Are we in the middle of a new world war without realizing it? That’s the question Lulu Garcia-Navarro wanted to explore when she sat down with Mirjana Spoljaric, the head of the International Committee of the Red Cross. The I.C.R.C. is a secretive organization that is not well known outside war zones. Unlike the American Red Cross, which deals with blood drives and American disaster relief, the I.C.R.C. is the independent and neutral guardian of the Geneva Conventions, a series of international agreements created in the wake of World War II that laid out the rules of war. In her role, Spoljaric travels to all sides of active war zones — Gaza, Ukraine, Iran — meeting with the heads of governments and armed groups alike. She rarely gives interviews because of the politically fraught and confidential nature of her work, but she sat down with Garcia-Navarro just after the most recent U.N. General Assembly because she is deeply worried about the growing number of conflicts in the world and how complex they have become. She is also speaking out because she believes that her entreaties to global leaders are increasingly falling on deaf ears. Many world leaders “simply don’t care anymore,” she said. “And this lack of empathy, this lack of anger, is what I find most dangerous at the moment.” Read more: https://www.nytimes.com/2026/10/10/magazine/mirjana-spoljaric-interview.html [01:17] What is the International Committee of the Red Cross? [03:16] Why is Mirjana Spoljaric speaking out now? [05:47] Where Spoljaric has traveled and why it’s important [08:07] Have the rules of war been followed in Gaza? [10:24] Access to hostages in Gaza [15:46] Why does it matter how you treat your enemy? [19:45] Being the first woman president of the ICRC [23:04] Is there tension in neutrality? [26:00] Iran and complex negotiations [31:17] Eroding language and preparing for war [34:47] Are we losing capacity to resolve conflicts? [37:52] Is Spoljaric worried about a breakdown of the post-WWII order? [39:37] What should we be doing? “The Interview” features conversations with the world’s most fascinating people. Each week, co-hosts David Marchese and Lulu Garcia-Navarro talk to compelling, influential figures in culture, politics, business, sports and beyond — illuminating who they are, why they do what they do and how they impact the rest of us. Subscribe to “The Interview”: https://www.youtube.com/@theinterviewpodcast Discover the journalism Times subscribers get daily, free for your first month in The New York Times app. Download here: https://nytimes.onelink.me/Xpht/a6wzplra #icrc #war #theinterview