Daniel Ellsberg: The dangers of military might
Another chance to listen to Stephen Sackur's 2022 interview with the Pentagon Papers whistleblower Daniel Ellsberg, who has died aged 92. He exposed US government lies about Vietnam, and helped hasten President Nixon’s downfall. He dedicated his life to warning Americans about the dangers of unchecked military power. Was it a message they wanted to hear?
19 Jun 202323min
Andy Burnham: Can power in the UK be decentralised?
Stephen Sackur is in Manchester to talk to the city’s mayor, Andy Burnham. Six years after he quit the UK parliament with the hope of seeing power decentralised and the north of England revitalised, how is his radical agenda going, and is he a threat to his own Labour Party’s leader, Sir Keir Starmer?
14 Jun 202322min
Peter Singer: Is the animal rights movement unstoppable?
Philosopher Peter Singer has spent decades arguing for animal rights; his arguments have persuaded millions to give up meat. Has the movement he inspired become unstoppable?
9 Jun 202323min
Jonathan Shapiro (Zapiro): Satire in South Africa
Stephen Sackur is in Cape Town to speak to political cartoonist Jonathan Shapiro (Zapiro). Can satire work in a country still recovering from the prolonged trauma of apartheid?
6 Jun 202323min
Abdullah Mohtadi: What do Iran's Kurds want?
Stephen Sackur speaks to Abdullah Mohtadi, the leader of the Iranian Kurdish political movement Komala. From his exile in Iraq, he’s one of many voices calling for freedom and democracy in Iran. But what do Iran’s Kurds really want - more rights or independence?
4 Jun 202322min
Ama Ata Aidoo: Celebrating women in Africa
The acclaimed Ghanaian writer Ama Ata Aidoo has died aged 81. A former education minister for a brief period in Ghana, she arguably did more than any other writer to depict and celebrate the condition of women in Africa. Zeinab Badawi spoke with her in 2014. How much is there really to celebrate about being female in Africa?Image: Ama Ata Aidoo, pictured in 2017 (Credit: Pius Utomi Ekpei/AFP via Getty Images)
2 Jun 202322min
Julius Malema: What would he do with power?
The African National Congress has dominated South African politics for the last 29 years, but the party of Nelson Mandela is in trouble. A power crisis is doing new damage to an economy already hit by shocking levels of poverty, inequality and corruption. If the ANC is faltering, who stands best placed to offer an alternative? Stephen Sackur speaks to the leader of the radical populist Economic Freedom Fighters, Julius Malema. What will happen to South Africa if he gets even a share of power?
2 Jun 202322min
Roxane Gay: An unflinching memoir
Stephen Sackur speaks to American writer, academic and cultural commentator Roxane Gay. Her unflinching, extraordinary memoir Hunger deals with her experience of rape and obesity. How scary is the level of self-exposure in much of her writing?(Photo: Roxane Gay in the Hardtalk studio)
2 Jun 202322min
