The Interview

Hardtalk speaks to the joint winners of the 2014 Nobel Peace prize, Kailash Satyarthi and Malala Yousafzai. The judges awarded them the prize in recognition of “their struggle against the suppression of children and young people and for the right of all children to education.” (Photo: Malala Yousafzai (left) and Kailash Satyarthi during the noble peace prize press conference, 2014. Credit:Nigel Wa...

Whatever happened to the Egyptian revolution? Those heady days of people power in Tahrir square now seem like a collective delusion. A military strong man is back in power, President Mubarak has been handed a get out of jail for free card and dissent is being repressed with an iron fist. Hardtalk speaks to Alaa al-Aswany, the bestselling Egyptian novelist, political commentator and sometime dentis...

Around the world the election of Barack Obama to the White House was seen as a watershed moment for race relations in America. The first black man to be president was taken as the symbol of a new post-racial era. Six years on, with tensions between black communities and the police running sky high, is anyone still talking about a post-racial America? Hardtalk speaks to Cornel West, writer, academi...

Israelis and Palestinians seem to have given up on the idea of negotiating a compromise peace. From Jerusalem to Gaza mutual mistrust is deep and getting deeper. Israel's unilateral approach is embodied in settlement building on occupied land. The Palestinians, meanwhile, are seeking international recognition of their claim to statehood. Hardtalk speaks to Robert Serry, the UN Special Co-ordinator...

Hardtalk speaks to the man who has been called America’s greatest living crime writer. Through works such as the Black Dalia and LA Confidential, James Ellroy has created a uniquely dark portrait of America. His is a nightmare vision of crazed killers and corrupt cops. He writes of what he knows – his own mother was murdered when he was a child. So is that simple, terrible fact the key to understa...

Have the United States and Iran blown their best chance of striking a deal to stop Iran acquiring nuclear weapons in exchange for a lifting of sanctions? And, is it now only a matter of time before Iran becomes a nuclear power? The deadline for talks has been extended, but Republicans take control of the US Congress in January and with an election coming up in Iran, those opposed to a deal will ha...

Hardtalk speaks to Pervez Musharraf, former army chief and president of Pakistan. He thought he could ride a wave of popular support back into power on his return to Pakistan. Instead, he found himself facing separate charges of treason and murder. How did Pakistan's former strong man get things so wrong? What will his fate tell us about where power lies in today’s Pakistan? (Photo: Pakistan's for...

Ebola is wreaking havoc on three west African nations - Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone. The official death toll is beyond 5000, the real victim-count is almost certainly much higher. The virus brings with it a lethal cocktail of fear, fractured communities and economic misery. Hardtalk speaks to Dr Geraldine O’Hara, a specialist in infectious diseases who has just returned from a stint working w...

Sir Nicholas Winton is now 105 years old, when he was just 29 he helped rescue more than 600 mostly Jewish children from Nazi persecution in Czechoslovakia. He hates being labelled a hero, but Sir Nicholas Winton is living proof that individuals can make an extraordinary difference - what motivated him?

Just how far is Vladimir Putin prepared to push, in his high stakes confrontation with the West over Ukraine? New allegations of Russian military incursions prompted Ukraine's president to talk of all-out war, and western leaders to threaten more sanctions. Hardtalk speaks to Mikhail Kasyanov, who was Russian prime minister in Putin's first presidential term, and is now a diehard opponent. Do most...

Zimbabwe’s President Robert Mugabe is 90 years old. His grip on power is still tight but it won’t last forever. In recent months the jostling for the succession has turned into a public punch-up - adding to the uncertainty in a country beset with political and economic problems. Hardtalk speaks to Zimbabwe's Tourism Minister, Walter Mzembi. He wants to put an end to his country's international iso...

With international focus firmly on the power of the so-called Islamic State, has there been a lack of attention on the Assad regime and the role that it has played in the Syrian crisis? What hope is there for Syrian opposition groups who have so far failed to win significant international support or build an effective anti-Assad coalition? Hardtalk speaks to Hadi al-Bahra, President of the Syrian...

Extra Time is in Melbourne Australia and if there’s one sport which can uniquely claim to be home-grown it is Australian rules football, a high octane mixture of running, kicking and sometimes brutal mid-air collisions. One of the game’s greatest players is Adam Goodes, who is much more than just a sportsman. He’s of Aboriginal heritage and is the 2014 Australian of the Year – an award recognising...

Who can rescue Iraq and defeat the extremists of the self-proclaimed Islamic State? The militants have seized about a quarter of the territory of Iraq and there are near-daily reports of human rights abuses and deaths. The crisis at the heart of the political leadership in Baghdad means a united Iraqi response has so far been lacking. Hardtalk speaks to Baghdad MP Mowaffak al-Rubaie - former natio...

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 go...

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...

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 o...

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. Ho...

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...

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 t...

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...

Is there a new brand of violent extremism that is identifiably different from all forms of militancy that have gone before? The question is prompted by the shocking and self-publicised brutality of the group calling itself Islamic State. Boko Haram in Nigeria deserves mention in the same breath. These groups provoke worldwide revulsion, but is force the only possible response? Hardtalk speaks to G...

Twenty-five years after the world’s most notorious wall came crashing down, Germany is Europe’s undisputed, dominant nation. This is a reflection of economic power but also of media power. Hardtalk is in Berlin to visit the headquarters of one of Europe’s most powerful publishing companies, Axel Springer. How does a traditional company thrive in the age of the internet?

Next month the international club of rich nations, the G20, will meet in Australia. For much of the past decade the host nation boasted one of the strongest economies in the developed world, but not anymore. Australia has been badly hit by falling commodity prices and China's economic slowdown. Hardtalk speaks to the country's Treasury Minister, Joe Hockey. Should Australians brace themselves for...

A sense of gloom is hanging over Europe. Years of economic stagnation are at the heart of it, but there are other factors too - for example, the security challenge posed by Vladimir Putin’s Russia, and also a rising tide of scepticism about the European Union itself amongst many on the continent. Hardtalk speaks to Alexander Stubb, the Prime Minister of Finland and one of the EU’s new young leader...