Catherine Corless, Irish historian: I’m going to be a voice for these children

Even if you have not seen his shows, you will have heard his songs. For works such as Evita, Jesus Christ Superstar and The Lion King, Sir Tim Rice is regarded as one of the greatest lyricists of his generation. After a break from songwriting which lasted ten years, he is completing a new work, so what tempted him back? Why are there so few truly original musicals nowadays and why has he made it clear that he is very unlikely to work with his one time collaborator Andrew Lloyd Webber ever again?(Image: Lyricist, writer and composer Sir Tim Rice's star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, California. Credit: Photo by Vince Bucci/Getty Images)

4 Kesä 201223min

We are in a depression - unemployment at levels last seen during the thirties, an economic crisis in the Eurozone and the prospect of worse to come. But the Nobel Prize Winning economist Paul Krugman, thinks none of this needs to be happening and that America and Europe should be richer than they were five years ago - even now it wouldn't take much to solve the problem. He thinks what debt-ridden governments should be doing is borrowing more to spend their way out of trouble.(Image: Nobel Prize winning economist Paul Krugman. Credit: Reuters)

1 Kesä 201223min

The people of Greece shocked the rest of Europe with the results of their parliamentary elections on 6 May 2012. No party had a clear majority and the Syriza coalition of the radical left was put in second place.Syriza opposes the bailout package or 'memorandum' which gives Greece billions of euros in exchange for a very tough austerity package of cuts and tax increases. Gavin Esler speaks to Syriza's top economic adviser Yiannis Milios and asks what will happen if the party wins the re-run election on 17 June 2012. Do they really believe they can stay in the Eurozone while tearing up the rules?(Image: A woman voting in the Greek elections of 6 May. Credit: AFP / Angelos Tzortzinis)

30 Touko 201223min

Iron Maiden is one of the most successful heavy metal bands ever. They have sold more than 80 million albums and are renowned for their live shows - tickets for which they say sell faster now than at any point in their 30 years as a band. Sarah Montague speaks to the band's lead singer, Bruce Dickinson, the only member of the band who has lopped off the long, 'hard rocking' hair. And that is because of his dual life. For when he is not on stage performing in front of thousands he can often be found in a cockpit. He is a commercial pilot who has now set up his own aviation business. So how can you mix the hard rock lifestyle of a metal-head with the clean living required of a pilot and entrepreneur?

28 Touko 201223min

Robin Gibb was a musician who did much to define the pop music of the 70s and 80s. With his brothers Maurice and Barry he formed the Bee Gees. They wrote the soundtrack for the disco era, perhaps captured best in their music for the movie Saturday Night Fever. In December 2010, Robin Gibb joined Stephen Sackur in the Hardtalk studio to talk about his music, his family and the pressures of a pop business which drove him into a private hell of drink, drugs and depression. In more recent years, Robin Gibb found a new sense of purpose, both in his music and in his work for a host of charities. To the end he remained committed to song-writing and was an advocate for talent in an industry increasingly dominated by marketing rather than the music itself. So today, a look back at Hardtalk with the late Robin Gibb.

25 Touko 201223min

So much for all the talk of a Moscow Spring. Despite sporadic street protests and the stirrings of middle-class rebellion, Vladimir Putin is back in the Kremlin and Russia's economic and political status quo remains intact. Why do liberal opponents of Putin struggle to gain traction? Stephen Sackur speaks to Grigory Yavlinsky, economist, reformer and a veteran leader of Russia's fragmented opposition. Will the liberals ever win in Russia?

23 Touko 201223min

At last Sub Saharan Africa has a positive economic story to tell, but is it being matched by improved governance? Are Africa's leaders making the best use of the current surge in economic growth to tackle endemic poverty? HARDtalk’s Stephen Sackur speaks to Guy Scott, recently appointed vice-president of Zambia. He is a trained scientist, an ex-farmer, and he happens to be the most senior white official in post-colonial Africa. It is tempting to see him as a symbol of a continent no longer trapped in its past, but is it true?

22 Touko 201223min

Football is a global obsession - the star players of the sport, the likes of Messi, Rooney and Ronaldo reap vast rewards and worldwide adulation. But there's a sense of something rotten in the people's game. A sport worth billions of dollars has fallen prey to match fixing, cheating and bouts of shameful behaviour. Stephen Sackur speaks to Louis Saha, a French international striker, currently with Spurs in the English Premier League. His is the view from inside the football factory - has the joy been taken out of the beautiful game?

21 Touko 201223min