Oslo Forum

I'm your host, Adam Cooper.

I'm at the Oslo Forum, where some of the world's leading figures in peacemaking have come to discuss resolving conflicts from Iran to Sudan, Myanmar, and Ukraine.

My guest today has been serving as a senior advisor to the foreign minister of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia with the rank of minister plenipotentiary.

She headed the negotiation team and was a key mover behind the international initiative for the recognition of Palestinian statehood.

So if Manal's work has resonated with you, please get in touch via the listener survey and the show notes on our website.

Or do drop me a message on X at Adam Talks Peace.

The Mediator Studio is an Oslo Forum podcast brought to you by the Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue and the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Our managing editor is Kristina Buchold and the producer is Chris Gunness.

I'm your host, Adam Cooper.

I'm at the Oslo Forum, where some of the world's leading figures in peacemaking have come to discuss resolving conflicts from Iran, Sudan, Myanmar, and Ukraine.

My guest today is a distinguished senior fellow in the McCain Institute's Freedom for the Political Prisoners Initiative.

Between 2020 and 2025, he served as the United States Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs under Presidents Trump and Biden, bringing home over 65 Americans from captivity abroad.

So if Roger's work in hostage negotiation or the lessons from his long experience have resonated with you, please get in touch via the listener survey in the show notes on our website.

Or do drop me a message on X at Adam Talks Peace.

The Mediator Studio is an Oslo Forum podcast brought to you by the Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue and the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Our managing editor is Kristina Buchold and the producer is Chris Gunness.

Season eight of The Mediator Studio is coming soon.

In recent years, the Oslo Forum has seen a growing role for states in mediation and has explored what this means for the practice of negotiation.

Season eight takes a closer look at this through the voices of four former and current government officials who have spent their careers navigating some of the world's most difficult conflicts, from hostage crises and regional wars to fragile diplomatic breakthroughs.

Across four episodes, we go behind the scenes to hear about what it means to negotiate from within government.

Please join us next week for the first episode with Roger Carstens, former United States Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs.

as he shares the inside story of negotiating the release of Americans Helped Captive Abroad, and the lessons he learned about finding the key to the cell.

And if you'd like to learn more about what happened at the Oslo Forum this year, read the full report on our website at osloforum.org.

Happy listening, and thank you for tuning in to the Mediator Studio.