Andrius Kubilius, EU Commissioner for Defence and Space: A new era of defence readiness

Stephen Sackur speaks to Polish foreign minister Radek Sikorski. Poland has been a key pillar of the Western alliance supporting Ukraine against Putin’s invasion, but is war fatigue undermining that bond? And is Poland's new government going to unite the country or divide it?

26 Jan 202423min

Stephen Sackur speaks to the writer and computer game creator Naomi Alderman. Her latest novel - The Future - is a techno thriller set at the end of days. Is the apocalypse she imagines all too possible?

24 Jan 202423min

Stephen Sackur speaks to Regina Ip, an influential pro-Beijing lawmaker in Hong Kong. For years China has been tightening its grip on the territory it took back from Britain. Pro-democracy activism, political opposition and press freedom have all been curtailed. So what is Hong Kong’s future?

22 Jan 202423min

Stephen Sackur talks to Mark Regev, spokesman for Israel’s prime minister. Israel’s relentless military response to Hamas’s assault on 7 October has unleashed a humanitarian nightmare in Gaza. Is Israel’s strategy serving its own best interests?

18 Jan 202422min

Stephen Sackur speaks to Mohammad Marandi, an Iranian academic who has advised his government during nuclear negotiations. Iran actively backs Hamas in Gaza, Hezbollah in Lebanon and the Houthis in Yemen, but as the flashpoints in the Middle East multiply, is a regional war - with the US inevitably engaged - what Tehran really wants?

17 Jan 202423min

Another chance to listen to Stephen Sackur's 2014 interview with the late Sir Nicholas Winton, the man who saved more than 600 mostly Jewish children from Nazi persecution. Nine years after his death, a major film has been released about his remarkable story. What motivated him?Image: Sir Nicholas Winton, pictured in 2015 (Credit: Jeremy Selwyn/Evening Standard via Getty Images)

12 Jan 202423min

Stephen Sackur talks to Alicia Kearns, Conservative MP and chair of the UK’s House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee. She has long warned of the threat to democracies posed by authoritarian regimes, led by China. With a host of elections looming, is 2024 going to severely test the West?

10 Jan 202423min

Stephen Sackur speaks to philosopher Stephen Cave, director of the University of Cambridge Institute for Technology and Humanity. He is at the centre of a growing debate about the merits of extending human longevity. Is it wise to seek to live forever?

8 Jan 202423min