Alle afleveringen van The Interview – pagina 39 van 40

20/07/2012 GMT

19 juli 2012 · 23 min

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Baaba Maal is maintaining a West African tradition: he is an internationally renowned musician with a strong political voice, like Fela Kuti and Youssou N'Dour before him. Lees meer

His campaigning touches on sensitive subjects, from women's rights to HIV and climate change.

Africa is currently a jarring mix of rapid economic growth and life-threatening poverty. As the continent changes, is the music changing too?

(Image: Baaba Maal performing. Credit: Getty Images)

James Robinson - Professor of Government, Harvard University

18 juli 2012 · 23 min

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Stephen Sackur speaks to the renowned Harvard academic James Robinson. In a recent book, written together with Daron Acemoglu, he tries to answer one of the most basic questions of global economics and politics: why do some nations thrive while others fail? What does Norway have that Mali lacks? Lees meer

There are of course multiple answers based on physical geography, resources and cultural differences, but James Robinson is adamant one factor determines economic success much more than all others: the development of resilient, inclusive political institutions.

Put crudely, the idea is political freedom begets prosperity - but is that always true?

(Image: James Robinson)

Dame Jocelyn Bell Burnell - Astrophysicist

16 juli 2012 · 23 min

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Stephen Sackur speaks to a scientist of rare distinction. Jocelyn Bell Burnell was a key member of the team which discovered pulsars and neutron stars in the late 1960s. Lees meer

She became one of the world’s most renowned astrophysicists - remarkable for the originality of her research, but also for being one of the few prominent women in her discipline.

Throughout her career she's blazed a trail for women in a predominantly male world. Why are there so few women at science's top table?

Image: Jocelyn Bell Burnell

Paul Kagame - President of Rwanda

13 juli 2012 · 23 min

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Is Rwanda's president Paul Kagame in serious danger of losing the international community's goodwill? Lees meer

He has been accused of autocratic behaviour and of being unrealistic about the prospects for an economic transformation of Rwanda, a country still haunted by the ghosts of genocide.

Perhaps most damagingly, a recent UN report claimed that the Rwandan government is breaking UN sanctions by backing rebels in the neighbouring Democratic Republic of Congo.

Zeinab Badawi talks to President Paul Kagame: can he reclaim his reputation as a bold and visionary leader or is he destined to go down as another African strongman who failed to live up to expectations?

(Image: Rwandan President Paul Kagame in 2010. Credit: AP Photo / Adam Scotti)

Karel De Gucht - European Commissioner for Trade

11 juli 2012 · 23 min

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Stephen Sackur talks to a member of the Brussels political elite, the EU Trade Commissioner Karel de Gucht. Lees meer

His job is to promote Europe's trade agenda around the world - but who is listening when the EU itself is staring over an economic abyss?

Europe's politicians resemble the cast of a third rate disaster movie... trapped in a Eurozone crisis from which there is no obvious means of escape.

Can the continent's leaders stay calm or will rising panic consume them?

(Image: Karel de Gucht giving a press conference in February 2012 Credit: AFP / Getty Images)

Femi Kuti - Musician and Activist

9 juli 2012 · 23 min

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Zeinab Badawi talks to the musician and political activist Femi Kuti, son of the late, legendary afrobeat pioneer Fela Kuti. Lees meer

As Africa's most populous nation and one of its biggest oil producers, Nigeria is a giant on the African stage. But in terms of prosperity it has never fulfilled the expectations of its people.

Femi Kuti is a constant thorn in the side of the Nigerian authorities and uses his songs to criticise government and speak up on behalf of the poor and dispossessed.

But with fantastic rates of growth in Nigeria and elsewhere in Africa, is Femi Kuti being overly pessimistic about Nigeria's prospects?

(Image: Femi Kuti performs on the stage in 2008. Credit: Stephane de Sakutin / AFP / Getty Images)

Ghazi Hamad – Hamas Deputy Foreign Minister

6 juli 2012 · 23 min

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The election of a Muslim Brotherhood candidate Mohammed Morsi as president of Egypt will have an impact not only on Egypt but also elsewhere in the Middle East. Lees meer

Nowhere more so perhaps than in Gaza.

There, Hamas, which is the Palestinian branch of the Muslim Brotherhood, has ruled for five years.

Zeinab Badawi speaks to Ghazi Hamad, deputy foreign minister for Hamas in Gaza.

At loggerheads with the Palestinian Authority on the West Bank and viewed by Israel as a terrorist organisation, will the new dynamics of power in Egypt better serve the cause of peace and reconciliation in the Middle East or merely exacerbate the tensions?

Professor Niall Ferguson - Historian

4 juli 2012 · 23 min

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The British Government has promised action to deal with the scandal at Barclays. Lees meer

The bank has been fined for trying to fix the interest rate at which banks lend to each other - London Interbank Offered Rate - or Libor.

Yet again it's the lack of regulation that is being blamed for a financial problem.

Sarah Montague talks to Professor Niall Ferguson who argues that the world is responding in the wrong way to the global financial crisis.

He thinks the economic chaos which began in 2007 was caused by too much regulation, not too little.

(Image: Professor Niall Ferguson)

Lynton Crosby - Political Strategist

2 juli 2012 · 23 min

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Electoral politics is a blood sport and some of the toughest fighters in the game are the campaign strategists who hone and sell their candidates' message. Lees meer

Lynton Crosby is widely regarded as a master in the dark arts of political campaigning. He ran winning election campaigns in his native Australia for former prime minister John Howard. In the UK, he twice helped Boris Johnson win the London Mayor's office.

Opponents on the left have accused him of using grubby, divisive methods to further a conservative agenda. Is bare-knuckle politics good for democracy?

(Image: Lynton Crosby)

Helle Thorning-Schmidt - Denmark's Prime Minister

29 juni 2012 · 23 min

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Stephen Sackur is in the capital of Denmark, Copenhagen, which for the past six tumultuous months has held the presidency of the European Union. Lees meer

In that time, the number of Eurozone countries seeking an emergency financial bailout has risen to five. On the eve of yet another crisis summit, EU leaders face decisions that could make, or break the common currency.

Stephen Sackur talks to Helle Thorning-Schmidt, Denmark's prime minister. Is the dream of a common European future from Scandinavia to the Aegean well and truly over?

(Image: Danish Prime Minister Helle Thorning-Schmidt giving a press conference. Credit: Georges Gobet / AFP / Getty Images)

Gehad El-Haddad - Senior Political Advisor, Freedom and Justice Party

27 juni 2012 · 23 min

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Stephen Sackur talks to Gehad El-Haddad, an adviser to the Muslim Brotherhood's Freedom and Justice Party. Lees meer

Mohamed Morsi has made history by becoming Egypt's first freely-elected president, but how much power has he won?

The image of tens of thousands of Muslim Brotherhood supporters savouring victory in Tahrir Square can't disguise the fact that Egypt is still governed by a military clique.

With Parliament dissolved, no new constitution written and the generals ringfencing their powers, has Egypt's revolution run out of road?

(Image: Gehad El-Haddad)

Dr. Steve Peters - Psychiatrist working in elite sport

25 juni 2012 · 23 min

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With the London Olympics just weeks away, athletes are completing their final preparations - and that means fine tuning the mind as well as the body. Lees meer

In elite sport the title 'head coach' increasingly refers to the specialist hired to get inside the athlete's head to instil a winning mentality.

Stephen Sackur talks to the psychiatrist Dr Steve Peters - a consultant to the British Olympic cycling team and a highly prized adviser to a host of other famous sporting names. Is winning really all in the mind?

(Image: Steve Peters speaks to the British cyclist Victoria Pendleton during the UCI Track Cycling World Cup Classic in February, 2011. Credit: Getty Images)

Beeban Kidron - Film Director

22 juni 2012 · 23 min

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The 2012 Cannes Film Festival was criticised when all 22 films in the competition were directed by men. Lees meer

But Hollywood is not much better - a recent study found that less than 10 per cent of its directors were women.

So why are there so few women film-makers? Sarah Montague puts that question to Beeban Kidron, one of the few women to have made the big time.

She is perhaps best-known for directing the second Bridget Jones movie, The Edge of Reason.

But most of her other films concern far more radical material: a documentary about the anti-nuclear women protesters at Greenham Common, a TV adaptation of the lesbian novel Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit.

Her latest documentary is about India's sacred prostitutes. Is it women and the choices they make that interests her most?

(Image: Beeban Kidron in 2005. Credit: Ian West / PA Wire)

Chuka Umunna - UK Shadow Business Secretary

20 juni 2012 · 23 min

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The Greek election in June 2012 has saved Europe from economic and financial meltdown - for now. Lees meer

No-one in Europe believes the combined currency, banking and sovereign debt trauma is over. And right across the continent, politicians are struggling to answer a simple question: how does Europe find a way back to sustainable economic growth?

Stephen Sackur talks to Labour's business spokesman Chuka Umunna. He says active government can revive and reshape capitalism. Are business leaders or the public ready to believe him?

(Image: Shadow Business Secretary Chuka Umunna (left) with Labour Party leader Ed Miliband. Credit: Chris Radburn / PA Wire)

Meir Dagan - Director of Mossad (2002-2010)

18 juni 2012 · 23 min

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Israel's secret service, the Mossad, is regarded as one of the most resourceful and ruthless intelligence agencies in the world. Lees meer

But are Israel's top spies on the same page as the country's politicians when it comes to an assessment of the threat posed by Iran?

The question was prompted by Meir Dagan, director of Mossad until a year and a half ago. Just months after retiring he said an Israeli strike on Iran's nuclear facilities would be stupid.

Why did he go so public so quickly, and is there a dangerous gulf between Israel's political leadership and security chiefs?

(Image: Meir Dagan - left - shakes hands with former Prime Minister Ariel Sharon while receiving his letter of appointment in October 30, 2002. Credit: Getty Images)

Wayne McGregor - Choreographer

15 juni 2012 · 23 min

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Wayne McGregor is known for pushing boundaries in an art form usually associated with traditional entertainment. Lees meer

Once known as the bad boy of ballet, he has been the resident choreographer in one of the dance world’s pillar of establishment, the Royal Ballet in London’s Covent Garden, for six years.

He continues to challenge his audiences and his dancers to the limit, constantly concocting new ways of marrying ballet with the world of science, new technology, pop music, art and architecture.

HARDtalk’s Katya Adler asks if this is why he remains the maverick inside the ballet establishment.

Ali Asghar Soltanieh - Iran's ambassador, International Atomic Energy Agency

13 juni 2012 · 23 min

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Katya Adler talks to Dr Ali Asghar Soltanieh, Iran's ambassador to the UN's nuclear watchdog, the IAEA. Lees meer

Iran's nuclear power programme has been a source of international tension for the past decade. At no point has it been able to shrug off the suspicion that its pursuit of nuclear energy is also an effort to make nuclear weapons.

Iran insists it has no such ambitions but many of the world's major powers remain unconvinced and Israel is warning it will attack.

The international community is seeking assurances from Iran at a fresh round of talks in Moscow later this month.

Katya Adler asks Dr Ali Asghar Soltanieh what guarantees Iran will give that its nuclear ambitions are entirely peaceful.

(Image: Iranian Ambassador to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Ali Asghar Soltanieh. Credit: AFP / Getty Images)

Paul McKeever - Chairman of the Police Federation of England and Wales

11 juni 2012 · 23 min

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HARDtalk's Katya Adler speaks to the chairman of the Police Federation in England and Wales, Paul McKeever. Lees meer

The police in Britain, used to being revered, respected and admired at home and abroad, find themselves under a heavy black cloud.

With allegations of bribery and corruption denting the public's trust, the force now also faces dramatic cuts to its budget and changes to its structure.

Paul McKeever, himself a long-serving officer, says proposed government reforms could lead to the destruction of the police as we know it. But with the force untouched by change for decades, is now not an ideal opportunity to shape up for the challenges of the 21st century?

(Image: Paul McKeever in 2011 Credit: Getty Images)

Francoise Barre-Sinoussi - President Elect, International Aids Society

8 juni 2012 · 23 min

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Could we soon see a cure for HIV/Aids? Francoise Barre-Sinoussi thinks so. She's the Nobel Prize-winner who helped first identify the virus 30 years ago. Lees meer

She argues that the need to pour money into fighting one of the world's most deadly diseases is as great as ever. Already nearly 30 million have died from it.

But with budgets being cut, can we afford more expensive research?

(Image: Francoise Barre-Sinoussi Credit: Getty Images)

Tracey Emin - Artist

6 juni 2012 · 23 min

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Stephen Sackur talks to the newsmakers and personalities from across the globe. Lees meer

Hardtalk is in Margate, a traditional English seaside town, home to the new Turner Contemporary art gallery.

Stephen Sackur speaks to Tracey Emin, the artist of international renown who was raised in Margate and has a major exhibition based in her old home town.

Her work has always been deeply personal - a frank exploration of her sexuality, her relationships, her life.

She has made an extraordinary journey from wild youth to pillar of the cultural establishment - just how blurred is the line between her art and her life?

(Image: Tracey Emin unveils her new exhibition at the Turner Contemporary in Margate. Credit: Getty Images)

Sir Tim Rice - Lyricist, writer and composer

4 juni 2012 · 23 min

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Even if you have not seen his shows, you will have heard his songs. Lees meer

For works such as Evita, Jesus Christ Superstar and The Lion King, Sir Tim Rice is regarded as one of the greatest lyricists of his generation.

After a break from songwriting which lasted ten years, he is completing a new work, so what tempted him back?

Why are there so few truly original musicals nowadays and why has he made it clear that he is very unlikely to work with his one time collaborator Andrew Lloyd Webber ever again?

(Image: Lyricist, writer and composer Sir Tim Rice's star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, California. Credit: Photo by Vince Bucci/Getty Images)

Paul Krugman - Nobel Prize Winner for Economics, 2008

1 juni 2012 · 23 min

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We are in a depression - unemployment at levels last seen during the thirties, an economic crisis in the Eurozone and the prospect of worse to come. Lees meer

But the Nobel Prize Winning economist Paul Krugman, thinks none of this needs to be happening and that America and Europe should be richer than they were five years ago - even now it wouldn't take much to solve the problem.

He thinks what debt-ridden governments should be doing is borrowing more to spend their way out of trouble.

(Image: Nobel Prize winning economist Paul Krugman. Credit: Reuters)

Yiannis Milios – Economic Advisor of the Syriza Party, Greece

30 mei 2012 · 23 min

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The people of Greece shocked the rest of Europe with the results of their parliamentary elections on 6 May 2012. No party had a clear majority and the Syriza coalition of the radical left was put in second place. Lees meer

Syriza opposes the bailout package or 'memorandum' which gives Greece billions of euros in exchange for a very tough austerity package of cuts and tax increases.

Gavin Esler speaks to Syriza's top economic adviser Yiannis Milios and asks what will happen if the party wins the re-run election on 17 June 2012. Do they really believe they can stay in the Eurozone while tearing up the rules?

(Image: A woman voting in the Greek elections of 6 May. Credit: AFP / Angelos Tzortzinis)

Bruce Dickinson - Singer, Iron Maiden

28 mei 2012 · 23 min

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Iron Maiden is one of the most successful heavy metal bands ever. Lees meer

They have sold more than 80 million albums and are renowned for their live shows - tickets for which they say sell faster now than at any point in their 30 years as a band.

Sarah Montague speaks to the band's lead singer, Bruce Dickinson, the only member of the band who has lopped off the long, 'hard rocking' hair.

And that is because of his dual life.

For when he is not on stage performing in front of thousands he can often be found in a cockpit.

He is a commercial pilot who has now set up his own aviation business.

So how can you mix the hard rock lifestyle of a metal-head with the clean living required of a pilot and entrepreneur?

Robin Gibb - The Bee Gees

25 mei 2012 · 23 min

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Robin Gibb was a musician who did much to define the pop music of the 70s and 80s. Lees meer

With his brothers Maurice and Barry he formed the Bee Gees.

They wrote the soundtrack for the disco era, perhaps captured best in their music for the movie Saturday Night Fever.

In December 2010, Robin Gibb joined Stephen Sackur in the Hardtalk studio to talk about his music, his family and the pressures of a pop business which drove him into a private hell of drink, drugs and depression.

In more recent years, Robin Gibb found a new sense of purpose, both in his music and in his work for a host of charities.

To the end he remained committed to song-writing and was an advocate for talent in an industry increasingly dominated by marketing rather than the music itself.

So today, a look back at Hardtalk with the late Robin Gibb.

Grigory Yavlinsky - Co-Founder Yabloko Party, Russia

23 mei 2012 · 23 min

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So much for all the talk of a Moscow Spring. Lees meer

Despite sporadic street protests and the stirrings of middle-class rebellion, Vladimir Putin is back in the Kremlin and Russia's economic and political status quo remains intact.

Why do liberal opponents of Putin struggle to gain traction?

Stephen Sackur speaks to Grigory Yavlinsky, economist, reformer and a veteran leader of Russia's fragmented opposition.

Will the liberals ever win in Russia?

GUY SCOTT – Vice President of Zambia

22 mei 2012 · 23 min

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At last Sub Saharan Africa has a positive economic story to tell, but is it being matched by improved governance? Lees meer

Are Africa's leaders making the best use of the current surge in economic growth to tackle endemic poverty?

HARDtalk’s Stephen Sackur speaks to Guy Scott, recently appointed vice-president of Zambia. He is a trained scientist, an ex-farmer, and he happens to be the most senior white official in post-colonial Africa.

It is tempting to see him as a symbol of a continent no longer trapped in its past, but is it true?

Louis Saha - French footballer

21 mei 2012 · 23 min

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Football is a global obsession - the star players of the sport, the likes of Messi, Rooney and Ronaldo reap vast rewards and worldwide adulation. Lees meer

But there's a sense of something rotten in the people's game.

A sport worth billions of dollars has fallen prey to match fixing, cheating and bouts of shameful behaviour.

Stephen Sackur speaks to Louis Saha, a French international striker, currently with Spurs in the English Premier League.

His is the view from inside the football factory - has the joy been taken out of the beautiful game?

Michalis Sarris – Chairman, Cyprus Popular Bank

18 mei 2012 · 23 min

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Greece appears to be inching closer to the Eurozone exit door. Lees meer

If the Greeks leave how far could the contagion spread?

One country which could very soon find itself in the eye of a financial storm is Cyprus - where the banks are paying a heavy price for their investments in Greece.

Stephen Sackur speaks to Michalis Sarris, chairman of the Cyprus Popular Bank and former minister of finance.

A mountain of banking debt, a weak government, an angry public - could Cyprus be the next domino to fall in this Eurozone crisis?

Sir William Patey – British Ambassador to Kabul, 2010-2012 (Retired)

16 mei 2012 · 23 min

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Has western military intervention in Afghanistan failed? Lees meer

The question will hang over this weekend's Nato summit in Chicago as the alliance's political leaders set the seal on a phased military retreat while pledging long-term support for the Afghan Government.

Stephen Sackur speaks to Sir William Patey who has just retired from his post as British ambassador in Kabul.

Did the West get the balance between war and diplomacy fundamentally wrong in Afghanistan?

Nasser Judeh - Jordan's Foreign Minister

14 mei 2012 · 23 min

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Jordan has survived the Arab Spring relatively unscathed, at least so far. Lees meer

Perhaps it is because the king has promised reform.

But he is now on his fourth prime minister since the start of 2011 and the changes proposed so far won't do enough to satisfy his critics.

They say King Abdullah is just buying time and is not serious about reform.

And this in a country seen as critical to peace in the region not least because of its troubled neighbours, Syria and Israel.

So how much time does Jordan have to sort itself out?

Nasser Judeh, foreign minister of Jordan, talks to Sarah Montague.

NORMAN FINKELSTEIN – Political scientist

11 mei 2012 · 23 min

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American Presidents have long been criticised for being too in thrall to the Jewish lobby, and that American Jews influence US foreign policy, which explains America's unwavering support for Israel. Lees meer

So what happens if American Jews fall out of love with Israel? That's what the Jewish American academic Norman Finkelstein claims is happening. He suggests that American Jews are now unhappy with what Israel is doing and they want to distance themselves from the country.

Finkelstein is nothing if not controversial. He, after all, is famous for accusing Jews of exploiting the Holocaust. His actions have resulted in him being banned from entering Israel.

Could he be right and, if he is, what does that mean for America's Middle East policy?

09/05/2012 GMT

9 mei 2012 · 24 min

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The west faces a lost decade of economic stagnation. Unemployment is high, inequality is rising and governments are broke. Should we be blaming capitalism or looking to the market for solutions? Lees meer

HARDtalk’s Stephen Sackur speaks to Sir Ronald Cohen, one of Britain's most innovative business leaders. He is a pioneer of venture capitalism who is now committed to the idea of social investment, or capitalism with a conscience. Can the private sector combine a commitment to profit and the public good?

NHIAL DENG NHIAL – Foreign Minister, South Sudan

2 mei 2012 · 23 min

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Africa's newest nation, South Sudan, is in trouble. Lees meer

Less than a year after independence from Khartoum, the South and its much larger northern neighbour are confronting each other over oil reserves, borders and territory.

Sporadic fighting has prompted mutual recrimination and talk of all-out war.

HARDtalk’s Stephen Sackur speaks to South Sudan's foreign minister Nhial Deng Nhial. The African Union and the UN are pushing hard for a negotiated settlement, but is it already too late?

Sir JOHN SULSTON – Nobel Prize-winning scientist

30 april 2012 · 23 min

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Science is constantly changing and deepening our understanding of ourselves and our planet. So is it time to give scientists a more prominent role in the debate about humanity's strategic choices; economic, political and environmental? Lees meer

HARDtalk’s Stephen Sackur speaks to Sir John Sulston, a Nobel Prize-winning molecular biologist who has led a Royal Society study into the global impact of population growth two decades on from the Rio Earth Summit.

Can science help the human species change its ways?

OLEG DERIPASKA – Chief Executive, RUSAL

25 april 2012 · 23 min

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In post Soviet Russia, a small band of businessmen became unimaginably rich. These so-called oligarchs command assets worth billions of dollars, but their position isn’t without its perils in the era of Putin. Disloyalty to the Kremlin can have grave consequences. HARDtalk’s Stephen Sackur speaks to Oleg Deripaska, a billionaire many times over, the architect of a vast business empire that currently faces significant economic and legal challenges. Is the politics of Russia proving to be bad for business? Lees meer

ZOE WANAMAKER – Actor

23 april 2012 · 23 min

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HARDtalk’s Stephen Sackur is at the Globe Theatre in London - a magical recreation of the theatre where William Shakespeare honed his theatrical genius in the late sixteenth century. Lees meer

Over the next six weeks every one of Shakespeare’s 37 plays is going to be performed, in 37 different languages by theatre companies from all over the world.

He speaks to actor Zoë Wanamaker, honorary president of the Globe which was built thanks to the tireless efforts of her father, the American actor and director, Sam Wanamaker, about Shakespeare, the stage and her family's artistic obsession.

PETER KEEN - Director of Performance, UK Sport

20 april 2012 · 23 min

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The official Olympic creed says it’s not the winning that counts but the taking part. Try telling that to the elite professional athletes and their coaches who have dedicated their lives to the quest for a gold medal. Lees meer

With the London games now fewer than 100 days away HARDtalk’s Stephen Sackur speaks to Peter Keen, Performance Director for UK Sport. In Beijing four years ago, his strategies helped deliver a record medal haul for team GB - in London the aim is to do even better.

But has the cult of winning gone too far?

FW de Klerk

18 april 2012 · 23 min

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In a programme first broadcast in 2012, Stephen Sackur speaks to FW de Klerk, South Africa's last apartheid-era leader and a co-recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize with Nelson Mandela. Lees meer

Photo: Former South African President FW de Klerk in Cape Town, South Africa, 2020 (Credit: Reuters)

Paul Conroy - Photographer

16 april 2012 · 23 min

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From Syria, to Sri Lanka, to Russia, there are journalists ready to put themselves in harm's way to shine a light on some of the darkest corners of conflict, crime and corruption. Lees meer

What makes them do it? And what difference do they make?

Stephen Sackur speaks to British photo journalist Paul Conroy who was wounded in the Syrian army's bombardment of the city of Homs last February which killed his Sunday Times colleague Marie Colvin.

When, if ever, is telling the story worth risking your life?

Ali Dizaei - London Metropolitan Police Superintendent

11 april 2012 · 23 min

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Stephen Sackur speaks to perhaps the UK's most controversial police officer, a commander in London's Metropolitan Police and a convicted criminal. Lees meer

Ali Dizaei was born in Iran, studied law in London and became a high-flying spokesman for ethnic minority police officers in a London force dogged by accusations of racism.

Ali Dizaei portrays himself as a victim; the courts decided he was a rogue cop.

What does his rise and fall say about British policing?

Michael Frayn - Writer

9 april 2012 · 23 min

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Stephen Sackur speaks to one of Britain's finest writing talents, whose creativity defies a simple label. Lees meer

Yes, Michael Frayn is a renowned playwright whose work has ranged from high farce to cerebral intensity.

But he's also an acclaimed novelist and an accomplished translator from the Russian of Chekhov and Tolstoy.

Throughout his writing career he's mixed high seriousness with a wicked sense of the absurd.

Is laughter an essential tool for the serious writer?

Hamid Al-Bayati - Iraqi Ambassador to the UN

6 april 2012 · 23 min

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Should Iraq be doing more to end the bloodshed on its doorstep or does it have its own vested interest in keeping Syria's president Assad in power? Lees meer

While president Nouri Al-Maliki faces criticism for his stance on Syria and his closeness to Iran, the country remains gripped by a rise in sectarian violence.

Hamid Al-Bayati represents Iraq at the United Nations.

Tim Franks asks him just how much influence Iran has on Iraq's foreign policy.

Juergen Stark - Former member, Executive Board of the European Central Bank

3 april 2012 · 23 min

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Lake Como in northern Italy is the venue for an economic conference hosted by the Ambrosetti Forum. Lees meer

The economic policy-makers gathered here are fervently hoping that the worst of Europe's sovereign debt crisis is over - but is it?

Stephen Sackur speaks to Juergen Stark who was - until his shock resignation in 2011 - a key figure on the board of the European Central Bank.

He quit because he disagreed with the ECB's crisis management.

Much has changed in the last few months, but has the eurozone really been saved?

Sir Alan Ayckbourn - British Playwright

2 april 2012 · 23 min

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Alan Ayckbourn is often described as the most performed playwright alive in the world. Lees meer

A revival of his play Absent Friends has opened in London's West End.

And a new play - his 76th - premieres this summer.

After more than 50 years of writing and directing, what is it about Alan Ayckbourn and his portrayal of relationships in the English suburbs that can still fill theatres around the world?

Nabeel Rajab - President of the Bahrain Centre for Human Rights

30 maart 2012 · 23 min

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A year ago revolution was in the air in the Gulf Kingdom of Bahrain - what about now? Lees meer

After months of violence which killed dozens of protestors, the Bahraini king commissioned an independent inquiry - then he promised to implement sweeping reforms.

Stephen Sackur speaks to Nabeel Rajab - one of Bahrain's most outspoken human rights activists.

Has this strategically vital Gulf monarchy successfully reformed itself from within?

Len McCluskey - Leader of Unite, Britain's biggest union

28 maart 2012 · 23 min

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Britain has already seen the first skirmishes in what could be a protracted battle between the Cameron government and organised labour. Lees meer

In the short term, schools and fuel suuplies could be hit by strikes; looking further ahead, there's talk of union protests targeting the London Olympics.

Stephen Sackur speaks to Len McCluskey, leader of Unite, Britain's biggest union.

He talks of defending workers' rights within the law, and outside it, if necessary. How far is he prepared to go?

Frank Chikane - South African Head of Presidency, 1999 - 2009

26 maart 2012 · 23 min

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Frank Chikane served in the South African presidential office from the time of Nelson Mandela to Jacob Zuma - so he was privy to what went on behind the scenes. Lees meer

Now he has written a book in which he describes for the first time his account of Thabo Mbeki's removal as South Africa's president.

He says it was a painful and humiliating episode for Mr Mbeki and it exposed the deep rivalry at the heart of the ruling African National Congress which continues to divide it today.

Zeinab Badawi asks if the ANC become so riven with factionalism and corruption that it can no longer govern effectively.

Sir Mark Walport - Director, Wellcome Trust

23 maart 2012 · 23 min

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In a special edition of Hardtalk, recorded in front of an audience in the village of Portmeirion in North Wales, Stephen Sackur talks to Sir Mark Walport the Director of the Wellcome Trust. Lees meer

One of the world's most important funding institutions for biomedical research, it distributes close to a billion dollars' worth of grants every year.

Much of it goes to cutting edge genetic research which promises to transform human healthcare, but also raises profound ethical questions.

Our scientific knowledge is expanding but what about the wisdom with which we use it?

Aimee Mullins – Athlete, actor and model

21 maart 2012 · 23 min

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Hardtalk is in New York City with a guest who is a woman who has spent her life challenging assumptions that go with the label 'physically disabled'. Lees meer

Aimee Mullins had both of her legs amputated below the knee when she was just a year old.

She went on to become a champion athlete, an actor and highly paid model.

She has been feted as an inspiration across America.

Stephen Sackur asks, What is the real lesson of the remarkable story of Aimee Mullins?

(Image: Aimee Mullins. Credit: Reuters)