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
Frans Baleni - General Secretary, South African National Union of Mineworkers
It has become known as the 'Marikana massacre', when 34 people were killed as police in South Africa opened fire on striking miners. For many it had echoes of…
- The Interview
Kumi Naidoo, executive director of Greenpeace International
Greenpeace has campaigned against environmental degradation, for more than 40 years. This month it’s mobilising its activists to make a stand on saving the…
- The Interview
Riad Hijab, former Prime Minister of Syria
HARDtalk travels to the Jordanian capital Amman, just 100km north of the Syrian border. Three months ago Riad Hijab crossed that border and became the most…
- The Interview
Vandana Shiva, environmentalist
Hardtalk speaks to the original tree hugger. The phrase was coined back in the 1970s when she - along with a group of women in India - hugged trees to stop…
- The Interview
James Cracknell - former Olympic rower
James Cracknell is a former Olympic rowing champion who has performed astonishing feats of endurance from the Sahara to Antarctica. But his toughest challenge…
- The Interview
Radoslaw Sikorski - Foreign Minister of Poland
Poland’s economy is growing, as is its diplomatic clout. The Polish foreign minister Radoslaw Sikorski has backed Germany's vision of much deeper EU…
- The Interview
Leonid Kozhara - Foreign Policy Advisor to the Ukrainian President
Ukraine's just held parliamentary elections. A cause for celebration, and the flowering of democracy in a former Soviet republic? Not if you read the reports…
- The Interview
Hisham Qandil - Prime Minister, Egypt
Hardtalk is in Cairo to assess the state of Egypt's post-revolutionary politics. Right now, the report card is decidedly mixed. Egypt has a…
- The Interview
Andreas Mavroyiannis, Deputy Minister for European Affairs for Cyprus
The European Union won the Nobel Peace Prize for fostering unity in Europe, but the award was made during the current EU presidency of its only divided member…
- The Interview
Bob Shrum, Democratic Party Consultant and Campaign Strategist
Next Tuesday’s US Presidential Election promises to be the closest since the Bush/Gore race ended in a dispute over hanging chads a dozen years ago. And Barack…
- The Interview
Grover Norquist - President, Americans for Tax Reform
Mitt Romney and his Republican advisers claim momentum is on their side as the US presidential election enters the final stretch. Their unrelenting focus is on…
- The Interview
Conrad Black - Former CEO of Hollinger International
From global media baron to convicted criminal doing time in a Florida jail, the remarkable rise and fall of Conrad Black has made for years of lurid headlines…
- The Interview
Richard Thaler - Behavioural economist
Stop smoking, eat less, exercise more, pay your taxes on time. So many things governments want us to do; so hard to get us to do them. Shaun Ley speaks to…
- The Interview
Connie Hedegaard - European Commissioner for Climate Action
What has happened to Europe’s ambition to lead the world toward a low-carbon, sustainable future? As austerity bites, so doubts intensify about the wisdom of…
- The Interview
Bernard Cazeneuve - Minister delegate for European Affairs, France
The grandeur of the French foreign ministry in Paris gives a sense of how France sees its role in Europe - it's assumed here, Paris will have a dominant role…
- The Interview
Michael O’Leary, Ryanair Chief Executive
The aviation industry is in trouble. Fuel prices have soared, there’s been a drop in passenger numbers and some airlines have gone out of business, but in…
- The Interview
William Ruto: Kenyan Presidential Candidate
With elections approaching in six months, many Kenyans are apprehensive. The last disputed presidential election resulted in violence which claimed 1500 lives…
- The Interview
Otmar Issing – European Central Bank Board, 1998 – 2006
Can the euro be saved? Europe's leaders think so; its central bank says there's no limit to the money it's prepared to spend to defend it. But is their…
- The Interview
Jack Abramoff - Former US lobbyist
In the lead-up to November's Presidential election in the United States, groups on the right and left are sounding the alarm at the influence of money on US…
- The Interview
Guy Verhofstadt and Richard Ashworth – Members of The European Parliament
Europe's economic crisis has pushed its governments further and faster down the road of economic integration than many might have expected. But it is also…
- The Interview
Ashti Hawrami - Minister for Natural Resources, Kurdistan Regional Government
Kurds in Iraq are growing restless and impatient over the violence and open political rivalries in Baghdad, between Shias and Sunnis. Iraq's autonomous Kurdish…
- The Interview
Professor Welshman Ncube
Have opposition politicians in Zimbabwe learned the lessons of the violent and disputed elections in 2008 in which Robert Mugabe and his party Zanu-PF…
- The Interview
Hans-Werner Sinn - German economist
Germany's pivotal role in resolving the Eurozone crisis has sparked fierce international discussion but also deep rifts at home. Katya Adler speaks to…
- The Interview
Felipe Larrain - Finance Minister of Chile
Chile's economy is booming, growing at a rate which almost echoes that of China. While Chile is the world's largest producer of copper, China the biggest…
- The Interview
Pyotr Verzilov - Russian artist and political activist
To their critics they're publicity hungry blasphemers; to their minds they are feminist punk rockers protesting against what they say is Russian president…
- The Interview
Tyler Hamilton - Former professional cyclist
For years, it's been one of the biggest questions in sport. Did Lance Armstrong - the seven time winner of cycling's greatest race, the Tour de France - dope?…
- The Interview
Maryam Al Khawaja - Bahraini Human Rights Activist
The future of the Gulf state of Bahrain remains uncertain after 18 months of street protests inspired by the Arab Spring. Some of the most outspoken Bahraini…
- The Interview
Xavier Rolet - Chief Executive, London Stock Exchange Group
The 2008 banking crash prompted a prolonged crisis of confidence in the financial institutions and markets that underpin Western capitalism. Governments on…
- The Interview
Raymond Tshibanda - Minister for Foreign Affairs, Democratic Republic of Congo
The grim threat of renewed conflict hangs over the Democratic Republic of Congo. An armed rebellion in the East - on the Rwandan border - has already forced…
- The Interview
Tarek al-Hashimi - Vice President of Iraq
Tarek al-Hashimi is in a very strange position: he is Iraq's vice president but right now he is a de facto fugitive in Turkey. He is being tried in absentia on…
- The Interview
Brian Sayers – Syrian Support Group
While some Arab states are actively funding the Syrian opposition, the West has publicly refused to provide arms. The US, in particular, has been criticised…
- The Interview
Maajid Nawaz - Chairman of Quilliam, counter extremisim organisation
Maajid Nawaz is a British born Muslim who became a radical Islamist. He was arrested and imprisoned in Hosni Mubarak's Egypt but when he emerged from prison he…
- The Interview
Rob Davies - South Africa's Minister for Trade and Industry
Stephen Sackur talks to Rob Davies, South Africa’s Minister for Trade and Industry. The labour unrest in South Africa’s platinum mines has claimed the lives of…
- The Interview
Angélique Kidjo - Musician and Activist
Angélique Kidjo has been hailed as Africa's premier diva, known for her passionate voice and fierce determination to help African girls fulfil their potential…
- The Interview
Lord Hanningfield - Former Conservative Peer
The expenses scandal tarnished those at the very heart of British democracy. Some politicians in the so-called Mother of Parliaments were shown to be greedy…
- The Interview
Lord Moynihan - Chairman of the British Olympics Association
Katya Adler speaks to Lord Moynihan, Chairman of the British Olympics Association and Director of the London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games. London…
- The Interview
Sharon Bowles - Chair, EU Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee
Katya Adler speaks to Sharon Bowles, Chair of the European Parliament's Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee. The Eurozone crisis has been a test not only…
- The Interview
Michael Barber - Chief Education Advisor, Pearson PLC
The United Nations had hoped that by 2015 every child would be able to go to primary school. But the last time they reported on progress to that goal, they…
- The Interview
Mark Carney - Governor of Canada's Central Bank
London's reputation as a global financial centre has been tarnished yet again. This time another British bank Standard Chartered, stands accused of…
- The Interview
Nigel Farage - Leader of the UK Independence Party
As another wave of financial fear sweeps through the Eurozone, with Spain seemingly staggering towards a bail out and Italy not far behind, the voices of the…
- The Interview
Amos Gilad – Director of Policy, Israeli Ministry of Defence
Zeinab Badawi talks to Amos Gilad, Policy Director at the Israeli Ministry of Defence. Is the Arab Spring a blessing or a disaster for Israel? Upheaval in the…
- The Interview
Sheikh Hasina - Prime Minister of Bangladesh
Sheikh Hasina has been Prime Minister of Bangladesh for the last three and a half years. It’s her second term in office and throughout her time at the top…
- The Interview
Extratime: Nawal El Moutawakel -Member of the International Olympic Committee
At the Los Angeles Olympics in 1984 a diminutive Moroccan runner named Nawal El Moutawakel won the 400 metres hurdles and so became the first Arab and Muslim…
- The Interview
Arnold Ekpe - CEO Ecobank Transnational Inc
Six of the world's ten fastest growing economies are in Sub- Saharan Africa. The World Bank predicts a decade of African growth which Europe can only dream of…
- The Interview
Extratime: Jonathan Edwards - Olympic triple jump gold medallist
More than 10,000 athletes are about to compete at the London Olympics. The spotlight will certainly be on them but one former champion, Jonathan Edwards, will…
- The Interview
20/07/2012 GMT
Baaba Maal is maintaining a West African tradition: he is an internationally renowned musician with a strong political voice, like Fela Kuti and Youssou N'Dour…
- The Interview
James Robinson - Professor of Government, Harvard University
Stephen Sackur speaks to the renowned Harvard academic James Robinson. In a recent book, written together with Daron Acemoglu, he tries to answer one of the…
- The Interview
Dame Jocelyn Bell Burnell - Astrophysicist
Stephen Sackur speaks to a scientist of rare distinction. Jocelyn Bell Burnell was a key member of the team which discovered pulsars and neutron stars in the…
- The Interview
Paul Kagame - President of Rwanda
Is Rwanda's president Paul Kagame in serious danger of losing the international community's goodwill? He has been accused of autocratic behaviour and of being…
- The Interview
Karel De Gucht - European Commissioner for Trade
Stephen Sackur talks to a member of the Brussels political elite, the EU Trade Commissioner Karel de Gucht. His job is to promote Europe's trade agenda around…
- The Interview
Femi Kuti - Musician and Activist
Zeinab Badawi talks to the musician and political activist Femi Kuti, son of the late, legendary afrobeat pioneer Fela Kuti. As Africa's most populous nation…
- The Interview
Ghazi Hamad – Hamas Deputy Foreign Minister
The election of a Muslim Brotherhood candidate Mohammed Morsi as president of Egypt will have an impact not only on Egypt but also elsewhere in the Middle…
- The Interview
Professor Niall Ferguson - Historian
The British Government has promised action to deal with the scandal at Barclays. The bank has been fined for trying to fix the interest rate at which banks…
- The Interview
Lynton Crosby - Political Strategist
Electoral politics is a blood sport and some of the toughest fighters in the game are the campaign strategists who hone and sell their candidates' message…
- The Interview
Helle Thorning-Schmidt - Denmark's Prime Minister
Stephen Sackur is in the capital of Denmark, Copenhagen, which for the past six tumultuous months has held the presidency of the European Union. In that time…
- The Interview
Gehad El-Haddad - Senior Political Advisor, Freedom and Justice Party
Stephen Sackur talks to Gehad El-Haddad, an adviser to the Muslim Brotherhood's Freedom and Justice Party. Mohamed Morsi has made history by becoming Egypt's…
- The Interview
Dr. Steve Peters - Psychiatrist working in elite sport
With the London Olympics just weeks away, athletes are completing their final preparations - and that means fine tuning the mind as well as the body. In elite…
- The Interview
Beeban Kidron - Film Director
The 2012 Cannes Film Festival was criticised when all 22 films in the competition were directed by men. But Hollywood is not much better - a recent study found…
- The Interview
Chuka Umunna - UK Shadow Business Secretary
The Greek election in June 2012 has saved Europe from economic and financial meltdown - for now. No-one in Europe believes the combined currency, banking and…