María Corina Machado: Defending democracy in Venezuela
Stephen Sackur speaks to the de-facto leader of the Venezuelan opposition, María Corina Machado. Two months after an election which she says delivered a humiliating defeat to the country's authoritarian leader President Nicolás Maduro, he’s clinging on to power and his regime is clamping down on dissent. Have hopes for change again been thwarted in Venezuela?
27 Sep 202422min
Amin Salam: Can all-out war be averted in Lebanon?
Stephen Sackur speaks to Lebanon’s economy minister, Amin Salam. His country is being bombed and the casualties are mounting as Israel attempts to destroy the Iranian-backed Hezbollah militants entrenched in Lebanon. Is there an off ramp from the road to all-out war?
26 Sep 202422min
Ingrid Newkirk: Will humans ever go animal-free?
Stephen Sackur speaks to Ingrid Newkirk, president of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (Peta). For five decades she has led the campaign to end human exploitation and abuse of animals. From food to fashion, to testing in laboratories, are we humans really capable of going animal-free?
24 Sep 202422min
Martin Griffiths: Can the humanitarian system survive?
Mishal Husain speaks to Martin Griffiths, who worked for decades within the UN and the wider world of humanitarian aid. From Cambodia to Afghanistan, Sudan to Gaza, he has seen it all. How does he make sense of the inequalities and the suffering, and how does he think the aid system can survive, with funding ever more squeezed?
23 Sep 202422min
Oliviero Toscani: Photography with a social conscience
Stephen Sackur is in Tuscany to speak to the world famous Italian photographer Oliviero Toscani. He changed the world of advertising with his provocative images of racial diversity, illness and death. His work combined glamour with a social conscience, but did he sometimes go too far?
18 Sep 202422min
Philippe Lazzarini: Is UNRWA's mission in Gaza impossible?
Stephen Sackur speaks to Philippe Lazzarini, head of UNRWA, the UN’s refugee agency for Palestinians. This week, six UN relief agency staff were killed in an Israeli strike on a central Gaza school that had been turned into an emergency shelter for thousands. UNRWA’s death count in Gaza since the beginning of the war is over 220. Is his agency’s mission now impossible?
13 Sep 202422min
James Earl Jones: An incredible journey
Following the death of James Earl Jones at the age of 93, another chance to listen to Stephen Sackur’s 2011 interview with the legendary American actor. Known for his deep, rich voice and as the voice of Star Wars’ villain Darth Vader, his was an extraordinary story from poverty and segregation in the Deep South to Hollywood. How hard was his journey?Image: James Earl Jones receives a lifetime achievement award at the 2017 Tony Awards (Credit: Carlo Allegri/Reuters)
12 Sep 202422min
Balázs Orbán: Has Hungary's government created a template for far-right movements?
Stephen Sackur speaks to Balázs Orbán, a Hungarian MP and advisor to his namesake, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán. Hungary’s government is known for its anti-immigrant, anti-Brussels hardline nationalism. Is it a template for other far-right movements to follow?
10 Sep 202422min
