The Interview

Is a military strike against the Assad regime in the offing or not? Two weeks after reports emerged of an apparent chemical weapons attack in the Damascus suburbs, the West's response is still riddled with uncertainty and confusion. Stephen Sackur speaks to the former French Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin. His country stands ready to join an attack on the Syrian regime, but with who? British parliamentarians voted against intervention, now President Obama is putting his military case before the US Congress. Is this the way to develop a coherent strategy?Picture: Dominique de Villepin, Credit: Pierre Andrieu/AFP/Getty Images

4 Sep 201323min

Allan Little talks to the acclaimed actor, writer and director Steven Berkoff. He’s spent over 50 years in the theatre and on film, rocking the establishment with his outspoken and often angry views. His work ranges from appearances in A Clockwork Orange and The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo; to adaptations of Franz Kafka’s Metamorphosis. He has also written a number of his own plays – one of which he appeared in at this year’s Edinburgh Festival Fringe. He believes the art world is letting audiences down by abandoning serious, quality drama to pursue mass audiences. So what is theatre – art or entertainment?Picture: Steven Berkoff, Credit: Stuart Wilson/Getty Images

2 Sep 201323min

The Egyptian authorities are drafting a new constitution that would ban religious-based political parties. It's prompted a furious reaction from those who support the deposed President, Mohamed Morsi. They say it will incite "chaos" within Egypt and opens the door to "the system which produced pharaohs". Hardtalk speaks to the country's former foreign minister and former head of the Arab League, Amr Moussa. He supports the new military-backed government but does he trust it to bring true democracy to Egypt?Picture: Amr Moussa, Credit: Khaled Desouki/AFP/Getty

30 Aug 201323min

Hardtalk speaks to the former Bishop of Edinburgh, Richard Holloway. He entered a seminary at the age of 14, intent on becoming a monk and rose to be the leader of the Anglican Church in Scotland. But he gradually lost faith in many of the certainties of Christianity, including the existence of God. He finally resigned from the church, accusing it of cruelly persecuting gay people. So did his own loss of faith betray those he once preached to?Picture: Richard Holloway pictured in 1999

28 Aug 201323min

Hardtalk speaks to Greece's former finance minister, George Papaconstantinou – the man who was negotiating Greece's bail out until 2011 and, with it, imposing massive cut-backs in his country. Last month, the Greek parliament voted for him to face criminal charges for allegedly tampering with a list of suspected tax evaders.The ex-finance minister denies the allegations, and speaking in his first media interview since then, he said he as a “clear conscience”.Presented by Sarah Montague.Picture: George Papaconstantinou, Credit: Louisa Couliamaki/AFP/Getty

23 Aug 201323min

A senior US intelligence official has warned that Syria has become the "predominant jihadist battlefield in the world". As many as 10,000 foreigners could now be fighting there and the US fears they could return as part of a global jihadist movement that threatens Europe and the United States. There appears to be stalemate on the ground: the United Nations says Syria is "in freefall". Hardtalk speaks to Najib Ghadbian, the UN and US representative of the opposition Syrian coalition. What should he and others do to end the crisis?Picture: Syrian refugees cross the border into Iraq, Credit: Safin Hamed/AFP/Getty Images

21 Aug 201323min

After almost three years of scraping along the bottom, the United Kingdom seems to be showing signs of an economic recovery from the deep recession that followed the financial crisis in 2008-09. Hardtalk is in the Scottish capital, Edinburgh, to talk to Britain’s former Chancellor Alistair Darling. His Labour Party was in charge when the crisis hit. Can he admit that the government’s economic plans might be working? And can he stop Scotland voting to leave the United Kingdom next year, as he takes charge of the No To Independence campaign?Picture: Alistair Darling, Credit: Oli Scarff/Getty Images

19 Aug 201323min

In what has been billed as a ‘world first', fast food grown in a laboratory was served up in London recently. Hardtalk speaks to professor Mark Post who says his `in vitro burger' could be the answer to our unsustainable appetite for meat and help ease the burden on the environment. There's clearly a need for more meat - the World Health Organisation estimates annual global production will have to double by 2050. So will meat grown from stem cells in a science lab ever make it to our dinner plates?Picture: Mark Post holds an 'in vitro' burger, Credit: Reuters/David Parry

14 Aug 201323min