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Sonali Shah

Sonali Shah's work with the Red Cross

Journalist and broadcaster Sonali Shah is a passionate humanitarian, particularly driven by issues that bring people together across cultural, generational and social divides. Throughout her broadcasting career, she has consistently championed empathy-led storytelling, helping audiences understand the human impact behind the headlines. 

Sonali Shah sits in a light-colored armchair speaking into a microphone on a stand, holding a tablet. She is smiling at Jake Puddle. Jake sits in the foreground, out of focus, facing away from the camera, talking to Sonali. Behind Sonali is a bookshelf with books, framed art, and warm lighting.
Sonali Shah (left) and Olaf Borfghi (right) sit on a sofa in a warmly lit room, speaking into microphones, recording a podcast. Sonali legs are crossed and her hands are crossed over them. Olaf sits with hands clasped. Behind them is a wooden table with decorative items. A framed landscape painting hangs above them, and a small sign reading “BritishRedCross” sits on the table below the painting.

Sonali has supported the British Red Cross for many years, amplifying our emergency appeals and promoting fundraising events like Walk for Humanity. But her most recent collaboration reflects the full depth of that commitment.

Sonali played an integral role in bringing Bridging Divides to life - a video podcast from the British Red Cross exploring why many people feel an increasing sense of division in everyday life, and how we can respond with empathy, curiosity and humanity. As well as hosting the series, Sonali was instrumental in shaping and launching the pilot, helping to make genuinely complex conversations feel accessible, engaging and enjoyable for a wide audience. 

Bridging Divides isn't about winning arguments or changing minds. It's about understanding and giving people practical tools to stay connected even when they disagree. Alongside academic experts, Sonali moderated rich, thought-provoking discussions getting under the skin of why we feel so divided, why we believe what we believe, and why conversation rather than debate is so essential right now. 

More about Sonali Shah's work with us

Watch Bridging Divides here

  • A graphic design with a textured pale blue background featuring overlapping rounded rectangles in red, mustard yellow and green. In the centre is a white rounded rectangle with a burgundy right-facing triangle inside a white circle (a 'play' icon). The icon is inside a burgundy rectangle, which is layered on top of two other rectangles the same size. The shapes create a layered, connected look that reinforces the theme of unity.

    In the Bridging Divides podcast we explore whether we are as divided as we feel, and what we can all do to make a difference.

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