The Interview

Frank Gardner, BBC Security Correspondent, speaks to Carsten Breuer, the German chief of defence. General Carsten Breuer gives his assessment of the threat that Russia poses to the Western alliance Nato. He says that Russia is building up its forces to an "enormous extent" and says that members of the alliance need to prepare for a possible attack from Russia within the next four years, according...

Tom Fletcher, Chief of Humanitarian Affairs for the United Nations, tells Fergal Keane, the BBC’s special correspondent, that Israel is subjecting Gaza to enforced starvation. Gaza faced an aid blockade of nearly three months - now, limited supplies of food, medicine and fuel are being allowed into the territory. But Israel argues Hamas is stealing food aid. Mr Fletcher has drawn criticism himself...

Simon Jack, the BBC’s business editor, speaks to Matt Garman, chief executive of Amazon Web Services - part of the retail giant Amazon, and the world’s largest cloud computing company. Mr Garman started his career at AWS as an intern, and has risen to oversee a global network of huge data centres, providing IT resources for businesses worldwide. In this conversation, he shares his vision for the f...

Tim Franks speaks to a British-Syrian Alawite who came under attack, along with her family, during the sectarian violence on Syria’s coast in March. The Alawite sect is an offshoot of Shia Islam and its followers make up around 10 per cent of Syria's population, which is majority Sunni. The recent violence came after fighters loyal to the country's overthrown former president, Bashar al-Assad, who...

BBC Defence Correspondent Jonathan Beale speaks to Dovilė Šakalienė, Lithuania’s Defence Minister. The Baltic nation, along with its neighbours Latvia and Estonia, share a border with Russia, and have nervously watched the invasion of Ukraine, fearing they could be next. All three countries have had turbulent relationships with their much larger neighbour, Russia. They were annexed by the Soviet U...

In an interview from the BBC’s This Cultural Life, presenter John Wilson speaks to the Colombian artist Doris Salcedo. Her work is a response to the devastation of war, and tells the stories of its victims - tales of loss, trauma and survival. She is recognised as one of the most important living artists, and her powerful sculptures and installations have been shown across the world. A childhood g...

Kasia Madera speaks to Radosław Sikorski, the Foreign Minister of Poland. As a key, long-term ally to Ukraine, Poland has played a pivotal role in supporting its neighbour following the full-scale invasion by Russia in 2022. Mr Sikorski talks about the growing threat Poland, as well as Europe, faces from Russia, and follows his country’s decision to close the Russian consulate in Krakow. The move...

Nick Robinson speaks to Sir John Major, former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. It’s 80 years since VE day marked the end of WW2 in Europe - and Sir John reflects on the lessons that should be remembered from the conflict. He is the last British Prime Minister who was alive during the Second World War. Sir John warns democracy should not be taken for granted, and is in retreat in some parts o...

Nick Robinson, presenter of BBC Radio 4’s Today programme and the Political Thinking podcast, speaks to former US President, Joe Biden. The pair met in Biden’s home state of Delaware, in a hotel where he had launched his political career more than half a century ago. In his first interview since leaving the White House, Biden talks about democracy under threat, Ukraine and the future of NATO, and...

Catherine Byaruhanga, presenter and correspondent for the BBC News Channel, speaks to Tidjane Thiam, the main opposition leader in the Ivory Coast. Mr Thiam is a former CEO of Credit Suisse, with a lengthy and successful career in the financial sector abroad. Now, he wishes to stand for the Ivory Coast presidency - but his candidacy has been blocked by an Ivorian court. It has ruled he cannot run...

Nada Tawfik, North America correspondent, speaks to Prince Harry about reconciliation with the royal family after his loss in court over his security arrangements in the UK The Prince stepped down from his duties as a working royal in 2020 and moved to the United States with his wife, Meghan. After his tax-payer funded protection was downgraded, he said it was too dangerous to bring his family bac...

James Copnall, presenter of Newsday, speaks to Emi Mahmoud, Sudanese activist and poet, about the war that has claimed more than 150,000 lives since it began two years ago. In what the United Nations has called the world's largest humanitarian crisis, about 12 million people have also been forced to flee their homes. Emi speaks about the pain of losing many members of her family, the brutality of...

David Brown, producer of the BBC TV’s Trump - The First 100 Days, speaks to Kurt Volker, former US ambassador to NATO, about the whirlwind start to President Trump’s second term in office. In this conversation, Ambassador Volker, who previously served as Trump’s special envoy to Ukraine, shares his assessment of the president’s programme of change - and the extraordinary pace of reform. He gives t...

Dan Roan, the BBC’s sports editor, speaks to Sir Jim Ratcliffe, billionaire businessman and co-owner of Manchester United Football Club. In this conversation, Sir Jim discusses the changes he’s implementing both on and off the pitch, as well as his vision to transform the iconic club into one of the world’s most profitable businesses. Born into a modest family, he’s been a lifelong Manchester Unit...

Victoria Uwonkunda, reporter and presenter for BBC News, speaks to Bobi Wine, the Ugandan opposition politician, as he reflects on the personal and political challenges he has faced as well as his determination to run again as President in the next election. Born in the slums of Kampala, Bobi Wine -birth name Robert Kyagulanyi - first entered the political arena in 2017 when he was elected to parl...

Mark Savage, the BBC’s music correspondent, speaks to Lady Gaga, American singer-songwriter and actress, as she reflects on the making of her new album, the joy of attracting a younger audience and finding happiness in love. Born Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta in 1986, Lady Gaga has spent 18 years in the music industry and sold over 170 million records. She’s an actress as well as a musician a...

Audrey Brown, Host of Focus on Africa, speaks to Akinwumi Adesina, the President of the African Development Bank, as he reflects on the achievements and challenges of the past 10 years in office. In his two terms he’s focused much of his time on advocacy, strategic positioning, and amplifying the continent’s voice on the global stage. We hear about his ‘High Fives’ framework, which includes gettin...

BBC foreign correspondent in the Netherlands, Anna Holligan, speaks to David Van Weel, the Dutch justice minister as he calls on citizens to prepare a 72-hour emergency kit - to enable people to be self-sufficient for three days in case of a disaster. The kits should include enough food and water to survive for 72 hours - in case of war and other catastrophes. It's part of a European-wide strategy...

Mpho Lakaje, presenter of the BBC’s Africa Daily podcast, speaks to Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah, president of Namibia. The former freedom fighter is the country’s first female head of state - and only the second ever directly elected female leader in Africa. Namibia is celebrating thirty five years of independence this year - yet most of the country’s agricultural land remains in the hands of the white...

BBC South America correspondent Ione Wells speaks to Daniel Noboa, President of Ecuador, ahead of the close-run presidential election. Since Mr Noboa came to power 16 months ago, he has taken an uncompromising stance on the violence gripping his country. With criminal gangs locked in a battle to control lucrative drug routes, President Noboa has militarised his country’s streets and prisons. Now h...

I forgive serial abuser John Smyth Laura Kuenssberg talks to Justin Welby, the former Archbishop of Canterbury. As the figurehead for the 85 million people in over 165 countries who call themselves Anglicans, he presided over some of the key events in the Commonwealth of the last ten years, including the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II. But his tenure was clouded, and eventually ended, by an abuse s...

Laura Kuenssberg introduces The Interview podcast. First episode Monday 31 March. Conversations with people shaping our world, from all around the globe. The best interviews from the BBC. The HARDtalk podcast has become The Interview. Listen to The Interview for the best conversations from the BBC, the world's most trusted international news provider. We hear from titans of business, politics, fin...

A final look back at some of the encounters and moments that have encapsulated the programme’s commitment to rigorous, well-researched interviews with people in power.

Ahead of HARDtalk’s closure, at the end of this month after 27 years, here’s a chance to look back at some of the most memorable interviews of the programme’s early years. It’s an extraordinary archive featuring interviews with Donald Trump, Nelson Mandela, Nina Simone, Robin Williams and Martha Gellhorn.

Stephen Sackur speaks to Reid Hoffman, the tech billionaire who co-founded LinkedIn and is a prophet of positivity about Artificial Intelligence.