The Interview

Back in 2015, the nations of the world made a formal commitment to keep global warming below 2 degrees centigrade. So much for fine words; global greenhouse gas emissions are still rising. The data suggest the planet is warming at an alarming rate. What to do about it? Stephen Sackur interviews Roger Hallam, the co-founder of Extinction Rebellion, a movement dedicated to mass resistance and civil disobedience; how far are these climate rebels prepared to go?Image: Roger Hallam (Credit: Ollie Millington/Getty Images)

When the Indian Government revoked the special autonomous status of Jammu and Kashmir, it knew outrage would follow; which is why Delhi has the Muslim majority Himalayan territory in a form of lockdown. Stephen Sackur interviews the leader of the Jammu and Kashmir People’s Movement, Shah Faesal. Since recording this interview, there are now reports that Mr Shah has been detained by the authorities in Delhi and prevented from leaving the country.(Photo: Shah Faesal via video link)

For many Americans, Donald Trump’s incendiary tweets aimed at immigrants show him to be a racist and white nationalist. But maybe we exaggerate the importance of Donald Trump’s contribution to America’s problem with race? Stephen Sackur interviews prize-winning writer on race and founder of the Anti-Racist Research Centre in Washington, Ibram Kendi. He says the roots of racism run deep and an honest assessment of their strength has barely begun. Can the US ever fix a problem so intimately bound up with its past?(Photo: Ibram X Kendi. Credit: Getty Images)

The British Government’s Brexit strategy can be summed up in Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s three-word phrase: ‘do or die’. As a deal between London and Brussels appears unlikely, what about the alternative? Stephen Sackur interviews Iain Duncan Smith, former Conservative party leader and ardent Brexiteer. Can Prime Minister Johnson deliver a no-deal exit? And what would it mean for Britain’s politics and economy?(Photo: Iain Duncan Smith MP, on the Andrew Marr show)

Ireland is bracing itself for the scariest of Halloween nightmares. Prime Minister Boris Johnson has pledged to take the UK out of the EU on October the 31st, come what may. That may mean a no deal Brexit, with potentially damaging economic consequences for the UK, but also for EU nations, most particularly Ireland. Stephen Sackur interviews Neale Richmond, Chair of the Irish Senate’s Brexit Committee. Can Ireland prevent itself becoming the collateral damage in a Brussels London showdown?(Photo: Neale Richmond)

Meteorologists at the UN say the last four years were globally the hottest on record. Sean Ley talks to one of Australia's most eminent scientists who argues that current warming is 'unparalleled' in 2,000 years. Climate change, he says is happening 30 times faster than the melting of the ice at the last Ice Age. Is the political will to save the planet melting too?(Photo: Prof Tim Flannery in the Hardtalk studio)

The world’s most pressing and potentially dangerous strategic confrontation is playing out in the narrow waterway between Iran and Arabia. The United states is leading efforts to isolate the Government in Tehran. Iran is responding with defiance despite severe economic disruption. Former British Foreign Secretary, Jack Straw, is a veteran of western diplomatic engagement with Iran. How high is the risk of a calamitous conflict?(Photo: Jack Straw in the Hardtalk studio)

Hong Kong is in uproar. Each weekend for the last two months, thousands of people have taken to the streets. Alvin Yueng, who leads the Civic Party shares their fears.(Photo: Alvin Yeung Ngok-Kiu, of Civic Party. Credit: Dickson Lee/South China Morning Post/Getty Images)

There are some human experiences which most of us find it very hard to get our heads around. Stephen Sackur speaks to Albert Woodfox, who experienced the unimaginable torment of more than four decades in solitary confinement, in a tiny cell in one of America’s most notorious prisons. He was the victim of ingrained racism and brutality inside America’s system of criminal justice. He is now a free man, but what does freedom really mean, after everything he’s been through?(Photo: Albert Woodfox, a former member of the Black Panthers, who was put in solitary confinement at the Louisiana State Penitentiary. Credit: Alain Jocard/AFP/Getty Images)

How far can artists and their work change the world? Can artistic endeavour lead to concrete action to mitigate the impact of global warming, or is this fanciful? Zeinab Badawi is at the Tate Modern in London, interviewing award-winning Danish-Icelandic artist Olafur Eliasson about his new exhibition and why he believes art can be a force for good in the world.Image: Olafur Eliasson (Credit: Neil Hall/EPA)

Sarah Montague speaks to Raghuram Rajan, until 2016 the Governor of the Reserve Bank of India. He says “capitalism is under threat” and if world leaders want to save liberal democracies from a surge in populism they need to give more power to local communities and away from big governments and big businesses. When he left his job as Governor of India’s central bank, he said it was “better to be a doer than an adviser”. Now he is being talked of as one of the front-runners to be the next Governor of the Bank of England. Would he rather do that job than advise in another?

Have voters in Istanbul dealt a serious blow to Turkey’s President, Recep Tayyip Erdogan? They’ve elected the opposition to the Mayor's office. A city of 16 million, it was the President's power base. Zeinab Badawi talks to the city’s new Mayor, Ekrem Imamoglu.Image: Ekrem Imamoglu (Credit: Bulent Kilic/AFP/Getty Images)

HARDtalk’s Zeinab Badawi is in New York, for a rare interview with the Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif, who is attending high level talks at the UN. Hostilities between Iran and the US are at a historic high; recently, President Trump said he was ‘ten minutes away from war with Tehran’. Could the two countries stumble into a war? And is Iran raising the stakes in the Persian Gulf after Washington tore up the nuclear deal last year?Image: Mohammad Javad Zarif (Credit: Khalid Al-Mousily/Reuters)

Stephen Sackur interviews Sir Angus Deaton, a British-American economist and academic. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in Economics (2015) for his analysis of consumption, poverty, and welfare. He has just launched the Deaton Review with the Institute for Fiscal Studies; a five-year academic investigation into inequalities in the UK, the largest ever conducted. What can Western democracies do to tame capitalism and reduce its worst effects?Image: Sir Angus Deaton (Credit: Oscar Gonzalez/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

Can a new government transform Greece's fortunes? HARDtalk's Zeinab Badawi speaks exclusively to the new Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis in Athens. After the centre-right New Democracy party won the elections, he takes over a country traumatised and impoverished by a decade of economic austerity. In his first interview with the international broadcast media since his decisive victory over the populist Syriza party, Zeinab Badawi asks Prime Minister Mitsotakis whether he can deliver on his campaign promises.(Photo:: Kyriakos Mitsotakis. Credit: Milos Bacanski/Getty Images)

Stephen Sackur speaks to Lady Hale, President of the UK Supreme Court. The British legal system has long enjoyed an international reputation for independence, integrity and efficiency. But senior judges, lawyers and police officers are now voicing concern about a judicial system close to breaking point. Is one of the world’s most admired justice systems failing the people it is supposed to serve?Image: Lady Hale (Credit: UK Supreme Court/PA Wire)

What kind of country will emerge from the Brexit mess? HARDtalk’s Stephen Sackur speaks to Sir John Major, former British Prime Minister. Within weeks the UK's Conservative party will have a new leader and Britain a new prime minister. As with so much in UK politics the battle between Boris Johnson and Jeremy hunt boils down to Brexit; who do Tories believe is better equipped to navigate the political and constitutional crisis that looms as the departure date of October 31st draws near?Image: John Major (Credit: Carl Court/Getty Images)

It's impossible to predict Donald Trump's policy-making and diplomacy. He seeks neither consistency, nor consensus - as is obvious in his approach to China, North Korea, Iran and other challenges at home and abroad. Stephen Sackur speaks to Republican Senator Rick Scott of Florida - a key Trump ally back in 2016, who has since parted company with the President on some of his most controversial policies. How effective and how sustainable is the Trump presidency?(Photo: US Senator Rick Scott speaks during Concordia Americas Summit, in Bogota, Colombia, 2019. Luisa Gonzalez/Reuters)

Doped for decades, East German athletes are still searching for truth and justice. When the infamous Berlin Wall was breached 30 years ago, the darkest secrets of the East German police state were soon exposed. Among them was the systematic, coercive administration of performance-enhancing drugs to thousands of young athletes. It was meant to make them into world beaters, regardless of any damage to their health. Stephen Sackur talks to the former East German sprinter Ines Geipel about the abuse she and others were subjected to in what is now known as the East German doping scandal.(Photo: Former East German sprinter Ines Geipel)

Sarah Montague speaks to actor and activist Michael Sheen. Known around the world for his film, television and theatre work, Michael Sheen made his name for his uncanny ability to portray other people, such as Tony Blair, Brian Clough and David Frost. These roles catapulted him into a life far from his home in Port Talbot in South Wales. But it was acting that also brought him back there, where he is now immersed in tackling some of the problems that face a poor community: poverty, debt and homelessness. How does he straddle such contrasting worlds?(Photo: Michael Sheen attending the premiere of Good Omens at the Odeon Luxe Leicester Square, London. Credit: PA MEDIA)

Brexit - not just an event, now a whole political movement. At the end of May, with its leader Nigel Farage at the helm, the Brexit Party swept the board in the European Parliament elections, demeaning the UK’s governing Conservative Party. Five years ago, the same triumph for Nigel Farage, albeit leading a party with a different name. Shaun Ley interviews Richard Tice, chairman of Mr Farage’s party and one of its MEPs. With many experts predicting a costly, bitter departure from the European Union, did the triumph of the Brexit Party bring the United Kingdom and its politics into discredit?Image: Richard Tice (Credit: Andy Rain/European Photopress Agency)

How dangerous is the superpower rivalry in technology and information? Currently there’s much focus on the tensions between the US and China over the Chinese tech giant Huawei. Soon 5G networks will be a critical part of our world in transportation, power supply, payment systems and so much more. Washington says the Chinese can’t be trusted because they may use their technology infrastructure for spying. Beijing says this is nonsense. HARDtalk's Zeinab Badawi talks to the US top official on cyber information and security, Robert Strayer. He’s on a mission to dissuade Europeans from doing business with Huawei. But is Washington losing the cyberwar?Image: Robert Strayer (Credit: Shawn Thew/EPA)

How much responsibility should team Obama take for the course American politics has taken since they left centre-stage? HARDtalk’s Stephen Sackur speaks to Valerie Jarrett, former advisor to President Obama. It is one of the great puzzles of American politics: how voters could make history by putting Barack Obama in the White House – twice – and then elect Donald Trump as his successor. Valerie Jarrett is a close friend and adviser to Barack and Michelle Obama from early days in Chicago, all the way through the White House years. How will historians view the Obama legacy?

Is Australia still a country wrestling with its identity? HARDtalk’s Zeinab Badawi speaks to Australian writer Thomas Keneally. He's the author of more than 30 novels including Schindler’s Ark, which won him the Booker Prize and was turned into an Oscar winning film. Much of his writing addresses the themes of culture and identity, and Australia’s modern and ancient heritage.

There is something special about the human heart. We live with, and by, its constant beat. We invest it with our deepest feelings. So naturally we reserve something like reverence for the surgeons who try to fix them when they are broken. Samer Nashef has chosen to write with honesty about the highs, lows and limitations of life and death surgery. He spoke to Hardtalk's Stephen Sackur at the Hay literary festival in Wales.

Political power inside the European Union is no longer going to be easily stitched up between the two big blocks of centre left and centre right. After last month’s European parliamentary election, Europe's Green party will wield significant influence in the next round of EU deal making. Hardtalk speaks to the Green candidate for Commission President, Dutch MEP Bas Eickhout, and asks him how much the Greens are prepared to compromise.Image: Bas Eickhout (Credit: Marcel van Hoorn/European Photopress Agency)

As Donald Trump and family revel in the pomp and circumstance of a state visit to London, his staunchest political opponents continue to plot a pathway to impeachment. Stephen Sackur interviews Tom Steyer, a Californian hedge fund billionaire turned deep-pocketed backer of liberal causes, who is funding much of that effort. His focus was climate change, now its impeachment. He’s a powerful force in the Democratic Party – but is he in danger of pushing the party in the wrong direction?Image: Tom Steyer (Credit: Stephen Lam/Reuters)

Hardtalk speaks to human rights activist Iyad El-Baghdadi. Six months after the Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi was murdered in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul three of Khashoggi’s friends and associates received warnings that their lives could be in danger. The original source was the CIA. One of those warned is Iyad El-Baghdadi, a long-time critic of Arab authoritarian regimes, who lives in political asylum in Norway using social media to challenge what he calls the Arab Tyrants. After the demise of the Arab Spring is his a lost cause ?

Jared Diamond’s hugely successful books draw on biology, geography, anthropology and more. So what’s his conclusion about the long term viability of homo sapiens?

In Kenya, hope and despair live side by side. There is economic growth, technological transformation and a youthful population hungry for opportunity. There is also grinding poverty, inequality and endemic corruption. HARDtalk's Stephen Sackur speaks to one of Kenya’s most popular musicians – Eric Wainaina. His music addresses issues like corruption but how political is he prepared to be?

Stephen Sackur talks to renowned Libyan writer Hisham Matar. His writing has explored the impact of having a father ‘disappeared’ by the Gaddafi regime. How hard is it to move on?Image: Hisham Matar in Rome in 2017 (Credit: Camilla Morandi - Corbis/Corbis via Getty Images)

HARDtalk’s Stephen Sackur speaks to Julie Hambleton, founder of Justice for the 21. In November 1974 the IRA bombed two pubs in Birmingham and murdered twenty one people. More than forty four years later the inquest into those deaths was reopened, attended by the families of the victims, including Julie Hambleton, who lost her sister Maxine. During the hearings one witness, a convicted former IRA man, named four alleged perpetrators; but justice in this terrible case has never been done. Is it now too late to get to the truth?Image: Julie Hambleton (Credit: Anthony Devlin/Getty Images)

The movement’s rhetoric is unbending, but do the Palestinian people long for new ideas? Stephen Sackur interviews Ghazi Hamad, a spokesman for Hamas. The surge in Israeli-Palestinian violence in Gaza earlier this month was relatively short-lived, and the status-quo remains intact. But Hamas’s internal grip on Gaza is threatened by rising economic discontent and the Trump Administration will soon unveil a peace plan built on economic incentives for the Palestinian people. Could change be afoot?

How does the sporting notion of fairness cope with the complexities of gender identity? HARDtalk’s Stephen Sackur speaks to former champion British swimmer turned sports commentator Sharron Davies. Elite level sport is ruthlessly competitive. The best male and female athletes push hard against their physical limits in the quest for marginal gains. But what happens when athletes change gender - in particular when individuals born biologically male transition to female after puberty. Should they be allowed to compete as women?

By the time Vladimir Putin’s current presidential term ends he will have dominated Russian politics for a quarter century and already there’s talk of manoeuvres to ensure his grip on power is maintained beyond 2024. He is surely the world’s greatest exponent of strong-man rule. Grigory Yavlinsky, the leader of Russia's opposition Yabloko Party has spent the Putin years in thankless, fruitless opposition. Why has his brand of liberal economics and political reform failed to take root and provide a convincing alternative to Putin's cocktail of authoritarianism and nationalism?(Photo: Grigory Yavlinsky, the leader of Russia's opposition Yabloko Party in the Hardtalk studio)

When we were kids many of us dreamed of being a professional footballer, a star of the world’s most popular game with adulation and riches on tap. For a tiny few the dream comes true, but then reality bites. Professional sport is a brutal business that can chew up young lives. HARDtalk’s Stephen Sackur speaks to Tony Adams, former Arsenal and England footballer, who fought his own battles with addiction and mental illness and went on to help other top players do the same. Is elite sport honest about the vulnerability of its stars?Image: Tony Adams at the 2018 Edinburgh International Book Festival (Credit: Simone Padovani/Awakening/Getty Images)

Does the debate on trans rights pose a problem for the gay liberation movement? HARDtalk's Sarah Montague speaks to the CEO of Stonewall, Ruth Hunt. Stonewall was founded 30 years ago to campaign for gay and lesbian rights. When Ruth Hunt became its chief executive, she extended its work to include the transgender community. But many Stonewall members have been upset at the line the leadership has taken on gender recognition – that anyone can declare themselves to be male or female – and at their refusal to share a platform with anyone who disagrees.

Confident that the socialist regime in Venezuela was in its death throes, the opposition led by Juan Guaido won the backing of elements within the armed forces and appeared to be spearheading a de facto coup d’etat. They seem to have miscalculated. Nicolas Maduro faced down the putsch and continues to occupy the presidential palace. Vanessa Neumann is a member of the diplomatic team backing Juan Guaido’s claim to power. How damaging are the mistakes of the opposition?

Britain’s top diplomat, Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt, is at the end of a five-nation tour of Africa aimed at persuading the continent and the wider world that post-Brexit Britain can and will play a pivotal global role. So HARDtalk has come to Nairobi to talk to Mr Hunt at the end of his latest road trip. If and when the current Brexit chaos comes to an end, how will Britain stack up as a source of global power and influence?Image: Jeremy Hunt (Credit: Adrian Dennis/AFP/Getty Images)

Is China becoming more authoritarian under President Xi JinPing? HARDtalk’s Stephen Sackur speaks to Victor Gao, a well-connected think tank analyst in Beijing who once worked as an interpreter for Deng Xiao Ping. This year marks the 30th anniversary of the Chinese government’s suppression of the pro-democracy protests in Tiananmen Square. Since then China has undergone a remarkable economic transformation, but what’s happened to the ideological outlook and strategic vision of the country’s Communist party leaders?

HARDtalk’s Stephen Sackur speaks to Preet Bharara, former U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York. The Mueller Report is out and to noone’s surprise it hasn’t settled the bitter arguments about whether President Trump committed crimes worthy of impeachment. In fact it’s raised new questions about the resilience and integrity of the judicial process. Preet Bharara was one of America's most powerful federal prosecutors until Mr Trump fired him in 2017. He's written a book about Doing Justice - but is America consistently falling short?(Photo: Preet Bharara. Credit: Mike Segar/Reuters)

What will it take to bring peace to Afghanistan? HARDtalk’s Stephen Sackur speaks to President Ghani’s Peace Envoy Mohammad Umer Daudzai. Just days ago, hopes were high that a peace deal to end Afghanistan’s long war might be in sight. Talks involving the US, the Taliban and Afghan Government representatives were to take place in Qatar. But they didn’t happen. The Taliban objected to the delegation coming from Kabul – and a familiar cycle of recrimination and violence resumed.

Can Sudan make the transition to a democratic government? Zeinab Badawi speaks to the head of the military council running the country, General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan. Events have moved at breath-taking speed in Sudan in recent days. Omar al-Bashir is no longer president and is in prison along with his closest associates. And a new military-led council is running the country while protesters continue to call for civilian-led government. So what next for Sudan and how long does General Burhan intend on staying in power?Image: Lt Gen Abdel Fattah al-Burhan (Credit: European Photopress Agency)

Can the Democratic Republic of Congo set itself on a path of peace and reconciliation? HARDtalk’s Zeinab Badawi speaks to opposition politician and presidential election candidate Martin Fayulu. Last December's landmark elections ended 18 years of divisive rule by Joseph Kabila when Felix Tshisekedi was declared the winner. But Mr Fayulu claims he was in fact the victor and the presidency was stolen from him. Is Mr Kabila still controlling the DRC - a giant country ravaged by war, poverty and disease - behind the scenes?Image: Martin Fayulu (Credit: Kenny Katombe/Reuters)

Nobel Literature laureate and Nigerian professor Wole Soyinka is one of the giants of African and world literature, and a passionate advocate and campaigner for human rights. His country recently held a general election which saw the incumbent Muhammadu Buhari re-elected as president. As Africa’s most populous country, does he believe Nigeria can lead the continent in the 21st century?Image: Wole Soyinka (Credit: Thomas Samson/AFP/Getty Images)

Does Germany need to reboot its economic model? HARDtalk’s Stephen Sackur is in Berlin for an exclusive interview with Germany's Vice Chancellor and Finance Minister Olaf Scholz. 30 years after unification, Germany is Europe's economic powerhouse - but could it be running out of gas? Growth is down, so are exports. Critics point to an economy dangerously reliant on the technologies of the past, rather than the future. Brexit tensions and economic nationalism in the US and China could be dampening the growth prospects of big exporters like Germany.Image: Olaf Scholz (Credit: Adam Berry/European Photopress Agency)

How soon can Sudan become a democracy? HARDtalk’s Zeinab Badawi speaks to Sudanese politician Ghazi Salahuddin Atabani, a former ally of deposed president Omer El Bashir - now a member of the opposition. Events have moved at breath taking speed in Sudan in the past few days. And a new military-led council is running the country. It says it will stay in place for two years. But the African Union is demanding it hand over to a transitional civilian administration in days and the protesters say they won’t give up until that happens. The demonstrations have been led by young professionals who’ve made it clear they want to severe links with Sudan’s military and Islamist past.

Every so often a writer emerges with a voice so original, distinctive and strong that it is heard far beyond the confines of the book buying public. HARDtalk’s Stephen Sackur speaks to Edouard Louis, who produced a raw, harrowing account of his own upbringing in a working class town in the north of France five years ago. Since then, he has written two more books drawn from his own experience of class, discrimination and violence in a fractured France. It’s tempting to see him as the voice of the gilets jaunes generation – is anger the fuel that propels him?Image: Edouard Louis (Credit: Bertrand Rindoff Petroff/Getty Images)

US-Iranian journalist Jason Rezaian was working for the Washington Post in Tehran when he was arrested in July 2014. He was accused of spying for the CIA, tried and convicted on vague charges. He was held for 544 days before a deal was done to release him in 2016. Three years after his release how is he coping with the effects of his imprisonment? Jason Rezaian is now banned from Iran for life but what does he think of the Trump administration's policy toward Iran now that it has labelled Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps as a terrorist organisation? He talks to Shaun Ley.Image: Jason Rezaian (Credit: Michael S. Williamson/The Washington Post via Getty Images)

Fifty years on, what was the significance of the Apollo 11 mission to the moon? Stephen Sackur is in Florida to speak to one of the crew members of the Apollo 11 mission. This year marks the 50th anniversary of one of the most remarkable feats of exploration in the history of humankind, which landed men on the moon. While Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin were setting foot on the moon’s surface, Michael Collins was piloting the command module which got them all home.(Photo: Michael Collins. Credit: Getty Images)