The Interview

Living with death threats for daring to speak out against Islamist jihadist violence. The former Charlie Hebdo journalist and French-Moroccan writer Zineb El Rhazoui knows the risks can be a matter of life and death. She was working for the satirical magazine when 12 people were murdered in the Paris office in 2015. She happened to be on holiday. Subjected to a multitude of death threats because of her determination to speak out against what she sees as the malign and dangerous influence of Islam, she now lives life under police protection. El Rhazoui has since written a book on what she calls Islamic fascism. She tells Hardtalk's Stephen Sackur that she feels like she's fighting a war.

(Photo: French-Maroccan journalist Zineb El Rhazoui, a former columnist at French satirical weekly Charlie Hebdo. Credit: Joel Saget/AFP)

Russia is calling on the EU to stump up billions of dollars to help rebuild Syria. Russia’s representative to the EU, Vladimir Chizhov, says if they don’t they will “bear the responsibility for that”. But Russian planes are still destroying parts of the country and rather than support the peace process at the UN, they have set up their own parallel talks. Sarah Montague asks Ambassador Chizhov - what responsibility do the Russians themselves have for ending the war in Syria?

(Photo: Vladimir Chizhov on Hardtalk)

The White House has never before seen a president like Donald Trump. He does not play by any conventional political rules – that much is obvious from his Twitter feed, his hiring and firing of staff and his apparent relish for outrage. Stephen Sackur speaks to Anthony Scaramucci, the White House Director of Communications for all of 11 days before he was fired in a media firestorm in 2017. He has stayed loyal to his former boss – why?

(Photo: Anthony Scarmuccin on Hardtalk)

A year after President Trump’s inauguration and not a day goes by without a new media storm over a presidential comment, tweet or announcement that has Democrats decrying him as unfit for office. What do Republicans feel and do about their de facto party leader? Stephen Sackur speaks to Michael Steele, a former Chairman of the Republican National Committee.

(Photo: Michael Steele on Hardtalk)

Stephen Sackur is in New York to speak to the actor and activist Ashley Judd. The movie and entertainment industries have been rocked by allegations of systemic sexism, misogyny and abusive behaviour. Ms Judd was one of the first women to go public with her accusations about the producer Harvey Weinstein. What began with voices of anger and pain has become a movement demanding radical change. How far can it go?

(Photo: Ashley Judd accepts the WMC Speaking Truth To Power Award, Oct 2017, New York. Credit: Cindy Ord/Getty Images)

The removal of Robert Mugabe as President of Zimbabwe in November 2017 led to several Mugabe loyalists going underground. The most prominent of these is probably Jonathan Moyo - until recently a cabinet minister, key ally and close adviser to Robert Mugabe and his wife Grace. He has been described as one of the most hated men in Zimbabwe and is wanted in the country on corruption charges. Jonathan Moyo is now in hiding in self-imposed exile and says his family is being harassed and that his life is under threat. HARDtalk’s Zeinab Badawi speaks to him in his first interview since the ousting of President Mugabe. What has he got to say for himself?

Zeinab Badawi speaks to comedian, actor and disability advocate Maysoon Zayid. She was born in the United States to Palestinian immigrant parents and since birth has been living with cerebral palsy - a condition which affects the brain and nervous system. She believes comedy has the power to transform lives by helping people overcome the disadvantages of being disabled. She also says her stand-up comedy shows help normalise the perceptions of Muslims when many seek to demonise them. Can comedy really do all that and where do you draw the line between what is funny and what is going too far?

(Photo: Maysoon Zayid at the OZY FEST 2017. Credit: Brad Barket/Getty Images)

Stephen Sackur speaks to Mahmoud al-Zahar, co-founder of the Islamist movement Hamas. Donald Trump broke with long established diplomatic convention by recognising Jerusalem as Israel's capital. His recent tweets on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict have been music to the ears of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. So what do the Palestinians do now? Hamas controls Gaza and has been at loggerheads with the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank for more than a decade. Are the Palestinians staring defeat in the face?

(Photo: Palestinian Hamas leader Mahmud al-Zahar speaks against the renewed Israeli-Palestinian talks in Washington, in 2010. Credit: Mahmud Hams/AFP)

HARDtalk’s Stephen Sackur speaks to former British Labour Foreign Secretary, Lord David Owen. The beginning of the year is a time for reflecting on the past and plotting a better future. In Britain the focus is on where Brexit is taking the nation. How will leaving the EU affect the UK's sense of itself and its international standing? Lord Owen, David Owen tried and failed to change the face of British politics by launching a new party on the centre left. Does the UK currently have a clue where its going ?

We are slowly and inevitably losing the generation of men who fought in and survived the last world war. HARDtalk’s Stephen Sackur speaks to 96 year old George ‘Johnny’ Johnson – the last remaining British survivor of one of the most extraordinary and most famous aerial missions of World War 2 - the Dambusters raid. It was costly and not entirely successful. So why has it become such a part of Britain’s national folklore?