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
Mouaz Moustafa: Will Syrians get justice?
Stephen Sackur speaks to Mouaz Moustafa, founder of the US-based Syrian Emergency Task Force. He campaigned to bring the Assad regime to justice for its…
- The Interview
Ehud Olmert: This war must end now
Stephen Sackur speaks to former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert. He is a fierce critic of current Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and says only…
- The Interview
Vladimir Kara-Murza: Is Putin vulnerable?
Stephen Sackur speaks to Vladimir Kara-Murza, the anti-Putin activist who was twice poisoned, then imprisoned in Russia. He was freed in a prisoner swap last…
- The Interview
Asif Kapadia: Pushing the boundaries of film-making
Sarah Montague speaks to award-winning film-maker Asif Kapadia. His latest film 2073 combines science fiction with documentary to paint a bleak picture of our…
- The Interview
Alice Edwards: Is it possible to eradicate torture?
Sarah Montague speaks to Alice Edwards, the UN special rapporteur on torture. It’s been 40 years since the introduction of the UN Convention Against Torture…
- The Interview
Alan Hollinghurst: How has Britain changed since the 1980s?
Stephen Sackur speaks to the British novelist Alan Hollinghurst, author of Our Evenings and the Booker Prize-winning The Line of Beauty. Over four decades, how…
- The Interview
HARDtalk - 2024 Review
HARDtalk’s Stephen Sackur looks back on some of the most powerful moments from 2024 in his end of year review.
- The Interview
Dmytro Kuleba: What are Ukraine's options?
Stephen Sackur speaks to former Ukrainian foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba. Russian forces are gaining ground along the frontline in eastern Ukraine, and US…
- The Interview
Marty Baron: Is mainstream media in terminal decline?
Stephen Sackur speaks to the former editor of the Washington Post, Marty Baron. Donald Trump accused him of peddling lies and fake news. He called it…
- The Interview
Terumi Tanaka: Is nuclear war unthinkable?
Stephen Sackur is in Oslo for an exclusive interview with 92-year-old Terumi Tanaka who survived the atomic bombing of Nagasaki and is receiving the Nobel…
- The Interview
Mark Alford: Is America ready for Trump 2.0?
Stephen Sackur speaks to Republican congressman and Trump loyalist Mark Alford. The president-elect has already made clear his intent to blow up the Washington…
- The Interview
Arab Barghouthi: Will his father shape Palestinians' future?
Stephen Sackur speaks to Arab Barghouthi. His father, Marwan, is serving life for murder in an Israeli jail, but is widely seen by Palestinians as a potential…
- The Interview
Peter Boehringer: Is Germany's far right in a powerful position?
Germany, Europe’s most powerful economy, will hold elections in February after the collapse of Chancellor Scholz's ruling coalition. Stephen Sackur speaks to…
- The Interview
Barbara Taylor Bradford: A woman of substance
Following the death of Barbara Taylor Bradford at the age of 91, another chance to listen to Stephen Sackur’s 2009 interview with the best-selling novelist. A…
- The Interview
Liz Carr: The UK's assisted dying debate
The UK parliament is considering landmark proposals to legalise assisted dying in England and Wales. They would, if approved, establish the right for some…
- The Interview
Aleksandar Vučić: Is Serbia looking to the West or Russia and China?
Stephen Sackur is in Belgrade for an exclusive interview with Serbia’s President Aleksandar Vučić. The Balkan country is at a crossroads. Does it prioritise…
- The Interview
Masoumeh Ebtekar: Is Iran's leadership in danger of losing its grip?
Stephen Sackur speaks to Iran’s former vice president for women and family affairs, Masoumeh Ebtekar. Despite state repression, many Iranian women are still…
- The Interview
Paddy Hill: Rebuilding after a miscarriage of justice
This month marks 50 years since 21 people were killed by the IRA in the Birmingham pub bombings. Six men, ‘The Birmingham Six’, were imprisoned for 16 years…
- The Interview
Sir Steve McQueen: The power of film
Stephen Sackur speaks to Steve McQueen, the Oscar-winning director of films including 12 Years a Slave and Widows. Much of his work has portrayed racial…
- The Interview
Farah Nabulsi: Challenging imbalance in value of human life
Stephen Sackur speaks to British-Palestinian filmmaker Farah Nabulsi. Her latest film, The Teacher, is set in the West Bank and invites audiences to see and…
- The Interview
Edmund Bartlett: Does Jamaica have a security problem?
Stephen Sackur speaks to Jamaica's minister of tourism, Edmund Bartlett. While the island nation projects itself to the world as a Caribbean success story, its…
- The Interview
Jason Jones: How can you change cultural attitudes?
Allan Little speaks to the Trinidadian human rights activist Jason Jones. He is campaigning to legalise consensual sex for homosexuals on his native island…
- The Interview
Andrei Kelin: Is Vladimir Putin reshaping geopolitics?
Stephen Sackur speaks to Russia’s ambassador in London, Andrei Kelin. Thanks to the war in Ukraine and allegations of Russian hybrid warfare in Europe and…
- The Interview
Fred Fleitz: What would Donald Trump's foreign policy look like?
Stephen Sackur speaks to Fred Fleitz, a national security official in Donald Trump’s first administration, tipped for a new foreign policy role if Trump…
- The Interview
Diane Foley: Bringing detained Americans home
Stephen Sackur talks to Diane Foley, whose son James was kidnapped by the Islamic State group and murdered in 2014. She’s spent a decade coming to terms with…
- The Interview
Chris Murphy: Is Kamala Harris a candidate for change?
Stephen Sackur is in Washington DC to speak to Democratic Party Senator Chris Murphy. In the final days of an eye-wateringly close presidential election…
- The Interview
John Bolton: Is America too divided to offer global leadership?
Stephen Sackur is in Washington DC to speak to Donald Trump’s former national security adviser John Bolton. With the election looming, Bolton calls his former…
- The Interview
Frank Skinner: What unites his many sides?
Stephen Sackur speaks to stand-up comedian, and broadcaster Frank Skinner, who also happens to be a writer on poetry, religion and much more. Football and sex…
- The Interview
Seyed Hossein Mousavian: How vulnerable is Iran?
Stephen Sackur speaks to former Iranian nuclear negotiator Seyed Hossein Mousavian. Now in exile in the US, he is an advocate for dialogue between Iran and the…
- The Interview
Ali Abbasi: Is censorship a growing cross-cultural problem?
Stephen Sackur speaks to the Iranian-Danish film director Ali Abbasi. His new movie The Apprentice, about Donald Trump’s early years in business, has enraged…
- The Interview
Marietje Schaake: Is Silicon Valley too powerful?
Stephen Sackur speaks to the former MEP Marietje Schaake, who is now a cyber expert at Stanford University. Her book, The Tech Coup, suggests the world’s…
- The Interview
Danny Danon: Can force alone deliver security for Israel?
Stephen Sackur speaks to Israel’s ambassador at the UN, Danny Danon. Israel is now fighting a multi-front war, intent on delivering its enemies in Gaza…
- The Interview
Tamir Pardo: Does Israel's greatest threat come from within?
Stephen Sackur speaks to Tamir Pardo, former director of the Israeli intelligence agency Mossad. He was appointed by Benjamin Netanyahu but now he’s a fierce…
- The Interview
Kim Aris: The fate of Aung San Suu Kyi and Myanmar
Allan Little speaks to Kim Aris, the son of the ousted civilian leader of Myanmar Aung San Suu Kyi. Now a political prisoner approaching the age of 80 and in…
- The Interview
Imaan Mazari-Hazir: Seeking justice for Pakistan's disappeared
Mishal Husain speaks to Imaan Mazari-Hazir, a lawyer in Pakistan whose passion for human rights began early in her legal studies. She has become well known in…
- The Interview
María Corina Machado: Defending democracy in Venezuela
Stephen Sackur speaks to the de-facto leader of the Venezuelan opposition, María Corina Machado. Two months after an election which she says delivered a…
- The Interview
Amin Salam: Can all-out war be averted in Lebanon?
Stephen Sackur speaks to Lebanon’s economy minister, Amin Salam. His country is being bombed and the casualties are mounting as Israel attempts to destroy the…
- The Interview
Ingrid Newkirk: Will humans ever go animal-free?
Stephen Sackur speaks to Ingrid Newkirk, president of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (Peta). For five decades she has led the campaign to end…
- The Interview
Martin Griffiths: Can the humanitarian system survive?
Mishal Husain speaks to Martin Griffiths, who worked for decades within the UN and the wider world of humanitarian aid. From Cambodia to Afghanistan, Sudan to…
- The Interview
Oliviero Toscani: Photography with a social conscience
Stephen Sackur is in Tuscany to speak to the world famous Italian photographer Oliviero Toscani. He changed the world of advertising with his provocative…
- The Interview
Philippe Lazzarini: Is UNRWA's mission in Gaza impossible?
Stephen Sackur speaks to Philippe Lazzarini, head of UNRWA, the UN’s refugee agency for Palestinians. This week, six UN relief agency staff were killed in an…
- The Interview
James Earl Jones: An incredible journey
Following the death of James Earl Jones at the age of 93, another chance to listen to Stephen Sackur’s 2011 interview with the legendary American actor. Known…
- The Interview
Balázs Orbán: Has Hungary's government created a template for far-right movements?
Stephen Sackur speaks to Balázs Orbán, a Hungarian MP and advisor to his namesake, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán. Hungary’s government is known for its…
- The Interview
Senator Lindsey Graham: Will Trump return to the White House?
Stephen Sackur speaks to a close ally and sometime confidant of Donald Trump, Republican Senator from South Carolina Lindsey Graham
- The Interview
Fawzia Koofi: Women's rights in Afghanistan
Stephen Sackur speaks to the former deputy speaker of the Afghan parliament Fawzia Koofi. She was forced to flee into exile when the Taliban returned to power…
- The Interview
Rev Andrey Kordochkin: Putin and the Church
Vladimir Putin talks of restoring greatness to what he calls the Russian world: an expanse of territory which, as Ukrainians know to their cost, stretches far…
- The Interview
Motaz Azaiza: Photographing Gaza
Stephen Sackur speaks to Palestinian photojournalist Motaz Azaiza. His images of death, destruction and loss in Gaza went viral across the world. He left 108…
- The Interview
Andris Sprūds: Is Latvia on a war footing?
Stephen Sackur speaks to Latvia’s defence minister Andris Sprūds. He wants to ramp up military support for Ukraine, and he backs Kyiv’s dramatic push into…
- The Interview
Neil Lawrence: Being human in the age of the machine
Stephen Sackur speaks to leading artificial intelligence researcher Neil Lawrence. He’s Professor of Machine Learning at the University of Cambridge and has a…
- The Interview
Nicola Procaccini: How has hard-right rule changed Italy?
Stephen Sackur is in Rome to talk to Nicola Procaccini, an MEP and confidant of Prime Minister Georgia Meloni. When her nationalist Brothers of Italy party…
- The Interview
Olha Stefanishyna: Does Ukraine's Russia offensive make sense?
Stephen Sackur speaks to one of Ukraine’s Deputy Prime Ministers, Olha Stefanishyna. Kyiv’s military offensive inside Russia has shifted the dynamic in what…
- The Interview
Karuna Nundy: Human rights and justice in India
Stephen Sackur speaks to the prominent Indian lawyer Karuna Nundy. She has been at the forefront of long battles to better protect women from sexual violence…
- The Interview
Shannon Watts: Will the votes of white women swing the Trump-Harris race?
Stephen Sackur speaks to Shannon Watts, an American political activist who built a powerful women-led gun control movement and is now a fund-raiser for Kamala…
- The Interview
Pavel Latushka: Can change in Belarus only come with change in Moscow?
Stephen Sackur speaks to Pavel Latushka, a key figure in the opposition movement struggling for regime change in Belarus. The country’s authoritarian ruler…
The InterviewIan Goldin: Is migration a drag or a driver of progress?
Stephen Sackur speaks to the renowned economist Ian Goldin, who wants to reframe the debate around migration. He’s been a senior official at the World Bank, an…
- The Interview
Chris Ruddy: Is Trump's team worried?
Stephen Sackur speaks to Newsmax Media CEO Chris Ruddy, a key influencer on the American right and a longtime friend of Donald Trump. Polls have Democratic…
- The Interview
Garry Conille: What can he do for Haiti?
Stephen Sackur speaks to Haiti’s interim Prime Minister Garry Conille. His mission is to rescue Haiti from an unfolding catastrophe characterised by gang…
- The Interview
The whistleblowers
In a special edition of HARDtalk, Stephen Sackur looks back at Interviews with guests who have risked their personal freedom to disclose secret information…
- The Interview
Ohad Tal: Is Israel gearing up for a multi-front war?
Stephen Sackur speaks to influential far-right Israeli politician Ohad Tal, who wants the military to push for total victory in Gaza, against Hezbollah, and in…
- The Interview
Adam Smith: Can Kamala Harris beat Donald Trump?
Stephen Sackur speaks to US Democratic party congressman Adam Smith. Joe Biden’s withdrawal from the presidential race and Kamala Harris’s anointment as his…