The Interview

Hardtalk travels to Dublin, capital of Ireland, to speak to Europe Minister Lucinda Creighton. The country currently holds the Presidency of the European Union; a symbolic leadership role in Europe. At the same time it is struggling to emerge from the economic straitjacket imposed by the EU/IMF bailout of the Irish economy. Can Dublin convince the world that it has bounced back from the brink of disaster?

The government of Guatemala has promised to tackle the high murder rate of a country living under the threat of gangs, organised crime and drug traffickers. Some have expressed fears that it could become a narco-state, with state institutions that are weak or corrupted by criminal activity. When President Otto Perez Molina took office just over a year ago he said the war on drugs has failed and that it is time to consider decriminalising them. Hardtalk speaks to the newly appointed Foreign Minister of Guatemala, Fernando Carrera.

Can there be a negotiated way out of the high stakes stand-off between Iran and the West over the Islamic Republic's nuclear ambitions? A new round of talks is planned for later this month but the basic facts haven't changed, Iran's enrichment programme gets ever more sophisticated, international sanctions on Tehran bite deeper and the warnings from the West grow darker. Stephen Sackur’s guest on Hardtalk is a former Iranian negotiator on the nuclear issue, Hossein Mousavian. Does diplomacy have a chance?

Renowned British plastic surgeon, Dr Mohammad Jawad, helps reconstruct the faces of women disfigured by acid attacks. He featured in an Oscar-winning documentary about his humanitarian work in his native Pakistan. His high public profile has helped raise awareness about the life-destroying nature of acid attacks in Pakistan and elsewhere in Asia, but can it bring about real change and action to help bring down the level of such violence against women?(Image: Mohammad Jawad)

Renzo Piano is one of the world's most accomplished and feted architects; and one used to dividing opinion. Back in the 1970s he designed Paris's Pompidou Centre and since then has taken on high profile developments all over the globe. His latest creation – The Shard, which is currently Europe's tallest building - is already loved, but it is also loathed. What does the Shard say about us? And why build it so big?(Image: Renzo Piano, Credit: Getty Images)

If football is the beautiful game then it risks being disfigured by an ugly scar: racism. Players, fans and administrators have all pledged their determination to kick racism out of the sport, but there's plenty of evidence to suggest the anti-racist rhetoric isn't working. Lord Ouseley, is a veteran equality campaigner who was appointed to a senior advisory role with the English Football Association. But now he's quitting - has football failed to tackle its race problem?

Paul Bhatti is Pakistan's Minister for National Harmony - job description that seems deeply ironic given his country's current turmoil. He accepted the job after his brother was assassinated whilst serving as Minorities Minister.The Bhatti family is from Pakistan's minority Christian community. What hope is there for national harmony in a country disfigured by extremist violence and endemic corruption?(Image: Paul Bhatti, Credit: Getty Images)

As part of the BBC’s What If? season, Hardtalk talks to pro-GM campaigner and environmental author Mark Lynas asking What if genetically modified food is the solution to world hunger?(Image: Mark Lynas, Credit: Getty Images)

In or out? For the next five years Britain's future in the European Union will be shrouded in uncertainty thanks to David Cameron's commitment to a referendum. He believes his dramatic gamble will pay off not just at home, but in Europe too - allowing him to recalibrate Britain's relationship with Brussels. Will it work? HARDtalk speaks to Sir Nigel Sheinwald who was the UK's top diplomat at the EU, foreign policy adviser to Tony Blair, then Ambassador in Washington. Is the Cameron EU gambit in Britain's national interest?

Is it time for the doom-mongers to admit they were wrong about the world economy? The Eurozone is intact, the US hasn't plunged off that fiscal cliff and even the most stagnant economy of them all - Japan's - is showing signs of life. Could it be that central bankers and politicians are finally ready to take bold decisions in their quest for growth? Hardtalk speaks to one of the world's most influential investors, Mohamed El-Erian, boss of the massive PIMCO fund management business. Caution or confidence, which is winning out?

Stephen Lawrence was murdered in South London on April 22, 1993. Stephen was black – his attackers were white. The killing and subsequent investigation exposed violent racism on Britain’s streets and institutional racism within the British police force. Thanks to the tireless campaign of Stephen’s mother – Doreen Lawrence – two of her son’s killers were last year brought to justice. Laws have been passed and institutions reformed to combat racism but, two decades on, how much has really changed?(Image: Doreen Lawrence, Credit: Getty Images)

As head of the World Trade Organisation for the past eight years, Pascal Lamy has been leading the crusade for global free trade. The so called Doha round of negotiations designed to spread free trade to the developing world is in limbo. The flagging world economy has prompted a rise in protectionism. Has the march toward trade liberalisation ended in failure?(Image: Pascal Lamy, Credit: Getty Images)

The brutal gang rape and murder of a young woman in Delhi last month has prompted India to confront a disturbing truth: the country is failing to protect women from sexual violence. Kiran Bedi has seen the problem close up – she was the most senior female police officer in the Indian Police Service when she retired. Is India ready for the deep-seated changes that would make the country’s women less vulnerable?

EU officials in Brussels insist the worst of the Eurozone crisis is over; but is that relief premature? Europe's debt mountain still casts a long shadow. Rising unemployment is fuelling anger on the streets. And Europe's biggest nations are divided on the basic question – where next for the EU? Amid this uncertainty, big practical challenges remain – not least for the EU's Competition Commissioner Joaquin Almunia. Short term or long term, is there reason to be confident about the EU?(Image: Joaquin Almunia – EU Competition Commissioner, Credit: AFP/Getty Images)

Rupert Everett achieved success in his early twenties through his acclaimed lead role in Another Country and Dance With A Stranger.But much of this success was lost in a haze of sexual promiscuity and alcohol.Later in the '90s he had a fleeting brush with Holywood stardom.As an openly gay actor in movie business, did sexual descrimation rob him of a chance of becoming an A-list star?Stephen Sackur talks to Rupert Everett about his career and his film directorial debut about Oscar Wilde.

Half way through its parliamentary term Britain’s Conservative-led coalition government has a growth problem - the economy is flat; possibly heading for a triple dip recession. But how does a government committed to fiscal austerity juice things up?HARDtalk speaks to Lord Heseltine, a former Conservative Deputy Prime Minister who was last year commissioned by David Cameron’s government to come up with a growth strategy. But are today’s Tory leaders ready to heed this voice of experience?(Image: Lord Heseltine. Copyright: Press Association)

Arabs have risen up against their repressive authoritarian rulers, but what will their post-revolutionary societies look like? In Egypt and Tunisia, power has shifted in the direction of political Islam. Is that the culmination of the march to freedom? Stephen Sackur speaks to Mona Eltahawy, who thinks not. The controversial Egyptian-American writer and feminist says genuine liberation is impossible while Arab men continue to hate Arab women. In this era of uprisings is her message a wake-up call or a dangerous distraction?

Not so long ago it seemed the world’s addiction to fossil fuels would soon be ended by dwindling supply. But that was before fracking, tar sands and deep sea exploration transformed calculations about global reserves of oil and gas. HARDtalk speaks to Fatih Birol - one of the world’s most influential analysts of the global energy market and its effect on the world economy and environment. Is the resilience of fossil fuel supply a cause for celebration, or despair?(Image: Fatih Birol, Credit: AFP/Getty Images)

Olympic gold medal-winning Australian swimmer Ian Thorpe on his crippling depression. (Image: Ian Thorpe, Credit: Getty Images)

Alan Moore - man behind the mask worn by computer hackers and Occupy protestors the world over. But he's no typical insurgent, rather a graphic novelist. He has championed the form for its effect on politics and culture. Why is he now becoming disillusioned?

Philip Glass is one of the most influential and polarising composers of the last 50 years. The trademark sound in his prolific output of symphonies, operas and film scores, is repetitive, rhythmic and hypnotic. He has been driven by a simple question - what is music?

As Belle de Jour, she achieved global notoriety for years, writing a blog about her sexual encounters as a high-class escort girl working in London. Now, after revealing herself to be an expert research scientist and no longer engaged in prostitution, Dr Brooke Magnanti is calling for prostitution to be decriminalised.

Former England rugby captain Lewis Moody talks to Stephen Sackur about his battle with bowel disease, and winning the 2003 Rugby World Cup.(Image: Lewis Moody, Credit: Getty Images)

Stephen Sackur talks to the British barrister Sir Geoffrey Nice who led the Hague tribunal prosecution of former Yugoslav president Slobodan Milosević and asks if the ICC has been a disappointment.(Image: The prosecutors during the second day of trial of Slobodan Milosevic at the International Criminal Tribunal. From left: Dirk Ryneveld, Carla del Ponte and Geoffrey Nice. Credit: AFP/Getty Images)

How far is Egypt becoming polarised between Islamist and secularist forces? The current vote for a new constitution in Egypt has exposed divisions which at times have erupted into violence on the streets between supporters and opponents of the Muslim Brotherhood and the Islamist President Mohammed Morsi. Hardtalk speaks to a leading member of Egypt's liberal and secular elite: Coptic Christian billionaire businessman and politician Naguib Sawiris. Who has a better claim to be democratic - the Islamists or their opponents?(Image: Naguib Sawiris, Credit: AFP/Getty Images)

Afghanistan is reckoned to be one of the worst places on Earth to be a woman. Forced early marriage, high maternal mortality rates and little secondary education. Hardtalk talks to Dr Sima Samar, a medical doctor, educator and Chairperson of Afghanistan’s Human Rights Commission. Ten years ago she also became her country’s first ever Minister for Women’s Affairs. She has been a pioneer for human rights in Afghanistan but does she have the right strategy to win greater freedoms for Afghan women?(Image: Sima Samar, Credit: AFP/Getty Images)

The politics of Palestine are in a state of flux. Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and the stalwarts of his Fatah movement face a crisis of credibility; they've been outmanoeuvred in recent weeks by the hardliners in Hamas whose message is defiance, not diplomacy. Hardtalk speaks with the Palestinian Authority envoy to the European Union Leila Shahid. Is the game up for Palestine's old guard moderates?(Image: Leila Shahid, Credit: AFP/Getty Images)

To Britain it's the Falklands, to Argentina the Malvinas. Thirty years ago, the two countries went to war over these islands in the South Atlantic. Now they can smell oil - eight billion barrels worth is being drilled for this year. Is that why Buenos Aires and London are trading insults once again? Jan Cheek is one of the leaders of the 3000 islanders who are about to be asked to vote on whether there should be negotiations with Argentina. She says no but by what right do the Islanders insist they should stay linked to a country on the other side of the world? And for how much longer will the British be prepared to pay the military and diplomatic bill?

HARDtalk travels to Oslo for the annual Nobel Peace Prize award ceremony. This year, the prize has been awarded to the European Union which has, according to the panel "for over six decades contributed to the advancement of peace and reconciliation, democracy and human rights in Europe". José Manuel Barroso has been President of the European Commission since 2004. With the continent’s economic future increasingly uncertain, and as austerity bites, is he confident of a peaceful future for the European Union?(Image: José Manuel Barroso, President of the European Commission, Credit: AFP/Getty Images)

Renault has been long regarded as a jewel in the crown of French industry. But Renault has lost much of its lustre. Despite joining forces with the Japanese giant Nissan, Renault has seen sales and profits slump which is making the French government nervous. Carlos Ghosn is the CEO of Renault and Nissan. He turned Nissan’s fortunes around but can he do the same for Renault?(Image: Carlos Ghosn, Credit: Getty Images)

Mike Newell is responsible for box office hits like Four Weddings and a Funeral, Donnie Brasco and Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. He could make almost any film he wants. So why choose his latest movie - a remake of the classic Dickens novel Great Expectations. What more is there to add when there have already been so many adaptions?(Image: Mike Newell, Credit: Getty Images)

The United States is about to become the world's largest producer of oil and gas. Quite remarkable for a country that only a few years ago was the world's largest importer of gas. It's a turnaround made possible by shale and it comes at a time of rapidly increasing demand from China, India and the Middle East. Peter Voser is the boss of Royal Dutch Shell one of the biggest energy companies in the world. With economies so thirsty for power, producers are being driven to new frontiers - but at what cost?(Image: Peter Voser, Credit: Getty Images)

How far will Barack Obama go in taking on critics who say the United States has abandoned its role as the global champion of human rights? America's counter-terrorism measures after 9/11 - including targeted killings and indefinite periods of detention without trial - have angered many. Former President Jimmy Carter has said the US has now lost its moral authority as a result. Zeinab Badawi speaks to Jeh Johnson, the General Counsel of the US Defense Department, the Pentagon's top lawyer and a close ally of Barack Obama.(Image: Jeh Johnson. Credit: Brendan Smialowski/Getty Images)

Zeinab Badawi speaks to the British businessman Michael Woodford, who rose to become chief-executive of one of the most iconic Japanese companies - the camera and medical equipment maker, Olympus. He then exposed fraud at the heart of its leadership and was sacked after 30 years of service. Three bosses of the Tokyo-based company subsequently admitted he was right and it emerged they had hidden $1.7 billion in investment losses, dating back to the 1990s. What does his case tell us about business culture, corporate scandals and whistle-blowing today?

It has become known as the 'Marikana massacre', when 34 people were killed as police in South Africa opened fire on striking miners. For many it had echoes of Sharpeville in 1960, one of the defining events which opened the world's eyes to the consequences of apartheid. For Frans Baleni, General Secretary of the National Union of Mineworkers, Marikana is a challenge - not just to his union - but to the whole post-apartheid political system in which the NUM has been a key player. Eighteen years after black South Africans won legal equality, is the violence evidence that the system has failed all but a tiny political elite?(Image: Hundreds of people attend a memorial service for the people killed in a wildcat strike at Lonmin's Marikana mine. Credit: STEPHANE DE SAKUTIN/AFP/GettyImages)

Greenpeace has campaigned against environmental degradation, for more than 40 years. This month it’s mobilising its activists to make a stand on saving the planet at the UN climate change conference in Doha. Four decades on and with global warming slipping down the agenda – is anyone listening to what Greenpeace have to say? Hardtalk talks to South African Kumi Naidoo – executive director of Greenpeace International. Doesn’t his organisation need a new bold vision to make an impact – and if so – what is it? (Image: Kumi Naidoo, Credit: AFP/Getty Images)

HARDtalk travels to the Jordanian capital Amman, just 100km north of the Syrian border. Three months ago Riad Hijab crossed that border and became the most senior Syrian government official to defect from the regime of President Bashar al Assad. He had been appointed Prime Minister by President Assad in June, but six weeks later he fled. Why? And is there a role for Baathist defectors in Syria's future?(Image: Riad Hijab in front of a number of microphones, Credit: AFP/Getty)

Hardtalk speaks to the original tree hugger. The phrase was coined back in the 1970s when she - along with a group of women in India - hugged trees to stop them from being chopped down. In the decades since, Vandana Shiva has become known throughout the world for her environmental campaigns. She says a billion people go hungry in the world because of the way greedy international companies go about their business. So is it a naïve world view or could we really end poverty and improve everyone's life by returning to old fashioned ways of farming?(Image: Vandana Shiva hugging a tree, Credit: AFP/Getty Images)

James Cracknell is a former Olympic rowing champion who has performed astonishing feats of endurance from the Sahara to Antarctica. But his toughest challenge has come by accident, not design. Two years ago his skull was smashed by a truck as he cycled across America. Miraculously he survived and his body healed, but his brain suffered significant damage. How has he responded to a test which changed his personality and his life?

Poland’s economy is growing, as is its diplomatic clout. The Polish foreign minister Radoslaw Sikorski has backed Germany's vision of much deeper EU integration. But do Poles really want to cede their hard won sovereignty to Brussels and Berlin?

Ukraine's just held parliamentary elections. A cause for celebration, and the flowering of democracy in a former Soviet republic? Not if you read the reports of international election monitors or hear the comments of the world's top diplomats. So eight years after the Orange Revolution, with some of the government's leading critics serving long sentences in jail, has Ukraine made its choice? Is it in effect turning its back on the offer of membership of the EU, the club of Europe?

Hardtalk is in Cairo to assess the state of Egypt's post-revolutionary politics. Right now, the report card is decidedly mixed. Egypt has a democratically-elected president but arguments over the framing of a new constitution have sparked clashes between rival Islamist and secular activists in Tahrir Square. Stephen Sackur speaks to Egypt's Prime Minister Hisham Qandil and asks is the new Egyptian government living up to the promise of the Tahrir revolution?(Image: Egyptian Prime Minister Hisham Qandil. Credit: GIANLUIGI GUERCIA/AFP/GettyImages)

The European Union won the Nobel Peace Prize for fostering unity in Europe, but the award was made during the current EU presidency of its only divided member - Cyprus. Since 1974 the island has been partitioned between its Turkish-occupied north and the Republic of Cyprus which joined the EU eight years ago.Cyprus is also presiding over the biggest crisis in the EU's history - a potential financial meltdown triggered by indebted nations like Greece and Cyprus itself. Zeinab Badawi talks to Andreas Mavroyiannis the deputy minister for European Affairs for Cyprus. Does he believe the peace prize is a shot in the arm for the EU that will help boost its confidence and bring vital momentum in finding a blueprint for recovery?

Next Tuesday’s US Presidential Election promises to be the closest since the Bush/Gore race ended in a dispute over hanging chads a dozen years ago. And Barack Obama could yet join the list of underwhelming one-term presidents. HARDtalk’s Stephen Sackur speaks to a veteran Democratic party consultant and campaign strategist, Bob Shrum, and asks why President Obama is struggling to rekindle the enthusiasm he generated four years ago.(Image: Bob Shrum, Credit: Getty Images)

Mitt Romney and his Republican advisers claim momentum is on their side as the US presidential election enters the final stretch. Their unrelenting focus is on the ailing US economy and their claim that a Romney administration would rebuild America as a low tax, small government engine of economic enterprise. HARDtalk’s Stephen Sackur speaks to Grover Norquist, founder of the advocacy group Americans for Tax Reform - one of the most influential figures in Republican politics. Just how credible is the Romney rescue plan for America?

From global media baron to convicted criminal doing time in a Florida jail, the remarkable rise and fall of Conrad Black has made for years of lurid headlines - not least in the newspapers he used to own. Now Conrad Black, or Lord Black of Crossharbour, is a free man out to rebuild his reputation on both sides of the Atlantic. After a turbulent decade, is he a changed man?(Image: Conrad Black. Credit: Brian Kersey/Getty Images)

Stop smoking, eat less, exercise more, pay your taxes on time. So many things governments want us to do; so hard to get us to do them.Shaun Ley speaks to behavioural economist Richard Thaler who thinks he has the answer. It's called 'nudge' theory, but it's not just an academic idea. Britain's Prime Minister is so impressed, he's set up a whole 'nudge unit' in the heart of his government. If you live in Britain, you may unwittingly already be part of a nudge experiment. So is the nudge guru teaching those in power how to encourage us to live better; or helping politicians to control us?

What has happened to Europe’s ambition to lead the world toward a low-carbon, sustainable future? As austerity bites, so doubts intensify about the wisdom of de-carbonising the European economy and financing greener growth in the developing world. Stephen Sackur speaks to the EU Commissioner for Climate Action, Connie Hedegaard. Are Europe’s politicians failing the climate change challenge?(Image: Connie Hedegaard, Credit: AFP/Getty)

The grandeur of the French foreign ministry in Paris gives a sense of how France sees its role in Europe - it's assumed here, Paris will have a dominant role in shaping the continent's future. But how does that square with current reality? The French economy is in a mess, the public is apparently disillusioned with the EU and the new Socialist government has yet to define a clear vision for Europe's future. Stephen Sackur speaks to France's Europe minister Bernard Cazeneuve.Is France capable of leading Europe out of its current crisis?(Image: Bernard Cazeneuve, Minister delegate for European Affairs, France. Credit: JOHN THYS/AFP/GettyImages)

The aviation industry is in trouble. Fuel prices have soared, there’s been a drop in passenger numbers and some airlines have gone out of business, but in Europe there’s one airline which is bucking the trend. The low-cost, no-frills Ryanair carried almost 80 million passengers last year. Michael O’Leary is the pugnacious, outspoken Chief Executive of Ryanair who has ambitions to make his airline even bigger, but how far can he fly before he gets shot down? He talks to Stephen Sackur in Dublin. (Image: Michael O'Leary, Chief Executive of Ryanair Credit: Getty Images)