Hardtalk

Philosopher Peter Singer has spent decades arguing for animal rights; his arguments have persuaded millions to give up meat. Has the movement he inspired become unstoppable?

Stephen Sackur is in Cape Town to speak to political cartoonist Jonathan Shapiro (Zapiro). Can satire work in a country still recovering from the prolonged trauma of apartheid?

Stephen Sackur speaks to Abdullah Mohtadi, the leader of the Iranian Kurdish political movement Komala. From his exile in Iraq, he’s one of many voices calling for freedom and democracy in Iran. But what do Iran’s Kurds really want - more rights or independence?

The acclaimed Ghanaian writer Ama Ata Aidoo has died aged 81. A former education minister for a brief period in Ghana, she arguably did more than any other writer to depict and celebrate the condition of women in Africa. Zeinab Badawi spoke with her in 2014. How much is there really to celebrate about being female in Africa?Image: Ama Ata Aidoo, pictured in 2017 (Credit: Pius Utomi Ekpei/AFP via Getty Images)

The African National Congress has dominated South African politics for the last 29 years, but the party of Nelson Mandela is in trouble. A power crisis is doing new damage to an economy already hit by shocking levels of poverty, inequality and corruption. If the ANC is faltering, who stands best placed to offer an alternative? Stephen Sackur speaks to the leader of the radical populist Economic Freedom Fighters, Julius Malema. What will happen to South Africa if he gets even a share of power?

Stephen Sackur speaks to American writer, academic and cultural commentator Roxane Gay. Her unflinching, extraordinary memoir Hunger deals with her experience of rape and obesity. How scary is the level of self-exposure in much of her writing?(Photo: Roxane Gay in the Hardtalk studio)

Coming up after the news from the BBC World Service, it’s HARDtalk with me Stephen Sackur. The influential British author Martin Amis has died at his home in Florida aged 73. Stephen Sackur interviewed him in 2013 after the release of his novel Lionel Asbo: State of England. He was pigeon-holed early in his career as the ‘enfant terrible’ of the British literary world and throughout his career he remained one of the most closely scrutinised novelists of his generation. His books were filled with greed, lust, addiction and ignorance, and yet he suggested he wrote in a celebratory spirit. So, what exactly was he celebrating?

Stephen Sackur speaks to John Steenhuisen, the leader of South Africa’s biggest opposition party, the Democratic Alliance. He thinks South Africans are ready to throw out the ANC thanks to their failure to fix the economy, the energy sector and corruption, but is he a credible alternative?

The ANC has ruled in South Africa since the racist apartheid system was overthrown. But right now the country is in a big mess, with a protracted energy crisis, unemployment, inequality and systemic corruption. Stephen Sackur is in Johannesburg to speak to Fikile Mbalula, secretary general of the ANC. Many South Africans feel their country is failing. With elections looming, will the ANC pay the price?

Zeinab Badawi speaks to the British artist and filmmaker Sir Isaac Julien, whose forty year career is steeped in powerful cultural and political messages. What is more important to him: Art or activism?

Stephen Sackur speaks to the actor Jane Horrocks, whose extraordinary range has seen her star in musicals, comedies and gritty dramas. In a capricious, sometimes cruel industry, she embraced writing as well as performing. Was that her pathway to empowerment?

The Humboldt Forum is one of Germany’s great cultural institutions, housing a collection of thousands of works of non-European art. Germany, like many former imperial powers, is now asking itself whether treasures grabbed by European colonisers should be returned to their countries of origin. Stephen Sackur interviews the director of the Humboldt, Hartmut Dorgerloh. Is Germany taking the lead in the restoration movement?

Stephen Sackur talks to Seychelles President Wavel Ramkalawan. His tiny nation is a tourist magnet, but there are huge challenges: climate change, a shocking rate of heroin addiction and a political culture tainted by corruption allegations. Is this a case of paradise lost?

Stephen Sackur speaks to Austria’s former foreign minister, Karin Kneissl. Her ties to Moscow are close - Vladimir Putin attended her wedding, she sat on the board of a Russian energy company, and condemns Europe's arming of Ukraine on Russian TV. What does her story say about Vienna’s close ties to Moscow and the impact of Austria’s neutrality?

It is more than 60 years since the Dalai Lama fled Tibet and set up a government-in-exile, hopeful of one day going back. Since then, China has banned any mention of the spiritual leader in his homeland, and there are reports of widespread human rights abuses. Sarah Montague speaks to the president of that self-declared government-in-exile, Penpa Tsering. Will he ever get to see his ancestral homeland, let alone govern it?

Stephen Sackur is in Berlin to talk to the influential chair of the German parliament's defence committee, Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann. Has Russia’s invasion of Ukraine really led to a fundamental strategic rethink in Berlin?

Stephen Sackur is in Berlin for a special interview with Niels Annen, Germany’s State Secretary for Economic Co-operation. For decades Germany built its economic power on Russian energy and trade with China – that has left Germany looking vulnerable. So what is the new strategy?(Photo: Niels Annen, State Secretary for Economic Co-operation)

Stephen Sackur speaks to the acclaimed Senegalese musician Baaba Maal. His records and musical collaborations have won him millions of fans worldwide, and he’s intent on helping his native Sahel region overcome its many challenges. Can this music icon make a difference?

Stephen Sackur speaks to the pioneering performance poet John Cooper Clarke. From his early days as the bard of punk to a decade lost to heroin and then the worldwide success of his poem I Wanna Be Yours and now a new tour, John Cooper Clarke has used words, rhythm and rhyme to find humour and truth in the chaos of everyday life. Where does his word magic come from?

Earlier this week, Russian political activist Vladimir Kara-Murza was sentenced to 25 years in prison in Russia for charges linked to his criticism of the war in Ukraine. He was found guilty of treason, spreading "false" information about the Russian army and being affiliated with an "undesirable organisation" – charges he denied. In 2017, HARDtalk spoke to him as he recovered in the US from what he said was a poisoning attempt in Moscow. Shortly before, he had been rushed to hospital in the Russian capital when his organs started shutting down. He said he knew immediately what was happening because the same thing had happened to him two years earlier. Both times he claimed he was the victim of deliberate poisoning, and that he was targeted because of his opposition to President Putin and the Russian government. He told the programme that despite the risks, he intended to return to Russia.