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HARDtalk

BBC

In-depth, hard-hitting interviews with newsworthy personalities.

Location:

United Kingdom

Networks:

BBC

Description:

In-depth, hard-hitting interviews with newsworthy personalities.

Language:

English


Episodes

Eddie Marsan: Do the arts neglect working-class people?

4/15/2024
Stephen Sackur speaks to the actor Eddie Marsan, whose ability to play troubled, sometimes violent characters has made him a staple on stage and screen. He’s a relative rarity, an actor with genuine working class roots. Is there a diversity problem in the performing arts when it comes to class?

Duration:00:23:43

Paul Caruana Galizia: Can his family get justice?

4/12/2024
Stephen Sackur speaks to Paul Caruana Galizia, whose mother, Daphne, was a Maltese journalist who was assassinated for exposing endemic corruption and sleaze. Six years on, have her family won their fight for accountability and justice?

Duration:00:23:48

Job Sikhala: Is change possible in Zimbabwe?

4/10/2024
Stephen Sackur speaks to Zimbabwean opposition politician Job Sikhala. He was recently released after almost two years in jail. Now he’s promising to build a grassroots movement to challenge the ruling Zanu-PF party. But amid economic crisis and political repression, is change possible?

Duration:00:22:57

Humza Yousaf: Is the SNP's supremacy in Scotland under threat?

4/7/2024
Stephen Sackur speaks to Scotland’s First Minister Humza Yousaf. His first year in the top job has been tough. Is the Scottish National Party's supremacy in peril?

Duration:00:22:58

Naomi Alderman: Power and technology

4/5/2024
Another opportunity to hear Stephen Sackur's interview with the writer and computer game creator Naomi Alderman. Her most recent novel - The Future - is a techno thriller set at the end of days. Is the apocalypse she imagines all too possible?

Duration:00:23:31

Tom Shakespeare: Redefining disability

4/3/2024
Stephen Sackur speaks to the bioethicist, disability rights campaigner and writer Tom Shakespeare. Should we embrace difference, rather than use science to root it out?

Duration:00:22:58

Lila Rose: Could abortion be banned in the entire US?

4/1/2024
Stephen Sackur speaks to one of America’s fiercest opponents of abortion rights, Lila Rose. The US Supreme Court has overturned Roe v Wade, but she wants to go much further - to a total nationwide abortion ban. Is that a step too far for the American public?

Duration:00:23:34

Mohamed Irfaan Ali: Is oil a blessing or a curse for Guyana?

3/29/2024
Stephen Sackur speaks to Guyana’s President Mohamed Irfaan Ali. Vast offshore oil and gas reserves are transforming the Guyanese economy. But amid territorial tension with neighbouring Venezuela and environmental concerns, will oil prove to be a blessing or a curse?

Duration:00:23:32

On the road in Guyana

3/27/2024
Stephen Sackur is on the road in Guyana, South America, home to globally significant ecosystems and now one of the world's biggest offshore oil and gas reserves. As Guyana experiences record economic growth, will its people feel the benefit?

Duration:00:23:34

Judith Butler: Gender and identity

3/25/2024
Stephen Sackur speaks to philosopher Judith Butler, who has been at the centre of the fierce debate about sex, gender and self-identity for three decades. Their new book suggests those sceptical of gender fluidity and self-identity are part of a global authoritarian trend. Is that fair?

Duration:00:23:31

Luis Abinader: Will the Dominican Republic help Haiti?

3/22/2024
Stephen Sackur speaks to the President of the Dominican Republic, Luis Abinader. His country’s economy is growing fast, as neighbouring Haiti sinks deeper into an economic and security crisis. Will the Dominican Republic help a neighbour in need, or put self-interest first?

Duration:00:23:27

Chris Mullin: Have lessons been learned from the Birmingham Six injustice?

3/20/2024
Stephen Sackur speaks to the former politician and justice campaigner Chris Mullin. He did much to expose the miscarriage of justice which saw six men wrongly convicted of IRA bombings in Birmingham 50 years ago. Were the right lessons learned from that grave injustice?

Duration:00:23:48

Jan Egeland: Is the international community failing to protect the most vulnerable?

3/18/2024
Stephen Sackur speaks to Jan Egeland, secretary general of the Norwegian Refugee Council. He’s just back from Gaza; before that, he was on the Chad/Sudan border. Hundreds of thousands of people are in life threatening danger. Is the international community failing to protect the most vulnerable?

Duration:00:23:47

Claude Joseph: Can anything save Haiti?

3/13/2024
Haiti is on the brink; armed gangs are rampant, basic services are broken, millions of people are at risk. The prime minister is stepping down, and there are calls for armed international intervention. Can it be saved? Stephen Sackur speaks to Claude Joseph, the country’s former acting prime minister.

Duration:00:23:28

Leonid Volkov: Is the anti-Putin movement out of options?

3/13/2024
Stephen Sackur speaks to Leonid Volkov, long-time ally and adviser to Russia’s late opposition leader Alexey Navalny. President Vladimir Putin is almost certain to be resoundingly re-elected in upcoming elections. His most dangerous political opponent is dead. Is it game over for the anti-Putin movement?

Duration:00:22:57

Ericka Huggins: Do the Black Panthers have lessons for Black Lives Matter?

3/13/2024
Stephen Sackur is in Oakland, California, to speak to Ericka Huggins, an original member of the 1960s Black Panther Party. She experienced violence, imprisonment and vilification in the controversial campaign for black power. Do the Panthers have lessons for the Black Lives Matter movement?

Duration:00:24:16

Riyad Mansour: Why are the diplomats failing?

3/13/2024
Stephen Sackur speaks to Riyad Mansour, the Palestinian Ambassador to the UN. Talks to end, or at least suspend, the war in Gaza haven’t worked. The humanitarian situation for two million Palestinians and the 100-plus Israeli hostages is desperate. Why are the diplomats failing?

Duration:00:23:28

Sathnam Sanghera: Britain's imperial legacies

3/5/2024
Stephen Sackur speaks to the writer Sathnam Sanghera, whose own identity as the British son of Indian immigrants led him to look afresh at the legacy of the British Empire.

Duration:00:23:29

Salome Zourabichvili: Where does Georgia's destiny lie?

2/29/2024
Russia’s neighbour Georgia is closely watching what happens in Ukraine. It shares a 900km border with Russia, who invaded in 2008. Russian troops are stationed in two separatist regions. Georgia has just been granted EU candidate status and talks of joining NATO, yet its government is seen by some as sympathetic to Russia. Sarah Montague talks to the Georgian President, Salome Zourabichvili. Where does Georgia's destiny lie - with Russia or the West?

Duration:00:23:43

Ciarán Hinds: Is Northern Ireland a creative powerhouse?

2/28/2024
Stephen Sackur interviews Northern Irish actor Ciarán Hinds, whose career took him from the troubled streets of Belfast to an Oscar nomination. Right now, Northern Ireland is a creative powerhouse; why, and will it last?

Duration:00:24:02