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
Former British diplomat, and National Security Adviser - Lord Ricketts
As the political debate over Brexit grows ever more polarised in the UK exposing deep fractures within the political parties, questions are also being asked…
- The Interview
Russian journalist - Galina Timchenko
Is President Putin crushing press freedom in Russia? Since coming to power nearly 20 years ago, Vladimir Putin has been accused of gradually taking control of…
- The Interview
Hungary's Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade - Péter Szijjártó
Can Hungary's ruling party win Europe’s battle of ideas? HARDtalk’s Stephen Sackur is in Budapest to speak to the Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó…
- The Interview
US-Lebanese comedian - Nemr Abou Nassar
Does comedy have the power to transcend borders, religions and politics and can it build bridges between different communities who may mistrust and…
- The Interview
Photographer - Marilyn Stafford
What makes a great photograph? Stephen Sackur speaks to one of the great women pioneers of photo journalism, Marilyn Stafford. She was born in the United…
- The Interview
Yemen's Foreign Minister - Khaled Alyemany
Is there any political or diplomatic initiative capable of saving Yemen? The current limited ceasefire in Yemen between the warring parties has barely…
- The Interview
Deputy President, Kenya - William Ruto
Is Kenya's ruling political partnership in danger of collapse? Kenya’s big ambitions to be the economic and infrastructure powerhouse of East Africa cannot be…
- The Interview
March for our Lives co-founder Cameron Kasky
Stephen Sackur is in Florida to speak to Cameron Kasky, who survived the Parkland School shooting in February 2018 and went on to co-found the March for our…
- The Interview
Writer - Leila Slimani
What draws the novelist to such dark visions of femininity? Sarah Montague speaks to Leila Slimani, one of France’s most famous, and most controversial…
- The Interview
Ireland's former Prime Minister - Bertie Ahern
Ireland's former Prime Minister, Bertie Ahern, negotiated the Belfast Agreement which brought peace to Northern Ireland. Sarah Montague asks if Brexit is a…
- The Interview
Former Venezuelan Supreme Court Justice Christian Zerpa
Up until last month, Christian Zerpa was a Justice on Venezuela’s Supreme Court; now he is a high-profile defector from the Maduro regime. With two men…
- The Interview
Writer - Carl Hiaasen
Is Florida the state where the American dream turned sour? HARDtalk's Stephen Sackur talks to the writer Carl Hiaasen whose hugely popular newspaper columns…
- The Interview
Laura Boldrini MP, Former Speaker, Chamber of Deputies in Italy
Laura Boldrini is a centre-left Italian politician. Until last year she was the Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies, the Italian Parliament’s lower chamber. She…
- The Interview
Former Interior Minister, Afghanistan - Amrullah Saleh
Shaun Ley talk to former spy chief Amrullah Saleh, now a candidate for vice-president in Afghanistan. Seventeen years on after the American-led invasion, the…
- The Interview
Explorer and aviator Bertrand Piccard
What drives an exclusive band of human beings to push beyond the boundaries of existing knowledge and experience? Hardtalk talks to Bertrand Piccard, the…
- The Interview
UK's Shadow Chancellor, John McDonnell
In little more than two months from now, Britain is scheduled to leave the European Union. That beguilingly simple statement is at the heart of a political…
- The Interview
Malaysia's Minister for Youth and Sport - Syed Saddiq
Until last year, Malaysia hadn't experienced a real change of government in the sixty years since independence. Prime Minister Mahatir, sailing back into power…
- The Interview
Tanzanian Opposition MP - Tundu Lissu
Tanzania is one of Africa’s fastest growing nations economically and demographically. It’s also governed by one of the continent’s most controversial leaders…
- The Interview
Economy and Finance Minister, France - Bruno Le Maire
HARDtalk’s Stephen Sackur is in Paris for an exclusive interview with the country’s Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire. The political and economic mood in France…
- The Interview
Adviser to President Trump's 2020 campaign - Mica Mosbacher
If the normal political rules applied to Donald Trump he would be holed up in the white house in a state of deep despair. He’s at war with Democrats in…
- The Interview
Jonathan Coe - Writer
Britain is in the grip of Brexit. To leave, or to remain in the European Union: that question has divided families, generations, and communities. Everyone…
- The Interview
President, Conference of European Rabbis - Pinchas Goldschmidt
There is plenty of disturbing data pointing to a significant rise in overt anti-Semitism in Europe and the United States. What are the reasons and how should…
- The Interview
General Secretary, Unite Union, UK - Len McCluskey
HARDtalk’s Stephen Sackur speaks to Len McCluskey, leader of Britain’s biggest trade union and biggest donor to the Labour party. Brexit is tearing at the…
- The Interview
Dr William Frankland, Allergist and WW2 Prisoner of War
Dr William Frankland is a world renowned expert on allergies and one of the last remaining British survivors of the Japanese prisoner of war camps in World War…
- The Interview
Jack Reacher author Lee Child
Stephen Sackur speaks to the author Lee Child. Storytelling is one of the most basic human impulses. But few are the storytellers who can draw in millions of…
- The Interview
Gulnur Aybet, Senior Adviser to President of Turkey
Stephen Sackur speaks to Gulnur Aybet, senior adviser to President Erdogan of Turkey. The murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi inside the Saudi consulate in…
- The Interview
Finance Minister of Pakistan - Asad Umar
It took former cricketer Imran Khan two decades of political slog to win power in Pakistan. It’s taken his critics just months to decide he’s out of his depth…
- The Interview
Musician - Mark Knopfler
What drives musical creativity? HARDtalk’s Stephen Sackur speaks to songwriter Mark Knopfler. In the pantheon of rock ’n’ roll greats, a special place is…
- The Interview
Nicaraguan Dissident Felix Maradiaga
President Daniel Ortega of Nicaragua has been in power for the past 11 years, but this year he has faced popular protests and demands that he step down. His…
- The Interview
UK Astronomer Royal - Sir Martin Rees
How do we decide what's important? How do we balance the priorities of the here and now with the big picture challenges that will determine the future of human…
The InterviewPro-Brexit Conservative MP, Owen Paterson
Britain’s Prime Minister Theresa May is facing a mutiny inside her own Conservative Party, which threatens to scupper her Brexit deal and quite possibly her…
- The Interview
Brexit Steering Group, European Parliament - Danuta Hübner MEP
HARDtalk’s Stephen Sackur speaks to Danuta Hübner, an influential Polish MEP who sits on the Brexit Steering Group of the European Parliament. In just a few…
- The Interview
Former UK Transport Minister Jo Johnson
On December 11th, two and a half years of posturing, politicking and poisonous disagreement come to a head: the UK Parliament will vote on whether to accept…
- The Interview
Saudi exile - Abdullah Alaoudh
Can anyone or anything challenge Saudi authoritarianism? HARDtalk’s Stephen Sackur speaks to Abdullah Alaoudh, a Saudi exile whose father is facing charges…
- The Interview
Israeli Education Minister and Leader of Jewish Home - Naftali Bennett
Israel’s seemingly indestructible Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has dodged another political bullet. After the recent flare up of violence in Gaza, his…
- The Interview
Senior US District Judge - Mark L. Wolf
How do you stop prime ministers and presidents lining their own pockets with the country's wealth? US Judge Mark Wolf is lobbying for the creation of an…
The InterviewMohamed El-Erian - Chief Economic Adviser at Allianz
Mohamed El-Erian’s career has been at the top end of economic advice. Along with writing several best-selling books, he spent 15 years at the International…
- The Interview
Editor, The Washington Post - Martin Baron
In a special interview to start the BBC’s Beyond Fake News season, Stephen Sackur speaks to The Washington Post’s editor Martin Baron about the fractious…
- The Interview
Former Commander ISAF and US Forces, Afghanistan - General Stanley McChrystal
The US mid-term elections were a mixed picture for President Trump. Democrats took control of the House of Representatives and that will allow them to block…
- The Interview
Professor of Behavioural Genetics - Robert Plomin
It is an age old debate that engages scientists and philosophers; which is the more powerful influence on who we are, nature or nurture? In recent years…
- The Interview
American Civil Liberties Union Legal Director - David Cole
American politics in the era of President Donald Trump is a polarised, partisan arena. But still there are pillars of the US system of governance such as the…
- The Interview
Deputy Energy Minister, South Africa - Thembisile Majola
Cyril Ramaphosa replaced Jacob Zuma as leader of the ANC and President of South Africa with a promise to revive the country’s economy, tackle poverty and root…
- The Interview
UK Labour MP - David Lammy
In just five months, Britain will be out of the European Union. But on what basis, and under whose leadership? And could it yet not happen? Brexit uncertainty…
- The Interview
National Security Adviser of Afghanistan - Hamdullah Mohib
Afghans will have to wait until next month to get the results of last Sunday’s parliamentary election – but in one sense the verdict is already in; the ballot…
- The Interview
Minister of State, UK Foreign Office - Alan Duncan MP
Turkey’s President Erdogan says the murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi was a savage crime meticulously planned in Riyadh. He wants all those…
- The Interview
Philosopher Kwame Anthony Appiah
What gives each of us our sense of who we are? At the most personal level we all have our own family background. In the most general sense we are, all of us…
- The Interview
Malawi's Vice President - Saulos Chilima
HARDtalk’s Zeinab Badawi speaks to Vice President of the small southern African state of Malawi, Saulos Chilima- a former business executive turned politician…
The InterviewVice President of European Parliament, Mairead McGuinness
The Brexit endgame is underway. This is the week the UK Government and the European Union earmarked for agreeing a deal on the divorce and outlining a future…
- The Interview
Professor at Columbia Law School - Kimberlé Crenshaw
The United States of America is a republic divided. The Trump presidency has exposed fissures that run along lines of race, gender, education, and culture. In…
- The Interview
Is Saudi Arabia Heading Down a Dangerous Path?
The Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi disappeared after entering the Saudi consulate in Istanbul last week. Amid a welter of speculation and lurid allegations…
- The Interview
Imam of Mariam Mosque in Copenhagen - Sherin Khankan
Almost two billion of the world’s people are Muslim, and yet half of them, the female half, have traditionally played little or no role in the institutions of…
- The Interview
Cuban conceptual artist Tania Bruguera
Tania Bruguera's pieces and immersive performances have attracted international acclaim but prolonged harassment from the Cuban authorities. Is she artist…
- The Interview
Cuban Conceptual Artist - Tania Bruguera
Tania Bruguera's pieces and immersive performances have attracted international acclaim but prolonged harassment from the Cuban authorities. Is she an artist…
- The Interview
Mahathir Mohamad, Prime Minister of Malaysia
HARDtalk’s Zeinab Badawi speaks to the world’s oldest head of government, Malaysia's Prime Minister, Mahathir Mohamad. He came back to office in May after…
- The Interview
Former Greek Finance Minister - Yanis Varoufakis
Is the left losing the political argument in Europe? Stephen Sackur speaks to Yanis Varoufakis, Greece’s radical leftist finance minister at the height of the…
- The Interview
Former Conservative Party Leader, UK – Lord Howard
Is Prime Minister Theresa May's Brexit strategy in deep trouble? Stephen Sackur speaks to Lord Howard, former Conservative leader. Britain's Conservative party…
- The Interview
Editor in Chief, Guardian News & Media (1995-2015) - Alan Rusbridger
What is journalism for? To inform and bear witness, uncover inconvenient truths and hold power to account? Those are surely values most of us share, but have…
- The Interview
CEO, UK Space Agency - Graham Turnock
Will post Brexit Britain be left behind in the race to reach new scientific frontiers? Stephen Sackur speaks to Graham Turnock, Chief Executive of the UK space…
- The Interview
Former Blackwater CEO Erik Prince
Deploying troops overseas, whether to fight or protect, is a costly business. It is one of the reasons why throughout history, wars and long term military…
- The Interview
Nury Turkel - Uyghur Human Rights Project, Washington
'Sense the party's thought, obey the party's words, follow the party's lead' are the words printed in red on a building at an internment camp in Xinjiang…