The Mediator’s Studio - Episode 0, Season 7

Sneak Peek: The Mediator’s Studio – Season 7

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Recorded mostly at the Oslo Forum in June 2025, Season 7 of The Mediator’s Studio offers a rare window into the inner lives of those working to defuse some of the world’s most complex and protracted conflicts. Across five compelling episodes, mediators, diplomats, and envoys reflect on the delicate craft of dialogue—from backchannel negotiations to public diplomacy.

This season features conversations with a novelist-turned-mediator who works behind the scenes in crises from Myanmar and Afghanistan to gang-controlled Haiti; the UN’s envoy to Yemen revealing the emotional toll of high-stakes negotiations; and a former head of state who believes real breakthroughs can happen over coffee breaks. Listeners will also hear from South Korea’s first female Foreign Minister on inter-Korean diplomacy and an Egyptian ambassador navigating tensions from Beirut to Moscow.

These stories offer an unfiltered look at the challenges, humanity, and hope at the heart of mediation.


Adam Cooper (00:06) Hi, everyone. It's Adam Cooper, your host, here to let you know that we have something special coming your way. Season 7 of the Mediator's Studio. Across five episodes, mostly recorded at this year's Oslo Forum, I have the great privilege of interviewing veteran mediators and negotiators about what it really takes to make peace. Guests this season include a former head of state, a novelist turned conflict resolver, and a UN envoy. Uhuru Muigai Kenyatta (00:33) The big problem here is not reaching a deal. The big problem is in the implementation of a deal. That's where the challenges lie. Claire Hajaj (00:42) We had a meeting with Daw Su's Minister of Peace and Reconciliation maybe 24 to 48 hours before the coup, and he was never late to a meeting, ever. We met with him on Zoom, and he came flustered and late to the meeting, very apologetic. He just said, I've just come from a meeting with military, and I think there's going to be a coup. Hans Grundberg (01:02) All the discussions were indirect, but they were at the same place. What was fascinating was the lunchroom, where it was initially divided in two, where you had one, the government side on one side, and then Ansar Allah on the other. But as the days went on, that lunchroom became mixed in the end, and you saw informal discussions taking place, and you saw relationship being built. Adam Cooper (01:32) Please join us next week for the first episode with Hans Grundberg, UN Special Envoy for Yemen, as he shares the inside story of his team's mediation efforts to find a solution to the conflict in Yemen. He was particularly reflective on the mental toll of conflict, of course, for those affected by war, but also on those who are trying to resolve it. He told me why he thinks that honesty is non-negotiable and makes a case for why empathy and not just strategy makes all the difference. If you'd like to learn more about what happened at the Oslo Forum this year, you can find the report on our website at osloforum.org. Happy listening, and thank you for tuning into the Mediator's Studio.