HARDtalk
1,752 episodes - English - Latest episode: 14 days ago - ★★★★ - 291 ratingsIn-depth, hard-hitting interviews with newsworthy personalities.
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Episodes
Ciarán Hinds: Is Northern Ireland a creative powerhouse?
February 28, 2024 08:30 - 24 minutes - 11 MBStephen Sackur interviews Northern Irish actor Ciarán Hinds, whose career took him from the troubled streets of Belfast to an Oscar nomination. Right now, Northern Ireland is a creative powerhouse; why, and will it last?
Jens Stoltenberg: Is Russia really preparing for a war with Nato?
February 26, 2024 08:30 - 22 minutes - 10.5 MBSarah Montague is at Nato’s headquarters in Brussels to speak to its outgoing Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg. Two years after Russia’s full scale invasion of Ukraine, is Vladimir Putin now preparing for a war with Nato?
HARDtalk: Defying Putin
February 23, 2024 08:30 - 22 minutes - 10.5 MBIn a special programme in the run up to Russia’s presidential election in March, HARDtalk looks back on interviews with those few Russians who have been ready to stand up to Vladimir Putin. From the late Boris Nemtsov to Alexei Navalny whose death was announced recently, what motivates those ready to risk everything to challenge Putin?
Nikolai Denkov: Is Bulgaria a weak link in Europe's security?
February 21, 2024 09:00 - 23 minutes - 10.7 MBStephen Sackur speaks to Bulgaria’s Prime Minister Nikolai Denkov. His country is trying to wean itself off Russian energy, and sends weapons to Ukraine, but many Bulgarians are still pro-Russian. As Europe tries to beef up its own security, is Bulgaria a weak link?
Alexey Navalny: The interview
February 19, 2024 09:00 - 23 minutes - 10.6 MBRussian authorities have announced the death of one of the country’s most significant opposition leaders Alexey Navalny in a remote penal colony in the Arctic Circle. Stephen Sackur spoke to him in Moscow in 2017 about the risks involved in being a prominent critic of President Putin. (Photo: Alexey Navalny. Still from his 2017 interview with Stephen Sackur)
Bassem Youssef: Can laughter ever provoke political change?
February 16, 2024 00:28 - 23 minutes - 10.8 MBStephen Sackur is in New York for a special edition of the programme with Egyptian American satirist Bassem Youssef. During the Arab Spring, his mockery of Egypt’s leaders won him millions of fans, but after the military took over he fled to the US where he has reinvented his comedy career. Can laughter ever provoke political change? (Photo: Bassem Youssef, comedian and political satirist)
Ukraine's Permanent Representative to the UN Sergiy Kyslytsya: Does Ukraine feel betrayed?
February 13, 2024 00:09 - 23 minutes - 10.8 MBStephen Sackur is in New York City for an exclusive interview with Ukraine’s top diplomat at the United Nations, Sergiy Kyslytsya. With partisan warfare in Washington DC blocking crucial military assistance to Kyiv, does Ukraine feel betrayed? (Photo: Still taken from the Hardtalk interview with Sergiy Kyslytsya)
Cornel West: Could enough votes taken from Joe Biden help Donald Trump get elected?
February 12, 2024 04:30 - 23 minutes - 10.9 MBStephen Sackur is in New York City to speak to Cornel West, the high-profile philosopher, writer and activist who has launched his own bid for the White House. Running as independent, he looks unlikely to win but could this anti-war socialist take enough votes from Joe Biden to help Donald Trump get elected a second time?
Vassily Nebenzia: Is Russia influencing global opinions?
February 07, 2024 08:06 - 23 minutes - 10.8 MBStephen Sackur is in New York City, home of the United Nations, to speak to Vassily Nebenzia, Russia’s permanent representative to the UN. Ambassador Nebenzia is a key player in Vladimir Putin’s combative diplomatic strategy to accuse the West of seeking to impose its will on the world, from Ukraine to the Middle East. How effective is Moscow in the battle for world opinion?
José Ramos-Horta: Peace and reconciliation
February 05, 2024 08:00 - 23 minutes - 10.8 MBStephen Sackur speaks to José Ramos Horta, President of Timor-Leste. Are there lessons for the world to learn from his extraordinary life?
Abdalla Hamdok: Can Sudan find peace?
February 01, 2024 00:50 - 23 minutes - 10.8 MBZeinab Badawi speaks to the former prime minister of Sudan, Abdalla Hamdok. He is at the heart of negotiations to bring peace to the country after ten months of conflict, in which thousands have died and millions have been displaced. Can his efforts succeed?
Ronald Lamola: Is South Africa's genocide case against Israel a geo-political game changer?
January 31, 2024 00:40 - 23 minutes - 10.8 MBStephen Sackur speaks to South African justice minister Ronald Lamola, a key player in the country’s genocide case against Israel presented to the International Court of Justice. The court’s preliminary ruling has made little immediate difference to the war in Gaza, but longer term could it be a geo-political game changer?
Radek Sikorski: Will Poland's new government unite or divide the country?
January 26, 2024 00:30 - 23 minutes - 10.8 MBStephen Sackur speaks to Polish foreign minister Radek Sikorski. Poland has been a key pillar of the Western alliance supporting Ukraine against Putin’s invasion, but is war fatigue undermining that bond? And is Poland's new government going to unite the country or divide it?
Naomi Alderman: Apocalypse soon?
January 24, 2024 08:06 - 23 minutes - 10.8 MBStephen Sackur speaks to the writer and computer game creator Naomi Alderman. Her latest novel - The Future - is a techno thriller set at the end of days. Is the apocalypse she imagines all too possible?
Regina Ip: What is Hong Kong's future?
January 22, 2024 00:59 - 23 minutes - 10.8 MBStephen Sackur speaks to Regina Ip, an influential pro-Beijing lawmaker in Hong Kong. For years China has been tightening its grip on the territory it took back from Britain. Pro-democracy activism, political opposition and press freedom have all been curtailed. So what is Hong Kong’s future?
Mark Regev: Is Israel serving its own best interests?
January 18, 2024 08:30 - 22 minutes - 10.5 MBStephen Sackur talks to Mark Regev, spokesman for Israel’s prime minister. Israel’s relentless military response to Hamas’s assault on 7 October has unleashed a humanitarian nightmare in Gaza. Is Israel’s strategy serving its own best interests?
Mohammad Marandi: Is Middle East conflict what Iran really wants?
January 17, 2024 04:30 - 23 minutes - 10.9 MBStephen Sackur speaks to Mohammad Marandi, an Iranian academic who has advised his government during nuclear negotiations. Iran actively backs Hamas in Gaza, Hezbollah in Lebanon and the Houthis in Yemen, but as the flashpoints in the Middle East multiply, is a regional war - with the US inevitably engaged - what Tehran really wants?
Sir Nicholas Winton: A Holocaust hero
January 12, 2024 09:00 - 23 minutes - 10.7 MBAnother chance to listen to Stephen Sackur's 2014 interview with the late Sir Nicholas Winton, the man who saved more than 600 mostly Jewish children from Nazi persecution. Nine years after his death, a major film has been released about his remarkable story. What motivated him? Image: Sir Nicholas Winton, pictured in 2015 (Credit: Jeremy Selwyn/Evening Standard via Getty Images)
Alicia Kearns: How much will 2024 test the West?
January 10, 2024 08:30 - 23 minutes - 10.9 MBStephen Sackur talks to Alicia Kearns, Conservative MP and chair of the UK’s House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee. She has long warned of the threat to democracies posed by authoritarian regimes, led by China. With a host of elections looming, is 2024 going to severely test the West?
Stephen Cave: Should we want to live forever?
January 08, 2024 00:01 - 23 minutes - 10.8 MBStephen Sackur speaks to philosopher Stephen Cave, director of the University of Cambridge Institute for Technology and Humanity. He is at the centre of a growing debate about the merits of extending human longevity. Is it wise to seek to live forever?
Aida Touma-Sliman: What does war mean for Israel's Arab population?
January 05, 2024 00:33 - 23 minutes - 10.9 MBWhat does the Gaza war mean for Israel’s Arab population? Stephen Sackur speaks to Israeli politician Aida Touma-Sliman, a Palestinian Arab member of Israel's parliament.
Past notes
December 29, 2023 09:00 - 23 minutes - 10.7 MBA special programme remembering past HARDtalk guests who died in 2023. All of them left an indelible mark on public life and all, in their different ways, relished the opportunity we gave them to discuss their decision-making and motivation.
2023 in review
December 27, 2023 08:06 - 23 minutes - 10.7 MBStephen Sackur looks back at some of HARDtalk’s most impactful and thought-provoking interviews of 2023.
Naftali Bennett: Has Israel responded unwisely?
December 20, 2023 09:47 - 22 minutes - 10.5 MBStephen Sackur speaks to Israel’s former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett. He is a staunch supporter of Israel’s military assault in Gaza. But in responding to Hamas’s murderous October 7th attack, has Israel deployed wisdom as well as military might?
Izzeldin Abuelaish: Can Palestinians still believe in forgiveness and peace?
December 15, 2023 05:00 - 23 minutes - 10.8 MBZeinab Badawi speaks to the Palestinian doctor Izzeldin Abuelaish, whose three daughters and niece were killed in an Israeli tank strike on his home in the Gaza Strip in 2009. At the time, he said he felt no bitterness, and soon after he published his award-winning autobiography, I Shall not Hate. Now he has lost 22 more family members in the current bombardment. Is he still preaching his message of forgiveness and peace?
Sandra Day O'Connor: The first female US Supreme Court judge
December 11, 2023 00:57 - 23 minutes - 10.7 MBThe framers of the American Constitution harboured few illusions about human nature, and that’s why they invested so much significance in the US Supreme Court, the ultimate check on executive and legislative power. Sandra Day O’Connor, who died days ago at the age of 93, was the first woman to be appointed as a justice in this court. For 25 years, she was one of its most influential voices. HARDtalk travelled to Washington DC in 2006 to speak to her. Image: Sandra Day O'Connor, pictured in ...
Victoire Ingabire Umuhoza: What Rwandans think of the UK migrant transfer deal
December 08, 2023 00:01 - 23 minutes - 10.8 MBStephen Sackur speaks to Rwandan opposition leader Victoire Ingabire Umuhoza. The UK government, which has signed a controversial migrant transfer deal with Rwanda, paints President Paul Kagame in positive colours. How does that sit with his opponents? (Photo: Rwandan opposition leader Victoire Ingabire Umuhoza appears via videolink on BBC Hardtalk)
Fatih Birol: Is the global energy transition veering off course?
December 04, 2023 08:06 - 23 minutes - 10.8 MBStephen Sackur speaks to the head of the International Energy Agency, Fatih Birol. As oil and gas-rich UAE hosts the latest climate change summit, is it time to admit the much-vaunted global energy transition is veering off course?
Jasem Albudaiwi: Could the Gulf states be destabilised by the conflict in Gaza?
December 01, 2023 15:14 - 25 minutes - 11.7 MBStephen Sackur speaks to the Secretary General of the Gulf Cooperation Council Jasem Albudaiwi. The Israel-Hamas war has sent shockwaves through a region that’s been ‘normalising’ relations with Israel. Could the Gulf states be destabilised by the conflict in Gaza?
Philippe Lazzarini: Could Gaza become unliveable?
November 30, 2023 14:47 - 23 minutes - 10.8 MBStephen Sackur speaks to Philippe Lazzarini, head of UNRWA, the UN’s refugee agency for Palestinians. He is just back from Gaza where the temporary truce gave him a chance to assess the scale of the humanitarian crisis. With Israel vowing to resume its war on Hamas, could Gaza soon be unliveable?
Simcha Rothman: Is violence in Israel's best interests?
November 28, 2023 18:00 - 23 minutes - 10.8 MBStephen Sackur speaks to far-right Israeli politician Simcha Rothman, whose Religious Zionism party is in Prime Minister Netanyahu’s ruling coalition. He and his party colleagues seem ready for a new era of long-term violent confrontation, not just in Gaza, but in the West Bank too. Is his mindset and strategic vision in the best interests of Israel’s future?
Cardinal Peter Turkson: Is the Catholic Church at a crossroads?
November 27, 2023 09:00 - 23 minutes - 10.8 MBStephen Sackur speaks to Cardinal Peter Turkson, a Vatican insider widely seen as a possible contender to be Africa’s first pope. The number of observant Catholics is down in the west, rising fast in Africa and Asia. Is the Catholic Church at a crossroads?
Jonna Mendez: Does the world still need spies?
November 24, 2023 00:00 - 23 minutes - 10.7 MBStephen Sackur speaks to former US spy Jonna Mendez, who was the CIA’s chief of disguise running Cold War operations in Moscow, Havana and beyond.
Michel Roux: Is the business of fine food turning sour?
November 22, 2023 08:30 - 23 minutes - 10.9 MBStephen Sackur speaks to the master chef and restaurateur Michel Roux. After 56 years of fine food and Michelin stars, his family restaurant Le Gavroche is closing its doors. He was a torch bearer for a British culinary revolution, but is the business of fine food turning sour? (Photo: Chef Michel Roux Jr in the Chez Roux restaurant at Cheltenham Racecourse. Credit: Steven Paston/PA)
Chris Coons: Is team Biden in trouble?
November 17, 2023 14:00 - 23 minutes - 10.7 MBStephen Sackur is in Washington DC to speak to one of President Biden’s closest allies in the US Congress, Democrat Senator Chris Coons. The president’s staunch support for Israel is dividing his party at a time when some question whether he should run for a second term. Is team Biden in trouble?
Mark Alford: Do US Republicans have a winning formula?
November 17, 2023 09:00 - 23 minutes - 10.7 MBStephen Sackur is in Washington DC to speak to Republican Congressman Mark Alford, one of Donald Trump’s most loyal supporters on Capitol Hill. With a presidential election less than a year away, does the Republican Party have a winning formula?
Mervyn King: Global growth and inflation
November 13, 2023 00:00 - 22 minutes - 10.5 MBStephen Sackur speaks to Mervyn King, former governor of the Bank of England. The international economic outlook is troubled, with geopolitical tensions and climate change heightening uncertainty about inflation, trade and low growth. Are economic policymakers making things worse?
Fiona Hill: Are overseas wars exposing US weaknesses?
November 10, 2023 09:00 - 23 minutes - 10.7 MBStephen Sackur speaks to Fiona Hill, formerly a Russia expert inside the White House, now an influential analyst of US foreign policy. Joe Biden says US backing for Ukraine and Israel is a vital defence of the rules based order, but are these wars exposing American weakness?
Mustafa Barghouti: What next for the Palestinian people?
November 07, 2023 12:00 - 22 minutes - 10.5 MBStephen Sackur speaks to Mustafa Barghouti, a Palestinian doctor and co-founder of the Palestinian National Initiative. When this terrible round of violence does eventually end, what then for the Palestinian people?
Carlo Rovelli: Life, the universe and white holes
November 06, 2023 00:00 - 23 minutes - 10.7 MBStephen Sackur speaks to Carlo Rovelli, one of the world's best known physicists. How much do his remarkable ideas matter outside the scientific community?
Abdallah Bou Habib: Could Lebanon get dragged into war with Israel by Hezbollah?
October 31, 2023 17:24 - 22 minutes - 10.5 MBStephen Sackur speaks to Lebanon’s Foreign Minister Abdallah Bou Habib. The terrible cost of the conflict between Hamas and Israel could go much higher if a second front opens on Israel’s northern border. If Hezbollah and its Iranian backers opt for all-out war, what then for Lebanon? (Photo: Lebanon's caretaker Foreign Minister Abdallah Bou Habib attends a joint press conference with Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian (not pictured) in Beirut, 1 Sept, 2023. Emilie Madi/Reuters)
Sir Lindsay Hoyle: Can the Speaker ensure parliament better serves the people?
October 30, 2023 00:22 - 23 minutes - 11 MBStephen Sackur speaks to Sir Lindsay Hoyle, who has one of the most important and toughest jobs in UK politics as Speaker of the House of Commons. Public trust in politicians, never high, has hit new lows. What can the Speaker do to ensure Parliament better serves the people? (Photo: Sir Lindsay Hoyle, Speaker of the House of Commons, speaks during Prime Minister's Questions, 25 October, 2023. UK Parliament/Maria Unger/Reuters)
Sir Lindsay Hoyle: What can the Speaker do to ensure parliament better serves the people?
October 30, 2023 00:22 - 23 minutes - 11 MBStephen Sackur speaks to Sir Lindsay Hoyle, who has one of the most important and toughest jobs in UK politics as Speaker of the House of Commons. Public trust in politicians, never high, has hit new lows. What can the Speaker do to ensure Parliament better serves the people?
Jakov Milatović: President of Montenegro
October 27, 2023 07:30 - 23 minutes - 10.9 MBStephen Sackur speaks to the president of Montenegro Jakov Milatovic. His small nation sits in a tense, troubled Balkan neighbourhood which the rest of Europe cannot afford to ignore. The president has promised his people EU membership within five years, but is he heading for disappointment? (Photo: Montenegro's President Jakov Milatovic (L) shake hands with Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic (not seen) before their meeting in Belgrade, Serbia, 10 July 2023. Credit: )
Lubaina Himid: Race, culture and modern Britain
October 25, 2023 07:30 - 23 minutes - 10.9 MBStephen Sackur speaks to the Turner Prize winning British artist Lubaina Himid. Her work has always put black people and their stories front and centre. Four decades ago she was seen as a radical, now she is embraced by the establishment. What does that say about modern Britain? (Photo: Artist Lubaina Himid is awarded the Robson Orr Ten Ten Award 2021 and unveils the new work at 11 Downing Street, London. Credit: Tristan Fewings/Getty Images)
Aiden Aslin: Captured, tortured and swapped by Russia
October 21, 2023 23:00 - 22 minutes - 10.5 MBStephen Sackur speaks to Aiden Aslin, the British man who joined the Ukrainian army and was captured, tortured and sentenced to death by Putin’s forces. He got out in a prisoner swap, traumatised but alive. Why did he risk his life for someone else’s cause? (Photo: Aiden Aslin)
Adam Smith: How does the US navigate its multiple interests?
October 20, 2023 08:00 - 23 minutes - 10.7 MBStephen Sackur speaks to US Democratic Party congressman Adam Smith. The Biden mission to the Middle East at a time of war and spiralling regional tension was always a gamble. How does the US navigate its multiple interests at this time of maximum danger?
Husam Zomlot: Is Gaza on the brink of a humanitarian crisis?
October 18, 2023 07:06 - 23 minutes - 10.7 MBStephen Sackur speaks to the head of the Palestinian Mission to the UK Husam Zomlot. Hamas surely knew its murderous attack on Israel would provoke an overwhelming military response. The jihadists, it seems, wanted a devastating war. But what about Palestinians not with Hamas? As conflict in the Middle East escalates, what are their options? (Photo: Husam Zomlot, the Palestinian Ambassador to Britain, attends a news conference at the Arab British Chamber of Commerce. Credit: London. Clodagh...
Olha Stefanishyna: How solid is the West’s support for Kyiv?
October 13, 2023 08:00 - 23 minutes - 10.8 MBStephen Sackur speaks to Olha Stefanishyna, Ukraine’s Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration. Just how solid is the West’s support for Kyiv? And what happens to Ukraine if the flow of weapons, money and diplomatic support is called into question from Washington to Warsaw?
Ehud Barak: Where will the Middle East conflict end?
October 12, 2023 12:13 - 23 minutes - 10.8 MBStephen Sackur speaks to Israel’s former Prime Minister Ehud Barak. Hamas’s murderous attack on Israel from Gaza killed more than 1,200 people and has prompted an Israeli response which has already killed more than a thousand Palestinians. Unimaginable horror has been unleashed; where will it end?