HARDtalk

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HARDtalk

Stephen Sackur speaks to a legend of the music business, a man who has written and performed some of the most memorable tracks of the last four decades. Nile Rodgers co-founded Chic, the band which defined the late 70s disco generation. From his own band Chic, to his collaborati...

March 2015
As part of the BBC's A Richer World season, Hardtalk speaks to one of Britain's wealthiest men, John Caudwell. He made his fortune out of mobile phones and now divides his time between backing new businesses and philanthropy.
In a special Hardtalk interview for the BBC's Richer World season, filmed in front of a studio audience, Stephen Sackur speaks to the American dotcom billionaire businessman Nick Hanauer.
How far do creators of popular culture have a responsibility to draw attention to problems in society? Hardtalk speaks to celebrated comic book writer Mark Millar. His work has been made into big Hollywood movies like Kick Ass, Wanted and most recently Kingsman. His creations feature extreme violence, yet he insists he's h...
The Philippines is Asia's only predominantly Christian country. The Roman Catholic Church has huge influence; divorce and abortion are illegal. The Church is currently engaged in a huge battle with the government over its plans to provide free contraceptives to the poor.
Stephen Sackur speaks to General Sir Richard Shirreff, retired deputy commander of Nato forces. He has recently described British prime minister David Cameron as hesitant and vacillating, and claims Britain and Nato are exhibiting dangerous weakness on conflicts from Ukraine to Syria. But is there a viable strategic altern...
The Philippines is a nation being transformed by urbanisation and globalisation. It's a developing country building a unique identity as an offshore service-provider for the rich world. But the Philippines faces a challenge - can the country's economic growth keep pace with its dramatic rise in population?
Stock markets in New York and London are sitting close to record highs. If the Dow is your guide, we are living in the best of times. But it doesn't feel like that in the real world, what with the eurozone crisis, a host of geopolitical uncertainties and frightening levels of global debt. Hardtalk speaks to Neil Woodford, ...
Sarah Montague speaks to Nigeria's aviation minister Osita Chidoka.
HARDtalk's Stephen Sackur speaks to Aimen Dean, a trusted member of Al Qaeda's inner sanctum in Afghanistan in the late 1990s. With his Quranic learning and fervent commitment to holy war, this young Saudi received a personal audience with Osama Bin Laden and came to know most of Al Qaeda's key leaders. But Aimen Dean did ...
February 2015
Berlin doesn't house any of the European Union's key institutions, but there is no doubt this is the power capital of Europe - something Greece's new left-wing government now knows all too well. Germany calls the shots when it comes to shaping Europe's economic policy. HARDtalk's Stephen Sackur speaks to an influential mem...
Hardtalk speaks to the activist and rapper Tef Poe. He has described the fatal shooting in Ferguson, Missouri, of unarmed teenager Michael Brown as a "declaration of war" by the police. He has also said "my grandparents endured this type of treatment so we wouldn't have to". So if you are young, black and poor in America t...
Zeinab Badawi is in Brussels to speak to Lebanon's foreign minister Gebran Bassil. He has travelled to the city to tell EU officials that his country has been overwhelmed by Syrian refugees.
Expired
Since the late seventies, Human Rights Watch has named and shamed governments and organisations for alleged breaches. But who sets those rules? And if you live in the Middle East or China are they different than if you live in America? Hardtalk speaks to the head of the organisation, Kenneth Roth. In treating all rights th...
Stephen Sackur speaks to Robbie Rogers, a US international footballer who plays for LA Galaxy. He broke the sport's great taboo by very publicly coming out after a spell in English football. But why haven't other gay footballers followed his lead?
Zeinab Badawi 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 effici...
January 2015
Zeinab Badawi speaks to the British Muslim campaigner Moazzam Begg. He was detained at Guantanamo Bay ten years ago, 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 measu...
In a special edition of HARDtalk for the BBC's Democracy Day, Stephen Sackur speaks to Chinese dissident Wu'er Kaixi.
In a special edition of HARDtalk, 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 amon...
A week after the murderous assault on its offices the French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo is back. Defiant. With another image of the Prophet Muhammad on its front cover and an extraordinary print run of three million. The debate about freedom of expression, rights and responsibilities continues in the face of terror. ...
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