Hardtalk interviews the world's leading politicians, thinkers and cultural figures. In an in-depth, hard-hitting, half-hour discussion, Stephen Sackur talks to some of the most prominent people from around the world. Broadcast on the BBC World Service on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.
Episodes available:
Indefinitely 
Mon, 17 Jun 13
Duration:
24 mins
Stephen Sackur talks to Martin Amis. Early in his writing career he was pigeonholed 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.
Fri, 14 Jun 13
Duration:
24 mins
HardTalk's Shaun Ley talks to Ivo Daalder, US Permanent Representative to NATO, at the organisation's headquarters in Brussels. The Alliance was formed to defend western Europe against the Soviet Union, with the United States an enthusiastic member. But today there are increasing divions over money and philosophy. Is it time for this 64 year old veteran security organisation to be pensioned off?
Wed, 12 Jun 13
Duration:
24 mins
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?
Mon, 10 Jun 13
Duration:
24 mins
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?
Fri, 7 Jun 13
Duration:
24 mins
On HARDtalk, Stephen Sackur talks to Pierre Krähenbühl - Director of Operations, International Committee of the Red Cross. The 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. Is the organisation being overwhelmed by the danger and complexity of modern conflict?
Wed, 5 Jun 13
Duration:
24 mins
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. Zeinab Badawi asks if he is scaremongering or if his fears are valid.
Mon, 3 Jun 13
Duration:
24 mins
Sarah Montague talks to Lindiwe Mazibuko on HARDtalk. She's the Parliamentary Leader of South Africa's Democratic Alliance Party. It's the biggest opposition party in South Africa, but still a long way behind the ruling ANC which has dominated politics in that country since the end of apartheid in 1994. How can the Democratic Alliance convince black South Africans that it's not just a party for wealthy white people?
Fri, 31 May 13
Duration:
24 mins
On HARDtalk, Stephen Sackur speaks to Harold Koh was the legal adviser to the US State Department 2009-13. 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’. Did President Obama betray America's highest ideals in the name of national security?
Wed, 29 May 13
Duration:
24 mins
Zeinab Badawi presents this special edition of HardTalk from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The US Secretary of State John Kerry, takes questions from a live audience on a wide range of areas of American foreign policy.
Fri, 24 May 13
Duration:
24 mins
On Hardtalk, Stephen Sackur talks to the Croatian Prime Minister, Zoran Milanovic. On July 1st, Croatia will be the twenty eighth and newest member of the European Union. Zoran Milanović 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?
Wed, 22 May 13
Duration:
24 mins
On HARDtalk, Stephen Sackur talks to Sir Alan Parker, 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?
Fri, 17 May 13
Duration:
24 mins
On Hardtalk, Stephen Sackur talks to Alan Johnson MP – UK Home Secretary 2009 – 2010. 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?
Wed, 15 May 13
Duration:
24 mins
Stephen Sackur talks to Thomas Drake, a former senior executive at the highly-secretive National Security Agency in the US. His life changed when he decided to become a whistle-blower and leak to the media his concerns about the way in which the NSA was developing its surveillance strategy inside the United States. He became the subject of a long-running investigation which threatened to see him locked up for much of the rest of his life. His home was raided, his computers analysed, and he became a key figure in a wider Obama Administration drive to crackdown on leakers within the national security system. For Thomas Drake that meant years of anguish and uncertainty; but did he deserve it?
Fri, 10 May 13
Duration:
24 mins
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?
Wed, 8 May 13
Duration:
24 mins
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?
Fri, 3 May 13
Duration:
24 mins
On HARDtalk, Stephen Sackur talks to the Chairman of the BBC Trust, Chris Patten. Almost three hundred million people across the world consume BBC content every week. But does the corporation deserve your trust? After going through a prolonged internal crisis marked by serious internal failings, HARDtalk speaks to the ultimate overseer of the BBC. Lord Patten insists it's the best broadcaster in the world. Stephen Sackur asks if you should believe him.
Wed, 1 May 13
Duration:
24 mins
On HARDtalk, Stephen Sackur talks to Lord Browne, who 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 worldâs 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?
Mon, 29 Apr 13
Duration:
24 mins
On HARDtalk, Stephen Sackur talks to Jonathan Miller. He 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’s never seemed entirely at ease with his country or its culture.
Fri, 26 Apr 13
Duration:
24 mins
On Hardtalk, Stephen Sackur talks to Ioannis Kasoulides, the Foreign Minister of Cyprus. Cyprus is enduring the agonies of a financial and economic meltdown. But here's the really bad news for the Cypriot people - according to international economists their darkest days have yet to come. The island's economy is about to shrink dramatically, overseas investors are fleeing and the current Government is struggling to come up with a survival strategy. Who and what will save Cyprus?
Wed, 24 Apr 13
Duration:
24 mins
On HARDtalk, Stephen Sackur talks to Carlos Gutierrez - US Secretary of Commerce 2005 – 2009. 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?
Mon, 22 Apr 13
Duration:
24 mins
HARDtalk's Stephen Sackur travels to the headquarters of the International Monetary Fund in Washington DC to speak to its managing director, Christine Lagarde. The challenge right now, she says, is to move from a fragmented, 3 speed world economy to a full speed economy. It's a neat slogan, but how is it to be done?
Fri, 19 Apr 13
Duration:
24 mins
Shaun Ley talks to Mathieu Kassovitz, the French actor and director. 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?
Wed, 17 Apr 13
Duration:
24 mins
On Hardtalk, Shaun Ley talks to Germany's Deputy Finance Minister, Steffen Kampeter. His boss, 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 this autumn's federal election. Just how big a price is Germany prepared to pay to save the euro-project, and its own reputation?
Mon, 15 Apr 13
Duration:
24 mins
Stephen Sackur talks to one of Britain's most successful actors, Jeremy Irons. Best known for his portrayal of troubled, brooding upper class men, he is now made a film about the mountains of toxic waste polluting our planet. Could his strong opinions get him into trouble?
Fri, 12 Apr 13
Duration:
24 mins
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. HARDtalk speaks to a man who played a key role in the creation of Thatcher-ism. Maurice, now Lord Saatchi, was the advertising guru who helped define, and sell, what she stood for. How enduring is the Thatcher legacy?
Wed, 10 Apr 13
Duration:
24 mins
Stephen Sackur talks to Sir John Holmes, who was the UN's Emergency Relief Coordinator during crises in Sudan, Sri Lanka and Haiti. In the midst of war or natural disaster humanitarian aid can make the difference between life and death. Since leaving the UN Sir John Holmes has been wrestling with a basic question - does humanitarian aid work, or does it all too often exacerbate conflict and entrench dependency? With international relief efforts now focused on the unfolding humanitarian disaster in Syria can we be confident that lessons from the past have been learnt?
Mon, 8 Apr 13
Duration:
24 mins
Stephen Sackur talks to Kosovo's Deputy Prime Minister, Mimoza Kusari Lila. She was born and raised in Kosovo but left Pristina to study in the US. When she returned in 2001 Kosovo was in limbo, a war-torn NATO protectorate. Kosovo's progress has been slow. The long running conflict between the ethnic Albanian majority and the ethnic Serbian minority has not been resolved. Kosovo has a form of independence, but in the Serb stronghold around Mitrovica the Belgrade government continues to play a dominant role. Neither Kosovo nor Serbia will be welcomed into the European family of nations until they end their feuding. And without European investment and universal international recognition Kosovo's economy remains the poorest in all of Europe. Mimoza Kusari Lila is now minister of trade and industry but there's little prospect of economic transformation without a new relationship with Belgrade. How close is that?
Fri, 5 Apr 13
Duration:
24 mins
Stephen Sackur talks to Patrick Chinamasa, Justice Minister of Zimbabwe and the first senior Zanu-PF figure to make an official visit to the UK in more than a decade. Zimbabwe's people have endorsed a new constitution, paving the way for elections due later this year. It's hoped that the political violence of recent years will not be repeated in the Presidential contest. But how much has really changed in the country?
Mon, 1 Apr 13
Duration:
24 mins
HardTalk's Stephen Sackur talks to philosopher and cognitive scientist Daniel Dennett. He's been described as one of the four horsemen of the new atheism, along with Richard Dawkins, Sam Harris, and the late Christopher Hitchens. Professor Dennett has written powerfully and extensively against religion by deploying evolutionary theory to argue that religion has outlived its usefulness and serves as nothing more than a block on human thought and understanding of the universe. Dennett's world view is based on the proposition that there is no grand design, no higher purpose beyond life itself - it satisfies him, but do human beings really want to live in a world where atheism rules and religion is dead?
Fri, 29 Mar 13
Duration:
24 mins
Stephen Sackur talks to Norwegian general Robert Mood, who lead the 2012 UN supervision mission in Syria. It was the UN Security Council's effort to encourage both the Assad regime and the Syrian rebel forces to stick to a loose ceasefire agreement brokered by the then special envoy Kofi Annan. After worsening violence, the mission was first suspended then abandoned. Has inertia and division within the international community condemned Syria to a slow and agonising collapse?
Wed, 27 Mar 13
Duration:
24 mins
Zeinab Badawi talks to the President of the Ivory Coast, Alassane Ouattara. The 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. 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?
Mon, 25 Mar 13
Duration:
24 mins
On HardTalk, Stephen Sackur talks to Kishore Mahbubani, one of a select band of international thinkers and commentators whose ideas fuel political debate from Washington DC to Beijing, from Berlin to Brazilia. He was born in Singapore to Indian parents. He had a long career in the foreign service of the Singapore government, twice serving as ambassador to the United Nations. Now he spends his time in academia, and on the international conference circuit, discussing his provocative ideas about the nature of globalisation and the changing balance of world power. His latest book is an antidote to the economic and political pessimism prevalent in the West - the world has never been more peaceful, nor more prosperous, he says, and as peoples converge around shared ideas and aspirations there is every prospect of a more international cooperation on the key challenges facing humanity. But is his optimism to be justified?
Fri, 22 Mar 13
Duration:
24 mins
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?
Wed, 20 Mar 13
Duration:
24 mins
Zeinab Badawi speaks to Romania’s Prime Minister, Victor Ponta. 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 haven’t gone away. Victor Ponta is on a mission to restore his country’s image. Can he succeed?
Mon, 18 Mar 13
Duration:
24 mins
No one ever said it would be easy for British Prime Minister David Cameron – 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. Stephen Sackur speaks to veteran Conservative cabinet minister, Ken Clarke. Is Mr Cameron in danger of losing his grip?
Fri, 15 Mar 13
Duration:
24 mins
HardTalk's Stephen Sackur talks to Theodor Meron, president of the war crimes tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia. He was born and raised in Poland, the son of a Jewish family torn apart by the Nazi genocide. He spent his childhood years working in a Nazi labour camp. Having survived and trained as a lawyer he specialised in humanitarian law. He was involved in the discussions which led to the creation of the International Criminal Court, which is now vested with powers to investigate and prosecute perpetrators of war crimes around the world. But does the system of international justice for the worst of crimes really work?
Wed, 13 Mar 13
Duration:
24 mins
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?
Mon, 11 Mar 13
Duration:
24 mins
Zeinab Badawi talks to Lord Bilmoria on HARDtalk. Britain and India are two countries united by two hundred years of shared history but now with an ever growing distance in ties. India is a rising global economic powerhouse: Britain a former imperial power in search of a global boost to its ailing economy. When the British prime-minister David Cameron visited India in February, he took a one hundred strong trade delegation with him. Amongst them was the Indian born British entrepreneur, Karan Bilimoria, who was founding chairman of the UK-India Business Council.
Fri, 8 Mar 13
Duration:
24 mins
HardTalk speaks to Timo Soini, longserving leader of Finland's populist, nationalist movement known as the Finns. He commands almost one-fifth of the seats in the Finnish parliament thanks to a stunning electoral advance in the election of 2011. His campaign was built upon hostility to the European Union in general, and the bail out of the Eurozone's debt-ridden southern periphery in particular. It's a party fuelled by popular anger with the status quo and the ruling elites in Helsinki and Brussels.
Wed, 6 Mar 13
Duration:
24 mins
Henry Winkler talks to HardTalk's Stephen Sackur about his long career as an actor. He found international fame playing 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. Winkler overcame undiagnosed dyslexia and an unhappy childhood to achieve success as a actor.
Mon, 4 Mar 13
Duration:
24 mins
On Hardtalk, Tim Franks talks to Isareli author A. B. Yehoshua. Given the failure of the politicians and the diplomats, the militants and the liberals to resolve the Middle East crisis, what should we take from the words of the writer? A.B. 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?
Fri, 1 Mar 13
Duration:
24 mins
On Hardtalk, Zeinab Badawi talks to Father Bernard Lynch, priest and psychotherapist. The Catholic Church has been rocked by controversies and surprise resignations in the past few weeks. Father Lynch is one of the Catholic church's few gay priests, he talks to Zeinab about the church's attitudes towards homosexuality. How will the church recover from these embarrassing blows at a time of historic transition?
Wed, 27 Feb 13
Duration:
24 mins
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?
Mon, 25 Feb 13
Duration:
24 mins
The US Republican Party is in a mess. Badly beaten in the race for the White House, seemingly out of touch with mainstream opinion on issues from immigration to gun control and 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?
Fri, 22 Feb 13
Duration:
24 mins
The political supremacy of the ANC in post-apartheid South Africa has never been seriously threatened - but could that be about to change? HARDtalk speaks 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's launched a new political movement with an outspoken attack on the failings of ANC governance. She says she's on a journey to realise South Africa's dreams, but how far will she get?
Mon, 18 Feb 13
Duration:
24 mins
Sean Ley talks to Enrique Garcia, The veteran President of Latin America’s Development Bank. He says times have never been so good. 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. Which side will he come down on to make the good times last?
Fri, 15 Feb 13
Duration:
24 mins
Ireland 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 its economy. Stephen Sackur talks to Lucinda Creighton - Ireland's Minister of State for European Affairs. Can Dublin convince the world that it has bounced back from the brink of disaster?
Wed, 13 Feb 13
Duration:
24 mins
On this edition of HARDtalk, Zainab Badawi speaks to the newly appointed Foreign Minister of Guatemala, Fernando Carrera.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.
Mon, 11 Feb 13
Duration:
24 mins
Stephen Sackur’s guest on HARDtalk is a former Iranian nuclear negotiator, Hossein Mousavian.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 haven’t changed, Iran's enrichment programme gets ever more sophisticated, international sanctions on Tehran bite deeper and the warnings from the West grow darker. Does diplomacy have a chance?
Fri, 8 Feb 13
Duration:
13 mins
Zeinab Badawi talks to renowned British plastic surgeon Dr Mohammad Jawad,who helps reconstruct the faces of women disfigured by acid attacks. He 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?
Wed, 6 Feb 13
Duration:
24 mins
HARDtalk speaks to the designer of one of London's newest and most controversial buildings, he Shard. Renzo Piano is one of the world's most accomplished and feted architects; and one used to dividing opinion. Back in the 1970s he designed Paris's 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?
Mon, 4 Feb 13
Duration:
24 mins
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?
Fri, 1 Feb 13
Duration:
24 mins
HARDtalk speaks to Paul Bhatti, a Government minister in Pakistan 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?
Wed, 30 Jan 13
Duration:
24 mins
As part of the BBC’s WHAT IF season, HARDtalk talks to pro-GM campaigner and environmental author Mark Lynas asking “What If” genetically modified food is the solution to world hunger?
Mon, 28 Jan 13
Duration:
24 mins
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?
Fri, 25 Jan 13
Duration:
24 mins
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?
Wed, 23 Jan 13
Duration:
24 mins
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 due to the tireless campaign of Stephen's mother Doreen Lawrence. Two of her son's killers were last year brought to justice. Laws have been passed and institutions reformed to combat racism but, two decades on, how much has really changed?
Mon, 21 Jan 13
Duration:
24 mins
HARDtalk travels to Geneva to the headquarters of the World Trade Organisation to meet 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. The so called Doha round of negotiations designed to spread free trade to the developing world is in limbo. The flagging world economy has prompted a rise in protectionism. Has the march toward trade liberalisation ended in failure?
Fri, 18 Jan 13
Duration:
24 mins
The brutal gang rape and murder of a young woman in Delhi last month 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?
Wed, 16 Jan 13
Duration:
24 mins
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 Joaquίn Almunia. Short term or long term, is there reason to be confident about the EU?
Mon, 14 Jan 13
Duration:
24 mins
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. He’s won a new audience as a writer and he’s planning to direct his first film. So has the wildness in Rupert Everett been tamed?
Fri, 11 Jan 13
Duration:
24 mins
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?
Wed, 9 Jan 13
Duration:
24 mins
Stephen Sackur speaks to the Egyptian-American journalist and commentator Mona Eltahawy
Wed, 9 Jan 13
Duration:
24 mins
Stephen Sackur talks to Fatih Birol - the Chief Economist at the International Energy Agency
Fri, 4 Jan 13
Duration:
24 mins
Once in a while an athlete comes along whose feats capture the attention of the whole world. HARDtalk speaks to one of them - the extraordinary Australian swimmer Ian Thorpe – who at the height of his powers in 2006, quit the sport. Now Ian Thorpe has revealed that through the years of his Olympic triumphs and world records he was crippled by depression.
Wed, 2 Jan 13
Duration:
24 mins
Alan Moore is the graphic novelist behind the ghostly, bearded mask worn by computer hackers and Occupy protestors the world over. He has, in the past, championed graphic novels - book-length comics - for their effect on politics and culture. Tim Franks asks him why, in that case, is he now becoming disillusioned?
Mon, 31 Dec 12
Duration:
24 mins
Stephen Sackur talks to the composer Philip Glass about his groundbreaking opera 'Einstein On The Beach' and his search for the answer to the question 'what is music'?
Fri, 28 Dec 12
Duration:
24 mins
As Belle de Jour, she achieved global notoriety for years, writing a blog about her sexual encounters as a high-class escort girl working in London. Now, after revealing herself to be an expert research scientist and no longer engaged in prostitution, Dr Brooke Magnanti, is calling for prostitution to be decriminalised and for moral arguments against the sex industry to be dismissed. But is she standing up for prostitutes or whitewashing a profession that is often harmful and degrading?
Wed, 26 Dec 12
Duration:
24 mins
There is no room for sentiment in elite sport. That is the lesson Lewis Moody learned when he captained England’s rugby team at last year’s World Cup in New Zealand. Never mind his 70 odd caps and reputation for wholehearted commitment, Lewis Moody came under heavy fire for England's poor performance on and off the field. In March this year he retired from the game which has dominated so much of his life - so, physically and mentally how heavy a toll has rugby taken on Lewis Moody?
Mon, 24 Dec 12
Duration:
24 mins
In the 10 year life of the International Criminal Court every case prosecuted and every suspect charged has come from Africa. Why? The ICC is supposed to be the court of last resort for victims of egregious human rights abuse all over the world. Stephen Sackur talks to the British barrister Sir Geoffrey Nice who led the Hague tribunal prosecution of former Yugoslav president Slobodan Milošević and asks if the ICC has been a disappointment?
Thu, 20 Dec 12
Duration:
24 mins
How far is the Arab world's most populous and influential country becoming polarised between Islamist and secularist forces? The current vote for a new constitution in Egypt has exposed divisions which at times have erupted into violence on the streets between supporters and opponents of the Muslim Brotherhood and the Islamist President Mohammed Morsi. Hardtalk speaks to a leading member of Egypt's liberal and secular elite: Coptic Christian billionaire businessman and politician Naguib Sawiris. Who has a better claim to be democratic - the Islamists or their opponents?
Mon, 17 Dec 12
Duration:
24 mins
HARDtalk talks to Dr Sima Samar, chairperson of Afghanistan's Human Rights Commission and her country's first ever Minister for Women's Affairs. She says, in comparison to neighbouring countries, Afghanistan's political system is more open to women.
Fri, 14 Dec 12
Duration:
24 mins
HARDtalk speaks to The Palestinian Authority envoy to the European Union, Leila Shahid. She says the most important issue for Palestinians is to have a functioning parliament and full statehood.
Wed, 12 Dec 12
Duration:
24 mins
Jan Cheek is one of the leaders of the 3000 islanders who are about to be asked to vote on whether there should be negotiations with Argentina. She says no but by what right do the Islanders insist they should stay linked to a country on the other side of the world?
Mon, 10 Dec 12
Duration:
24 mins
The Nobel Committee surprised many when it awarded this year's Peace Prize to the European Union. It said the EU had helped to transform most of Europe from a continent of war to a continent of peace. But the award comes at a time when, in the words of the German Chancellor Angela Merkel, the continent may be facing 'its most difficult hours since World War II'. Sarah Montague travels to Oslo to speak to the President of the European Commission, Jose Manuel Barroso. Is Europe's economic crisis in danger of threatening its peace?
Fri, 7 Dec 12
Duration:
24 mins
HARDtalk's Stephen Sackur talks to the CEO of Renault-Nissan, Carlos Ghosn. Is the French car company adopting the right strategy in the current economic crisis in Europe?
Thu, 6 Dec 12
Duration:
24 mins
HARDtalk's Sarah Montague talks to Mike Newell talks the British film maker with a successful Hollywood career. The director of 'Four Weddings and A Funeral' discusses his latest film 'Great Expectations'.
Mon, 3 Dec 12
Duration:
24 mins
The United States is about to become the world's largest producer of oil and gas. Quite remarkable for a country that only a few years ago was the world's largest importer of gas. It's a turnaround made possible by shale and it comes at a time of rapidly increasing demand from China, India and the Middle East. Peter Voser is the boss of Royal Dutch Shell one of the biggest energy companies in the world. With economies so thirsty for power, producers are being driven to new frontiers but at what cost?
Fri, 30 Nov 12
Duration:
24 mins
How far will Barack Obama go in taking on critics who say the United States has abandoned its role as the global champion of human rights? America's counter-terrorism measures, after September 11 - including targeted killings and indefinite periods of detention without trial - have angered many. One former President, Jimmy Carter, has said the US has now lost its moral authority as a result. HARDtalk speaks to Jeh Johnson, the General Counsel of the US Defense Department, the Pentagon's top lawyer and a close ally of Barack Obama.
Wed, 28 Nov 12
Duration:
24 mins
Hardtalk speaks to the British businessman Michael Woodford, who rose to become chief-executive of one of the most iconic Japanese companies: the camera and medical equipment maker, Olympus. He then exposed fraud at the heart of its leadership and was sacked after thirty years of service. Three bosses of the Tokyo-based company subsequently admitted he was right and it emerged they had hidden one point-seven billion dollars in investment losses dating back to the 1990s.
Mon, 26 Nov 12
Duration:
24 mins
It's become known as the "marikana massacre" – thirty-four people were killed as police in South Africa opened fire on striking miners. For many it had echoes of Sharpeville in 1960 - one of the defining events which opened the world's eyes to the consequences of apartheid. For Frans Baleni, General Secretary of the National Union of Mineworkers, Marikana is a challenge - not just to his union, but to the whole post-apartheid political system in which the NUM has been a key player. Eighteen years after black South Africans won legal equality, is the violence evidence that the system has failed all but a tiny political elite? Shaun Ley talks to Frans Baleni.
Fri, 23 Nov 12
Duration:
24 mins
For more than forty years Greenpeace has campaigned against environmental degradation. This month it’s mobilising its activists to make a stand on saving the planet at the UN climate change conference in Doha. Four decades on and with global warming slipping down the agenda is anyone listening to what Greenpeace have to say? HARDtalk's Zeinab Badawi speaks to Kumi Naidoo, Executive-Director of Greenpeace International.
Wed, 21 Nov 12
Duration:
24 mins
HARDtalk travels to the Jordanian capital Amman, just 100km north of the Syrian border. Three months ago Riad Hijab crossed that border and became the most senior Syrian government official to defect from the regime of President Bashar al Assad. He had been appointed Prime Minister by President Assad in June but six weeks later he fled. Why? And is there a role for Baathist defectors in Syria's future?
Mon, 19 Nov 12
Duration:
24 mins
HARDtalk speaks to the original tree hugger. The phrase was coined back in the seventies when she, along with a group of women in India, hugged trees to stop them from being chopped down. In the decades since, Vandana Shiva has become known throughout the world for her environmental campaigns. She says a billion people go hungry in the world because of the way greedy international companies go about their business. So is it a naïve world view or could we really end poverty and improve everyone's life by returning to old fashioned ways of farming?
Fri, 16 Nov 12
Duration:
24 mins
The double gold medal winning Olympic rower, James Cracknell tells Stephen Sackur how an accident which left him with a brain injury has changed his life and put his family relationships under strain. In July 2010,he was hit from behind by a petrol tanker whilst cycling during an attempt to cycle, row, run and swim from Los Angeles to New York within 16 days. He tells Stephen Sackur about how his injury has affected his relationship with his son and his wife.
Tue, 13 Nov 12
Duration:
24 mins
The European Union’s formative years were shaped by a Franco-German motor. Could it be that when the EU finally emerges from its prolonged debt crisis a German-Polish partnership might play a dominant role? Poland’s economy is growing, as is its diplomatic clout, so it is significant that the Polish foreign minister Radoslaw Sikorski has backed Germany's vision of much deeper EU integration. But do Poles really want to cede their hard won sovereignty to Brussels and Berlin?
Fri, 9 Nov 12
Duration:
24 mins
Eight years after the Orange Revolution, with some of the government’s leading critics serving long sentences in jail, is Ukraine turning its back on the offer of membership of the European Union? Tim Franks speaks to Leonid Kozhara, the man who advises the Ukrainian president on foreign policy.
Wed, 7 Nov 12
Duration:
24 mins
HARDtalk is in Cairo to assess the state of Egypt’s post-revolutionary politics. Right now the report card is mixed. Egypt has a democratically-elected president but arguments over the framing of a new constitution have sparked clashes between rival Islamist and secular activists in Tahrir Square. Stephen Sackur speaks to Egypt's prime minister Hisham Qandil and asks is the new Egyptian government living up to the promise of the Tahrir revolution?
Mon, 5 Nov 12
Duration:
24 mins
The European Union won the Nobel Peace Prize for fostering unity in Europe. Ironically, the award was made during the current EU presidency of its only divided member: Cyprus. Since 1974, the island has been partitioned between its Turkish occupied North and the Republic of Cyprus, which joined the EU eight years ago. Cyprus is also presiding over the biggest crisis in the EU's history: potential financial meltdown triggered by indebted nations like Greece, and Cyprus itself. Zeinab Badawi speaks to Andreas Mavroyiannis,Deputy Minister for European Affairs for Cyprus. Does he believe the Peace Prize will boost confidence in the EU?
Fri, 2 Nov 12
Duration:
24 mins
Next Tuesday’s US presidential election promises to be the closest since the Bush Gore race ended in a dispute over hanging chads a dozen years ago. And Barack Obama could yet join the list of underwhelming one-term presidents. HARDtalk’s Stephen Sackur speaks to a veteran Democratic party consultant and campaign strategist, Bob Shrum and asks why President Obama is struggling to rekindle the enthusiasm he generated four years ago?
Wed, 31 Oct 12
Duration:
24 mins
Mitt Romney and his Republican advisers claim momentum is on their side as the US presidential election enters the final stretch. Their unrelenting focus is on the ailing US economy and their claim that a Romney administration would rebuild America as a low tax, small government engine of economic enterprise. Grover Norquist is the founder of the advocacy group Americans for Tax reform -one of the most influential figures in Republican politics. Just how credible is the Romney rescue plan for America?
Fri, 26 Oct 12
Duration:
24 mins
From global media baron to convicted criminal doing time in a Florida prison: the remarkable rise and fall of Conrad Black has made for years of lurid headlines, not least in the newspapers he used to own. Now Conrad Black, or Lord Black of Crossharbour as he is known in the UK, is a free man out to rebuild his reputation on both sides of the Atlantic. After a turbulent decade, Stephen Sackur asks him if is he a changed man?
Wed, 24 Oct 12
Duration:
24 mins
Shaun Ley speaks to behavioural economist and discoverer of the "nudge" theory, Richard Thaler. Britain's Prime Minister is so impressed, he's set up a whole "nudge unit" in the heart of his government. So is the nudge guru teaching those in power how to encourage us to live better; or helping politicians to control us?
Sat, 20 Oct 12
Duration:
24 mins
Stephen Sackur talks to the European Commissioner for Climate Action Connie Hedegaard.
Wed, 17 Oct 12
Duration:
24 mins
The grandeur of the French foreign ministry in Paris gives a sense of how France sees its role in Europe - it’s assumed here, Paris will have a dominant role in shaping the continent’s future. But how does that square with current reality? The French economy is in a mess, the public is apparently disillusioned with the EU and the new Socialist government has yet to define a clear vision for Europe's future. Stephen Sackur speaks to France's Europe minister Bernard Cazeneuve. Is France capable of leading Europe out of its current crisis?
Fri, 12 Oct 12
Duration:
24 mins
The aviation industry is in trouble. Fuel prices have soared, there’s been a drop in passenger numbers and some airlines have gone out of business but in Europe there’s one airline which is bucking the trend. The low-cost no-frills Ryanair carried almost 80 million passengers last year. Michael O’Leary is the pugnacious outspoken chief executive of Ryanair who has ambitions to make his airline even bigger but how far can he fly before he gets shot down? He talks to Stephen Sackur in Dublin.
Wed, 10 Oct 12
Duration:
24 mins
With elections approaching in six months, many Kenyans are apprehensive. The last disputed presidential election resulted in violence claiming 1500 lives. Two of today's presidential candidates face charges at the International Criminal Court in The Hague as a result of their alleged involvement in the 2008 bloodshed. Stephen Sackur talks to one of them - former education minister, William Ruto.
Wed, 3 Oct 12
Duration:
24 mins
Kenya is a country with big ambitions -to be East africa's powerhouse economy, and as is being seen in Somalia - to be a dominant regional player. And yet Kenya's also a nation with deepseated problems. Its political culture is disfigured by violence,corruption is ingrained and poverty deep-rooted. Musalia Mudavadi is deputy prime minister and a presidential candidate. Which version of Kenya will prevail as the country prepares for national elections next year? Musalia Mudavadi talks to Stephen Sackur.
Mon, 1 Oct 12
Duration:
24 mins
Can the Euro be saved? Europe's leaders think so; its central bank says there's no limit to the money it’s prepared to spend to defend it. But is their solution in danger of destroying not just a currency but Europe's union, too? Otmar Issing fears so. As one of the most senior officials when the European Central Bank was founded, he helped bring the Euro into being. Until this year he advised Germany's Angela Merkel, and he remains one of Europe's most influential economic voices. When the Euro was being planned, Otmar Issing believed that political union was essential. Now he fears that centralising power in Brussels and Frankfurt and sharing financial risk could provoke a public backlash that would wreck both the currency and the continent.
Fri, 28 Sep 12
Duration:
24 mins
In the lead-up to November's Presidential election in the United States, groups on the right and left are sounding the alarm at the influence of money on US politics. HARDtalk’s Katya Adler speaks to one guest who knows a lot about that. At the height of his career he made millions as a career lobbyist in Washington, wining, dining and influencing lawmakers. His fall from grace was dramatic and saw him publicly disgraced and imprisoned for fraud and bribery. A free man once again, Jack Abramoff says he is a reformed man, lobbying to correct what he describes as a corrupt system where he says his behaviour was and continues to be commonplace. Is he trying to make amends for his past or put the blame on others?
Wed, 26 Sep 12
Duration:
24 mins
Europe’s economic crisis has pushed its governments further and faster down the road of economic integration than many might have expected. But it is also raising serious questions about countries' individual powers. At a time when the people of Europe say they've never trusted the EU less what is the European Union’s ultimate goal - to be a federal super-state or a looser union based on common economic goals? HARDtalk’s Katya Adler has gone to the European Parliament to talk to the leader of the British Conservative MEPs Richard Ashworth and to Guy Verhofstadt, former Belgian Prime Minister, now the leader of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe.
Mon, 24 Sep 12
Duration:
24 mins
Kurds in Iraq are growing restless and impatient over the violence and open political rivalries in Baghdad, between Shias and Sunnis. Iraq's autonomous Kurdish region of four million is a haven of relative stability and prosperity and what's more has its own oil riches to exploit. HARDtalk’s Zeinab Badawi speaks to Ashti Hawrami. For the last six years, he's been Minister for Natural Resources in Kurdistan's regional government. Why are Kurds upsetting the central government by increasingly seizing control of their oil resources and exports? Do they have plans to breakaway?
Fri, 21 Sep 12
Duration:
24 mins
Have opposition politicians in Zimbabwe learned the lessons of the violent and disputed elections in 2008 in which Robert Mugabe and his party Zanu-PF outmanoeuvred the Movement for Democratic Change, and held onto power. The MDC has since been in an uneasy power-sharing government, in which its main leader Morgan Tsvangirai is prime-minister. But a breakaway MDC faction led by the Commerce and Industry Minister, Welshman Ncube, is splintering the opposition ahead of fresh elections due by next June. HARDtalk’s Zeinab Badawi speaks to Welshman Ncube and asks shouldn't the opposition be united to better oppose Zanu-PF?
Wed, 19 Sep 12
Duration:
24 mins
Germany's pivotal role in resolving the Eurozone crisis has sparked fierce international discussion but also deep rifts at home. HARDtalk’s Katya Adler speaks to Hans Werner Sinn, one of Germany's most influential and controversial economists, who is at the heart of that debate. Recently he joined forces with more than 100 colleagues to oppose any move towards Germany paying for the bank debts of other countries and appeared in front of the German constitutional court to criticise the EU bailout fund. Is he reflecting genuine public concerns or fueling Germans worst fears?
Mon, 17 Sep 12
Duration:
24 mins
Chile is South America's boom economy, growing at a rate which almost echoes that of China. Chile's key commodity is copper, for which China is the world's biggest importer. A perfect marriage. Only China is losing its appetite and Chile risks feeling the effect. So how will it cope? Shaun Ley speaks to the Chilean finance minister, Felipe Larrain and asks if the country is catching a cold.
Fri, 14 Sep 12
Duration:
24 mins
To their critics they're publicity hungry blasphemers. To their minds they are feminist punk rockers protesting against what they say is Russian president Vladimir Putin's authoritarianism and sexism. When three members of the Russian band Pussy Riot were jailed in August, there was an international outcry. They were found guilty of hooliganism for staging an illegal performance early this year in Moscow's Cathedral of Christ the Saviour. Pyotr Verzilov is the husband of one of the jailed activists, Nadezhda Tolokonnikova. Is Pussy Riot's high media profile the result of their shock tactics rather than real political clout?
Wed, 12 Sep 12
Duration:
24 mins
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? 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. Tyler Hamilton tells Tim Franks about what he calls 'the dark era' of cycling.
Mon, 10 Sep 12
Duration:
24 mins
The future of the Gulf state of Bahrain remains uncertain after eighteen months of street protests inspired by the Arab Spring. Some of the most outspoken Bahraini critics of the ruling Al Khalifa family are behind bars, violent clashes between police and demonstrators continue. Maryam Al Khawaja is a prominent human rights campaigner, whose father was sentenced to life in prison for plotting to overthrow the government. Who will win the fight for Bahrain's future?
Fri, 7 Sep 12
Duration:
24 mins
The 2008 banking crash prompted a prolonged crisis of confidence in the financial institutions and markets that underpin western capitalism. Governments on both sides of the Atlantic have tried to recalibrate the balance between risk and reward and to encourage genuine wealth creation rather than short term speculation. Xavier Rolet is the CEO of the London Stock Exchange Group. Have financial markets learned the right lessons from recent history?
Wed, 5 Sep 12
Duration:
24 mins
The grim threat of renewed conflict hangs over the Democratic Republic of Congo. An armed rebellion in the east - on the Rwandan border- has already forced hundreds of thousands to flee. The DRC army is in disarray and the Kinshasa government has been undermined by allegations of electoral fraud and corruption. Stephen Sackur talks to the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Raymond Tshibanda. What hope is there for the Democratic Republic of Congo?
Fri, 31 Aug 12
Duration:
24 mins
The conflict in Syria is fuelling sectarian tension across the Middle East. In neighbouring Iraq, a political and security crisis has deepened in the last year. At the heart of Iraq's instability Tarek al Hashimi - the country's vice president but right now a de facto fugitive in Turkey – is being tried in absentia on charges of sponsoring death squads inside Iraq. What hope is there for justice, or peace, in a region in the grip of sectarian strife?
Wed, 29 Aug 12
Duration:
24 mins
Western powers led by the United states would dearly like to deal with a well organised, united anti-Assad opposition in Syria; but right now there is no such thing. Which leaves the west's strategy tentative at best - supportive of the rebels, but not with arms; eager to see Assad ousted, but apprehensive about what will come after. HARDtalk speaks to Brian Sayers, chief Washington lobbyist for the Syrian Support Group, a collection of Syrian expatriates eager to back the rebels. Just how credible is Syria's opposition?
Mon, 27 Aug 12
Duration:
24 mins
Maajid Nawaz is a British born Muslim who became a radical Islamist. He was arrested and imprisoned in Hosni Mubarak's Egypt but when he emerged from prison he renounced his former views and launched a campaign to counter Islamist ideology. To some he's a truth teller, to others a traitor. Stephen Sackur asks him to explain his extraordinary transformation.
Fri, 24 Aug 12
Duration:
24 mins
The labour unrest in South Africa’s platinum mines has claimed the lives of dozens and produced the kind of violence not seen since apartheid. The strike has driven up the cost of platinum prices and shaken investor confidence. It has also drawn the world’s attention to the low wages and poor working conditions of South Africa’s miners. Stephen Sackur talks to Rob Davies, South Africa’s Minister for Trade and Industry. Is the call to invest in Africa’s biggest economy being stifled by the rage against social and economic disparity?
Wed, 22 Aug 12
Duration:
24 mins
Angelique Kidjo has been hailed as Africa's premier diva - known for the passion in her voice and her fierce determination to help African girls fulfil their potential. Three decades ago she had to leave her continent to become an international star. Stephen Sackur asks her how much Africa and its music scene has changed between then and now.
Mon, 20 Aug 12
Duration:
24 mins
The expenses scandal tarnished those at the very heart of British democracy. Some politicians in the Mother of Parliaments were shown to be greedy and a few criminal. A handful went to jail -- and one of those is the former Conservative peer and former leader of Essex County Council Lord Hanningfield. So why did he do it? Is there something fundamentally wrong with Britain's political culture -- and with those who go into politics? And what lessons can a lawmaker learn from prison?
Fri, 17 Aug 12
Duration:
24 mins
Lord Moynihan is the Chairman of the British Olympics Association and Director of the London Organising committee of the Olympic Games. London 2012 has been a resounding success - applauded at home and abroad but what can be done to ensure an enduring sporting legacy? British sports are celebrating their best collective performance in over a century so now that the Games are over, Katya Adler asks why has Lord Moynihan submitted his resignation?
Wed, 15 Aug 12
Duration:
24 mins
The Eurozone crisis has been a test not only for Europe's politicians but also its institutions. The European Union's response to the economic turbulence in its midst has been criticised as too slow and ineffective. Sharon Bowles is a British Liberal Democrat and the Chair of the EU Parliament's Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee. She has a big say in how economic legislation is drafted, but will it work?
Mon, 13 Aug 12
Duration:
24 mins
The United Nations had hoped that by 2015 every child would be able to go to primary school. But the last time they reported on progress to that goal they said 69 million children were still not getting an education - most of those in sub-Saharan Africa. Michael Barber has advised governments around the world about education. He's now working for the international company Pearson. It recently announced it would invest millions in private schools for the world's poorest families. Is that the right way to tackle the problem or could it undermine what governments are trying to do?
Fri, 10 Aug 12
Duration:
24 mins
London's reputation as a global financial centre has been tarnished yet again. This time another British bank, Standard Chartered, stands accused of irregularities. New York's top financial regulator claims the Bank carried out two hundred and fifty billion dollars of illegal transactions with Iran over the past decade. The Bank refutes the claim. This latest case follows on the heels of other scandals in the City of London. Moves are underway to tighten international banking regulation. So where does the problem lie? Zeinab Badawi talks to Mark Carney, who is in charge of steering these new rules as Chairman of the Financial Stability Board for the G20 Leading economies. He's also Governor of Canada's Central Bank.
Mon, 6 Aug 12
Duration:
24 mins
Stephen Sackur talks to Nigel Farage the leader of the UK Independence Party (UKIP)and self-styled scourge of the EU establishment in his role as a member of the European Parliament.
Wed, 1 Aug 12
Duration:
24 mins
Zeinab Badawi talks to Amos Gilad, Policy Director at the Israeli Defence Ministry. Upheaval in the Arab world, especially in Syria, means that political realities are still evolving in the Middle East. Is the Iranian threat and Syrian instability raising the tension inside Israel?
Mon, 30 Jul 12
Duration:
24 mins
Sheikh Hasina has been prime minister of Bangladesh for the last three and a half years. It’s her second term in office and throughout her time at the top she’s attracted controversy and criticism in equal measure. Bangladesh is densely populated, desperately poor and riven with corruption and political violence. Back in 2009 Sheikh Hasina vowed to clean up government and heal the country’s divisions. Has she delivered?
Fri, 27 Jul 12
Duration:
24 mins
At the Los Angeles Olympics in 1984 a diminutive Moroccan runner named Nawal El Moutawakel won the 400 metres hurdles and so became the first Arab and Muslim woman to win Olympic gold. She says her victory changed her life forever and propelled her towards a career in sports administration and as a passionate advocate of women in sport, especially in the Islamic world. She’s now an influential member of the International Olympic Committee. With current IOC president Jacques Rogge due to step down next year, could she be in line to succeed him? Nawal El Moutawakel talks to Rob Bonnet.
Wed, 25 Jul 12
Duration:
24 mins
The World Bank predicts a decade of African growth which Europe can only dream of, but how realistic is this talk of economic transformation in the world’s poorest continent? HARDtalk’s Stephen Sackur talks to Arnold Ekpe, CEO of Ecobank, which boasts eight million customers across 32 Sub-Saharan nations.
Mon, 23 Jul 12
Duration:
24 mins
Extratime talks to the triple jump gold medallist Jonathan Edwards. He's the athletes represntative on the London Olympics Organising Committee overseeing preparations for the Games. Meanwhile his world record in the triple jump still stands after 17 years. Can anyone at the London Games beat his mark? Jonathan Edwards talks to Rob Bonnet
Thu, 19 Jul 12
Duration:
24 mins
Baaba Maal is maintaining a West African tradition: he is an internationally renowned musician with a strong political voice, likle Fela Kuti and Yousso N’Dour before him. Baaba Maal's campaigning touches on sensitive territory from women's rights to HIV and climate change. Africa is currently a jarring mix of rapid economic growth and life-threatening poverty - as the continent changes, is the music changing too?
Wed, 18 Jul 12
Duration:
24 mins
Why do some nations thrive while others fail? What does Norway have which Mali lacks? The renowned Harvard academic James Robinson is adamant one factor determines economic success much more than all others: the development of resilient, inclusive political institutions. The idea is political freedom begets prosperity. Stephen Sackur asks him if that is always true.
Mon, 16 Jul 12
Duration:
24 mins
Stephen Sackur talks to the astrophysicist Jocelyn Bell Burnell about being a scientist in a man's world and tells him why she has learned to live with missing out on a Nobel Prize.
Fri, 13 Jul 12
Duration:
24 mins
Zeinab Badawi challenges Paul Kagame, the President of Rwanda, about UN allegations that his country has been supporting an armed group in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Wed, 11 Jul 12
Duration:
24 mins
Hardtalk's Stephen Sackur talks the EU trade Commissioner Karel de Gucht. As Europe struggles to keep Greece in the Euro and world trade faces an uncertain future, how is the EU going to come out of the economic crisis?
Mon, 9 Jul 12
Duration:
24 mins
As Africa's most populous nation and one of its biggest oil producers, Nigeria is a giant on the African stage. But in terms of prosperity it's never fulfilled the expectations of its people. Zeinab Badawi talks to musician and political activist Femi Kuti, son of the late legendary musician Fela Kuti. He's a constant thorn in the side of the authorities, and uses his songs to criticize government and speak up on behalf of the poor and dispossessed. But with fantastic rates of growth in Nigeria and elsewhere in Africa, is Femi Kuti, being overly pessimistic about Nigeria's prospects?
Fri, 6 Jul 12
Duration:
24 mins
The election of a Muslim Brotherhood candidate Mohammed Morsi as president of Egypt will have an impact not only on Egypt but also elsewhere in the Middle East. Nowhere more so perhaps than in Gaza. There, Hamas, which is the Palestinian branch of the Muslim Brotherhood, has ruled for five years. Zeinab Badawi speaks to Ghazi Hamad, deputy foreign minister for Hamas in Gaza. At loggerheads with the Palestinian Authority on the West Bank and viewed by Israel as a terrorist organisation, will the new dynamics of power in Egypt better serve the cause of peace and reconciliation in the Middle East or merely exacerbate the tensions?
Wed, 4 Jul 12
Duration:
24 mins
HARDtalk's Sarah Montague talks to the economic historian Niall Ferguson about the prospects for banking reform in the UK and USA after the investigation into Barclays and the manipulation of LIBOR rates by some banks.
Mon, 2 Jul 12
Duration:
24 mins
Electoral politics is a bloodsport and some of the toughest fighters in the game are the campaign strategists who hone and sell the their candidates' message. Australian Lynton Crosby is widely regarded as one of the masters of the darker political arts, running winning campaigns in his native Australia for former prime minister John Howard. In the UK he twice helped Boris Johnson win the London Mayor's office. Opponents on the left have accused him of using grubby, divisive methods to further a conservative agenda.
Fri, 29 Jun 12
Duration:
23 mins
Hardtalk is in the capital of Denmark, Copenhagen, which for the past six tumultuous months has held the presidency of the European Union. In that time, the number of Eurozone countries seeking an emergency financial bailout has risen to five. On the eve of yet another crisis summit, EU leaders face decisions that could make, or break the common currency. Stephen Sackur speaks to Helle Thorning-Schmidt, Denmark’s Prime Minister. Is the dream of a common European future from Scandinavia to the Aegean well and truly over?
Wed, 27 Jun 12
Duration:
24 mins
Mohamed Morsi has made history by becoming Egypt's first freely elected president, but how much power has he won? The image of tens of thousands of Muslim Brotherhood supporters savouring victory in Tahrir Square can’t disguise the fact that Egypt is still governed by a military clique. Stephen Sackur talks to Gehad El-Haddad, an adviser to the Muslim Brotherhood's Freedom and Justice Party. With Parliament dissolved, no new constitution written and the generals ringfencing their powers, has Egypt’s revolution run out of road?
Mon, 25 Jun 12
Duration:
24 mins
With the London Olympics just weeks away, athletes are completing their final preparations - and that means fine tuning the mind as well as the body. In elite sport the title 'head coach' increasingly refers to the specialist hired to get inside the athlete's head to instil a winning mentality. Stephen Sackur talks to the psychiatrist Dr Steve Peters, consultant to the British Olympic cycling team and a highly prized adviser to a host of other famous sporting names. Is winning really all in the mind?
Fri, 22 Jun 12
Duration:
24 mins
The Cannes Film Festival was criticised this year when all 22 films in the competition were directed by men. But Hollywood is not much better – a recent study found that less than 10% of its directors were women. Sarah Montague talks to Beeban Kidron, one of the few to have made the big time. She directed the second Bridget Jones movie, ‘The Edge of Reason’. But most of her other films concern far more radical material: a documentary about the anti-nuclear women protesters at Greenham Common, a TV adaptation of the lesbian novel ‘Oranges are not the only fruit’ and her latest documentary about India’s “sacred” prostitutes. Is it women and the choices they make that interest her the most?
Wed, 20 Jun 12
Duration:
24 mins
Across Europe, politicians are struggling to answer a simple question; how does the continent find a way back to sustainable economic growth? Stephen Sackur talks to the UK Labour Party's top business spokesman, Chuka Umunna. He says active Government can revive and reshape capitalism. Are business leaders or the public ready to believe him?
Mon, 18 Jun 12
Duration:
24 mins
Israel's secret service, the Mossad, is regarded as one of the most resourceful and ruthless intelligence agencies in the world. But are Israel's top spies on the same page as the country's politicians when it comes to an assessment of the threat posed by Iran? Stephen Sackur speaks to Meir Dagan, director of Mossad until a year and a half ago.
Fri, 15 Jun 12
Duration:
24 mins
Wayne McGregor is known for pushing boundaries in an art form usually associated with traditional entertainment. Once known as the bad boy of ballet he has been the resident choreographer in one of the dance world’s pillars of establishment, the Royal Ballet in London’s Covent Garden, for six years. Katya Adler asks if this is why he remains the maverick inside the ballet establishment.
Wed, 13 Jun 12
Duration:
24 mins
Iran's nuclear power programme has been a source of international tension for the past decade. At no point has it been able to shrug off the suspicion that its pursuit of nuclear energy is also an effort to make nuclear weapons. Iran insists it has no such ambitions but many of the world's major powers remain unconvinced and Israel is warning it will attack. Katya Adler talks to Dr Ali Asghar Soltanieh, Iran's ambassador to the UN's nuclear watchdog, the IAEA.
Mon, 11 Jun 12
Duration:
24 mins
The police in Britain, used to being revered, respected and admired at home and abroad, find themselves under a heavy black cloud. With allegations of bribery and corruption denting trust, the force now also faces dramatic cuts to its budget and changes to its structure. HARDtalk’s Katya Adler speaks to the chairman of the Police Federation in England and Wales and a long-serving officer. Paul McKeever says proposed government reforms could lead to the destruction of the police as we know it. But with the force untouched by change for decades, is now not an ideal opportunity to shape up for the challenges of the 21st century?
Fri, 8 Jun 12
Duration:
24 mins
Could we soon see a cure for HIV/Aids? Francoise Barre-Sinoussi thinks so. She's the Nobel Prize-winner who helped first identify the virus 30-years-ago. She argues that the need to pour money into fighting one of the world's most deadly diseases is as great as ever.
Wed, 6 Jun 12
Duration:
24 mins
On HARDtalk,Stephen Sackur speaks to Tracey Emin, the British artist of international renown. She’s made an extraordinary journey from wild youth to pillar of the cultural establishment – just how blurred is the line between her art and her life?
Mon, 4 Jun 12
Duration:
24 mins
On Hardtalk, Gavin Esler talks to Sir Tim Rice, one of the greatest lyricists of his generation. He's written the lyrics for musicals such as Evita, Jesus Christ Superstar and The Lion King.
Fri, 1 Jun 12
Duration:
24 mins
On Hardtalk Sarah Montague talks to the Nobel Prize winning economist Paul Krugman. What debt-ridden governments should be doing, he says, is borrowing more to spend their way out of trouble.
Fri, 1 Jun 12
Duration:
24 mins
Stephen Sackur is in the capital of Denmark, Copenhagen, which for the past six tumultuous months has held the presidency of the European Union. In that time, the number of Eurozone countries seeking an emergency financial bailout has risen to five. On the eve of yet another crisis summit, EU leaders face decisions that could make, or break the common currency. Stephen Sackur speaks to Helle Thorning-Schmidt, Denmark’s Prime Minister. Is the dream of a common European future from Scandinavia to the Aegean well and truly over?
Wed, 30 May 12
Duration:
24 mins
HARDtalk’s Gavin Esler speaks to Yiannis Milios, the top economic advisor of Syriza, Greek's radical left coalition party. If Syriza wins the re-run election on June 17th, do they really believe they can stay in the Eurozone while tearing up the rules?
Mon, 28 May 12
Duration:
24 mins
Iron Maiden is one of the most successful heavy metal bands ever. They've sold more than 80 million albums and tickets for their live shows sell faster now than at any point in their thirty years as a band. HARDtalkâ¿¿s Sarah Montague speaks to the bandâ¿¿s lead singer, Bruce Dickinson, who, when he's not on stage is a commercial pilot trying to set up his own aviation business.
Fri, 25 May 12
Duration:
24 mins
Last week saw the death Robin Gibb, a musician who did much to define the pop music of the 70s and 80s with the Bee Gees. Eighteen months ago, Robin Gibb joined Stephen Sackur in the HARDtalk studio.
Wed, 23 May 12
Duration:
24 mins
HARDtalk’s Stephen Sackur talks to Grigory Yavlinsky, a veteran leader of Russia's fragmented opposition. Despite sporadic street protests and the stirrings of middle class rebellion, Vladimir Putin is back in the Kremlin. Why do liberal opponents of Putin struggle to gain traction?
Tue, 22 May 12
Duration:
24 mins
At last Sub Saharan Africa has a positive economic story to tell, but is it being matched by improved governance? Are Africa's leaders making best use of the current surge in economic growth to tackle endemic poverty? Stephen Sackur speaks to Guy Scott, recently appointed vice-president of Zambia. He's a trained scientist, an ex-farmer, and he happens to be the most senior white official in post-colonial Africa. It's tempting to see him as a symbol of a continent no longer trapped in its past, but is it true?
Mon, 21 May 12
Duration:
24 mins
HARDtalk’s Stephen Sackur talks to Louis Saha, a French international striker, currently playing foorball for Spurs in the English Premier League. His is the view from inside the football factory - has the joy been taken out of the beautiful game?
Fri, 18 May 12
Duration:
24 mins
HARDtalk’s Stephen Sackur talks to Michalis Sarris, chairman of the Cyprus Popular Bank and former Minister of Finance. A mountain of banking debt, a weak Government, an angry public - could Cyprus be the next domino to fall in this Eurozone crisis?
Wed, 16 May 12
Duration:
24 mins
HARDtalk’s Stephen Sackur speaks to Sir William Patey who has just retired from his post as British ambassador in Kabul. Did the West get the balance between war and diplomacy fundamentally wrong in Afghanistan?
Mon, 14 May 12
Duration:
24 mins
Jordan has survived the Arab Spring relatively unscathed, perhaps because its ruler has promised reform. But critics say King Abdullah is buying time and is not serious. Jordan is seen as critical to peace in the region not least because of its neighbours: Syria, Iraq and Israel. HARDtalk asks - how much time does Jordan have?
Fri, 11 May 12
Duration:
24 mins
Sarah Montague talks to political scientist Norman Finkelstein who says that American Jews have fallen out of love with Israel. But then he is nothing if not controversial. Norman Finkelstein is famous for accusing Jews of exploiting the Holocaust. Could he be right about American Jews and Israel, and if so, what does that mean for Middle East policy?
Wed, 9 May 12
Duration:
24 mins
On Hardtalk, Stephen Sackur talks to Sir Ronald Cohen who is chair of Big Society Capital. He's one of Britain's most innovative business leaders, a pioneer of venture capitalism, who is now committed to the idea of social investment, or capitalism with a conscience. Can the private sector combine a commitment to profit and the public good?
Wed, 2 May 12
Duration:
24 mins
Stephen Sackur talks to Nhial Deng Nhial, the South Sudanese Foreign Minister. South Sudan is currently in talks over the border demarcation with Sudan but will the two countries fall into a bloody conflict?
Mon, 30 Apr 12
Duration:
24 mins
Stephen Sackur talks to Sir John Sulston. The British Nobel Prize winning scientist talks about his ground breaking work into genetics using nematode worms and his current interest in climate change and population control.
Wed, 25 Apr 12
Duration:
24 mins
The Russian businessman and billionaire Oleg Deripaska talks to Stephen Sackur about doing business in his home country and the challenges it faces in the current economic and political climate.
Mon, 23 Apr 12
Duration:
24 mins
HARDtalk’s Stephen Sackur is at the Globe Theatre in London - a recreation of the theatre where William Shakespeare honed his theatrical genius in the late sixteenth century. He speaks to actor Zoë Wanamaker, honorary president of the Globe, which was built thanks to the tireless efforts of her father, the American actor and director, Sam Wanamaker.
Fri, 20 Apr 12
Duration:
24 mins
HARDtalk's Stephen Sackur speaks to Peter Keen, Performance Director for UK Sport. In Beijing four years ago, his strategies helped deliver a record medal haul for team GB, in London the aim is to do even better. But has the cult of winning gone too far?
Wed, 18 Apr 12
Duration:
24 mins
HARDtalk’s Stephen Sackur speaks to South Africa's last white president, F.W. de Klerk, a co-recipient of the Nobel peace prize with Nelson Mandela. Is the rainbow nation living up to its promise?
Mon, 16 Apr 12
Duration:
24 mins
Paul Conroy is a freelance photojournalist. He was injured during the bombardment of Homs, Syria where two journalists caught in the same attack died. He tells Stephen Sackur why he risks life and limb to tell a story.
Wed, 11 Apr 12
Duration:
24 mins
Stephen Sackur speaks to perhaps the UK's most controversial police officer - a commander in London's Metropolitan police and a convicted criminal. Ali Dizaei portrays himself as a victim; the courts decided he was a rogue cop - what does his rise and fall say about British policing?
Mon, 9 Apr 12
Duration:
24 mins
HARDtalk’s Stephen Sackur talks to Michael Frayn, a renowned playwright whose work has ranged from high farce to cerebral intensity. But he's also an acclaimed novelist and an accomplished translator from the Russian of Chekhov and Tolstoy. Throughout his writing career he's mixed high seriousness with a wicked sense of the absurd. Is laughter an essential tool for the serious writer?
Fri, 6 Apr 12
Duration:
24 mins
Should Iraq be doing more to end the bloodshed on its doorstep or does it have its own vested interest in keeping Syria's president Assad in power? Tim Franks talks to Hamid Al-Bayati, Iraq's Ambassador to the United Nations.
Tue, 3 Apr 12
Duration:
24 mins
HARDtalk’s Stephen Sackur speaks to Juergen Stark who was - until his shock resignation last year - a key figure on the board of the European Central Bank. He quit because he disagreed with the ECB's crisis management. Much has changed in the last few months, but has the eurozone really been saved?
Mon, 2 Apr 12
Duration:
24 mins
Sir Alan Ayckbourn is often described as the most performed living playwright in the world. After more than 50 years of writing and directing, what is it about Alan Ayckbourn that can still fill theatres around the world? Sarah Montague finds out.
Fri, 30 Mar 12
Duration:
24 mins
HARDtalk’s Stephen Sackur speaks to Nabeel Rajab - the director of the Gulf Centre for Human Rights. Nabeel's one of Bahrain’s most outspoken human rights activists. A year ago revolution was in the air in the Gulf Kingdom - what about now? After months of violence which killed dozens of protestors, the Bahraini king commissioned an independent inquiry - then he promised to implement sweeping reforms. Has this strategically vital Gulf monarchy successfully reformed itself from within?
Wed, 28 Mar 12
Duration:
24 mins
For Hardtalk, Stephen Sackur talks to Len McCluskey, the leader of the UK's biggest union, UNITE. Britain has already seen the first skirmishes in what could be a protracted battle between the Cameron-led coalition government and organised labour. Len McCluskey talks of defending workers’ rights within the law, and outside it if necessary. How far is he prepared to go?
Mon, 26 Mar 12
Duration:
24 mins
On HARDtalk, Stephen Sackur talks to Frank Chikane, former South African Presidential aide. He's the ultimate insider of South African politics and talks about the difficult time when Thabo Mbeki was removed as South Africa's president.
Fri, 23 Mar 12
Duration:
24 mins
HARDtalk comes from Portmeirion in North Wales, Stephen Sackur talks to Sir Mark Walport the Director of the Wellcome Trust. One of the world’s most important funding institutions for biomedical research it distributes close to a billion dollars’ worth of grants every year. Much of it goes to cutting edge genetic research which promises to transform human healthcare, but also raises profound ethical questions.
Wed, 21 Mar 12
Duration:
24 mins
HARDtalk is in New York City. Stephen Sackur talks to Aimee Mullins - a woman who has spent her life challenging assumptions that go with the label 'physically disabled'. She had both of her legs amputated below the knee when she was just a year old. She went on to become a champion athlete, an actor and highly paid model.
Mon, 19 Mar 12
Duration:
24 mins
David Eades talks to Otis Williams, the sole constant in the life of one of the most successful groups in Motown history: The Temptations. The group's record sales tell a story of extraordinary success. And yet, if rock and Roll was about sex and drugs, Motown was all that and more.
Fri, 16 Mar 12
Duration:
24 mins
The Maldives - which promotes itself as an Indian Ocean tourist heaven - is currently experiencing a form of political hell. Street protests, sporadic violence and parliamentary chaos all followed the resignation earlier this year of President Mohamed Nasheed in what he claims was a de facto coup. Stephen Sackur talks to the current Maldives president, Mohamed Waheed, who says his goal is to unify the nation. But how can he when he stands accused of undermining Maldivian democracy?
Wed, 14 Mar 12
Duration:
24 mins
Stephen Sackur talks to Abdel Latif al Menawy who was the news chief at Egypt's state broadcaster before and during the revolution which toppled Hosni Mubarak. Is the Arab world ready for a truly free media?
Mon, 12 Mar 12
Duration:
24 mins
In Tunis for HARDtalk, Stephen Sackur talks to Said Ferjani, a member of the Ennahda political bureau. He experienced imprisonment, torture and exile under the former Tunisian president Zine Ben Ali's regime. Ferjani's Ennahda party won the most seats in 2011's post-revolutionary election.
Fri, 9 Mar 12
Duration:
24 mins
Hardtalk is in Tunisia a year after the revolution which gave birth to the Arab Spring. Stephen Sackur meets Moncef Marzouki - a man who has undergone an extraordinary transformation from political prisoner and dissident exile to president of the Republic. He now heads a coalition government of Islamists and secularists. The country has become the test bed for the new politics of the Arab world. Can Tunisia make a success of its revolution?
Wed, 7 Mar 12
Duration:
24 mins
The best-selling children's author Jacqueline Wilson talks to Sarah Montague on HARDtalk about why she writes about children in unhappy and difficult situations and the responsibility she has to set a good example for her young and impressionable readers.
Mon, 5 Mar 12
Duration:
24 mins
Ghana has been hailed as a shining example to all of Africa - a model of democracy, decent governance and responsible economic management in a continent struggling to fulfil its potential. But if Ghana looks like a success story to outsiders how does it look to Ghanaians themselves? HARDtalk’s Stephen Sackur talks to the leader of the main opposition party and candidate for President Nana Akufo Addo. Can Ghana use its resource wealth and inward investment to benefit the many, not just a few?
Fri, 2 Mar 12
Duration:
24 mins
Turkey is a rising power in a strategically vital region, but does it have the ability to shape events beyond its borders? Officials in Ankara would like to see Turkey inside the EU and providing leadership in the Middle East, but both goals remain elusive. Stephen Sackur talks to Egemin Bagis, Turkey's Minister for Europe. His country is flexing some diplomatic muscle, but is it having the desired effect?
Wed, 29 Feb 12
Duration:
24 mins
Politics can be a cruel business. No one knows that better than Britain’s former foreign secretary David Miliband. He was hot favourite to lead the UK’s Labour party after its dismal 2010 election defeat, but he lost out to his own younger brother Ed. His steady rise to the political summit was halted, but he remains a Labour MP, and he still makes carefully timed interventions in foreign policy and national politics. Without the trappings of power how does David Miliband maximise his influence?
Mon, 27 Feb 12
Duration:
24 mins
This year marks the tenth anniversary of the end of Angola's devastating post-independence civil war. What a difference a decade makes. Angola is now one of Africa's powerhouse economies, enjoying growth that puts the west to shame, exploiting China's insatiable demand for commodities, especially oil. HARDtalk’s Stephen Sackur speaks to Angola's foreign minister, Georges Chikoti. For Angola and Africa, this is an era of opportunity - will it be seized or squandered?
Fri, 24 Feb 12
Duration:
24 mins
In this special edition of HARDtalk, Stephen Sackur speaks to the President of Uganda, Yoweri Museveni, currently on a visit to London. He took power in Kampala at the head of a rebel army in 1986 - he’s delivered stability and economic progress in a country previously laid low by brutal dictatorship. But in recent years, he’s faced questions about his commitment to democracy and human rights. When he took power, he said Uganda, and Africa’s, problem was leaders overstaying their time in power – has he fallen into the same old trap?
Wed, 22 Feb 12
Duration:
24 mins
This summer Ukraine is co-hosting the European football championships, but don't be deceived by the sporting camaraderie - Ukraine's political relationship with the EU is in crisis. The most pressing dispute concerns Yulia Tymoshenko, the former Ukrainian prime minister imprisoned for seven years after a trial dismissed as a political charade by many in the West. HARDtalk’s Stephen Sackur speaks to Yulia Tymoshenko's daughter, Yevgenia. What does the Tymoshenko story say about Ukraine?
Mon, 20 Feb 12
Duration:
24 mins
Tim Franks talks to Fawzia Koofi, an MP in the Afghan parliament who has been a prominent national figure since she was first elected in 2005. She's already survived several assassination attempts. So what - in that case - does she believe she can achieve in running for the presidency of her country, the year after next?
Fri, 17 Feb 12
Duration:
24 mins
Stephen Sackur speaks to Sir Clive Woodward, coach of England’s World Cup winning rugby team in 2003 and now performance director for the British Olympic Team preparing for London 2012. Are sporting champions born or made?
Wed, 15 Feb 12
Duration:
24 mins
HARDtalk is in the financial heart of New York City to meet one of the country’s most respected and enduring policy makers. Paul Volcker was chairman of the Federal Reserve in the Reagan years and in all he served five presidents, most recently advising the Obama administration in regulating the banks and engineering an economic recovery. America has lost its economic swagger; Stephen Sackur asks - can it get it back?
Mon, 13 Feb 12
Duration:
24 mins
Stephen Sackur talks to Senator John McCain. Four years ago he challenged Barack Obama for the presidency and lost. This time around is the Republican party in any better shape to take back the White House?
Fri, 10 Feb 12
Duration:
24 mins
Tim Franks speaks to John Fahey, the President of the World Anti-Doping Agency. What can WADA do to combat what it sees as the growing role of organised crime in the trafficking of performance enhancing drugs?
Wed, 8 Feb 12
Duration:
24 mins
South Sudan became independent last July after a five-decade war against the north. But hostilities between the two countries are pushing them to the brink of war. Zeinab Badawi speaks to the UN Head of Mission for South Sudan Hilde Johnson. Is the country effectively already a failed state?
Mon, 6 Feb 12
Duration:
24 mins
Barring a miracle, Vladimir Putin will soon be back where he thinks he belongs; inside the Kremlin as Russia's elected President. But the cracks are beginning to show in the House of Putin...protests about the failings of Russian democracy are getting louder; Moscow's foreign policy runs the risk of dangerous isolation and Russia's economy is heavily reliant on high energy prices. Vladimir Yakunin is the boss of state owned Russian Railways and a close Putin ally. Is Putinism taking Russia down the wrong track?
Fri, 3 Feb 12
Duration:
24 mins
There aren't many sportspeople who have competed in their fifties and are on course to be challenging for a medal at their sixth straight Olympic Games. That's the achievement of Mary King - Britain's most cherished three-day eventer. But her profile more broadly is low - equestrianism, even in one of its traditional homes - the United Kingdom - rarely makes it on to the sports pages. It's fans say that's unfair - few sports are greater tests of courage and concentration. It's detractors say it's a hobby for the privileged few. Who is right?
Wed, 1 Feb 12
Duration:
24 mins
Gene Sharp is a political thinker whose influence is now spoken of in same breath as Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King. But he is no platform speaker or figurehead at a demonstration. Rather, a quietly spoken political philosopher who's been writing about non-violent struggle for 50 years. His most celebrated pamphlet From Dictatorship to Democracy, is now grabbing attention around the world. He's been hailed as having helped mould protest movements from Burma to Serbia to Egypt. What is it that Gene Sharp has been able to unlock?
Mon, 30 Jan 12
Duration:
24 mins
Living openly as a gay man in socially conservative Africa is hard enough; but Edwin Cameron, went even further. He was the first public official in South Africa to reveal his HIV positive status. Nelson Mandela appointed him a judge and he now serves on South Africa's Constitutional Court. With high levels of homophobia on the continent why are gay activists like him losing the argument?
Fri, 27 Jan 12
Duration:
24 mins
Gus O'Donnell has been at the heart of government in Britain for 30 years, working closely with the last four British prime ministers. He was John Major's press secretary; under Tony Blair he took on the top job in the civil service, a position he held when Gordon Brown took over. And that meant that at the last election he was the one overseeing the negotiations for Britain's first full coalition government since the Second World War. After nearly two years with David Cameron as prime minister he has now retired. And with his former role being split into three jobs - does even the man who signed his letters by his initials G.O.D - recognise he was just too powerful?
Wed, 25 Jan 12
Duration:
24 mins
Patrick Stewart is instantly recognisable to millions around the world as Captain Jean-Luc Picard of the USS Enterprise and Professor Charles Xavier of X-Men. But after 17 years in Hollywood, he's turned his back on it to return to England, and to Shakespeare and the theatre. So why choose small audiences and venues over the glamour of Hollywood?
Mon, 23 Jan 12
Duration:
24 mins
Wadah Khanfar was the Director General of Al Jazeera Television during the Arab Spring, one of the most tumultuous periods in modern Middle Eastern history. HARDtalk's Zeinab Badawi asks him whether the network was as balanced as it claims to be?
Fri, 20 Jan 12
Duration:
24 mins
The artist and filmmaker Steve McQueen talks to Zeinab Badawi about his new film Shame. His second feature has drawn much controversy over his portrayal of sex addiction in modern day New York. But does sex addiction really exist?
Wed, 18 Jan 12
Duration:
24 mins
Bassma Kodmani sits on the Executive Committee of the Syrian National Council. Sarah Montague asks her is she thinks it is time for international intervention in Syria?
Mon, 16 Jan 12
Duration:
24 mins
The Minister for Communication in the Hungarian Government explains to Zeinab Badawi why his country has made such contraversial constitutional changes.
Fri, 13 Jan 12
Duration:
24 mins
Zeinab Badawi talks to the prominent Chinese economist Cheng Siwei. In 2011 thousands of workers went on strike in China demanding more pay and the country's growth has slowed. Zeinab Badawi asks Cheng Siwei if China's economic miracle is showing its first signs of real vulnerability.
Wed, 11 Jan 12
Duration:
24 mins
Hardtalk is in Brussels to talk to Olli Rehn - Europe's Commissioner for Economic and Monetary Affairs. Sarah Montague asks Olli Rehn whether Europe's leaders are any closer to resolving the crisis in the Eurozone and can the Euro survive?
Mon, 9 Jan 12
Duration:
24 mins
On Hardtalk, Stephen Sackur speaks to a brilliant Indian heart surgeon Dr Devi Shetty - the veteran of more than 30,000 operations. He wants to make major surgery affordable for the poorest people, by means of mass production, and to do this he's building what he calls medical cities across India and beyond.
The BBC Podcasts are for your personal non-commercial use only.
All title, ownership rights and intellectual property rights in and to the BBC Podcasts shall remain the property of the BBC or third parties. You may not edit, alter, adapt or add to the BBC Podcast in any way. The BBC Podcasts are made available by the BBC on an "as is" and "as available" basis and the BBC gives no warranty of any kind in relation to the BBC Podcast. To the maximum extent permitted by law the BBC will not be liable for any loss or damage which you may suffer as a result of, or connected to, the download or use of the BBC Podcasts.
You need Javascript enabled and Flash version 10 installed to access this audio. Please view our BBC Webwise guide.
An indepth look at stories and issues from around the world. This podcast offers you the chance to access landmark series from our archive.
Thu, 13 Jun 13
29 minutes
John Pienaar shares his keen political observations, with news and interviews from key political figures in Westminster.
Sun, 16 Jun 13
48 minutes
BBC © 2013 The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read more.
This page is best viewed in an up-to-date web browser with style sheets (CSS) enabled. While you will be able to view the content of this page in your current browser, you will not be able to get the full visual experience. Please consider upgrading your browser software or enabling style sheets (CSS) if you are able to do so.
