Virginia Dufre
1:38.3	alleges he slept with her.
1:40.3	This was the broadcast which set public opinion alight, and from which many have supposed the royal family will never quite recover.
1:48.0	Sam joined us recently on stage at the Kieln Theatre in London to discuss the behind the seas drama of the most notorious interviews in television journalism, and the challenges of navigating truth, power, celebrity and
2:02.1	accountability in today's media landscape.
2:05.7	She was joined in conversation by award-winning journalist, broadcaster and documentary filmmaker
2:10.9	Jenny Cleman.
	...

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