The Interview

Perhaps inevitably, Britain’s unresolved Brexit agony has led to a general election. The current Parliament could not find a path out of the morass, so the people must now elect a new one. Brexit has exposed profound tensions in Britain’s vaunted system of democracy, raising questions about the relationship between the people, Parliament, Government and the courts. Stephen Sackur speaks to busines...

Imagine having an extraordinary sporting talent, but finding yourself traumatised by the realities of elite-level competition. Imagine being defined by your gender and physicality in ways that crushed your own sense of yourself. Stephen Sackur interviews former Olympic swimmer turned artist, model and now writer Casey Legler about their pain-filled early life, which included a prolonged battle wit...

What was it like to be a spy during the Troubles in Northern Ireland? HARDtalk's Stephen Sackur speaks to former MI5 agent Willie Carlin. He became an undercover spy within Sinn Féin, the political wing of the IRA, during the so-called 'dirty war'. He was dramatically extracted after his cover was blown. Now he’s written a book - Thatcher's Spy - about his experiences.

HARDtalk’s Stephen Sackur speaks to Zohrab Mnatsakanyan, Armenia’s foreign minister. Armenia is a small state with outsize strategic significance in a Caucasus region beset with tension and hostility. Last year popular protests delivered a so-called velvet revolution which saw a new government installed in Yerevan amid ambitious talk of reform. Is Armenia looking east or west for political and eco...

Last week the whole of Europe heard a howl of rage coming from Catalonia. Since Spain’s highest court sentenced nine pro-independence politicians to a collective one hundred years in prison there have been mass, sometimes violent protests across the region which has left hundreds injured. Madrid says there can be no political dialogue until Catalan politicians condemn the violence and rein in the...

What will become - what should become - of Jack Letts? HARDtalk's Stephen Sackur speaks to his parents, Sally Lane and John Letts. Alongside the humanitarian fall-out from Turkey’s invasion of northern Syria, there are grave security concerns - not least what will happen to the thousands of so-called Islamic State militants imprisoned by Syrian Kurdish forces. British-born Jack Letts left the UK i...

Is Turkey creating further instability in Syria? HARDtalk’s Zeinab Badawi talks exclusively to the Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu in Ankara. Turkey has been condemned for its recent offensive in northern Syria but it says its operations have been necessary to flush out what it describes as Kurdish terrorists.

What makes a whistleblower? What prompts someone to break ranks, maybe break the law, in order to expose a secret, often at great cost? Stephen Sackur interviews Katharine Gun. In 2003, she worked at the UK’s signals intelligence agency GCHQ. She leaked potentially explosive information about America’s covert effort to sway UN diplomats to support the Iraq war. She risked everything, including pri...

What is the most serious existential threat facing humanity? Artificial Intelligence, warned the physicist Stephen Hawking, could spell the end of the human race. Stephen Sackur interviews Stuart Russell, a globally-renowned computer scientist and sometime adviser to the UK Government and the UN. Right now, AI is being developed as a tool to enhance human capability; is it fanciful to imagine the...

Brexit represents a political gamble played for the highest of stakes. If Britain leaves the EU without a deal there will be significant economic disruption, even the most ardent Brexiteers acknowledge that. But they believe the potential rewards justify the risk. Stephen Sackur speaks to Stuart Wheeler, a successful businessman and lifelong gambler who backed his commitment to Brexit with plenty...

Rock music inhabits a world of permanent revolution. Today’s biggest bands will most likely be tomorrow’s tired old has-beens. But just occasionally artists and groups find a way of reinventing themselves and outlasting the constant fluctuations in fashion and taste. Stephen Sackur speaks to the singer-songwriter Brett Anderson. His band Suede was hailed as the future of Rock'n'Roll back in the ea...

The number of forest fires burning in the Amazon rainforest may have dropped since the global alarm was raised in August, but Brazil’s Government is still feeling intense political heat. Stephen Sackur interviews Brazilian Environment Minister Ricardo Salles, who is in Europe trying to convince sceptics that President Bolsonaro’s government is not prioritising economic exploitation at the expense...

Zeinab Badawi interviews British actress, activist and model Jameela Jamil. After breaking into the US with the critically-acclaimed comedy series ‘The Good Place’, she’s been getting attention for her criticism of celebrities like the Kardashians for their promotion of diet products to millions of young women on social media. Is her campaign to make us feel better about our bodies working?

It has been two months since India revoked the special autonomous status of Jammu and Kashmir, and Delhi still has the territory in a form of lockdown. Political leaders are detained, troops are on the streets and communication links are disrupted. The Modi Government seems confident its dramatic cancellation of a 70-year-old dispensation has worked; but what of Kashmiri feeling? Stephen Sackur sp...

What have almost two decades of American intervention in Afghanistan achieved? HARDtalk’s Stephen Sackur speaks to Kimberley Motley - an American lawyer who went to Kabul in a training capacity and stayed to become a respected litigator fighting for the rights of the abused and the powerless. The death toll in the Afghan conflict far outstrips the losses in Syria and Yemen. But the grim statistics...

Is impeachment a trap for President Trump's opponents? HARDtalk's Stephen Sackur speaks to Anthony Scaramucci, former Trump cheerleader, briefly his communications director and now an arch critic. The Trump presidency has seen US politics become ever more polarised and partisan. The Democrats decision to begin impeachment proceedings based on emerging details of President Trump’s dealings with the...

How do we ensure our astonishing technological advances are harnessed for good, not harm? HARDtalk's Stephen Sackur speaks to the President of Microsoft, Brad Smith. Remember the time when the internet was trumpeted as the tech tool that would deliver us a golden age of knowledge, freedom and democracy? Now we’re in a darker, more cynical place – the digital revolution has generated fears about lo...

Why is Lebanon dogged by chaos? HARDtalk's Stephen Sackur speaks to the country’s Foreign Minister Gebran Bassil. Lebanese politics is a world of complex alliances, delicate inter-communal arrangements, and almost permanent instability. Lebanon currently has a functioning government but it’s dealing with a host of deep problems: the economy is a mess, national debt is spiralling and regional confl...

South Africa's Minister of International Relations Naledi Pandor talks about the recent spate of xenophobic attacks in South Africa. Twelve people were killed earlier this month when mobs attacked foreign-owned businesses, mainly in Johannesburg. It follows similar outbreaks in 2008 and 2015 which left dozens of people dead. (Photo: Naledi Pandor (Credit: Mauro Pimentel/AFP/Getty Images)

Indonesia has the right kind of assets in terms of population, natural resources and strategic position to be a 21st century superpower; but there are clouds on the horizon. For five decades Jakarta has suppressed a Papuan independence movement, and in recent months tensions have flared into violence. Stephen Sackur interviews Benny Wenda, exiled leader of the West Papuan Liberation Movement. Can...

Extraordinary events have become the norm in the last three months in Hong Kong. The territory has become a cockpit of political protest and sporadic violence as many thousands continue to demand democratic reform. Stephen Sackur interviews Anson Chan; she was the Chief Secretary of Hong Kong during the handover from British to Chinese rule. She is still close to the centre of the storm, as Beijin...

Is there any clarity and coherence to the opponents of Brexit? Stephen Sackur speaks to MP Heidi Allen, who quit the Conservative party earlier this year to co-found a new pro-remain centrist party. With Prime Minister Boris Johnson apparently intent on ignoring the will of parliament and exiting the EU at the end of October, the eye of the Brexit storm is fast approaching. Image: Heidi Allen (Cre...

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has positioned himself as the country’s Brexit champion, but his pledge to take Britain out of the EU on October the 31st is in trouble. Parliament has passed a law requiring him to seek a deadline extension from the EU; so either he negotiates a new exit deal in short order, or he attempts to defy the law. How is this British melodrama being viewed in Europe?...

British politics is in full-on meltdown mode. Prime Minister Boris Johnson has lost a series of key votes on Brexit, AND his parliamentary majority. He’s now seeking a general election in mid-October to let British voters decide whether Brexit should happen, come what may, at the end of next month. But will the Labour opposition agree to a snap poll? Stephen Sackur interviews former Labour cabinet...

The number of migrants making the sea crossing from North Africa to southern Europe has fallen dramatically in the last two years; tragically, the number of deaths hasn’t declined as fast. Humanitarian activists blame the anti-migration policies of EU member states. Stephen Sackur speaks to Carola Rackete, who defied the Italian authorities to land the rescue-ship Sea Watch 3 in Sicily with 50 mig...