This March, WikiLeaks Founder Julian Assange is Coming to TV Near You

Julian Assange, founder of the secret-spilling organization WikiLeaks, will soon be heading to the one media outlet he has mostly stayed away from: television. That’s right, the controversial Australian is launching his own TV series, slated to hit the air in mid-March.

In 10 weekly half-hour episodes, Assange plans to host “in-depth conversations with key political players, thinkers, and revolutionaries from around the world.” The theme? The “world tomorrow.” Though Assange isn’t quite a top pick for TV host, the series is intriguing, and if he can manage to get big personalities who are highly involved in current events, the show could produce some tense standoffs.

In a statement on the WikiLeaks website, Assange says, “Through this series I will explore the possibilities for our future in conversations with those who are shaping it. Are we heading towards utopia, or dystopia and how we can set our paths? This is an exciting opportunity to discuss the vision of my guests in a new style of show that examines their philosophies and struggles in a deeper and clearer way than has been done before.”

Not surprisingly, Assange aims to do something he says no one else has done. Though details about the show, and which networks will carry it, are scarce, the project will inevitably spur controversy. That points to a good question: Who will be on the guest list? Needless to say, Assange has a contentious relationship with many politicians and heads of state, so would they be willing to speak with him? We’ll have to wait and see!

But until then, The Guardian offered some suggestions, including Tony Blair, Hillary Clinton, and Rupert Murdoch. Without a doubt, Clinton and Murdoch are guests I’d love to see — and here are a few more I’d add to that list (No one’s saying these picks are realistic, so feel free to add your own):

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad

This might be a predictable pick, but the Iranian president always makes for an interesting interview, and a standoff between these two strong personalities is not likely to disappoint. Of course, it goes without saying that Iran is a hot topic.

Angela Merkel

The German chancellor has a lot on her plate with the European doom and gloom. Merkel has a fair share of controversy in her past — the criticism she received for defending a Danish cartoonist who offended and angered many Muslims, for example — and surely qualifies as a significant political player.

Muhammad Yunus 

Known as the revolutionary behind Grameen Bank, a micro-lending institution, Yunus is also a Nobel Peace Prize recipient and widely regarded as an influential businessman and intellectual. Recently, he’s faced some corruption allegations about his microcredit programs. Nonetheless, ideas like his fit with “the world tomorrow” theme.

Vikram Pandit 

He may not be a revolutionary or a politician, but he is CEO of Citigroup, the world’s largest financial services organization. Surely, Assange would have some questions.

All guessing and dreaming aside, I’m curious to see who will actually watch this show. After all, he’s a guy many people immediately characterize as “creepy,” and that image has hardly improved since the 2010 allegations against him. It will definitely be interesting to see what March brings.

Photo: Wikimedia Commons