The Interview

What are Team Trump’s priorities for the United States? Wherever you live in the world, the election of Donald Trump as America's next President matters. The next leader of the world's most powerful nation promises to take the US, and by extension global politics and economics, in a very different direction. Stephen Sackur speaks to Anthony Scaramucci - a New York hedge fund boss, a Trump ally, and right now a member of the President-elect’s transition team.

How exactly does Donald Trump propose to make the American economy great again? By junking the economic orthodoxies of the recent past, it seems. He wants to slash taxes, spend big on public projects and renege on trade deals that he claims rip America off. Stephen Sackur talks to one of America's most respected economic analysts, Mohamed El-Erian, formerly CEO of PIMCO investments. What will Trump's brand of interventionism do for the US and world economies?

Victoria Nyanjura endured eight years as a captive of the Lord's Resistance Army in Uganda. In 1996 she was only 14 years old when she, along with more than 100 other schoolgirls, were taken captive by the LRA. Over the next eight years she was beaten, raped and had two children before eventually escaping in 2004. Now she still lives in Uganda as an advocate for women and children affected by war. She speaks to HARDtalk's Stephen Sackur about the hardships she endured and her view of the former LRA commander, Dominic Ongwen. He is charged with war crimes and crimes against humanity and is due to go on trial in December 2016 at the International Criminal Court in the Hague.

What impact will Donald Trump have on President Barack Obama's policies? At the end of January 2017 Trump will move in to the White House and has promised to undo much of President Obama's legacy. More than that, the new president promises to break the liberal capitalist consensus which has underpinned globalisation. Did Donald Trump win because Barack Obama failed America's working class?Stephen Sackur speaks to Jason Furman, President Obama’s top economic advisor.Picture: Jason Furman, Credit: BBC

Stephen Sackur speaks to Staffan de Mistura, the UN special envoy charged with trying to find a way out of the conflict in Syria. He has spent four decades trying to stem bloodshed by way of diplomacy but is Syria mission impossible?(Photo: UN Special Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura attends a conference held by Catholic at the Vatican, 2016. Credit: Andrew Medichini/AP)

Stephen Sackur is in Paris for an exclusive interview with the French Prime Minister Manuel Valls. His premiership has been turbulent, defined by economic and political woes, Europe's migration crisis and an unprecedented wave of terror on French soil. Exactly a year ago, so-called Islamic State launched a co-ordinated attack on Paris which killed 130 people. One year on, is France united and stronger, or divided and weaker?(Photo: French Prime Minister Manuel Valls leaves the Elysee Palace after the weekly cabinet meeting, Paris, 2015. Credit: Patrick Kovarik/AFP/Getty Images)

Shaun Ley speaks to India's Commerce and Industry Minister, Nirmala Sitharaman. Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May has visited Delhi to pave the way for the UK's first post-Brexit trade deal. India is the world's fastest growing economy and a deal with Delhi could ease the UK’s transition out of the European Union. India, though, has troubles of its own - a 20 month run of declining exports, its imposed tariffs on Chinese steel and the capital is engulfed in a choking smog. So against this backdrop, is India ready to be the next big global player?(Photo: Indian Minister of Commerce and Industry, Nirmala Sitharaman, 2016. Credit: Prakash Singh/AFP/Getty Images)

Stephen Sackur speaks to journalist Mikhail Zygar, who has written a book about the powerful groups of people around Russia’s president Vladimir Putin and their influence on decision making. President Putin has been criticised in the West as a ruthless authoritarian ruler determined to revive imperialist ambitions. But is it a mistake to invest him with such transformative power and strategic vision?

HARDtalk’s Stephen Sackur speaks to Roberto Azevêdo, the Director General of the World Trade Organisation, an institution dedicated to banning protectionism and freeing up global trade. But maybe the WTO is out of step with the spirit of the age. From Donald Trump’s protectionist messages to the Brexit vote in Britain. There seems to be a backlash against economic globalisation. So, is the WTO swimming against a powerful tide?

Stephen Sackur speaks to Kieran Conway, the former director of intelligence for the IRA. He joined the group in 1970 and was part of a unit in England which engaged in armed robbery to help fund the organisation. He spent time in prison in Northern Ireland and soon after his release in 1974 was put in charge of IRA intelligence. Just weeks later bombs planted by the IRA killed 21 people in two pubs in Birmingham, England. What does he know about those responsible for the bombings and how does he justify his past?(Photo: Kieran Conway)

There is a select group of fiction writers whose next book is eagerly anticipated by legions of fans around the world. Presenter Stephen Sackur speaks to a writer who has been in that club for two decades. Patricia Cornwell can lay claim to have invented the whole genre of crime scene, forensic detective fiction. Her investigator Kay Scarpetta has featured in two dozen novels, and inspired a host of imitators. The author herself talks of her determination to confront and control her fears - do her books tell us what she's frightened of?(Photo: Patricia Cornwell in the Hardtalk studio)

Stephen Sackur talks to Steven Ciobo Australia's Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment. Australia is having pre Brexit talks with the UK while negotiating a big free trade deal with the European Union. But with the recent demonstrations against similar deals with the United States and Canada, Stephen Sackur asks if the public tiring of globalisation and big trade deals. Could Australia feel the fall out from growing disillusion with globalisation?(Photo: Steven Ciobo speaks at a press conference in Sydney, 2016. Credit: William West/AFP/Getty Images)

Stephen Sackur speaks to Bulgaria's foreign minister, Daniel Mitov. If a chain is only as strong as its weakest link, then the European Union has reason to worry about Bulgaria. Once a redoubt of the Soviet Empire, Bulgaria is by many measures the poorest, most corrupt member of the European Union. It also happens to be a key player in two of the great challenges facing the EU, the migration crisis and the hostile relationship with Russia. Can Brussels rely on Bulgaria?

Stephen Sackur speaks to one of Ireland’s most successful businessmen Michael O’Leary – the chief executive of the low cost, no frills airline, Ryanair. In terms of passenger numbers it is Europe's biggest airline, carrying more than a hundred million passengers per year. But what impact will the UK's looming departure from the European Union have on Ryanair and the Irish economy?(Photo: Michael O'Leary, CEO of Ryanair, holds a press conference with Boeing, 2014, New York. Credit: Andrew Burton/Getty Images)

Brexit isn't the only threat to the coherence of the European Union. Think about Hungary for a second. The populist Government of Victor Orban rejected the EU's agreed response to the external migration challenge. The prime minister held a referendum in a bid to assert Hungary's right to ignore EU rules. Other EU member states have accused Hungary of threatening the Union's future. Hardtalk’s Stephen Sackur speaks to Hungarian foreign minister, Péter Szijjártó. Why won’t Hungary play by Europe’s rules?(Photo: Hungary's Minister of External Economy and Foreign Affairs, Peter Szijjarto. Credit: Attila Kisbenedek/AFP/Getty Images)

Stephen Sackur speaks to Riek Machar, former South Sudanese Vice President turned rebel leader. For the people of South Sudan five years of independent nationhood have brought little more than impoverishment, violence and suffering. The world's newest nation is again racked by internal conflict. More than a million people have been forced from their homes and the country's president Salva Kiir, and his nemesis Riek Machar are again at each other’s throats. Has South Sudan been betrayed by its leaders?(Photo: South Sudan's rebel leader Riek Machar gestures as he holds a press conference in Kampala, 2016. Credit: Isaac Kasamani/AFP,Getty Images)

With voters from around the world are expressing their disgust with politics, she is going to be a key player in next year’s French presidential elections. Could Marine Le Pen, leader of the National Front party send shockwaves around the world and actually win the French presidency? Picture: Marine Le Pen, Credit: Patrick Kovarik/AFP/Getty Images

There are writers of world renown whose reputation rests on one great book. There are others who write more prolifically but always in the same territory. And then there's Margaret Atwood whose output fizzes with energy, diversity and experimentation. She is best known for her novels, the Handmaids Tale, the Blind Assassin, Oryx and crake. But she has also written poetry, blog fiction and this year a superhero comic book. She has a worldwide legion of fans. So what keeps her creative juices flowing?(Photo: Author Margaret Atwood at the 18th Annual LA Times Festival Of Books 2013. Credit: Imeh Akpanudosen/Getty Images)

The Influential Conservative tax campaigner Grover Norquist talks to Stephen Sackur. Why does he think Donald Trump's policies will help him win the race for the White House?

Stephen Sackur speaks to South African satirist, Pieter-Dirk Uys. Leaders who routinely abuse their power cannot stand to be laughed at. Satire is a potent political weapon. That is a truth Pieter-Dirk Uys has exploited for 40 years. He styles himself as "the most famous white woman in South Africa." Thanks to his alter ego Auntie Evita - a character he created to poke fun at the white Afrikaner establishment during the apartheid era, and which he now uses to lampoon Jacob Zuma and the ANC. But are there dangers in playing South Africa's recent history for laughs?(Photo: South African satirist Pieter-Dirk Uys in the Hardtalk studio)

Stephen Sackur speaks to Avi Dichter, Chair of Israel's Foreign Affairs & Defence Committee. Think of Israel's turbulent history since the 1967 war and you might think first of the political leaders, Golda Meir, Menachem Begin, Yitzhak Rabin, Shimon Peres and now Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Other crucial figures in Israel's story spent more time in the shadows, like Avi Dichter, who was head of the Shin Bet, Israel’s internal security service from 2000 to 2005. Only later did he enter politics and is now a parliamentary ally of prime minister Netanyahu. How does this gatekeeper of Israel’s security see his country's future?

Shaun Ley speaks to Okechukwu Enelamah, Nigerian Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment. Nigeria's economy is contracting for the first time in 25 years. The north-east is threatened by famine and President Buhari has promised renewed efforts to tackle the 'cancer' of corruption. Okechukwu Enelamah wants to break his country's dependence on oil. But with foreign investors pulling out and blaming hostile policies, has Nigeria left it all too late?(Photo: Okechukwu Enelamah, Nigerian Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment)

In an interview recorded in 2016, Stephen Sackur speaks to Meat Loaf, a rock'n'roll legend who broke the rules of the music business. He was never cool, never a pin-up, but his songs and performances have always been much larger than life. Meat Loaf shot to fame four decades ago with Bat out of Hell, an album which became one of the biggest sellers of all time. Since then his career - in music and acting - has been a crazy mix of highs and lows. How close did he get to self-destruction?(Photo: Musician and actor Meat Loaf. Credit: Getty Images)

HARDtalk’s Stephen Sackur speaks to Turkish author, Ece Temelkuran. Two months ago Turkey's elected Government managed to survive a botched military coup. A triumph for democracy? Not necessarily - not if you regard freedom of expression and an independent judiciary as prerequisites of a genuine democracy. Thousands of judges, journalists and civil servants have been locked up or sacked since the coup. Ece Temelkuran is a prominent author and journalist who knows how difficult it can be to speak out in Erdogan's Turkey. Is silence the only option?

Sarah Montague speaks to the President of the Cambodia National Rescue Party, Sam Rainsy. The UN, US and Europe all say they are worried about what is going on in Cambodia. More than a dozen opposition figures are in prison, the party's vice president has not left their headquarters in four months for fear of being arrested, and the opposition leader Sam Rainsy fled the country to avoid jail. They want to replace Prime Minister Hun Sen, who has been in power for more than 30 years and whom they claim has rigged past elections. They have threatened mass demonstrations if the intimidation continues. But can their leader make a difference to life in Cambodia when he is in self-imposed exile in Europe?(Photo: Cambodian opposition leader Sam Rainsy, 2014. Credit: Tang Chin Sothy/AFP/Getty Images)

Manfred Weber is an MEP for Germany's Christian Social Union and leader of the largest political group in the European Parliament, the EPP. German voters have made it clear they are unhappy with their Chancellor Angela Merkel. In two regional elections this month her conservative party, the Christian Democratic Union, suffered a humiliating defeat. The EPP isn't happy with her either, warning of a split unless she changes policy on immigration. Is this the end for Angela Merkel? And what effect has her refugee policy had on the way Germany will be governed?

Stephen Sackur speaks to Nigel Farage, former leader of the UK Independence Party. For the foreseeable future British politics is going to be dominated by one issue - Brexit. What will our future relationship with the EU look like and how will it affect Britain's political and economic future?(Photo: Nigel Farage, leader of the UK Independence Party (UKIP), 2015, London. Credit: Rob Stothard/Getty Images)

Stephen Sackur speaks to Nick Clegg, former UK Deputy Prime Minister. Elected Politicians tend to lose their grip on power and prestige with brutal speed. For Five years Nick Clegg was Britain's Deputy Prime minister, the Liberal Democrat who entered a coalition with the conservatives and gave his party its first real taste of power in generations. And then came the 2015 general election. His party was annihilated. He took much of the blame. His brand of liberal, pro-European politics now looks like badly damaged goods. Is there anyone to blame but himself?(Photo: Former leader Nick Clegg speaks at the Liberal Democrats annual conference 2015, Bournemouth, England. Credit: Matt Cardy/Getty Images)

Remember the pro-democracy umbrella protests in Hong Kong a couple of years ago? They ended up as something of a damp squib, but the young leaders of the movement haven’t disappeared. Nathan Law has just won a seat in Hong Kong’s Legislative Council and he's at the head of a so-called localist movement demanding a referendum on self-determination for the territory. Will Beijing try to silence Nathan Law?

Dubbed the biggest rogue trader in British history, Kweku Adoboli ran up $2.3bn of losses for the Swiss bank UBS. He has spent four years in prison for fraud and now faces possible deportation from Britain back to Ghana. He maintains he was not motivated by greed but that the system put unbearable pressures on him to make big returns. He warns that the culture of the banking industry has not changed very much which means it could easily happen again.(Photo: Kweku Adoboli arrives at Southwark Crown Court on 20 September 2012 in London. Credit: Dan Kitwood/Getty Images)

HARDtalk’s Stephen Sackur speaks to Ed Balls, former Labour MP and UK cabinet minister. When elected politicians are booted out by the voters there's no safety net to soften their fall. And Ed Balls has the bruises to prove it. He was one of the key players of the UK Labour Party's era of political dominance under those partners and rivals Blair and Brown. He was a formidable political operator whose ambition was to lead his party. He failed in that, and last year lost his seat as the unravelling of the Labour Party began in earnest. How does a political heavyweight make sense of failure?

For years Poland has been the poster child of the European Union but not anymore. Its new government has made sweeping changes to its constitution and laws, changes that Brussels says are a threat to Poland's democracy. In return Poland has said its economy is too dependent on foreigners. Is his country set on turning inwards and away from the European Union?(Photo: Pawel Szalamacha at the annual Ambrosetti Forum in Lake Como, Italy)

Sarah Montague speaks to United States Senator Lindsey Graham about American foreign policy and why he thinks Donald Trump is not fit to be president.(Photo: Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) gives a speech where he announced his candidacy for US President, 1 June, 2015. Credit: Jessica McGowan/Getty Images)

Shaun Ley speaks to Andriy Kobolyev, CEO of Ukaine’s Naftogaz. Ukraine is a country at war with itself, and not just because of separatists in the east. Corruption is endemic, especially in state industries. Andriy Kobolyev, CEO of state-run energy company Naftogaz is trying to clean it up. He wants to make gas more expensive, because massive subsidies discourage investment and encourage waste. But energy scams are a big source of income for some powerful people. Are his efforts being sabotaged from the very top?(Photo: Head of Ukrainian Naftogaz state oil and gas firm Andriy Kobolev walks in front of the company's logo, 2014. Credit: Yuriy Kirnichny/AFP/Getty Images)

Sarah Montague speaks to Sara Khan, director and co-founder of Inspire. Kadiza Sultana was 16 when she ran away from her home in London to join the so-called Islamic State group in Syria. Her family have heard reports that she is dead - killed in a Russian air-strike. It's hard enough to understand why young men join IS, it's harder still to see what attracts women. Sara Khan is at the forefront of efforts in the UK to prevent young women being radicalised. What does she say to them? And is it making any difference?(Photo: Sara Khan in the Hardtalk studio)

Stephen Sackur talks to one of Britain's leading brain surgeons, Henry Marsh. Imagine you are a patient, about to undergo brain surgery. If it goes well it will save your life; if it goes wrong you could end up paralysed or dead. Of course you want to believe your surgeon is infallible, a superhero - but he is not; he is all too human just like you. That simple truth emerges from the extraordinarily honest writing of Dr Henry Marsh. He has given us rare insight into the mind of the doctor - is it reassuring or troubling?(Photo: Dr Henry Marsh in the Hardtalk studio)

HARDtalk’s Shaun Ley speaks to former UK Labour politician Derek Hatton. In the blue corner, a formidable woman Prime Minister with an enviable opinion poll lead; in the red corner, a left-wing leader of the opposition seen by many on his own side as unelectable. It's how things look today as they did in the mid-1980s when Derek Hatton was the poster boy of Britain's far left. Confronting Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher over funding for his home city of Liverpool, he gambled by threatening 30,000 council workers with redundancy and lost. He was expelled by the Labour Party. Now Jeremy Corbyn is leader, Derek Hatton wants to come back. Is British politics returning to the ideological clashes of the 1980s?

HARDtalk’s Shaun Ley speaks to Majak D’Agoôt, former deputy Defence Minister of South Sudan. It took half a century of civil war to give South Sudan its independence. Just five years later, leading figures from the independence struggle are calling for the UN to take charge. Majak D’Agoôt fought in the war of independence, became deputy minister of defence, but was sacked by the President and is now in exile. Have South Sudan's politicians failed their starving, displaced people or was the South never viable as a separate country in the first place?

Stephen Sackur talks to the British surgeon David Nott who has spent decades working in conflict zones, including Syria. Amid the appalling toll of civilian death in Syria the loss of hundreds of doctors and medical staff stands out as an especially grievous loss. Many have been bombed in their clinics and hospitals. Now he is focused on training doctors to work in conflict conditions; but does Syria tell us medical personnel can no longer expect any protection in war?(Photo: British surgeon David Nott in the Hardtalk studio)

In the public mind, Dame Diana Rigg will forever be linked with performances which were almost a sideshow in her long career. Her roles as Mrs Peel in The Avengers and as Bond girl Tracy di Vicenzo in On Her Majesty’s Secret Service attracted huge attention, but it’s in the theatre that she's won critical acclaim and a host of awards. Now she has an iconic role in the hit series Game of Thrones - what's the secret to a great acting performance?Picture: Diana Rigg, Credit: Tim P. Whitby/Getty Images

Stephen Sackur talks to the influential contrarian economist, Steve Keen. It's a good time to be an economist who swims against the tide of conventional wisdom. After all the last decade has seen classical economics take a beating: the great financial crash wasn't supposed to happen, nor was the prolonged eurozone stagnation. Now the liberal economic consensus tells us that Brexit will be a disaster, but should we believe it? Amid all the argument do any economists deserve our trust?Picture: a pile of coins, Credit: Thinkstock

HARDtalk’s Stephen Sackur talks to Al Sharpton, the veteran, often controversial, civil rights campaigner. One of the bleaker themes of Barack Obama's presidency has been the crisis in relations between black America and the criminal justice system. We've seen unarmed black men shot dead by the police and officers gunned down in what appear to be acts of vengeance. A new movement Black Lives Matter has given voice to anger on the streets. Who speaks most effectively for black America today ?

HARDtalk’s Stephen Sackur talks to veteran US diplomat and now foreign policy adviser to the Clinton campaign, Nicholas Burns. To put it mildly the Washington foreign policy making establishment doesn't like Donald Trump. But are there reasons to worry about Hillary Clinton's foreign policy vision ? Is she an unreconstructed military interventionist ? Is the Clinton world view out of step with America's mood ?

French newspapers will no longer publish pictures of the perpetrators of jihadist atrocities - in an effort to ensure they're neither glorified, nor humanised. HARDtalk's Stephen Sackur speaks to a journalist who sees his mission differently. Norwegian Paul Refsdal has spent thirty years filming up close and personal from inside militant groups around the world, often at great personal risk - he was held hostage after filming with the Taliban in 2009. Last year he spent weeks with a small group of would be suicide bombers in Syria. Do we really need to see the Wests enemies this close up?

Stephen Sackur speaks to Afghanistan’s Ambassador to Pakistan, Omar Zakhilwal. When Ashraf Ghani became president of Afghanistan two years ago he talked of new diplomatic cooperation with Pakistan, aimed at ending the war with the Taliban. As so often before hopes have been dashed. The war goes on, relations between Kabul and Islamabad have soured and the Afghan people still live with a dysfunctional government and broken economy. Is Afghanistan beyond salvation?(Photo: Omar Zakhilwal, 2013 Credit: Aamir Qureshi)

Stephen Sackur talks to Babatunde Fashola, Nigeria's Minister for Power, Works and Housing. Will his country ever realise its full potential?

Zeinab Badawi speaks to Sabrina de Sousa, an ex-CIA spy who faces extradition from Portugal to Italy to serve a prison sentence for her alleged role in a CIA extraordinary rendition case when an Egyptian terror suspect was seized in Milan 13 years ago. She denies involvement. Last year she visited Portugal against official advice and was detained by the authorities there. She is awaiting extradition to Italy where she faces a prison sentence. Has she been abandoned by the CIA or is she the agent of her own misfortune?(Photo: Sabrina de Sousa)

Zeinab Badawi speaks to Shahbaz Taseer, Pakistani businessman, recently released by the Taliban after nearly five years of captivity, during which he endured constant torture. He is the son of the former governor of Punjab who was assassinated in 2011 for his opposition to tough blasphemy laws. Has the vision of a tolerant, secular Pakistan been lost?(Photo: Shahbaz Taseer in the Hardtalk studio)

Stephen Sackur talks to the film and TV producer Tony Garnett . Watching TV is something pretty much all of us do for news, sport and entertainment, but how much of what we stare at on the box do we actually remember? His subjects of homelessness, illegal abortion, police corruption point to his radicalism - he uncovered dark corners of British life. How much of his motivation came from the dark corners in his own life?(Photo: Tony Garnett in the Hardtalk studio)

Zeinab Badawi speaks to Mehmet Simsek, Turkey’s Deputy Prime Minister. The attempted coup in Turkey may have been crushed but has it exposed weaknesses in the hold in power of President Erdogan? Around 15,000 personnel from the military, police, judiciary and civil service have either been arrested or relieved from duty. Is President Erdogan, the target of the coup, too polarising a figure for Turkey and becoming a liability for the ruling party?(Photo: Mehmet Simsek speaking about his country's budget, 2014. Credit: Altan/AFP/Getty Images)