The Courage to Lead, with Sanna Marin, Former Prime Minister of Finland (Part One)

Intelligence Squared

Arts, News, Society & Culture, News Commentary

4.2 • 1.1K Ratings

🗓️ 5 December 2025

⏱️ 36 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Sanna Marin is a trailblazer in modern politics. When she became Prime Minister of Finland in 2019, she made history: at 34 she was the youngest ever leader of her country and the youngest leader in the world at the time. As Prime Minister she confronted significant challenges. She led Finland through the COVID-19 pandemic, helped the country navigate neighbouring Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, and led Finland’s rapid joining of NATO – the swiftest entry for any country in the alliance’s history. In November 2025, she joined us live to discuss her new book, Hope in Action. She talked about the political challenges facing Europe and the world today, how she coped with her personal life becoming public, including the incident that sparked a media frenzy and prompted women, including Hillary Clinton and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, to express their support. And she explored how we can all develop the courage to lead and act for the change we want to see in the world. --- This is the first instalment of a two-part episode. If you'd like to become a Member and get access to all our full ad free conversations, plus all of our Members-only content, just visit intelligencesquared.com/membership to find out more. For £4.99 per month you'll also receive: - Full-length and ad-free Intelligence Squared episodes, wherever you get your podcasts - Bonus Intelligence Squared podcasts, curated feeds and members exclusive series - 15% discount on livestreams and in-person tickets for all Intelligence Squared events ... Or Subscribe on Apple for £4.99: - Full-length and ad-free Intelligence Squared podcasts - Bonus Intelligence Squared podcasts, curated feeds and members exclusive series … Already a subscriber? Thank you for supporting our mission to foster honest debate and compelling conversations! Visit intelligencesquared.com to explore all your benefits including ad-free podcasts, exclusive bonus content and early access. … Subscribe to our newsletter here to hear about our latest events, discounts and much more. https://www.intelligencesquared.com/newsletter-signup/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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1:11.4	Welcome to Intelligence Squared, where great minds meet.
1:15.5	I'm producer Mia Serenti.
1:17.9	Today's episode is part one of our recent live event
1:20.7	with former Prime Minister of Finland, Santa Marin.
1:23.8	Marin joined us at the Emmanuel Centre
1:25.9	to discuss what it takes to have the courage to lead
1:28.7	and her new memoir, Hope in Action.
1:32.0	Santa Marin became the youngest leader in the world when she took office in 2019 at the age of 34.
1:38.2	As Prime Minister, she guided Finland through the COVID-19 pandemic, responded to Russia's
	...

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