Alfred Bosch
Last week the whole of Europe heard a howl of rage coming from Catalonia. Since Spain’s highest court sentenced nine pro-independence politicians to a collective one hundred years in prison there have been mass, sometimes violent protests across the region which has left hundreds injured. Madrid says there can be no political dialogue until Catalan politicians condemn the violence and rein in the militants. Where does the pro-independence movement go from here?
23 Loka 201923min
Sally Lane and John Letts, parents of Jack Letts
What will become - what should become - of Jack Letts? HARDtalk's Stephen Sackur speaks to his parents, Sally Lane and John Letts. Alongside the humanitarian fall-out from Turkey’s invasion of northern Syria, there are grave security concerns - not least what will happen to the thousands of so-called Islamic State militants imprisoned by Syrian Kurdish forces. British-born Jack Letts left the UK in 2014 to live in the so-called IS Caliphate. Since then, he’s had his British citizenship revoked, and his parents have been convicted under UK anti-terror laws for sending him money.
21 Loka 201923min
Minister of Foreign Affairs, Turkey - Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu
Is Turkey creating further instability in Syria? HARDtalk’s Zeinab Badawi talks exclusively to the Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu in Ankara. Turkey has been condemned for its recent offensive in northern Syria but it says its operations have been necessary to flush out what it describes as Kurdish terrorists.
18 Loka 201923min
British intelligence whistleblower - Katharine Gun
What makes a whistleblower? What prompts someone to break ranks, maybe break the law, in order to expose a secret, often at great cost? Stephen Sackur interviews Katharine Gun. In 2003, she worked at the UK’s signals intelligence agency GCHQ. She leaked potentially explosive information about America’s covert effort to sway UN diplomats to support the Iraq war. She risked everything, including prison, in an act that changed her life. Now her story has been made into a movie; but, 16 years on, has her perspective changed?Image: Katharine Gun (Credit: Lia Toby/Getty Images for BFI)
16 Loka 201924min
Professor of Computer Science at University of California, Berkeley - Stuart Russell
What is the most serious existential threat facing humanity? Artificial Intelligence, warned the physicist Stephen Hawking, could spell the end of the human race. Stephen Sackur interviews Stuart Russell, a globally-renowned computer scientist and sometime adviser to the UK Government and the UN. Right now, AI is being developed as a tool to enhance human capability; is it fanciful to imagine the machines taking over?
14 Loka 201924min
Financier and Brexit backer Stuart Wheeler
Brexit represents a political gamble played for the highest of stakes. If Britain leaves the EU without a deal there will be significant economic disruption, even the most ardent Brexiteers acknowledge that. But they believe the potential rewards justify the risk. Stephen Sackur speaks to Stuart Wheeler, a successful businessman and lifelong gambler who backed his commitment to Brexit with plenty of his own cash. Has his money given him undue influence over Britain’s future?Image: Stuart Wheeler (Credit: Yui Mok/PA Wire)
11 Loka 201924min
Suede singer-songwriter Brett Anderson
Rock music inhabits a world of permanent revolution. Today’s biggest bands will most likely be tomorrow’s tired old has-beens. But just occasionally artists and groups find a way of reinventing themselves and outlasting the constant fluctuations in fashion and taste. Stephen Sackur speaks to the singer-songwriter Brett Anderson. His band Suede was hailed as the future of Rock'n'Roll back in the early 1990s. Today they are still making music a generation after Britpop ceased to be a thing. So what keeps him going?
9 Loka 201923min
Brazil's Environment Minister - Ricardo Salles
The number of forest fires burning in the Amazon rainforest may have dropped since the global alarm was raised in August, but Brazil’s Government is still feeling intense political heat. Stephen Sackur interviews Brazilian Environment Minister Ricardo Salles, who is in Europe trying to convince sceptics that President Bolsonaro’s government is not prioritising economic exploitation at the expense of environmental protection. How credible are the Brazilian Government’s soothing words?Image: Ricardo Salles (Credit: Bertrand Guay/AFP/Getty Images)
7 Loka 201923min
