The Interview

It's a year since the protests in Ukraine's Maidan Square - protests that led to the fall of the pro-Russian government. Russian-born Andrey Kurkov has published his diary of the time. He's one of the country's most famous authors and supported the uprising. But, although he lives in Ukraine, he writes in Russian and because of that he's been rejected by some as a Ukrainian writer and accused of being a traitor by Russians. Sarah Montague asks him what role do language and culture play in war? And was the uprising worth it?(Photo: Andrey Kurkov. Credit: Volodymyr Shuvayev/AFP/Getty Images)

Sarah Montague talks to Juan Mendez, the United Nation's Special Rapporteur on Torture. He was a human rights lawyer in Argentina in the 70s when he was arrested, imprisoned and tortured. He has said he owes his life to those in America who took a principled stand against torture. But now Juan Mendez says the world has become more accepting of cruelty and America has been compromised by its own brutal treatment of prisoners. So is torture ever morally justifiable?(Photo: Juan Mendez. Credit: Getty Images)

Should scientists working with governments and officials give opinions or just stick to giving scientific facts? Hardtalk speaks to the Scottish microbiologist Professor Anne Glover. She has just left her post as the first chief scientific adviser to the EU Commission President, and this is her first extensive broadcast interview since then. Whilst she was still in the post she said that in-house politics had hampered the efficiency of her role. Was she at loggerheads with the EU Commission?(Image: Science apparatus. Credit: Lixuyao/Thinkstock)

According to Oxfam, South Africa is the most economically unequal country in the World - the wealth of the two richest citizens outstrips that of the poorest 50% of the population. Twenty years after the end of apartheid, why is that so? As part of the BBC’s Richer World season Hardtalk speaks to Jay Naidoo, leader of the South African trade union movement during the liberation struggle and a cabinet minister under President Nelson Mandela. Why hasn’t freedom reduced inequality?(Photo: Members of the Alexandra Trampoline Club in Alexandra Township, Johannesburg, South Africa. The township is next to the wealthy suburb of Sandton. Credit: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

Hardtalk speaks to the British Muslim campaigner Moazzam Begg. He was detained at Guantanamo Bay between 2003 and 2005, and then last February he was held for seven months in a British prison. In October all terrorism-related charges against him were dropped and he walked free. He believes that current counter-terrorism measures are fuelling the very problems they are trying to tackle and are alienating and radicalising some Muslims. So how should Muslim communities work with the authorities to prevent the extremists carrying out attacks?(Photo: Moazzam Begg. Credit: Rob Stothard/Getty Images)

Professional football has a problem with homophobia. There are gay footballers, but most feel compelled to keep their sexual orientation a secret. Hardtalk speaks to Robbie Rogers, a US international who plays for LA Galaxy. He broke football's great taboo by very publicly coming out after a spell in English football. But why haven't other gay footballers followed his lead?(Photo: Robbie Rogers #14 of Los Angeles Galaxy. Credit: Jeff Gross/Getty Images)

American capitalism is in crisis - that's the view of Professor Luigi Zingales. He blames the links between big government and big business. For the man who cites Margaret Thatcher as his hero, his answer is more competition; more free markets; an end to subsidies and lobbying and less privilege for the few. That's the way he says that capitalism can "rediscover and renew its moral foundation". So can it really be the answer to tackling inequality and mending the American dream?(Photo: Wall Street sign near the New York Stock Exchange. Credit: Jewel Samad/AFP/Getty Images)

Chinese dissident Wu’er Kaixi, a student leader during the pro-democracy protests in 1989, takes part in a live debate on democracy with Stephen Sackur. The year 2015 marks 750 years since the first Westminster parliament and 800 years since the sealing of Magna Carta. These landmark moments underpinned the establishment of Parliamentary democracy and the legal system in the UK and around the world. The BBC's Democracy Day will look at democracy past and present and encourage a debate about the future of democracy. How democratic are we?(Photo: Chinese dissident Wu'er Kaixi speaks during the 25th anniversary of the Tiananmen crackdown in Taipei, 2014. Credit: Sam Yeh/AFP/Getty Images)

Draw up a list of the greatest living film makers and Werner Herzog would surely occupy a prominent place. He is responsible for some of the most wildly beautiful images captured on film. If you've seen Fitzcarraldo you won’t have forgotten the steamship being hauled over a mountain. He's seen as the film industry's obsessive genius; the director who once threatened to shoot his lead actor to prevent him quitting. After five decades making movies is Werner Herzog's love of film as intense as ever?(Photo: Werner Herzog with an award during the Lola - German Film Awards in 2013. Credit: Andreas Rentz/Getty Images)

Zeinab Badawi is in Malta to speak to Suha Arafat – the widow of the late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat. Ten years after his death, Mrs Arafat gives a rare broadcast interview about their marriage, why she believes he was assassinated and why she has chosen to live in Malta and not amongst the Palestinian people who so revered her husband.(Photo: Suha Arafat at the 8th Annual Dubai International Film Festival held in Dubai. Credit: Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images)

In the wake of the Paris attacks mounted by home grown militants swearing allegiance variously to al Qaeda in Yemen and the self-styled Islamic State, politicians in the west have promised to beef up security measures. Hardtalk speaks to Richard Barrett, a former UK counter-terror chief and until recently head of a UN team monitoring al Qaeda, about to how best confront the jihadist threat.

Jerusalem boasts one of the most bitterly contested pieces of real estate in the World - known as the Temple Mount to Jews and the Noble Sanctuary to Muslims. Jews are not allowed to pray there, many Jewish religious leaders say Jews should not set foot there, but that consensus is breaking down. Hardtalk speaks to Yehuda Glick an activist who has been variously described as a dangerous extremist, and a campaigner for religious freedom. Three months ago he survived an assassination attempt. Why does he persist with his divisive campaign on Jerusalem's holiest ground?(Photo: Yehuda Glick. Credit: AP)

Greek voters may be about to plunge the European Union into a fully-fledged economic and political crisis. Opinion polls suggest the leftist, anti-austerity party Syriza is likely to emerge as the biggest party in Greece's late January election. If so the next Athens government may reject the terms of the bailout which is keeping the country afloat. And then what? Hardtalk speaks to Costas Lapavitsas, a London-based Greek economist who has been advising Syriza's leaders.(Photo: Greek economist Costas Lapavitsas)

The West's strategic vision appears as clear as mud. After protracted wars in Iraq and Afghanistan the appetite for military intervention has all but disappeared. But given the threat of jihadist extremism and the spread of turmoil across the Middle East, non-intervention is seen as an unacceptable risk. The net result is uncertainty. Hardtalk speaks to Rory Stewart, a British Conservative MP who has worked in both Iraq and Afghanistan.(Photo: Rory Stewart)

Are we any closer to learning about the origins of our universe after the historic landing in November of a European robot probe on a comet? The mission began 21 years ago, and the probe Rosetta travelled nearly six and a half billion kilometres to reach the comet. The scenes of cheering and hugs amongst the expert team at the European Space Agency in Germany reflected the deep joy and sense of accomplishment. Hardtalk speaks to professor Monica Grady, a member of the Probe's scientific team. Now the euphoria has subsided - what did we learn from this historic landing?

The International Red Cross doesn't take sides; it prioritises field operations over political grandstanding. It's the humanitarian organisation that reaches the conflict zones others fail to reach. Or is it? Hardtalk speaks to Yves Daccord, Director General of the ICRC. From Syria to South Sudan, is the Red Cross model of scrupulously neutral intervention broken beyond repair?Picture: Yves Daccord, Director General of the International Committee of the Red Cross

The sporting world has been tainted by the constant drip of doping allegations, bribery and corruption - does it need a 'Mr. Clean' to fix it? Hardtalk speaks to Sebastian Coe – former British Olympic champion. He set 12 world records during his athletics career on the track and went on to hold many roles in various sporting organisations. Now he wants to become the president of the International Association of Athletics Federations, the IAAF. What more can be done to help clean up sport?(Photo: Lord Sebastian Coe addresses the media as he unveils his IAAF presidential campaign manifesto. Credit: Andrew Redington/Getty Images)

In a programme from 2014, Stephen Sackur interviews Antony Sher, widely regarded as one of the finest contemporary classical actors. How did a self-styled outsider became a doyen of the British theatrical establishment?(Photo: Actor Sir Antony Sher. Credit: Ben A. Pruchnie/Getty Images)

As South Africa's anti-corruption watchdog, Mrs Madonsela claims President Zuma ‘benefited unduly’ from a $25 million facelift for his private home and wants him to return some of the taxpayers’ money. The ruling ANC says she’s mistaken and the Parliament - dominated by the party - has voted to throw out her findings. Mrs Madonsela is sticking to her guns and has been under attack at home while being celebrated abroad. So who’s right and who’s wrong?Picture: Thuli Madonsela

Hardtalk speaks to the joint winners of the 2014 Nobel Peace prize, Kailash Satyarthi and Malala Yousafzai. The judges awarded them the prize in recognition of “their struggle against the suppression of children and young people and for the right of all children to education.”(Photo: Malala Yousafzai (left) and Kailash Satyarthi during the noble peace prize press conference, 2014. Credit:Nigel Waldron/Getty Images)

Whatever happened to the Egyptian revolution? Those heady days of people power in Tahrir square now seem like a collective delusion. A military strong man is back in power, President Mubarak has been handed a get out of jail for free card and dissent is being repressed with an iron fist. Hardtalk speaks to Alaa al-Aswany, the bestselling Egyptian novelist, political commentator and sometime dentist. Is Egypt's story a harsh lesson in the dangers of wishful thinking?(Photo: Egyptian novelist Alaa al-Aswany poses in Paris, 2014 . Credit: Joel Saget/AFP/Getty Images)

Around the world the election of Barack Obama to the White House was seen as a watershed moment for race relations in America. The first black man to be president was taken as the symbol of a new post-racial era. Six years on, with tensions between black communities and the police running sky high, is anyone still talking about a post-racial America? Hardtalk speaks to Cornel West, writer, academic and fierce critic of President Obama, and asks why the race debate turned sour.(Photo: Cornel West speaks onstage at Advertising Week, New York. Credit: Monica Schipper/Getty Images)

Israelis and Palestinians seem to have given up on the idea of negotiating a compromise peace. From Jerusalem to Gaza mutual mistrust is deep and getting deeper. Israel's unilateral approach is embodied in settlement building on occupied land. The Palestinians, meanwhile, are seeking international recognition of their claim to statehood. Hardtalk speaks to Robert Serry, the UN Special Co-ordinator for the Middle East Peace Process. Has the time come to admit that the 'peace process' is an unhelpful fiction?(Photo: Robert Serry, the UN Special Co-ordinator for the Middle East Peace Process)

Hardtalk speaks to the man who has been called America’s greatest living crime writer. Through works such as the Black Dalia and LA Confidential, James Ellroy has created a uniquely dark portrait of America. His is a nightmare vision of crazed killers and corrupt cops. He writes of what he knows – his own mother was murdered when he was a child. So is that simple, terrible fact the key to understanding all the words he has ever written?(Photo: Writer James Ellroy. Credit: Christopher Polk/Getty Images for AFI)

Have the United States and Iran blown their best chance of striking a deal to stop Iran acquiring nuclear weapons in exchange for a lifting of sanctions? And, is it now only a matter of time before Iran becomes a nuclear power? The deadline for talks has been extended, but Republicans take control of the US Congress in January and with an election coming up in Iran, those opposed to a deal will have more sway. Hardtalk speaks to Vali Nasr, a Middle East expert who used be an adviser to President Obama's administration. So what is Obama getting so wrong? And could it mean that Iran ends up with nuclear weapons and changes the balance of power in the Middle East?(Photo: Dr Vali Nasr testifies before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Credit: Jim Watson/AFP/Getty Images)

Hardtalk speaks to Pervez Musharraf, former army chief and president of Pakistan. He thought he could ride a wave of popular support back into power on his return to Pakistan. Instead, he found himself facing separate charges of treason and murder. How did Pakistan's former strong man get things so wrong? What will his fate tell us about where power lies in today’s Pakistan?(Photo: Pakistan's former military ruler General Pervez Musharraf. Credit: AFP/Getty Images)

Ebola is wreaking havoc on three west African nations - Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone. The official death toll is beyond 5000, the real victim-count is almost certainly much higher. The virus brings with it a lethal cocktail of fear, fractured communities and economic misery. Hardtalk speaks to Dr Geraldine O’Hara, a specialist in infectious diseases who has just returned from a stint working with Medecins Sans Frontieres (Doctors without Borders) in Sierra Leone. What is the key to beating Ebola?

Sir Nicholas Winton is now 105 years old, when he was just 29 he helped rescue more than 600 mostly Jewish children from Nazi persecution in Czechoslovakia. He hates being labelled a hero, but Sir Nicholas Winton is living proof that individuals can make an extraordinary difference - what motivated him?

Just how far is Vladimir Putin prepared to push, in his high stakes confrontation with the West over Ukraine? New allegations of Russian military incursions prompted Ukraine's president to talk of all-out war, and western leaders to threaten more sanctions. Hardtalk speaks to Mikhail Kasyanov, who was Russian prime minister in Putin's first presidential term, and is now a diehard opponent. Do most Russians remain confident their president knows what he is doing?(Photo: Mikhail Kasyanov. Credit: AFP/Getty Images)

Zimbabwe’s President Robert Mugabe is 90 years old. His grip on power is still tight but it won’t last forever. In recent months the jostling for the succession has turned into a public punch-up - adding to the uncertainty in a country beset with political and economic problems. Hardtalk speaks to Zimbabwe's Tourism Minister, Walter Mzembi. He wants to put an end to his country's international isolation. How can that happen while the old guard remains in place?(Photo: Walter Mzembi. Tourism Minister, Zimbabwe. Credit: AFP/Getty Images

With international focus firmly on the power of the so-called Islamic State, has there been a lack of attention on the Assad regime and the role that it has played in the Syrian crisis? What hope is there for Syrian opposition groups who have so far failed to win significant international support or build an effective anti-Assad coalition? Hardtalk speaks to Hadi al-Bahra, President of the Syrian National Coalition, about the situation on the ground and the mood of the people. With the strength of the so-called Islamic State dominating the headlines, has the international community turned its back on the Syrian opposition?(Photo: Hadi al-Bahra, President of the Syrian National Coalition, speaks at a UN news briefing. Credit: Eduardo Munoz/Reuters)

Extra Time is in Melbourne Australia and if there’s one sport which can uniquely claim to be home-grown it is Australian rules football, a high octane mixture of running, kicking and sometimes brutal mid-air collisions. One of the game’s greatest players is Adam Goodes, who is much more than just a sportsman. He’s of Aboriginal heritage and is the 2014 Australian of the Year – an award recognising not only his sporting talent but his public stand against racism, which was epitomised in 2013 when during a match at the MCG a teenage girl called Goodes an ape. He had her kicked out of the stadium and not for the first time racism in sport and society was at the centre of national debate In Australia. Now as Adam Goodes nears the end of his sporting career is he about to enter a new one as a politician?

Who can rescue Iraq and defeat the extremists of the self-proclaimed Islamic State? The militants have seized about a quarter of the territory of Iraq and there are near-daily reports of human rights abuses and deaths. The crisis at the heart of the political leadership in Baghdad means a united Iraqi response has so far been lacking. Hardtalk speaks to Baghdad MP Mowaffak al-Rubaie - former national security adviser to Iraq. Is the new Shia-led government under Prime Minister Abadi better able to combat the extremists?

When a dying person asks their doctor if he or she can do anything to help, is it easier for the doctor to provide a false hope than have a difficult conversation about how best to manage their last days? Hardtalk speaks to Atul Gawande, who wants to change the way doctors think - and talk - about death. It is a subject he covers in the BBC's annual Reith Lectures this year. He says doctors are good at addressing specific individual problems or diseases, but argues that the ultimate goal is not a good death but a good life - all the way to the very end.(Photo: Atul Gawande. Credit: Tim Llewellyn/BBC)

Is the world winning the war against ebola? The World Health Organisation describes it as the most severe acute public health emergency in modern times and reckons there could be ten thousand new cases each week in west Africa by December unless international efforts are stepped up to tackle its spread. Zeinab Badawi speaks to Dr Abu Bakkar Fofana, the health minister for Sierra Leone, one of the nations fighting ebola on the frontline. Is he gaining the upper hand over the spread of the disease?

Hardtalk’s Stephen Sackur talks to Francis Rossi, guitarist, singer and founder of the band Status Quo – one of the most popular and durable acts in the history of rock 'n' roll. He’s turned the old mantra “live fast, die young” on its head - he has lived fast and just kept on going. The music business has changed beyond all recognition in the last 40 years – how are Status Quo still rocking all over the world?(Photo: Francis Rossi of Status Quo performs for TV show Gabalier: Die Volks-Rock'n'Roll-Show. Credit: Joerg Koch/Getty Images)

Days ago the Nigerian government announced a ceasefire deal with the militant group Boko Haram - officials predicted the imminent release of more than 200 schoolgirls abducted by the extremists last April. Now those words look depressingly premature. What is going on with Nigeria's insurgency? Hardtalk speaks to Shehu Sani, a Nigerian human rights activist and sometime mediator with Boko Haram. How can the conflict which has cost thousands of Nigerian lives be ended?(Photo: Shehu Sani. BBC copyright)

Many of us who use the internet for work and leisure come to feel that we couldn't live without it. The web opens up the world, but does it also harbour fundamental threats to our privacy, security or autonomy? Can we trust the tech companies who shape our relationship with the internet? Hardtalk speaks to Mitchell Baker, a Silicon Valley pioneer, and boss of the not-for-profit Mozilla Corporation, best known for the Firefox web browser. Is her open-source collaborative model of web innovation being overwhelmed by the power of the profit motive?Picture: Mitchell Baker, Credit: Andreas Rentz/Getty Images for Hubert Burda Media

National governments and security organisations are becoming increasingly preoccupied with the threat posed by the extremist group calling itself Islamic State, and what their response should be. Hardtalk travels to Brussels to speak to Turkey’s ambassador to Nato, Mehmet Fatih Ceylan. Turkey has been criticised for its failure to act against Islamic State, so is Ankara finally ready to confront the threat they pose?

President Obama is just where he didn't want to be - fighting another war in the Middle East. He promises that American troops will not be dragged back into Iraq, yet he portrays the confrontation with the group calling itself Islamic State as a generational struggle that has to be won. Hardtalk speaks to James Jeffrey, a former US ambassador in Turkey and Iraq. Is the Obama administration making the right calls in the Middle East?

Is there a new brand of violent extremism that is identifiably different from all forms of militancy that have gone before? The question is prompted by the shocking and self-publicised brutality of the group calling itself Islamic State. Boko Haram in Nigeria deserves mention in the same breath. These groups provoke worldwide revulsion, but is force the only possible response? Hardtalk speaks to Giandomenico Picco, the former UN envoy who risked his life to negotiate the release of western hostages in Lebanon.(Photo: Giandomenico Picco. BBC copyright)

Twenty-five years after the world’s most notorious wall came crashing down, Germany is Europe’s undisputed, dominant nation. This is a reflection of economic power but also of media power. Hardtalk is in Berlin to visit the headquarters of one of Europe’s most powerful publishing companies, Axel Springer. How does a traditional company thrive in the age of the internet?

Next month the international club of rich nations, the G20, will meet in Australia. For much of the past decade the host nation boasted one of the strongest economies in the developed world, but not anymore. Australia has been badly hit by falling commodity prices and China's economic slowdown. Hardtalk speaks to the country's Treasury Minister, Joe Hockey. Should Australians brace themselves for a prolonged period of economic pain?(Photo: Joe Hockey, Australian Treasurer and Chair of the G20 Finance Track, 2014. Credit: Drew Angerer/EPA)

A sense of gloom is hanging over Europe. Years of economic stagnation are at the heart of it, but there are other factors too - for example, the security challenge posed by Vladimir Putin’s Russia, and also a rising tide of scepticism about the European Union itself amongst many on the continent. Hardtalk speaks to Alexander Stubb, the Prime Minister of Finland and one of the EU’s new young leaders. How does Europe rescue itself?(Photo: Prime Minister of Finland Alexander Stubb attends a press conference with French President Francois Hollande, 2014. Credit: AP)

The Middle East is in turmoil, beset by ethnic, religious and sectarian conflicts that together have created one of the gravest global humanitarian crises since World War II. And once again a US-led military coalition is dropping bombs in the region. Hardtalk speaks to David Miliband, a former British foreign secretary, now head of the US-based, International Rescue Committee. Given recent history, is there any reason to believe western intervention to end the killing and the suffering can work?Picture: David Miliband

The US led military operation against the so-called Islamic State organisation has raised a host of awkward questions. Is the makeshift coalition fighting a war, or mounting an anti-terror operation? What will victory look like, and how long will it take? Hardtalk speaks to General Lord Richards, who recently retired as Britain's top military chief. He has led military operations in Afghanistan, Iraq and Sierra Leone. What does he make of this latest one?(Photo: General Lord Richards)

The warnings about Ebola have been apocalyptic - Liberia's defence minister says it threatens his country's existence, while the US president says it threatens 'global security'. Three thousand people have already died from the disease and the World Health Organisation warns the number of cases is likely to exceed 20,000 within weeks - and it is spreading. America has diagnosed the first case outside Africa. Hardtalk speaks to professor Peter Piot, the man who first identified the disease back in the 70s. Forty years on we still do not have a cure. So, what should be done to stop it?

How serious a threat to western security is the extremist group that calls itself Islamic State? According to those governments now backing military action against the jihadis, the danger is very real - not least from foreign fighters, battle hardened in Syria and Iraq, who return to homes in the West. Hardtalk speaks to the EU counter-terror coordinator, Gilles de Kerchove - does the EU have a coherent response to the Islamic State challenge?Picture: Gilles de Kerchove, Credit: Emmanuel Dunand/AFP/Getty Images

World leaders gathered at a UN climate summit in New York recently and pledged again to tackle global warming. Yet again this year global greenhouse emissions have risen, partly because many politicians and citizens don't want more expensive renewable energy if it costs economic growth and prosperity. Hardtalk speaks to the British climate economist, Lord Nicholas Stern, who has just co-chaired a new report on the climate and economy. He says, it is not an either or situation. But what evidence is there that we can have it both ways and are governments listening?(Photo: Lord Nicholas Stern. Credit: Hannelore Foerster/Getty Images)

Hardtalk speaks to Jessye Norman, who is acknowledged as one of the greatest singers of her generation. Her voice has enthralled audiences in the world’s greatest concert halls and opera houses for decades. She was born in America’s segregated south with a talent that transcended barriers. Has her success helped to tear those barriers down?(Photo: Jessye Norman. Credit: Getty Images)