HARDtalk celebrates its twentieth anniversary with a repeat of one of its classic interviews. The programme's first anchor Tim Sebastian interviews Donald Trump on location at the Trump Tower, in 1998. They discuss the nature of doing business in a city like New York, the fame that has come with his success, the women in his life as well as revenge and getting even with those who had hurt him in business.
How did the universe come to be? Are there laws of physics which explain everything from the smallest particles to black holes? Theoretical physicist Lee Smolin is hoping that a hugely expensive experiment in particle physics to be conducted in a tunnel under a Swiss mountain may answer these questions. In his new book "The Trouble with Physics" he argues that scientists have been misled by a damaging dogma, so-called "string theory". Stephen Sackur asks him if that isn't the answer, what is?
Professor Richard Dawkins is a scientist who has set out to debunk the world's monotheistic religions. Stephen Sackur asks him if his brand of atheism is any less fundamentalist and faith-based than the religions it seeks to replace.
Whatever happened to the protest song and why do so few of today's popular musicians dare to tackle political and social themes? Richard Thompson, the English folk-rock singer has through his critically acclaimed songs explored politics, religion and the personal, but has rarely achieved large record sales. Can musical traditions adapt to modern tastes and survive?
In a HARDtalk interview broadcast on 24 March 2009, Stephen Sackur talks to French socialist philospher Alain Badiou. As the world's richest economies plunge deeper into recession could there be a whiff of revolution in the air? Alain Badiou has been an intellectual hero of France's anti-capitalist left since the Paris street protests of 1968. His recent book 'The Meaning of Sarkozy', in which he attacked the French President, has caused a storm in France. But does anyone beyond Parisian caf society believe communism is the answer to the current crisis? Alain Badiou talks to Stephen Sackur.
Chris Costner Sizemore has been called the most famous psychological case study in history. Growing up, her young mind was inhabited by a host of different personalities. Her extraordinary experiences gave rise to a newly defined mental illness, multiple personality disorder, and her story was turned into an Oscar-winning movie. Five decades after the first diagnosis are we any closer to understanding the mysterious rise of the alter ego? Chris Costner Sizemore talks to Stephen Sackur.
Noam Chomsky is one of the world's most prominent and controversial public intellectuals. He is an internationally renowned professor of linguistics, but he is also a longstanding critic of US foreign policy and the influence of big business over the US government. When he published his first political critique 40 years ago, he was fired up by the war in Vietnam. Today he is still highlighting America's malign influence and calls the war in Afghanistan 'immoral'. He talks to Stephen Sackur.
Arun Motianey, director of fixed income strategy at Roubini Global Economics, says the global economy is at risk of collapsing inward unless policy makers address the threat of inflation and exchange rate inflexibility. According to Professor David Harvey, Marxist author of 'The Enigma of Capital' the collapse of capitalism is inevitable. He tells Sarah Montague that capitalism is amoral and lawless, and should be overthrown.
Formula One motor racing is one of the most lucrative sports in the world. Teams spend hundreds of millions of dollars on driver contracts and car technology to give them the edge over their rivals. But has the Formula One money-making machine lost its soul? Hardtalk speaks to one of motor racing's greatest drivers, Sir Stirling Moss.
The hedge fund industry has made vast profits by exposing weakness in stocks, currencies and even national economies, but has come under fire for its perceived role in the global economic crisis. Stephen Sackur asks Antonio Borges, the Chairman of the Hedge Fund Standards Board, if regulation will ensure that the financial shocks of recent years are never repeated.
HARDtalk's guest in London is New Zealand's Prime Minister, John Key. His first term in office has been a baptism of fire. First came a prolonged economic slowdown, and in recent months his government has dealt with a string of disasters, including a mining accident and a devastating earthquake in Christchurch. Geographically isolated, small in population, just how resilient is New Zealand when put to the test?
Jeanette Winterson was a twenty-something literary sensation back in the 1980s. Her first book, Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit, a raw, taboo-busting semi-autobiographical novel about being adopted, being abused, and being a lesbian. In the years afterwards, the author railed against those who would ask her - how much of it is true, how much of it really happened? But now Jeanette Winterson appears to have answered her own question. She's just published her memoir. And the truth, she writes, is even more painful.
The transvestite potter Grayson Perry is famous for his startling ceramics. They look conventional until you get close and see bizarre images and text, often sexual or featuring his teddy-bear. For his latest exhibition, The Tomb of the Unknown Craftsman, he was allowed to rummage through the vaults of the British Museum in London, setting his own culture and works alongside some of their ancient artefacts. He talks to Sarah Montague.
Alan Moore discusses his disappointment with the film adaptations of his work, including Watchmen and V for Vendetta. He also discusses Lost Girls, the Occupy movement, and the prequels to Watchmen. (Note: This may not actually be the correct episode number. Episode information is difficult to find for this series.)
The British Government has promised action to deal with the scandal at Barclays. The bank has been fined for trying to fix the interest rate at which banks lend to each other - London Interbank Offered Rate - or Libor. Yet again it's the lack of regulation that is being blamed for a financial problem. Sarah Montague talks to Professor Niall Ferguson who argues that the world is responding in the wrong way to the global financial crisis. He thinks the economic chaos which began in 2007 was caused by too much regulation, not too little.
For years, it's been one of the biggest questions in sport. Did Lance Armstrong - the seven time winner of cycling's greatest race, the Tour de France - dope? Is the man who beat cancer to become one of the greatest sporting figures ever - a cheat? Armstrong has denied wrongdoing. But now a former teammate and roommate of Armstrong's, Tyler Hamilton, has produced the most detailed and wounding set of allegations yet. Is Hamilton self-serving and greedy, as Armstrong insists? Or a shaft of light on a sport that's been mired in murk?
HARDtalk speaks to the global fashion icon Ozwald Boateng who was the youngest ever and first black designer and tailor on London's prestigious Savile Row. Why does he say his colour was irrelevant to his success and what has made his African roots important to him today?
Not so long ago it seemed the world's addiction to fossil fuels would soon be ended by dwindling supply. But that was before fracking, tar sands and deep sea exploration transformed calculations about global reserves of oil and gas. HARDtalk speaks to Fatih Birol - one of the world's most influential analysts of the global energy market and its effect on the world economy and environment. Is the resilience of fossil fuel supply a cause for celebration, or despair?
Halfway through its parliamentary term, Britain's Conservative-led coalition government has a growth problem: the economy is flat, possibly heading for a triple-dip recession. But how does a government committed to fiscal austerity juice things up? HARDtalk speaks to Lord Heseltine, a former Conservative deputy prime minister, who was last year commissioned by David Cameron's government to come up with a growth strategy. But on a range of issues from economic management to Europe, are today's Tory leaders ready to heed this voice of experience?
HARDtalk speaks to an actor whose life is been flavoured with a twist of melodrama. Rupert Everett's career has been marked by vivid highs and extreme lows. The same can be said of a personal life which at times featured copious amounts of sex, drugs and alcohol. He had Hollywood success but it was fleeting because, he says, the movie business remains biased against gay actors. Now he's won a new audience as a writer and he is planning to direct his first film. So has the wildness in Rupert Everett been tamed?
EU officials in Brussels insist the worst of the Eurozone crisis is over, but is that relief premature? Europe's debt mountain still casts a long shadow. Rising unemployment is fuelling anger on the streets. And Europe's biggest nations are divided on the basic question - where next for the EU? Amid this uncertainty, big practical challenges remain - not least for the EU's Competition Commissioner Joaquin Almunia. Short term or long term, is there reason to be confident about the European Union?
The brutal gang rape and murder of a young woman in Delhi in December 2012 has prompted India to confront a disturbing truth: the country is failing to protect women from sexual violence. Kiran Bedi has seen the problem close up - she was the most senior female police officer in the Indian Police Service when she retired. Is India ready for the deep-seated changes that would make the country's women less vulnerable?
Arguably the most right wing government in Israel's history may soon be replaced by a government even further to the right. Prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu is the clear favourite to keep his job after the forthcoming election, but his next governing coalition may depend on hardliners in the Jewish settler movement who want to annex large chunks of the West Bank and end all talk of a two-state peace deal. Dani Dayan is a settler leader who is backing Mr Netanyahu. Is the rise of the far right about to leave Israel dangerously isolated?
In the Geneva headquarters of the World Trade Organisation, Stephen Sackur meets the man who for the past eight years has been leading the crusade for global free trade. Pascal Lamy will leave the WTO later this year frustrated, with the so-called Doha round of negotiations designed to spread free trade to the developing world in limbo. The flagging world economy has prompted a rise in protectionism, so has the march toward trade liberalisation ended in failure?
On the 22nd April 1993, Stephen Lawrence was murdered in south London. Stephen was black and his attackers were white. The killing and subsequent investigation exposed violent racism on Britain's streets and institutional racism within the British police force. Thanks in large part to the tireless campaign of Stephen's mother, Doreen Lawrence, two of her son's killers were brought to justice in 2012. Laws have been passed and institutions reformed to combat racism but, two decades on, how much has really changed?
HARDtalk speaks to a government minister whose very job description seems deeply ironic given his country's current turmoil. Paul Bhatti is Pakistan's minister for national harmony- a job he accepted after his brother was assassinated whilst serving as minorities minister. The Bhatti family is from Pakistan's minority Christian community. What hope is there for national harmony in a country disfigured by extremist violence and endemic corruption?
Is it time for the doom-mongers to admit they were wrong about the world economy? The Eurozone is intact, the US hasn't plunged off that fiscal cliff and even the most stagnant economy of them all - Japan's - is showing signs of life. Could it be that central bankers and politicians are finally ready to take bold decisions in their quest for growth? HARDtalk speaks to one of the world's most influential investors, Mohamed El-Erian, boss of the massive Pimco fund management business. Caution or confidence, which is winning out?
In or out? For the next five years Britain's future in the European Union will be shrouded in uncertainty, thanks to David Cameron's commitment to a referendum. He believes his dramatic gamble will pay off not just at home, but in Europe too - allowing him to recalibrate Britain's relationship with Brussels, will it work? HARDtalk speaks to Sir Nigel Sheinwald who was the UK's top diplomat at the EU, foreign policy adviser to Tony Blair, then Ambassador in Washington. Is the Cameron EU gambit in Britain's national interest?
Ping Fu is fast becoming one of America's most celebrated female entrepreneurs, not just because the tech company she founded is revolutionising the manufacturing process in the digital age, but also because her own life story represents a triumph over long odds. She was just eight years old when her life was turned upside down by Mao's cultural revolution. She endured years of abuse before being thrown out of China. Three decades later she is an adviser to President Obama on innovation. What lessons lie behind this extraordinary journey?
Stephen Sackur talks to Mark Lynas, a veteran green activist who once led a campaign to vandalise experimental genetically modified crops. But that was then - now he says that GM technology is entirely safe, and is a necessity if we are to feed the planet. He has made a similar U-turn on nuclear power too. The zeal of the convert can be a factor not just in religion but also in scientific debate. He says that he has junked ideology in favour of hard science. But is it really as simple as that?
When radical reformist cleric Tahir-ul-Qadri returned to his native Pakistan from Canada last December, he promised a million-strong march on parliament to force out the government and bring in electoral reform. In the event, the authorities say only tens of thousands of protesters turned out, and just four days into the march he made a deal with the government. Is his a wise voice to be heeded both in Pakistan and further beyond in the Muslim world? Or is he an out of touch, unrealistic opportunist, seeking power and influence, as his critics claim?
If football is the beautiful game then it risks being disfigured by an ugly scar, racism. Players, fans and administrators have all pledged their determination to kick racism out of the sport, but there's plenty of evidence to suggest the anti-racist rhetoric isn't working. Lord Ouseley, is a veteran equality campaigner who was appointed to a senior advisory role with the English Football Association. But now he's quitting, has football failed to tackle its race problem?
Sarah Montague speaks to the designer of one of London's newest and most controversial buildings - The Shard. Renzo Piano is one of the world's most accomplished and feted architects and one used to dividing opinion. In the 1970s he designed Paris' Pompidou Centre and since then has taken on high profile developments all over the globe. His latest creation is already loved, but it is also loathed. What does The Shard say about us, and why build it so big?
Zeinab Badawi talks to renowned British plastic surgeon Dr Mohammad Jawad, who has helped reconstruct the faces of women disfigured by acid attacks. He has featured in an Oscar-winning documentary about his humanitarian work in his native Pakistan. His high public profile has helped raise awareness about the life-destroying nature of acid attacks in Pakistan and elsewhere in Asia but can it bring about real change and action to help bring down the level of such violence against women?
HARDtalk travels to Doha to meet Khaled Meshaal, the leader of the Palestinian Islamist movement, Hamas. His base used to be Damascus but he broke ranks with the Assad regime after the repression of the Syrian uprising. Now he spends much of his time in the diplomatically ambitious Gulf state of Qatar - another sign that the realities of the Middle East are changing. But not, it seems, in the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians. On that front does Hamas have anything new to offer?
Can there be a negotiated way out of the high-stakes stand-off between Iran and the West over the Islamic republic's nuclear ambitions? A new round of talks is planned for later this month but the basic facts have not changed: Iran's enrichment programme gets ever more sophisticated, international sanctions on Tehran bite deeper and the warnings from the West grow darker. Stephen Sackur's guest on HARDtalk is a former Iranian negotiator on the nuclear issue, Hossein Mousavian. Does diplomacy have a chance?
The government of Guatemala has promised to tackle the high murder rate of a country living under the threat of gangs, organised crime and drug traffickers. Some have expressed fears that it could become a narco-state, with state institutions that are weak or corrupted by criminal activity. When President Otto Perez Molina took office just over a year ago he said the war on drugs has failed and that it is time to consider decriminalising them. HARDtalk speaks to the newly appointed Foreign Minister of Guatemala, Fernando Carrera.
HARDtalk travels to Dublin, capital of Ireland, to speak to Europe minister Lucinda Creighton. The country currently holds the presidency of the European Union; a symbolic leadership role in Europe at the very time it is struggling to emerge from the economic straitjacket imposed by the EU/IMF bailout of the Irish economy. Can Dublin convince the world that it has bounced back from the brink of disaster?
This is Latin America's decade - so says the leader of one of the countries contributing to its impressive economic boom. But as the world slows, can growth be sustained? The region's politicians are divided - talking about free trade deals for years even as some impose ever more restrictions on competition from the world outside. Enrique Garcia has been juggling the demands of protectionists and free marketeers for 20 years. The veteran president of Latin America's Development Bank says times have never been so good. But which side will he come down on to make the good times last?
HARDtalk speaks to Najeeb Al Nauimi - one of the Arab world's busiest lawyers. Over the past ten years he has represented Saddam Hussein and a number of Arab nationals who have been detained by the US in Guantanamo Bay. In the mid-nineties he was briefly Justice Minister in the Gulf state of Qatar, where he spent two years attempting to reform the country's legal system. It is under that system that he is fighting his latest case. This time he is not defending a dictator or someone accused of terrorism; but rather a poet who has been imprisoned for life.
Europe's prolonged economic crisis has prompted a populist backlash against the powers that be. In Finland, the EU's prosperous northern outpost, the big beneficiary has been Timo Soini, leader of the Eurosceptic, nationalist party long known as the True Finns. He wants to see the Eurozone dismantled, immigration curbed, traditional values restored. Critics have labelled the party xenophobic - is this the angry politics of European disintegration?
Stephen Sackur talks to Mamphela Ramphele, anti-apartheid activist, prominent public figure and former partner of the late Steve Biko, one of the heroes of the liberation struggle. She has launched a new political movement with an outspoken attack on the failings of ANC governance. The political supremacy of the African National Congress in post-apartheid South Africa has never been seriously threatened. She says she is on a journey to realise South Africa's dreams, but how far will she get?
The state of the US Republican Party has been described as a mess. Badly beaten in the race for the White House, it is seemingly out of touch with mainstream opinion on issues from immigration to gun control and is in danger of being outmanoeuvred by President Obama in the continued stand-off over the federal budget. HARDtalk speaks to the former Republican candidate Jon Huntsman - a moderate frequently at odds with his own party. Is the American right on the wrong road?
HARDtalk speaks to one of the most influential women in the history of the modern feminist movement. Gloria Steinem grew up in an America where women were expected to put husband and children first. But that was never her intention. She forged a successful career as a writer. She co-founded Ms. magazine; and she became one of the world's best known campaigners for gender equality. So how much of what she hoped for and fought for has been achieved?
The Catholic Church has been rocked by not one but two shock and surprise resignations. First, Pope Benedict steps down after announcing he was too old and infirm for the office. Then Britain's most senior Catholic, Cardinal Keith O'Brien, resigned after allegations - which he contests - of inappropriate behaviour towards priests 30 years ago. His departure has once again put the spotlight on the Catholic Church's attitudes towards homosexuality. Zeinab Badawi speaks to Father Bernard Lynch, one of a few openly gay Catholic priests. How will the church recover from these embarrassing blows at a time of historic transition?
The conflict between Israelis and Palestinians arouses passions like few others. But on one thing most people can agree: that there's no prospect of the struggle ending anytime soon. So given the failure of the politicians and the diplomats, the militants and the liberals, what should we take from the words of the writer? AB Yehoshua is known as one of Israel's great men of letters. His latest book is seen by some as a powerful allegory of the journey Israeli Jews need now to take. So can he chart a way through the quagmire? And why does he have such a low opinion of Jews outside Israel?
Stephen Sackur travels to Tunisia, birthplace of the Arab uprising in early 2011, to talk to Rached Ghannouchi. The veteran leader of the ruling Islamist party Ennahda is the most powerful man in this country's post-revolutionary politics. His vision of political Islam has been influential far beyond Tunisia, but at home he's now under enormous pressure. Can freedom, democracy and Islamism really co-exist?
HARDtalk speaks to an actor whose long career will always be defined by one role. Henry Winkler was the Fonz, the cool dude at the centre of the US TV show Happy Days which was a worldwide hit in the 70s and 80s. The show portrayed an innocent, untroubled 1950s America. It was a far cry from Winkler's own childhood which was clouded by undiagnosed dyslexia. How did a troubled kid come to be a symbol of sunny optimism, and what happened to the idealised America of Happy Days?
Zimbabweans are preparing to vote in a key referendum on a draft constitution which will pave the way for elections later this year. After thirty years of rule by eight-nine year old Robert Mugabe, the new constitution is meant to limit the powers of any future president. Civil rights activists say the changes are too limited in scope and that more democratic guarantees are needed. HARDtalk speaks to Zimbabwean Anglican Bishop Julius Makoni. Is the church speaking up loudly enough for the people or are clerics asleep at their pulpits?
In an exclusive interview filmed in 2010, Stephen Sackur talks to the former President of Venezuela, Hugo Chavez. During the interview the President delivered an uncompromising message, accusing the Obama administration of 'imperialist pretensions'. He rejected accusations that he incarcerated opponents and defended his friendship with the President of Iran.
The programme reports from Tunisia, where the Arab revolt against authoritarianism began just over two years ago. Since then, this small North African country has been under intense scrutiny. Could Tunisia set an example for the whole Arab world by embracing freedom and democracy, by developing inclusive politics acceptable to both Islamists and secularists, and by building a stronger, fairer economy? Or will trying to overcome these massive challenges undermine Tunisia's revolution?
Stephen Sackur visits the grand presidential palace in Tunis to speak to the Tunisian president and former human rights campaigner Moncef Marzouki. During his presidency, Tunisia's status as the success story of the Arab uprising has been threatened by growing internal tensions. What has happened to Tunisia's revolution?
Britain and India are united by 200 years of shared history, but their ties are gradually becoming weaker. India is a rising global economic powerhouse, while Britain is a former imperial power in search of a global boost to its ailing economy. Zeinab Badawi speaks to Lord Bilimoria, an Indian-born British entrepreneur, who is founder and chairman of Cobra beer. He is also the founding chairman of the UK-India Business Council and was part of David Cameron's trade delegation to India in February. Is Britain becoming more irrelevant to India today?
Two decades ago the world's killing fields were in the Balkans and Rwanda but right now, they're in Syria. Can we be any more confident today, than we were back then, that the perpetrators of war crimes and crimes against humanity will be brought to justice? HARDtalk speaks to Theodor Meron, currently serving a second term as President of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia. When it comes to delivering justice, is the international legal framework now in place fit for purpose?
Stephen Sackur asks veteran Conservative cabinet minister Ken Clarke if prime minster David Cameron is in danger of losing grip of his party. No one ever said it would be easy for the British prime minister - his government is an uneasy coalition, and his economic inheritance was disfigured by debt. But right now his biggest problems are coming from within. The Conservative Party is fractious; his authority has been challenged on everything from economic policy, to Europe, to his vision of progressive conservatism.
At the end of 2013, Romanians will be able to live and work in any EU country they want to. All work restrictions, imposed by some countries when Romania and Bulgaria joined the union six years ago, will be lifted. There were worries then that workers from those two impoverished European states would flock to richer nations, and such concerns have not gone away. Zeinab Badawi speaks to Romania's Prime Minister Victor Ponta. He's on a mission to restore his country's image. Can he succeed?
Are you an optimist or a pessimist when it comes to the future of human civilisation? Your response may be determined by where you live. In the West, beset by economic stagnation, many see reasons to be fearful. In Asia and Africa prosperity and confidence are on the rise. Stephen Sackur speaks to Kishore Mahbubani, former diplomat turned provocative thinker on globalisation. He sees a world increasingly united by economics, ideas and aspirations. But is that more than just wishful thinking?
Stephen Sackur speaks to Welsh rugby legend, Gareth Thomas. He confronted one of the last great taboos in professional sport by publically revealing his homosexuality, while still playing at the top level. His honesty won him admiration within and far beyond the world of rugby, but has he changed anything for other gay sportsmen? And what other awkward truths lie behind the public mask donned by sport's elite performers?
onathan Miller has had a career of mind-boggling diversity and creativity that defies an easy label. He is best known as a director and producer of opera and theatre, but he is also a writer, performer, sculptor and photographer. He trained in medicine and sometimes seems more fulfilled by science than his life in the arts. Stephen Sackur asks why, after five decades as a dominant figure in British cultural life, he has never seemed entirely at ease with his country or its culture.
Ivory Coast was once one of west Africa's economic powerhouses. Today, the world's biggest cocoa producer is trying to recover from the conflict that tore the country apart. Following elections in late 2010 the incumbent president, Laurent Gbagbo, refused to admit defeat to his opponent, Alassane Ouattara. After a period of violence in which thousands of Ivorians were killed, Gbagbo is now awaiting trial at the International Criminal Court in The Hague. As president of Ivory Coast, Alassane Ouattara has the task of uniting a divided country. His critics accuse him of presiding over a victor's justice and letting off supporters of his who are suspected of crimes. Are they right?
What could and should the outside world be doing as Syria sinks ever deeper into civil war? Has inertia and division within the international community condemned Syria to a slow and agonising collapse? HARDtalk speaks to Norwegian general Robert Mood, who led the ill-fated UN supervision mission in Syria last year. What went wrong then, and do the Syrian people deserve better from the world's major powers now?
From fist fights in parliament to dodgy elections and the imprisonment of the country's main opposition leader, politics in Ukraine is a brutal business. So it is perhaps fitting that the rising star of the Ukrainian opposition just happens to be the world heavyweight boxing champion Vitali Klitschko. He is tough, wealthy and ambitious but does he have what it takes to win in Ukraine's turbulent political arena?
Stephen Sackur speaks to Daniel Dennett, a philosopher who applies Darwinian evolutionary theory not just to species, but to ideas and religious beliefs. He believes religion has outlived its usefulness, hampers rational thought and damages our species. Along with Richard Dawkins and the late Christopher Hitchens, Dennett is seen as a founding father of the new atheism. But do humans want to live in a world where atheism rules and religion is dead?
Cyprus has become Europe's zombie economy; the life sucked out of it by a banking collapse and a rescue package which will inflict a generation of economic pain. Christopher Passirides has watched the horror unfold. He is a Nobel prize winning economist who chairs Cyprus's new national council of economic advisers. Do Cypriots have anyone to blame but themselves?
For years the UK's relationship with Zimbabwe has been characterised by deep mutual suspicion. But things are beginning to change - the Zimbabwean people have just approved a constitution and the EU has eased its sanctions regime. Stephen Sackur talks to Zimbabwe's justice minister Patrick Chinamasa, a close political ally of Robert Mugabe. His very presence in London is a sign of the new dynamic in Zimbabwe. But are the country's troubles really over?
For more than a decade Kosovo has been struggling to emerge from a political and diplomatic twilight zone. It is a fledgling state lacking universal recognition. At the heart of Kosovo's problem is a still bitter and dysfunctional relationship with Serbia - until their feud ends neither will be welcomed into the European family of nations. Stephen Sackur talks to Kosovo's deputy prime minister Mimoza Kusari-Lila. Are Kosovans ready to reach out to Belgrade?
In the midst of war or natural disaster, humanitarian aid can make the difference between life and death. But according to influential critics it can also exacerbate conflict, offer succour to tyrants and foster dangerous dependency. HARDtalk speaks to Sir John Holmes, who was the UN Emergency Relief Coordinator during crisis in Sudan, Sri Lanka and Haiti. Today, emergency response is focused on Syria. Does humanitarian aid work for those who need it most?
HARDtalk speaks to a man who in Northern Ireland is often referred to simply as 'Junior.' Testament to the giant political shadow cast by his father and namesake Ian Paisley - the Protestant pastor, and firebrand unionist politician who ultimately played a key role in Northern Ireland's peace process. Now Ian Paisley junior is forging his own political career but Northern Ireland's unionists are divided; peace and power sharing haven't made them happy. Why?
Rarely does the death of a long retired politician prompt a genuinely worldwide reaction, but Margaret Thatcher was one of a kind. Britain's first female prime minister transformed her own country, and provided the world with a model of market economics and conviction politics, which was inspirational to some, repellent to others. Stephen Sackur talks to a man who played a key role in the creation of Thatcherism. Maurice, now Lord Saatchi, was the advertising guru who helped define, and sell, what she stood for. How enduring is the Thatcher legacy?
Stephen Sackur meets one of Britain's most successful actors, Jeremy Irons. The Oscar winning performer is best known for his portrayal of troubled, brooding upper class men. He has just finished making a documentary about the potentially devastating impact of the mountains of toxic waste polluting our planet. He is an actor with very strong opinions. Could that get him into trouble?
Angela Merkel is a politician caught between a rock and a hard place. In Germany, a new party accuses her of doing too much to keep alive the hated Euro currency. Other eurozone members say her government is doing not enough, fearful of those domestic critics ahead of the autumn's federal election. HARDtalk speaks to Germany's deputy finance minister Steffen Kampeter. Just how big a price is Germany prepared to pay to save the euro project, and its own reputation?
From engaging child actor to best director at Cannes, Mathieu Kassovitz has been a darling of French cinema for thirty years. Now he says "I'm out of this country" - and it's nothing to do with taxes. Frustrated with an industry that was indifferent to his latest movie, or with the politicians who furnish some of his least appealing characters? Or could it be the French themselves who've annoyed Mathieu Kassovitz? His newest film attracted an audience there of just 150,000 people. Has the actor-director tired of France, or have the French tired of him?
HARDtalk travels to the headquarters of the International Monetary Fund in Washington DC to speak to its managing director, Christine Lagarde.
The United States is a nation built by immigrants, but immigration is also an issue which has created deep divisions. As the United States Congress prepares to debate a plan that would offer a pathway to citizenship to millions of illegal immigrants, America's conservatives face a question: are they ready to embrace their country's new demographic reality? HARDtalk is in Washington DC to speak to Carlos Gutierrez, a former Republican secretary of commerce. America is changing fast, can the Republican Party keep up?
Without growth, how do we climb back out of the mess that the 2008 financial crash put us in, and how do those parts of the world where the basic need for food, water and shelter still hasn't been met have any chance of a better future? Andrew Simms, economist and environmentalist, thinks we're asking the wrong question. He says the advocates of economic growth fail to explain how an ever expanding economy can be sustained and if we carry on as we are, we're heading for the apocalypse. What's his alternative?
Stephen Sackur talks to Cyprus foreign minister Ioannis Kasoulides, asking who and what will save the country. Cyprus is enduring the agonies of a financial and economic meltdown. But the really bad news for the Cypriot people according to international economists is that their darkest days have yet to come. The islands economy is about to shrink dramatically, overseas investors are fleeing and the current Government is struggling to come up with a survival strategy.
Does nuclear deterrence still make sense? Mutually assured destruction kept the peace when the United States and the Soviet Union confronted one another, but the nature of the threats that the world is facing has changed. Shaun Ley speaks to Kate Hudson, general secretary of the campaign for Nuclear Disarmament and Douglas Murray, associate director of the Henry Jackson Society. Are nuclear weapons the answer to global insecurity or one of its causes?
Lord Browne made his name and fortune in the oil industry, and in the process became one of Britain's best known business leaders. He was BP's boss for 12 years where he expanded and diversified one of the world's fossil fuel giants. He's still in the thick of the energy debate, backing a company eager to develop shale gas production in the UK. His career has been defined by the search for fossil fuel and economic sustainability. Can we have both?
Five years ago the western world's banking system was spiralling into crisis. How confident can we be that the fundamental flaws exposed then have really been fixed? Lord Turner has just ended a heavily scrutinised term at the head of Britain's Financial Services Authority. Have the bankers and the regulators learned the right lessons from the rise and fall of casino banking?
Almost 300 million people across the world consume BBC content every week. But does the BBC deserve the public's trust? After going through a prolonged internal crisis marked by serious internal failings, HARDtalk speaks to the ultimate overseer of the BBC, Chairman of the BBC Trust Chris Patten. He insists it is the best broadcaster in the world. Stephen Sackur asks whether or not viewers should believe him.
South Africa has been told by the old colonial power, Britain, that it doesn't need development aid any more. Shaun Ley speaks to Pravin Gordhan, South Africa's finance minister. His national development plan seeks to raise more people out of poverty through economic growth. But his party, the ruling ANC, is facing an election, its union comrades are no longer playing ball, and growth has slowed. In reality, has the country Britain describes as Africa's economic powerhouse stalled?
Nate Silver is seen as a political astrologer with an uncanny ability to get it right. His prediction of the US presidential election result last year was spot on when most pundits were saying the race was too close to call. No wonder then that Nate Silver is being credited with re-shaping the art and science of political forecasting. But has he robbed electoral campaigns of their substance by reducing them to mere statistics and number-crunching?
When it comes to national security does the need for secrecy over-ride the public's right to know? It's a hot debate in many democracies, none more so than the United States where the Obama Administration has gone after leakers and whistle-blowers with unprecedented ferocity. Stephen Sackur speaks to Thomas Drake, a former intelligence official inside America's National Security Agency. His unhappiness with things he saw led him to leak information to a reporter. He ended up prosecuted by the government he had served. Did he deserve the trouble he got?
Stephen Sackur talks to Zainab Bangura, the UN Special Representative on Sexual Violence in Conflict who says that for too long wars have been waged on the bodies of women. Over the past two decades the list of war torn countries where women and children have been subjected to systematic rape and sexual abuse has grown shamefully long, from Bosnia and the Democratic Republic of Congo to Syria. HARDtalk asks - how can the most vulnerable be protected?
From Syria to the South China Sea, how will the United States project its power and protect its interests in the coming decade? Stephen Sackur speaks to Joseph Nye, one of the most influential foreign policy thinkers in the United States. He says, smart foreign policy requires the soft power of persuasion to be married to the hard reality of military strength. So, just how smart is the Obama administration's national security policy?
Michael Sandel is a philosopher with the global profile of a rock star. His argument that commercial markets are increasingly entering all parts of life, and are becoming more and more destructive, has won him a worldwide following. But are commercial interests and financial incentives really that much more intrusive these days and, if so, how do you draw up the rules for the moral limits of markets?
The British public appears increasingly alienated from mainstream politics and politicians - a phenomenon which can also be seen in other mature democracies. Stephen Sackur speaks to Alan Johnson, who held a series of cabinet posts in the last Labour Government. He's that rare breed, a politician who grew up in poverty and worked his way up from the bottom. Has today's professionalised class of politicians lost touch with real life?
A violent Islamist insurgency in northern Nigeria is threatening to destabilise Africa's most populous nation. In recent months the body count has spiked alarmingly - and now the president has imposed a state of emergency in three of Nigeria's most troubled states. Stephen Sackur speaks to Ibrahim Shema, governor of the northern state of Katsina. How does Nigeria avoid sliding into chaos?
Sir Alan Parker is one of Britain's most experienced and successful film directors. His work ranges from the stomach-churning realism of Midnight Express to the feel-good entertainment of Bugsy Malone and Fame. He has never cared much for film critics and has always held strong views on the future of the film industry. In this digital age, are movies as central to our culture as they used to be?
In the military, following orders isn't a choice, it's an obligation. So what happens when a soldier says no? Joe Glenton was that soldier. When ordered to re-join the British army deployment in Afghanistan he fled. When he eventually returned he spent time in a military prison. He emerged a convinced anti-war campaigner. So is his a story of cowardice or bravery?
On July 1st 2013, Croatia will be the twenty eighth and newest member of the European Union. Stephen Sackur talks to prime minister Zoran Milanović. He sees his country's accession as a sign of the transformation from war-torn land to stable democracy. However, both Croatia and the EU have serious economic problems. So, does either side really need the other?
When voters feel angry they look for ways to punish their political masters - that's one powerful factor behind the rise of the UK Independence Party, UKIP, a populist anti-EU, anti-immigration movement fuelled by frustration with the status quo. Stephen Sackur speaks to UKIP's treasurer, Stuart Wheeler. Like many UKIP followers he used to support the Conservatives. So, how can he justify the damage he's now doing to David Cameron's party?
HARDtalk is in Ethiopia for a special edition of the programme with US Secretary of State John Kerry. As the African Union celebrates 50 years, young people from across the continent put their questions on US foreign policy direct to him. Zeinab Badawi hosts the show from Addis Ababa, as John Kerry also takes questions from the BBC's global audience about his country's relationship with the rest of the world.
The hacking to death of a British soldier on a London street last week has raised new questions about the best way to counter extremist, Islamist violence. Stephen Sackur talks to Colonel Richard Kemp, a former commander of British forces in Afghanistan, who has extensive intelligence experience. In the time since 9/11, has the concept of an open-ended War on Terror helped or hindered the West's response to the terrorist threat?
President Obama says the US needs to redefine and recalibrate its strategic response to terrorism. From drone strikes to the future of Guantanamo, the Obama administration has consistently struggled to reconcile its stated values with the realities of the so-called war on terror. Stephen Sackur speaks to Harold Koh who was chief legal adviser at the US State Department throughout Obama's first term. Did President Obama betray America's highest ideals in the name of national security?
The African National Congress has dominated politics and government in South Africa since the end of apartheid nearly 20 years ago. Sarah Montague talks to Lindiwe Mazibuko, the parliamentary leader of the largest opposition party, the Democratic Alliance. What chance does it really have against the ANC, the party of liberation, which is still seen as the natural home of black voters?
Robert Fowler, a senior Canadian diplomat, was held hostage for five months by Al Qaeda in Niger in 2009. He says that since his capture and release, terror attacks and events in the region, such as the brief Islamist takeover of northern Mali, should serve as a wake-up call of a jihadist danger. He believes militants aim to set up a seven thousand kilometre Islamic caliphate stretching from Mauritania to Somalia. Is he scaremongering, or does he have a point?
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is pulling some of its international staff out of Afghanistan, following a murderous attack on its Jalalabad compound. It's an unprecedented move in three decades of ICRC operations in Afghanistan. Stephen Sackur speaks to Pierre Krahenbuhl, the ICRC's operations director. Is his organisation being overwhelmed by the danger and complexity of modern conflict?
France is one of the political heavyweights of the European Union, a key world economy and a major global player. HARDtalk speaks to Jean-François Copé, the leader of the UMP, the main opposition party on the centre-right, who has lurched farther to the right on issues like gay marriage. He has also made comments about the French Muslim community which have led to accusations that he is threatening cultural harmony. Is he in danger of consigning his party to the political dustbin at home and on the world stage?
That Britain's Conservative Party is deeply sceptical about the European Union isn't news. What is novel is the readiness of some of the party's grandest grandees to call for a British exit. Stephen Sackur talks to Lord Lawson, Margaret Thatcher's former Chancellor, who recently labelled the EU a bureaucratic monstrosity, past its sell-by-date. His intervention embarrassed prime minister David Cameron and deepened the impression of a Tory party dangerously divided. So, why did he do it?
Shaun Ley speaks to Mo Ibrahim, creator of the Ibrahim Prize for Achievement in African Leadership. His Index of African Governance suggests generally things are getting better. But some worry that China's willingness to lend money 'no strings attached' is encouraging politicians to revert to their bad old ways. Is Mo Ibrahim's ambition of better governance being undermined from outside?
In recent years, Turkey has been seen as a bulwark of stability and democracy in a neighbourhood disfigured by political turmoil and communal conflict. But now, Turkey is wrestling with its own demons. Mass protests against the alleged authoritarianism of the Erdogan Government, have prompted a harsh police response. Stephen Sackur talks to leading Turkish writer and political activist Elif Shafak - what is Turkey's spasm of unrest really about?
In Brussels, Shaun Ley talks to Ivo Daalder, the United States' permanent representative to NATO. He is European by birth and an American citizen by choice, but are those two outlooks becoming increasingly hard to reconcile? There is tension over US surveillance that could affect Europeans and a division in NATO between what one US defence secretary calls those who pay - principally the Americans - and those who enjoy the benefits - the Europeans. As Ivo Daalder ends his term here, does he think it is time for this 64-year-old veteran security organisation to be pensioned off?
Stephen Sackur speaks to Martin Amis, an author who was pigeon-holed early in his career as the 'enfant terrible' of the British literary world. Four decades on, he remains one of the most successful and closely scrutinised novelists of his generation. His books are filled with greed, lust, addiction and ignorance, and yet he suggests he writes in a celebratory spirit. So, what exactly is he celebrating?
The row between the EU and China over solar panels has put the focus on China's overproduction in many areas of industry. Europe says China is dumping solar panels at a price that is lower than the cost of production. Overcapacity is a big problem for China in many sectors. Zeinab Badawi talks to Zhu Min, former deputy at People's Bank of China, now deputy managing director at the IMF. Is the Chinese business model in danger of collapse?
More than a thousand people were killed in violence in Iraq last month, according to the United Nations. The country appears to be dividing along religious lines, not helped by its neighbour Syria's descent into civil war. Sarah Montague talks to Ayad Allawi, who was the country's first prime minister after Saddam Hussein. Now he has accused the current prime minister, Nouri Al Maliki, of turning into a dictator. So what hope is there now for keeping the peace in Iraq?
EU officials are working on the EU-US trade deal announced at the G8 summit. It's been talked about for decades and could be the biggest bi-lateral trade agreement in history. Zeinab Badawi talks to Antonio Tajani, Vice President of the European Commission and Commissioner for Industry and Entrepreneurship. Will this deal provide stagnant European economies with a much needed boost, or have years of austerity made EU industries incapable of benefitting from it?
Zeinab Badawi is in Ankara to speak to Turkey's finance minister, Mehmet Simsek. Following the response to the anti-government demonstrations, critics at home and abroad are pointing to an increasingly authoritarian style of political leadership in Turkey. Why have protests erupted across the country like never before under the ruling AK party? And did the initial crackdown by the security forces actually strengthen the protesters?
HARDtalk speaks to one of modern Russia's best and brightest economists, Sergei Guriev. Well connected to the new Russian political elite, Guriev was a strong voice for economic liberalisation and a Russian patriot. So why, earlier this year, did he choose, as so many talented Russians have in the past, to go into exile? And what does Guriev's extraordinary story tell us about the true face of Vladimir Putin's Russia?
'The true father of metal'; 'the king of the heavy riff' - these are just some of the accolades lauded on Tony Iommi and his band, Black Sabbath, topping the charts again after 43 years. Black Sabbath are better known for the antics of on/off lead singer Ozzy Osbourne than the skills of its guitarist. But Iommi is the one original member of the band to have stayed the course. This despite missing finger tips that can make playing painful, a rock and roll lifestyle lived to the full, and now cancer. Still recording and touring around his treatment, what keeps him playing?
Since the end of apartheid, almost 20 years ago, South Africa's Constitution has become one of the most admired in the world - progressive, transformative, guaranteeing equality and human rights. But despite the great strides the country has made, the reality is failing to live up to the promise. The legal system, which guarantees the Constitution, has itself come under fire from within the government, the opposition, and from some human rights groups. Gavin Esler speaks to South Africa's Chief Justice, Mogoeng Mogoeng.
The Baltic way out of the financial crisis has been austerity - and Latvia led the way. When banking collapse wiped out a quarter of the economy and unemployment hit 20 per cent, it took drastic action. Critics say the correction was harsher than necessary because Latvia pegged its currency to the euro. Shaun Ley speaks to Valdis Dombrovskis, Latvia's Prime Minister. Why does he hope that in Brussels this month the EU will say yes to Latvia joining the euro, when many of his own citizens want to say no?
Gavin Esler asks political philosopher Tim Soutphommasane if the reason left-of-centre parties have not prospered in Europe in recent years, despite the banking crisis and their criticism of unregulated capitalism, is because they leave patriotism to the right wing. Soutphommasane has advised Australian and British Labour politicians on how to embrace patriotism - but what would that mean in practice?
International forces are pulling out of Afghanistan; by the end of next year they'll be gone completely. HARDtalk is in Afghanistan to speak to the head of the Afghan National Army, General Sher Mohammad Karimi. He and his troops now have the job of keeping the country safe from attacks. Does he think his men are up to the job?
Afghanistan is a country that has huge natural resources, but it is also one of the most corrupt countries in the world. HARDtalk is in Kabul to talk to Afghanistan's finance minister, Dr. Omar Zakhilwal. He has publically accused fellow MPs of corruption, and has had to defend himself against similar charges. There is money to be made in Afghanistan, but will the people who live there see any of it?
HARDtalk speaks to Nikos Dendias, Greece's minister for public order. He believes Greece has become the new gateway to Europe, receiving 90 per cent of all illegal immigrants to the EU. He also says the Greek immigration problem may prove even greater than the financial one. How have the years of austerity impacted on Greek society and law and order?
Britain's prime minister David Cameron once accused Pakistan of facing both ways in the fight against terrorism. More recently he said we must 'stand together'. Gavin Esler speaks to Khawaja Khalid Farooq, who until very recently was head of Pakistan's National Counter Terrorism Authority. Does David Cameron's change of tone represent a new understanding that Pakistan is bearing a heavy burden of fighting and suffering great losses? Or is it part of a Western panic that Pakistan may be in such trouble that public criticism is no longer of any use?
David Davis has been a candidate for the leadership of the British Conservative party, but he has also made a name for himself as a civil liberties campaigner, arguing against what is sometimes called the ''surveillance state''. So what does he make of the massive collection of data by the US National Security Agency and Britain's GCHQ revealed by the American whistle-blower, Edward Snowden? In the years since the 9/11 attacks - have we got the balance wrong between liberty and security?
A year ago the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood's creed looked like a winning political formula; not so now. The Islamists have been removed from power by the army and millions of Egyptians see that as a cause for celebration. Meanwhile Turkey's moderate Islamist rulers have faced unprecedented mass protests, and in Tunisia political Islam is on the defensive. Stephen Sackur speaks to Turkish writer Mustafa Akyol and Egyptian feminist and political activist Dina Wahba. Is political Islam failing, if so why?
HARDtalk speaks to Zhang Xin, one of only 24 self-made female billionaires in the world. Hers is a true rags-to-riches story - as a teenager she worked in a sweat-shop in her native China, by her twenties she worked for Goldman Sachs and, disillusioned by Wall Street, she returned to China to make her fortune in property development. But what kind of China did she return to, a country heading for economic problems, or possibly an emerging democracy as well as an emerging super-power?
What's it like growing up as a girl in Saudi Arabia, a country where women are educated separately, forbidden to drive cars and often prevented from working? HARDtalk speaks to Haifaa Al-Masour, a Saudi film-maker and the country's first female director. In her film 'Wadjda', she's captured the daily routines of Saudi life seen through the eyes of a little girl who wants the simple freedom, permitted to the boys around her, to own and ride a bike.
Sarah Montague speaks to Paul Kenny, the leader of one of the UK's biggest unions, the GMB. Britain's Labour Party was created from the trade unions and it still gets most of its money from them. But its leader Ed Miliband, a man who owes his job to the union vote, now wants to loosen those ties. Paul Kenny says that Labour is in danger of losing 90 per cent of his union's funding. So what would a change mean for the Labour Party, the unions and working class representation in Britain?
Albania is the single most corrupt country in Europe according to Transparency International. HARDtalk speaks to Edi Rama, who will become Albania's Prime Minister in September. A modern artist, he won international plaudits for transforming the capital Tirana when he was its mayor - not least by painting its grey buildings in bright colours. He's now promised a renaissance for the whole country. So can he succeed where previous politicians have failed?
HARDtalk speaks to one of Africa's greatest living writers, Ngugi Wa Thiong'o.Tipped to win the Nobel prize for literature, he decided years ago not to write novels in English but in Gikuyu, his mother tongue. His work includes extraordinary memoirs of colonial times and the Mau Mau uprising in his native Kenya. How far have today's young Africans forgotten the sacrifices that brought about independence? And has that independence itself been a disappointment?
HARDtalk speaks to Iraq's foreign minister, Hoshyar Zebari. He said he wanted to rehabilitate Iraq's image after the fall of Saddam Hussein. But now sectarian violence in Iraq is arguably worse than ever before and is overlapping with sectarianism in neighbouring Syria. The Shia led government in Baghdad is accused of discriminating against the Sunni minority and of being too close to Iran. How can Hoshyar Zebari, himself an Iraqi Kurd, hope to have any coherent foreign policy, when his own country is in danger of slipping into civil war?
Rivers State is at the heart of Nigeria's oil industry, which produces 20 per cent of the country's wealth. Yet more than one billion dollars a month is being lost to thieves who syphon it off from remote pipelines. Rotimi Chibuike Amaechi is Governor of Rivers State, a key figure in addressing the problem. But he's locked in a highly public dispute with the President; their supporters have had to be separated by the police and the power struggle has prevented the state assembly from meeting since May. Isn't it time he focused on the day job?
Sarah Montague speaks to opera star Thomas Hampson who says the way to get people to love opera is to get them to understand it, and then it has the power to transform. If Hampson is right, could one of the most elite and expensive art forms have worldwide appeal?
HARDtalk is on the road in Alaska. In the first of two programmes, Stephen Sackur visits the Bristol Bay region of south-west Alaska where the fishing industry, the mining industry and the federal government are locked in a bitter argument over environmental sustainability and resource exploitation. Every year 40 million salmon swim in to Bristol Bay before beginning their journey up the rivers and streams of the region, it's one of the world's great fisheries, however 120 miles inland there is plan to build North American's largest copper mine. HARDtalk explores whether the two forms of resource exploitation can co-exist?
As part of 2013: The Big Stories, another chance to see HARDtalk on the road in Alaska, a land of pristine wilderness, sparse population and unimaginable resource riches. It is also the corner of our planet which is experiencing the most dramatic effects of climate change. The carbon economy which made Alaska rich now threatens its delicate ecosystem, presenting the US with a challenge. Stephen Sackur explores whether the world's second largest carbon emitter is getting serious about climate change.
Latin America's cities are the most violent on Earth. They have the highest rate of homicides and many are awash with firearms. Crime is often fuelled by drug-use and trafficking. So why are many leaders in the region softening their position on drugs? The Organisation of American States (OAS) has just published a report reviewing drug policy. It marks a radical departure from the war on drugs pushed by the US and sets out alternatives to the current policy on prohibition. Does the OAS secretary-general Jose Miguel Insulza believe this is a sign of a growing divide between the US and Latin America?
To mark HARDtalk's twentieth anniversary, here is another chance to see Sarah Montague's interview with one of Britain's most celebrated composers, Sir John Tavener, filmed just months before his death in 2013. Sir John said his music was for God. Forty years ago his work was sometimes dismissed as bland, populist, new age. But over time he defied the critics - the Protecting Veil was one of the biggest selling classical albums ever, and his Song for Athene was played at the funeral of Princess Diana. Having been ill for much of his life, he said that everything changed after he nearly died from a heart attack in 2007. How did this experience affect his view of life, his music, and his faith?
The political standoff in Egypt remains in the balance. Thousands of supporters of ousted President, Mohamed Morsi, remain camped-out in Cairo, the interim government wants them removed but more bloodshed could follow if the troops move in. HARDtalk speaks to Egypt's new Foreign Minister, Nabil Fahmy. He's part of a government which many of his compatriots view as illegitimate. So will they bring democracy to Egypt as promised or will the streets of Cairo once again become a battlefield?
South Africa is holding general elections next year and for the first time, a whole new generation will cast their vote. The 'born free generation' has no direct memory of the struggle against apartheid - and they've grown up with the powerful African National Congress as their country's government, rather than as its liberators. In a South Africa still struggling to overcome inequality, corruption and youth unemployment, what hopes can the party offer to the younger generation? HARDtalk speaks to Mzwandile Masina, the interim president of the ANC Youth League. Have they still got anything to offer to the younger generation?
In what's been billed as a 'world first', fast food grown in a laboratory was served up in London recently. HARDtalk speaks to Professor Mark Post who says his 'in vitro burger' could be the answer to our unsustainable appetite for meat and help ease the burden on the environment. There's clearly a need for more meat - the World Health Organisation estimates annual global production will have to double by 2050, so will meat grown from stem cells in a science lab ever make it to our dinner plates?
Genocide is often called the ultimate crime and after every tragedy, the world says 'it must never happen again'. And yet it does. HARDtalk speaks to leading international human rights lawyer Payam Akhavan, who made his name trying to bring to justice those responsible for war crimes in the former Yugoslavia. He believes that the international community has a duty to challenge human rights abuses wherever they occur. But is true justice ever really possible - or is it compromised by the political constraints and realities of the day?
After almost three years of scraping along the bottom, the United Kingdom seems to be seeing signs of a burgeoning economic recovery from the deep recession that followed the financial crisis in 2008-09. HARDtalk is in the Scottish capital Edinburgh to talk to Britain's former Chancellor Alistair Darling. His Labour Party was in charge when the crisis hit. Can he admit that the government's economic plans might be working? And can he stop Scotland voting to leave the United Kingdom next year, as he takes charge of the no to independence campaign?
A senior US intelligence official has warned that Syria has become the "predominant jihadist battlefield in the world." As many as ten thousand foreigners could now be fighting there and the US fears they could return as part of a global jihadist movement that threatens Europe and the United States. There appears to be stalemate on the ground: the United Nations says Syria is "in freefall". HARDtalk speaks to Najib Ghadbian, the UN and US representative of the opposition Syrian coalition. What should he and others do to end the crisis?
HARDtalk speaks to Greece's former finance minister, George Papaconstantinou. He was handed a list of 2000 possible tax evaders 3 years ago, but did not make it public. When a copy of the list was made public it was missing the names of 3 of his relatives. This was the man who was negotiating Greece's bail out and, with it, imposing massive cut backs in his country. Last month Greece's parliament voted that he should face criminal charges for tampering with the list, for breach of trust and breach of public duty. He says he is innocent, has been framed, and is being made a scapegoat.
"Utter carnage", "a massacre". Condemnation of Egypt's Government has come thick and fast after the police cleared protest camps and hundreds of people died. Having deposed the elected president, those in charge promise fresh elections within nine months. HARDtalk speaks to Mostafa Hegazy, who advises the interim president. He says this isn't about politics, it's a war against extremism. The Egyptian military said much the same when it previously imposed a state of emergency. That lasted 30 years. How long does Mr Hegazy think his government's will last?
HARDtalk speaks to Lakhdar Brahimi, the UN-Arab League Special Envoy for Syria. He has said that his task is 'nearly impossible'. With the US and the UK talking about the possibility of military intervention and Russia saying such action would have 'catastrophic consequences' for the region, what does the future hold for Syria?
The Egyptian authorities are drafting a new constitution that would ban religious-based political parties. It's prompted a furious reaction from those who support the deposed President, Mohamed Morsi. They say it will incite "chaos" within Egypt and opens the door to "the system which produced pharaohs". HARDtalk speaks to the country's former foreign minister and former head of the Arab League, Amr Moussa. He supports the new military-backed government, but does he trust it to bring true democracy to Egypt?
HARDtalk speaks to the former Bishop of Edinburgh, Richard Holloway. He entered a seminary at the age of 14, intent on becoming a monk and rose to be the leader of the Anglican Church in Scotland. But he gradually lost faith in many of the certainties of Christianity, including the existence of God. He finally resigned from the church, accusing it of cruelly persecuting gay people. So did his own loss of faith betray those he one preached to?
HARDtalk speaks to the acclaimed actor, writer and director, Stephen Berkoff. He spent more than fifty years in theatre and film rocking the establishment with his outspoken and often angry views. His work ranges from appearances in A Clockwork Orange and The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, to adaptations of Franz Kafka�s Metamorphosis. He believes the art world is letting us all down by abandoning serious quality drama to pursue mass audiences. So what is theatre? Art or entertainment?
Is a military strike against the Assad regime in the offing or not? Two weeks after reports emerged of an apparent chemical weapons attack in the Damascus suburbs, the West's response is still riddled with uncertainty and confusion. Stephen Sackur speaks to the former French prime minister Dominique de Villepin. His country stands ready to join an attack on the Syrian regime, but with who? British parliamentarians voted against intervention, now President Obama is putting his military case before the US Congress. Is this the way to develop a coherent strategy?
Six years ago a young English student Meredith Kercher was murdered in Perugia, Italy. The investigative and judicial process which followed was fundamentally flawed. Two people, Meredith's American flatmate Amanda Knox, and Knox's boyfriend Raffaele Sollecito spent four years in prison convicted of Meredith's murder. Two years ago they were acquitted on appeal; later this month they will be retried by a fresh appeal court in Florence. HARDtalk speaks with Raffaele Sollecito. His story has made lurid headlines around the world - but how will it end?
HARDtalk is in Italy to speak to the Italian Prime Minister, Enrico Letta. He is trying to hold together a fragile coalition of left and right, including the party of Silvio Berluscioni, while pushing through a programme of economic reforms designed to stimulate an economy still reeling from the Euro crisis. With the situation in Syria straining international relations at the G20 Summit, can Mr Letta keep his government together?
Economists have spent years bemoaning the long-term stagnation of the advanced economies and drawing unflattering comparisons with the dynamic growth in the powerhouse emerging economies, but is it time to change the tune? The US economic motor is showing signs of life, just as nervousness is sweeping financial markets from Jakarta to Brasilia. Stephen Sackur speaks to leading American economist and former Obama adviser Peter Blair Henry. He's just written a book about the turnaround in relations between rich and emerging nations; is it already out of date?
The Obama administration says it's certain Assad forces carried out the chemical attack on August 21st that killed nearly fifteen hundred people in Syria. What's not certain is how America will respond. President Obama is trying to convince his country AND the international community that military action is needed, but, he now says there may be merit in the Russian proposal that Assad put his chemical weapons under intentional supervision. HARDtalk speaks to PJ Crowley, former US Assistant Secretary Of State for Public Affairs. How far has Obama's Syria policy been defined by ambiguity and change and has this eroded Obama's credibility and authority?
Vladimir Putin appears to be relishing his role at the centre of the diplomatic manoeuvring over Syria - it reinforces his image as the strong man in the Kremlin. But just how strong is he? A recent round of Russian municipal elections gave the anti-Putin movement a much needed morale boost. HARDtalk speaks to the opposition activist and former world chess champion, Garry Kasparov. Is there any serious challenge to the supremacy of Putinism?
What now for the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt and its political wing the Freedom and Justice party? Rarely has the fall from power of a party been so quick, dramatic and violent. Since President Morsi's removal by the army, thousands of the Brotherhood's members and supporters have been arrested, including most of its senior leaders. HARDtalk speaks to Abdul Mawgoud Dardery, a member of the now suspended parliament. What is the Brotherhood's next move?
Samantha Geimer, the woman at the center of the decades-old Roman Polanski sex scandal.
Kenya is the first country to have a sitting president and vice president tried on charges of crimes against humanity at the International Criminal Court. They're accused of orchestrating ethnic based violence in 2007 in which twelve hundred were killed and six hundred thousand forced to flee their homes. They say they're not guilty. HARDtalk speaks to Amina Mohamed, Kenya's Foreign Minister. Kenya is threatening to withdraw from the ICC. But how much damage would that do to its international reputation?
Draw up a list of the biggest bands in the history of rock and roll and a remarkable number of them will be British. There's The Beatles and The Rolling Stones of course, but also Pink Floyd, whose albums 'The Dark Side of the Moon' and 'The Wall' remain rock classics. Stephen Sackur speaks to Roger Waters, who was a dominant figure in Pink Floyd until he quit in 1985. He is still performing and he remains the most controversial of rock stars. So what motivates him?
It is many a young boy's dream to become a professional footballer. Understandable given the riches and the adulation on offer to the biggest stars in the world's most popular sport. But behind football's flashy fa�e there are real problems; racism, corruption and amongst some players, dangerous levels of depression. HARDtalk speaks to Clarke Carlisle, newly retired professional footballer and chairman of England's Professional Footballers' Association. Is there a cure for the sickness in football?
Those who think the worst of the Eurozone crisis is over should consider what's happening in Greece. Public sector job cuts have prompted a new wave of strikes, a third bailout seems likely as the government wrestles with its crippling debt burden, while poverty and extremist violence threaten the country's social cohesion. HARDtalk speaks to Greece's controversial health minister, Adonis Georgiadis - is Greece still in a state of slow motion collapse?
Many dozens have died in the Nairobi shopping mall siege raising questions both inside Kenya and elsewhere as to the nature of future terror attacks - who will carry them out, and where? HARDtalk speaks to counter-insurgency expert, David Kilcullen. He has worked in just about every conflict zone across several continents, including in Somalia, Kenya and Syria. Is the world in danger of underplaying the current terrorist threat?
For the second time in his presidency Barack Obama is eyeing the 'reset button' in his diplomatic toolkit. With Russia it misfired, so when it comes to Iran, what are the chances of overcoming three decades of hostility? HARDtalk speaks to John Limbert, the state department's point man on Iran in Obama's first term, and one of the US diplomats held hostage in Tehran 34 years ago. Are the US and Iran ready for the difficult decisions that would truly reset relations?
Opinion polls in Britain suggest public faith in politics and politicians has plummeted in the last decade. Why? A lot of powerful reasons lie within the pages of a dark political memoir written by Damian McBride. He was the spin doctor for former British prime minister, Gordon Brown, and routinely used smears, leaks and a host of dirty tricks to serve his master's interests and undermine his enemies. In the past Damian McBride never let the truth stand in his way. What about now?
Thanks to money, media rights and commercialisation, cricket, a game of proud tradition, has been transformed into a multi-billion dollar sporting commodity. The cradle of this cricketing revolution has been India, home of the Indian Premier League - the world's richest cricket tournament. HARDtalk speaks to Lalit Modi, the creator of the Indian Premier League. He has since been banished from cricket, and his native India, amid allegations of corruption and dodgy dealing. Is greed killing cricket?
Is it time to mourn the death of Egypt's revolutionary dream? Civilians lead the government but real power lies with the armed forces. Emergency law, military courts, the outlawing of the Muslim Brotherhood - the list of repressive measures invites comparison with the darkest days of the Mubarak era. HARDtalk speaks to Egyptian writer and political activist, Ahdaf Soueif. She is part of a movement trying to re-open the road to revolution. But is it too late?
Are winds of change blowing across Iran? The Islamic Republic's new president, Hassan Rouhani, has engineered a diplomatic opening with the United States. There's optimistic talk of compromise on the nuclear stand-off and an end to Iran's international isolation. Where would that leave die-hard opponents of the regime? Stephen Sackur speaks to Reza Pahlavi, exiled eldest son of the late Shah of Iran and spokesman for the self-styled Iran National Council. Does a figure steeped in Iran's past have a role to play in its future?
Thanks to Edward Snowden, America's cyber-spy turned leaker, we now know US intelligence agencies backed by the British secretly monitor electronic communications all over the world. In Britain, Snowden's revelations have prompted a ferocious argument between self-styled defenders of liberty and pillars of the security establishment. HARDtalk speaks to Sir Malcolm Rifkind, chairman of the UK parliament's Intelligence and Security Committee. Is the security state a potential threat to those it's supposed to protect?
America's dysfunctional politics has brought the US government perilously close to running out of money. To outsiders it has looked like an incomprehensible game of brinkmanship which threatens the world economy, but die-hard tea party Republicans have seen it as an opportunity to make a stand against 'big' government. HARDtalk speaks to Christopher Ruddy, CEO of Newsmax Media - an influential forum for conservative opinion. Have the Republicans picked a fight they could never win?
What do we want from the movies we see? Judging from the global box office returns the answer is escapism, superheroes and awesome special effects. But that's not how all A-list Hollywood directors make their name. HARDtalk speaks to Paul Greengrass who makes taut, tense films that aren't always easy to watch. His biggest hits were the Bourne movies starring Matt Damon, his most intense film was probably United 93, based on the events of 9/11, and his new release is about Somali pirates. How does he juggle truth, art and entertainment?
Vladimir Putin rules Russia with ruthless efficiency. Opponents and potential rivals know they are engaged in a dangerous game. For proof they need look no further than the fate of Mikhail Khodorkovsky, once Russia's richest man, an oligarch who crossed the Kremlin, and who has been a prisoner for the past decade. HARDtalk speaks to his son, Pavel Khodorkovsky. His father is due to be freed next year, but can Vladimir Putin afford to let him go?
In Britain healthcare is state-funded, free at the point of delivery to all citizens. The National Health Service is routinely described by politicians of all stripes as one of the country's greatest treasures. But the NHS's reputation has been damaged by recent shocking revelations of failings in patient care. HARDTalk speaks to the Chief Executive of NHS England Sir David Nicholson. Is his Health service capable of meeting the shifting demands and daunting financial challenges of 21st century healthcare?
The international diplomatic effort to push Syria's warring parties to the negotiating table continues - as does the mission to eliminate the Assad's regime stockpile of chemical weapons. But all the while the suffering of Syrian civilians intensifies. HARDtalk speaks to David Nott, a British surgeon recently returned from 5 weeks practising frontline medecine in rebel held Syrian territory. He calls it the most troubling experience in his 20 years of crisis care. In a conflict such as Syria's how much difference can a courageous doctor make?
Imagine a world where robots can think and feel like humans. HARDtalk speaks to pioneering American scientist Professor Rosalind Picard, from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, who has advanced the capability of computers to recognise human emotions. In the future, could robots fitted with intelligent computers perform tasks such as caring for the elderly, or fight as soldiers on the battlefield and, if so, what are the ethical implications?
In a HARDtalk special, filmed live in front of an audience as part of the BBC's 100 women series, Zeinab Badawi speaks to Italy's Foreign Minister, Emma Bonino. She has been an outspoken and bold activist for political and social freedoms for decades. She was instrumental in getting Italy to legalise abortion and has campaigned against nuclear energy, racism and sexism. But when she looks at what's happening in Italy today, does she feel that progressives like her have lost the fight?
Is access to abortion a human right for women everywhere in the world? Women on Waves has for more than ten years provided abortions and contraception to women who live in countries where terminating pregnancy is illegal or restricted. The organisation was set up by the Dutch doctor Rebecca Gomperts who hires a ship registered under Dutch law and sails into international waters to provide abortion. How does she justify helping women ignore the social, religious and political climate in their own countries?
HARDtalk speaks to the most successful Olympic sailor of all time - British four-time gold medallist Sir Ben Ainslie. In September he was part of Team USA which enjoyed a spectacular victory against Team New Zealand at the America's cup in San Francisco. But sailing is becoming more and more expensive - with critics saying it is now a niche sport funded by billionaires and enjoyed by the few. How can its appeal be broadened?
The high price of oil is powering Nigeria's economy to new heights. This year, it's predicted to have grown by over six per cent. So why do some experts say it's more vulnerable now than it was during the global economic meltdown of five years ago? The Governor of Nigeria's Central Bank, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi has accused politicians of flooding the country with dollars to lubricate election campaigning for a presidential poll that's still 18 months away. By then, Governor Sanusi's term of office at the bank will be over. Could he have his eye on a new one - in the presidential palace?
The first formal negotiations between the Syrian government and opposition leaders - known as the Geneva 2 conference - are planned to take place soon. The UN envoy Lakhdar Brahimi has been in Damascus to meet President Assad in preparation for the talks. But what of the opposition? HARDtalk speaks to Monzer Akbik, the Chief of Staff to the leader of the Syrian opposition umbrella group, the Syrian National Coalition. However, there is disarray in rebel ranks about whether they should attend the talks at all. So is the opposition scuppering the best chance to end the bloodshed in Syria?
Indonesia is the dominant power in South East Asia, the fourth most populous nation in the world and a key player in the 21st century shift of global power from West to East. But just how stable are Indonesia's economic and political foundations? The rapidly growing economy has hit turbulence, religious and ethnic tensions pose a challenge to the nation's democracym, and corruption remains a drag on development. HARDtalk speaks to Dewi Fortuna Anwar, a senior adviser to the Vice President of Indonesia. Will Indonesia fulfil its potential?
HARDtalk speaks to African-American Democrat Michael Nutter, Mayor of Philadelphia. He is in London to try to attract business and investment to Philadelphia. But how can a city with high levels of crime be an attractive environment for visitors and tourists? Mayor Nutter wants the Obama administration to spend more on tackling violence and crime at home, rather than fighting terrorism abroad. Why does he think that's not happening?
Britain's energy companies have pulled off the near impossible trick of making themselves more unpopular than the nation's bankers. How come? Well rising gas and electricity bills are putting an enormous strain on millions of households; the energy giants stand accused of unjustifiable profiteering. It has become one of Britain's hottest political issues, with the opposition Labour Party promising to impose a freeze on prices. HARDtalk speaks to Paul Massara, the boss of Npower. Is it time for a radical overhaul of the energy market?
Is energy Europe's economic Achilles heel? While the US benefits from a massive investment in shale gas production, Europeans focus on decarbonising their economy whilst bickering about the relative merits of fracking, nuclear and renewable energy. HARDtalk speaks to Paolo Scaroni, boss of one of Europe's energy giants, the Italian oil company Eni. How can Europe best safeguard its energy future?
What exactly is progressive politics? In the rich world it's identified with the centre left, with a faith in the state's ability to ameliorate the perceived excesses of market capitalism. HARDtalk speaks to Roberto Unger, an influential Brazilian political philosopher who has a much more ambitious take on what it means to be progressive. He calls himself a revolutionary, but is the world - rich or poor - ready for his progressive revolution?
In India, producing surrogate babies is a booming business. Reproductive technology allows childless, wealthy couples to hire impoverished Indian women as surrogate mothers - pregnancy and childbirth have become commercial transactions. HARDtalk speaks to Dr Nayna Patel, a pioneer in the field. Her clinic has been recruiting surrogates and delivering babies to order for a decade. Is this 21st century way of making babies irresponsible and exploitative, or a positive public service?
Back in 2011 the small Gulf state of Bahrain seemed to be on the brink of tumultuous change. The ruling Al Khalifa family faced unprecedented street protests and demands for democratic reform. Bahrain's security forces cracked down hard - political battle lines between government and opposition were drawn. Two and a half years on, has the Bahraini monarchy learnt lessons and weathered the storm? HARDtalk speaks to Ala'a al-Shehabi, an activist with the campaigning group Bahrain Watch. Is there a middle ground between the status quo and revolution?
Bosnia Herzegovina is a nation state built on fragile foundations. It emerged from a brutal ethnic war. Its make-up - a Serb mini-state reluctantly yoked to a Muslim Croat federation - is dysfunctional. And there are now fears it could disintegrate. Zeljka Cvijanovic is the Prime Minister of the Republika Srpska enclave in Bosnia. Are the separatist Bosnian Serbs playing with fire?
From genetic engineering to bioscience, human beings are close to acquiring the ability not just to combat disease, but to enhance and perfect our species. But should we seek to do it, or should we shy away from a path that led to Nazi eugenics? HARDtalk speaks to the Australian born, Oxford based medical ethicist Julian Savulescu. Can we trust ourselves to be wise masters of our own biology?
Ukraine had an historic opportunity this week to move toward full integration with the European Union. EU leaders wanted to seal an association agreement which would have drawn one of Europe's largest nations firmly into Brussels' orbit. But Ukraine's president walked away from the deal, in favour of closer ties with Russia. Why? HARDtalk speaks to Petro Poroshenko, billionaire Ukrainian businessman and former minister. East or West - where do Ukraine's real interests lie?
Thanks to Edward Snowden's leaking of American intelligence secrets the whole world now knows the extent of US-UK surveillance of global phone and internet traffic. Have the revelations flagged up a corrosive infringement of individual liberty, or undermined efforts to protect the world from terrorism? HARDtalk speaks to journalist, Glenn Greenwald - he broke the Snowden story. His mission, he says, is to hold power to account. Is this a journalistic crusade that's gone too far?
For the last few years the EU has been under enormous strain. Amid the bail outs, austerity and rising unemployment some Europeans have come to see the EU as part of the problem, not the solution. HARDtalk speaks to Martin Schulz, the President of the European Parliament. He's one of Europe's most powerful advocates of more integration, but is he out of tune with Europe's mood?
Viewed from across the Atlantic, American politics is a mess. A stand-off between Congressional Republicans and President Obama temporarily shut down the federal government. Healthcare reform is a battleground, immigration reform is blocked. HARDtalk speaks to Florida Senator, Marco Rubio. He is widely seen as a Republican contender for the White House in 2016. Do the Republicans have what it takes to win a national election?
South Africans are today coming to terms with the death of Nelson Mandela, the country's first black President, the father of the rainbow nation and a figure of towering moral authority. His extraordinary life is being remembered and celebrated by them and by people all around the world. More than ten years ago George Alagiah interviewed President Mandela for a special edition of Hardtalk when he was in Britain for the Commonwealth Conference . They talked about his life, his love and his earliest days in South Africa's liberation struggle.
HARDtalk is in Cape Town to meet Francois Pienaar who captained the South African rugby team when it won the World Cup in 1995. Before the game Nelson Mandela walked into the stadium in Johannesburg wearing the Springbok rugby jersey, which was once seen as a symbol of white minority rule. It came to be viewed as a defining moment for the emerging �Rainbow Nation.� Francois Pienaar went on to develop a friendship with Nelson Mandela. George Alagiah asks him whether the hope and optimism generated that day is still alive today?
When the Nobel Committee awarded this year's Peace Prize to the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), its staff were on the ground in Syria overseeing the removal and destruction of the country's chemical weapons. Sarah Montague travelled to Oslo to speak to the Director General of the OPCW, Ahmet Uzumcu as he collected the prize. Does the work of his organisation mean peace is more likely in Syria?
Vladimir Putin has developed a knack for getting what he wants. The Russian president did not want neighbouring Ukraine to sign a partnership deal with the European Union - he used Moscow's economic leverage to block it. Nor did Putin want US-led military intervention in Syria - he used diplomatic craft to block that too. HARDtalk speaks to Mikhail Margelov - an influential voice in Russia's foreign policy establishment. For all Mr Putin's muscle flexing is Russia really a global power?
Under Tony Blair's leadership the world grew used to a British Labour government that was the United States' staunchest ally in a series of military interventions. But with the Blair era long gone and the party preparing for an election battle in 2015 has Labour's world view changed? HARDtalk speaks to Labour's chief foreign policy spokesman, Douglas Alexander. Does Labour have a compelling vision of Britain's role in the international arena?
HARDtalk speaks to Mark Cavendish, who over the past five years has enjoyed the reputation of being the fastest man on two wheels. He is a cycling phenomenon - an explosive sprinter, a world champion and the winner of more Tour de France stages than any other Briton. He also has a reputation for blunt talk in a sport tainted by illegal drug use. So, has cycling cleaned up its act and thrown out the cheats?
HARDtalk is in Monte Carlo at the World Policy Conference, an international gathering of politicians and business leaders from across the world. Stephen Sackur speaks to one of France's most influential and outspoken CEOs, Christophe de Margerie, boss of the energy giant Total. Does Europe have what it takes to meet the triple challenge of economic competitiveness, climate change and energy security?
The Central African Republic is a failed state, long ignored by the outside world. But looking the other way is no longer an option. The lives of hundreds of thousands of civilians are at risk thanks to an internal conflict which has exposed religious division and regional tension. French and African troops are trying to stop the killing but the Central African Republic's people are paying the price for decades of misrule. HARDtalk speaks to the former Prime Minister and opposition leader Martin Ziguele. Who or what can save his country?
HARDtalk speaks to artist Jeremy Deller, who defies all the labels and categories of the art world. He is a visual artist who can't paint, can't draw and professes no great technical skill - yet he is widely regarded as one of the most important artists in Britain today. He uses images, objects, words and real people to present a portrait of the modern world, from the factory floor to the Iraq War. What is at the heart of his creative vision?
In a special edition of HARDtalk from Berlin, Stephen Sackur speaks to Mikhail Khodorkovsky. For ten years he was Russia's most famous prisoner, the former oil tycoon who fell out with President Putin and paid the heaviest of prices. Just days ago President Putin pardoned him, and released him. Now he is staying in a Berlin hotel, reunited with his family. He reflects on his past, present and future.
In this special year ending edition of HARDtalk, Stephen Sackur looks back at some of the most memorable interviews of 2013, chosen by the HARDtalk team but also chosen by the viewers by email or through social media. From the conflicts in the Middle East to the death of Mandela, it has been a year of intense emotions, and HARDtalk has been there to record them.
Stephen Sackur talks to Mike Mack, the CEO of Syngenta, one of the world's biggest agribusinesses. With the population set to rise beyond nine billion over the next half century, farmers worldwide face an enormous productivity challenge. He sees farming's future driven by bioscience and genetic manipulation, but faces public mistrust and suspicion.
Stephen Sackur speaks to photographer Giles Duley, who abandoned the world of celebrity, music and fashion photography to focus on stories of human suffering. In 2011 in Afghanistan, he lost both of his legs and an arm when he stepped on an improvised explosive device which detonated. Since then, he has defied the odds, not just surviving but returning to work and even revisiting Afghanistan. He is still a photographer, but does he now see the world through a different lens?
Is English justice all it is cracked up to be? HARDtalk speaks to Keir Starmer, the top barrister who has just stepped down after five years as the director of public prosecutions, in effect the chief prosecutor in England and Wales. Are the pillars of the English judicial system, the laws and the courts, really fit for purpose?
When a US drone kills a jihadi militant in Pakistan, has a law been broken? What if the missile kills women and children too? Who can be held to account? HARDtalk speaks to Ben Emmerson, the British lawyer addressing these questions for the United Nations. He says drone strikes and other exceptional counter-terror measures simply breed more terror. But does this liberal lawyer really know what is best in the struggle to make the world a safer place?
Eve Ensler, best known for her play The Vagina Monologues, is leading a campaign to end violence against women. According to the UN, one third of all women experience rape or some kind of physical assault in their lifetime. Stephen Sackur asks this passionate New York feminist what she can do to change the experiences of women around the world.
Eight hundred million Europeans' fundamental rights and liberties are supposed to be safeguarded by the European Court of Human Rights. It is an institution steeped in European idealism and ambition, but does it work? HARDtalk speaks to the President of the Strasbourg based court, Dean Spielmann. Critics condemn it as an undemocratic, unaccountable infringement on national sovereignty; do they have a case?
In a special edition of HARDtalk recorded in New York City, Stephen Sackur speaks to the former US defence secretary Robert Gates. In his newly published memoirs he gives the inside story on arguments and tensions inside the Obama White House - particularly over Afghanistan. He has called his book Duty but are some of his revelations an act of disloyalty?
The British government is 'going all out for shale'. Those are the words of the prime minister about his plan to allow companies to try to extract shale gas from deep underground. It's a contrast to most European countries - many have banned it until they're convinced it can be done safely without damaging the water supply. Sarah Montague speaks to Britain's energy and climate change secretary, Liberal Democrat Ed Davey. If we want clean, green and affordable energy, what role should fracking have?
The previously banned Muslim Brotherhood produced Egypt's first ever democratically elected president. Six months later he was deposed, with the Brotherhood subsequently designated as 'terrorist', with its leaders thrown in jail or in exile. One of those is Yehia Hamid. He was investment minister in a government critics say put its own interests ahead of the economic crisis which precipitated its downfall. With the Brotherhood telling its supporters to 'topple the leaders of the treacherous military coup', isn't the Brotherhood encouraging the violence it professes to abhor?
When Harris Georgiades became finance minister of Cyprus in 2013 some said he had been handed a poisoned chalice. He has had to preside over tough austerity measures that are driving up poverty levels in the country. The economy is shrinking, unemployment will perhaps reach 20% this year and wages are being slashed. These were the tough conditions of a 10 billion euro bailout granted last year with the troika of the European Central Bank, the EU and the IMF to avoid a collapse of the banking system in Cyprus. So why then does the finance minister believe that the economy is proving more resilient than expected? Is he being too optimistic?
HARDtalk speaks to the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby. He has just embarked on a tour of four African countries, all touched by vicious and bloody conflict: South Sudan, Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda and Burundi. It is part of his mission to visit as many communities in the 80-million strong Anglican Church worldwide. Can he help heal the divisions in these conflict-ridden countries? And what is his answer to critics who say that religion itself is partly to blame for ethnic hatred and killings. Also, the Church is polarised on issues such as same-sex marriage and gay priests. Can the Archbishop keep the Church together?
In a special edition of HARDtalk recorded in Delhi, Stephen Sackur speaks to India's finance minister, Palaniappan Chidambaram - one of the most influential and long serving members of the Congress Party dominated government. India has enjoyed a decade of unprecedented economic growth, with signs of a new era of wealth and consumerism visible in every major city. But has this vast country squandered an opportunity to fundamentally reform itself for the 21st century?
In front of an audience in the Indian capital Delhi, Stephen Sackur talks to one of India's most intriguing young politicians, Omar Abdullah. He is chief minister of the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir - a long disputed territory once described by former president Bill Clinton as the most dangerous place on earth. Is there any hope of Kashmir becoming a place of peace, not conflict?
Stephen Sackur speaks to Hussain Al-Shahristani, Iraq's deputy prime minister responsible for energy, asking if his country is perilously close to sinking back into civil war.
In a special edition of HARDtalk, recorded in the Indian capital, Stephen Sackur talks to the prominent women's rights campaigner, Kavita Krishnan. Delhi is a proud capital of the nation - a noisy and vibrant place - but a city stained by its record on sexual violence. More rapes are recorded here than any other Indian city. Just over a year ago a 23-year-old medical student died after a brutal gang rape on a bus which shocked the nation and prompted millions of people to demand government action to end gender violence. Is India becoming a safer more equal society for women?
HARDtalk speaks to legendary photographer, David Bailey. In the sixties he captured the vitality, the sexiness and the rebel spirit of the age in black and white. Over five successive decades he's conjured up iconic images of models, rock stars and even gangsters, but what do his pictures say about him?
HARDtalk is in Paris at Roland Garros, the headquarters of tennis in France, to speak to the French tennis player and Wimbledon Champion, Marion Bartoli. Last year just six weeks after achieving the highest accolade in her sport, the Wimbledon title, she announced she was retiring from tennis at the age of only 28. Can she really never imagine competing again? And if so, what does that say about the health of tennis?
Stephen Sackur visits the British Foreign Office to speak to foreign secretary William Hague. From Syria and Afghanistan to relations with the US and Europe, how influential is British foreign policy today?
Interviews with newsmakers and personalities from across the globe. It is nearly a year since the new Pope was installed, but still the same problems dog the Catholic Church. A UN Committee on the Rights of the Child has just criticised the Vatican over its failure to deal decisively with child sexual abuse by priests, gay rights activists still attack the Church on its stand on homosexuality, and the Vatican's finances have been under scrutiny and criminal investigation. HARDtalk speaks to Cardinal Peter Turkson who, last year, was tipped to become the first black Pope. He is calling for financial reforms and action against poverty and inequality. But does the Catholic Church have the moral authority to take a lead on such issues?
Two years after its birth as a nation, South Sudan is in danger of tearing itself apart. Weeks of bloody clashes between government forces loyal to the President and rebels backing the former Vice-President have left 10,000 dead and 750,000 people homeless. HARDtalk speaks to South Sudan's foreign minister, Barnaba Marial Benjamin. Can peace talks salvage unity from the wreckage of a brutal power struggle?
How's this for a vision of earthly paradise? Sun, sand, sea and a tax rate of zero. It's that last bit that turned the tiny Cayman Islands into one of the most attractive offshore financial havens in the world. But now the US and EU are leading international efforts to rein in the world's tax dodgers. HARDtalk speaks to Alden McLaughlin, Premier of the Cayman Islands. Is his Caribbean haven about to lose its allure?
A host of countries around the world still impose the ultimate punishment on the most serious criminals - death. What is it like to be in command of the machinery of state-sanctioned execution? HARDtalk gets a rare insight from Allen Ault, who spent years running the corrections system in the southern US state of Georgia. He organised the killing of criminals until he could stand it no more. Now he is an opponent of the death penalty. Why?
HARDtalk is in Stuttgart, Germany - a city with a long history of engineering and manufacturing. The auto industry is a major player here, which is good news for Stuttgart as long as the German car industry continues to thrive. Stephen Sackur speaks to Dieter Zetsche, the boss of Daimler, a company with a global reputation and the makers of Mercedes Benz cars. However, over the past decade they have made some costly mistakes and they still face major challenges, not least the push for greener more efficient vehicles. Daimler has a proud reputation, but does it have a bright future?
As US Secretary of State John Kerry prepares to publish an outline for an Israeli-Palestinian peace deal, Stephen Sackur talks to veteran Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat.
In a host of African countries, homosexuality is a crime. From Nigeria to Uganda, politicians seem to believe persecuting homosexuals is a vote-winning strategy. HARDtalk speaks to Kenyan writer Binyavanga Wainaina who knew it would be big news when he publicly revealed his homosexuality earlier this year. Sure enough, he's now at the centre of a debate about freedom, identity and culture that's raging across the African continent. Is his stand changing minds?
Europe's Roma have been discriminated against for centuries. They live in poor communities on the margins of society. Richer nations fear an influx of poorer migrants from eastern Europe in search of jobs and benefits and the Roma have borne the brunt of such suspicion. Switzerland's vote to curb immigration from the EU has touched a nerve, with some predicting a hardening of attitudes right across Europe towards migrants. HARDtalk speaks to Hungarian MEP, Livia Jaroka - the only Roma in the European parliament. Is she worried that the mood against the Roma is getting worse?
Just how stable and sustainable is Israel's coalition government? Prime Minister Netanyahu currently relies on the support of Jewish Home, a right-wing religious Zionist party strongly supportive of the settler movement. What happens to that coalition as the Americans try to push Israel towards a land-for-peace deal with the Palestinians? HARDtalk speaks to Naftali Bennett, leader of Jewish Home and Israel's economy minister. Is the Israeli right about to splinter?
Within the lifetimes of our children, the African elephant may be extinct, hunted to death - such is the continued lure of ivory, despite international efforts to ban the ivory trade. In Tanzania, poachers have been killing an average of 30 elephants a day. The government there says it will end the slaughter. HARDtalk speaks to Lazaro Nyalandu, Tanzania's minister for natural resources and tourism. Is human greed destined to kill off Africa's elephants?
After the revolutionary tumult in Ukraine, what comes next? The country is financially crippled, internally divided and a cockpit of tension between Moscow and the West. Who can hold Ukraine together? HARDtalk speaks to Eugenia Tymoshenko - her mother Yulia is the former prime minister, newly released from prison and widely seen as a powerful contender for Ukraine's presidency. Her name has pulling power, but is Yulia Tymoshenko what Ukraine needs?
For many American firearms are a symbol of freedom. The right to bear arms is treated with the same reverence as life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. But guns kill extraordinary numbers of US citizens, 30,000 and more every year. Maybe it is time to better regulate the firearms business. HARDtalk speaks to the recently retired president of the National Rifle Association, David Keene. Does the gun lobby really stand up for American values?
Stephen Sackur speaks to the king of tabloid trash-talking television in the United States - Jerry Springer. His show specialises in dysfunctional relationships and sex. His guests curse, they throw chairs and sometimes they fight. Critics call it cynical and manipulative TV, but it's made him famous and rich. So does he care?
Stephen Sackur speaks to two guests about the developing situation in Ukraine. Andriy Shevchenko is a Ukrainian MP closely allied to Ukraine's new prime minister and Alexander Nekrassov is a former Kremlin adviser. The question of how far Russia will go is preoccupying not just Ukrainians but governments across the western world. Vladimir Putin has Crimea firmly in his grip. Pushing his forces on into Russian-speaking areas of eastern Ukraine would surely tip this crisis into a shooting war. Is there a way back from the brink?
Can a frantic round of international diplomacy deliver a de-escalation of the Ukraine crisis? The immediate aim is to avoid a shooting war; the long-term challenge is to persuade Russia to accept a new political landscape in Kiev. Can it be done? Stephen Sackur speaks to Ukraine's ambassador to Nato Ihor Dolhov and recently retired US ambassador to Nato Ivo Daalder. In this battle of wills between Putin and the West, who wins?
HARDtalk speaks to Ricardo Alarcon who, until 2013, was president of Cuba's parliament, the National Assembly. At the zenith of his career, he was described as the third most powerful figure in Cuba after the Castro brothers. A veteran on the political and diplomatic scene, he's a former foreign minister and long-time ambassador for Cuba to the United Nations. He still wields a great deal of influence and now spends most of his time campaigning for the release of three Cubans jailed in the US for spying. Isn't it time the US and Cuba buried the hatchet and normalised relations?
It is the biggest crisis confronting Western Europe in twenty years; Ukraine could be just days away from losing a key part of its territory. Russia stands on one side of this conflict, the United States and the European Union on the other. HARDtalk speaks to Poland's foreign minister Radoslaw Sikorski. He helped negotiate a deal to halt the bloodshed in Kiev and now warns Vladimir Putin if Russia doesn't de-escalate, the EU will impose sanctions. However, last time such a crisis erupted it was the West that blinked first. Why does he believe things will be different this time?
Stephen Sackur speaks to Cody Wilson, who is at the leading edge of an anarchist movement which wants to use the so called 'dark web'- anonymous, borderless, and lawless - to empower individuals and undermine big government. His symbolic first move was to make a gun using open source software and a 3D printer. Is this really where we want the internet to take us?
HARDtalk is in Beijing for a special interview with China's most famous artist and dissident, Ai Weiwei. Under constant surveillance, and prevented from leaving the country, how does this artist push back against the forces of repression?
Since the financial meltdown of 2008, China has been the key driver of growth in the global economy. In Beijing, it is easy to see how the country's brand of command capitalism has transformed infrastructure and generated unprecedented wealth. But suddenly confidence has given way to insecurity. At the heart of it is a debt bubble that would threaten the whole world economy if it turned toxic. HARDtalk is in Beijing to speak to Jin Liqun, supremely well connected investment bank chief and former chairman of China's sovereign wealth fund. How worried should we be about the Chinese economy?
In a special edition of Hardtalk, Stephen Sackur speaks to Dmitry Peskov, spokesman to Russia's President Putin following the decision of EU and US leaders to impose sanctions. With international pressure mounting against the Kremlin, does Russia stand to lose more than win from this crisis?
There has been widespread condemnation of Russian president Vladimir Putin's decision to absorb Crimea after its referendum to break away from Ukraine. But Moscow says that any further sanctions imposed against it by the EU over Crimea, will affect Europe as much as itself. HARDtalk speaks to Bulgarian president Rosen Plevneliev. Bulgaria is the EU's poorest country and depends on Russia for 85 per cent of its gas needs. Can Bulgaria, and the EU as a whole, afford to get tough with Moscow?
When you think of the Chinese economy you probably conjure up images of assembly plants and production lines, but those old stereotypes need updating. 650 million Chinese citizens use the internet and as that number increases so does the business potential of the world wide web. But of course the internet brings with it social, cultural and political change too and that is where China's rulers begin to get nervous. HARDtalk speaks to one of the new breed of Chinese tech entrepreneurs, Charles Zhang, CEO of Sohu.com. Can the Chinese government impose its will on the web?
HARDtalk is at London's Barbican Theatre to speak to the artistic director and lead principal of the English National Ballet, Tamara Rojo. Her new production, a ballet about one of the bloodiest conflicts in the 20th century, is part of an attempt to modernise what is often a rather conservative repertoire in ballet. She'd like to do the same with training and technique too, but with some of the stars arguing that ballet should be tough and a new generation of dancers who have gone through a demanding training in Japan and China beginning to flourish, can Tamara Rojo triumph over tradition?
More than 500 supporters of Egypt's former president Mohammed Morsi have been sentenced to death. It's the latest crackdown on the Muslim Brotherhood - now banned under the country's new constitution. HARDtalk speaks to the newly elected leader of a party founded to 'save' the revolution of three years ago. Hala Shukrallah is the first female leader of a political party in Egypt and the first Christian. But in a country polarised between the military and Islamists, the liberal secular opposition have struggled to gain support. Does Egypt deserve a better opposition?
HARDtalk is in the Zambian capital Lusaka to speak to Kenneth Kaunda. Leader of the struggle for independence, he was sentenced to hard labour in prison by the British before he went on to become Zambia's first president of the post-colonial era. It is a landmark year for Zambia, the 50th anniversary of its independence, and Kenneth Kaunda himself turns 90 in April 2014. What has 50 years of freedom brought the people of Zambia?
South Africa holds elections in May and complaints from workers are getting louder. Unofficial figures show that nearly half of the working population doesn't have a proper job. So what happened to the post-apartheid dream of work and education for all? Hardtalk is in Johannesburg to speak to Zwelinzima Vavi, the now suspended head of COSATU, the powerful trade unions alliance - is it holding back South Africa's progress?
HARDtalk is in Johannesburg to talk to the only black woman in South Africa to head a mining company. Daphne Mashile-Nkosi has made a fortune out of her business ventures, but with much of the mining industry beset by strikes over pay and conditions, how far has the country's mineral wealth benefitted its poorest people?
HARDtalk is in Kiev for an exclusive interview with Ukraine's interim prime minister, Arseniy Yatsenyuk. Russian troops are still massed on Ukraine's border, and the economy is in freefall. Can he save Ukraine from disaster?
In a special edition of HARDtalk broadcast from London, as part of the BBC's Freedom Season, Zeinab Badawi speaks to the acclaimed South Sudanese singer and political activist, Emmanuel Jal. He was captured and forced to fight as a child soldier during the Sudanese civil war. His country South Sudan - the world's newest nation - may now be independent but it has descended into vicious ethnic fighting. What lies behind this new wave of conflict and how can it be stopped?
In a special edition of Hardtalk from Brazil, Stephen Sackur talks to Brazilian goal scoring legend Romario and deputy sports minister Luis Fernandes. Will the stadia be ready? Will protests mar the big kick off? Could the world cup be an own goal for Brazil?
In this second special programme from Brazil, HARDtalk speaks to the environment minister Izabella Teixeira. Her government says it is now protecting Brazil's unique biodiversity. But agribusiness and urbanisation are still taking their toll. Is the rainforest safe in her hands?
HARDtalk speaks to the French fashion designer Jean Paul Gaultier who was known as the enfant terrible of the fashion world for his witty and daring designs. Now in his sixties is he still as iconoclastic as ever? And as a new exhibition of his best known works begins at the Barbican Arts Centre in London, how does he answer criticisms that some of his designs like corset dresses and cone bras contribute to the sexual objectification of women?
HARDtalk is in Brazil to speak to one of the country's most successful and controversial film makers, Jose Padilha. His movies focus on violence and corruption in the favelas of Rio. Is his dark vision of Brazil fact or fiction?
The British military pull out from Afghanistan will soon be completed. Digesting the painful lessons from a 12 year deployment will take a whole lot longer. HARDtalk speaks to Richard Streatfeild, a former infantry officer in Helmand during some of the toughest fighting with the Taliban. Back then he kept an upbeat audio diary of life on the frontline; now he takes a more jaundiced view of Britain's Afghan commitment. Is it time to acknowledge failure?
Healing a society traumatised by sectarian violence is hard, anyone doubting it should take a look at Northern Ireland today. The de facto war between the IRA and the British state is over, but a legacy of bitterness remains. HARDtalk speaks to Geraldine Finucane, whose husband Pat, a Catholic lawyer, was murdered by loyalist paramilitaries 25 years ago. The killing exposed collusion between the British security services and Protestant paramilitaries - the Finucane family still wants a full public inquiry. But for the greater good of Northern Ireland, is it time to move on?
Ukraine, to borrow a phrase from Vladimir Putin, is on the edge of an abyss. The confrontation between the Kiev Government and pro-Russian forces in the east threatens Ukraine's very existence. Who bears responsibility? And who is now calling the shots? HARDtalk speaks to former US Deputy Secretary of State, Strobe Talbott, and Russian opposition leader, Boris Nemtsov. Has the Russian President comprehensively outmanoeuvred his enemies?
In a special edition of Hardtalk from Brazil, Stephen Sackur talks to footballer turned socialist politician Romario. He was one of the stars of the 1994 World Cup so you might think he'd be one of the most enthusiastic backers of the tournament coming to Brazil. Instead he's been one of its harshest critics. Why?
HARDtalk speaks to Ahmed Kathrada, one of the big names of South Africa's anti-apartheid struggle. He was sentenced to life in prison alongside Nelson Mandela on Robben Island, spending 26 years of his life locked up. On their release, Nelson Mandela persuaded him to join him in government - an experience he didn't like. But he has never stopped campaigning for the ideals of freedom on which the anti-apartheid movement was based. So has South Africa lived up to those ideals?
It must have looked like a position of great influence - presidential adviser to the National Coalition of Syrian Revolution and Opposition Forces - the government in exile planning to drive president Assad from power. HARDtalk speaks to Rime Allaf, who took on that role after a distinguished career in international think tanks. Now though Assad is so confident he's running for re-election, the coalition's forces are enduring defeats on the ground and important Western allies are getting nervous - seemingly more worried about the hard-line Islamists gaining a foothold in Syria than they are about Assad himself. Is time running out, not for the President, but for the opposition?
What if we lived in a radically different world? An internet driven, smart world where individuals and communities generate their own free energy, produce and share the things they need, and build an economy defined by collaboration, not competition. Stephen Sackur speaks to economist and author Jeremy Rifkin. For him, this is no utopian fantasy it is the unfolding story of the next century. Are we really entering the post-capitalist age?
Stephen Sackur talks to Yemen's veteran foreign minister Abu Bakr al-Qirbi about the country's humanitarian, economic, and security disasters that makes few headlines in the outside world and are described as 'the Arab world's slow-motion car crash'. The Yemeni government is supposed to be in the middle of a major programme of political and economic reform, but right now its focus appears to be a major military assault on local Al Qaeda strongholds. If Yemen is a failing state, who is to blame?
Whoever dubbed Australia the lucky country was on to something - this vast, resource-rich nation has out-performed other rich world economies over the past decade. But Australia doesn't seem entirely at ease with itself or its Asian neighbours. HARDtalk speaks to Malcolm Turnbull, communications minister in Tony Abbott's right-of-centre Australian government. Is Australia in danger of alienating friends and partners?
In Soweto, the township outside Johannesburg where Nelson Mandela went after his release from prison, Zeinab Badawi talks to his daughter Makaziwe. As the country prepares to vote in an election for the first time since Nelson Mandela's death, some say the ANC, the party he loved, needs to reinvent itself to answer critics who say it is failing poorer black South Africans.
Nigeria's century has been assessed as '100 years of trauma'. No more apparent than in the kidnapping of hundreds of schoolgirls by a militant Islamist group that perceives learning as an alien imposition by Christians and Europeans. Wole Soyinka is Nigeria's most prominent writer, the first African to be awarded the Nobel prize for literature. Persecuted by past governments for his commitment to democracy, what does he make of how Nigeria has stood up to the pressures of insurgency, the temptations of oil wealth and the corruption critics say is endemic. Does a state that cannot even guarantee the safety of its children have a future?
Belarus is Europe's last old-fashioned dictatorship, a country where political dissent gets you beaten up and locked up. HARDtalk speaks to one Belarussian who has refused to be cowed by President Lukashenko's iron fist. Natalia Kaliada co-founded the Belarus Free Theatre almost a decade ago. Directors, actors and even the audience have all faced arrest and imprisonment, but still their shows go on. Is drama an effective tool of resistance?
In December 2013 South Sudan became engulfed in a civil conflict which has claimed thousands of lives and prompted fears it could lead to genocide. A ceasefire has been agreed between the government of president Salva Kiir and his former vice president Riek Machar who has led the rebel forces. Stephen Sackur talks to Riek Machar in Addis Ababa.
Zimbabwe's fortunes have for three decades been tied to one man - President Robert Mugabe. Now, once again, Zimbabwe is staring economic catastrophe in the face, less than a year after the ruling Zanu PF won another term in power. State coffers are virtually empty and potential investors are being scared away by seizures of land and foreign-owned assets. HARDtalk speaks to Supa Mandiwanzira, Zimbabwe's deputy information minister. How does he justify being part of a government that is accused of cronyism, rigging elections and of squandering public funds for the benefit of an elite, whilst impoverishing the many?
HARDtalk speaks to award winning film star, Viggo Mortensen. Known to many for his starring role in The Lord of the Rings, he is not your average Hollywood leading man. Fluent in four languages and of mixed American and Danish background, he spent his childhood in three continents - so, what is his response to critics who say the American movie industry has contributed to the 'Hollywoodisation' of global culture and killed diversity?
France has suggested that President Assad has again used chemical weapons against the Syrian people in recent weeks. HARDtalk speaks to the French foreign minister, Laurent Fabius. He is in London to meet other foreign ministers to discuss what should be done about the continued instability and violence in Syria. What credible action can the international community take against Syria when it has so far failed to commit to military intervention, and will President Assad take any notice?
Stephen Sackur talks to president of South Sudan, Salva Kiir Mayardit, in Juba. The world's youngest nation, in December 2013 South Sudan became engulfed in a civil conflict which has claimed thousands of lives and prompted fears it could lead to genocide. A fragile ceasefire was agreed between the government of President Salva Kiir and his former deputy Riek Machar, who has led the rebel forces.
What can western nations like the US do to stop Ukraine from breaking up or falling into civil conflict? HARDtalk is at the US Embassy in London to speak to Victoria Nuland, US assistant secretary of state. Now that pro-Russian rebels in Eastern Ukraine claim they've voted for independence, is Washington powerless to prevent further disintegration?
The crisis in Ukraine has put the spotlight on the relationship between Russia and the EU. How much carrot and how much stick should the EU wield when it comes to dealing with Moscow? The Baltic States, Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia were once part of the Soviet Union and all share a border with the Russian Federation. HARDtalk speaks to Urmas Paet, foreign minister of Estonia. Why does Estonia think that getting tough with president Putin is the most effective way to contain Russia?
Hardtalk is on the road in South Sudan as desperate efforts are made to end a civil conflict which threatens humanitarian catastrophe. Why have things gone so wrong, so quickly in Africa's newest nation?
Germany is one of the world's top three exporters along with China and the US. But it faces criticisms from Western nations like the US and France that accuse it of promoting an economic model which has hurt both the Eurozone and the global economy. HARDtalk speaks to Christoph Schmidt: Chair of the German Council of Economic Experts - an independent body which advises German policymakers including the government.
Zeinab Badawi interviews Dr Kizza Besigye, a former ally of Uganda's President Museveni who has become his biggest critic and the country's best known opposition figure. As the former leader of the main opposition party - the Forum for Democratic Change - he has run three times against President Museveni in elections and lost each time. He has called for popular protests in Uganda like the ones that lead to the uprisings of the Arab Spring. So why has he failed to mobilise public opinion behind him?
How far can Vladimir Putin push his iron-fist foreign policy? Crimea is his, but Russia's next move in eastern Ukraine is much less clear cut, as is the extent of the Kremlin's neo-imperialist ambition. HARDtalk speaks to Sergey Karaganov - one of Russia's most influential foreign policy thinkers and until recently, an advisor to President Putin. Is restoring Russian greatness a coherent strategy?
The English Premier League has become one of the most lucrative entertainment brands on the planet, but the fear is that the game's riches are inflating a bubble that is bound to burst. Stephen Sackur asks Christian Purslow, a former managing director of Liverpool Football Club, if there is a money sickness at the heart of football?
It took the abduction of more than 200 school girls to focus international attention on the appalling level of violence and insecurity in North Eastern Nigeria. The brutal conflict between the Islamist militant group Boko Haram and government security forces has killed thousands. HARDtalk speaks to Doyin Okupe, a senior adviser to President Goodluck Jonathan. Are Nigeria's leaders capable of rescuing their country?
How should we make sense of Nigeria's 21st century identity? Newly anointed as Africa's number one economy, it is an oil-rich emerging power. It is also beset by corruption, poor governance and a wave of internal conflict that could threaten the very unity of the state. HARDtalk speaks to the highly acclaimed Nigerian novelist Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. Her fiction explores her country's troubled past and current challenges. How does this writer see Nigeria's story unfolding?
The UK Independence Party topped the UK polls in the recent European elections putting pressure on the Conservative and Labour Parties to re-consider their position on immigration and the UK's relationship with the EU ahead of the 2015 general election. HARDtalk speaks to veteran Labour MP, Jack Straw, who held successive senior positions in government between 1997 and 2010. Is the Labour Party under Ed Miliband in tune with voters and capable of winning next year's general election?
HARDtalk is in the gallery district of London's West End to meet one of the most successful and controversial fashion and celebrity photographers of the last thirty years, David LaChapelle. His story revolves around sex, drugs and provocative pictures. He has the ability to shock and offend, but does his work go deeper?
Europe is limping out of recession, the Eurozone hasn't collapsed - that is what passes for good news inside the EU - the bad news is more obvious. Unemployment is stubbornly high and so are the debts, European citizens are frustrated and alienated and they see Brussels as part of the problem. HARDtalk speaks to former EU commissioner and Italian prime minister, Mario Monti. As arguments rage over the identity of the next EU Commission boss, is the EU about to miss another opportunity to reform itself?
Low cost airlines have revolutionised the European aviation business over the past 25 years - offering cheap flights, no frills and a service sometimes to be endured rather than enjoyed. How much further can the budget airlines grow? HARDtalk speaks to Carolyn McCall, the CEO of easyJet, which carries more international passengers than Lufthansa, British Airways or Emirates. Is flying always going to be this affordable and accessible?
What is the point of the United Nations? It has a multi-billion dollar budget, a sprawling bureaucracy and a broad mandate to better the human condition, but when the going gets tough, does the UN have an effective response? HARDtalk speaks to the UN's third most senior official, Helen Clark, head of the UN Development Programme. Is the UN failing the people who need it most?
Arab leaders have called the situation in Iraq the most dangerous in its history and a threat to overall regional security. Jihadist fighters from the Sunni militant group Isis - deemed too extremist even by Al Qaeda - have seized control of a big chunk of Iraqi territory, including the country's second biggest city Mosul. Thousands have fled their homes triggering a humanitarian crisis. Iraqis have been urged to take up arms against the militants, increasing worries of a sectarian bloodbath. HARDtalk speaks to Tariq al-Hashimi - the fugitive former Vice-President of Iraq. What should Sunni leaders like him do to stop the country fragmenting?
Stephen Sackur talks to French economist Thomas Piketty, whose book Capital in the 21st Century has become an unlikely international bestseller. His thesis carries echoes of Karl Marx; modern capitalism, he believes, works in favour of entrenched wealth and exacerbates inequality. His research and conclusions have come under intense fire; has Thomas Piketty emerged unscathed?
Imagine life without aging. You could live for hundreds of years with the mental and physical attributes of your 25 year old self. Would you be tempted? HARDtalk speaks to a scientist and futurologist who believes it is a proposition that 21st century biotechnology will soon be able to deliver. Aubrey de Grey's Californian research foundation is spending millions of dollars in a bid to conquer the aging process. Is his vision inspiring, daft, or downright dangerous?
Three years ago Ireland was a basket case economy; hollowed out by broken banks, bad debts and a property crash. What about now? Ireland was the first of the Eurozone bail out countries to emerge from the economic emergency room. HARDtalk speaks to Patrick Honohan, governor of Ireland's central bank. Growth has returned, optimism is on the rise, but is it justified?
Is rising inequality the sickness that could yet kill capitalism? It's a debate currently raging in politics as well as economics. President Obama says income inequality is the defining challenge of our time. The influential American economist Deirdre McCloskey thinks that is to misunderstand 300 years of global growth and enrichment. She focuses on the enduring power of innovation, rather than wealth distribution. So is it ok for the rich to enjoy a party to which no one else is invited?
Just when you think the instability in the Middle East can't get any worse, it does. The Sunni extremist takeover of much of northern and western Iraq threatens to create a zone of chaos and violence that respects no national borders. In Riyadh, Tehran and Washington key strategic players have a huge stake in what happens next. HARDtalk speaks to Zuhair al-Naher, a spokesman for the Dawa party of Iraq's Prime Minister, Nouri al-Maliki, and to former US ambassador in Baghdad, Christopher Hill. Can Iraq be brought back from the brink?
More than sixty journalists have been killed in Syria's civil war. Across the world journalists have become targets as never before, murdered, kidnapped and, in the case of three Al Jazeera journalists in Egypt, locked up by the state for doing their jobs. HARDtalk speaks to Anthony Loyd, the award-winning war correspondent of The Times newspaper, who was shot and seriously injured in Syria in May 2014. Is the fear factor forcing journalists to retreat from the frontline?
The Israeli-Palestinian conflict is, at its heart, a story of two peoples and one land. Both see history as their justification. Which means a historian who appears to change sides inevitably becomes a figure of enormous controversy. HARDtalk speaks to Israeli historian, Ilan Pappe who says the record shows that the Jewish state is racist; born of a deliberate programme of ethnic cleansing. Not surprisingly he's widely reviled in his home country. Has his anti-Zionism undermined his academic integrity?
Zeinab Badawi speaks to Salih Muslim Mohammed, leader of Syrian Kurdish party the PYD, which is part of the National Coordination Body for Democratic Change, a secular, pro-democracy coalition inside Syria. The extremist group ISIS is expanding its foothold in Syria, after its recent gains in neighbouring Iraq. The first town it seized was Raqqa in northern Syria a year ago, it holds parts of Aleppo province in the north as well as more territory on the border with Iraq. ISIS is now engaging in battles with other rebel groups in Syria, splintering efforts by the opposition who now find themselves battling both ISIS forces and government troops. What does the advance of ISIS mean for moderate secular opposition groups inside Syria?
Tim Franks asks Mohamoud Nur what persuaded him to leave his home life in London to become mayor of Mogadishu, one of the most violent, corrupt and run-down capital cities in the world. He also asks Nur, who held argueably the world's most dangerous job in local government for more than three years, what hope he now holds out for Somalia.
Interviews with newsmakers and personalities from across the globe. It is out with the old and in with the new at the European Union as EU member states conduct the usual bout of horse-trading that follows elections for the European Parliament. They are selecting a new set of officials, including the key post of commission president. The choice of EU insider Jean-Claude Juncker has led to a bitter and public row between the UK and other member states. How far has this damaged the reputation of the EU and what does it tell us about the future direction of the European Union? HARDtalk speaks to one of the EU's most experienced politicians, Sweden's foreign minister Carl Bildt.
Zeinab Badawi speaks to Dore Gold, advisor to Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, as tensions flare following the murders of Israeli and Palestinian teenagers. The killings have triggered protests and violent clashes in both Israel and the Occupied Territories and unleashed the heaviest rocket fire between Israel and Hamas for nearly two years. Israel blames Hamas for the abduction and murder of three Israeli boys whose bodies were found on the West Bank. Two days later, a sixteen-year-old Palestinian boy, Mohammed Abu Khdair, was killed in Jerusalem. Jewish suspects have been arrested for his murder. This latest crisis has exposed the abyss between the two communities - could it escalate into a wider conflict?
Violence and death have once again returned with a vengeance to Israel and the Occupied Territories. Hamas's stronghold in Gaza is facing a barrage of air strikes by Israeli forces and Israel is subject to hundreds of rockets launched from inside the territory. How far has the current outbreak of hostilities set back efforts at reconciliation between rival Palestinian factions Hamas and Fatah? HARDtalk speaks to Osama Hamdan, spokesman for Hamas. Is the group now finding itself not only under military attack, but also increasingly isolated domestically and internationally?
HARDtalk is in the heart of the English countryside, a habitat that is rich in wildlife, but for how much longer? The impact of human beings here, as in so much of the world, is putting enormous pressure on natural ecosystems. Stephen Sackur speaks to Chris Packham, one of Britain's best-known naturalists and campaigners for wildlife protection. Is it time to radically rethink man's relationship with the natural world?
Just a handful of countries allow assisted dying or euthanasia or both - most notably Switzerland and the Netherlands. It is a difficult and contentious area for policymakers. In the UK, the highly controversial Assisted Dying Bill has its second reading in Parliament. HARDtalk speaks to Labour peer and former attorney-general Lord Falconer, who has introduced the bill, and asks how he defends the right to die in the face of staunch opposition from many in the medical establishment, politicians and religious leaders?
HARDtalk speaks to the acclaimed Ghanaian writer Ama Ata Aidoo, who has arguably done more than any other writer to depict and celebrate the condition of women in Africa, in books such as The Dilemma of a Ghost and Changes. She is opposed to what she has described as a 'western perception that the African female is a downtrodden wretch'. But with girls abducted in Nigeria, polygamy re-introduced in Kenya, child marriages and the prevalence of gender-based violence, how much is there to celebrate about being female in Africa?
A few months ago international attention was fixed on the remote forests of north eastern Nigeria - believed to be where 200 kidnapped schoolgirls were being held by Boko Haram militants. Well, the girls have now been missing for 100 days; Boko Haram's terror campaign continues, but the media focus has shifted elsewhere. HARDtalk speaks to Obiageli Ezekwesili, a former Nigerian minister and one of the leaders of the Bring Back Our Girls campaign. Has their country failed these girls and their families?
Israel says its current campaign in Gaza is in response to rocket strikes from Hamas militants and is aimed at destroying illicit tunnels Hamas uses to smuggle arms. In more than two weeks of conflict around 600 Palestinians, mostly civilians, have been killed and nearly 4,000 wounded. The UN human rights commissioner says Israel may have committed war crimes. About 30 Israelis have died, nearly all of them soldiers. HARDtalk speaks to Danny Danon, a member of the Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud Party. He was dismissed as deputy defence minister earlier this month for accusing the prime minister of being too weak in his Gaza campaign. How does he justify the high Palestinian death toll?
In a special edition of Hardtalk from Doha, Stephen Sackur talks to Khaled Meshaal, the Leader of Hamas. The Palestinian Islamist movement is currently locked in a grim and costly military confrontation with Israel in Gaza. The pressure on Hamas is immense - military, political and diplomatic. Is the showdown in Gaza a battle for Hamas's survival?
HARDtalk is on the road in Moldova, a long-neglected corner of Europe now caught up in a trial of strength between Russia and the European Union. Up until 1990 the people of Moldova were citizens of the Soviet Union, these days the Moldovan government vigorously pursues membership of the European Union. However, just as in neighbouring Ukraine, all the elements are in place for a strategic standoff which could turn ugly. Stephen Sackur explores the situation.
HARDtalk is on location in Chisinau, capital of Moldova where the stage is set for another tug of war between Russia and the European Union. With the backing of the majority Romanian-speaking population, Moldova's government is vigorously pursuing membership of the European Union despite strong objections from the country's Russian-speaking minority. Stephen Sackur asks Iurie Leancă, prime minister of Moldova, if his country can avoid the fate of neighbouring Ukraine.
HARDtalk is on location in Tiraspol, capital of the self-proclaimed republic of Transnistria - a sliver of territory inside Moldova which for the past two decades or so has been in the hands of pro-Russian separatists. As Vladimir Putin flexes Russia's muscles across the former Soviet Union, Stephen Sackur asks Yevgeny Shevchuk, leader of the breakaway territory, how much longer Transnistria will be stuck in political and strategic limbo?
As the world commemorates the start of the First World War, HARDtalk travels to Sarajevo, the capital of Bosnia Herzegovina, to speak to Karl von Habsburg - grandson of the last of the Habsburg emperors. It was in Sarajevo that his great uncle Archduke Franz Ferdinand was assassinated in June 1914, an event which set the Great War in motion. Stephen Sackur hears his reflections on Europe then and Europe now.
In August 1914, the five great powers of Europe declared war on one another. For countries like Britain, Germany and France the significance of the First World War is regularly debated and commemorated. But what of that other great power Russia? It also fought against Germany but by the end of the war, Tsar Nicholas II and his family had been murdered and the Bolshevik Revolution had brought Lenin to power. How far does what was happening in Russia then help explain what is going on today? Zeinab Badawi talks to renowned Russian theatre and film director Andrei Knochalovsky.
In a special edition of HARDtalk, Zeinab Badawi meets US secretary of state John Kerry in Washington DC. Dozens of African heads of state, along with diplomats and business leaders, have gathered in the US capital for what is being billed as the biggest ever engagement between the White House and Africa. Barack Obama is hosting the first summit between the US and Africa to boost trade and investment ties. But with American imports from the continent at a forty-year low, is the US playing catch-up to the likes of China, India and Brazil? Will the summit be anything more than a photo opportunity? And, as the latest 72-hour truce comes into force in Gaza, how hopeful is Secretary Kerry that a lasting peace can be found?
Interviews with newsmakers and personalities from across the globe. This year sees the 25th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square massacre in Beijing that saw hundreds killed and many more detained. HARDtalk speaks to award-winning British-Chinese writer and filmmaker Xiaolu Guo, who was a teenager at the time. Decades earlier during the Cultural Revolution, her fisherman father had spent more than ten years in correctional labour camps for painting a picture that had angered the authorities. Zeinab Badawi asks, what should the role of the artist or writer be in China today?
Peace and security was one of the topics discussed at the US-Africa summit in Washington. Mozambique is one African country that suffered a long and brutal civil war - it ended more than 20 years ago when the ruling Frelimo party signed an accord with the rebel Renamo movement. But now Renamo guerrillas have gone back into the bush. Zeinab Badawi speaks to Armando Guebuza, president of Mozambique. Is his country in danger of slipping back into conflict?
Zeinab Badawi speaks to NATO's Secretary General, Anders Fogh Rasmussen and asks if NATO can make the world a safer place and, if not, if it is time the alliance went into retirement. NATO is sixty-five years old. Does it lack the vigour, resources and political will to be an effective military force on the world stage at a time when conflicts across continents in Iraq, Syria, Ukraine and West Africa present ever greater dangers to global security?
The UN says there is a major humanitarian crisis in northern Iraq: it is more than a week since Iraqis, especially minorities like the Yazidis, fled their homes after jihadists stormed their towns and villages, reportedly killing hundreds. Now thousands are stranded in barren, hot and dry mountainous regions, many have died from dehydration and lack of food. HARDtalk speaks to Masrour Barzani, head of intelligence and security in Iraq's autonomous Kurdish region. Is it the Kurds who can rescue the state of Iraq and how much outside help do they need to defeat the jihadists of the so called Islamic State?
The Hamas/Israeli ceasefire in Gaza has allowed Palestinians time to assess the cost of the Israeli offensive both in human lives and damage to buildings and facilities. HARDtalk speaks to Mads Gilbert, a Norwegian doctor just back from Gaza where he works as a volunteer at the main Al-Shifa Hospital. He is also an outspoken political activist on behalf of the Palestinian cause. Does this interfere with his work as a medic and humanitarian?
Afghanistan's presidential election was supposed to mark the country's progress, instead it threatens to inflict new wounds.The long drawn out process appeared to deliver a second round victory to Ashraf Ghani; but his rival Abdullah Abdullah alleged massive fraud and the vote count is under review. The Americans are urging the two rivals to share power. Stephen Sackur talks to Abdullah Abdullah. Is he currently acting in Afghanistan's interest, or his own?
Do Christians have a future in the Arab world? It's a question raised with a new sense of urgency as an extraordinarily violent brand of jihadi extremism sweeps through Syria and Iraq. Tens of thousands of Christians, along with other minorities, have been forced from their homes, hundreds murdered. Right across the region Christians are fearful. Stephen Sackur's guest is Bishop Angaelos of the Egyptian Coptic Church. What can the outside world do to protect the Arab Christian tradition?
American warplanes are once again attacking targets in Iraq - ordered into action by a president who made it his business to end US military involvement in Iraq. To Barack Obama's critics, it is one more piece of evidence pointing to an incoherence of strategy in a region becoming ever more unstable and dangerous. HARDtalk speaks to Ali Khedery, a former adviser to a number of American ambassadors in Baghdad. Does the United States have the ability to impose its will on the Middle East?
With a ceasefire now in place in Gaza, the Israeli government faces a simple question: what exactly did Operation Protective Edge achieve? For all the death and destruction in Gaza, has Israel's position been strengthened or weakened? Stephen Sackur speaks to Israel's Minister of Intelligence, Yuval Steinitz. Does Israel need a strategic rethink?
Hardtalk is in the West Bank to talk to Yasser Abed Rabbo, the secretary general of the Palestine Liberation Organisation's Executive Committee. He was a senior member of the Palestinian negotiating team in the years after the Oslo Peace Accords were signed with Israel. In the wake of the 50 day conflict between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, where does the Palestinian quest for statehood stand?
HARDtalk is in the city of Tel Aviv which lies only a short distance up the coast from the Gaza Strip. Stephen Sackur speaks to Gideon Levy, a journalist who has made it his mission to tell Israelis what it really means to live in an occupying power. He calls himself a truth-teller but many Israelis see him as a traitor.
Vladimir Putin is reported to have said he could take the Ukrainian capital Kiev in two weeks if he wanted to. As he offers increasingly brazen support to the pro-Russian rebels in eastern Ukraine, his message to the west is clear - don't mess with Russia. HARDtalk speaks to senior Ukrainian diplomat, Olexander Scherba. Can Kiev afford to risk all-out war with Moscow?
This week's Nato summit in Wales comes against a background of escalating tensions between Russia and Nato over the conflict in Ukraine, with calls for tougher action against Moscow. How far should Nato go in protecting countries that are not members of the alliance, like Ukraine? HARDtalk speaks to President Giorgi Margvelashvili of Georgia, a country that was at war with Moscow six years ago. What is his advice to Nato?
In an exclusive interview, Stephen Sackur speaks to president of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko, who has been in Britain to attend a summit of NATO leaders. There is a consensus view that the crisis in eastern Ukraine represents the most serious threat to Europe's security and stability since the fall of the Berlin Wall - Ukraine and Russia are just a few steps away from all-out war, but right now there are hopes of a ceasefire. So, is there a path back from the brink?
The European Union confronts a host of problems from an economic slowdown inside the Eurozone to the crisis in Ukraine. Jose Manuel Barroso has been president of the European Commission for ten years but has only two months left in the job. HARDtalk's Zeinab Badawi talks to him by Lake Como in Italy and asks how much of a mess is he leaving behind for his successor?
The Obama administration is talking of a stronger coalition to tackle the threat from Islamic State. HARDtalk speaks to the Republican senator, John McCain - he says the White House must stop dithering and confront Islamic State. He also wants a tougher response against Russia over the Ukraine conflict. Is he investing too much faith in military solutions?
Stephen Sackur speaks to Chrissie Hynde, who has one of the most distinctive voices in rock music and a record of success going back to the late 1970s. Her band, the Pretenders, found global success during the era of punk. 30 years on she's still making music, but is she still in love with rock n roll?
Can we afford the world's super-rich and what have they ever done for us? Zeinab Badawi speaks to a leading British social thinker, Professor Danny Dorling of Oxford University. He argues for a slow revolution against the top 1%, who he claims are impoverishing the rest of us. If 99% of us are becoming more equal, does it really matter if a tiny minority are getting richer?
Is the Eurozone economy turning Japanese? Flat-lining growth, depressed prices and a general air of economic despondency are surely warning signs of a Japanese-style prolonged stagnation. Can Europe's economic policymakers turn things around? Stephen Sackur speaks to Peter Bofinger, who sits on Germany's Council of Economic Experts - is the dominance of Germany's economic model now Europe's biggest problem?
Twelve years ago the International Criminal Court was set up to be the scourge of war criminals and mass killers everywhere - there would be no more impunity for the worst of crimes. How does the court's record stack up against that grand ambition? Thus far all of its cases have come from Africa, and just two convictions have been handed down from the Hague. HARDtalk speaks to Luis Moreno-Ocampo, who was the ICC's chief prosecutor for a decade. Why has the court failed to deliver on its promise?
Stephen Sackur speaks to Susan Greenfield, who carved out a reputation as a leader in the study of degenerative brain diseases. Lately though she's focused her attention on the impact of 21st century digital technologies on brain development. She believes our screen habits could be doing us damage, but is her warning based on sound science?
In a Middle East convulsed with violence, sectarianism and extremism, the slow-motion collapse of Libya as a functioning state has received relatively little attention. That must surely change. Libya is a major oil producer and its internal divisions are currently being deepened by the meddling of regional powers intent on expanding their influence. HARDtalk speaks to Libya's UN ambassador Ibrahim Dabbashi. Who or what can save Libya?
HARDtalk speaks to Francis Fukuyama, one of America's leading political scientists who, 25 years ago, watched the communist bloc unravel and concluded that history had delivered a conclusive verdict - liberal democracy had vanquished its ideological rivals. How wise does that proposition sound today in Ukraine, Syria, China, or even in credit-crunched Greece? Has a quarter century of global tumult changed his mind about the end of history?
Stephen Sackur talks to former Conservative cabinet minister Lord Heseltine about the consequences of the Scottish independence referendum. The Scottish people voted 'no' to independence, but they may just have changed British politics forever. More powers are to be handed to the Scottish parliament and now English MPs want their own form of self-determination. With alienation from the Westminster status quo fuelling calls for reform, is the UK in the throes of a dangerous identity crisis?
HARDtalk speaks to Jessye Norman, who is acknowledged as one of the greatest singers of her generation. Her voice has enthralled audiences in the world's greatest concert halls and opera houses for decades. She was born in America's segregated south with a talent that transcended barriers. Has her success helped to tear those barriers down?
Zeinab Badawi speaks to the British climate economist Lord Nicholas Stern, who has just co-chaired a new report on the climate and economy - he says it is not an 'either-or' situation. World leaders gathered at a UN climate summit in New York and pledged again to tackle global warming, but global greenhouse emissions have once again risen in 2014, partly because many politicians and citizens do not want more expensive renewable energy if it costs economic growth and prosperity. What evidence is there that we can have it both ways and are governments listening?
How serious a threat to western security is the extremist group that calls itself Islamic State? According to those governments now backing military action against the jihadis the danger is very real - not least from foreign fighters, battle hardened in Syria and Iraq, who return to homes in the west. HARDtalk speaks to the EU counterterror coordinator, Gilles de Kerchove - does the EU have a coherent response to the Islamic State challenge?
The warnings about Ebola have been apocalyptic: Liberia's defence minister says it threatens his country's existence, while the US president says it threatens "global security". Three thousand people have already died from the disease and the World Health Organisation warns the number of cases is likely to exceed 20,000 within weeks. And it's spreading: America has just diagnosed the first case outside Africa. HARDtalk speaks to Professor Peter Piot, the man who first identified the disease back in the 70s. Forty years on and we still don't have a cure. So, what should be done to stop it?
Twenty-five years after the world's most notorious wall came crashing down, Germany is Europe's undisputed, dominant nation. This is a reflection of economic power, but also of media power. HARDtalk is in Berlin to visit the headquarters of one of Europe's most powerful publishing companies - Axel Springer. How does a traditional company thrive in the age of the internet?
The US-led military operation against the Islamic State organisation has raised a host of awkward questions. Is the makeshift coalition fighting a war, or mounting an anti-terror operation? What will victory look like, and how long will it take? HARDtalk speaks to General Lord Richards, who recently retired as Britain's top military chief. He has led military operations in Afghanistan, Iraq and Sierra Leone. What does he make of this latest one?
The Middle East is in turmoil, beset by ethnic, religious and sectarian conflicts that together have created one of the gravest global humanitarian crises since World War Two. And once again a US-led military coalition is dropping bombs in the region. HARDtalk speaks to former British foreign secretary David Miliband, now head of the US-based International Rescue Committee. Given recent history, is there any reason to believe western intervention to end the killing and the suffering can work?
A sense of gloom is hanging over Europe. Years of economic stagnation are at the heart of it, but there are other factors too - for example, the security challenge posed by Vladimir Putin's Russia, and also a rising tide of scepticism about the European Union itself amongst many on the continent. HARDtalk speaks to Alexander Stubb, the Prime Minister of Finland and one of the EU's new young leaders. How does Europe rescue itself?
Next month the international club of rich nations, the G20, will meet in Australia. For much of the past decade the host nation boasted one of the strongest economies in the developed world, but not anymore. Australia has been badly hit by falling commodity prices and China's economic slowdown. HARDtalk speaks to the country's treasury minister, Joe Hockey. Should Australians brace themselves for a prolonged period of economic pain?
The Hong Kong authorities seem to be running out of patience with the pro-democracy protests on their streets. We have seen police using more strong-arm tactics - scores of activists have been arrested, cameras captured one protester being badly beaten. But tougher policing will not resolve the impasse over the election of Hong Kong's next chief executive. HARDtalk speaks to successful Hong Kong businessman, Sir David Tang. Is the territory's elite in Beijing's pocket?
Is there a new brand of violent extremism that is identifiably different from all forms of militancy that have gone before? The question is prompted by the shocking and self-publicised brutality of the group calling itself Islamic State. These groups provoke worldwide revulsion, but is force the only possible response? Hardtalk speaks to Giandomenico Picco, the former UN envoy who risked his life to negotiate the release of western hostages in Lebanon.
HARDtalk travels to Brussels to speak to Turkey's ambassador to NATO, Mehmet Fatih Ceylan. National governments and security organisations are becoming increasingly preoccupied with the threat posed by the extremist group calling itself Islamic State, and what their response should be. Turkey has been criticised for its failure to act against Islamic State, so is Ankara finally ready to confront the threat they pose?
HARDtalk speaks to James Jeffrey, a former US ambassador in Turkey and Iraq. President Obama is just where he didn't want to be - fighting another war in the Middle East. He promises that American troops will not be dragged back into Iraq, yet he portrays the confrontation with the group calling itself Islamic State, as a generational struggle that has to be won. Is the Obama administration making the right calls in the Middle East?
Hong Kong's government is now talking to the territory's pro-democracy demonstrators. The two sides have very different notions of what democracy is, and how it should work. HARDtalk speaks to Emily Lau, one of Hong Kong's most prominent advocates of political reform. Having marched themselves up a hill, is it time the pro-democracy forces figured out how to get down?
Many of us who use the internet for work and leisure come to feel that we couldn't live without it. The web opens up the world, but does it also harbour fundamental threats to our privacy, security and autonomy? Can we trust the tech companies who shape our relationship with the internet? Stephen Sackur speaks to Mitchell Baker, a Silicon Valley pioneer and boss of the not-for-profit Mozilla Corporation, best known for the Firefox web browser. Is her open-source collaborative model of web innovation being overwhelmed by the power of the profit motive?
Days ago the Nigerian Government announced a ceasefire deal with the militant group Boko Haram - officials predicted the imminent release of more than 200 schoolgirls abducted by the extremists last April. Now those words look depressingly premature. What is going on with Nigeria's insurgency? Stephen Sackur speaks to Shehu Sani, a Nigerian human rights activist and sometime mediator with Boko Haram. How can the conflict which has cost thousands of Nigerian lives be ended?
Stephen Sackur talks to Francis Rossi, guitarist, singer and founder of the band Status Quo - one of the most popular and durable acts in the history of rock and roll. He's turned the old mantra 'live fast, die young' on its head; he's lived fast and just kept on going. The music business has changed beyond all recognition in the last 40 years - how come Status Quo are still rocking all over the world?
Is the world winning the war against Ebola? The World Health Organisation describes it as the most severe acute public health emergency in modern times and says there could be ten thousand new cases each week in west Africa by December unless international efforts are stepped up to tackle its spread. Zeinab Badawi speaks to Dr Abu Bakkar Fofanah, the health minister of Sierra Leone, one of the nations fighting Ebola on the frontline.
When a dying person asks their doctor if he or she can do anything to help, is it easier for the doctor to provide a false hope than have a difficult conversation about how best to manage their last days? Hardtalk speaks to Atul Gawande, who wants to change the way doctors think - and talk - about death. It's a subject he'll be covering in 2014's Reith lectures. He says doctors are good at addressing specific individual problems or diseases, but argues that the ultimate goal is not a good death but a good life - all the way to the very end.
Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe is ninety years old. His grip on power is still tight but it it won't last forever and in recent months the jostling for the succession has turned into a public punch-up - adding to the uncertainty in a country beset with political and economic problems. Hardtalk speaks to Zimbabwe's tourism minister, Walter Mzembi. He wants to put an end to his country's international isolation but how can that happen while the old guard remains in place?
Who can rescue Iraq and defeat the extremists of the self-proclaimed Islamic State? The militants have seized about a quarter of the territory of Iraq and there are near-daily reports of human rights abuses and deaths. The crisis at the heart of the political leadership in Baghdad means a united Iraqi response has so far been lacking. HARDtalk speaks to Baghdad MP Mowaffak al-Rubaie, former national security adviser to Iraq. Is the new Shia-led government under prime minister al-Abadi better able to combat the extremists?
HARDtalk is in Berlin as the city marks the 25th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall - that extraordinary moment which dramatised the collapse of the communist system and the end of the Cold War. Stephen Sackur speaks to Mikhail Gorbachev, former president of the Soviet Union, architect of the policy of reform and openness which was supposed to revitalise the Soviet empire, but instead hastened its demise. How does he see east-west relations today?
Six weeks into the American led airstrikes on so called Islamic State militants in Syria, serious questions are being asked about the wisdom of the US strategy. Worryingly for President Obama many of these questions are coming from the moderate Syrian rebels who are supposed to be Washington's partner of choice. Stephen Sackur speaks to Hadi al Bahra, the president of the Syrian National Coalition. Is America's strategy playing into the hands of the Assad regime?
Authoritarianism and conservatism have long been dominant forces in the Arab world, leaving artists to tread a delicate path - female artists especially so. Has that changed as a result of the tumult and chaos caused by the Arab uprisings? Stephen Sackur speaks to the Kuwaiti painter and poet Shurooq Amin. Has there been a cultural as well as political awakening in the Arab world?
Stephen Sackur talks to a man with a remarkable story which has earned him accolades and admiration around the world. Sir Nicholas Winton is now 105 years old. When he was just 29 he helped rescue more than 600 mostly Jewish children from Nazi persecution in Czechoslovakia. He hates being labelled a hero but Sir Nicholas Winton is living proof that individuals can make an extraordinary difference. What motivated him?
Just how far is Vladimir Putin prepared to push in his high stakes confrontation with the West over Ukraine? New allegations of Russian military incursions prompted Ukraine's president to talk of all-out war, and western leaders to threaten more sanctions. Hardtalk speaks to Mikhail Kasyanov, who was Russian prime minister in Putin's first presidential term, and is now a diehard opponent. Do most Russians remain confident their president knows what he is doing?
Hardtalk speaks to Alan Cumming, the award winning Scottish actor whose chameleon-like talent has seen him play the Pope in a dress, the voice of the devil, a superhero in the X-Men series and a celebrated turn in Cabaret on New York's Broadway. In his personal life he has been married to a woman, is now married to a man, and has suffered a nervous breakdown. Highs and lows are nothing new to a performer but how much were they shaped by the shocking brutality he experienced in childhood?
Ebola is wreaking havoc on three west African nations - Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone. The official death toll is beyond 5,000, the real victim-count is almost certainly much higher. The virus brings with it a lethal cocktail of fear, fractured communities and economic misery. Hardtalk speaks to Dr Geraldine O'Hara, a specialist in infectious diseases who is just back from a stint working with Doctors without Borders in Sierra Leone. What's the key to beating Ebola?
Stephen Sackur talks to Pervez Musharraf. The former army chief and former president of Pakistan thought he could ride a wave of popular support back into power. Instead, he found himself facing separate charges of treason and murder. How did Pakistan's former strongman get things so wrong, and what will his fate tell us about where power lies in today's Pakistan?
The usual rules no longer apply in British politics. The two dominant parties of the last century, the Conservatives and Labour, are both struggling badly. The UK Independence Party, UKIP, is making in-roads with its anti-EU, anti-immigration brand of populist politics. Hardtalk speaks to a senior statesman of the Labour party and one of Tony Blair's most trusted ministers, David Blunkett. Has Labour lost touch with its own traditional supporters?
Hardtalk speaks to the man who has been called America's greatest living crime writer. Through works such as the Black Dahlia and LA Confidential, James Ellroy has created a uniquely dark portrait of America. His is a nightmare vision of crazed killers and corrupt cops. He writes of what he knows - his own mother was murdered when he was a child. So is that simple, terrible fact the key to understanding all the words he has ever written?
Israelis and Palestinians seem to have given up on the idea of negotiating a compromise peace. From Jerusalem to Gaza mutual mistrust is deep and getting deeper. Israel's unilateral approach is embodied in settlement building on occupied land; the Palestinians are seeking international recognition of their claim to statehood. Hardtalk speaks to Robert Serry, the UN Special Coordinator for the so-called Middle East peace process. Has the time come to admit that the 'peace process' is an unhelpful fiction?
Stephen Sackur talks to Sir Antony Sher, who is widely regarded as one of the finest contemporary classical actors. He is South African, Jewish, openly gay and famously frank about his private struggles. Stephen asks how this self-styled outsider became a doyen of the British theatrical establishment.
Around the world the election of Barak Obama to the White House was seen as a watershed moment for race relations in America. The first black man to be president was taken as the symbol of a new post-racial era; but six years on, with tensions between black communities and the police running sky high is anyone still talking about a post racial America? HARDtalk speaks to Cornel West, writer, academic and fierce critic of president Obama and asks why the race debate turned sour.
Stephen Sackur speaks to Alaa Al Aswany, the Egyptian novelist, political commentator and sometime dentist. Is Egypt's story a harsh lesson in the dangers of wishful thinking? Whatever happened to the Egyptian revolution? Those heady days of people power in Tahrir square now seem like a collective delusion. A military strong man is back in power, President Mubarak has been handed a get out of jail free card and dissent is being repressed with an iron fist.
Zeinab Badawi talks to Thuli Madonsela, South Africa's public protector. As the country's anti-corruption watchdog, Mrs Madonsela claims President Zuma 'benefitted unduly' from a 25 million dollar facelift for his private home and wants him to return some of the taxpayers' money. The ruling ANC says she's mistaken and the parliament dominated by the party has voted to throw out her findings. Mrs Madonsela is sticking to her guns and has been under attack at home whilst being celebrated abroad. So who is right and who is wrong?
HARDtalk speaks to the joint winners of the 2014 Nobel Peace prize, Kailash Satyarthi and Malala Yousafzai. The judges awarded them the prize in recognition of 'their struggle against the suppression of children and young people and for the right of all children to education'.
Does the world of sport need a Mr Clean to fix it? The constant drip of doping allegations, bribery and corruption - that have, one way or another, dogged the sporting world - have tainted it. Zeinab Badawi speaks to former British Olympic champion Sebastian Coe, who set twelve world records during his athletics career on the track and went on to hold many roles in various sporting organisations. Now he wants to become the president of the International Association of Athletics Federations, the IAAF. What more can be done help clean up sport?
Are we any closer to learning about the origins of our universe after the historic landing in November of a European robot probe on a comet? The mission began twenty one years ago, and the probe Rosetta travelled nearly six and a half billion kilometres to reach the comet, which is reckoned to be more than four billion years old. The scenes of cheering and hugs amongst the expert team at the European Space Agency in Germany reflected the deep joy and sense of accomplishment. Hardtalk speaks to Professor Monica Grady, a member of the probe's scientific team. Now the euphoria has subsided - what did we learn from this historic landing?
The International Red Cross does not take sides; it prioritises field operations over political grandstanding. It is the humanitarian organisation that reaches the conflict zones others fail to reach. Or is it? Yves Daccord, director general of the ICRC is interviewed by Stephen Sackur. From Syria to South Sudan, is the Red Cross's model of scrupulously neutral intervention broken beyond repair?
Interviews with newsmakers and personalities from across the globe. Stephen Sackur looks back at some of the most compelling conversations of 2014.
Stephen Sackur speaks to Rory Stewart, a British Conservative MP who has worked in both Iraq and Afghanistan. After protracted wars in Iraq and Afghanistan the appetite for military intervention in the west has all but disappeared. But given the threat of jihadist extremism and the spread of turmoil across the Middle east, non-intervention is seen as an unacceptable risk. The net result is uncertainty.
Jerusalem boasts one of the most bitterly contested pieces of real estate in the world known as the Temple Mount to Jews and the Noble Sanctuary to Muslims. Jews aren't allowed to pray there, many Jewish religious leaders say Jews should not set foot there; but that consensus is breaking down. Hardtalk speaks to Yehuda Glick, an activist who's been variously described as a dangerous extremist, and a campaigner for religious freedom. Three months ago he survived a assassination attempt. Why does he persist with his divisive campaign on Jerusalem's holiest ground?
Greek voters may be about to plunge the European Union into a fully-fledged economic and political crisis. Opinion polls suggest the leftist, anti-austerity party Syriza is likely to emerge as the biggest party in Greece's late January election. If so the next Athens government may reject the terms of the bailout which is keeping the country afloat. And then what? Hardtalk speaks to Costas Lapavitsas, a London-based Greek economist who has been advising Syriza's leaders.
HARDtalk's Stephen Sackur talks to Bruno Macaes, Portugal's secretary of state for Europe. The Eurozone continues to resemble an economic twilight zone - a land of no growth, debilitating debt, high unemployment and political uncertainty. By the end of this month Greek voters may have demanded an end to austerity which could prompt a new crisis of confidence. Portugal was bailed out and is trying to rebuild, but are the foundations fundamentally flawed?
A week after the murderous assault on its offices the French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo is back. Defiant. With another image of the Prophet Muhammad on its front cover and an extraordinary print run of three million. The debate about freedom of expression, rights and responsibilities continues in the face of terror. Flemming Rose is the Danish editor who commissioned cartoonists to portray the Prophet in his Copenhagen newspaper in 2005. He's lived with death threats ever since. Stephen Sackur asks what, if anything, has changed in the past decade?
In the wake of the Paris attacks mounted by homegrown militants swearing allegiance variously to al Qaeda in Yemen and the self-styled Islamic State, politicians in the west have promised to beef up security measures. Hardtalk talks to Richard Barrett, a former UK counter-terror chief and until recently head of a UN team monitoring al Qaeda, about how best to confront the jihadist threat.
In a special edition of HARDtalk, Zeinab Badawi is in Malta to speak to Suha Arafat - the widow of the late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat. Ten years after his death, Mrs Arafat gives a rare broadcast interview about their marriage, why she believes he was assassinated and why she has chosen to live in Malta and not amongst the Palestinian people who so revered her husband.
Draw up a list of the greatest living film makers and Werner Herzog would surely occupy a prominent place. He is reponsible for some of the most wildly beautiful images captured on film. If you've seen Fitzcarraldo you won't have forgotten the steamship being hauled over a mountain. He's seen as the film industry's obsessive genius; the director who once threatened to shoot his lead actor to prevent him quitting. After five decades making movies is Werner Herzog's love of film as intense as ever?
In a special edition of HARDtalk for the BBC's Democracy Day, Stephen Sackur speaks to Chinese dissident Wu'er Kaixi. Wu'er Kaixi was one of the leaders of the Tiananmen Square student protests in Beijing in 1989, and became one of the Chinese government's most wanted men. He escaped and now lives in exile in Taiwan. Will China have a democratic future?
American capitalism is in crisis. That is the view of Professor Luigi Zingales. He blames the links between big government and big business. For the man who cites Margaret Thatcher as his hero, his answer is more competition, more free markets, an end to subsidies and lobbying, and less privilege for the few. That is the way, he says, that capitalism can 'rediscover and renew its moral foundation'. So can it really be the answer to tackling inequality and mending the American dream?
Professional football has a problem with homophobia. There are gay footballers, but almost to a man they feel compelled to keep their sexual orientation a secret. Hardtalk speaks to Robbie Rogers, a US international who plays for LA Galaxy. He broke football's great taboo by very publicly coming out after a spell in English football. But why haven't other gay footballers followed his lead?
Zeinab Badawi speaks to the British Muslim campaigner Moazzam Begg. He was detained at Guantanamo Bay ten years ago, and then last February he was held for seven months in a British prison. In October all terrorism-related charges against him were dropped and he walked free. He believes that current counter-terrorism measures are fuelling the very problems they are trying to tackle and are alienating and radicalising some Muslims. So how should Muslim communities work with the authorities to prevent the extremists carrying out attacks?
Six months of coalition air-strikes and a new Iraqi government have done little to dislodge extremists from territory they have captured in Iraq. Hardtalk speaks to Lukman Faily, one of Iraq's most senior diplomats and its ambassador in Washington. Does the lack of progress mean the current strategy is wrong?
According to Oxfam, South Africa is the most economically unequal country in the world - the wealth of the two richest citizens outstrips that of the poorest 50 per cent of the population. Twenty years after the end of apartheid, why is that so? Hardtalk speaks to Jay Naidoo, leader of the South African trade union movement during the liberation struggle and a cabinet minister under President Nelson Mandela. Why hasn't freedom reduced inequality?
Sarah Montague speaks to EU finance commissioner Pierre Moscovici, who will play a pivotal role in negotiations with Europe under pressure to write off some of Greece's debts, asking whether Europe's taxpayers should spend more to make life easier for the Greeks. If some debt is written off, there is the risk that other countries could ask for the same treatment, but if it is not, then Greece will most likely be forced out of the Euro. In either case there are extremely difficult times ahead for the European Union.
Zeinab Badawi speaks to the Scottish microbiologist Professor Anne Glover. She has just left her post as the first chief scientific adviser to the EU Commission president, and this is her first extensive broadcast interview since then. Whilst she was still in the post she said that in-house politics had hampered the efficiency of her role. Was she at loggerheads with the EU Commission and should scientists working with governments and officials give opinions or just stick to giving scientific facts?
Sarah Montague talks to Juan Mendez, the United Nations' special rapporteur on torture. He was a human rights lawyer in Argentina in the 70s when he was arrested, imprisoned and tortured. He has said he owes his life to those in America who took a principled stand against torture. But now Juan Mendez says the world has become more accepting of cruelty and America has been compromised by its own brutal treatment of prisoners. So is torture ever morally justifiable?
It has been a year since protests in Ukraine's Maidan Square, protests that led to the fall of the pro-Russian government. Russian-born Andrey Kurkov has published his diary of the time. He is one of the country's most famous authors and supported the uprising. Although he lives in Ukraine, he writes in Russian and because of that he has been rejected by some as a Ukrainian writer and accused of being a traitor by Russians. Sarah Montague asks, what roles do language and culture play in war? And was the uprising worth it?
Since the late seventies, Human Rights Watch has named and shamed governments and organisations for alleged breaches. But who sets those rules? And if you live in the Middle East or China are they different than if you live in America? Hardtalk speaks to the head of the organisation, Kenneth Roth. In treating all rights the same and all people the same, with no account for culture or context, has the organisation lost its power? And is there a danger it could become an enemy of the very rights it seeks to enforce?
Pakistan's Intelligence Service has long been accused of looking both ways, of tackling terrorists when they target Pakistan but actively supporting them when they target Afghanistan or India. But when 152 people were killed in the school in Peshawar, Pakistan's prime minister said it was time to change, that the country would no longer distinguish between 'good' and 'bad' Taliban. Retired general Asad Durrani used to run Pakistan's intelligence service. Are they really prepared to make enemies of their former friends? And what difference will it make?
Zeinab Badawi is in Brussels to speak to Lebanon's foreign minister Gebran Bassil. He has travelled to the city to tell EU officials that his country has been overwhelmed by Syrian refugees. More than one million Syrians live in Lebanon - many of them have fled the oppression and brutality of the Assad government. So why then does his political party have an alliance with Hezbollah that backs the Syrian President?
Zeinab Badawi speaks to German MEP Bernd Lucke of new right-wing eurosceptic party the Alternative for Germany. He was an economist in chancellor Merkel's CDU party but left because he said they were getting it wrong on the EU bailout policy. What makes him think he's got it right?
Hardtalk speaks to the activist and rapper Tef Poe. He has described the fatal shooting in Ferguson, Missouri, of unarmed teenager Michael Brown as a "declaration of war" by the police. He has also said "my grandparents endured this type of treatment so we wouldn't have to". So if you are young, black and poor in America today are you at war with the police?
What chance is there for peace in Ukraine? There is meant to be a ceasefire in place, but fighting has continued, and the deal agreed in Minsk left many issues unresolved. The crisis has pitted Russia against the west in a way not seen since the Cold War. Hardtalk speaks to Vadym Prystaiko, Ukraine's deputy foreign minister - what hopes does he have of pulling the country back from civil war?
Berlin doesn't house any of the European Union's key institutions, but there is no doubt this is the power capital of Europe - something Greece's new left-wing government now knows all too well. Germany calls the shots when it comes to shaping Europe's economic policy. HARDtalk's Stephen Sackur speaks to an influential member of chancellor Merkel's CDU party - vice-chairman of the par liamentary party Michael Fuchs. In the high stakes showdown over Greece's debt, has Germany used its power wisely?
The UK has become the first country in the world to legalise the creation of what are commonly known as 'three-parent babies'. The process allows mothers who carry rare but fatal genetic disorders to have children without passing on the diseases. Opponents say the change has been introduced too soon and marks a slippery slope towards designer babies. Hardtalk speaks to Professor Robert Winston - one of the main pioneers of the IVF technique that revolutionised infertility treatment. Are 'three-parent babies' a revolution too far?
HARDtalk's Stephen Sackur speaks to Aimen Dean, a trusted member of Al Qaeda's inner sanctum in Afghanistan in the late 1990s. With his Quranic learning and fervent commitment to holy war, this young Saudi received a personal audience with Osama Bin Laden and came to know most of Al Qaeda's key leaders. But Aiman Dean did not share the group's enthusiasm for terror attacks inflicting mass civilian casualties. After the bombings of US embassies in Africa in 1998, he left Afghanistan and began working as an informant for the UK security services. What does his extraordinary story tell us about the nature of the jihadist threat?
The unmasking of the extremist seen in the Islamic State beheading videos has provoked renewed debate in the UK and elsewhere about how extremism in Muslim communities can be prevented and tackled. HARDtalk's Zeinab Badawi talks to the Conservative peer Baroness Sayeeda Warsi, the first Muslim to sit in the Cabinet before she resigned last year over government policy on Gaza. As a former minister for communities and social cohesion, why does she believe there's a lack of trust between the government and British Muslims?
Sarah Montague speaks to Nigeria's aviation minister Osita Chidoka. Nigeria's 2015 presidential election has been described as the most important in decades. Whoever wins will have to take on the militant Islamist group Boko Haram and deal with an economy hit hard by the falling oil price. The choice for voters is between President Goodluck Jonathan and the former military dictator Muhammadu Buhari, with the polls suggesting they are neck and neck. President Jonathan has said he is 'hopeful' that those parts of Nigeria under Boko Haram will be taken back before the election. But how can his government defeat Boko Haram in a matter of weeks when it has failed to do so in six years in government?
Stock markets in New York and London are sitting close to record highs. If the Dow is your guide, we are living in the best of times. But it doesn't feel like that in the real world, what with the eurozone crisis, a host of geopolitical uncertainties and frightening levels of global debt. Hardtalk speaks to Neil Woodford, Britain's most successful investor of recent years. Is this a time for economic confidence or caution?
The Philippines is a nation being transformed by urbanisation and globalisation. It's a developing country building a unique identity as an offshore service-provider for the rich world. But the Philippines faces a challenge - can the country's economic growth keep pace with its dramatic rise in population? Hardtalk goes on the road in the Philippines, and Stephen Sackur explores whether the country's demography has become a poverty trap?
The Philippines is Asia's only predominantly Christian country. The Roman Catholic Church has huge influence; divorce and abortion are illegal. The Church is currently engaged in a huge battle with the government over its plans to provide free contraceptives to the poor. Stephen Sackur talks to the Catholic Church's most senior cleric in the Philippines - Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle. Is the Catholic Church helping or hindering the development of the nation?
Stephen Sackur speaks to Michael Levy, Lord Levy, a prominent figure in British public life on two counts - as a leading voice in a British Jewish community which is increasingly concerned about rising levels of anti-Semitism, and as a key fundraiser for the Labour party in the era of Tony Blair and New Labour. Lord Levy remains an influential businessman, networker and fundraiser, but in terms of both the Jewish community and today's Labour party, are there problems that just can't be fixed?
Zeinab Badawi talks to the award-winning Palestinian author and lawyer Raja Shehadeh. For three decades he has written many books about human rights and the Israeli occupation. His family were forced to leave Jaffa in 1948 and settled in Ramallah on the West Bank, where he lives today. He says he hopes his work has helped further the cause of peace, but has it?
Stephen Sackur speaks to Douglas Carswell of the UK Independence Party. In early May the UK will hold what promises to be the most unpredictable general election in decades. As in much of Europe, voters appear alienated from the political establishment. The two main parties - Conservative and Labour - have both seen support drift away and neither appears capable of winning a majority. Frustration with politics as usual has fuelled the rise of Ukip, the populist, anti-EU party. How will Ukip withstand the intense scrutiny of an election campaign?
Stephen Sackur speaks to General Sir Richard Shirreff, retired deputy commander of Nato forces. He has recently described British prime minister David Cameron as hesitant and vacillating, and claims Britain and Nato are exhibiting dangerous weakness on conflicts from Ukraine to Syria. But is there a viable strategic alternative?
Stephen Sackur talks to Liberal Democrat minister David Laws. For the past five years his party has been the junior partner in a coalition with the Conservatives. They've helped deliver stable government, they've wielded power for the first time in their modern history - but they also seem set to face a tough time in the coming British general election. What does his party's experience say about politics in Britain today?
How far do creators of popular culture have a responsibility to draw attention to problems in society? Hardtalk speaks to celebrated comic book writer Mark Millar. His work has been made into big Hollywood movies like Kick Ass, Wanted and most recently Kingsman. His creations feature extreme violence, yet he insists he's horrified by real-life violence - so how does he defend his work?
In a special Hardtalk interview for the BBC's Richer World season, filmed in front of a studio audience, Stephen Sackur speaks to the American dotcom billionaire businessman Nick Hanauer. He believes that the rich in America should pay more taxes and has warned of revolution if wealth inequality is not addressed. Is American capitalism in danger of collapse?
Hong Kong's self-styled umbrella revolution blew itself out before it could deliver any long-term change in the former colony's political weather. Hardtalk speaks to one of the pro-democracy movement leaders, Benny Tai. Months of street protests failed to pressure Beijing into concessions on the election of Hong Kong's next chief executive, so where does the campaign for political reform go now?
As part of the BBC's A Richer World season, Hardtalk speaks to one of Britain's wealthiest men, John Caudwell. He made his fortune out of mobile phones and now divides his time between backing new businesses and philanthropy. What are the ingredients for a healthy capitalist society? Do the world's richest individuals owe anything to the societies within which they flourish? And is the notion of 'giving back' a choice or a moral obligation?
Hardtalk speaks to a legend of the music business, a man who has written and performed some of the most memorable tracks of the last four decades. Nile Rodgers co-founded Chic, the band which defined the late 70s disco generation. From his own band Chic, to his collaborations with everyone from Madonna to Daft Punk, his beat goes on - so what's the secret to his special sound?
Stephen Sackur speaks to Mohammed AlHussaini Al Sharif, a Saudi diplomat who is the Arab League envoy in Washington, asking if the new brand of muscular Saudi leadership in the Arab world is either credible or sensible. Powerful forces within the Arab World believe the time has come for Sunni Arabs to confront a perceived regional threat from Shiite Iran. That is a big factor in the Saudi-led bombardment of Shia rebels in Yemen - it also underpins the Arab League's plan to create a pan-Arab intervention force.
Stephen Sackur speaks to Valerie Amos, head of the UN's humanitarian affairs operation. The scale of humanitarian suffering in Syria is impossible to capture in words when delivered from the comfort of a television studio - 12 million people are in dire need of emergency aid. And what of the international response? Is Syria part of a wider story of international humanitarian failure?
Two years after the death of Hugo Chavez, Venezuela's socialist revolution is in trouble. The country's oil-reliant economy is ravaged by inflation, shortages and corruption. Those hit hardest are the poor, Chavez's bedrock supporters. Stephen Sackur speaks to one of the most prominent and outspoken members of the Venezuelan opposition, Maria Corina Machado. How close is chaos in Venezuela?
The world's humanitarian assistance networks are being stretched to breaking point. Need is consistently outstripping the capacity to respond, and the effects are felt in crises from war-ravaged Syria to Ebola-hit West Africa. Stephen Sackur's guest is Justin Forsyth, chief executive of one of the world's best-known aid charities - Save the Children. Is it time to offer humanitarian assistance in a different, better way?
Hardtalk speaks to a man who can provide a rare glimpse into a secret world. His story raises questions about the nature of 21st Century warfare. Brandon Bryant joined the US Air Force straight out of college. He was picked to join one of the United States' most controversial and important military programmes - the deployment of armed unmanned aerial vehicles - drones - to hunt down and kill some of America's most dangerous enemies. The experience has left him haunted and angry. Why?
Greece is the economically sick man of Europe - staggering from one debt repayment deadline to the next; in grave danger of falling headlong into the hole labelled 'default'. The European Central Bank and a powerful bloc of eurozone countries led by Germany appear to have lost patience with the leftist Syriza government in Athens. Hardtalk speaks to the former head of the European Central Bank Jean-Claude Trichet and asks if the eurozone is about to be plunged into a new phase of existential crisis.
Zeinab Badawi speaks to the American economist and hi-tech entrepreneur Pippa Malmgren, who sits on the board of a company that makes drones. By 2025 robots and artificial intelligence will be performing a lot more of the jobs that humans do at present. What is not clear is whether, as a result of this, prospects will be brighter or bleaker for us. Pippa Malmgren says we need to adapt to change, but can she afford to dismiss some present and potential dangers? Will technology create more jobs than it destroys? And could artificial intelligence even pose an existential threat to humans?
The brutal gang rape and murder of a student on a bus in Delhi in 2012 provoked widespread shock and outrage and put the spotlight on violence against women in India. A recent documentary about it called India's Daughter provoked huge controversy. It featured an interview with one of the five convicted rapists expressing no remorse and blamed the victim for fighting back. The Delhi government banned the film in India. HARDtalk talks to the documentary's director Leslee Udwin and asks her if her film was sensationalist.
There was a clear winner in last month's Israeli election but there isn't yet a new Government. Likud leader Benjamin Netanyahu is taking his time, talking to smaller right wing and religious parties, but also according to rumour, toying with the possibility of inviting the centre left Zionist Union into a national unity government. Stephen Sackur speaks to the man Netanyahu defeated in the battle for the premiership, Isaac Herzog. For him the election was a major disappointment, so what does he and the Israeli left do now?
Stephen Sackur speaks to a novelist whose fictional world is filled with drugs, sex, sleaze and alienation. Scottish writer Irvine Welsh draws deeply flawed characters and makes them entertaining and all too human. His first bestseller was Trainspotting, a tale of heroin-ravaged youths from the wrong side of Edinburgh's tracks. His latest book returns to the same turf. He now lives most of his life in the US, so why is his imagination is still so heavily stirred by Scotland and his working class roots?
Nigeria's president-elect Muhammadu Buhari has promised to tackle terrorism and corruption. His pledge comes against a backdrop of vicious attacks by the group Boko Haram and a budget black hole caused by falling oil revenues. General Buhari has already warned that he cannot perform miracles so does he have what it takes to lead Nigeria at one of the most difficult periods in its history? Zeinab Badawi talks to Kayode Fayemi - a key advisor to the president-elect.
Many people are familiar with cases involving terminally ill patients who believe that they should have the right to die. But what about making this a right for everyone - even if they are fit and healthy? Zeinab Badawi speaks to the controversial Australian doctor Philip Nitschke who believes anyone over 50 should be able to plan an end to their own life. But is he not just encouraging acts of suicide?
Zeinab Badawi speaks to the Russian opposition figure Vladimir Ashurkov. He was accused of embezzlement of electoral funds by the Russian authorities, a charge he says is politically motivated. He has now been granted asylum in the UK. So what of his boss back in Moscow, the vocal anti-Putin critic Alexei Navalny and other opposition figures? Are they a credible alternative to president Putin?
Sarah Montague speaks to Dr Richard Haass, president of the Council on Foreign Relations. He has worked in the State Department and advised US presidents, and he now believes we are witnessing the end of one era of world history and the dawn of another. A new 'era of disorder' - more chaotic and more dangerous than any time in a generation. He says American foreign policy is partly to blame and US authority has been diminished. So how dangerous is the world now? And what can be done about it?
Tim Franks speaks to the Portuguese finance minister Maria Luis Albuquerque, who has one of the most unforgiving jobs in politics. She is committed to reviving her own country's battered economy, to saving the single currency, and to ensuring somehow that Greece pays its debts and stays inside the euro.
Britain has the same prime minister but a new government. David Cameron's Conservative Party won last week's general election outright - his former coalition allies were reduced to a rump. He now has a mandate to renegotiate the country's membership of the European Union, with the threat that the British people could vote in a referendum to leave altogether. With the forces of independence on the march in Scotland and evidence that they've been roused in England too, is the UK being pushed apart?
The conflict in Colombia between the state and left-wing rebels has been running for more than fifty years. Hundreds of thousands have died and millions more are displaced. Tim Franks speaks to the Colombian government's chief peace negotiator, Sergio Jaramillo. Can he make a deal?
Tim Franks speaks to Don McLean - the self-confessed 'accidental' pop star whose first unlikely hit became one of the defining songs of the century. In April, the manuscript to American Pie was auctioned for more than a million dollars. McLean has always resisted analysing his famous lyrics too closely but what does he have to say now about the American music industry, and the American dream?
Stephen Sackur presents a special HARDtalk from the Zimbabwean capital Harare. For the past 35 years Zimbabwe has been dominated by one man - Robert Mugabe. Hero of the liberation struggle, all-powerful president and, for some in the west, a pariah. But he is now 91 years of age. Stephen Sackur talks to influential and outspoken information minister Jonathan Moyo and asks if he thinks there can be a peaceful transition in Zimbabwe.
Hardtalk is on the road in South Africa - a nation which two decades ago was seen as a beacon of hope for the entire African continent. Stephen Sackur visits a camp for African migrants in Durban; hundreds of mostly Congolese have been sheltering there since a wave of xenophobic attacks swept across South Africa last month. Why is immigration casting such a dark shadow over the rainbow nation?
Stephen Sackur is in Pretoria to talk to minister of traditional affairs Pravin Gordhan. In the aftermath of the recent violence, what is the ANC doing to ensure the violence does not flare again, and is the legacy of Nelson Mandela being betrayed?
When the self-styled Islamic State movement took control of Ramadi, capital of Iraq's Anbar province, it was another humiliation for the Baghdad government and another discomforting development for the United States which has bombed IS, but failed to neutralise the jihadi threat. Stephen Sackur talks to Emma Sky, a British woman who was a senior advisor to the US military in Iraq until 2010. Where do the roots of the current mess lie, and what should America and the West be doing now?
West Africa has perhaps lulled outsiders into a false sense of security. The regional economy has grown fast and key countries like Nigeria, Ghana and Senegal have embraced democratic transitions. But the appearance of stability may be illusory. Boko Haram's militant insurgency threatens not just Nigeria, but neighbouring states, and poverty, corruption and repression are still endemic in these areas. Stephen Sackur speaks to the UN's special representative for West Africa Mohamed Ibn Chambas. How fragile is West Africa?
What does the new right-wing Israeli coalition government under Benjamin Netanyahu mean for the Palestinians? The Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas has made moves recently to win international backing for his cause - particularly through the United Nations. Will this strategy help or hinder their aspirations for statehood? Zeinab Badawi talks to the Palestinians' veteran chief negotiator Saeb Erekat. Can they isolate Israel and achieve recognition of a Palestinian state through international diplomatic channels?
Stephen Sackur speaks to an Irish writer whose intense, lyrical novels have won him awards, acclaim and millions of readers around the world. Colm Tóibín isn't so much a flamboyant storyteller, he is more an acute observer of character and the deepest human feelings. There are recurring themes in his work of loss, mourning and exile which might suggest a dark, brooding presence - but how close is that to the real Colm Tóibín?
Britain wants change in the European Union, or it may quit. Greece says it needs more help, or it could leave Europe's shared currency. Has the EU ceased to be the inevitable destiny for Europe that federalists dreamt off? HARDtalk speaks to Guy Verhofstadt, Belgium's former prime minister. To prevent the Union fracturing, does he think a two-speed Europe is a price worth paying?
Hardtalk's Zeinab Badawi talks to one of China's most senior diplomats, ambassador Wu Jianmin. China has been accused by Washington of bullying its neighbours in the South China Sea over disputed territory, and Washington is seeking a new trade pact in Asia that excludes Beijing. Meanwhile China is spending hundreds of billions in investment projects across Europe, Asia, Africa and Latin America, extending its economic power the world over. Is China the world's new superpower?
Zeinab Badawi talks to Linda Thomas-Greenfield, the US assistant secretary of state for African affairs. Barack Obama is due to visit Kenya, his father's homeland, next month. When Obama came to power as the first African-American president of the USA, hopes were high in Africa that the continent would bask in his reflected glory and enjoy a new focus in US foreign policy. Zeinab Badawi asks: does Obama have a vision for Africa?
Libya is in chaos and UN-sponsored talks to end the conflict are failing to make progress. Libya has loosely divided into several parts: two rival administrations based in Tripoli in the west and Tobruk in the east. Extremists control three towns on Libya's Mediterranean coast, whilst the south is in the midst of tribal warfare. Zeinab Badawi asks Mahmoud Jibril, who was head of the transitional council that governed Libya after the fall of Gaddafi, who can save Libya now?
Moscow's Luzhniki Stadium is the venue for the Fifa World Cup final in 2018 - at least it is if Russia retains its status as host nation to the world's biggest sporting event. The decision to award the next two World Cups to Russia then Qatar is now being investigated by the authorities in Switzerland and the US. Stephen Sackur asks the chief of Russia's World Cup organising committee, Alexei Sorokin, what are the odds on the World Cup actually making it to Moscow?
Russia faces enormous political and economic challenges - the conflict with Ukraine has poisoned relations with the west, and the economy has been hammered by sanctions and the falling oil price. Alexei Ulyukayev is Russia's minister for economic development. Vladimir Putin's assertive nationalism may be popular at home, but is it taking his country in the wrong direction?
Zeinab Badawi speaks to Jose Manuel Barroso, who until recently was the EU Commission president. Barely in its history has the EU been under such strain: tides of migrants have arrived on Europe's shores, Greece is in the throes of difficult negotiations on whether it can stave off bankruptcy and David Cameron wants a rewriting of fundamental EU principles ahead of the referendum in the UK. Can the EU as we know it survive all this?
Zeinab Badawi speaks to the Sudanese politician Ghazi Salahuddin Atabani. For a quarter of a century, he stood beside Sudan's President El Bashir as a key adviser and party leader. Then, less than two years, ago he deserted the government and now heads the opposition Reform Now Movement. As a former insider, does he really believe the opposition stand a chance in Sudan?
Shaun Ley speaks to Frances O'Grady, whose organisation - the TUC - is the collective voice of the unions. Not since Margaret Thatcher vowed to break the power of organised labour has Britain's trade union movement faced a bigger threat. The new government wants to make it harder to take industrial action, and in most countries across Europe, the number of workers joining unions is in decline. For many of those most in need of support in the workplace, have the unions become irrelevant?
Shaun Ley speaks to Etyen Mahçupyan, the former senior adviser to Turkey's prime minister. Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has dominated Turkish politics, first as prime minister now as president, for more than a decade. Last week, his Justice and Development Party, known as AK, lost its parliamentary majority. With it went Mr Erdogan's dream of a more powerful presidency. Etyen Mahçupyan was until recently his senior adviser. Does he see the result as a verdict on the president's authoritarian streak, his intolerance of dissent, anger over corruption or a stuttering economy? Etyen Mahçupyan says AK will win many more elections to come - but will President Erdogan?
Stephen Sackur speaks to Julia Gillard who made history five years ago when she became Australia's first female prime minister. Her rise and her fall three years later featured an extraordinarily dysfunctional relationship with her Labour Party ally, turned bitter rival, Kevin Rudd. Having broken through Australia's ultimate glass ceiling why did her political career end in deep disappointment?
Zeinab Badawi talks to British Holocaust survivor Susan Pollack, who lost fifty members of her family, including her parents, in Nazi camps. She recently gave evidence at the trial in Germany of former SS guard Oskar Gröning, who has been charged with complicity in the murder of 300,000 Jews. She says she cannot forgive him and welcomes the trial. What purpose can it serve today?
Zeinab Badawi talks to the South African jazz musician and political activist Hugh Masekela. His life and music have reflected the struggles of the anti-apartheid era and the subsequent years of black majority rule. So why does he now describe South Africa as fast turning into a rubbish dump and becoming removed from its authentic, African culture?
Sarah Montague speaks to Bernard Jenkin who has argued for 'fundamental change' in Britain's relationship with Europe since he was first elected as a Conservative MP more than 20 years ago. Prime Minister David Cameron is due to meet Europe's 27 other leaders, but can he secure enough from his negotiations to win over the Eurosceptics?
Stephen Sackur presents a special edition of Hardtalk from Cannes, which is currently hosting the world's advertising industry. Thanks to the internet, advertising and marketing now have the ability to reach deep into the fabric of our lives. No one has exploited this better than today's guest - Sir Martin Sorrell, the founder and CEO of the giant advertising conglomerate WPP. The ad industry is hugely powerful, but is it responsible?
Stephen Sackur speaks to Jürgen Todenhöfer. The so-called Islamic State movement has very publicly murdered western journalists and aid workers who entered its territory. As a result, IS-held areas of Syria and Iraq have been off-limits to western reporters for the past year. Except for the guest today. Last December Jürgen Todenhöfer spent ten days inside the self-styled IS caliphate. He emerged unscathed with a remarkable story - what more can he tell us about the jihadists, and what can we conclude about his own motivations?
South Africa's Democratic Alliance, the country's main opposition party, has elected its first ever black leader. Mmusi Maimane took over in May this year from Helen Zille. He says he wants to represent all South Africans regardless of colour, but the vast majority of black South Africans support the ANC, the party of Nelson Mandela. How will he manage to win them over and take race out of South African politics? Zeinab Badawi speaks to him to find out.
Chaos is a Greek word, and right now it's the best description of Greece's financial, economic and political situation. Athens has defaulted on its debt to the IMF and has rejected terms for an extension of the emergency bail out keeping it afloat. Or has it? Hour by hour the position of the Greek government appears to shift. And all of this in the run up to a referendum on Sunday which is widely seen as a choice to stay in or to leave the Eurozone. HARDtalk's Stephen Sackur talks to Giorgos Katrougalos, minister of administrative reform in the Syriza-led government. Has Syriza taken a bad situation and made it much worse?
When Barack Obama replaced George W Bush in the White House, US strategy in the Middle East changed - hubris was out, humility was in. But as the region has sunk deeper into violence, extremism and sectarianism, President Obama's limited ambitions have been condemned by critics as a dangerous form of weakness. Stephen Sackur speaks to Philip Gordon, who has just left his role as the White House's coordinator for Middle East policy. What happened to American leadership in a troubled region?
Were war crimes committed during the lop-sided war between Hamas and Israel which began a year ago? A recent UN-sponsored report pointed to serious violations of international law on both sides, but how credible were the findings? Stephen Sackur speaks to William Schabas, who chaired the commission of inquiry into the Gaza War until he quit under heavy fire from Israel. What does the Schabas saga say about the effort to apply international justice in the Middle East?
Stephen Sackur talks to Valdis Dombrovskis, European Commission vice-president for the euro and social dialogue.
Stephen Sackur talks to a writer whose work has made him the most dangerous of enemies. A decade ago Roberto Saviano wrote a best-selling book, Gomorrah, which exposed the power and brutality of the Neapolitan mafia. The crime bosses put a price on his head, and he has lived in a shadowy world of safe houses and bodyguards ever since. Now he's written a new book about the global cocaine trade - why has he sacrificed so much to expose organised crime?
Ukraine is grappling with security and economic challenges that could bring the nation to its knees. The country needs a new generation of strong, reform-minded leaders - but does it need Mikheil Saakashvili? Hardtalk speaks to the former president of neighbouring Georgia, recently appointed governor of Ukraine's strategically vital Odessa region. He knows all about confrontation with Vladimir Putin - but is he a credible or wise addition to Ukraine's hard-pressed government?
Professional boxing is full of macho testosterone-fuelled posturing. It's hard to imagine a more challenging environment in which to be a woman trapped in a man's body. Stephen Sackur speaks to Kellie Maloney, who felt like that for many years. Until recent gender confirmation surgery, she was known as Frank Maloney, boxing promoter and twice-married father of three. Now that Frank has a very public new life as Kellie, how much has changed?
In this special edition of the programme, HARDtalk is on the road in the far east of Russia. Stephen Sackur reports from Vladivostok, the port city that gives Russia its claim to be an Asia-Pacific power. Moscow may be 9,000 kilometres and seven time zones away, but Vladimir Putin sees this eastern frontier as a crucial asset in his effort to turn Russia into a 21st-century global superpower. As Stephen Sackur explores, is Russia about to make a pivot to Asia?
Stephen Sackur is at Nato headquarters in Brussels to speak to Jens Stoltenberg, the organisation's secretary general. In some ways it's just like old times - Moscow is once again seen to pose a threat to Europe's eastern flank, and Nato leaders promise a robust, collective response. But a generation on from the Cold War - are they serious? The western world's military alliance has a proud history, but does it have a future?
Just how resilient is Tunisia - the state which sells itself as the Arab world's only stable democracy? After the beach massacre carried out by a follower of the so-called Islamic State group in June, the security, political and economic challenges are enormous. Hardtalk speaks to the country's minister for development, Yassine Brahim. Can Tunisia's government beat the extremists without compromising freedom?
What does it mean to be black in the United States today? The messages are mixed. An African American has made it all the way to the White House, but in Barack Obama's America one in three of all young black males is likely to spend time in prison during his lifetime. Stephen Sackur speaks to Bryan Stevenson, a lawyer, rights advocate and founder of the Equal Justice Initiative. Why are America's race-based wounds so slow to heal?
Whilst watching cycling's greatest race, the Tour de France, are you admiring the remarkable strength and stamina of the riders, or privately wondering whether their performance is fuelled by illegal substances? So much elite sport is tainted by our knowledge of past cheating. Stephen Sackur talks to David Howman, director general of the World Anti-Doping Agency, and asks why it is proving so hard to root drugs out of sport.
There are a number of successful contemporary artists whose work sells for millions of dollars. But how many of them will leave an enduring mark when the clamour of fashion and hype has moved elsewhere? Stephen Sackur talks to one of Britain's best known and controversial artists - Marc Quinn. He sculpts, he paints, he manufactures extraordinary objects and sometimes he enrages the critics, but will his work stand the test of time?
Greece and its creditors have started negotiating a third rescue package worth up to 86 billion euros, but prime minister Alexis Tsipras is facing a rebellion from the hard left in his party, Syriza, who accuse him of going back on his promise to reject austerity. It is not just economics that is at the heart of the disagreements, it is a struggle for what kind of country Greece wants to be in the 21st century. Zeinab Badawi talks to Stathis Kouvelakis, a Syriza central committee member. Who is winning the argument in Greece?
The migrant crisis on both sides of the English Channel has led to accusation and counter accusation in Britain and France as thousands of migrants make nightly attempts to enter the UK illegally. What's clear is that the EU's migration system isn't working. Hardtalk speaks to deputy mayor of Calais Philippe Mignonet and senior British Conservative MP Tim Loughton. How can Europe move beyond the blame game and find a fair and just solution for everyone?
Could Turkey be slipping back into conflict? A fragile three year peace process between the government and Kurdish militants from the PKK, the Kurdistan workers' party, has broken down. Several Turkish soldiers and police have been killed in the past few weeks, and the government blames the PKK. Zeinab Badawi talks to Turkish MP Ertugrul Kurkcu, honorary president of the pro-Kurdish people's democratic party, the HDP. What is he doing to prevent a further escalation of violence in Turkey?
For more than three decades the ballet dancer Sylvie Guillem has performed as principal dancer at most leading ballet establishments, redrawing the boundaries of the genre. But at the end of this year she will be giving her last performance in a worldwide farewell tour. She will undoubtedly go down in ballet history as one of the greatest dancers of all time - but she's famously been dubbed 'Mademoiselle Non' for being too assertive. Hardtalk speaks to her about that, as well as the poisonous rivalries in the world of ballet and her activism to save the planet.
What does the leadership battle within Britain's Labour Party tell us about socialist politics here and elsewhere in the world? The polls suggest the veteran MP Jeremy Corbyn is set to become the new Labour leader. His left-wing policies include increased public spending and state ownership of major industries. After a huge defeat for Labour in May's general election, wouldn't Labour and other similar parties in Europe be more popular with voters by holding to the centre ground? Zeinab Badawi talks to different wings of the Labour Party: former London mayor Ken Livingstone and Charles Clarke, who served as a Labour cabinet minister under Tony Blair.
The fashion world today is full of numerous brands and designers - but one stands out as a pioneer of women's high street fashion: Biba created by design icon Barbara Hulanicki. Born in Poland but raised in Britain her shops were a hangout for some of the most famous names in swinging sixties London. The rise and fall of Biba was a personal tragedy for her. But Barbara Hulanicki's legacy is intact: she made fashion affordable for the masses. Zeinab Badawi asks the designer whether she is responsible for bringing about a throwaway culture that expects cheap and fashionable clothing.
The migrant crisis is pushing EU countries into trying to come up with solutions that are fair for member states and refugees fleeing conflict. But what of the transit countries through which the migrants travel to northern Europe? There is evidence that people smugglers from the western Balkans are involved in the movement of thousands of migrants and are increasingly favouring land routes through Balkan states like Macedonia. Zeinab Badawi asks the Macedonian foreign minister Nikola Poposki what governments like his can do to resolve the current crisis.
Stephen Sackur talks to Catherine McCartney whose brother was murdered in Belfast in 2005. She thinks the IRA was responsible, and that the Republican paramilitaries are still active to this day. The charge - that the IRA hasn't gone away - now threatens Northern Ireland's fragile political stability, but is it true?
The people of Catalonia in north east Spain are about to vote in a local election which has become a de facto poll on independence. The outcome could plunge Spain and Europe into a prolonged period of constitutional uncertainty. Stephen Sackur asks Raul Romeva, a leader of the pro-independence coalition, why the obsession with secession at a time when Europe is struggling with economic stagnation and mass migration.
The guests on HARDtalk are people who do much to shape our world. More often than not they're testament to the talent and potential of the human species. But what if we're living on the cusp of a new era? Shaped not by mankind, but by machines using artificial intelligence to build a post-human world. Science fiction? Not according to HARDtalk's guest scientist and philosopher Nick Bostrom who runs the Future of Humanity Institute. Stephen Sackur asks, when truly intelligent machines arrive, what happens to us?
Turmoil in the Middle East has created a security and migration crisis which threatens the security of Europe and the wider world. Syria's war is at the heart of the problem, but so too is Libya's prolonged descent into chaos. Stephen Sackur talks to Aref Ali Nayed, Libyan ambassador to the United Arab Emirates and a senior diplomat involved in efforts to end the post-Gaddafi internal conflict. Can Libya's warring parties join forces to save the country?
For decades, one of Britain's best-known entertainers, the late Jimmy Savile, sexually abused children and vulnerable adults and got away with it. In response the police launched a massive effort to investigate allegations of historical sexual abuse. Other prominent people found themselves facing accusations. Stephen Sackur speaks to one of them: broadcaster Paul Gambaccini spent a year as a suspect before the case against him was dropped. What lessons can be learned from what Gambaccini calls 'twelve months of trauma'?
Thanks to an internal party coup, Malcom Turnbull has become the country's fifth prime minister since 2010. The political turbulence comes at a tough time - the Australian economy is being hit hard by the slowdown in China and the slump in global commodity prices. Stephen Sackur talks to billionaire mining magnate Andrew Forrest and asks: has Australia squandered the riches that came with the resources boom of the early 21st century?
Georgia wants to join Nato. Georgia's defence minister, Tinatin Khidasheli, has been touring European Union countries making the case for the former Soviet state to join the club of western nations who vow to defend each other's borders. But it was only a few months ago that Russia extended its control over South Ossetia and Abkhazia, which the United Nations still recognises as Georgian territory. So Is Nato prepared to face up to Russia over Georgia?
The British government wants parliamentary authorisation to bomb the jihadists of IS in Syria. That same government adamantly does not want to offer refuge to any of the many tens of thousands of Syrian refugees now homeless and desperate inside Europe. Does David Cameron's position make sense? Stephen Sackur talks to the UK government's chairman of the Foreign Affairs Select Committee, Conservative MP Crispin Blunt.
HARDtalk's Stephen Sackur talks to Noman Benotman, a former Libyan jihadist and al Qaeda associate now president of the Quilliam Foundation, an influential voice in the fight against extremism. Hundreds of would-be jihadist fighters and supporters from Britain have journeyed to the self-declared Caliphate established by Daesh or IS, in territory straddling Syria and Iraq. Some have since returned to the UK, adding to the government's fears of a potent home grown extremist threat. Will the British government's intensified deradicalisation efforts work?
HARDtalk is in Hungary for an exclusive interview with foreign minister Péter Szijjártó. Hungary is facing a migration crisis; already this year nearly 250,000 migrants have entered the country. Hungary's response has included razor wire, tear gas and threats of imprisonment. The prime minister says that the refugees are a threat to security and cultural identity, but is Hungary defending or betraying European values?
From the French Ambassador's residence in London, Zeinab Badawi meets French Minister of Economy, Emmanuel Macron. A former banker, he is spearheading reforms that are deeply unpopular with the unions, as well as many members and supporters of the socialist party. Are his policies too pro-business or just what the doctor ordered for the sick French economy?
After four years of civil war Syria is all but destroyed. At least 220,000 have been killed and half of the entire population has been forced from their homes, but still the world's great powers argue over a response. Stephen Sackur talks to one of the world's wealthiest Syrians - Ayman Asfari. Asfari is an exile based in Britain and founder and boss of the Petrofac oil services corporation. Behind the scenes he has lobbied hard for a more effective international intervention in his homeland, but what would that look like?
How far has the refugee crisis in Europe exposed inter-faith tensions? Most of those fleeing are Muslims and this has provoked concern in some quarters that the migrants won't adhere to European cultural values. Zeinab Badawi meets Anglican bishop Michael Nazir-Ali who was born in Pakistan and whose Muslim father converted to Christianity. Arguably this gives him a special role in the debate about morals and values within the context of the refugee crisis. But is he showing such leadership?
In many countries around the world independent journalists pay a high price for simply doing their job. They risk intimidation, imprisonment or worse. HARDtalk's Stephen Sackur speaks to Mohamed Fahmy, the former Al Jazeera English bureau chief in Cairo who was convicted and imprisoned on terrorist charges by the Egyptian government. In his first broadcast interview since being pardoned, Stephen asks him what his message is now he's free to speak.
The mood of the French public right now is very far from sunny. The economy is barely growing, unemployment is high, and voters are fed up with politics as usual. All of which is fuelling the popularity of the far right National Front, led by Marine Le Pen. Stephen Sackur speaks to her father, Jean-Marie Le Pen, the founder of the National Front. Father and daughter used to be the closest of allies but now are at war with each other. It is a compelling soap opera but what does it say about the changing face of the far right?
Stephen Sackur talks to the EU commissioner for migration and home affairs, Dimitris Avramopoulos. Europe is still scrambling to find an effective response to the migration challenge, and every day the problem gets bigger. While the Germans build reception centres, other EU Governments focus on razor-wire fences and gunboats on the Mediterranean. So what comes first: humanity or security?
The photograph of three-year-old Syrian boy Aylan Kurdi face down, dead on a Turkish beach galvanised a massive public response to the migration crisis on Europe's borders. Stephen Sackur speaks to world-renowned photographer Don McCullin. Over a career spanning six decades, he has taken unforgettable images that have defined a host of conflicts from Biafra to Beirut. Does he believe photographs can change the world?
So much of our developed world culture is driven by the instant, all pervasive internet. Our opinions, our fantasies, our lives, delivered in bite sized chunks, consumed with a glance and a click. Jonathan Franzen writes novels, long novels, that take years to complete and days, not minutes to read. He's become one of the defining voices in contemporary American literature, why does he hate so much of the culture around him?
Stephen Sackur speaks to German defence minister Ursula von der Leyen. Vladimir Putin has wrong-footed the west again; first it was in Crimea and eastern Ukraine, now it's with his rapidly escalating military intervention in Syria. The Obama administration, NATO and the EU have issued warnings and condemnations, but does the west have a coherent strategy in Syria? And does the EU have a security strategy at all?
Stephen Sackur speaks to the British peer Lord Weidenfeld who has made his home in London for the past eight decades. He escaped from Austria just before World War II and went on to become one of Britain's best known publishers. Now 96 years old, his life says much about the modern history of Britain, Europe and the Jewish people. But as he reflects, is he filled with hope or something darker?
Stephen Sackur speaks with Joanne Liu, international president of Médecins Sans Frontières, Doctors without Borders. In early October, American forces in Afghanistan fired missiles into a Kunduz hospital killing 22, including 12 staff working for MSF. The organisation demanded that the incident be investigated as a war crime. But in the world's most dangerous conflict zones, is it possible to save lives and not take sides?
Is the US Republican Party serious about winning back the White House in 2016? The frontrunner to win the party's presidential nomination is Donald Trump - a billionaire businessman turned celebrity who despises the Republican establishment. Stephen Sackur speaks to Eric Cantor who has long been a pillar of that establishment. He was the number two Republican in the House of Representatives until he got sensationally dumped in a primary contest. What on earth is going on inside the Republican party?
Stephen Sackur talks to Robert S. Ford, US ambassador to Syria until 2014. The escalation of Russia's military involvement in Syria has been greeted with dismay in Washington. Vladimir Putin hasn't just shifted the military balance in favour of the Assad regime; he's also exposed the lack of decisiveness and clarity in President Obama's Syria strategy. What does Syria tell us about US foreign policy making in the age of Obama?
Stephen Sackur speaks to Richard Leakey, chairman of the Kenya Wildlife Service. Africa's wildlife is one of the wonders of the natural world, but the fate of the continent's elephants, rhinos and big cats is now desperately uncertain - illegal poaching could see these great species disappear from their African heartlands. Will the fight for Africa's endangered wildlife have a happy ending?
The latest paroxysm of violence between Israel and Palestine has conjured up a host of horrifying images. Israelis have been stabbed in random street attacks, while Palestinian suspects have been shot dead by Israeli police when seemingly no longer a threat, and an innocent bystander was beaten to death by an incensed Israeli crowd. Stephen Sackur speaks to Yair Lapid, former minister and leader of Israel's Yesh Atid party. He has called on Israelis to shoot to kill at the first sign of danger. Will that kind of language improve security?
Stephen Sackur speaks to the spokesman for President Vladimir Putin, Dmitri Peskov. Depending on who you believe, Russia's military intervention in Syria is a boost for the forces of legitimacy in the face of terrorism, or a foolish gamble which will further destabilise Syria and backfire on the Kremlin. Does Russia's desire to shore up the Assad regime risk a dangerous new confrontation with the United States?
In 2008 Wall Street was close to meltdown. And the world economy was feeling the full force of a financial crash which changed long held assumptions about the stability of markets and global capitalism. HARDtalk's Stephen Sackur speaks to Ben Bernanke who was chairman of the Federal Reserve, the US Central Bank, at the time and took decisions then which continue to shape economic policy today. Can we be confident the right lessons have been learned from the great crash?
Stephen Sackur speaks to the Palestinian ambassador to the UN, Riyad Mansour, and asks him why alarming numbers of Palestinians seem intent on killing Israeli Jews? The Israeli Government blames the surge in violence on hate fuelled incitement sanctioned by the Palestinian authorities. The Palestinians say it's a response to the intolerable conditions of occupation. Is a new wave of extremism sweeping the West Bank and Gaza?
By the time George W Bush left the White House perceptions of the United States in the wider world were overwhelmingly negative. As the Obama presidency enters its final phase how have attitudes shifted? The promise was clear - a greater focus on soft rather than hard power and a "yes we can" commitment to healing political wounds at home and abroad. Stephen Sackur speaks to the US ambassador to the UK, Matthew Barzun, a close Obama ally. Has the promise been fulfilled?
Jeremy Corbyn is the most unlikely leader of one of Britain's biggest political parties in living memory. He was elected leader of the Labour Party by a party electorate swollen by an army of new, mostly young radical members. He is a genuine socialist, anti-capitalist, anti-war - and anti just about everything that Tony Blair stood for. Stephen Sackur speaks to Lord Mandelson, one of the architects of Blair's New Labour project. What does Jeremy Corbyn mean for Labour and for Britain?
Stephen Sackur speaks to veteran Palestinian negotiator and secretary general of the PLO Saeb Erekat. Why are so many mostly young Palestinians intent on killing Israeli Jews with whatever weapons they can lay their hands on? The Israeli government blames the surge in violence on hate-fuelled incitement sanctioned by the Palestinian authorities. The Palestinians say it is a response to the intolerable conditions of occupation. Is a new wave of extremism sweeping the West Bank and Gaza?
Britain's unions are in the best and worst of times. They finally have the Labour leader of their dreams. But at a time when their power is under threat through the introduction of new anti-strike laws. HARDtalk speaks to Len McCluskey, the leader of Britain's biggest union Unite. Is Labour's new leader their best - and last - hope?
Zeinab Badawi speaks to journalist and former hostage, Nicolas Henin. The Syrian city of Raqqa is the self-styled capital for the militants of the so called Islamic State. It is difficult for independent journalists to operate in such situations, but French journalist Nicolas Henin decided to enter Raqqa after militants seized it from Syrian government forces in 2013. He was captured by IS fighters and held for ten months along with others, some of whom were killed. What did he learn about the mindset of ISIS militants?
Zeinab Badawi speaks to Nigel Owens, the Welshman who refereed the recent Rugby World Cup final and is one of the most respected professionals in the game. It has not been an easy journey to the top of the game for him. As a gay man in a macho sport, he's suffered depression and contemplated suicide. How has the world of rugby embraced him, and what is making the sport so popular today?
Brazil's president Dilma Rousseff is battling for political survival. She could be facing impeachment over alleged economic mismanagement and widespread corruption, and Brazil could be spiralling into the worst economic recession for decades. Is the country teetering on the brink of a major political and economic crisis? Zeinab Badawi speaks to Celso Amorim, who served the last three presidents of Brazil, first as a long-time foreign minister and then as defence minister until January 2015.
World leaders at the G20 Summit in Turkey have said efforts to combat terrorism must be intensified after the tragic events in Paris - the latest in a series of attacks claimed by the so-called Islamic State. On Sunday, France launched massive air strikes on IS strongholds in Syria. HARDtalk speaks to retired US admiral James Stavridis, who was NATO's Supreme Allied Commander in Europe until 2013. He believes there should be 'meaningful action on a significant scale' by NATO. But are there limits to what military operations can achieve in fighting terrorism?
Stephen Sackur is in Bogota for a special edition of HARDtalk. For many years Colombia was a country of car bombings and kidnappings fuelled by a political insurgency and drugs trafficking. But Colombia has changed. HARDtalk's guest is the president of Colombia, Juan Manuel Santos. He is the driving force behind a peace process with the armed rebel group, the revolutionary movement: the FARC. The process is difficult and divisive but will it end in success?
Stephen Sackur presents a special edition of HARDtalk on the Road from Puerto Rico. The Caribbean Island belongs to the United States but is currently drowning in debt. Just three and a half million people live there but they've managed to run up a public debt of 70 billion dollars. Without an emergency financial rescue Puerto Rico is going bust, and that will send shockwaves all the way to Wall Street.
Zeinab Badawi speaks to Julius Malema, the leader of the Economic Freedom Fighters or EFF. He is one of the most colourful and controversial politicians in South Africa. To his supporters he is a populist who understands their needs and is willing to stand up for them. To his critics he is a demagogue who makes inflammatory statements against corruption whilst personally enriching himself. The EFF came out of nowhere to win more than six percent of the vote in national elections last year. With their distinctive red berets and noisy interventions, they've made their mark in South African politics. But is the EFF anything more than a protest party?
Zeinab Badawi speaks to Rwandan politician Frank Habineza who founded the opposition Democratic Green Party of Rwanda in 2009. He wants President Paul Kagame, who has been in power for more than 20 years, to stand down at the next presidential elections in 2017. Rwanda is still in the process of recovering from the genocide of the mid-1990s, and the government has been praised for its success in alleviating poverty and bringing about reconciliation. But Habineza thinks it is time for a change and has been critical of government policy. What can he offer a nation that has been so scarred by tragedy?
In the aftermath of the recent Paris attacks, members of the international coalition against the so-called Islamic State, including Britain, have been weighing up the effectiveness of air-strikes on IS strongholds inside Syria. But what impact has the intensified military campaign against IS had on the Syrian opposition? HARDtalk speaks to Monzer Akbik of the Syrian National Coalition, an umbrella organisation made up of Syrian opposition groups. Does he believe their battle against Assad has been re-energised or weakened by the targeting of IS?
Zeinab Badawi speaks to president Peter Mutharika of Malawi. By some measures Malawi is the world's poorest country, with a list of problems ranging from poor nutrition and a crippling lack of electricity to international concerns about corruption in the political system. Despite relative peace and political stability, Malawi is struggling to make progress. So how much of its failures are down to bad government?
Sarah Montague talks to Hage Geingob, the president of Namibia. Namibia is rich in minerals and gemstones so is relatively prosperous with good economic growth. Yet it is one of the most unequal societies in the world. There is extreme poverty with many struggling to get enough food to survive. Hage Geingob declared war on poverty and inequality when he became president in March this year. Before that he had been prime minister for many of the 25 years since independence, so what difference can he make now?
Zeinab Badawi talks to Hollywood superstar Burt Reynolds. He was one of America's best-known actors - a top box office draw with hit movies including Deliverance and Boogie Nights. He turns 80 in 2016, but as he looks back on his career, why does he say that although he's made more than 100 films, he's only proud of a handful of them?
Stephen Sackur talks to Nobel Peace Prize winner Ouided Bouchamaoui in Oslo. Bouchamaoui is one of the four recipients representing the National Dialogue Quartet, a combination of civil society organisations that did much to rescue Tunisia from political chaos in recent years. The Nobel committee hopes that Tunisia's example of inclusive politics can be a model for neighbouring countries, but is that realistic?
HARDtalk is on the road in Colombia, a country which has lived through 50 years of war and is desperately looking for a path to lasting peace. The struggle for Colombia's future will not be settled in the capital Bogota but in the villages and rural areas which are traditionally the stronghold of Colombia's armed revolutionary movement known as the FARC. Colombia's President Santos believes he will make peace with the FARC, but as well as hope there is doubt and fear among the country's people and politicians. Stephen Sackur explores the situation on what may be the eve of peace.
Zeinab Badawi talks to South African ANC stalwart and businessman Tokyo Sexwale. He served 13 years in jail on Robben Island with Nelson Mandela. As well as a career in politics he went into business and through interests in mining, gold and diamonds became one of the richest black South Africans. Now he is among five candidates vying to succeed FIFA president Sepp Blatter. Can Tokyo Sexwale reinvent himself and win this top football post? Or could past controversies damage his chances?
Stephen Sackur talks to the secretary general of the Anglican Communion, archbishop Josiah Idowu-Fearon from Nigeria. For years, the Anglican Communion has been preoccupied with issues of sexuality and the growing rift between the liberal and conservative wings of the church. But all the while the Anglican faithful, along with other Christians, have been living with persecution in countries as far afield as Syria, Sudan and Nigeria. Does the Anglican establishment have its priorities right?
Adair Turner, Lord Turner, is a doyen of the UK economic establishment who has concluded that western economies remain dangerously reliant on debt. It might be reassuring if we could put the blame for the financial crash of 2008 on greedy bankers, but what if the crisis was much deeper and more structural? Stephen Sackur asks Lord Turner if his solution; printing money to stimulate growth without adding to the debt pile, is credible?
HARDtalk's Stephen Sackur looks back on the big stories of 2015 including conflict in the Middle East and the migration crisis facing Europe. He goes to South Africa, still reeling from a wave of xenophobic attacks, and on to Zimbabwe where he talks to the country's information minister, ending the year in Colombia where he interviews the president of a country trying to reach a peace deal that will end decades of civil war.
Stephen Sackur talks to one of Britain's leading brain surgeons, Henry Marsh. Imagine you are a patient about to undergo brain surgery. If it goes well, it will save your life; if it goes wrong, you could end up paralysed or dead. Of course, you want to believe your surgeon is infallible, a superhero. But he is not; he is all too human just like you. That simple truth emerges from the extraordinarily honest writing of Dr Henry Marsh. He has given us rare insight into the mind of the doctor; is it reassuring or troubling?
Israel declares Jerusalem to be its undivided capital, but the physical evidence inside the city points to a different reality. Jerusalem is a place of checkpoints, security barriers and constant tension between Arab and Jew. Stephen Sackur talks to the city's mayor, Nir Barkat, a self-made tech millionaire who is tipped for a big future in the Likud party. He talks ambitiously about turning Jerusalem into a top global city hosting 10 million tourists a year. How credible is his vision of his city's future?
The stories we tell ourselves say much about the times, places and cultures we live in. So what should we make of the fiction coming out of Africa in the two generations since the continent emerged from colonial rule? How free are Africa's storytellers to explore the richness and diversity of their continent? Stephen Sackur talks to internationally acclaimed novelist and poet Ben Okri, whose life has straddled Nigeria and the UK.
When US president Barack Obama visited Kenya in 2015 he spoke out against the continued practice of female genital mutilation in countries across Africa and beyond. He said that FGM has 'no place in the 21st century'. But are there cultural arguments for the practice to continue? Stephen Sackur talks to Fuambai Ahmadu and Nimco Ali.
Bosnia and Herzegovina is due to officially apply for membership of the European Union. But 20 years after the Dayton Agreement, which ended the bloody civil war of the early 1990s, significant obstacles persist. Youth unemployment is the highest in Europe and ethnic divisions remain in place with the Serb dominated region of Republika Srpska often threatening to declare independence. HARDtalk speaks to Igor Crnadak, the foreign minister of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Can his country stay intact and navigate the road to full EU membership?
The British referendum on whether to stay in - or leave - the European Union may well be held this coming summer. It'll be a vote of momentous significance for Britain and for the EU. The polls suggest it could be a close-run thing. Stephen Sackur talks to Lord Lawson, president of the Conservatives for Britain group, which is campaigning for a British exit in defiance of prime minister David Cameron and his Conservative government's official strategy. The Eurosceptics have a historic opportunity - can they seize it?
There's a faultline that lies beneath much of the current turmoil in the Middle East, and it runs between Riyadh and Tehran. Sunni Saudi Arabia and Shia Iran are locked in a series of conflicts by proxy. It's a dangerous and costly struggle for regional supremacy that weaves from Lebanon to Yemen by way of Syria and Iraq. Stephen Sackur talks to Mohammad Marandi in Tehran and Jamal Khashoggi in Jeddah. Is there any way to take the heat out of the Saudi-Iranian confrontation?
We tend to pigeonhole creative types: writer, musician, actor - they get a label. Stephen Sackur talks to a guest who defies simple description - punk is perhaps the only word that captures the spirit of Henry Rollins. He first found success in the punk band Black Flag back in the early eighties. Since then he's variously made a name as a non-conforming writer, broadcaster, actor and intrepid traveller. How hard is it to swim against the cultural tide in the United States?
All sanctions relating to Iran's nuclear programme have been lifted in a deal that has been labelled historic. Iran's president Hassan Rouhani said a 'golden page' in the country's history had begun. The former British foreign secretary Jack Straw has been a long-time supporter of closer ties with Iran and has visited the country many times. What is his response to critics who believe the rapprochement will bolster the hardliners in Iran, exacerbate regional rivalries, and fuel terror and instability in the Middle East?
In November 2015, France was placed on a war footing by president François Hollande. Security was ramped up and new legislation tabled with the aim of confronting jihadi terrorism after the so-called Islamic State attack on Paris. But have France and Europe drawn the right conclusions from the recent atrocities? Stephen Sackur talks to Harlem Désir, François Hollande's minister responsible for European affairs. Just how vulnerable is the French Republic?
Stephen Sackur talks to John Kiriakou, the former CIA agent who played a key role in anti-terror operations after 9-11 and later went public with the truth about waterboarding. He was imprisoned for leaking the names of two CIA agents and is currently on federal probation. He says he is a truth teller scapegoated by the US government; but he betrayed a trust, and shouldn't that carry a heavy price?
Stephen Sackur speaks to Frances Egan, head of Cuadrilla, the company leading the charge to bring fracking to the UK. The oil price crash has put fossil fuel producers under enormous pressure. Profits are evaporating, new exploration looks like a massive gamble, and to cap it all world leaders are now committed to a radical decarbonisation of the global economy. Do the realities of economics, politics and environmental concern mean fracking has lost its appeal?
Can architecture inspire people to change the way they think and behave? Sarah Montague speaks to architect David Adjaye, who has designed buildings including the Nobel Peace Centre in Oslo, a business school in Moscow, shopping centres in Beirut and Lagos, a children's hospital in Rwanda, and a housing project in New York's Harlem. Adjaye's biggest project yet is about to open - the National Museum of African American History and Culture, located on the National Mall in Washington DC. Has he got the design right? What is the test of a good building?
Sarah Montague talks to Louka Katseli, former minister and chair of the National Bank of Greece. The Greek prime minister started the year with an optimistic message: 2016 would be a year of 'recovery and regrouping' and the 'tough period of crisis' for the country was over. Whether he was right will depend in part on Greece's banks; they are sitting on bad debts worth 100 billion euros and they still cannot let customers freely withdraw their money because of fears of a bank run. So is the prime minister right? Is the worst over for Greece?
The oil-rich kingdom of Saudi Arabia is facing uncertain times. Its monarchy, wedded to a conservative brand of Sunni Islam, is locked in a struggle for regional power with Shia Iran, which is playing out in the conflicts in Yemen and Syria. Its relations with the USA are strained and its human rights record has been widely condemned. Major General Mansour Al-Turki is a senior Interior Ministry official. Is the House of Saud in need of major repair?
Zeinab Badawi speaks to Iyad Ameen Madani, secretary general of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), from the Saudi Arabian port city of Jeddah. The OIC represents the world's 57 Muslim nations. With large parts of the Muslim world torn apart by sectarian strife and with acts of terror perpetrated by Muslims across continents, what can he do or say to combat the challenges?
Norway takes its commitment to international diplomacy and humanitarianism very seriously. The oil rich country is one of the world's wealthiest with a reputation for humanitarianism so it isn't surprising that it's co-hosting a donor conference in London to boost aid for Syria's long suffering people. But the government is receiving criticism for its own stance on migration and asylum issues. Erna Solberg is Norway's prime minister. Is she putting populism above principle?
Stephen Sackur speaks with Fahd al Rasheed, CEO of King Abdullah Economic City in Saudi Arabia. King Abdullah Economic City is a vast construction project on the Red Sea. It is supposed to become one of the world's biggest ports with a population of 2 million - a new global city for Saudi Arabia. But could the kingdom's economic problems see this dream turn to dust?
At the end of 2015, women in Saudi Arabia were allowed to vote and stand in municipal elections for the first time. Businesswoman Rasha Hefzi, one of 21 women elected to a municipal council, discusses the progress of women's rights in a state where women are prohibited from driving.
Stephen Sackur speaks to Rob Wainwright, director of Europol, the EU's joint policing agency tasked with enhancing Europe's response to major cross-border security and criminal threats. So-called Islamic State has the intent and the capacity to mount major terrorist attacks in the heart of Europe - does Europe have the right tools to effectively counter the challenge?
Much of the momentum in European politics is with the nationalist, anti-immigration right. Nowhere is that more evident than Denmark. The second-biggest party and the power-broker in parliament is the Danish People's Party. The DPP is seen by its critics as xenophobic and by its supporters as the home of true Danish values. Søren Espersen is the party's deputy chairman and foreign affairs spokesman. How far will this shift to the right go?
Stephen Sackur speaks to John Cale, a founding member of the Velvet Underground, and a solo artist and producer. In the checkered history of rock and roll, there have been relatively few artists who have managed to create a genuinely new, even revolutionary, sound. The Velvet Underground achieved just that in mid-sixties New York - combining youthful anger, musical creativity, with an avant-garde art sensibility. Today John Cale continues to experiment with new sounds. To many, his music is challenging, even bleak, but is that a reflection of the man himself?
After five years of bloodletting and suffering, the Syrian war has a new and potentially game-changing dynamic. The combined forces of the Assad regime and its Iranian and Russian backers are pushing back the rebels in the north and west of the country - a mooted truce appears to have been brokered on Russia's terms and seems unlikely to halt the military push. Stephen Sackur speaks to Bassma Kodmani, a representative of the so-called moderate rebels - is the only realistic choice in Syria Assad, or Islamic State?
Stephen Sackur speaks to Otmar Issing, influential German economist and former board member of the European Central Bank. The European economy just about survived the post-crash era of recession, debt crisis and emergency bailout, but its resilience is about to be tested again. Global growth is sluggish, Europe's banks still look fragile, and the EU is full of political uncertainty. Germany has long been Europe's rock of stability, but for how much longer? Should Europe brace itself for new economic storms?
Does Poland's recently elected conservative, nationalist Government represent a threat to European values of freedom and democracy? The European Commission is investigating that after controversial media and court reforms prompted critics to condemn the 'Putinisation of Poland'. Stephen speaks to Krzysztof Szczerski, the foreign policy adviser to the Polish president. How will a newly assertive Poland play its hand in Europe?
Zeinab Badawi speaks to Kyriakos Mitsotakis - his first major television interview since being elected leader of Greece's main conservative opposition party, New Democracy. European Union leaders are demanding Greece do more to tackle the migrant crisis and insist that Athens pass tough economic reforms if it wants more bailout funds. Does the party Mr Mitsotakis now leads share responsibility for the economic situation that Greece finds itself in?
The al-Qaeda attack on New York city on 9/11 was a stunning blow to America's security and intelligence apparatus. In the 14 years since, the US government has taken extraordinary measures to try to ensure that it could never happen again, but at what cost to fundamental values of liberty and human rights? Stephen Sackur is in New York to talk to Michael Hayden, who was the director of the National Security Agency on 9/11 and later director of the CIA. Did the US lose its moral compass in pursuit of the war on terror?
Last week all 28 leaders of the EU were holed up in buildings in Brussels for hours into the night, trying to strike a deal that would keep the United Kingdom in the European Union. The British people will have their say on what they came up with in a referendum in June. If they vote to leave the EU what will it mean for the UK and for Europe more widely? Sarah Montague is in Brussels to talk to Martin Schulz, president of the European parliament. Could Britain's vote tear the whole Union apart?
World leaders are all grappling with similar problems these days: how to counter terrorism, enhance security and manage national borders, whilst at the same time remaining open to the benefits of globalisation. Janet Napolitano was Homeland security chief for five years under President Obama. She's also a former governor of Arizona: a US border state. How does she think we can make the world a safer place and respect human rights and democratic values?
Sarah Montague speaks to Yazidi rights activist Nadia Murad. When militants from so-called Islamic State entered Nadia's village, they killed all the men; six of her brothers were murdered. She and hundreds of other Yazidi women were taken captive and, in the months that followed, they were passed from one group of men to another and gang raped. She managed to escape, but it is thought that thousands of women are still being held captive. Nadia Murad is here in London campaigning to try to get the world to notice and do something.
American politics currently has more unlikely story lines than anything you might see in New York's Broadway theatre district. The rise of Donald Drumpf is one illustration of the depth of public frustration with politics as usual. Stephen Sackur talks to Anthony Weiner who was a rising star of the Democratic Party in New York. His career was destroyed by not one, but two bizarre sex scandals. Why did he push the self-destruct button?
120,000 migrants and refugees made the sea crossing from Turkey to Greece in the first two months of this year, outstripping the number for the first six months of last year. This happened despite an EU-Turkey deal to stem the flow of desperate people. Ankara feels overburdened and undervalued, while frustration with Turkey is mounting in Brussels, Washington, and Moscow. Selim Yenel is Turkey's EU ambassador. Is his government treading a dangerous path?
For a tiny Central American nation, Panama packs quite an international punch. It has the Canal, a key asset to international shipping and it has a financial sector which specialises in parking the cash of people who want to keep their wealth from prying eyes. During the notorious regime of Manuel Noriega it also developed a reputation for dodgy governance but that was a generation ago. Stephen Sackur speaks to vice president Isabel de Saint Malo de Alvarado. Has Panama cleaned up its act?
How sound are the foundations of the world economy? Eight years after the financial meltdown which rocked global capitalism, the evidence indicates disturbing levels of fragility. HARDtalk speaks to the renowned economist and former governor of the Bank of England Mervyn King, Lord King. He was a key player in efforts to save the banking system from collapse in the dark days of 2008. Why does he believe another crisis is looming?
The European Union and Turkey have drawn up the outline of a deal which might stem the flow of migrants from Turkey to the West. But it will require EU states to take large numbers of Syrian refugees directly from Turkey, in a show of collective European burden sharing which may be hard to deliver. Stephen Sackur speaks to Meglena Kuneva, Bulgaria's deputy prime minister. Her country shares a border with Turkey, but has shown an iron fist toward refugees and migrants. Is Sofia out of step with European values?
For more than five years the words Greece and crisis have been inseparable. The question isn't what crisis, but which crisis. Greeks are simultaneously wrestling with the enormous burden posed by mass migration from Turkey, and the effort to secure a long term fix for their stricken, debt-laden economy. HARDtalk speaks to Greece's minister for labour and social security George Katrougalos - is there light at the end of the two dark tunnels his country is in?
Stephen Sackur talks to one of Europe's top film directors, Susanne Bier, who already has an Oscar to her name and a reputation which brings in offers from the major US studios as well as her native Denmark. How hard has it been to challenge Hollywood stereotypes?
The fallout from the conflict in Syria is threatening to destabilise one of the Middle East's most delicate nations, Lebanon. It hosts around 1.3 million Syrian refugees, more per capita than any other country. This places huge pressure on its people and government, as well as adding more strain on its fragile sectarian mix. HARDtalk speaks to Elias Bou Saab, Lebanon's education minister. What is the impact of the Syrian conflict on Lebanon and can the government cope?
Turkey's biggest-selling newspaper Zaman was forcibly taken over by the government this month and journalists have been locked up for insulting the nation or aiding terrorists. All this in a nation beset with diplomatic, security and humanitarian challenges. Stephen Sackur talks to Sevgi Akarcesme, the editor of the English version of Zaman, who fled Turkey shortly after the state takeover. How close is Turkey to authoritarian rule?
The Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe has its roots in the Cold War - it was a unique platform for dialogue between the west and the Soviet Bloc on matters of security and human rights. But that was then - what about now? Stephen Sackur speaks to Lamberto Zannier, secretary general of the OSCE. In a new era of tension between Moscow and the west, how much use is his organisation?
Nationalist, anti-immigrant parties have made inroads in a host of countries in Europe, for example Hungary, Denmark and Finland. In Finland a right wing populist party, The Finns, is a significant player in a centre right coalition government. Stephen Sackur talks to Timo Soini, their leader and the nation's foreign minister. What happens to populists when they're faced with the compromises that come with sharing power?
Stephen Sackur talks to Fahd al Rasheed, CEO of King Abdullah Economic City in Saudi Arabia. King Abdullah Economic City is a vast construction project on the Red Sea. It is supposed to become one of the world's biggest ports with a population of 2 million - a new global city for Saudi Arabia. But could the kingdom's economic problems see this dream turn to dust?
The suicide bomb attacks in Brussels are unlikely to be the final operation mounted by the so-called Islamic State on European soil. France's President Hollande says Europe is now at war, so what are the most effective weapons at Europe's disposal? Dominic Grieve was the attorney general in David Cameron's first term as British prime minister. He is now chairman of the UK parliament's intelligence and security committee. Can Europe be both secure and free?
From his Oscar-winning score for The Lion King, through 12 Years A Slave to a series of superhero blockbusters including Batman v Superman, Hans Zimmer is, as one director put it, 'quite simply the contemporary composer to work with'. German born and British educated, he never received formal musical training and is a champion of technology. Shaun Ley asks Hans Zimmer whether the technology he so loves is killing the music makers.
Stephen Sackur talks to one of the most powerful voices in Europe's radical left; Yanis Varoufakis. The motor-bike riding former Greek finance minister confronted the powers that be during the darkest days of Greece's debt crisis and lost. Or did he?
Vladimnir Putin's projection of Russian power, from Ukraine to Syria, has sowed seeds of alarm across Europe and America. The United States is beefing up its military presence in Europe in response to what the Americans call Russian aggression. Stephen Sackur asks Russia's ambassador to the European Union, Vladimir Chizhov, can the Kremlin sustain a longterm confrontation with the West?
On the same day that a war crimes tribunal jailed the Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic for 40 years, it also detained a journalist. Florence Hartmann used to work at the tribunal, but her decision to reveal confidential court decisions led to a brief spell in custody. She says the world had a right to know that Serbia had been allowed to keep secret documents which could have helped victims of war crimes win compensation. Critics say Hartmann's actions made it harder for the tribunal to get cooperation in the future. How did her own experience of the horrors of the Bosnian War influence her decision? Did Florence Hartmann put journalistic ambition before justice?
From Washington, HARDtalk's Stephen Sackur talks to congresswoman Donna Edwards. She's a radical voice in the Democratic Party and is now running for a seat in the senate. But is America ready for genuinely left-wing politics?
Stephen Sackur is in Washington DC to talk to a former chairman of the Republican National Committee, Haley Barbour. With every passing week the race for the Republican Party's presidential nomination becomes more bizarre and increasingly bitter. According to one Republican senator the fact that Donald Trump and Ted Cruz are the two leading candidates is proof that the party has gone crazy. What has happened to the Republicans?
In front of an audience in Washington DC, HARDtalk's Stephen Sackur talks to Christine Lagarde, head of the IMF. Could 2016 produce economic shocks big enough to plunge the world economy back into crisis?
The battle for Britain's future, in or out of the European Union, will be settled in June. Advocates of a vote to remain, led by prime minister David Cameron, see economic arguments as their most potent weapon, Brexit, they claim, will come at a crippling cost in terms of jobs, investment and growth. Many business leaders seem to agree but by no means all. Stephen Sackur's guest is Tim Martin, founder and chairman of the pub chain JD Wetherspoon. Could Brexit make economic sense?
Stephen Sackur speaks to Dick Pound, president of the World Anti-Doping Agency from 1999 to 2007 and veteran anti-doping campaigner. The world of international sport is in freefall following a long series of doping allegations. Has there been a failure in the national and international agencies that are supposed to prevent athletes using drugs? What can now be done about it, and should all sporting success be treated with suspicion?
Yet again Pakistan stands accused of playing a double game on terrorism - confronting it at home, while using it as a foreign policy tool in neighbouring Afghanistan and India. After a deadly Taliban attack in Kabul just days ago, the Afghan president demanded that Islamabad stop talking of peace negotiations and instead focus on eliminating Taliban havens inside Pakistan. Stephen Sackur speaks to former Pakistani foreign minister Hina Rabbani Khar and asks if Pakistan is addicted to the double game.
As part of the BBC's identity season, Stephen Sackur talks to Rachel Dolezal, the ostensibly black American human rights activist whose life unravelled last year when it turned out she was the daughter of white parents. So what gives us our sense of who we are? Our upbringing and our communities both have a huge impact - but what about the most basic pillars of identity that we tend to regard as immutable? Is our racial identity something we can define for ourselves?
It is now all but certain that Hillary Clinton will be the Democratic Party candidate in November's US presidential election. After the latest batch of primaries, her lead over Bernie Sanders is insurmountable. But even now the Sanders campaign - radical, anti-establishment and crowdfunded - refuses to admit defeat. HARDtalk talks to Robert Reich, formerly secretary of Labor in Bill Clinton's administration, now a prominent supporter of Senator Sanders. Has the centre of gravity in the Democratic Party shifted?
As political turmoil in Iraq deepens, Stephen Sackur speaks to long-serving government minister Hussein al-Shahristani. Iraq is in meltdown; there's anger on the streets directed at perceived rampant corruption, shambolic public services and the disintegration of the country's oil-dependent economy. All this while the government is trying to quell the insurgency from so-called Islamic State. We ask Hussein al-Shahristani if he is one of the old guard responsible for this mess.
In recent years there has been plenty of heated debate about the relationship between Islam and extremism. Much of the fiercest commentary has come from outside the religion, but increasingly there have been calls for change from within the Muslim community. Stephen Sackur speaks to one of the most controversial voices in that internal debate. Raheel Raza is a Pakistan-born Canadian human rights activist who co-founded the Muslim Reform Movement. How many Muslims are ready to talk her language?
South Africa's president Jacob Zuma is on the ropes. In recent months he's been dealt blow after blow, by the courts, by political opponents, even by erstwhile friends. Only the knee-jerk loyalty of the ANC has saved him from impeachment and disgrace. Stephen Sackur speaks to South Africa's trade and industry minister Rob Davies and asks: if the president won't jump, does he need to be pushed, for the good of South Africa?
Stephen Sackur talks to Vladimir Milov, founder and leader of the Democratic Choice movement. There are few more thankless tasks in world politics than being an opposition leader in Russia. Vladimir Putin's approval ratings continue to defy gravity, even in the teeth of a prolonged economic recession. Kremlin opponents are starved of media airtime, routinely harassed and often locked up, or worse. Maybe democracy isn't a Russian priority?
Does Germany have the will and the means to prevent the EU being undermined by division and fragmentation? The migration crisis and the Greek debt disaster have posed challenges that Angela Merkel is struggling to overcome. Stephen Sackur speaks to Norbert Röttgen, a senior figure in the Christian Democratic party and chairman of the foreign affairs committee in the German parliament. Can German leadership rescue the European project?
Brian Eno is the hugely influential contemporary music maker once styled the 'brainiest guy in pop' - except the word pop doesn't really fit. Briefly a member of Roxy Music in the early seventies, he then went his own way, creating ambient music, developing audio-visual installations and collaborating with a host of big names including Bowie, U2 and Coldplay. His output has been prolific and varied, but what is he? A musician, a composer, or an artist impossible to label?
After the British Labour Party suffered a crushing election defeat a year ago, the shell-shocked party took a dramatic turn to the left. New leader Jeremy Corbyn presented himself as the anti-austerity, anti-war antithesis of Tony Blair's new Labour. So, how is the Corbyn formula working? Stephen Sackur talks to Labour stalwart, shadow foreign secretary Hilary Benn and asks, does Labour present a credible alternative to the Cameron government?
Hardtalk presents a special edition of the programme for the BBC's World on the Move Day as Stephen Sackur speaks to Alfred Dubs, now Lord Dubs, who arrived in Britain as a six-year-old fleeing Nazi persecution. He wants Britain to take more child refugees. What is Europe's responsibility to people fleeing conflict?
Britain with its Magna Carta proudly claims to be the original land of liberty, but how healthy are Britain's liberties today? Stephen Sackur talks to Lord Lester. For the past five decades, he has been one of the country's foremost legal champions of human rights and judicial independence. He has scored some famous victories, so why is he now sounding so alarmed?
Stephen Sackur talks to Libyan politician Mustafa Abushagur, briefly prime minister in 2012, and a backer of the unity government. Over the last five years the Libyan state has been shattered into fragments - now it has a UN backed government committed to restoring unity. But the political scene remains confused and the jihadists from Islamic state pose a continued threat. Is Libya beyond salvation?
Zeinab Badawi talks to Admiral William McRaven, former commander of US special forces who prepared the mission that killed Osama Bin Laden five years ago. Western governments send special forces into conflict zones yet still insist they're not committing 'boots on the ground". President Obama has just committed to sending many more US special forces into Syria. What is their role, and do they operate under different rules from conventional forces?
HARDtalk's Stephen Sackur speaks to Fatih Birol, executive director of the International Energy Agency and one of the most influential observers of the global energy market, about how the price of oil has more than halved over the past two years. Great news if you're an oil consumer but it's alarming if your priority is to wean the world's economy off carbon emitting fossil fuels. Does cheap oil make decarbonising the world economy even more difficult?
Stephen Sackur talks to the president of Costa Rica, Luis Guillermo Solis. They used to call Costa Rica the Switzerland of Latin America; it seemed so much more stable, peaceful and prosperous than its neighbours. But now that image is fading as the country faces a budget crisis, endemic poverty, organised crime and corruption. President Solis came to power promising change, so what's gone wrong?
Stephen Sackur talks to boxer Chris Eubank, former WBO world super-middleweight champion. Boxing is a brutal sport. That was grimly evident in March when British boxer Nick Blackwell almost died after a bout with Chris Eubank Jr. Eubank Sr now manages and mentors his son, despite vowing many years ago to keep his kids away from boxing. Why is boxing still in his blood?
Stephen Sackur speaks to author Margaret Atwood. There are writers of world renown whose reputation rests on one great book. There are others who write more prolifically but always in the same territory. Margaret Atwood's output fizzes with energy, diversity and experimentation. She's best known for her novels The Handmaid's Tale, The Blind Assassin and Oryx and Crake. But she's written poetry, blog fiction and in 2016 a superhero comic book. She has a worldwide legion of fans - what keeps her creative juices flowing?
Stephen Sackur talks to General Sir Richard Barrons, who led the UK's Joint Forces Command and fought in wars from the Balkans to the Middle East and Afghanistan. The military threats facing the Western world have changed dramatically. The West's military doctrine and capabilities have failed to keep up. That's Sir Richard's view, not an outside observer, but until 2016 one of the most senior generals in the British armed forces. How vulnerable is the West in the new balance of global military power?
Stephen Sackur talks to Bassma Kodmani, a member of the negotiating team of the Syrian opposition. After six years of terrible bloodshed, will 2017 see a dramatic shift in the dynamic of the Syria conflict? Aleppo has fallen to the Assad regime and a ceasefire deal brokered by Russia and Turkey is just about holding. Moscow's dominant role in the diplomatic endgame is now undisputed, with Ankara also playing a pivotal role. Is it time for the moderate rebels to accept their de facto defeat?
HARDtalk's Zeinab Badawi speaks to psychologist Jan Kizilhan, a Yazidi Kurd living in Germany who has helped bring over a thousand Yazidi women and girls from camps in Iraq to Germany to start a new life. The so-called Islamic State may be coming under pressure in both Syria and Iraq, but accounts are still emerging of atrocities carried out by them. The minority Yazidi community are one of the most persecuted groups of people in the Middle East. Living mostly in northern Iraq, they have been killed, forced to convert to Islam and the women and girls have been held in sexual slavery. How does he decide who should stay and who should go?
Zeinab Badawi speaks to Angelina Teny from the Sudan People's Liberation Movement In-Opposition. The people of South Sudan have known little peace for many decades, and independence in 2011 has brought them nothing but war, increasing poverty, starvation and suffering. The UN says the current spate of fighting amounts to ethnic cleansing and could spiral into genocide. The main rebel group is headed by former vice president Riek Machar, who is now in exile. His wife Angelina Teny is a senior member of the movement. How much responsibility do they bear for the suffering?
Stephen Sackur speaks to Richard Haass, president of the Council on Foreign Relations. The waiting is almost over - we're about to see what kind of impact President Donald Trump will have on the US and the world beyond. Stephen Sackur focuses here on the international arena, with Richard Haass having been close to the centre of US foreign policy making for three decades and more. Richard Haass was a senior advisor to both Bush presidents and has offered his insights to the president elect too. From big power diplomacy with Russia and China to global trade and climate policy, how different and unpredictable is Trump going to be?
Zeinab Badawi speaks to American journalist Theo Padnos. From October 2012 to August 2014, he was held hostage in Syria by the Nusra Front, which is allied to Al-Qaeda. But he says the most bitter moment of his captivity was realising that it was he himself who was mostly responsible for his ordeal.
Stephen Sackur speaks to one of the world's most renowned contemporary dancers and choreographers, Akram Khan. In every culture on earth, dance is a physical, joyful form of expression and communication. It is, in a way the world's most basic common language. Khan's performances weave together influences from east and west, past and present - so how does he define his dance?
HARDtalk's Stephen Sackur speaks to the influential advocate of Brexit, Conservative MP Dominic Raab. The UK Parliament is about to vote on the Government's plan to trigger Article 50, the formal process which will end in Britain leaving the EU. There's little doubt MPs will give prime minister Theresa May a green light, but much has changed since last June's Brexit referendum. The government has clarified its vision of what Brexit means, while President Donald Trump is shaking up global politics. What place will post-Brexit Britain occupy on the world stage?
Stephen Sackur is in Moscow for a special edition of HARDtalk with Russia's most prominent opposition leader Alexey Navalny. Despite harassment and legal challenges, he says that he will challenge Vladmir Putin in presidential elections which are scheduled for 2018. But will his defiance cost him dear?
Stephen Sackur is in Moscow for a special edition of the programme with Dmitry Peskov, spokesman for Russian president Vladimir Putin. US intelligence chiefs have accused the Kremlin of authorising a covert effort to influence the presidential election in favour of Donald Trump, but what's the truth behind the swirl of allegations? And what can we expect from Russia-US relations now?
Zeinab Badawi speaks to Ursula Von Der Leyen, Germany's defence minister, from the World Economic Forum in Davos. She is also deputy chairman of chancellor Angela Merkel's CDU Party. Zeinab asks if the arrival of Donald Trump combined with Brexit mark a shift in power away from Europe and mark the beginning of a new global status quo?
HARDtalk's Zeinab Badawi speaks to one of delegates at the annual World Economic Forum in Davos, the Nigerian agriculture minister Audu Ogbeh. The Nigerian government, in power for eighteen months, had raised hopes that it would reform the country. Instead, Nigeria has been engulfed by the worst recession in 20 years and continuous militant attacks. Why can't this oil-rich nation with plenty of agricultural land enjoy greater stability and prosperity?
Zeinab Badawi speaks to humanitarian activist and actor Forest Whitaker. One role for which he won numerous accolades, including an Oscar for best actor, was his portrayal of the Ugandan dictator Idi Amin in The Last King of Scotland. But how far is he concerned that his portrayal of Idi Amin played into racist stereotypes of Africans and their continent?
Stephen Sackur is in Brussels to speak to Nato secretary general Jens Stoltenberg. He's chief of an alliance of 28 nations that's supposed to work by consensus, but his job just got a whole lot harder. Donald Trump is now in charge of Nato's dominant member, the United States, and he's been very public with his grave doubts about Nato's future. Will the ascent of Trump hasten the demise of Nato?
Stephen Sackur speaks to Belgium's former prime minister and current MEP Guy Verhofstadt, an EU politician who'll be at the heart of the complex negotiations over a Brexit deal. He has warned Britain not to expect special treatment as it heads for the exit, but how confrontational is he prepared to be?
Stephen Sackur speaks to Petula Clark, a much-loved child performer during the Second World War. Getting to the top in showbusiness is hard, but staying there is much, much harder; few stars can match the sustained success in music, film and theatre that Clark has enjoyed. She went on to have a host of hits in the UK, France, the US and pretty much everywhere else. She has worked with legendary names from Fred Astaire to Serge Gainsbourg, and continues to sing and tour. So what makes her tick?
Stephen Sackur speaks to former Mexico president Vicente Fox, whose strongly worded Twitter responses to Donald Trump have caused a storm on social media. The new US president has wasted little time delivering on his signature campaign promises. He has already ordered the construction of the contentious wall along the US-Mexican border. The US congress will fund it but, ultimately, Mr Trump says, Mexico must pay for it. Can Mexico afford to provoke the new US administration?
Stephen Sackur speaks to Myron Ebell, who led president Trump's transition team on environment policy and has long been an advocate of radical reform of the federal Environmental Protection Agency. The Trump administration seems intent on a radical reset of America's energy and environment policies, the implications of which will have a profound effect on everything from fossil fuel production to climate change policy. In America's new politics will the interests of big business consistently overshadow environmental concerns?
Stephen Sackur speaks to Jens Spahn, a rising star in chancellor Merkel's CDU. With so much focus on America's new president it's easy to forget Europe is facing its own period of prolonged uncertainty. Brexit negotiations are about to begin, the Greek debt crisis is going through another convulsion and it is a year of key elections - most particularly in the continent's dominant economy, Germany. Is German politics going to reshape Europe?
Stephen Sackur speaks to John Madden, an Oscar-winning director whose latest film is set in the murky world of Washington politics. The Oscars are upon us and as ever Hollywood is awash with speculation, spin and self-importance. But this year, with Donald Trump in the White House and a deeply divided America, real life has thrown up a melodrama which makes the movies look tame. Is Hollywood accurately reflecting the times we're living in?
Stephen Sackur speaks to Irish sports journalist David Walsh, who was convinced that cycling's untouchable champion Lance Armstrong was a drugs cheat long before the sport revealed the scale of his deceit. Armstrong is history of course, but doping continues to devalue elite sport; maybe it is a problem no amount of truth-telling journalism can fix. It is the job of the journalist to speak truth to power, but can defying conventional wisdom and the powers that be often mean the profession can be a lonely place for many?
Sarah Montague speaks to Tzipi Livni, the joint leader of the Zionist Union opposition in Israel's parliament and a former foreign minister. For decades many have assumed that the only way there will be peace in the Middle East is when the Palestinians have their own state. But President Trump has made it clear that America is no longer wedded to the idea, whilst Tzipi Livni has in the past stated her support for 'two states for two peoples'. Could one state, where Jews, Muslims and Christians are all treated equally, have a greater chance of delivering peace?
Zeinab Badawi speaks to Iranian academic Mohammed Marandi from Tehran, a staunch supporter of the leadership in Iran. Amidst his pronouncements on foreign policy Donald Trump has ratcheted up the rhetoric on Iran, calling the nuclear agreement with Tehran the 'worst deal ever negotiated'. He has expanded US sanctions on Iran after it tested a missile in January. What is the Iranians' response to criticisms from Trump over its missile testing, and is it fuelling terror and conflicts in the Middle East?
In an interview recorded in 2004, HARDtalk's Tim Sebastian spoke to Norma McCorvey, who died days ago in the United States. She was better known by the legal pseudonym 'Jane Roe' in the landmark American lawsuit Roe v. Wade in 1973. The case ruling challenged the criminal abortion laws in Texas that ruled abortion was unconstitutional, except in cases where the mother's life was in danger. Later, McCorvey's views on abortion changed substantially after turning to the Roman Catholic faith and becoming an activist in the pro-life movement. So should a change in one's faith be a deciding factor in the overturning of a monumental Supreme Court ruling?
Stephen Sacker speaks to Donald Verrilli, US solicitor general under Barack Obama. The Trump presidency promises to be a fascinating test of the resilience of the system of government crafted by America's founding fathers. The new president has already criticised the courts for utilising their authority in blocking the so-called travel ban, with a new ban coming into effect imminently. Does the constitution ensure that the White House is always subject to, and not above, the law?
Stephen Sackur is in Singapore for an exclusive interview with prime minister Lee Hsien Loong. Singapore represents one of the great economic success stories of the last fifty years, but clouds are gathering on its horizon; President Trump is challenging assumptions about free trade and traditional security alliances in Asia. Is the much-vaunted Singapore model under threat?
Stephen Sackur speaks to Husam Zomlot, a senior adviser to the Palestinian Authority leader Mahmoud Abbas. Does the Trump era signal the end for the Palestinian dream of statehood?
Stephen Sackur speaks to Arseniy Yatsenyuk, former prime minister of Ukraine. After three years of fighting, 10,000 dead and hundreds of thousands displaced, is it time for Ukraine's leaders to acknowledge they're in a war they cannot win? Geopolitics, economics and public sentiment are working in Kiev's favour. Yatsenyuk was Ukraine's prime minister until a year ago - he described his own premiership as a kamikaze mission. How does his nation avoid self-destruction?
Zeinab Badawi speaks to the Congolese businessman and politician Moïse Katumbi. The president of the Democratic Republic of Congo Joseph Kabila has been in power for sixteen years and should have stood down at elections that were due in November 2016. However, the elections are yet to be held - has the opposition been out-manoeuvred by President Kabila?
Stephen Sackur speaks to Joice Mujuru, former vice president of Zimbabwe. President Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe is 93 years old. His wife recently suggested he could win re-election as a corpse, but failing that Zimbabwe needs to grapple with the issue of the succession. Who will follow Mugabe? Joice Mujuru is his former vice-president and one-time heir apparent. She broke away from the ruling party two years ago and now leads her own opposition party, but how tainted is she by her long association with Robert Mugabe?
Stephen Sackur speaks to Joshua Wong, a leader of the so-called umbrella pro-democracy protests that swept Hong Kong in 2014. Later this month a new chief executive will be voted into office in Hong Kong. Elected by members of the territory's economic and political elite and tied closely to the Beijing government, activists are calling for universal suffrage in the territory instead. Has Beijing managed to neutralise Hong Kong's youthful rebels?
Zeinab Badawi speaks to one of the most popular politicians in contemporary American history - Bob Graham. He has never lost an election and has served as a state legislator, Florida governor, and three time Senator in the US Senate. He hails from the progressive, liberal wing of the Democrat party. But with Donald Trump in the White House and the Republicans controlling Capitol Hill, has his type of politics gone out of fashion?
Sarah Montague speaks to Vladimir Kara-Murza, vice-chairman of the pro-democracy movement Open Russia. He was rushed to hospital in Moscow when his organs started failing and says he knew immediately what was happening because the same thing happened two years previously. Both times, he claims, he was the victim of deliberate poisoning. He also claims he was targeted because of his opposition to President Putin and the Russian government. After his stay in Washington, where he is currently recovering, he intends to go back to Moscow. So does he still fear for his life?
Sarah Montague speaks to Zimbabwe's tourism minister Walter Mzembi. His job is to persuade people to holiday in a country where doctors, nurses and teachers have all been on strike, half the rural population face starvation and the economy is in the grip of a major currency crisis. He has worked alongside President Mugabe for the last decade but, at the age of 93 and with plans to stand in elections next year, isn't it time for the oldest head of state to go.
Sarah Montague speaks to former Labour minister, Harriet Harman. For much of her political life she has been accused of being a 'humourless feminist' but she has been effective, she is the politician behind the Equality Act, the minimum wage, the guarantee of a minimum income for pensioners, longer maternity leave, and laws on domestic violence. In the House of Commons almost half of Labour seats are filled with women thanks to her changes. She's the only woman who has come near to leading the party. But even she ruled it out. Why? Was it the party's fault? Or hers?
Zeinab Badawi speaks to Selin Sayek Böke, Turkish opposition MP and deputy leader for the Republican People's Party the CHP. In mid-April Turks vote in a referendum to change the country's constitution and give the president more powers. Polls suggest it's a tight race, so the votes of Turkish citizens living in Europe could help swing the result. But government ministers have been prevented from campaigning in some European countries provoking a major diplomatic row. The CHP is opposed to the referendum claiming it would give President Erdogan too much power. But do they have an alternative vision for Turkey that can challenge the popularity of the ruling AK Party?
Zeinab Badawi is in Florida to speak to 98-year-old Ben Ferencz, the last surviving prosecutor at the Nuremberg trials. He also helped liberate the death camps of Europe when he was serving in the US military. Does Ferencz believe the Nuremberg trials have made genocide and crimes against humanity less likely to be committed in the world of today?
Zeinab Badawi speaks to James Mitchell, an American psychologist who helped draw up and carry out the CIA's enhanced interrogation programme after the September 11 attacks. Mitchell personally interrogated some of the top terrorist suspects using the programme's techniques, including waterboarding. His critics label him a torturer, though he says he has nothing to apologise for and that what he did was harsh, though legal and necessary.
HARDtalk celebrates twenty years of interviews with a special edition of the programme in front of an audience at the BBC Radio Theatre in London. Stephen Sackur's guest for this birthday show is Sir Ian McKellen. Whether you think of him as Richard III or Gandalf, he's won hearts and accolades around the world - not just for five decades of work on stage and screen, but also for his passionate public advocacy, particularly on the issue of gay rights.
To celebrate the 20 years since HARDtalk began, this special programme talks to Zeinab Badawi, Stephen Sackur, Tim Sebastian and Sarah Montague about what HARDtalk has meant to them. They look back at the highs and the lows, how guests reacted to being on the show and ponder which interviews stand the test of time.
Sarah Montague speaks to Italy's under-secretary for European affairs, Sandro Gozi. The EU seems in greater trouble than ever before and not just because of Brexit. Even founding members of the club - countries like Italy - are unhappy about the direction that it is headed in its 60th year. The Italian economy has always struggled within the confines of the euro. Additionally, it wants its fellow members to help share the burden of the half a million migrants who have arrived on its shores over the past three years. How does the EU need to change if it is to win over the next generation of Italians?
Celebrating 20 years of HARDtalk, current and former presenters Zeinab Badawi, Stephen Sackur, Tim Sebastian and Sarah Montague talk about what the programme means in today's news climate. There is a look back at special moments on the programme, including footage that never made it to air.
HARDtalk celebrates 20th anniversary with a repeat of an interview first broadcast in 2004. The My Lai Massacre in Vietnam saw American soldiers kill defenceless women and children in a shameful episode in American military history. Hugh Thompson was a helicopter pilot who went to the rescue of the trapped villagers, ordering his gun crew to train their guns on their fellow soldiers in an effort to halt the slaughter. Tim Sebastian asks why professional troops from democratic countries commit barbarous acts and what lessons can be learned from Thompson's experience.
Though foreign journalists are routinely banned from the oil-rich country, Stephen Sackur presents a special edition of HARDtalk on the road in Venezuela. Anti-government demonstrations have swept across Venezuela in recent days as anger over the country's economic and political crisis has fuelled a wave of protests. Shortages of food and other basic supplies, and an inflation rate thought to have topped 1000%, have left more than eighty per cent of Venezuelans living in poverty. Opposition leaders have accused President Nicolas Maduro of mounting a coup against democracy after he tried and failed to abolish the powers of the opposition-controlled National Assembly. The socialist president claims the United States and other western powers are colluding with domestic enemies of the socialist revolution.
Stephen Sackur talks to Rima Khalaf who ran the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia. She commissioned a report which accused Israel of systematically implementing apartheid policies and promptly resigned from her UN post when the secretary general refused to accept the work. What were her motives?
Stephen Sackur talks to writer Pascal Bruckner and asks, is something rotten in the Republic of France? As the country prepares to elect a new president, polls suggest record levels of apathy and disillusion amongst French voters. A spate of terror attacks has sown insecurity and sparked a heated debate about immigration, Islam and France's identity. Is France living through an age of decline?
Stephen Sackur speaks to the General Bishop of the Coptic Church in the UK, Bishop Angaelos. In just a few days from now, Pope Francis will fly to Egypt to offer his personal support to Egypt's Coptic Christians. He will be met by a community filled with apprehension, targeted by jihadist extremists and subject to persistent discrimination and sectarian violence. Elsewhere in Syria and Iraq, the plight of Christians is even worse. Do Christians have any future at all in the Middle East?
Sarah Montague speaks to Vladimir Chizhov, Russia's ambassador to the EU. Just months ago, Russia was congratulating President Trump on his inauguration and expressing hope that both countries would take their interaction 'to a whole new level'. Now, Moscow's relations with the US and the West are so bad that the Russian prime minister Medvedev talks of them as 'ruined'. Can Russia and the West mend their relationship before it's too late?
HARDtalk celebrates its 20th anniversary with a repeat of one of its classic interviews. In 1999 Tim Sebastian sat down with singer and activist Nina Simone. With her vocal performances and civil rights activism, she built a fearsome reputation as someone not to be messed with. She worked with Martin Luther King and once even shot at someone who threatened to cheat her in a business deal. But did she use music as a political weapon?
Relations between the United States and North Korea have long been difficult. The recent toe-to-toe confrontation between Donald Trump and Kim Jong UN raised fears of a conflagration on the Korean Peninsula. Stephen Sackur speaks to Kenneth Bae, an American Christian missionary of Korean descent who was arrested inside North Korea and spent two years in a Pyongyang prison. What does his experience tell us about the world's most secretive country?
Sarah Montague talks to musician Gene Simmons. There aren't many people who are recognisable only from their make-up, but mention a zigzag of black flames around the eyes, painted on a white face, and millions of people around the world will know you are talking about the frontman of the rock band Kiss. Take away the makeup and you have Gene Simmons, a man so canny about business that he realised he could make more money from marketing the Kiss brand than from selling records. His famously long tongue has also proved a loose one. He is frequently invited on chat shows and revels in scandalising his critics. But is that also all part of the act?
German Chancellor Angela Merkel's coalition deal with the Social Democrats looks fragile, with Germany's biggest opposition party now the right wing Alternative for Germany Party. Peter Boehringer is an AfD MP and newly elected chairman of the influential Parliamentary Budget Committee. How will the AfD seek to use its expanded influence?
HARDTalk is in Jerusalem, an ancient city which arguably stirs more passion, argument and hostility than any other. Israel claims all of it as its eternal, undivided capital - a claim at odds with international law and much world opinion, but boosted by President Trump's decision to move the US embassy there. Stephen Sackur talks to Jerusalem's two term mayor Nir Barkat. Can Israel conclusively win the struggle for Jerusalem?
Turkey's president Erdogan says the murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi was a savage crime meticulously planned in Riyadh. He wants all those responsible to stand trial in Turkey. As the pressure on the house of Saud mounts, will the kingdom's partners in the west take punitive action? Stephen Sackur speaks to Alan Duncan, minister of state in the UK Foreign Office. Has the time come for Britain to stop lucrative arms exports to Saudi Arabia?
Stephen Sackur speaks to writer Lee Child. Storytelling is one of the most basic human impulses. But few are the storytellers who can draw in millions of readers all over the world, fewer still those who can do it repeatedly. Lee Child's first thriller featuring former military policeman Jack Reacher was published 21 years ago. His latest is his twenty third and his book sales have topped one hundred million. Fans speculate endlessly about what drives Jack Reacher, but what drives Lee Child?
Stephen Sackur speaks to musician Mark Knopfler. In the pantheon of rock 'n' roll greats, a special place is reserved for guitar virtuosos - think Eric Clapton, Jimmy Page or Mark Knopfler, frontman of Dire Straits, one of the biggest bands in the world in the 80s and 90s. Unlike so many other rock stars, Knopfler never fully embraced the world of excess and celebrity. He forged a solo career writing, performing and working with the likes of Bob Dylan, Tina Turner and Emmylou Harris. A low-key, grounded rock legend - whoever heard of such a thing?
Stephen Sackur looks back at some of the programme's stand-out interviews of 2018, from presidents and world leaders to campaigners from the #MeToo movement.
Stephen Sackur speaks to British Conservative MP and former soldier Tobias Ellwood. Two decades after they were expelled from Kabul the hard-line Islamists are back. US and British troops are scrambling to complete a humiliating evacuation. It looks like an historic defeat for western powers. How damaging could the consequences be?
Stephen Sackur speaks to Kamila Sidiqi, a leading Afghan women's rights campaigner, entrepreneur and government adviser under President Ghani. She escaped from Kabul as the Taliban took over. Is her cause now lost and who is to blame?
Stephen Sackur speaks to Ethiopia's attorney general Gedion Timothewos. The conflict between government forces and Tigrayan rebels has cost thousands of lives and revived the spectre of famine - is there a way to avert catastrophe?
Stephen Sackur speaks to Paula Kahumbu, CEO for WildlifeDirect, Kenya. Her campaign to protect elephants and other endangered species asks Kenyans to prioritise protection of the country's wild spaces - is it working?
The chaotic evacuation operation still underway at Kabul airport has put a harsh spotlight on two decades of US and Nato military commitment in Afghanistan. It looks and feels like a strategic defeat but what does it tell us about the wider geopolitical balance of power? Stephen Sackur speaks to Russia's ambassador to the UK, Andrei Kelin. Is this reverse for the US and her allies a positive for Russia?
Stephen Sackur speaks to artist and sculptor Maggi Hambling. Her work has won international acclaim and sometimes stirred controversy, how has her creative vision evolved over the last six decades?
Stephen Sackur speaks to Omar Zakhilwal, former finance minister of Afghanistan who has been involved in talks with the Taliban. Will pragmatism or zealotry prevail as the Taliban grapple with the realities of ruling a broken country?
Stephen Sackur speaks to Lindsey Graham, the veteran US senator for South Carolina and one of the Republican Party's most outspoken voices on foreign policy. President Biden's decision to withdraw American troops from Afghanistan has drawn criticism at home and abroad. But to what extent can the chaotic scenes in Kabul be blamed on the 2020 deal struck with the Taliban by President Trump?
The Covid-19 pandemic and emerging superpower rivalries have presented the EU with troubling questions. Stephen Sackur speaks to Spain's deputy prime minister and economy minister Nadia Calviño. Is Europe too inward-looking and too fragmented to shape the 21st century?
Stephen Sackur speaks to one of the world's great modern-day explorers, Robin Hanbury-Tenison. He committed himself to the protection of indigenous people and their lands. Have his efforts made a difference?
Stephen Sackur speaks to Nicaraguan journalist and former-revolutionary Carlos Fernando Chamorro. He is currently in exile as President Daniel Ortega intensifies his crackdown on dissent. Why has Nicaragua slumped back into authoritarianism?
In an exclusive interview for HARDtalk as part of the BBC's 100 Women season, Zeinab Badawi speaks to supermodel Naomi Campbell.
Republicans in Texas have managed to ban abortion in almost all cases in their state. Anyone performing, aiding or abetting the termination of a pregnancy after roughly six weeks can be sued in court. The implications are enormous, not just in Texas but across the US. And it points to a wider phenomenon. Ideological conservatives are using state activism to confront federal power. Stephen Sackur speaks to Texas Republican State Senator Bryan Hughes. Has a new front opened up in America's culture wars?
Stephen Sackur speaks to the acclaimed British cinematographer Sir Roger Deakins. He had made a long list of films and won two Oscars for the films 1917 and Bladerunner 2049. But is technology, from CGI to the ubiquitous camera phone changing everything we thought we knew about making films?
Stephen Sackur speaks to renowned British Indian musician and composer Nitin Sawhney. From a childhood disfigured by racism to the embrace of the UK's cultural elite, what are the common threads in his remarkable career?
Zeinab Badawi speaks to Rafael Grossi, director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, amid concern about renewed tensions over Iran’s nuclear programme. Tehran insists that it is only developing nuclear power for civilian purposes, but now Israel has warned that it crosses all 'red lines' and that it won’t allow Iran to acquire nuclear weapons. This follows warnings by Washington and the EU that Iran must allow international weapons inspectors full access to its workshops. Has the IAEA’s inspection programme failed and dashed all hopes of a diplomatic solution to this crisis?
The crisis over a lack of supplies in the UK triggered by a shortage of truck drivers has reignited the debate about the consequences of Brexit. This comes on top of concerns about the impact on trade between Great Britain and Northern Ireland and what it means for the historic peace agreement there. Zeinab Badawi speaks to Michel Barnier, who was the EU's chief Brexit negotiator and has declared himself a centre-right candidate for the presidential elections in France next year. How does he see the fallout from Brexit and why does he think he is fit to be the next president of France?
Seventy five years on from the verdict of the Nuremberg trials where some of the most senior Nazis were sentenced to death for war crimes, HARDtalk repeats its 2017 interview with the son of one of the guilty men. Stephen Sackur interviews to Niklas Frank, a journalist and writer but also the son of Hans Frank, the brutal Nazi Governor of Poland from 1939 to 1945. He was convicted of war crimes and executed for the major role he played in the deaths of millions of Jews and Poles during the Second World War. Niklas Frank tells Stephen Sackur how he's coped with the crimes of his father and why he will not let his fellow Germans forget the worst aspects of the Nazi era.
Seventy-five years after the Nuremberg Military Tribunals convicted some of the most senior Nazis of war crimes and crimes against humanity, HARDtalk repeats its 2017 interview with the last surviving prosecutor from the trials, Ben Ferencz. He also helped liberate the death camps of Europe when he was serving in the US military. Does he believe the Nuremberg trials have made genocide and crimes against humanity less likely to be committed in the world today?
From Covid to climate change, governments around the world face challenges which demand modifications of human behaviour. When it comes to getting people to do things differently, what works best: the carrot of persuasion, or the stick of coercion? Stephen Sackur speaks to Richard Thaler, the world renowned economist and behavioural scientist who believes a nudge often works better than a shove when change is needed. Does that hold good when the problems we face become urgent and existential?
Stephen Sackur speaks to Richard Deverell, the director of Kew Gardens. He has big ambitions to put Kew, which is home to one of the world’s largest collections of living plants, at the centre of the fight to avert environmental catastrophe. But how realistic is that?
Stephen Sackur speaks to Russia's Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov. Moscow is set to be a major beneficiary of the extraordinary spike in fossil fuel energy prices - does that mean Moscow will flex its muscle more aggressively on the world stage?
Stephen Sackur speaks to writer and comedian David Baddiel, who has a gift for finding the funny in some of the darkest corners of the human psyche. Now he is taking on our often toxic online culture. Is comedy becoming a casualty of the culture wars?
Stephen Sackur speaks to Adela Raz, still officially Afghanistan's ambassador to the United States, though the Taliban disowns her and the Americans ignore her. In the face of a looming humanitarian catastrophe, is it time for the outside world to come to terms with Afghanistan's new rulers?
75 years ago the first Nuremberg trial of Nazi war criminals came to an end. The groundbreaking international tribunal handed down 12 death sentences. In the years that followed, there were hopes that an evolving mechanism of international justice would deter and punish further heinous acts of mass murder and genocide. Stephen Sackur speaks to international lawyer and author Philippe Sands. 75 years on from Nuremberg, is the world any better at delivering justice for the worst of crimes?
Stephen Sackur speaks to brain surgeon Henry Marsh whose book Do No Harm became a bestseller. Now he is confronting his own advanced cancer and lobbying for the legalisation of assisted dying for the terminally ill. Should death ever be the desired outcome for a doctor?
Stephen Sackur speaks to Australian billionaire mining magnate Andrew Forrest, who is using a chunk of his fortune to push a green, hydrogen-based energy solution. In the run-up to the Glasgow climate change summit, his conversion to decarbonisation is timely but is it credible?
Stephen Sackur speaks to acclaimed novelist and playwright Ariel Dorfman. His life has been shaped by political upheaval and exile. He fled Chile after General Pinochet seized power in 1973 and his books were banned and burned. Dorfman's work explores humankind's capacity for sin and salvation. Do we have it in us to overcome our worst instincts?
Stephen Sackur speaks to French finance minister Bruno Le Maire. France is in recovery mode after the damaging impact of Covid but is struggling to deliver on long promised economic reform. With a presidential election looming, is France looking for a new direction?
HARDtalk Stephen Sackur speaks to Fatih Birol, the executive director of the International Energy Agency, who believes greenhouse gas emissions can effectively be eliminated within a generation. But is he ignoring the political realities he will encounter at the COP26 summit in Glasgow?
Kosovo has enjoyed independent statehood for 13 years but almost half the world does not recognise it. Stephen Sackur speaks to prime minister Albin Kurti, who has had a turbulent career. He has been a political prisoner, he launched five tear gas attacks on his own parliament and he has a vision of Kosovo unifying with Albania. Is he a source of instability in the Balkans?
The Trump presidency challenged many public officials to make a choice - obey directives from the White House against their better judgment - or take a stand and face the wrath of the pro-Trump movement. Fiona Hill, former Russia adviser at the White House, took a stand. She was a key witness in the president's first impeachment and has since had time to reflect on what Trump meant for America and its geopolitical standing.
Stephen Sackur speaks to the acclaimed British director Mike Leigh. For five decades he has told stories about believable characters facing very human dilemmas. They're painstakingly put together and not always easy to watch. Is the demand for his kind of artistic vision dwindling?
Of all the football-mad cities in the world, few can compete with Manchester - home to two of the world's richest clubs, United and City. Football's global appeal cannot disguise the problems facing the game. Some fans say the sport is being ruined by financial greed, and racism is yet to be rooted out. Stephen Sackur speaks to former Manchester United and France star Patrice Evra. He has just done something most footballers never do by revealing his deep emotional scars. What made him do it?
Zeinab Badawi speaks to the deputy foreign minister of Poland Pawel Jablonski. In the light of the latest tensions between Warsaw and the EU, could Poland, in time, follow Britain's lead and exit the EU?
Stephen Sackur is in south Bronx, New York, to speak to rising star of the Democratic Party Ritchie Torres. He is the first gay black man elected to congress and a vocal champion for the poorest district in the country. Is America as a whole ready to embrace progressive politics?
Stephen Sackur talks to George Takei, forever famous as Lieutenant Sulu in Star Trek. Interned as a child in the United States for being of Japanese origin, he now campaigns for gay and immigrant rights. Do the values of Star Trek still resonate?
Stephen Sackur speaks to influential Republican activist Ryan Girdusky who is on the front line of America's culture wars. Founder of political action committee 1776 Project, he wants to end what he says is the brainwashing of US school children about race. What does it say about the US, that the classroom is a new political battleground?
Stephen Sackur interviews Hungarian opposition leader Péter Márki-Zay who hopes to unseat Hungary's prime minister, Viktor Orban, in the elections next spring. Can this political novice really topple Europe's most controversial leader?
Stephen Sackur speaks to the Indian investigative journalist Rana Ayyub whose determination to dig deep into the past and present of India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi has prompted abuse, intimidation and legal action. What does her case say about the health of India's democracy?
Stephen Sackur speaks to Nicolai Tangen, head of Norway's sovereign wealth fund - worth more than $1.4 trillion, it's the biggest in the world. Fossil fuels have given Norwegians vast wealth. Are they now ready to wean themselves off oil and gas?
Stephen Sackur speaks to Republican congressman Ken Buck, a libertarian on issues of gun control and Covid, but a supporter of breaking up America's big tech giants. Do America's conservatives have a coherent world view and is Donald Trump still at the heart of it?
Stephen Sackur is in New York to speak to writer Paul Auster, whose novels and screenplays reflect the vibrant, complex cultural melting pot that is New York city. If America is experiencing a culture war, is he ready to join the fight?
Stephen Sackur speaks with Moeed Yusuf, National Security Advisor of Pakistan. The Taliban is back in power in neighbouring Afghanistan. US and NATO forces are gone. Pakistan sees opportunities in this new reality but are there grave dangers too?
When it comes to the global response to the climate change emergency, it pays to differentiate between words and deeds. At the Cop26 summit in Glasgow the chorus of concern from world leaders was deafening, but tough decisions on deeper emissions cuts were put off until next year. Stephen Sackur speaks to US special envoy for climate John Kerry. His mission remains to restore American leadership on the biggest existential challenge facing our planet. Is that mission impossible?
Stephen Sackur speaks to author and journalist Sathnam Sanghera whose bestselling book Empireland takes a critical look at Britain's imperial past. Confronting truth means challenging cultural norms. Can it be done without opening another front in the culture wars?
Stephen Sackur speaks to Brazil's former foreign minister Ernesto Araújo who was an arch critic of global efforts to contain Covid, calling them communistic. Brazil's government now stands accused of failing to protect its people. Is that fair?
Stephen Sackur is in New York to speak to astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson. He shares his fascination with space with millions of Americans, but here on earth science is under pressure - from Covid to climate change. Is trust in science dwindling?
