Former UK Prime Minister - Sir John Major

Hardtalk is in Stuttgart, Germany - a city with a long history of engineering and manufacturing. The auto industry is a major player here, which is good news for Stuttgart as long as the German car industry continues to thrive. Stephen Sackur speaks to Dieter Zetsche, the boss of Daimler, a company with a global reputation and the makers of Mercedes-Benz cars. However, over the past decade they have made some costly mistakes and they still face major challenges, not least the push for greener more efficient vehicles. Daimler has a proud reputation, but does it have a bright future?

17 Feb 201423min

A host of countries around the world still impose the ultimate punishment on the most serious criminals - death. What is it like to be in command of the machinery of state-sanctioned execution? As part of the BBC’s special Freedom Season, Hardtalk gets a rare insight from Allen Ault, who spent years running the corrections system in the southern US state of Georgia. He organised the killing of criminals until he could stand it no more. Now he is an opponent of the death penalty, Stephen Sackur finds out why.(Photo: Allen Ault - Former Commissioner of Corrections, Georgia, USA on BBC Hardtalk)

14 Feb 201423min

Hardtalk is in Paris at Roland Garros, the headquarters of tennis in France, to speak to the French tennis player and Wimbledon Champion, Marion Bartoli. Last year, just six weeks after achieving the highest accolade in her sport, the Wimbledon title, she announced she was retiring from tennis at the age of only 28. Can she really never imagine competing again? And if so, what does that say about the health of tennis?

12 Feb 201423min

It is nearly a year since the new Pope was installed, but still the same problems dog the Catholic Church. A UN Committee on the Rights of the Child has just criticised the Vatican over its failure to deal decisively with child sexual abuse by priests. Gay rights activists still attack the Church on its stand on homosexuality and the Vatican’s finances have been under scrutiny and criminal investigation. Hardtalk speaks to Cardinal Peter Turkson who was tipped to become the first black Pope. He’s calling for financial reforms and action against poverty and inequality. But does the Catholic Church have the moral authority to take a lead on such issues?

10 Feb 201423min

From Syria and Afghanistan to relations with the US and Europe, how influential is British foreign policy today?Picture: William Hague, Credit: Dan Kitwood/Getty Images

7 Feb 201423min

Stephen Sackur talks to the prominent women’s rights campaigner, Kavita Krishnan. Delhi is a proud capital of the nation - a noisy and vibrant place - but a city stained by its record on sexual violence. More rapes are recorded here than any other Indian city. Just over a year ago a 23-year-old medical student died after a brutal gang rape on a bus which shocked the nation and prompted millions of people to demand government action to end gender violence. Is India becoming a safer, more equal society for women?Picture: Kavita Krishnan, Credit: BBC

5 Feb 201423min

Hardtalk speaks to Hussain Al-Shahristani, Iraq's Deputy Prime Minister responsible for energy. He's in London to attend a conference, but also to convince the world that his country isn't sinking back into civil war. A decade on from the fall of Saddam Hussein, is Iraq perilously close to tearing itself apart again?Picture: Hussein al-Shahristani, Credit: Sabah Arar/AFP/Getty Images

3 Feb 201423min

Hardtalk speaks to the Archbishop of Canterbury and leader of the Anglican Church, Justin Welby. He has just embarked on a tour of four African countries, all touched by vicious and bloody conflict - South Sudan, The Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda and Burundi. It’s part of his mission to visit as many communities as possible in the 80-million strong Anglican Church worldwide. Can he help heal the divisions in these conflict ridden countries? And what is his answer to critics who say that religion itself is partly to blame for ethnic hatred and killings. Also, the church is polarised on issues such as same-sex marriage and gay priests. Can the Archbishop keep the Church together?

31 Jan 201423min