Lionel Barber was editor of the Financial Times for the tech boom, the global financial crisis, the continuing rise of China, Brexit, and the established media’s fight for survival in the age of fake news.

In November 2020 Barber came to Intelligence Squared to discuss what it was like to run one of the world’s greatest newspapers through these tumultuous times. In this online event he revealed what transpired during private meetings and exchanges with political leaders on the eve of referendums, conversations with billionaire bankers facing economic meltdown, exchanges with Silicon Valley tech gurus and pleas from foreign emissaries desperate for inside knowledge – all against the backdrop of a wildly shifting media landscape.

Featuring stories of close encounters with Donald Trump, David Cameron, Tony Blair, Vladimir Putin, Angela Merkel and Mohammed Bin Salman and many more, Barber offered unique insight into the people who continue to shape our world and who, quite literally, make the news. 

Barber was in conversation with Manveen Rana, journalist and broadcaster for The Times and Sunday Times.