Ask It Right, But First Listen is a podcast produced by the Sciences Po Journalism students where exceptional guests from a variety of professions share their insights about the art of listening and asking the right questions.

Have you ever asked yourself— “how does a CIA agent know when someone is lying? Is it the words they choose? The way they pause? Or something much deeper, hidden in their body language and tone? This episode’s guest might have some answers.

Barry McManus, is a man who has spent decades mastering the fine art of detection. For 26 years, he served at the CIA and at some point, became a chief forensic psychophysiologist and interrogator — a polygraph expert and a pioneer in interrogation techniques that shaped intelligence operations worldwide.

He played a pivotal role in counterterrorism initiatives, safeguarding intelligence assets, and training the next generation of interrogators after he joined the private sector in 2003.

Guest :Barry McManus

Production and presentation : Vitória Barreto Martins, Stanislaw Naklicki and Antoine Goullin. Edited by Vitória Barreto Martins

Episode Art : Emma Carmichael

In Studio production : Marine Sehan

Music tracks: Long way Home, Mind the Gap, via Slipstream

Executive producer : Associate Professor Michaëla Cancela-Kieffer.

Hébergé par Ausha. Visitez ausha.co/politique-de-confidentialite pour plus d'informations.

Ask It Right, But First Listen is a podcast produced by the Sciences Po Journalism students where exceptional guests from a variety of professions share their insights about the art of listening.

Episode #2 dives into the surprising science of listening : what effective listening is, what it isn't, and why it matters more than ever.

Our guest is Dr. Graham Bodie, one of the world’s leading experts on listening and Chief Listening Officer at the Listen First Coalition.

From the often-cited but misleading claim that the majority of communication is non-verbal, to the idea that silence can be a form of presence, Dr. Bodie walks us through what good listening actually involves. He takes us behind the curtain of popular communication myths, and explains how real listening is less about staying quiet and more about being actively present. Along the way, we explore how deep listening can help to bridge political divides.

Recommended reads and videos:

The Handbook of Listening

The Listen First Project

America Talks (My Country Talks)

Guest: Dr Graham Bodie

Hosts: Inês Vilares & Vitória Barreto Martins

In Studio production : Marine Sehan

Edited by Edie Twells-Eastwood

Executive producer : Associate Professor Michaëla Cancela-Kieffer

Hébergé par Ausha. Visitez ausha.co/politique-de-confidentialite pour plus d'informations.

Ask It Right, But First Listen is a podcast produced by the Sciences Po Journalism students where exceptional guests from a variety of professions share their insights about the art of listening. Each episode offers listening tips for everyday life.

Episode #3 features Nina Fasciaux, Director of Partnerships at the Solutions Journalism Network and author of Malentendus : the French, the Media and Democracy, published in January 2025 in France (Editions Payot)

Reflecting on recent journalism practices, from the coverage of Russia to the failure to anticipate the results of the 2016 US election of Donald Trump, Nina Fasciaux believes listening is the key for the untrusted media industry to return to its role as a bridge for our society. More importantly, she believes empathy and humility are key.

Guest: Nina Fasciaux

Soundbites: Emily Kasriel - Trump 'Resistance' didn't work. What will? from YouTube channel Washington Post; Amanda Ripley - How to deeply listen, from YouTube channel International Journalism Festival

Recommended read: Complicating the narratives, by Amanda Ripley

Production and presentation: Emma Nicolas, Sofia Solda, Yuqing Yang, Léonie Ferrer.

In Studio production : Marine Sehan

Episode Art : Emma Carmichael

Music tracks: Long way Home, Mind the Gap, via Slipstream

Executive producer : Associate Professor Michaëla Cancela-Kieffer.

Hébergé par Ausha. Visitez ausha.co/politique-de-confidentialite pour plus d'informations.

Ask It Right, But First Listen is a podcast produced by the Sciences Po Journalism students where exceptional guests from a variety of professions share their insights about the art of listening. Each episode offers listening tips for everyday life.

Talking to children can feel particularly challenging, especially when there’s something they don’t want to say out of guilt - or shame. We’ve all been there: asking vague, open-ended questions to understand what happened, looking for answers in the way they act, making sense of the little information they give us… Now, imagine trying to get them to open up in cases of violence - be it physical, sexual, or verbal - aimed at them.

This is Faustine Pelletier’s daily job. A police officer in the French minors’ brigade, she works with both child victims of violence and suspected offenders to shed light on criminal cases. In this episode, she recounts her best interviewing techniques and listening tips to make children feel comfortable, and to create a space for truth to come out.

Guest: Faustine Pelletier

Host: Clarisse Fontaine, Interviewers: Emma Carmichael and Maya Thompson, Dubbing : Emma Carmichael and Maya Thompson.

Editing and sound design: Emma Carmichael, Clarisse Fontaine and Paul Chambellant

Script editors: Adèle Lavalaye, Emma Carmichael and Maya Thompson

Photographer: Adèle Lavalaye

In Studio production : Marine Sehan

Music: Mind the Gap, Slipstream

Executive producer for the series : Associate Professor Michaëla Cancela-Kieffer.

Hébergé par Ausha. Visitez ausha.co/politique-de-confidentialite pour plus d'informations.

Ask It Right, But First Listen is a podcast produced by the Sciences Po Journalism students where exceptional guests from a variety of professions share their insights about the art of listening, a rare skill in our polarised world. Each episode offers listening tips for everyday life.

This episode features Agnes Callamard, Secretary General of Amnesty International and former UN Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions.

Our guest has confronted powerful regimes, uncovered hidden truths, and— above all — asked the hard questions. We sit down to discuss her path to becoming a leading human rights advocate, her investigation of the brutal murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi and the attempted poisoning of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny. She takes us through the corridors of power of the UN and human rights work, to discuss the most challenging moments when asking the right questions.

Recommended reads :

Agnès Callamard & Alexandre Duyck. Une enquêtrice à l’ONU. Flammarion, 2025.
“Inquiry into the killing of Mr. Jamal Khashoggi,” Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), 2019

“Russia responsible for Navalny poisoning, rights experts say” UN News, 2021,

“Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories: End wave of mass killings,” Amnesty International, 2024,

“Tips for Interviewing Victims of Tragedy, Witnesses and Survivors,” Dart Center for Journalism and Trauma, 2021

Host: Xavier Amedeo Pallas;

Interviewers: Lilith Shahverdyan and Mateus Santa Rita

Editors: Xavier Amedeo Pallas, Nil Codina Martinez and Mateus Santa Rita

Sound design: Xavier Amedeo Pallas, Nil Codina Martinez and Mateus Santa Rita

Reporting and research by Lilith Shahverdyan, Mateus Santa Rita, Nil Codina Martinez

In Studio production : Marine Sehan

Episode art: Emma Carmichael

Music: Mind the Gap, Slipstream

Social media: Idil Yilmaz

Produced by Sciences Po School of Journalism (Marine Sehan) and its students, Lilit Shahverdyan, Mateus Mourao Santa Rita, Nil Codina Martinez, Idil Yilmaz, and Xavier Amedeo Pallas.

Executive producer for the series : Associate Professor Michaëla Cancela-Kieffer.

Hébergé par Ausha. Visitez ausha.co/politique-de-confidentialite pour plus d'informations.