Anders Tegnell: Is Sweden the best model for coronavirus response?
Much of the world responded to the Covid-19 pandemic with a lockdown strategy. Now there's much focus on finding a sustainable post-lockdown strategy that doesn’t prompt a second wave of infection. Could Sweden be the model? HARDtalk’s Stephen Sackur speaks to Sweden’s chief epidemiologist Anders Tegnell, the architect of a controversial no-lockdown strategy that continues to stir interest across the world. Has it worked?
18 Maj 202023min
David Miliband: President, International Rescue Committee
It may be a global pandemic but Covid-19 has hardly united the world around a collective response. We have seen world leaders focus on national self-interest rather than international collaboration. That could spell disaster for those countries least able to cope with a protracted public health crisis. Stephen Sackur speaks to David Miliband, president of the international charity the International Rescue Committee and a former UK Foreign Secretary. What kind of world will emerge from this pandemic?(Photo: David Miliband)
15 Maj 202023min
Luiz Henrique Mandetta: Brazil's sacked Health Minister speaks out
While some countries are claiming success in their effort to curb Covid-19, Brazil is increasingly looking like an outlier. The rate of new infections is still increasing, the death toll is mounting, and all the while President Jair Bolsonaro focuses on easing social distancing and reopening the Brazilian economy. HARDtalk’s Stephen Sackur speaks to Brazil’s former Health Minister Luiz Henrique Mandetta who was fired by Mr Bolsonaro after a series of disagreements. Is President Bolsonaro putting his nation at risk?
11 Maj 202024min
US Democrat Senate Candidate Jaime Harrison: Joe Biden 'bringing calm to the storm we're in'
The Covid-19 death toll in the US has gone beyond 70,000 and scientists now expect it to go far beyond 100,000 within the next month. At the same time President Trump is doubling down on his calls for American states to relax the lockdown and get back to work. In this presidential election year dealing with the pandemic is now the dominant political issue. HARDtalk’s Stephen Sackur speaks to senior Democratic party official and candidate for the US Senate Jaime Harrison. Has Covid-19 changed America’s political landscape?(Photo: Jaime Harrison, senior Democratic Party official and candidate for the US Senate)
8 Maj 202023min
Dutch MEP Sophie in't Veld: 'Decline of the EU is possible but it's in our own hands'
The coronavirus pandemic has presented Europe with a massive challenge – and so far the EU’s response has been found wanting in several key respects. As the death toll has mounted and the economic damage worsened, European solidarity and coordinated action has been questioned by member states like Italy and Spain. Stephen Sackur speaks to the influential Dutch MEP Sophie in 't Veld. Has Covid-19 exposed the weakness at the heart of the European project?(Photo: Sophie in 't Veld, Dutch MEP)
4 Maj 202023min
Liu Xiaoming: Is China a victim of Covid-19 or the source of the problem?
As the global effort to control Covid-19 continues so arguments about culpability for the spread of the pandemic intensify. At the centre of the story is China, where the outbreak began. Did the Chinese government’s impulse to cover up the truth cost the world dear? Or did China respond with admirable determination? Stephen Sackur speaks to the veteran Chinese Ambassador in London Liu Xiaoming. Is China the villain or the hero of this pandemic?(Photo: Chinese Ambassador in London Liu Xiaoming. on the Andrew Marr show, 9 February, 2020. Credit: Reuters)
1 Maj 202024min
Jens Stoltenberg: Has Nato risen to the challenge of Covid-19?
The coronavirus pandemic is a multi-layered global crisis. It starts with public health, but it reaches deep into the world economy and the global security system too. Could Covid-19 fears be used for malign purposes? Will it enhance or undermine multi-lateral institutions? Stephen Sackur speaks to Jens Stoltenberg, the secretary general of Nato. Has his organisation risen to this massive challenge?(Photo: Jens Stoltenberg, the secretary general of Nato)
29 Apr 202023min
Yuval Noah Harari: Covid-19 - a new regime of surveillance?
The coronavirus pandemic has presented humanity with an almighty shock. Here we are, with our evermore interconnected, technologically-advanced societies, living in lockdown and fearful for our health and economic futures - thanks to an invisible virus. Stephen Sackur interviews Israeli historian and best-selling author Yuval Noah Harari. What 21st-century lesson can we draw from the spread of Covid-19?(Photo: Yuval Noah Harari lecture on artificial intelligence at the X World Future Evolution 2017, Beijing. Credit: Visual China Group/Getty Images)
27 Apr 202023min
