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
Christine Lagarde – Managing Director, International Monetary Fund
IMF managing director Christine Lagarde says the challenge right now is to move from a fragmented, 3 speed world economy to a full speed economy. It's a neat…
- The Interview
Mathieu Kassovitz - Actor and Director
Mathieu Kassovitz has been a darling of French cinema for 30 years. Now he says, "I'm out of this country" - and it's nothing to do with taxes. Is he…
- The Interview
Steffen Kampeter – Deputy Finance Minister, Germany
Angela Merkel is a politician caught between a rock and a hard place. In Germany, a new party accuses her of doing too much to keep alive the hated Euro…
- The Interview
Jeremy Irons - Actor
Stephen Sackur meets one of Britain's most successful actors, Jeremy Irons. The Oscar winning performer is best known for his portrayal of troubled, brooding…
- The Interview
Lord Maurice Saatchi - UK Conservative Party Chairman (2003-2005)
Rarely does the death of a long-retired politician prompt a genuinely worldwide reaction, but Margaret Thatcher was one of a kind. Britain's first female prime…
- The Interview
Sir John Holmes - Former UN Emergency Relief Co-ordinator
In the midst of war or natural disaster humanitarian aid can make the difference between life and death. But according to influential critics it can also…
- The Interview
Mimoza Kusari-Lila - Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Trade and Industry, Kosovo
For more than a decade Kosovo has been struggling to emerge from a political and diplomatic twilight zone. It is a fledgling state lacking universal…
- The Interview
Patrick Chinamasa - Justice Minister of Zimbabwe
For years, the UK's relationship with Zimbabwe has been characterised by deep mutual suspicion. But things are beginning to change - the Zimbabwean people have…
- The Interview
Daniel Dennett – Philosopher and Cognitive Scientist
Stephen Sackur speaks to Daniel Dennett, a philosopher who applies Darwinian evolutionary theory not just to species, but to ideas and religious beliefs…
- The Interview
Major General Robert Mood - Former Head of UN Supervision Mission in Syria
What could and should the outside world be doing as Syria sinks ever deeper into civil war? Has inertia and division within the international community…
- The Interview
Alassane Ouattara - President of Ivory Coast
Ivory Coast was once one of west Africa's economic powerhouses. Today, the world's biggest cocoa producer is trying to recover from the conflict that tore the…
- The Interview
Kishore Mahbubani - Author and former diplomat
Are you an optimist or a pessimist when it comes to the future of human civilisation? Your response may be determined by where you live. In the West, beset by…
- The Interview
Gareth Thomas - Former Wales Rugby Captain
Stephen Sackur speaks to Welsh rugby legend, Gareth Thomas. He confronted one of the last great taboos in professional sport by publically revealing his…
- The Interview
Victor Ponta - Prime Minister of Romania
At the end of 2013, Romanians will be able to live and work in any EU country they want to. All work restrictions, imposed by some countries when Romania and…
- The Interview
Kenneth Clarke - Conservative Government Minister, UK
Stephen Sackur asks veteran Conservative cabinet minister Ken Clarke if prime minster David Cameron is in danger of losing grip of his party. No one ever said…
- The Interview
Theodor Meron - President of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia
Two decades ago the world's killing fields were in the Balkans and Rwanda but right now, they're in Syria. Can we be any more confident today, than we were…
- The Interview
Moncef Marzouki - President of Tunisia
Stephen Sackur visits the grand presidential palace in Tunis to speak to the Tunisian president and former human rights campaigner Moncef Marzouki. During his…
- The Interview
Lord Bilimoria – Founder and Chairman, Cobra Beer
Britain and India are two countries united by 200 years of shared history but now with an ever growing distance in ties. India is a rising global economic…
- The Interview
Timo Soini - Leader, The Finns Party
Europe's prolonged economic crisis has prompted a populist backlash against the powers that be. In Finland, the EU's prosperous northern outpost, the big…
- The Interview
Henry Winkler - Actor
Henry Winkler's long career will always be defined by one role. He was the Fonz, the cool dude at the centre of the US TV show Happy Days which was a worldwide…
- The Interview
AB Yehoshua - Author
The conflict between Israelis and Palestinians arouses passions like few others. But on one thing most people can agree: that there's no prospect of the…
- The Interview
Father Bernard Lynch - Priest and Psychotherapist
The Catholic Church has been rocked by not one but two shock and surprise resignations. First, Pope Benedict steps down after announcing he was too old and…
- The Interview
Gloria Steinem – Feminist activist and author
Hardtalk speaks to one of the most influential women in the history of the modern feminist movement. Gloria Steinem grew up in an America where women were…
- The Interview
Jon Huntsman - Republican Presidential Candidate 2011
The state of the US Republican Party has been described as a mess. Badly beaten in the race for the White House, it is seemingly out of touch with mainstream…
- The Interview
Mamphela Ramphele - Politician and academic
Stephen Sackur talks to Mamphela Ramphele, anti-apartheid activist, prominent public figure and former partner of the late Steve Biko, one of the heroes of the…
- The Interview
Enrique Garcia - President - CAF - Development Bank of Latin America
This is Latin America’s decade – so says the leader of one of the countries contributing to its impressive economic boom. But as the world slows, can growth be…
- The Interview
Lucinda Creighton - Minister for European Affairs
Hardtalk travels to Dublin, capital of Ireland, to speak to Europe Minister Lucinda Creighton. The country currently holds the Presidency of the European…
- The Interview
Fernando Carrera – Minister of Foreign Affairs
The government of Guatemala has promised to tackle the high murder rate of a country living under the threat of gangs, organised crime and drug traffickers…
- The Interview
Hossein Mousavian - Iranian Nuclear Negotiator
Can there be a negotiated way out of the high stakes stand-off between Iran and the West over the Islamic Republic's nuclear ambitions? A new round of talks is…
- The Interview
Mohammad Jawad - Plastic Surgeon
Renowned British plastic surgeon, Dr Mohammad Jawad, helps reconstruct the faces of women disfigured by acid attacks. He featured in an Oscar-winning…
- The Interview
Renzo Piano - Architect
Renzo Piano is one of the world's most accomplished and feted architects; and one used to dividing opinion. Back in the 1970s he designed Paris's Pompidou…
- The Interview
Lord Ouseley – Chairman, Kick It Out
If football is the beautiful game then it risks being disfigured by an ugly scar: racism. Players, fans and administrators have all pledged their determination…
- The Interview
Paul Bhatti – Minister in Charge of National Harmony, Pakistan
Paul Bhatti is Pakistan's Minister for National Harmony - job description that seems deeply ironic given his country's current turmoil. He accepted the job…
- The Interview
Mark Lynas - pro-GM campaigner
As part of the BBC’s What If? season, Hardtalk talks to pro-GM campaigner and environmental author Mark Lynas asking What if genetically modified food is the…
- The Interview
Nigel Sheinwald - UK Ambassador to the US (2007 - 2012)
In or out? For the next five years Britain's future in the European Union will be shrouded in uncertainty thanks to David Cameron's commitment to a referendum…
- The Interview
Mohamed El-Erian – CEO, PIMCO
Is it time for the doom-mongers to admit they were wrong about the world economy? The Eurozone is intact, the US hasn't plunged off that fiscal cliff and even…
- The Interview
Doreen Lawrence
Stephen Lawrence was murdered in South London on April 22, 1993. Stephen was black – his attackers were white. The killing and subsequent investigation exposed…
- The Interview
Pascal Lamy – Director General, World Trade Organisation
As head of the World Trade Organisation for the past eight years, Pascal Lamy has been leading the crusade for global free trade. The so called Doha round of…
- The Interview
Kiran Bedi - Senior Female Police Officer in India
The brutal gang rape and murder of a young woman in Delhi last month has prompted India to confront a disturbing truth: the country is failing to protect women…
- The Interview
Joaquin Almunia – EU Competition Commissioner
EU officials in Brussels insist the worst of the Eurozone crisis is over; but is that relief premature? Europe's debt mountain still casts a long shadow…
- The Interview
Rupert Everett - actor
Rupert Everett achieved success in his early twenties through his acclaimed lead role in Another Country and Dance With A Stranger. But much of this success…
- The Interview
Lord Heseltine – Former British Deputy Prime Minister
Half way through its parliamentary term Britain’s Conservative-led coalition government has a growth problem - the economy is flat; possibly heading for a…
- The Interview
Mona Eltahawy – Writer and Activist
Arabs have risen up against their repressive authoritarian rulers, but what will their post-revolutionary societies look like? In Egypt and Tunisia, power has…
- The Interview
Fatih Birol – Chief Economist, International Energy Agency
Not so long ago it seemed the world’s addiction to fossil fuels would soon be ended by dwindling supply. But that was before fracking, tar sands and deep sea…
- The Interview
Ian Thorpe - Australian Swimmer
Olympic gold medal-winning Australian swimmer Ian Thorpe on his crippling depression. (Image: Ian Thorpe, Credit: Getty Images)
- The Interview
Alan Moore - Graphic Novelist
Alan Moore - man behind the mask worn by computer hackers and Occupy protestors the world over. But he's no typical insurgent, rather a graphic novelist. He…
- The Interview
Philip Glass - Composer
Philip Glass is one of the most influential and polarising composers of the last 50 years. The trademark sound in his prolific output of symphonies, operas and…
- The Interview
Brooke Magnanti - Belle du Jour
As Belle de Jour, she achieved global notoriety for years, writing a blog about her sexual encounters as a high-class escort girl working in London. Now, after…
- The Interview
Lewis Moody - Former England Rugby Captain
Former England rugby captain Lewis Moody talks to Stephen Sackur about his battle with bowel disease, and winning the 2003 Rugby World Cup. (Image: Lewis…
- The Interview
Sir Geoffrey Nice QC - Barrister
Stephen Sackur talks to the British barrister Sir Geoffrey Nice who led the Hague tribunal prosecution of former Yugoslav president Slobodan Milosević and asks…
- The Interview
Naguib Sawiris – Businessman and Founder, Free Egyptians Party
How far is Egypt becoming polarised between Islamist and secularist forces? The current vote for a new constitution in Egypt has exposed divisions which at…
- The Interview
Sima Samar – Chairperson, Afghan Human Rights Commission
Afghanistan is reckoned to be one of the worst places on Earth to be a woman. Forced early marriage, high maternal mortality rates and little secondary…
- The Interview
Leila Shahid – Palestinian Authority Ambassador to the EU
The politics of Palestine are in a state of flux. Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and the stalwarts of his Fatah movement face a crisis of…
- The Interview
Jan Cheek - Executive Councillor, Falkland Islands Government
To Britain it's the Falklands, to Argentina the Malvinas. Thirty years ago, the two countries went to war over these islands in the South Atlantic. Now they…
- The Interview
José Manuel Barroso - President of the European Commission
HARDtalk travels to Oslo for the annual Nobel Peace Prize award ceremony. This year, the prize has been awarded to the European Union which has, according to…
- The Interview
Carlos Ghosn - CEO of Renault-Nissan
Renault has been long regarded as a jewel in the crown of French industry. But Renault has lost much of its lustre. Despite joining forces with the Japanese…
- The Interview
Mike Newell - film director
Mike Newell is responsible for box office hits like Four Weddings and a Funeral, Donnie Brasco and Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. He could make almost…
- The Interview
Peter Voser - CEO of Royal Dutch Shell
The United States is about to become the world's largest producer of oil and gas. Quite remarkable for a country that only a few years ago was the world's…
- The Interview
Jeh Johnson- General Counsel, US Department of Defense
How far will Barack Obama go in taking on critics who say the United States has abandoned its role as the global champion of human rights? America's…
- The Interview
Michael Woodford - Former CEO, Olympus
Zeinab Badawi speaks to the British businessman Michael Woodford, who rose to become chief-executive of one of the most iconic Japanese companies - the camera…