The Interview

The Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi disappeared after entering the Saudi consulate in Istanbul last week. Amid a welter of speculation and lurid allegations, a cloud of suspicion now hangs over the Saudi Government. The record of Crown Prince Mohammad Bin Salman, the Kingdom’s de facto ruler, suggests a determination to silence all criticism. Stephen Sackur speaks to Saudi academic Madawi al-Rasheed and former senior US diplomat, Nicholas Burns. Is ‘MBS’ taking his kingdom down a dangerous path?(Photo: Saudi academic Madawi al-Rasheed)

12 Okt 201823min

Almost two billion of the world’s people are Muslim, and yet half of them, the female half, have traditionally played little or no role in the institutions of their faith. That is changing, albeit very slowly. Stephen Sackur speaks to Sherin Khankan who became Scandinavia’s first female Imam when she opened the Mariam mosque in Copenhagen. Her focus on women’s rights in a 21st Century brand of Islamic practice has stirred controversy and debate far beyond Denmark’s borders. Is Islam ready to empower women?(Photo: Sherin Khankan. Credit: AFP/Getty Images)

10 Okt 201823min

Tania Bruguera's pieces and immersive performances have attracted international acclaim but prolonged harassment from the Cuban authorities. Is she artist, activist or both?

8 Okt 201823min

Tania Bruguera's pieces and immersive performances have attracted international acclaim but prolonged harassment from the Cuban authorities. Is she an artist, activist or both?(Photo: Cuban artist Tania Bruguera poses in the Turbine Hall of the Tate Modern. Credit: Daniel Leal-Olivas/AFP)

4 Okt 201823min

HARDtalk’s Zeinab Badawi speaks to the world’s oldest head of government, Malaysia's Prime Minister, Mahathir Mohamad. He came back to office in May after election victory against his own former ruling coalition. The country has been mired in allegations of corruption swirling around the previous government, which have dented confidence at home and abroad. First time round, he was Prime Minister for more than 20 consecutive years until 2003. Can Mahathir Mohamad leave his own chequered past behind and lead Malaysia to a brighter future? Some people might find opinions expressed toward the end of the interview offensive.Image: Mahathir Mohamad (Credit: Reuters)

3 Okt 201823min

Is the left losing the political argument in Europe? Stephen Sackur speaks to Yanis Varoufakis, Greece’s radical leftist finance minister at the height of the economic crisis, and an advocate of a new global progressive politics. The old certainties in European politics are crumbling. Voters seem fed up with the long established supremacy of the parties of centre right and centre left. The politics of identity and raw emotion have fuelled populist insurgencies from Italy to Sweden to eastern Europe. Mostly it’s the right, not the left in the ascendant.(Photo: Yanis Varoufakis. Credit: AFP/Getty)

1 Okt 201823min

Is Prime Minister Theresa May's Brexit strategy in deep trouble? Stephen Sackur speaks to Lord Howard, former Conservative leader. Britain's Conservative party is about to hold its annual conference; it promises to be a fascination spectacle, with the party riven by deep divisions over Brexit; divisions which threaten to derail Theresa May's Brexit strategy and perhaps her premiership as well. At stake is not just the future of a venerable political party, but the future of Britain.(Photo: Lord Howard in the Hardtalk studio)

28 Sep 201823min

What is journalism for? To inform and bear witness, uncover inconvenient truths and hold power to account? Those are surely values most of us share, but have we collectively lost faith and trust in the news and those who report it? Stephen Sackur speaks to Alan Rusbridger- who edited the UK’s Guardian newspaper for 20 years in the midst of a digital revolution, which transformed the news business forever. If the established media is no longer trusted, who is to blame?(Photo: Alan Rusbridger in the Hardtalk studio)

24 Sep 201823min