Hardtalk

When we were kids many of us dreamed of being a professional footballer, a star of the world’s most popular game with adulation and riches on tap. For a tiny few the dream comes true, but then reality bites. Professional sport is a brutal business that can chew up young lives. HARDtalk’s Stephen Sackur speaks to Tony Adams, former Arsenal and England footballer, who fought his own battles with addiction and mental illness and went on to help other top players do the same. Is elite sport honest about the vulnerability of its stars?Image: Tony Adams at the 2018 Edinburgh International Book Festival (Credit: Simone Padovani/Awakening/Getty Images)

Does the debate on trans rights pose a problem for the gay liberation movement? HARDtalk's Sarah Montague speaks to the CEO of Stonewall, Ruth Hunt. Stonewall was founded 30 years ago to campaign for gay and lesbian rights. When Ruth Hunt became its chief executive, she extended its work to include the transgender community. But many Stonewall members have been upset at the line the leadership has taken on gender recognition – that anyone can declare themselves to be male or female – and at their refusal to share a platform with anyone who disagrees.

Confident that the socialist regime in Venezuela was in its death throes, the opposition led by Juan Guaido won the backing of elements within the armed forces and appeared to be spearheading a de facto coup d’etat. They seem to have miscalculated. Nicolas Maduro faced down the putsch and continues to occupy the presidential palace. Vanessa Neumann is a member of the diplomatic team backing Juan Guaido’s claim to power. How damaging are the mistakes of the opposition?

Britain’s top diplomat, Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt, is at the end of a five-nation tour of Africa aimed at persuading the continent and the wider world that post-Brexit Britain can and will play a pivotal global role. So HARDtalk has come to Nairobi to talk to Mr Hunt at the end of his latest road trip. If and when the current Brexit chaos comes to an end, how will Britain stack up as a source of global power and influence?Image: Jeremy Hunt (Credit: Adrian Dennis/AFP/Getty Images)

Is China becoming more authoritarian under President Xi JinPing? HARDtalk’s Stephen Sackur speaks to Victor Gao, a well-connected think tank analyst in Beijing who once worked as an interpreter for Deng Xiao Ping. This year marks the 30th anniversary of the Chinese government’s suppression of the pro-democracy protests in Tiananmen Square. Since then China has undergone a remarkable economic transformation, but what’s happened to the ideological outlook and strategic vision of the country’s Communist party leaders?

HARDtalk’s Stephen Sackur speaks to Preet Bharara, former U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York. The Mueller Report is out and to noone’s surprise it hasn’t settled the bitter arguments about whether President Trump committed crimes worthy of impeachment. In fact it’s raised new questions about the resilience and integrity of the judicial process. Preet Bharara was one of America's most powerful federal prosecutors until Mr Trump fired him in 2017. He's written a book about Doing Justice - but is America consistently falling short?(Photo: Preet Bharara. Credit: Mike Segar/Reuters)

What will it take to bring peace to Afghanistan? HARDtalk’s Stephen Sackur speaks to President Ghani’s Peace Envoy Mohammad Umer Daudzai. Just days ago, hopes were high that a peace deal to end Afghanistan’s long war might be in sight. Talks involving the US, the Taliban and Afghan Government representatives were to take place in Qatar. But they didn’t happen. The Taliban objected to the delegation coming from Kabul – and a familiar cycle of recrimination and violence resumed.

Can Sudan make the transition to a democratic government? Zeinab Badawi speaks to the head of the military council running the country, General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan. Events have moved at breath-taking speed in Sudan in recent days. Omar al-Bashir is no longer president and is in prison along with his closest associates. And a new military-led council is running the country while protesters continue to call for civilian-led government. So what next for Sudan and how long does General Burhan intend on staying in power?Image: Lt Gen Abdel Fattah al-Burhan (Credit: European Photopress Agency)

Can the Democratic Republic of Congo set itself on a path of peace and reconciliation? HARDtalk’s Zeinab Badawi speaks to opposition politician and presidential election candidate Martin Fayulu. Last December's landmark elections ended 18 years of divisive rule by Joseph Kabila when Felix Tshisekedi was declared the winner. But Mr Fayulu claims he was in fact the victor and the presidency was stolen from him. Is Mr Kabila still controlling the DRC - a giant country ravaged by war, poverty and disease - behind the scenes?Image: Martin Fayulu (Credit: Kenny Katombe/Reuters)

Nobel Literature laureate and Nigerian professor Wole Soyinka is one of the giants of African and world literature, and a passionate advocate and campaigner for human rights. His country recently held a general election which saw the incumbent Muhammadu Buhari re-elected as president. As Africa’s most populous country, does he believe Nigeria can lead the continent in the 21st century?Image: Wole Soyinka (Credit: Thomas Samson/AFP/Getty Images)

Does Germany need to reboot its economic model? HARDtalk’s Stephen Sackur is in Berlin for an exclusive interview with Germany's Vice Chancellor and Finance Minister Olaf Scholz. 30 years after unification, Germany is Europe's economic powerhouse - but could it be running out of gas? Growth is down, so are exports. Critics point to an economy dangerously reliant on the technologies of the past, rather than the future. Brexit tensions and economic nationalism in the US and China could be dampening the growth prospects of big exporters like Germany.Image: Olaf Scholz (Credit: Adam Berry/European Photopress Agency)

How soon can Sudan become a democracy? HARDtalk’s Zeinab Badawi speaks to Sudanese politician Ghazi Salahuddin Atabani, a former ally of deposed president Omer El Bashir - now a member of the opposition. Events have moved at breath taking speed in Sudan in the past few days. And a new military-led council is running the country. It says it will stay in place for two years. But the African Union is demanding it hand over to a transitional civilian administration in days and the protesters say they won’t give up until that happens. The demonstrations have been led by young professionals who’ve made it clear they want to severe links with Sudan’s military and Islamist past.

Every so often a writer emerges with a voice so original, distinctive and strong that it is heard far beyond the confines of the book buying public. HARDtalk’s Stephen Sackur speaks to Edouard Louis, who produced a raw, harrowing account of his own upbringing in a working class town in the north of France five years ago. Since then, he has written two more books drawn from his own experience of class, discrimination and violence in a fractured France. It’s tempting to see him as the voice of the gilets jaunes generation – is anger the fuel that propels him?Image: Edouard Louis (Credit: Bertrand Rindoff Petroff/Getty Images)

US-Iranian journalist Jason Rezaian was working for the Washington Post in Tehran when he was arrested in July 2014. He was accused of spying for the CIA, tried and convicted on vague charges. He was held for 544 days before a deal was done to release him in 2016. Three years after his release how is he coping with the effects of his imprisonment? Jason Rezaian is now banned from Iran for life but what does he think of the Trump administration's policy toward Iran now that it has labelled Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps as a terrorist organisation? He talks to Shaun Ley.Image: Jason Rezaian (Credit: Michael S. Williamson/The Washington Post via Getty Images)

Fifty years on, what was the significance of the Apollo 11 mission to the moon? Stephen Sackur is in Florida to speak to one of the crew members of the Apollo 11 mission. This year marks the 50th anniversary of one of the most remarkable feats of exploration in the history of humankind, which landed men on the moon. While Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin were setting foot on the moon’s surface, Michael Collins was piloting the command module which got them all home.(Photo: Michael Collins. Credit: Getty Images)

Stephen Sackur speaks to former US Deputy Secretary of State William Burns, who worked as a top ranking diplomat for three decades, serving five US presidents. The United States of America is still the most powerful nation on earth but the way it’s perceived by friends and rivals has changed radically in a generation. At the end of the Cold War American supremacy was unchallenged and Washington’s commitment to multilateral global engagement was unquestioned. Are we now in a very different era? Is the US losing its capacity to lead?

Stephen Sackur talks to the Belgian MEP and member of the European Parliament's Brexit steering group, Philippe Lamberts. Will Britain get another extension to leave the EU?

Zeinab Badawi is in Hong Kong to speak to Bernard Chan who sits on the territory’s Executive Council. There have been complaints by pro-democracy activists that Beijing is increasing its control of the region and eroding its freedoms in contravention of the 1997 handover agreement between Britain and China. How much autonomy does Hong Kong really enjoy and what does the situation there tell us about the direction that China as a whole is moving?

Can literature help bridge America's racial divide? HARDtalk’s Stephen Sackur speaks to Angie Thomas, a writer whose first novel, The Hate U Give, electrified America with its unflinching portrayal of a teenage black girl confronting police violence, inner city gang culture and a society rooted in discrimination. When it comes to issues of race and racism, the gap between America’s promise of equality and the reality of entrenched inequality seems depressingly wide. Can hope win out over fear and hate?Image: Angie Thomas (Credit: Getty Images)

Special Counsel Robert Mueller found no evidence that the President colluded with the Russians during the 2016 presidential election. Even though Mueller left open the question of obstruction of justice the President is claiming exoneration. George Papadopoulos was the first Trump campaign member to be convicted as a result of the Mueller probe. Are we any closer to the truth?(Photo: George Papadopoulos. Credit: Alex Wong/Getty Images)