In-depth, hard-hitting interviews with newsworthy personalities. Read more
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11/09/2023 GMT
In-depth, hard-hitting interviews with newsworthy personalities.
Mustafa Suleyman: How can AI be safely developed?
Stephen Sackur speaks to a British pioneer in the field of artificial intelligence
Vladimir Milov: Could Putin outlast his enemies?
Stephen Sackur speaks to a former Russian deputy energy minister
Yuval Noah Harari: Are humans losing the ability to trust and co-operate?
Stephen Sackur speaks to the acclaimed Israeli historian and author
Caroline Lucas: Parliamentary politics or direct action?
Stephen Sackur speaks to the Green Party of England and Wales's only Westminster MP
Shaharzad Akbar: How should the world respond to Afghanistan's crisis?
Stephen Sackur speaks to an exiled Afghan human rights campaigner
Kaja Kallas: Is Russia a threat to Estonia?
Stephen Sackur is in Tallinn for an exclusive interview with Estonia’s prime minister
Martin Griffiths: Is the UN system failing those in greatest need?
Stephen Sackur speaks to the UN's under-secretary-general for humanitarian affairs
Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar: Can he steer Pakistan through political turmoil?
Zeinab Badawi speaks to Pakistan’s caretaker prime minister
Paolo Gentiloni: Are divisions costing the EU on the global stage?
Stephen Sackur speaks to the European Union's economy commissioner
Lord Deben: Is short-term politics undermining climate action?
Stephen Sackur speaks to a Conservative politician and former UK environment minister
Danny Danon: A new Middle East war
Stephen Sackur speaks to the long-standing Israeli politician
Ehud Barak: Where will the Middle East conflict end?
Stephen Sackur speaks to Israel’s former Prime Minister Ehud Barak.
Olha Stefanishyna: How solid is the West’s support for Kyiv?
Stephen Sackur speaks to one of Ukraine's deputy prime ministers
Husam Zomlot: Is Gaza on the brink of a humanitarian crisis?
Stephen Sackur speaks to the head of the Palestinian Mission to the UK
Adam Smith: How does the US navigate its multiple interests?
Stephen Sackur speaks to US Democratic Party congressman Adam Smith.
Aiden Aslin: Captured, tortured and swapped by Russia
Stephen Sackur speaks to Aiden Aslin, the British man who joined the Ukrainian army
Lubaina Himid: Race, culture and modern Britain
Stephen Sackur speaks to the Turner Prize winning British artist Lubaina Himid
Jakov Milatović: President of Montenegro
Stephen Sackur speaks to the president of Montenegro Jakov Milatovic
Sir Lindsay Hoyle: Can the Speaker ensure parliament better serves the people?
The Speaker of the UK House of Commons has has one of the toughest jobs in UK politics
Abdallah Bou Habib: Could Lebanon get dragged into war with Israel by Hezbollah?
If Hezbollah and its Iranian backers opt for all-out war, what then for Lebanon?
03/11/2023 GMT
Carlo Rovelli: Life, the universe and white holes
Stephen Sackur speaks to one of the world's best known physicists
Mustafa Barghouti: What next for the Palestinian people?
Stephen Sackur speaks to a co-founder of the Palestinian National Initiative
Fiona Hill: Are overseas wars exposing US weaknesses?
Stephen Sackur speaks to an influential US foreign policy analyst
Mervyn King: Global growth and inflation
Stephen Sackur speaks to a former governor of the Bank of England
15/11/2023 GMT
Mark Alford: Do US Republicans have a winning formula?
Stephen Sackur speaks to a Republican Congressman and loyal Donald Trump supporter
Chris Coons: Is team Biden in trouble?
Stephen Sackur speaks to one of President Biden’s closest allies in the US Congress
Michel Roux: Is the business of fine food turning sour?
Stephen Sackur speaks to the master chef and restaurateur Michel Roux
Jonna Mendez: Does the world still need spies?
Stephen Sackur speaks to former US spy Jonna Mendez, who was the CIA’s chief of disguise
Cardinal Peter Turkson: Is the Catholic Church at a crossroads?
Stephen Sackur speaks to a man widely seen as a contender to be Africa’s first pope
Simcha Rothman: Is violence in Israel's best interests?
Stephen Sackur speaks to a member of Israel's far-right Religious Zionism party
Philippe Lazzarini: Could Gaza become unliveable?
Stephen Sackur speaks to the head of UNRWA, the UN’s refugee agency for Palestinians
Jasem Albudaiwi: Could the Gulf states be destabilised by the conflict in Gaza?
Stephen Sackur speaks to the Secretary General of the Gulf Cooperation Council.
Fatih Birol: Is the global energy transition veering off course?
Stephen Sackur speaks to the head of the International Energy Agency
06/12/2023 GMT
Victoire Ingabire Umuhoza: What Rwandans think of the UK migrant transfer deal
The UK government paints President Kagame in positive hues. What do his opponents think?
Sandra Day O'Connor: The first female US Supreme Court judge
Sandra Day O'Connor has died age 93. Re-listen to our 2006 interview
Izzeldin Abuelaish: Can Palestinians still believe in forgiveness and peace?
Zeinab Badawi speaks to a Palestinian doctor and acclaimed author
Paul Caruana Galizia: Can his family get justice?
Stephen Sackur speaks to the son of an assassinated Maltese investigative journalist
Naftali Bennett: Has Israel responded unwisely?
Stephen Sackur speaks to Israel’s former prime minister
22/12/2023 GMT
2023 in review
Stephen Sackur looks back at thought-provoking interviews from the past year
Past notes
A special programme remembering past HARDtalk guests who died in 2023
Aida Touma-Sliman: What does war mean for Israel's Arab population?
Stephen Sackur speaks to a Palestinian Arab member of Israel's parliament
Stephen Cave: Should we want to live forever?
HARDtalk speaks to the director of the Cambridge Institute for Technology and Humanity
Alicia Kearns: How much will 2024 test the West?
Stephen Sackur talks to the chair of the UK’s House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee
Sir Nicholas Winton: A Holocaust hero
A 2014 interview with a man who saved more than 600 children from Nazi persecution
Gideon Levy: What happened to the Israeli mindset?
Stephen Sackur interviews Israeli journalist and commentator Gideon Levy.
Mohammad Marandi: Is Middle East conflict what Iran really wants?
Stephen Sackur speaks to an academic who has advised the Iranian government
Mark Regev: Is Israel serving its own best interests?
Stephen Sackur talks to a spokesman for Israel’s prime minister
Regina Ip: What is Hong Kong's future?
China has tightened its grip on Hong Kong, and pro-democracy activism has been curtailed
Naomi Alderman: Apocalypse soon?
Stephen Sackur speaks to the novelist and computer game creator
Radek Sikorski: Will Poland's new government unite or divide the country?
Stephen Sackur interview's Poland's foreign minister
Jasvinder Sanghera: Abuse and the Church of England
Stephen Sackur speaks to Jasvinder Sanghera, a lifelong advocate for survivors of abuse.
Ronald Lamola: Is South Africa's genocide case against Israel a geo-political game changer?
Stephen Sackur speaks to South Africa's justice minister
Abdalla Hamdok: Can Sudan find peace?
Zeinab Badawi speaks to the country's former prime minister
José Ramos-Horta: Peace and reconciliation
Stephen Sackur speaks to José Ramos Horta, President of Timor-Leste
Vassily Nebenzia: Is Russia influencing global opinions?
Stephen Sackur speaks to Russia’s permanent representative to the UN
09/02/2024 GMT
Cornel West: Could enough votes taken from Joe Biden help Donald Trump get elected?
Cornel West, philosopher and activist has launched his own bid for the White House.
Ukraine's Permanent Representative to the UN Sergiy Kyslytsya: Does Ukraine feel betrayed?
Partisan warfare in Washington DC is blocking aid to Kyiv. What does Ukraine think?
Bassem Youssef: Can laughter ever provoke political change?
When political tensions escalate, does humour get pushed out?
Alexey Navalny: The interview
Stephen Sackur interviewed Alexey Navalny in 2017.His death has been reported by Russia.
Nikolai Denkov: Is Bulgaria a weak link in Europe's security?
Stephen Sackur speaks to Bulgaria’s prime minister
HARDtalk: Defying Putin
Jens Stoltenberg: Is Russia really preparing for a war with Nato?
Sarah Montague speaks to its Nato Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg
Ciarán Hinds: Is Northern Ireland a creative powerhouse?
Stephen Sackur interviews the world-renowned actor
Salome Zourabichvili: Where does Georgia's destiny lie?
Sarah Montague talks to the president of Georgia
20/03/2023 GMT
Sathnam Sanghera: Britain's imperial legacies
Stephen Sackur speaks to a writer re-examining the legacy of the British Empire
Leonid Volkov: Is the anti-Putin movement out of options?
Stephen Sackur speaks to an ally of Russia’s late opposition leader Alexey Navalny
Riyad Mansour: Why are the diplomats failing?
Stephen Sackur speaks to the Palestinian Ambassador to the UN
Claude Joseph: Can anything save Haiti?
Stephen Sackur speaks to the country’s former acting prime minister
Jan Egeland: Is the international community failing to protect the most vulnerable?
Stephen Sackur speaks to the secretary general of the Norwegian Refugee Council
Chris Mullin: Have lessons been learned from the Birmingham Six injustice?
Stephen Sackur speaks to a former politician and justice campaigner
Luis Abinader: Will the Dominican Republic help Haiti?
Stephen Sackur speaks to the president of the Dominican Republic
Judith Butler: Gender and identity
Stephen Sackur speaks to the philosopher and author
On the road in Guyana
Will the South American country's people benefit from its record economic growth?
Mohamed Irfaan Ali: Is oil a blessing or a curse for Guyana?
Stephen Sackur speaks to the president of Guyana
Lila Rose: Could abortion be banned in the entire US?
Stephen Sackur speaks to one of America’s fiercest opponents of abortion rights
Tom Shakespeare: Redefining disability
Stephen Sackur speaks to a bioethicist and disability rights campaigner
Naomi Alderman: Power and technology
Humza Yousaf: Is the SNP's supremacy in Scotland under threat?
Stephen Sackur speaks to Scotland’s first minister
Job Sikhala: Is change possible in Zimbabwe?
Stephen Sackur speaks to an opposition politician who plans to challenge Zanu-PF's rule
Eddie Marsan: Do the arts neglect working-class people?
Stephen Sackur speaks to the acclaimed British actor
Danny Danon: Will Israel listen to its allies?
Stephen Sackur speaks to an Israeli MP and former ambassador at the United Nations
Arseniy Yatsenyuk: Could Ukraine lose?
Stephen Sackur speaks to the former Ukrainian prime minister
Richard Haass: How should the US respond to global risks?
Stephen Sackur speaks to a veteran US diplomat
Daniel Dennett: Philosophy and atheism
Another chance to hear the 2013 interview with the acclaimed philosopher
Joan Donoghue: Has the ICJ ruling changed anything in Gaza?
Stephen Sackur speaks to the former president of the International Court of Justice
Amin Salam: Can Lebanon's government avert catastrophe?
Stephen Sackur speaks to Lebanon’s economy minister
Ami Ayalon: Is Israel fighting an unwinnable war?
Stephen Sackur speaks to a former chief of Israel’s Shin Bet security agency
Mihai Popșoi: Is Moldova the new Russian battleground?
Stephen Sackur speaks to Mihai Popșoi, Deputy Prime Minister of Moldova.