Former Blackwater CEO Erik Prince

What is the point of the world’s nuclear watchdog the International Atomic Energy Agency? Its task is to ensure that countries intent on developing nuclear power don’t use their programmes as cover for development of weapons of mass destruction. But is the task impossible? HARDtalk’s Stephen Sackur speaks to the new IAEA chief, Rafael Grossi. From the continued bitter arguments over Iran, to North Korea, and Saudi Arabia, is the IAEA another example of a global agency undermined by geopolitical division?

16 Sep 202024min

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson faces momentous challenges. The coronavirus pandemic, an economic slump and a looming moment of truth for Britain’s relations with the EU. In the midst of this turbulence the future of the United Kingdom itself looks uncertain. Polls suggest increasing numbers of Scots want out of the Union. HARDtalk’s Stephen Sackur speaks to the new leader of the Scottish Conservative party, Douglas Ross. Are events playing into the hands of the Scottish nationalists?(Photo: Douglas Ross, newly announced Scottish Conservative leader, talks to media in Forres, Scotland, Britain 5 August, 2020. Credit: Russell Cheyne/Reuters)

13 Sep 202022min

Will Moscow’s will prevail in Belarus, or will people power take the country in a new direction? Stephen Sackur speaks to Gitanas Nausėda, the president of neighbouring Lithuania. The daily street protests demanding the resignation of Belarus’s authoritarian President Alexander Lukashenko haven’t yet tipped the balance against the regime. Lukashenko is still there; the security forces are still doing his bidding. So how is the geopolitics of this going to play out?

11 Sep 202024min

With just two months until the US presidential election, the polls show the incumbent Donald Trump trailing Democrat Joe Biden by a significant margin. This is an extraordinary election year marked by a pandemic, economic crisis, street protests over alleged police racism and a toxic political atmosphere. HARDtalk’s Stephen Sackur speaks to the veteran Republican party pollster and consultant Frank Luntz. Can Donald Trump win, and should Republicans want him to?

8 Sep 202022min

The EU is thought to have lost more than €10 billion to fraud over the last two decades, and yet its anti-fraud and anti-corruption agencies have long lacked the teeth to root out the problem. Could that be about to change? Stephen Sackur speaks to Romanian Laura Codruta Kövesi, the EU's first public prosecutor. She has enhanced powers to tackle transnational crime. But if member states refuse to play ball, how can she succeed?

6 Sep 202022min

The annual UN General Assembly gets underway this month in New York and this year it will be like no previous one. The coronavirus pandemic means the summit will be held virtually. The medical, social and economic impact of Covid-19 has not only brought much suffering, it is also reshaping the world. HARDtalk’s Zeinab Badawi speaks to the Secretary General of the UN, António Guterres. He believes the pandemic is unleashing a tsunami of scapegoating, hate and xenophobia. As the UN marks its 75th anniversary, is it equipped to deal with these unprecedented global challenges?

3 Sep 202022min

Alfre Woodard has had a distinguished acting career, spanning five decades, with roles ranging from Winnie Mandela to a part in hit TV series Desperate Housewives. She grew up in Tulsa, Oklahoma, during the civil rights movement of the 1960s, and for much of her career she has been an activist and campaigner, speaking out against race discrimination in the movie business, and lending her support to the Democratic party. Have her art and her activism merged into one?

2 Sep 202022min

Thanks to the internet and the mobile phone our ability to communicate, inform and persuade has never been greater. So why is public debate getting ever more polarising and toxic? Stephen Sackur speaks to the american philosopher, neuroscientist and podcaster Sam Harris whose takes on everything from religion to race generate intense heat. Are extremism and intolerance drowning out reasoned debate?

30 Aug 202022min