Stephen Sackur speaks to the master of extreme swimming Lewis Pugh. From the North Pole to Antarctica, his death-defying swims are designed to focus attention on the damaging impact of climate change on our blue planet. Is this a form of activism that works?

Stephen Sackur speaks to the President of Chile, Gabriel Boric. Still just 37, he was elected amid excited talk of a new brand of progressive left politics in Latin America - but his ratings have plummeted. What's gone wrong for the young leader with big reformist ambition?

Zeinab Badawi speaks to dissident Russian journalist and writer Mikhail Zygar, who has rare insights into the inner workings of the Kremlin. After the challenge to Vladimir Putin’s power and an aborted mutiny last month, how weak is the Russian president?

Stephen Sackur interviews one of the world’s most innovative contemporary artists, Tomás Saraceno. His work involves spiders, balloons, dust and air. At its heart is a challenge to us all: Are we ready to reinvent what it means to be a human in a complex ecosystem on a small planet?

Does France’s government have a clear strategy to deal with the deep social and economic divisions that led to the worst outbreak of violence and rioting for years, following the killing of a French youth by police? Zeinab Badawi speaks to France’s Europe minister Laurence Boone.

Stephen Sackur speaks to Venezuelan opposition politician Maria Corina Machado, currently seen as the most likely challenger to socialist authoritarian president Nicolas Maduro in elections due next year. Maduro has survived the collapse of his economy and international sanctions. Has Venezuela’s opposition been outmanoeuvred?

Another chance to hear Stephen Sackur’s 2008 interview with the acclaimed writer and journalist Dame Ann Leslie, who has passed away at the age of 82. She is widely acclaimed as one of the greatest British reporters of the last 50 years, but is the golden age of the intrepid foreign correspondent now gone for good?

Stephen Sackur speaks to controversial philosopher Peter Boghossian, who spoofed a host of US academic journals to expose what he claims is the corruption of academia by politically fashionable ‘woke’ ideology. Is he stoking the fires of a dangerous culture war?

Zeinab Badawi speaks to Jennifer Morgan, Germany's special envoy on international climate action. How is she trying to build partnerships to reduce greenhouse gas emissions amid accusations that the rich world is not doing enough?

Stephen Sackur speaks to Anielle Franco, Brazil’s minister of racial equality. She was appointed by President Lula de Silva to tackle entrenched race inequality in everything from policing to schooling and business, just five years after her activist sister, Marielle Franco, was assassinated in Rio de Janeiro. Anielle Franco has vowed to fight racism and continue her sister’s work for social justice. Is Brazil ready for change?