Available to book
Transform global perspectives with Ritula Shah, speaker, international affairs and current events expert. Ritula engages audiences on geopolitics, digital transformation and cultural insights, delivering authoritative analysis honed at BBC Radio 4 and trusted by leading think tanks worldwide.
Journalist and broadcaster Ritula Shah has worked across a range of radio stations and television news programs.
Journalist and broadcaster, chair and event host, Ritula Shah is one of the most recognisable voices on speech radio. As one of the BBC's top radio news and current affairs presenters, Ritula has spoken to politicians, thinkers and newsmakers. Her role as the lead presenter of the World Tonight on Radio 4 and at the BBC World Service has given her a unique perspective on national and international events from 9/11 to Brexit. Her considered approach has enabled her to interrogate and explain why and how stories matter. From the rise of China to mass migration, populism and cryptocurrencies, Ritula has been at the forefront of the coverage and has taken the deep dive for those who want to get beyond the headlines.
Ritula has extensive experience in chairing panels, including on the BBC's Any Questions and The Real Story. She also leads major public debates for Universities and think tanks on everything from foreign policy to AI and digital transformation. Ritula has travelled extensively for her work, reporting from countries including China, India, Brazil, the US, Iran and Germany.
Her calm and authoritative style has gained her access to secretive Chinese carmakers and the American military base at Guantanamo Bay. Ritula is on the advisory board of the defence and security think tank, the Royal United Services Institute. She's also a trustee of the visual arts organisation INIVA and an ambassador for the British Asian Trust. Ritula currently presents Calm Classics on ClassicFM, indulging her lifelong interest in the arts.
Topics, sessions and talks
The age of the unipolar world - when the US had no significant rivals - is over. That brief span of around two decades after the collapse of the Soviet Union and while China was rising, has given way to one in which China presents a formidable military, economic and technological challenge and Russia is dangerously unpredictable. Throw into that mix the financial muscle being exercised by countries in the Arab world, can a rules-based system survive and who gets to make and police them?
Most of the time we can’t even agree on the facts so what is the point of reading the news? When major events erupt at home or abroad, how do we try to understand them? From climate change to conflict, who or what do we believe? There’s plenty of evidence to indicate trust in news is falling and a significant section of the audience is actively avoiding it, either some of the time or all of it. Conspiracy theories and misinformation are corroding our open democratic societies. Ritula Shah makes a case for actively engaging with the news, for sifting facts from opinion and for trying to find the truth.
A short, brown woman who didn’t smoke: Ritula Shah was a minority when she started working in media and journalism at the end of the 1980s. Her parents weren’t graduates; she couldn’t ski and hadn’t had the benefit of a gap year. But after more than three decades at the BBC, she ended her career as the lead presenter of a prestigious daily radio news programme. How do you gain acceptance when your face or class doesn’t fit the culture of your industry? Why do so many of us suffer from imposter syndrome, and how do you get over it? Personal growth can come from sharing success - Ritula Shah draws on her experience to chart a path for transformation. Accept who you are and focus on who you want to become.
Book Ritula Shah for her unparalleled insights into global events, drawn from extensive experience interviewing top newsmakers. Her calm, authoritative style ensures engaging and thought-provoking discussions on pressing topics. Ritula's expertise in chairing panels and leading debates makes her an exceptional choice for any event.
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frequently asked questions
Something we've not covered here?
To book Ritula Shah, email ritula.shah@getapeptalk.com or call PepTalk on +44 20 3835 2929 (UK) or +1 737 888 5112 (US), and one of our speaker agents will contact you within hours to confirm Ritula's availability and speaking fee. If you can, please include your budget upfront – it helps us fast-track your request. It’s also helpful to know the date, format (virtual or in-person), location, and about your audience.
Ritula Shah structures her sessions around a case-building format, presenting evidence and competing perspectives drawn from her reporting experience before arriving at a reasoned position — as seen in her session on news engagement, where she moves from data on declining trust to a direct argument for active news consumption.
Ritula Shah's sessions cover geopolitics and the shifting multipolar world order, media literacy and navigating misinformation, and breaking glass ceilings through personal and professional transformation. She spent more than three decades at the BBC, serving as lead presenter of The World Tonight on Radio 4.
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Three to six months ahead is comfortable for most events, and 12 months is better for large conferences, peak-season dates or one specific in-demand speaker. Shorter timelines are workable, and PepTalk regularly fills last-minute and replacement bookings within days. Availability is the constraint, so get in touch as soon as you have a date.
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