Shows / The Interview
The Interview
Conversations with people shaping our world, from all around the globe. 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, finance, sport and culture. Global leaders, decision-makers and cultural icons. Politicians, activists and CEOs. Each interview is around 20-minutes, packed full of insight and analysis, covering some of the biggest issues of our time. How does it work? Well, at…
Episodes
- The Interview
Evgeny Popov: Russia's mobilisation
Stephen Sackur speaks to Russian MP, Putin loyalist and influential state media commentator Evgeny Popov. Amid military reverses, mass mobilisation, and signs…
- The Interview
Reverend Richard Coles: Living with grief
For most of us, death and grief remain a private affair. An irreversible, life-altering shock when we lose someone close, for which there is no guide or…
- The Interview
Ivanna Klympush-Tsintsadze: Can Putin’s threats undermine support for Ukraine?
Stephen Sackur speaks to the Ukrainian MP, Ivanna Klympush-Tsintsadze, who currently chairs the Ukrainian parliament’s EU Integration Committee. Kyiv’s…
- The Interview
Maria Pevchikh: Where does Russia's anti-Putin movement go from here?
Stephen Sackur speaks to Maria Pevchikh, investigations chief for Alexei Navalny’s Anti-Corruption Foundation, which is now outlawed in Russia. With Vladimir…
- The Interview
Vadym Prystaiko: Can Ukraine count on its allies?
Stephen Sackur speaks to Vadym Prystaiko, Ukraine's former foreign minister, who now serves as the country's ambassador to the UK. With the war in Russia…
- The Interview
Enrico Letta: Is Italy set to choose a far-right government?
Stephen Sackur speaks to Enrico Letta, leader of Italy’s centre-left Democratic Party. With a momentous General Election looming, can Italians be persuaded…
- The Interview
Lindsey Graham: Trump and the midterms
In a special edition of HARDtalk from the Ambrosetti Forum in Italy, Stephen Sackur speaks to long-time Republican US Senator Lindsey Graham. He is perhaps the…
- The Interview
Tova Friedman: Learning from history
Stephen Sackur speaks to Tova Friedman, one of the youngest survivors of Auschwitz. Never has it felt more important to remember the lessons of one of…
- The Interview
Gwen Adshead: Getting inside the minds of murderers
Zeinab Badawi speaks to Dr Gwen Adshead, a forensic psychiatrist and psychotherapist who has spent more than three decades trying to treat some of the UK’s…
- The Interview
Pinchas Goldschmidt: Is the Ukraine war deepening Jewish anxiety?
Stephen Sackur speaks to Pinchas Goldschmidt, who was chief rabbi of Moscow until he fled Russia after the Ukraine invasion and left his post. His fate has…
- The Interview
Olga Rudenko: Is there room for government critique in Ukraine's fight for survival?
Stephen Sackur speaks to Olga Rudenko, chief editor of the Kyiv Independent - set up by Ukrainian journalists to hold their government to account. Is there…
- The Interview
Sir Peter Blake: What keeps his creativity alive?
Stephen Sackur speaks to the artist Sir Peter Blake, whose work came to define the freshness and optimism of the 1960s. Now aged 90, he is still painting. What…
- The Interview
Krišjānis Kariņš: Is Latvia still vulnerable?
Stephen Sackur is in Riga to speak to the Prime Minister of Latvia, Krišjānis Kariņš. Latvia is now an established member of the EU and NATO, but Putin’s…
- The Interview
George Monbiot: Surrounded by fear
Humans face a series of interlinked existential challenges. How do we feed a global population heading towards ten billion? Can it be done without degrading…
- The Interview
Shon Faye: The transgender issue
According to research in the US and the UK, roughly one in 100 may be transgender. But the fact that the debate about transgender rights has become a political…
- The Interview
Amrullah Saleh: Is resistance in Afghanistan viable?
Stephen Sackur speaks to the former First Vice President of Afghanistan Amrullah Saleh, now a leader of the resistance dedicated to overthrowing the Taliban. A…
- The Interview
Albert Woodfox: Freedom after a life inside
There are some human experiences which most of us find it very hard to get our heads around. In 2019, Stephen Sackur spoke to Albert Woodfox, who experienced…
- The Interview
Gregory Doran: Why does Shakespeare still captivate us?
Stephen Sackur is in Stratford-upon-Avon, interviewing Gregory Doran, artistic director emeritus of the Royal Shakespeare Company. More than 400 years after…
- The Interview
The Singh Twins: Mixing art and politics
Zeinab Badawi is at the Firstsite gallery in Colchester to speak to acclaimed contemporary British artists the Singh Twins. Their work combines Eastern and…
- The Interview
James Lovelock: The future of life on Earth
In an interview recorded in 2021, Stephen Sackur speaks to one of the past century's most influential environmentalists, James Lovelock. He introduced us to…
- The Interview
Julius Malema: Is South Africa on the brink of chaos?
Stephen Sackur speaks to South Africa’s controversial populist politician Julius Malema, leader of the Economic Freedom Fighters. Allegations of political…
- The Interview
Fatih Birol: Could short-term panic derail the clean energy transition?
Stephen Sackur speaks to Fatih Birol, executive director of the International Energy Agency, and an influential advocate of the global transition from fossil…
- The Interview
Sharan Burrow: Do workers have faith in collective action?
Stephen Sackur interviews the General Secretary of the International Trade Union Confederation, Sharan Burrow. There are signs of deepening worker discontent…
- The Interview
Omah Lay: Is there a universal message in his music?
Sarah Montague speaks to Afrobeats musician Omah Lay. With its roots in the social activist Afrobeat music pioneered by Fela Kuti, is there a universal message…
- The Interview
Meaza Ashenafi: What are the prospects for peace in Ethiopia?
The conflict in Ethiopia between the Tigrayan People's Liberation Front and government forces is one of many challenges to the country’s stability. Now, there…
- The Interview
Archbishop Bashar Matti Warda: Does Christianity in Iraq have a future?
Twenty-five years ago, almost one and a half million Christians lived in Iraq. Now there are around a quarter of a million, and after years of war and communal…
- The Interview
Nury Turkel: Will the world stand up for China's Uyghurs?
Stephen Sackur speaks to Nury Turkel, a prominent Uyghur activist in exile and chair of the US Commission on International Religious Freedom. He is a key…
- The Interview
Ibram X. Kendi: America's unhealed racial wounds
The fractures in American society are widening, over guns, abortion, education and more. But the deepest, most traumatic fracture is surely over race. The US…
- The Interview
Steve Thompson: Rugby's traumatic legacy
Steve Thompson is a World Cup-winning England rugby player whose brain has been irreparably damaged by years of collisions. His wife Steph helps him deal with…
- The Interview
Lord Patten: Were promises to Hong Kong broken?
When the UK handed Hong Kong back to China 25 years ago, the last words of the departing British Governor to the people of the territory were: “Now Hong Kong…
- The Interview
K. Shanmugam: Will Singapore have to choose between the US and China?
Stephen Sackur speaks to K. Shanmugam, Singapore’s minister of home affairs. Economically open, socially conservative and highly politically controlled…
- The Interview
Henry Huiyao Wang: Is China exposing its vulnerabilities?
Stephen Sackur speaks to China thinktank founder and sometime government adviser Henry Huiyao Wang. From its strategic partnership with Putin’s Russia, to its…
- The Interview
João Vale de Almeida: Have UK-EU relations become toxic?
Stephen Sackur speaks to João Vale de Almeida, the EU’s Ambassador to the UK, who is at the sharp end of the bitter fight between Boris Johnson’s government…
- The Interview
Semyon Bychkov: Artists speaking out against Putin
Stephen Sackur speaks to one of the world’s great conductors, Semyon Bychkov. Born in the Soviet Union, exiled from Russia, and a fierce critic of Vladimir…
- The Interview
Olha Stefanishyna: Will Kyiv get the support it needs?
Stephen Sackur speaks to one of Ukraine’s Deputy Prime Ministers, Olha Stefanishyna. The country faces a moment of truth: Russian firepower on the frontline is…
- The Interview
Nicu Popescu: How can Moldova protect itself?
Stephen Sackur speaks to Nicu Popescu, Moldova’s foreign minister and deputy Prime Minister. Poor, beset with corruption and strategically vulnerable, Moldova…
- The Interview
Josef Aschbacher: Is Europe losing the space race?
Stephen Sackur speaks to the head of the European Space Agency, Josef Aschbacher. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine put an end to space cooperation with Moscow…
- The Interview
Vassily Nebenzia: Is Putin's plan failing?
Stephen Sackur speaks to Russia's ambassador to the UN, Vassily Nebenzia. More than 100 days into its invasion of Ukraine, Russia is locked in attrition…
- The Interview
Fawzia Koofi: Do Afghans still have hope?
Stephen Sackur speaks to Fawzia Koofi, one of Afghanistan’s most prominent women politicians, who has been in exile since the Taliban returned to power last…
- The Interview
Dr Njoki Ngumi – Artist and film-maker
Zeinab Badawi is in Nairobi to talk to one of Kenya’s most ground-breaking cultural figures Dr Njoki Ngumi. She abandoned a promising career in medicine to…
- The Interview
Iván Fischer, Conductor and Composer
Stephen Sackur speaks to the world-renowned Hungarian conductor Iván Fischer. He’s one of the most innovative, idiosyncratic maestros in the world of classical…
- The Interview
Serhii Plokhy: How Putin weaponises history
Stephen Sackur speaks to internationally renowned Harvard historian Serhii Plokhy, who specialises in the complex histories of Ukraine, Russia and the Soviet…
- The Interview
Danica Roem: America's culture wars
Stephen Sackur is in Washington DC to speak to America’s first transgender state lawmaker, Danica Roem. She overcame long odds to win a seat in the Virginia…
- The Interview
Luis Lacalle Pou: Why is Uruguay moving to the right?
Stephen Sackur speaks to Uruguay’s President Luis Lacalle Pou. He’s a conservative advocate of free market economics and tougher crackdowns on crime. Why is…
- The Interview
Jens Stoltenberg: Is Nato being undermined by internal divisions?
Stephen Sackur speaks to Nato Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg. He claims the West’s military alliance has been steadfast in support of Ukraine since Russian…
- The Interview
Iván Duque: Has Colombia's president failed?
Stephen Sackur speaks to the President of Colombia, Iván Duque. His term is coming to an end with the country’s biggest problems unresolved: mass poverty…
- The Interview
Franklin Graham: An era of moral decline?
Stephen Sackur speaks to evangelist Franklin Graham, who has followed in his father Billy’s footsteps and become one of the biggest Christian preachers in…
- The Interview
Stella Moris: Will Julian Assange be extradited to the US?
Stephen Sackur speaks to lawyer Stella Moris, wife of Wikileaks founder Julian Assange and mother of two of his children. The British government is about to…
- The Interview
Inger Ashing: Is the war in Ukraine overshadowing other crises?
Zeinab Badawi speaks to Inger Ashing, CEO of the charity Save the Children International. What is her organisation doing in Ukraine, and is the war with Russia…
- The Interview
Victoria Spartz: Does her party share her commitment to defeating Putin?
Stephen Sackur is in Washington to speak to the Ukrainian born Republican Congresswoman Victoria Spartz. She is an ardent advocate of US support for Kyiv in…
- The Interview
Senator Mark Warner: Are we facing a new Cold War?
Stephen Sackur is in Washington DC to speak to the Chairman of the US Senate Intelligence Committee, senior Democrat Senator Mark Warner. America is sending…
- The Interview
Jim Green: Has Nasa lost its way?
Stephen Sackur speaks to Jim Green who has just retired as chief scientist of Nasa. He was involved with extraordinary missions to Mars, Jupiter and Mercury…
- The Interview
Zoltán Kovács: Whose side is Hungary really on?
Hungary is at odds with fellow Nato and EU members thanks to its close ties to Russia and suspicion of Ukraine’s president Zelensky. Stephen Sackur speaks to…
- The Interview
Bill Browder: Sanctioning Russia
Stephen Sackur speaks to Bill Browder, the American investor who made a fortune in post-Soviet Russia before falling foul of Vladimir Putin. Browder has long…
- The Interview
Eduard Heger, Prime Minister of Slovakia
Stephen Sackur is in Bratislava for an exclusive interview with Slovakia's Prime Minister Eduard Heger. Slovakia is hosting tens of thousands of Ukrainian…
- The Interview
Frances O'Grady: How can workers defend their interests?
As rising inflation eats into wages, and machine learning and the gig economy transform the world of work, how do workers defend their interests? Stephen…
- The Interview
Slava Vakarchuk: A rock star on the frontline
Stephen Sackur speaks to Slava Vakarchuk, a Ukrainian rock star who has exchanged stadium gigs for a military uniform and morale-boosting visits to the…
- The Interview
Mikhail Khodorkovsky: Making an enemy of Putin
Stephen Sackur speaks to the the former Russian oligarch turned Putin foe, Mikhail Khodorkovsky. He was once the boss of energy company Yukos and Russia’s…
- The Interview
Kylie Moore-Gilbert: 804 days in an Iranian jail
Iran’s rocky relations with the West have cost a host of individuals their freedom. The Islamic republic has imprisoned citizens from the US, Britain and a…
- The Interview
Omid Djalili: Can jokes be funny without being mean?
Comedy challenges taste and convention, and it can arouse strong reactions, as we saw at this year’s Oscars when a joke earned Chris Rock a slap in the face…