Special Issue: An Interview with Dr. Kim McCall on Help(2), Children in Conflict, and War Child Records
Cornell Media Guild President Anna Loy interviewed Dr. Kim McCall, Executive Director of Children in Conflict, on their upcoming charity album with War Child Records.
This special issue of the Cornell Radio Newsletter highlights an exciting project and an important international issue. I hope you enjoy reading this as much as I did, and be sure to check out Help(2) when it comes out on March 6th!
- Emma Kagan, Cornell Radio Director
On February 13th, I had the pleasure of talking to Dr. Kim McCall, Executive Director of the non-profit Children in Conflict, about her organization and their role in the upcoming release of Help(2) with War Child Records. The album, set to release on March 6th, 2026, features tracks by artists including Arctic Monkeys, Olivia Rodrigo, Big Thief, Cameron Winter, Fontaines D.C., Damon Albarn, beabadoobee, Depeche Mode, Pulp, and more, with all proceeds supporting Children in Conflict and War Child in their mission to help children in conflict zones across the country.
In our conversation, Dr. McCall speaks to the urgency of this moment. With one in five children growing up in active war zones, we are living through the highest level of conflict globally since World War II. Hoping to bring joy to their work, Dr. McCall explains the role children played in the recording process, attending studio sessions live, as well as how her organization works to bring fun and childhood to places experiencing unimaginable violence.
This interview was conducted in celebration of World Radio Day on WVBR, who, alongside Cornell Radio and other college stations, came together to highlight the joy of student media and music in bringing people together. For young people reading this interview, I hope you find inspiration in Dr. McCall’s words, and in the music this album is releasing.
- Anna Loy, Cornell Media Guild President
The following interview originally aired on WVBR 93.5 FM as part of CMG’s World Radio Day broadcasting on February 13th, 2026.
Anna Loy, President of Cornell Media Guild
We are here on WVBR with Kim McCall from War Child Records, who has an upcoming album they’re releasing called Help 2. Can you explain a little bit about how this album came together, why you guys decided to do it right now?
Dr. Kim McCall, Executive Director of Children in Conflict
Oh my gosh, sure thing. Thanks, Anna. I have so much to say about this—thanks for having us. I actually head up Children in Conflict, which is the US-based partner of War Child Records. We’re so excited to be putting out this amazing new charity album. I think, you know, in a time when we’re lucky to have so much great music to listen to, the fact that you’re choosing to tune in to our album and our story—that choice really matters to us.
The truth is, 2026 has already been incredibly brutal for kids living in war zones. Conflicts are spreading, funding is drying up, and systems meant to protect children are really failing them. And yet, that’s exactly where the work of War Child and Children in Conflict begins. When schools are destroyed, we keep kids learning. When trauma runs deep, we provide mental health support. And when families are displaced, we create safe spaces where children can play and just feel like kids again. And that’s why this album matters so much.
Right now, there are 520 million children growing up in and around conflict zones. And so it’s clearly going to take as many friends and fans as we can possibly gather to help kids feel safe, supported, and able to just be kids.
You might wonder, why a charity album? I think music and the creative arts more broadly have always been a form of protest, a way to tell truth, to build empathy, and to use platforms for people who don’t yet have a voice. So it feels really fitting that there’s such a strong connection between children affected by conflict and communities rooted in music, film, and storytelling.
Some of your listeners, and you Anna, might know our origin story. War Child was actually launched thirty years ago off the back of the original charity album in 1995 called Help!, which featured some rather small bands you may have heard of — like Paul McCartney and Oasis. Now, thirty years later, we have this new collaborative album. Like the original, it speaks to the urgency of the situation of one in five children globally growing up in war. We’re really excited that through the sales of this album, the music community is taking a stand with War Child and Children in Conflict and saying no child should be a part of war.
Anna Loy
It’s really an amazing story. I think one thing I really appreciate about the album is there’s some younger artists, like Cameron Winter has so much buzz right now, or Olivia Rodrigo has been popular for a while, but then also some throwback artists that my parents are excited about. I’m wondering what your approach was to get people on board, and how you think about albums with a message like this as something that’s going to speak to multiple generations and a wide range of listeners.
Dr. Kim McCall
I really appreciate you recognizing the vastness of participants in the album. Help (2) was produced under the stewardship of the acclaimed James Boyd; how lucky we were to work with him on this. A lot of bands feel really strongly about this work and wanted to take a stand for children. It was recorded over six days at Abbey Road Studio.
I’m glad you mentioned Cameron Winter. He has an excellent track on the album, just him and a cello. And you might have seen our initial trailer, but we invited a bunch of local children in to film the experience of artists recording. They were hysterical . Some were not interested in the artists at all. They asked the Arctic Monkeys, ‘Who are you?’ They asked Olivia Rodrigo what she had for breakfast. And with Cameron Winter, they said, ‘That’s so loud, can you turn it down?’ Some really cute interactions.
I think that was one of the through lines, we really wanted to bring childlike joy to the album and to the performances, and that was really felt in the studio. You might have also heard that we’re releasing a film off the back of the album, directed by Jonathan Glazer, the incredible Academy Award-winning director of The Zone of Interest. He had the idea to send cameras to children in countries of conflict where we work, and have them film their everyday experiences and lives. So that’s forthcoming as well.
You’ll really see a theme of enabling children in wartime situations to have the opportunity to experience joy and to just be kids, which is really important to us. We talk a lot about helping kids survive war, but that’s just a baseline. We should really be helping kids thrive on the other side of it. Projects like this really give them the opportunity to do that.
Anna Loy
Yeah, that’s really beautiful. I definitely saw and enjoyed some of the videos of the kids in the studio. Seems like they had a fun time. Thanks for explaining that; it adds a whole layer to what’s going on with this album. If you want to expand a little bit on War Child specifically and where this revenue is going. I know it’s touching a couple of different conflicts at the same time, just so listeners know who might be more initially interested on the music side, what is the exact mission with this album?
Dr. Kim McCall
Absolutely. War Child and Children in Conflict are working in fourteen countries all over the world right now, from Sudan, Gaza, and Ukraine to Afghanistan, the Democratic Republic of Congo, the Central African Republic, and Syria. Support for Help 2 will give children what they deserve: hope for a brighter future.
What that looks like specifically is specialist mental health support, safe spaces to learn and play, promotion of girls’ and women’s rights in communities, access to healthcare and legal support, and job training and financial aid. War Child is really the only specialist charity serving children affected by war, driven by this singular goal of ensuring a safe future for every child living through this situation.
Proceeds from the album will support that work. And there are so many different places you can get the album when it comes out on March 6th — you can stream it across every platform, buy vinyl and CDs, and presale is open now on the War Child Records website.
Anna Loy
Awesome. And I guess another question about the messaging—obviously politics right now have reached a fever pitch across the globe. I think we saw at the Super Bowl this weekend just the role art can play in responding to that. Where do you see this album fitting into the larger role music can have in political moments such as this?
Dr. Kim McCall
I think it echoes a little of what I was saying earlier — music and the creative arts more broadly have always been a form of protest. We’re really excited that we had so many incredible artists sign on to use their platforms for these children who don’t have a voice that’s being heard. We’re really fortunate to have such a broad music program at War Child and Children in Conflict to support this work.
This connection between children affected by conflict and communities rooted in music — and now we have the film element and we do a lot of storytelling. It’s very sensical that this would all come together. We’re really lucky to have such strong support from the music community.
Anna Loy
I think we’re in a time period where some people are really scared to make big political stances, and some people feel more empowered to make them. For people my age who really idolize so many of these artists, it’s definitely a big inspiration. I’m wondering if any of the artists involved in the original Help album have been supporters of this second rendition, and how you’re approaching doing it a second time around, bringing that legacy into this second version?
Dr. Kim McCall
Great question. I just want to add, it’s somewhat wild that ensuring a safe future for every child, no matter where they grow up, feels political. We often say we’re not a political organization; we’re merely helping children realize their rights. It is, you know, somewhat tedious that it has become such a politicized and polarizing conversation around the world, not just in the US.
That said, I wish I had all of the historical reference, but what I can say is people like Paul and Nancy McCartney are really big supporters of ours to this day and continue to help fund our work, which is really incredible. And bands like the Arctic Monkeys, their track is out now, you can listen to it already—they have donated a portion of their last album sales to Children in Conflict and War Child. So a lot of these relationships, they’re not surface. These are bands and artists that really care about this work — they go on tour for us, they produce music for us, they use their platforms to raise awareness about this important work.
Anna Loy
I’ve also seen that Children in Conflict had a benefit show in December. I’m wondering if there are any plans for live music events rolling this out. Concerts and charity have such a rich history of doing really amazing things and bringing people together. Where do you see live events playing a role going forward, either with this album or for your organization on the whole?
Dr. Kim McCall
Thanks for recognizing that. We did put on a big show at Brooklyn Paramount. It was so fun. We had Carmel, Natasha Bedingfield, Anthony Ramos, and Monrovia perform, and it was hosted by John Oliver. Keegan-Michael Key also had a special guest performance. All of our fantastic friends, with such a great through line, once again, artists that believe in this work, that understand every child deserves the right to a childhood, and that are willing to use their platform to make that statement and help raise awareness and funds.
That was our inaugural show, and we are excited to do much more. Plans are afoot—we’re thinking maybe LA, and we’ll be back in New York probably next year, so stay tuned. We do have lots of friends and ambassadors that support our work. Brandi Carlile is a longtime global ambassador of ours and she’s actually out on tour right now if anyone wants to check her out. Mumford & Sons are longtime global ambassadors as well, and when they’re out on tour they are constantly raising money for the work of Children in Conflict and War Child. We’re really lucky to have friends like that.
Anna Loy
That’s really amazing. And then I guess my final question, for listeners, if there’s one thing you want them to really take away from the artistic experience of this album, what would that be?
Dr. Kim McCall
First, I would say go out and follow War Child Records so that you can hear all the upcoming song releases and be in the know when the album is released on March 6th. Also, check out Children in Conflict and all of our War Child partners. We are just so lucky to have so many supporters, but I would say—the truth is, we need all the help we can get. Five hundred and twenty million children around the world are growing up in and around war zones. That’s like the entire population of the US, the UK, and France all together, that’s how many children are having their childhoods disrupted and interrupted.
So we really can use everyone’s help. And I’m just super grateful. Thank you for listening. Thank you for standing with children. And I think for proving that when we come together as a community of artists, fans, and friends with compassion, we really can make a difference for kids who need us most. This is really a testament to that. We saw it in the studio, we saw it in those childlike interactions, the energy and joy that the kids brought to the artists who were recording. We’re just really excited for everyone to hear this amazing creation.
Anna Loy
Well, we’re really excited to listen. Thank you so much for talking to me, but also just for everything you guys are doing, really an exciting thing happening, and a truly inspirational mission. Thank you.
Dr. Kim McCall
Thank you.
You can watch a recording of the interview below.
Anna Loy, a Senior at Cornell, is the President of Cornell Media Guild, parent organization of Cornell Radio, WVBR-FM, and Electric Buffalo Records. She loves music and community and thinks the two, when combined, are pretty badass. Outside of CMG, she is a Government, English, and American Studies major, fulfilling her love of writing and engaging in public discourse.
You can listen to the first five songs of Help(2) now wherever you get your music. Be sure to pre-save the album to get it as soon as it comes out on March 6th!
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