The Interview

Sarah Montague speaks to Ben Rhodes who was Deputy National Security Adviser for President Barack Obama. During his time at the White House he developed such a close bond with the President that he earned a reputation for being able to anticipate his thinking and administration insiders described him as the single most influential voice shaping American foreign policy aside from Obama himself. So how does he feel about the new occupant of the White House and what he has done with their legacy?(Photo: Ben Rhodes speaks about the President Obama's upcoming trip to Cuba during a daily press briefing at the White House, 2016. Credit: Brendan Smialowski/AFP)

4 Juli 201823min

The internet is perhaps the defining technological advance of the last fifty years. It has opened up a new world of possibilities, but what if it also represents an existential threat to humanity? That is the alarming possibility raised by computer scientist Jaron Lanier. He is no tech-phobic sensationalist; he is a Silicon Valley insider who was a hugely influential pioneer in Virtual Reality and a consultant to some of the biggest tech giants. In what ways are we sowing the seeds of our own destruction?(Photo: Jaron Lanier in the Hardtalk studio)

2 Juli 201823min

Since the beginning of 2018, the Iranian Government has locked up a number of environmental scientists and campaigners. One respected conservationist was found hanged in his cell in what the authorities said was a suicide. What is going on? HARDtalk’s Stephen Sackur speaks to Kaveh Madani, a scientist invited back to Iran from an academic post in London to be deputy head of the Environment Department. He got caught up in the crackdown and fled Iran in April. Why has environmental activism become so dangerous in Iran?(Photo: Kaveh Madani)

27 Juni 201823min

When historians write their versions of Donald Trump’s extraordinary ascent to the Presidency, prominence will surely be given to the former Director of the FBI James Comey. He was a Republican hired by a Democratic President, whose handling of two key investigations; into Hillary Clinton’s emails and allegations of Russian interference in the 2016 election, polarised America. His recent memoir was a withering condemnation of the man who fired him, President Trump. But has James Comey sullied his own reputation by stepping into America’s political swamp?(Photo: FBI Director James Comey testifies before the House Intelligence Committee hearing into alleged Russian meddling in the 2016 US election. Credit: Joshua Roberts/Reuters)

25 Juni 201823min

One issue more than any other that is polarising European politics and dividing the European Union is migration. In Germany, it threatens Angela Merkel’s grip on power, whilst from Italy to Austria and Hungary and Poland, it is driving policies which threaten to smash any continental consensus. Stephen Sackur speaks to Karin Kneissl - the foreign minister in Austria's right wing, nationalist coalition government. Are Europeans finding their authentic voice or is a dangerous brand of populism poisoning politics?(Photo: Austria's Foreign Minister Karin Kneissl arrives for a cabinet meeting in Vienna, Austria, 2018. Credit: Heinz-Peter Bader/Reuters)

22 Juni 201823min

Can Kazakhstan move beyond one party rule? Stephen Sackur talks to the chairman of the Kazakh Senate, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev. The country's shiny new capital city, Astana, tells you plenty about the country’s oil wealth and its big ambition to be Central Asia’s regional powerhouse. But all of this cannot mask a nagging question - what happens in this country when the long serving President Nursultan Nazarbayev finally leaves power?(Photo: Kassym-Jomart Tokayev (L), chairman of the Senate of Kazakhstan's Parliament. Credit: Alexander Shalgin\TASS\Getty Images)

20 Juni 201823min

Mary Lou McDonald is the leader of Sinn Féin - the party of Irish Republicans in the Irish Republic and in Northern Ireland. Ireland is going through a period of extraordinary change. Social attitudes have shifted profoundly on abortion, gay rights and the role of the Catholic Church. Now Brexit poses a challenge to the island, north and south. Can Sinn Féin take advantage?(Photo: Sinn Fein president Mary Lou McDonald after delivering a keynote speech for the first time during the annual party conference. Credit: Charles McQuillan/Getty Images)

18 Juni 201823min

The new Ethiopian government is making dramatic reforms in the country: the state of emergency had been lifted, the military and intelligence chiefs have been replaced and opposition politicians have been released en masse from prison. One of those released is Andargachew Tsege a prominent opposition leader from the organisation Patriotic Ginbot 7. He had been on death row in an Ethiopian jail for four years. Will his group renounce violence and will he go back to Ethiopia to help build the country's future?(Photo: Andargachew Tsege)

15 Juni 201823min