The McKay Interview
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Michael McKay conducts in depth interviews with decision makers and local leaders.
The McKay Interview was founded on a simple idea: that listeners would tune in regularly to listen to intelligent yet relaxed, English-language conversation between Michael McKay and interesting people who do interesting things.
A variety of prominent and thoughtful people have accepted the invitation and a wide range of topics have been covered.
The McKay Interview was founded on a simple idea: that listeners would tune in regularly to listen to intelligent yet relaxed, English-language conversation between Michael McKay and interesting people who do interesting things.
A variety of prominent and thoughtful people have accepted the invitation and a wide range of topics have been covered.
111 Episodes
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Our topic in this McKay Interview is Tax and Taxation.
We discuss the following points:
We go back to the very beginning and talk about the origins of Tax, and what Tax was used for
-The turbulent history of public consent to pay taxes
-The difference between Avoidance and Evasion; the politics of Taxation
-The Swiss way of Taxation
-Supra-national organizations like the OECD trying to muscle in on levying tax
-AI, robot and the future of Taxation.
He is "at home" on 3 continents, having been born in Madagascar and lived many years in Africa.
He studied in the USA, and has his home in Switzerland.
Stories of his driving experiences to the ends of the Earth, the vehicle he has chosen, the people he has met, and above all his personal motivation, make fascinating listening!
In this episode we discuss:
-A sense of the scale of his planned voyage so that I can understand the true dimensions of what he has set out to do. In which direction did he start to drive? How did he decide? And how long it will take him?
-Why he is doing it? What pushes him to undertake such a massive journey, which takes him away from his family for so long.
-We talk about his experiences of humankind and, in particular, what his global, circumnavigational driving experience has taught him.
-Some of the highs and lows/most-memorable and most unpleasant experiences of his journey.
Twice President of the Swiss Confederation, and thirteen years a Federal Councillor, Adolf Ogi, one of Switzerland's most admired and popular leaders in modern times shares his personal reflections and some of his guiding principles with me.
In this episode we discuss:
-The importance of good leadership, and clear and repeated communication to persuade and understand people.
-One particular experience when he was invited to address European Union heads of states, in which he explains Switzerland to them!
-The United Nations, Kofi Annan, Sport and Peace played an important part in his career as a statesman and he explains why.
My wide-ranging interview with Dr Hughes takes place in the year of the 100th anniversary of the International School of Geneva - ISG (1924-2024).
In this episode we discuss:
-His career journey to one of the top jobs in international education.
-How the ISG/Ecolint started and why.
-What he and his colleagues are teaching their young charges.
-His views on the place of the school, the teacher and the family in the "socialization" of children and young people today.
-The contribution of the ISG/Ecolint to "international" Geneva over the past 100 years.
Professor Julian Lindley-French is Chairman of the Alphen Group in the Netherlands and an expert analyst focussing on security and defence strategy and policy.
In this episode we discuss:
-Is the world is a safer place than in 2014 when I first interviewed him.
-Whether the West is still strong. Also, I put it to him that, perhaps, the West played its good hand badly after the dissolution of the USSR in 1991.
-The ongoing conflict in Gaza
-The terrible but largely unreported conflict in Africa's Sahel.
-The continued tension across the Straight of Taiwan.
Dr Nadia Sikorsky, a Russian/Swiss dual national, is Co-founder and Editor of NashaGazeta.ch, the first Russian-language online newspaper in Switzerland.
In this episode we discuss:
-Given what she writes about, whether it is safe for her to visit Russia
-What mistakes the West made in dealing with the Russia post-Gorbachev
-What it will take for matters to improve for the Russian people.
Just over a year since our last radio conversation, I ask General Hodges
-For his assessment of the progress of the war in Ukraine against Russia's illegal invasion
-How long he thinks the war will continue
-What the West needs to do to support Ukraine better
-The interplay between politics and warfare, especially from the perspective of the USA in a Presidential Election year.
ID Quantique has been a Geneva success story for the past 20 years in the area of quantum and cybersecurity. We talk about current developments and where the future may take us in this exciting area.
In this episode we discuss:
-What is the big picture regarding developments in quantum?
-What are the dangers?
-What, if anything, should we fear about the direction we are travelling?
This is the second part of my radio conversation with Bru Pearce, started at Eastertime 2023. We discuss in greater detail how to repair the badly damaged biosphere. Restore it to life again. And who pays! It is a complex topic.
In this episode we discuss:
-How to repair the badly damaged biosphere
-Who will pay for it
Insights into the evolution of the Geneva Observatory and its long history; what use Astronomy serves; and Geneva's contribution to the science of Astronomy in the larger frame of research worldwide.
In this episode we discuss:
-The significant advances in Astronomy during his career.
-In a world of bewildering acronyms, what do XRIM, GAIA and EUCLID mean?
-I ask Professor Pepe if it is difficult to attract young people to study Astronomy.
General Richards discusses with me matters of war and grand strategy.
In this episode we discuss:
-The war in Ukraine
-His view that Russia has lost the war already, strategically
-Whether NATO wants Ukraine to "win" but does not want Russia to "lose"
-His lament on the dearth of statesmen and the death of "grand strategy".
Avivah and I discuss the implications of living longer and working longer; what it means for pensions, for younger colleagues in the workplace and for families.
We cover the following topic:
-Isn't Longevity just a first-world problem? You might be surprised by Avivah's answer. And how will younger people adjust to having work colleagues around them the age of their grandparents!
A radio conversation about Switzerland's relationship and role at the U.N. especially now that it is a Non-permanent Member of the Security Council.
In this episode we discuss:
-If there is the remotest chance that the Security Council can reform itself.
-We touch on the extent to which the Swiss population takes an interest in the U.N. and whether or not that is important.
-We talk about Swiss neutrality and what it really means these days.
-I ask him about his duties and obligations as head of the host country's delegation to the U.N. in Geneva.
Selma explains, among other things, the changes in shopping retail since the end of Covid lockdown a couple of years ago.
In this episode we discuss:
-What she thinks will be the next big thing around the corner for the retail shopping business
-To what extent do women dress in order to be attractive to men
-What men do when they go into her Etam shops to buy twice a year!
Jared Bibler, an American, arrived in Iceland a few years before the financial meltdown which started in 2008. He worked in the financial services sector and then, when it was all over, the investigator. He tells me his compelling personal story during that extraordinary period.
Some of the topics we cover:
-What sort of odd things he noticed in the practices of bank in which he was working
-How his peers and superiors reacted when he asked perfectly proper questions about some of the unusual practices that he noticed
-What the consequences of the malpractices were
-Could the same thing happen elsewhere, like for example Switzerland.
A radio conversation from a prominent, Conservative MP who has been very close to the centre of British politics in the Tory Party for over ten years.
In this episode we discuss:
-His opinion on whether or not the Conservative Party has run out of steam after 13 years in power
-The strength of opposition to or difficulties for the Conservative Party
-How politicians can regain the lost trust of the electorate
-Why are so many political leaders of questionable character so popular with voters.
In this episode, Professor Matt Goodwin explains what the data show about current changing political and social attitudes in the U.K.
Some of the topics we cover:
-Britain, as viewed from abroad, does not seem to be doing so well these days. Why?
-The immigration debate in Britain seems poisonous. Is the UK still a welcoming place?
-How did the National Health Service come to be elevated to something approaching a national deity?
In this episode, Kirsten Neuschaefer's account of her experiences before and during her remarkable, round-the-world voyage.
We cover some of the following topics:
-Why Kirsten was motivated to make such a huge sea voyage alone.
-How she prepared for her journey. How she navigated?
-Why men seem to dominate the Golden Globe Race?
-Whether she had time for spiritual reflection during 235 days alone at sea. And what she will do next?
Jean-Pierre Roth, a former President of the Swiss National Bank, explains the history and the current situation of this iconic, Swiss military institution in Vatican City.
We discuss many aspects of the Pontifical Swiss Guard including:
-Why they are there, since when have they been guarding the Pope
-What do they actually do and how many constitute the Swiss Guard
-Why the barracks need renovation and how much money is required?
We discuss the key, cybersecurity threats and what the future is likely to look like.
Some of the points we cover:
-What are the key, cybersecurity threats to businesses, organisations and individuals?
-What does "resilience" mean?
-What is your assessment of the role of organised crime as a threat to cybersecurity?
-Should we fear Artificial Intelligence?
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