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
Nikolai Denkov: Is Bulgaria a weak link in Europe's security?
Stephen Sackur speaks to Bulgaria’s Prime Minister Nikolai Denkov. His country is trying to wean itself off Russian energy, and sends weapons to Ukraine, but…
- The Interview
Alexey Navalny: The interview
Russian authorities have announced the death of one of the country’s most significant opposition leaders Alexey Navalny in a remote penal colony in the Arctic…
- The Interview
Bassem Youssef: Can laughter ever provoke political change?
Stephen Sackur is in New York for a special edition of the programme with Egyptian American satirist Bassem Youssef. During the Arab Spring, his mockery of…
- The Interview
Ukraine's Permanent Representative to the UN Sergiy Kyslytsya: Does Ukraine feel betrayed?
Stephen Sackur is in New York City for an exclusive interview with Ukraine’s top diplomat at the United Nations, Sergiy Kyslytsya. With partisan warfare in…
- The Interview
Cornel West: Could enough votes taken from Joe Biden help Donald Trump get elected?
Stephen Sackur is in New York City to speak to Cornel West, the high-profile philosopher, writer and activist who has launched his own bid for the White House…
- The Interview
Vassily Nebenzia: Is Russia influencing global opinions?
Stephen Sackur is in New York City, home of the United Nations, to speak to Vassily Nebenzia, Russia’s permanent representative to the UN. Ambassador Nebenzia…
- The Interview
José Ramos-Horta: Peace and reconciliation
Stephen Sackur speaks to José Ramos Horta, President of Timor-Leste. Are there lessons for the world to learn from his extraordinary life?
- The Interview
Abdalla Hamdok: Can Sudan find peace?
Zeinab Badawi speaks to the former prime minister of Sudan, Abdalla Hamdok. He is at the heart of negotiations to bring peace to the country after ten months…
- The Interview
Ronald Lamola: Is South Africa's genocide case against Israel a geo-political game changer?
Stephen Sackur speaks to South African justice minister Ronald Lamola, a key player in the country’s genocide case against Israel presented to the…
- The Interview
Jasvinder Sanghera: Abuse and the Church of England
Stephen Sackur speaks to Jasvinder Sanghera, who as a child escaped a forced marriage and has been a lifelong advocate for survivors of abuse. She was hired by…
- The Interview
Radek Sikorski: Will Poland's new government unite or divide the country?
Stephen Sackur speaks to Polish foreign minister Radek Sikorski. Poland has been a key pillar of the Western alliance supporting Ukraine against Putin’s…
- The Interview
Naomi Alderman: Apocalypse soon?
Stephen Sackur speaks to the writer and computer game creator Naomi Alderman. Her latest novel - The Future - is a techno thriller set at the end of days. Is…
- The Interview
Regina Ip: What is Hong Kong's future?
Stephen Sackur speaks to Regina Ip, an influential pro-Beijing lawmaker in Hong Kong. For years China has been tightening its grip on the territory it took…
- The Interview
Mark Regev: Is Israel serving its own best interests?
Stephen Sackur talks to Mark Regev, spokesman for Israel’s prime minister. Israel’s relentless military response to Hamas’s assault on 7 October has unleashed…
- The Interview
Mohammad Marandi: Is Middle East conflict what Iran really wants?
Stephen Sackur speaks to Mohammad Marandi, an Iranian academic who has advised his government during nuclear negotiations. Iran actively backs Hamas in Gaza…
- The Interview
Sir Nicholas Winton: A Holocaust hero
Another chance to listen to Stephen Sackur's 2014 interview with the late Sir Nicholas Winton, the man who saved more than 600 mostly Jewish children from Nazi…
- The Interview
Alicia Kearns: How much will 2024 test the West?
Stephen Sackur talks to Alicia Kearns, Conservative MP and chair of the UK’s House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee. She has long warned of the threat to…
- The Interview
Stephen Cave: Should we want to live forever?
Stephen Sackur speaks to philosopher Stephen Cave, director of the University of Cambridge Institute for Technology and Humanity. He is at the centre of a…
- The Interview
Aida Touma-Sliman: What does war mean for Israel's Arab population?
What does the Gaza war mean for Israel’s Arab population? Stephen Sackur speaks to Israeli politician Aida Touma-Sliman, a Palestinian Arab member of Israel's…
- The Interview
Past notes
A special programme remembering past HARDtalk guests who died in 2023. All of them left an indelible mark on public life and all, in their different ways…
- The Interview
2023 in review
Stephen Sackur looks back at some of HARDtalk’s most impactful and thought-provoking interviews of 2023.
- The Interview
Naftali Bennett: Has Israel responded unwisely?
Stephen Sackur speaks to Israel’s former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett. He is a staunch supporter of Israel’s military assault in Gaza. But in responding to…
- The Interview
Izzeldin Abuelaish: Can Palestinians still believe in forgiveness and peace?
Zeinab Badawi speaks to the Palestinian doctor Izzeldin Abuelaish, whose three daughters and niece were killed in an Israeli tank strike on his home in the…
- The Interview
Sandra Day O'Connor: The first female US Supreme Court judge
The framers of the American Constitution harboured few illusions about human nature, and that’s why they invested so much significance in the US Supreme Court…
- The Interview
Victoire Ingabire Umuhoza: What Rwandans think of the UK migrant transfer deal
Stephen Sackur speaks to Rwandan opposition leader Victoire Ingabire Umuhoza. The UK government, which has signed a controversial migrant transfer deal with…
- The Interview
Fatih Birol: Is the global energy transition veering off course?
Stephen Sackur speaks to the head of the International Energy Agency, Fatih Birol. As oil and gas-rich UAE hosts the latest climate change summit, is it time…
- The Interview
Jasem Albudaiwi: Could the Gulf states be destabilised by the conflict in Gaza?
Stephen Sackur speaks to the Secretary General of the Gulf Cooperation Council Jasem Albudaiwi. The Israel-Hamas war has sent shockwaves through a region…
- The Interview
Philippe Lazzarini: Could Gaza become unliveable?
Stephen Sackur speaks to Philippe Lazzarini, head of UNRWA, the UN’s refugee agency for Palestinians. He is just back from Gaza where the temporary truce gave…
- The Interview
Simcha Rothman: Is violence in Israel's best interests?
Stephen Sackur speaks to far-right Israeli politician Simcha Rothman, whose Religious Zionism party is in Prime Minister Netanyahu’s ruling coalition. He and…
- The Interview
Cardinal Peter Turkson: Is the Catholic Church at a crossroads?
Stephen Sackur speaks to Cardinal Peter Turkson, a Vatican insider widely seen as a possible contender to be Africa’s first pope. The number of observant…
- The Interview
Jonna Mendez: Does the world still need spies?
Stephen Sackur speaks to former US spy Jonna Mendez, who was the CIA’s chief of disguise running Cold War operations in Moscow, Havana and beyond.
- The Interview
Michel Roux: Is the business of fine food turning sour?
Stephen Sackur speaks to the master chef and restaurateur Michel Roux. After 56 years of fine food and Michelin stars, his family restaurant Le Gavroche is…
- The Interview
Chris Coons: Is team Biden in trouble?
Stephen Sackur is in Washington DC to speak to one of President Biden’s closest allies in the US Congress, Democrat Senator Chris Coons. The president’s…
- The Interview
Mark Alford: Do US Republicans have a winning formula?
Stephen Sackur is in Washington DC to speak to Republican Congressman Mark Alford, one of Donald Trump’s most loyal supporters on Capitol Hill. With a…
- The Interview
Mervyn King: Global growth and inflation
Stephen Sackur speaks to Mervyn King, former governor of the Bank of England. The international economic outlook is troubled, with geopolitical tensions and…
- The Interview
Fiona Hill: Are overseas wars exposing US weaknesses?
Stephen Sackur speaks to Fiona Hill, formerly a Russia expert inside the White House, now an influential analyst of US foreign policy. Joe Biden says US…
- The Interview
Mustafa Barghouti: What next for the Palestinian people?
Stephen Sackur speaks to Mustafa Barghouti, a Palestinian doctor and co-founder of the Palestinian National Initiative. When this terrible round of violence…
- The Interview
Carlo Rovelli: Life, the universe and white holes
Stephen Sackur speaks to Carlo Rovelli, one of the world's best known physicists. How much do his remarkable ideas matter outside the scientific community?
- The Interview
Abdallah Bou Habib: Could Lebanon get dragged into war with Israel by Hezbollah?
Stephen Sackur speaks to Lebanon’s Foreign Minister Abdallah Bou Habib. The terrible cost of the conflict between Hamas and Israel could go much higher if a…
- The Interview
Sir Lindsay Hoyle: Can the Speaker ensure parliament better serves the people?
Stephen Sackur speaks to Sir Lindsay Hoyle, who has one of the most important and toughest jobs in UK politics as Speaker of the House of Commons. Public trust…
- The Interview
Jakov Milatović: President of Montenegro
Stephen Sackur speaks to the president of Montenegro Jakov Milatovic. His small nation sits in a tense, troubled Balkan neighbourhood which the rest of Europe…
- The Interview
Lubaina Himid: Race, culture and modern Britain
Stephen Sackur speaks to the Turner Prize winning British artist Lubaina Himid. Her work has always put black people and their stories front and centre. Four…
- The Interview
Aiden Aslin: Captured, tortured and swapped by Russia
Stephen Sackur speaks to Aiden Aslin, the British man who joined the Ukrainian army and was captured, tortured and sentenced to death by Putin’s forces. He got…
- The Interview
Adam Smith: How does the US navigate its multiple interests?
Stephen Sackur speaks to US Democratic Party congressman Adam Smith. The Biden mission to the Middle East at a time of war and spiralling regional tension was…
- The Interview
Husam Zomlot: Is Gaza on the brink of a humanitarian crisis?
Stephen Sackur speaks to the head of the Palestinian Mission to the UK Husam Zomlot. Hamas surely knew its murderous attack on Israel would provoke an…
- The Interview
Olha Stefanishyna: How solid is the West’s support for Kyiv?
Stephen Sackur speaks to Olha Stefanishyna, Ukraine’s Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration. Just how solid is the West’s support…
- The Interview
Ehud Barak: Where will the Middle East conflict end?
Stephen Sackur speaks to Israel’s former Prime Minister Ehud Barak. Hamas’s murderous attack on Israel from Gaza killed more than 1,200 people and has prompted…
- The Interview
Danny Danon: A new Middle East war
Stephen Sackur speaks to long-standing Israeli politician Danny Danon. He is a member of the Knesset for the ruling Likud party and sits on the Foreign Affairs…
- The Interview
Lord Deben: Is short-term politics undermining climate action?
Stephen Sackur speaks to Conservative politician and former UK environment minister Lord Deben. After Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s announcement of a major…
- The Interview
Paolo Gentiloni: Are divisions costing the EU on the global stage?
Stephen Sackur speaks to Paolo Gentiloni, the European Union's economy commissioner. He’s at the centre of efforts to turn the bloc into an economic superpower…
- The Interview
Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar: Can he steer Pakistan through political turmoil?
Zeinab Badawi speaks to Pakistan’s caretaker Prime Minister Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar. Can he steer the country through its current political turmoil until postponed…
- The Interview
Martin Griffiths: Is the UN system failing those in greatest need?
Stephen Sackur speaks to Martin Griffiths, UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs. From the Ukraine war to Yemen, Syria, Sudan, Myanmar and…
- The Interview
Kaja Kallas: Is Russia a threat to Estonia?
Stephen Sackur is in Tallinn for an exclusive interview with Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas. This small Baltic state knows all about subjugation to Moscow…
- The Interview
Shaharzad Akbar: How should the world respond to Afghanistan's crisis?
Stephen Sackur speaks to exiled Afghan human rights campaigner Shaharzad Akbar. She is focused on the fight to end what she calls the Taliban’s gender…
- The Interview
Caroline Lucas: Parliamentary politics or direct action?
Stephen Sackur speaks to Green Party of England and Wales politician Caroline Lucas. She’s the party’s only Westminster MP, but she’s decided to quit. Is that…
- The Interview
Yuval Noah Harari: Are humans losing the ability to trust and co-operate?
Stephen Sackur speaks to the acclaimed Israeli historian and author Yuval Noah Harari. Having given us an explanation of the success of humankind in his book…
- The Interview
Vladimir Milov: Could Putin outlast his enemies?
Stephen Sackur speaks to former Russian deputy energy minister Vladimir Milov, who once served Vladimir Putin. Now he’s a die-hard opponent of Russia’s…
- The Interview
Mustafa Suleyman: How can AI be safely developed?
Stephen Sackur speaks to Mustafa Suleyman, a British pioneer in the field of artificial intelligence and a leading voice in a debate which matters to all of…
- The Interview
Tobias Billström: Controversy in Sweden
Stephen Sackur speaks to Sweden’s foreign minister Tobias Billström. Putin’s invasion of Ukraine pushed Sweden to seek Nato membership but right now the…
- The Interview
Lindsey Graham: Does Trump's comeback spell trouble for America?
Stephen Sackur speaks to US Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, a loyal backer of Donald Trump as he bids to win back the White House. Does his comeback spell…