Dame Diana Rigg: Connecting with characters

The Scottish people voted 'No' to independence, but they may just have changed British politics forever. More powers are to be handed to the Scottish parliament and now English MPs want their own form of self-determination. Right across this supposedly united kingdom, alienation from the Westminster status quo is fuelling calls for reform. Hardtalk speaks to former Conservative cabinet minister, Lord Heseltine. Is the UK in the throes of a dangerous identity crisis?Picture: Michael Hestletine, Credit: Chris Jackson/AFP/Getty Images

26 Sep 201423min

The size and capacity of the human brain distinguishes us from all other forms of life on earth, but how well do we really understand the functioning of our brains? Hardtalk speaks to Susan Greenfield, who carved out a reputation as a leader in the study of degenerative brain diseases. Lately though she has focused her attention on the impact of 21st Century digital technologies on brain development. She believes our screen habits could be doing us damage, but is her warning based on sound science?(Photo: Professor Susan Greenfield. BBC copyright)

22 Sep 201423min

Twelve years ago the International Criminal Court was set up to be the scourge of war criminals and mass killers everywhere - there would be no more impunity for the worst of crimes. How does the court's record stack up against that grand ambition? Thus far all of its cases have come from Africa, and just two convictions have been handed down from the Hague. Hardtalk speaks to Luis Moreno-Ocampo, who was the ICC's chief prosecutor for a decade. Why has the court failed to deliver on its promise?Picture: Luis Moreno Ocampo, Credit: Larry Busacca/Getty Images

19 Sep 201423min

Is the Eurozone economy turning Japanese? Flat-lining growth, depressed prices and a general air of economic despondency are surely warning signs of a Japanese-style prolonged stagnation. Can Europe's economic policymakers turn things around? Hardtalk speaks to Peter Bofinger, who sits on Germany’s Council of Economic Experts - is the dominance of Germany's economic model now Europe's biggest problem?(Photo: Peter Bofinger, German economist. Credit: Johannes Eisele/AFP/Getty Images)

17 Sep 201423min

Can we afford the world's super-rich and what have they ever done for us? Hardtalk speaks to a leading British social thinker - professor Danny Dorling of Oxford University. He argues for a slow revolution against the top 1%, whom he claims are impoverishing the rest of us. If 99% of us are becoming more equal, does it really matter if a tiny minority are getting richer?

15 Sep 201423min

Chrissie Hynde, who has one of the most distinctive voices in rock music and a record of success going back to the 1980s. Her band, The Pretenders, found global success during the era of punk; 30 years on she's still making music, but is she still in love with rock n roll?Picture: Chrissie Hynde, Credit: Michael Loccisano/Getty Images

12 Sep 201423min

The European Union confronts a host of problems from an economic slowdown inside the Eurozone to the crisis in Ukraine. Jose Manuel Barroso has been president of the European Commission for ten years, but has only two months left in the job. Hardtalk’s Zeinab Badawi talks to him by Lake Como in Italy and asks, how much of a mess is he leaving behind for his successor?(Photo: Jose Manuel Barroso. Credit: Getty Images)

10 Sep 201423min

There is a consensus view that the crisis in eastern Ukraine represents the most serious threat to Europe's security and stability since the fall of the Berlin Wall. Ukraine and Russia are just a few steps away from all-out war, but right now there are hopes of a ceasefire. So, is there a path back from the brink?(Photo: Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko (C) during the 2014 NATO Summit in Newport, Wales. Credit: AFP/Getty Images)

8 Sep 201423min