Recorded

UAE at 50: How the UK and UAE built strategic partnerships and lifelong ties

UAE at 50: How the Emirates went to outer space

Since the Emirates’ formation in 1971, it has become a close friend and strategic partner of the United Kingdom.

 

In this miniseries, The UAE at 50, we examine how the relationship between the UAE and the UK has developed over the past fifty years.

 

In this episode, we take a look at the giant leaps made in the UAE’s STEM fields and how exchanges with the UK have helped launch the young nation's space programme.

 

The UAE launched the Emirates Mars Mission last year and is already collaborating with other countries like the UK on a project to build the first human settlement on the planet by 2117.

 

We talk to Alia Al Mansoori, an aspiring Emirati astronaut and student at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland, and mechanical engineer Nora Al Matrooshi, who became the first Arab female astronaut after joining the UAE's astronaut corps.

How the Emirates is discovering itself through archaeology

Since its formation in 1971, the UAE has become a close friend and strategic partner of the United Kingdom. In this mini-series, The UAE at 50, we examine how the relationship between the two countries has developed over the past 50 years.

In this episode, we speak to two experts in archaeology based in the UAE about their most recent discoveries and how the young country is searching both its vast desert and deep waters to learn more about its ancient past.

Noura Hamad Al Hameli is a young Emirati archaeologist with the Department of Culture and Tourism in Abu Dhabi and Tim Power is a British archaeologist and historian specialising in Arabia and the Islamic world. He has been working as an academic, consultant and writer in the UAE since 2009 and is currently completing his next book, a 500-page history of the Emirati people.

Hosted by Layla Maghribi
Interviewed by Alice Haine and James Langton
Produced by Ayesha Khan and Arthur Eddyson

The future of energy with Robin Mills

In this bonus episode, The National is live from Adipec 2021 in Abu Dhabi, to discuss how the energy sector is evolving after the Covid-19 pandemic and Cop26 climate summit in Glasgow. Host Mustafa Alrawi talks to Robin Mills, CEO of Qamar Energy, and a regular contributor to The National, about the outlook for oil and gas, how the industry will marry short-term supply needs with the path to net zero. Also, how viable is hydrogen as an option for the clean energy mix?

Hosted by Mustafa Alrawi

How the Emirates became a hub for international business

Since the Emirates’ formation 50 years ago, it has become a close friend and strategic partner of the UK.
After an official visit by Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed to the UK earlier this year, the UAE’s relationship with the country has entered a new chapter. Several high profile investments in greener, high-tech industries were announced, expanding on the Sovereign Investment Partnership, announced last March, with an initial £1 billion joint investment in life sciences.

In this miniseries, The UAE at 50, we speak to those at the heart of this connection about what it means and examine how the links between businesses, governments and institutions have developed over the period.
In this episode, we talk speak to Nick Cochran-Dyet, Director and Chairman of the British Business Group about the very long history of commerce between the two nations.

Hosted by Layla Maghribi

Interview conducted by Alice Haine

Produced by Ayesha Khan and Arthur Eddyson

UAE at 50: How the Emirates is tackling climate change

Since the Emirates’ formation 50 years ago, it has become a close friend and strategic partner of the UK.
In this miniseries, The UAE at 50, we speak to those at the heart of this connection about what it means.
In this episode, we talk to two environmental experts about the UAE’s fast-changing environmental sector and how the country is forging ahead with its commitment to have net-zero emissions by 2050.

Sheikha Shamma bint Sultan bin Khalifa Al Nahyan, who sits on the board of advisors of the Yale Centre for Environmental Law and Policy, and Dr Richard Perry, advisor to Abu Dhabi’s Environment Agency, who helped establish the institution decades ago, tell us how partnerships and collaborations with countries such as the UK are at the heart of the UAE’s goal to become a world leader in sustainability and renewable energy.

Hosted by Layla Maghribi
Produced by Ayesha Khan and Arthur Pereira

9/11 anniversary: in conversation with US diplomat Sean Murphy

The deadly 9/11 terror attacks reshaped US foreign policy with regards to the Middle East. Its consequences continue to be felt, 20 years on.

 

In this special episode, The National’s Assistant Editor in Chief, Mustafa Alrawi, and Sean Murphy, Charge d’Affaires at the US Embassy in Abu Dhabi, discuss the impact of that tragic event, both broadly on the region and in terms of their own careers.

Diego Maradona: The Dubai Years Ep. 5

Ten years ago, Diego Maradona stunned the world as he arrived in the UAE to manage club team Al Wasl. In this series, Paul Radley, sportswriter for The National, and football correspondent John McAuley will be looking back at the time when Maradona mania arrived in the UAE.

Subscribe to this five-part special to hear the story in full.

Produced by Ayesha Khan and Arthur Eddyson.

Diego Maradona: The Dubai Years Ep. 4

In stark contrast to his gilded playing career, Diego Maradona never won a trophy as a manager. His spells in charge of teams were only ever brief, and often ended in turmoil.

And yet those who played for him during his time in the UAE remember him with deep affection. They describe a manager full of empathy, warmth, and charisma, who would back them - even when all was lost.

In Episode 4 of our podcast series, hosts John McAuley and Paul Radley hear from a number of players who were managed by Maradona at Al Wasl and Fujairah.

The question to each of them was a simple one: what was it like to be coached by one of the most effervescent characters in all of sport?

Subscribe to this five-part special to hear the story in full.

Produced by Ayesha Khan and Arthur Eddyson.

Diego Maradona: The Dubai Years Ep. 3

Diego Maradona is, for many, the greatest footballer to have ever played the game. So what made him so good?

In 1982, when aged 22, he moved from Boca Juniors to Barcelona for a world-record $7.6 million fee.

During his two years at Camp Nou, Maradona was a constant thorn in the side of arch-rivals Real Madrid, even helping Barcelona defeat the old enemy in the 1983 Copa del Rey final.

He would spend two spells at Boca, returning in 1995 following an ignominious exit from the World Cup the previous summer. Two years later, he brought down the curtain on his professional career with a 2-1 victory away to bitter rivals River Plate.

That wasn’t technically when Maradona hung up his boots, though. In 2011, he arrived in the UAE to manage Al Wasl, and was a regular on the 5-aside or 7-aside pitch. Apparently, he treated those games as anything but recreational.

In Episode 3 of our podcast series looking at the Maradona's time in the country, hosts Paul Radley and John McAuley speak to a former opponent at Real Madrid, an ex-teammate at Boca, and even a close friend who was tasked with organising the weekly “friendly” matches in Dubai.

True to form, they attest to the fact the World Cup winner could be a handful on and off the pitch.

Subscribe to this five-part special to hear the story in full.

Produced by Ayesha Khan and Arthur Eddyson.