The Interview

When a dying person asks their doctor if he or she can do anything to help, is it easier for the doctor to provide a false hope than have a difficult conversation about how best to manage their last days? Hardtalk speaks to Atul Gawande, who wants to change the way doctors think - and talk - about death. It is a subject he covers in the BBC's annual Reith Lectures this year. He says doctors are good at addressing specific individual problems or diseases, but argues that the ultimate goal is not a good death but a good life - all the way to the very end.

(Photo: Atul Gawande. Credit: Tim Llewellyn/BBC)

Is the world winning the war against ebola? The World Health Organisation describes it as the most severe acute public health emergency in modern times and reckons there could be ten thousand new cases each week in west Africa by December unless international efforts are stepped up to tackle its spread. Zeinab Badawi speaks to Dr Abu Bakkar Fofana, the health minister for Sierra Leone, one of the nations fighting ebola on the frontline. Is he gaining the upper hand over the spread of the disease?

Hardtalk’s Stephen Sackur talks to Francis Rossi, guitarist, singer and founder of the band Status Quo – one of the most popular and durable acts in the history of rock 'n' roll. He’s turned the old mantra “live fast, die young” on its head - he has lived fast and just kept on going. The music business has changed beyond all recognition in the last 40 years – how are Status Quo still rocking all over the world?

(Photo: Francis Rossi of Status Quo performs for TV show Gabalier: Die Volks-Rock'n'Roll-Show. Credit: Joerg Koch/Getty Images)

Days ago the Nigerian government announced a ceasefire deal with the militant group Boko Haram - officials predicted the imminent release of more than 200 schoolgirls abducted by the extremists last April. Now those words look depressingly premature.

What is going on with Nigeria's insurgency? Hardtalk speaks to Shehu Sani, a Nigerian human rights activist and sometime mediator with Boko Haram. How can the conflict which has cost thousands of Nigerian lives be ended?

(Photo: Shehu Sani. BBC copyright)

Many of us who use the internet for work and leisure come to feel that we couldn't live without it. The web opens up the world, but does it also harbour fundamental threats to our privacy, security or autonomy? Can we trust the tech companies who shape our relationship with the internet?

Hardtalk speaks to Mitchell Baker, a Silicon Valley pioneer, and boss of the not-for-profit Mozilla Corporation, best known for the Firefox web browser. Is her open-source collaborative model of web innovation being overwhelmed by the power of the profit motive?

Picture: Mitchell Baker, Credit: Andreas Rentz/Getty Images for Hubert Burda Media

National governments and security organisations are becoming increasingly preoccupied with the threat posed by the extremist group calling itself Islamic State, and what their response should be. Hardtalk travels to Brussels to speak to Turkey’s ambassador to Nato, Mehmet Fatih Ceylan. Turkey has been criticised for its failure to act against Islamic State, so is Ankara finally ready to confront the threat they pose?

President Obama is just where he didn't want to be - fighting another war in the Middle East. He promises that American troops will not be dragged back into Iraq, yet he portrays the confrontation with the group calling itself Islamic State as a generational struggle that has to be won.

Hardtalk speaks to James Jeffrey, a former US ambassador in Turkey and Iraq. Is the Obama administration making the right calls in the Middle East?