BBC Sounds, Music, Radio, Podcasts.

Sarah, last week we were scattered all over the globe for this episode though we are not

you at least are not. You're back in the USA which is the right place to be.

I am, I'm in New York City. I'm at the UN building where the annual General Assembly meeting

is taking place. So that means the whole of Midtown is in traffic gridlock. New Yorkers

everywhere are absolutely furious about all the huge motorcages of visiting heads of state

and heads of government that have come and invaded their part of New York and inside the building.

Here is quite exciting. There are literally thousands of diplomats filling up the corridors here.

It is a very important moment. Vladimir Putin is not here. President Xi of China is not here,

but Joe Biden is. Many other heads of state and government. We're going to hear President

Biden speech very soon and of course it's going to be dominated by Ukraine, especially in light

of what Vladimir Putin's had to say earlier today. And that's really frustrating a lot of the

other countries here because Ukraine is important obviously, but it's not the only issue that's

facing the world at the moment. We heard from the Secretary General of the United Nations about

the multiple crises of poverty, hunger, inequality, the rising price of food and energy and of

course the climate emergency. So you had the Secretary General telling us the planet's burning

and the future of humanity is at stake, but it's pretty much Ukraine that it's going to dominate

most of the next few days. Now we're recording this at lunchtime here in the UK, but of course for

you, Sarah, the day is just getting going at the UN. You're going to be updating America,

isn't you? At the end of the pod with the exclusive Sarah Smith take on the Biden speech.

I certainly will. It is early here at eight o'clock in the morning, which means the canteen is an

open. I haven't so much. I said a cup of tea yet, but as soon as I hear Joe Biden speech, I will

...