Bill Browder: Sanctioning Russia
Stephen Sackur speaks to Bill Browder, the American investor who made a fortune in post-Soviet Russia before falling foul of Vladimir Putin. Browder has long campaigned for Russia’s economic isolation - his lobbying has been instrumental in the US passing the Magnitsky Act in 2012, which imposed targeted sanctions on Russian individuals directly connected to rights abuses. Thanks to the invasion of Ukraine, Russia is now facing further Western sanctions. But Putin’s war machine hasn't yet ground to a halt and he shows no sign of reversing course. Has Russia’s economic resilience been underestimated?(Photo: Bill Browder in the Hardtalk studio)
4 Maj 202223min
Eduard Heger, Prime Minister of Slovakia
Stephen Sackur is in Bratislava for an exclusive interview with Slovakia's Prime Minister Eduard Heger. Slovakia is hosting tens of thousands of Ukrainian refugees and is shipping arms to Ukraine yet it still relies on Russian gas. The country faces tough choices. What will they do?
1 Maj 202222min
Frances O'Grady: How can workers defend their interests?
As rising inflation eats into wages, and machine learning and the gig economy transform the world of work, how do workers defend their interests? Stephen Sackur speaks to Frances O’Grady, General Secretary of the UK’s Trades Union Congress.
28 Apr 202222min
Slava Vakarchuk: A rock star on the frontline
Stephen Sackur speaks to Slava Vakarchuk, a Ukrainian rock star who has exchanged stadium gigs for a military uniform and morale-boosting visits to the frontline. As Ukraine fights for its survival in the face of Russia’s aggression, what role can this cultural icon play?
26 Apr 202222min
Mikhail Khodorkovsky: Making an enemy of Putin
Stephen Sackur speaks to the the former Russian oligarch turned Putin foe, Mikhail Khodorkovsky. He was once the boss of energy company Yukos and Russia’s richest oligarch. After falling out with President Putin, he spent 10 years in prison. Now he wants tougher western sanctions on Moscow and more arms for Ukraine in the war with Russia. If Putin faces defeat in Ukraine, how will he respond?
22 Apr 202224min
Kylie Moore-Gilbert: 804 days in an Iranian jail
Iran’s rocky relations with the West have cost a host of individuals their freedom. The Islamic republic has imprisoned citizens from the US, Britain and a number of other countries for spying. The charges may be trumped up, but Tehran’s determination to use western prisoners for political purposes is very real. Stephen Sackur speaks to Australian academic Kylie Moore-Gilbert, who was released from an Iranian jail in 2020 after 804 days behind bars.
19 Apr 202222min
Omid Djalili: Can jokes be funny without being mean?
Comedy challenges taste and convention, and it can arouse strong reactions, as we saw at this year’s Oscars when a joke earned Chris Rock a slap in the face from Will Smith. Stephen Sackur speaks to Omid Djalili, who has spent more than 25 years finding laughs in sometimes unlikely places. He was born in London to Iranian parents, and has thrived as a cross-cultural comedic chameleon. Is it possible to be funny without being mean?
17 Apr 202222min
Dr Njoki Ngumi: Can art change Kenya?
Zeinab Badawi is in Nairobi to talk to one of Kenya’s most ground-breaking cultural figures, Dr Njoki Ngumi. She abandoned a promising career in medicine to help set up an arts collective, and believes that creative endeavours can help transform societies. One of the collective’s films exploring homosexuality was banned in Kenya, where gay sex is a crime. So how far is Njoki Ngumi shifting opinions?
14 Apr 202222min
