HARDtalk

HARDtalk episodes:

• 04.20.2024

  Richard Haass: How should the US respond to global risks?

  Stephen Sackur speaks to veteran US diplomat Richard Haass. Levels of geopolitical risk are sky-high; from the direct hostilities between Israel and Iran, to the continued conflict and suffering in Gaza, to the ramping up of Russia’s assault on Ukraine....

  
• 04.19.2024

  Arseniy Yatsenyuk: Could Ukraine lose?

  If the West doesn't step up assistance for Ukraine, will the war be lost? Stephen Sackur speaks to former Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk.

  
• 04.16.2024

  Danny Danon: Will Israel listen to its allies?

  Stephen Sackur speaks to Danny Danon, Israeli MP and former ambassador at the United Nations. Israel and Iran are on the brink of a war which could ignite the entire Middle East. Having neutralised an Iranian missile barrage, will the...

  
• 04.15.2024

  Eddie Marsan: Do the arts neglect working-class people?

  Stephen Sackur speaks to the actor Eddie Marsan, whose ability to play troubled, sometimes violent characters has made him a staple on stage and screen. He’s a relative rarity, an actor with genuine working class roots. Is there a diversity...

  
• 04.12.2024

  Paul Caruana Galizia: Can his family get justice?

  Stephen Sackur speaks to Paul Caruana Galizia, whose mother, Daphne, was a Maltese journalist who was assassinated for exposing endemic corruption and sleaze. Six years on, have her family won their fight for accountability and justice?

  
• 04.10.2024

  Job Sikhala: Is change possible in Zimbabwe?

  Stephen Sackur speaks to Zimbabwean opposition politician Job Sikhala. He was recently released after almost two years in jail. Now he’s promising to build a grassroots movement to challenge the ruling Zanu-PF party. But amid economic crisis and political repression,...

  
• 04.07.2024

  Humza Yousaf: Is the SNP's supremacy in Scotland under threat?

  Stephen Sackur speaks to Scotland’s First Minister Humza Yousaf. His first year in the top job has been tough. Is the Scottish National Party's supremacy in peril?

  
• 04.05.2024

  Naomi Alderman: Power and technology

  Another opportunity to hear Stephen Sackur's interview with the writer and computer game creator Naomi Alderman. Her most recent novel - The Future - is a techno thriller set at the end of days. Is the apocalypse she imagines all...

  
• 04.03.2024

  Tom Shakespeare: Redefining disability

  Stephen Sackur speaks to the bioethicist, disability rights campaigner and writer Tom Shakespeare. Should we embrace difference, rather than use science to root it out?

  
• 04.01.2024

  Lila Rose: Could abortion be banned in the entire US?

  Stephen Sackur speaks to one of America’s fiercest opponents of abortion rights, Lila Rose. The US Supreme Court has overturned Roe v Wade, but she wants to go much further - to a total nationwide abortion ban. Is that a...

  
• 03.29.2024

  Mohamed Irfaan Ali: Is oil a blessing or a curse for Guyana?

  Stephen Sackur speaks to Guyana’s President Mohamed Irfaan Ali. Vast offshore oil and gas reserves are transforming the Guyanese economy. But amid territorial tension with neighbouring Venezuela and environmental concerns, will oil prove to be a blessing or a curse?

  
• 03.27.2024

  On the road in Guyana

  Stephen Sackur is on the road in Guyana, South America, home to globally significant ecosystems and now one of the world's biggest offshore oil and gas reserves. As Guyana experiences record economic growth, will its people feel the benefit?

  
• 03.25.2024

  Judith Butler: Gender and identity

  Stephen Sackur speaks to philosopher Judith Butler, who has been at the centre of the fierce debate about sex, gender and self-identity for three decades. Their new book suggests those sceptical of gender fluidity and self-identity are part of a...

  
• 03.22.2024

  Luis Abinader: Will the Dominican Republic help Haiti?

  Stephen Sackur speaks to the President of the Dominican Republic, Luis Abinader. His country’s economy is growing fast, as neighbouring Haiti sinks deeper into an economic and security crisis. Will the Dominican Republic help a neighbour in need, or put...

  
• 03.20.2024

  Chris Mullin: Have lessons been learned from the Birmingham Six injustice?

  Stephen Sackur speaks to the former politician and justice campaigner Chris Mullin. He did much to expose the miscarriage of justice which saw six men wrongly convicted of IRA bombings in Birmingham 50 years ago. Were the right lessons learned...

  
• 03.18.2024

  Jan Egeland: Is the international community failing to protect the most vulnerable?

  Stephen Sackur speaks to Jan Egeland, secretary general of the Norwegian Refugee Council. He’s just back from Gaza; before that, he was on the Chad/Sudan border. Hundreds of thousands of people are in life threatening danger. Is the international community...

  
• 03.14.2024

  Claude Joseph: Can anything save Haiti?

  Haiti is on the brink; armed gangs are rampant, basic services are broken, millions of people are at risk. The prime minister is stepping down, and there are calls for armed international intervention. Can it be saved? Stephen Sackur speaks...

  
• 03.13.2024

  Leonid Volkov: Is the anti-Putin movement out of options?

  Stephen Sackur speaks to Leonid Volkov, long-time ally and adviser to Russia’s late opposition leader Alexey Navalny. President Vladimir Putin is almost certain to be resoundingly re-elected in upcoming elections. His most dangerous political opponent is dead. Is it game...

  
• 03.13.2024

  Ericka Huggins: Do the Black Panthers have lessons for Black Lives Matter?

  Stephen Sackur is in Oakland, California, to speak to Ericka Huggins, an original member of the 1960s Black Panther Party. She experienced violence, imprisonment and vilification in the controversial campaign for black power. Do the Panthers have lessons for the...

  
• 03.13.2024

  Riyad Mansour: Why are the diplomats failing?

  Stephen Sackur speaks to Riyad Mansour, the Palestinian Ambassador to the UN. Talks to end, or at least suspend, the war in Gaza haven’t worked. The humanitarian situation for two million Palestinians and the 100-plus Israeli hostages is desperate. Why...

  
• 03.06.2024

  Sathnam Sanghera: Britain's imperial legacies

  Stephen Sackur speaks to the writer Sathnam Sanghera, whose own identity as the British son of Indian immigrants led him to look afresh at the legacy of the British Empire.

  
• 03.01.2024

  Salome Zourabichvili: Where does Georgia's destiny lie?

  Russia’s neighbour Georgia is closely watching what happens in Ukraine. It shares a 900km border with Russia, who invaded in 2008. Russian troops are stationed in two separatist regions. Georgia has just been granted EU candidate status and talks of...

  
• 02.28.2024

  Ciarán Hinds: Is Northern Ireland a creative powerhouse?

  Stephen Sackur interviews Northern Irish actor Ciarán Hinds, whose career took him from the troubled streets of Belfast to an Oscar nomination. Right now, Northern Ireland is a creative powerhouse; why, and will it last?

  
• 02.26.2024

  Jens Stoltenberg: Is Russia really preparing for a war with Nato?

  Sarah Montague is at Nato’s headquarters in Brussels to speak to its outgoing Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg. Two years after Russia’s full scale invasion of Ukraine, is Vladimir Putin now preparing for a war with Nato?

  
• 02.23.2024

  HARDtalk: Defying Putin

  In a special programme in the run up to Russia’s presidential election in March, HARDtalk looks back on interviews with those few Russians who have been ready to stand up to Vladimir Putin. From the late Boris Nemtsov to Alexei...

  
• 02.21.2024

  Nikolai Denkov: Is Bulgaria a weak link in Europe's security?

  Stephen Sackur speaks to Bulgaria’s Prime Minister Nikolai Denkov. His country is trying to wean itself off Russian energy, and sends weapons to Ukraine, but many Bulgarians are still pro-Russian. As Europe tries to beef up its own security, is...

  
• 02.19.2024

  Alexey Navalny: The interview

  Russian authorities have announced the death of one of the country’s most significant opposition leaders Alexey Navalny in a remote penal colony in the Arctic Circle. Stephen Sackur spoke to him in Moscow in 2017 about the risks involved in...

  
• 02.16.2024

  Bassem Youssef: Can laughter ever provoke political change?

  Stephen Sackur is in New York for a special edition of the programme with Egyptian American satirist Bassem Youssef. During the Arab Spring, his mockery of Egypt’s leaders won him millions of fans, but after the military took over he...

  
• 02.13.2024

  Ukraine's Permanent Representative to the UN Sergiy Kyslytsya: Does Ukraine feel betrayed?

  Stephen Sackur is in New York City for an exclusive interview with Ukraine’s top diplomat at the United Nations, Sergiy Kyslytsya. With partisan warfare in Washington DC blocking crucial military assistance to Kyiv, does Ukraine feel betrayed? (Photo: Still taken...

  
• 02.12.2024

  Cornel West: Could enough votes taken from Joe Biden help Donald Trump get elected?

  Stephen Sackur is in New York City to speak to Cornel West, the high-profile philosopher, writer and activist who has launched his own bid for the White House. Running as independent, he looks unlikely to win but could this anti-war...

  
• 02.07.2024

  Vassily Nebenzia: Is Russia influencing global opinions?

  Stephen Sackur is in New York City, home of the United Nations, to speak to Vassily Nebenzia, Russia’s permanent representative to the UN. Ambassador Nebenzia is a key player in Vladimir Putin’s combative diplomatic strategy to accuse the West of...

  
• 02.05.2024

  José Ramos-Horta: Peace and reconciliation

  Stephen Sackur speaks to José Ramos Horta, President of Timor-Leste. Are there lessons for the world to learn from his extraordinary life?

  
• 02.01.2024

  Abdalla Hamdok: Can Sudan find peace?

  Zeinab Badawi speaks to the former prime minister of Sudan, Abdalla Hamdok. He is at the heart of negotiations to bring peace to the country after ten months of conflict, in which thousands have died and millions have been displaced....

  
• 01.31.2024

  Ronald Lamola: Is South Africa's genocide case against Israel a geo-political game changer?

  Stephen Sackur speaks to South African justice minister Ronald Lamola, a key player in the country’s genocide case against Israel presented to the International Court of Justice. The court’s preliminary ruling has made little immediate difference to the war in...

  
• 01.29.2024

  Jasvinder Sanghera: Abuse and the Church of England

  Stephen Sackur speaks to Jasvinder Sanghera, who as a child escaped a forced marriage and has been a lifelong advocate for survivors of abuse. She was hired by the Church of England to help them confront abuse allegations. But...

  
• 01.26.2024

  Radek Sikorski: Will Poland's new government unite or divide the country?

  Stephen Sackur speaks to Polish foreign minister Radek Sikorski. Poland has been a key pillar of the Western alliance supporting Ukraine against Putin’s invasion, but is war fatigue undermining that bond? And is Poland's new government going to unite the...

  
• 01.24.2024

  Naomi Alderman: Apocalypse soon?

  Stephen Sackur speaks to the writer and computer game creator Naomi Alderman. Her latest novel - The Future - is a techno thriller set at the end of days. Is the apocalypse she imagines all too possible?

  
• 01.22.2024

  Regina Ip: What is Hong Kong's future?

  Stephen Sackur speaks to Regina Ip, an influential pro-Beijing lawmaker in Hong Kong. For years China has been tightening its grip on the territory it took back from Britain. Pro-democracy activism, political opposition and press freedom have all been curtailed....

  
• 01.18.2024

  Mark Regev: Is Israel serving its own best interests?

  Stephen Sackur talks to Mark Regev, spokesman for Israel’s prime minister. Israel’s relentless military response to Hamas’s assault on 7 October has unleashed a humanitarian nightmare in Gaza. Is Israel’s strategy serving its own best interests?

  
• 01.17.2024

  Mohammad Marandi: Is Middle East conflict what Iran really wants?

  Stephen Sackur speaks to Mohammad Marandi, an Iranian academic who has advised his government during nuclear negotiations. Iran actively backs Hamas in Gaza, Hezbollah in Lebanon and the Houthis in Yemen, but as the flashpoints in the Middle East multiply,...

  
• 01.12.2024

  Sir Nicholas Winton: A Holocaust hero

  Another chance to listen to Stephen Sackur's 2014 interview with the late Sir Nicholas Winton, the man who saved more than 600 mostly Jewish children from Nazi persecution. Nine years after his death, a major film has been released about...

  
• 01.10.2024

  Alicia Kearns: How much will 2024 test the West?

  Stephen Sackur talks to Alicia Kearns, Conservative MP and chair of the UK’s House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee. She has long warned of the threat to democracies posed by authoritarian regimes, led by China. With a host of elections...

  
• 01.08.2024

  Stephen Cave: Should we want to live forever?

  Stephen Sackur speaks to philosopher Stephen Cave, director of the University of Cambridge Institute for Technology and Humanity. He is at the centre of a growing debate about the merits of extending human longevity. Is it wise to seek to...

  
• 01.05.2024

  Aida Touma-Sliman: What does war mean for Israel's Arab population?

  What does the Gaza war mean for Israel’s Arab population? Stephen Sackur speaks to Israeli politician Aida Touma-Sliman, a Palestinian Arab member of Israel's parliament.

  
• 12.29.2023

  Past notes

  A special programme remembering past HARDtalk guests who died in 2023. All of them left an indelible mark on public life and all, in their different ways, relished the opportunity we gave them to discuss their decision-making and motivation.

  
• 12.27.2023

  2023 in review

  Stephen Sackur looks back at some of HARDtalk’s most impactful and thought-provoking interviews of 2023.

  
• 12.20.2023

  Naftali Bennett: Has Israel responded unwisely?

  Stephen Sackur speaks to Israel’s former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett. He is a staunch supporter of Israel’s military assault in Gaza. But in responding to Hamas’s murderous October 7th attack, has Israel deployed wisdom as well as military might?

  
• 12.15.2023

  Izzeldin Abuelaish: Can Palestinians still believe in forgiveness and peace?

  Zeinab Badawi speaks to the Palestinian doctor Izzeldin Abuelaish, whose three daughters and niece were killed in an Israeli tank strike on his home in the Gaza Strip in 2009. At the time, he said he felt no bitterness, and...

  
• 12.11.2023

  Sandra Day O'Connor: The first female US Supreme Court judge

  The framers of the American Constitution harboured few illusions about human nature, and that’s why they invested so much significance in the US Supreme Court, the ultimate check on executive and legislative power. Sandra Day O’Connor, who died days ago...

  
• 12.08.2023

  Victoire Ingabire Umuhoza: What Rwandans think of the UK migrant transfer deal

  Stephen Sackur speaks to Rwandan opposition leader Victoire Ingabire Umuhoza. The UK government, which has signed a controversial migrant transfer deal with Rwanda, paints President Paul Kagame in positive colours. How does that sit with his opponents? (Photo: Rwandan opposition...