The Interview

Stephen Sackur speaks to one of the world's most celebrated cinematographers, Roger Deakins. He has won Oscars for his work on 1917 and Blade Runner 2049, and also shaped the look of modern classics such as O Brother, Where Art Thou?, Skyfall, The Big Lebowski and The Shawshank Redemption. But is technology, from CGI to the ubiquitous camera phone, changing everything we thought we knew about making films?

Republicans in Texas have managed to ban abortion in almost all cases in their state. Anyone performing, aiding or abetting the termination of a pregnancy after roughly six weeks can be sued in court. The implications are enormous, not just in Texas but across the US. And it points to a wider phenomenon. Ideological conservatives are using state activism to confront federal power. Stephen Sackur spoke to Texas Republican State Senator Bryan Hughes just hours before the first law suit was filed against a doctor under the new law.

Stephen Sackur speaks to Nicaraguan journalist and former revolutionary Carlos Fernando Chamorro. He is currently in exile as President Daniel Ortega intensifies his crackdown on dissent. Why has the country slumped back into authoritarianism?

In an exclusive interview for the BBC’s 100 Women season, Zeinab Badawi speaks to supermodel Naomi Campbell.(Photo: Naomi Campbell smiles at Zeinab Badawi)

Stephen Sackur speaks to one of the world’s great modern-day explorers, Robin Hanbury-Tenison. He has committed himself to the protection of indigenous people and their lands, but have his efforts made a difference?

American psychologist James Mitchell helped devise the CIA’s enhanced interrogation programme after the 9/11 attacks. He personally interrogated some of the top terrorist suspects using the programme’s techniques, including waterboarding. His critics label him a torturer; he says he has nothing to apologise for and what he did was harsh, but legal and necessary.He speaks to Zeinab Badawi.(Photo: James Mitchell)

It’s 20 years since the twin towers of New York's World Trade Center were reduced to dust and ash. This week, the US is again immersed in memories of the attack and what came after. In 2011, on the 10th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, Stephen Sackur spoke to the man who was mayor of New York City on that fateful day, Rudy Giuliani. His response back then earned him the title “America’s Mayor”; a decade later, HARDtalk invited him to reflect on how he and his country had been changed by the horrifying events of 9/11.

The covid pandemic and emerging superpower rivalries have presented the EU with troubling questions. Stephen Sackur speaks to Spain's Deputy Prime Minister and Economy minister Nadia Calviño. Is Europe too inward looking and too fragmented to shape the 21st Century?(Photo: Nadia Calviño, Deputy Prime Minister and Economy minister of Spain. Credit: Reuters)

After the US-led withdrawal from Afghanistan, how does America see itself and its place in the world? Stephen Sackur is at the Ambrosetti Forum in northern Italy to speak to one of the Republican Party's most prominent voices, South Carolina Senator Lindsay Graham.

Will pragmatism or zealotry prevail in Afghanistan, as the Taliban grapple with the reality of ruling a broken country? Stephen Sackur speaks to former finance minister Omar Zakhilwal, who has been involved in talks with the Taliban.

Stephen Sackur speaks to the artist Maggi Hambling. Her works have won international acclaim, but some have also stirred controversy, including a sculpture unveiled in London last year for 18th century feminist Mary Wollstonecraft. How has her creative vision evolved over the last six decades?

The chaotic evacuation operation still underway at Kabul airport has put a harsh spotlight on two decades of US and NATO military commitment in Afghanistan. It looks and feels like a strategic defeat, but what does it tell us about the wider geopolitical balance of power? Stephen Sackur speaks to Russia’s ambassador to the UK, Andrei Kelin. Is this reverse for the US and her allies a positive for Russia?

Stephen Sackur speaks to Paula Kahumbu, CEO for WildlifeDirect, Kenya. Her campaign to protect elephants and other endangered species asks Kenyans to prioritise protection of the country’s wild spaces – is it working?

HARDtalk’s Stephen Sackur speaks to Ethiopia’s Attorney General Gedion Timothewos. The conflict between government forces and Tigrayan rebels has cost thousands of lives and revived the spectre of famine – is there a way to avert catastrophe?

HARDtalk’s Stephen Sackur speaks to Kamila Sidiqi, a leading Afghan women's rights campaigner, entrepreneur and government adviser under President Ghani. She escaped from Kabul as the Taliban took over. Is her cause now lost and who is to blame?

HARDtalk’s Stephen Sackur speaks to British Conservative MP and former soldier Tobias Ellwood. Two decades after they were expelled from Kabul the hard-line Islamists are back. US and British troops are scrambling to complete a humiliating evacuation. It looks like an historic defeat for western powers. How damaging could the consequences be?

The athletic excellence seen at the Tokyo Olympics will live long in the memory, but so will the moment the brilliant US gymnast Simone Biles chose not to compete to safeguard her mental and physical health. US gymnastics is still reeling from the repercussions of a sex abuse scandal - what can go wrong when results are put above care of individual athletes? Stephen Sackur speaks to Aly Raisman, a multiple Olympic gold medallist who testified about being abused by the team's former doctor. Is there a wider lesson for elite sport in the shame of American gymnastics?

The humanitarian suffering in northern Ethiopia is appalling, as conflict continues on multiple fronts. Tigrayan rebel forces have won a string of victories over the Ethiopian military, and Ethiopia’s prime minister now says all the state's military resources will be deployed to crush the rebels. Stephen Sackur speaks to Getachew Reda, spokesperson for the Tigray People’s Liberation Front. With the death toll rising and man-made famine taking hold, what is the endgame for Tigray’s rebels?

Stephen Sackur speaks to Daryl Davis, a black musician who has spent four decades trying to talk to America’s most diehard racists, the Ku Klux Klan. He claims to have forged friendships with white supremacists and opened their minds, but is reaching out to the KKK a distraction from the bigger task of dismantling systemic racism?

In the last year, there have been a string of attacks on reporters in Pakistan. The perpetrators remain unknown and unpunished. The government insists Pakistan is a bastion of media freedom. Hamid Mir is a high-profile columnist and TV presenter, a survivor of several assassination attempts, and is currently facing accusations of sedition. Is the state out to silence independent journalism?

Stephen Sackur speaks to Professor Sir Andrew Pollard, Director of the Oxford Vaccine Group and a key figure in the development of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine. Science has offered up tools to beat the virus - but from vaccine hesitancy to vaccine inequality - are we making the most of them?

Stephen Sackur speaks to RoseAnne Archibald, newly elected National Chief of the Assembly of First Nations, Canada. The truth about the deaths of thousands of indigenous children in schools infamous for abuse and neglect has shocked the world. Why has Canada failed to heal the wounds of a dark past?

Zeinab Badawi speaks to the eminent historian professor Sir Hilary Beckles in Barbados. Over three centuries, Africans were transported to the Caribbean to toil on sugar and cotton plantations - a trade that made Britain rich. For decades there have been calls for compensation to atone for the sins of slavery. Sir Hilary is Chair of the CARICOM Reparations Commission. Can there be justice for the descendants of enslaved Africans?

Sarah Montague speaks to the President of Malawi, Lazarus Chakwera. The preacher turned politician won power last year pledging to create a million jobs and “clear the rubble” of corruption. But a year on, the economy is being hit hard by the effects of Covid, his government admits it has no idea how many jobs have been created and he’s been accused of nepotism. Can President Chakwera keep the promises he made during the election?(Photo: Lazarus Chakwera, President of Malawi in the Hardtalk studio)

Stephen Sackur speaks to Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó. On a range of issues from press freedom to LGBT rights, Hungary routinely ignores the collective interpretation of EU values. Populist Prime Minister Viktor Orban seems to regard his increasingly toxic relationship with the EU’s institutions as a badge of honour and a political asset. But could Hungary's ongoing row with Brussels cost the country dear?(Photo: Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó appears via video link on Hardtalk)

Since the United States pulled its troops out of Afghanistan at the beginning of July, the Taliban have continued to retake vast swathes of the country. Reports have emerged that they are once again enforcing the same repressive practices of their past rule; including the closure of girls' schools, public beatings and a prohibition on women travelling unaccompanied outside their homes. Peace talks between the Taliban and the Afghan government are not making progress and there are real fears of an all out civil war. Sarah Montague speaks to Afghanistan's National Security Advisor Hamdullah Mohib. Can the Afghan government hold out against the Taliban?Photo: Afghanistan"s National Security Advisor Hamdullah Mohib in Kabul, Afghanistan, June 2021 Credit: Reuters

South Africa is facing its deepest political crisis of the post-apartheid era. Days of violence and looting saw more than 200 people killed and thousands arrested. Stephen Sackur speaks to Fikile Mbalula, the country's transport minister. Is the ANC government being confronted with its own failure?

Stephen Sackur speaks to former Haitian Prime Minister, Laurent Lamothe. Pity the eleven million people of Haiti; it is hard to think of a nation more comprehensively shattered by many decades of misrule and the ravages of natural disaster. In the latest lurch toward chaos the president Jovenel Moïse was assassinated earlier this month. Who ordered the hit is not clear but a protracted struggle for power seems certain. Can anything be done to end Haiti’s suffering?(Photo: Laurent Lamothe appears via video link on Hardtalk)

HARDtalk’s Stephen Sackur speaks to Michael Holding, the former West Indies cricket great who is now a prominent voice confronting racism. In England, there’s a fierce debate about how best to root out racism, following vile abuse aimed at black footballers. But it’s an issue confronting many sports. Is this a fight sport can win?Image: Michael Holding (Credit: Mike Egerton/PA Wire)

Measured by the number of murders Mexico is the most dangerous country in the world to be a journalist. Eight were killed last year; and countless more suffered threats, intimidation and violence. Stephen Sackur speaks to Lydia Cacho - one of Mexico’s most prominent journalists who - after decades of assaults, death threats and at least one assassination attempt - is currently in exile for her own safety. Her particular focus is the violence done to women in Mexico and the failure of those in power to make good on promises of protection. Can courage overcome injustice?(Photo: Lydia Cacho appears via video link on Hardtalk)

Stephen Sackur speaks to one of the leading figures in the British Labour party, Jess Phillips MP. She’s a tireless campaigner against domestic violence and has won plaudits for her direct, from-the-heart style of politics. Across continents and cultures there is a common, and corrosive, political phenomenon – rising anger and alienation amongst voters who feel neglected and ignored by the system. Is there a way out of today's polarised politics?

In our culture of 24/7 news and trending social media reactions, it sometimes takes a novelist’s eye to chart the deeper, current events swirling beneath society’s surface. Lionel Shriver is a British-based American writer whose fiction has addressed school shootings, obesity, economic crisis and in her latest book, voluntary euthanasia. She’s a contrarian, but is she also a combatant in the western world’s culture wars?

Zeinab Badawi speaks to Professor Christian Happi whose ground-breaking research is helping tackle diseases that kill thousands every year. He gave up a career at Harvard University in the US and moved back to Africa where is setting up a world-class laboratory in Nigeria which will have a pandemic early detection system. He believes Africa could become a global centre of knowledge about infectious diseases such as Covid-19. How realistic is his vision?

As the Chinese Communist Party marks its 100th anniversary, Stephen Sackur speaks to veteran party loyalist Victor Gao, vice president of the Centre for China and Globalization in Beijing. The party has engineered a remarkable transformation that’s made China a global superpower, but is the level of internal control and repression sustainable?

Africa is going through its first recession in more than a quarter of a century because of the global downturn caused by the Covid pandemic. The economic crisis is being keenly felt in Nigeria, the continent’s most populous country. Its 200 million people are struggling with long-standing challenges, which have been exacerbated by the pandemic and deteriorating security. Zeinab Badawi speaks to Nigeria’s finance minister, Zainab Ahmed. What is her plan to avert financial meltdown as well as help deliver stability?

Somali-born fashion editor Rawdah Mohamed has taken up a senior role at the soon-to-be launched Vogue Scandinavia. After moving to Norway as a child, she became a model, and in April created a social media storm with a post called ‘Hands off my Hijab’. How far can she use fashion to overturn negative stereotypes of Muslim women?

Michael Stipe was the lead singer of one of the most influential bands of the last four decades, REM. He was the figurehead of indie rock, enigmatic, serious, political. Now he’s a visual artist, so how has his creative vision evolved?

No industry has been hit harder by the global pandemic than aviation. Cross-border travel is either banned or constrained by tests and quarantines across much of the world. And, in a time full of uncertainty and insecurity, who wants to travel for either business or pleasure? Stephen Sackur speaks to Johan Lundgren, CEO of EasyJet, Europe’s second biggest budget airline. Can his business model survive the double whammy of Covid and climate change?(Photo: Johan Lundgren in the Hardtalk studio)

President Biden says the US is determined to lead NATO's response to evolving geographical and technological threats. But there have been marked disagreements between alliance members on relations with Russia, the withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan, defence spending and the so-called ‘systemic challenge’ posed by China. Just how united is the West’s military alliance?

Stephen Sackur speaks to former Deputy National Security Advisor to President Obama, Ben Rhodes. He has written a new book, After the Fall, reflecting on his time in the White House, the legacy of President Trump and the foreign policy challenges facing President Biden. With the rise of authoritarian, nationalist trends around the world, is the US in any position to lead a much touted global alliance of democracies?(Photo: Ben Rhodes appears via video link on Hardtalk)

Last March, the author and educator Michael Rosen was placed into an induced coma after contracting Covid-19. He has now released a dark, sad and uplifting memoir about his experience, but how did he find the poetic in a pandemic?

How long will it take the hospitality business to recover from the pandemic, and is there a new recognition of the link between our food and our health? Stephen Sackur speaks to British chef Tom Kerridge.(Photo: Tom Kerridge sits in his restaurant with Stephen Sackur)

Africa appears to have been relatively spared in the pandemic so far, but plans to have at least 30% of the continent's populations vaccinated by the end of 2021 seem far away. Hardtalk speaks to John Nkengasong, the director of the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention.

Stephen Sackur speaks to the new director of London’s world-renowned Natural History Museum, Doug Gurr. They still love their ancient fossils here, but the real focus now is on the fragile future of our planet. Has this become a museum on a mission?

Who holds the reins of power in Pakistan? Prime Minister Imran Khan leads a government elected in 2018; if Pakistan is a genuine democracy, then that’s where power resides. But many government critics say the military dictates much that happens inside the country, particularly when it comes to silencing opposition to the covert power of the so-called deep state. Stephen Sackur speaks to Pakistan’s Information Minister, Fawad Chaudhry. What happened to Imran Khan’s pledge to deliver clean, transparent governance?

South Africa is wrestling with a continued health and economic crisis courtesy of Covid-19, but the country’s ruling ANC party is also distracted by internal divisions over corruption. Stephen Sackur speaks to Tito Mboweni, South Africa’s finance minister .

Stephen Sackur speaks to retired US general Ben Hodges, former Commander of the US Army in Europe. The 20th century was in many ways shaped by America’s unrivalled power; two decades into the new century, and it's clear the story arc is shifting. China is projecting its power across the globe, Russia is out to reassert its regional supremacy, and the limits of American power have been exposed from Iraq to Afghanistan. Is the US in danger of losing the race to define the 21st century?

Russia’s relations with the West have been poor for some time but now they have reached a new level of hostility. Since the imprisonment of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, new sanctions have been imposed by both the US and EU. The Ukraine conflict, allegations of cyber attack and covert operations – the list of unresolved issues is growing. Stephen Sackur speaks to Vladimir Chizhov, Russia’s Ambassador to the EU. Is confrontation with the West, President Putin’s strategic choice?

The latest round of conflict between Israel and militant groups in Gaza has left the Palestinian Authority looking sidelined and powerless. Is this a permanent shift in the Palestinian power dynamic? Stephen Sackur speaks to Husam Zomlot, head of the Palestinian Mission to the UK.

When hostility between Russia and the West, is high the Baltic states get nervous. Will membership of the EU and Nato protect Estonia from the possibility of Russian aggression? Hardtalk speaks to Kaja Kallas, the prime minister of Estonia.