Hardtalk

As the world continues to follow the plight of the Rohingya Muslims in Myanamar, condemnation has been heaped on the Burmese authorities for not doing more to protect them from attacks from Buddhist militants. Hardtalk’s Zeinab Badawi speaks to the acclaimed Swiss film director Barbet Schroeder. His latest documentary is about an influential Buddhist monk in Myanmar who uses strong anti-Muslim rhetoric in his speeches and writings. Barbet Schroeder has made the subject of evil the focus of many of his documentaries and films. He has worked in Hollywood and Europe and has been directing films for nearly 50 years. What has he learned about the nature of evil?(Photo: Director Barbet Schroeder attends Le Venerable W photocall at Cannes Film Festival. Credit: Matthias Nareyek/Getty Images)

Is there still public appetite for Dan Brown’s high fibre blockbuster novels? He’s one of the biggest selling authors of all time. His 2003 novel The Da Vinci Code challenged the story of Christianity and sparked outrage in the Vatican. Now he’s back with another epic tale, this time about man’s quest to understand the beginnings of life on earth. Stephen Sackur speaks to Dan Brown about his new book - Origin.(Photo: American author Dan Brown during a press conference at the 2017 Frankfurt Book Fair. Credit: Hannelore Foerster/Getty Images)

Oscar winning actor, activist and fitness guru Jane Fonda is a special guest on Hardtalk as it celebrates 20 years of being on air. In a career spanning six decades she has never shied away from speaking her mind. This is a trait that has not always been welcome in the movie business, where sexism and abusive behaviour are currently in the spotlight as never before. How dark is the reality behind Hollywood's glitz?(Photo: Actor Jane Fonda attends the 69th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards at Microsoft Theater, California. Credit: Frazer Harrison/Getty Images)

Seventy years ago, the leader Mustafa Barzani made a declaration of Kurdish independence which was ignored. Last month, his son -Masoud, won a referendum in Iraq intended to achieve it. However, Baghdad says it will impose its rule instead. If the Kurds are to succeed, Masrour, grandson of one Barzani, son of the other, will need all the clout he's acquired waging war on the group that calls itself Islamic State. He believes that has earned Kurds the right to a state of their own. But with Iraq, Iran, Turkey, Syria and much of the world against them, could this referendum end up delivering the Kurds even less than the autonomy that they enjoy now?

We're all familiar with rock music's living legends, but perhaps more intriguing are rock and roll’s cult heros - the artists who've inspired other artists without getting massive rewards. Wilko Johnson fits that bill. His raw guitar sound in the band Dr Feelgood paved the way for punk, and he kept on rocking through cancer, depression and changing musical tastes. In 2017, he spoke to Stephen Sackur about what kept him going.(Photo: Wilko Johnson in the Hardtalk studio)

What difference will the Alternative for Germany party make to the country? Nearly six million people voted for AfD in last week's election, making it the third biggest party in the Bundestag. But within days of its stunning electoral success, its co-leader declared she was out. She said that the party was too anarchic, too focused on Russia, discrediting its moderate members and would be ineffective in opposition. Sarah Montague talks to the AfD's deputy leader, Beatrix Von Storch.

Can President Macron fix awkward realities in France and elsewhere in Europe? Stephen Sackur speaks to France’s Minister for European Affairs, Nathalie Loiseau, about the young president's vision for a reformed France, leading Europe on a march to deeper integration and greater global influence.(Photo: Foreign Affairs Minister Nathalie Loiseau leaves a cabinet meeting at the Elysee Palace, Paris, 2017. Credit: Bertrand Guay/AFP)

Is Pakistan at risk of losing allies over its inability or unwillingness to control militants? Sarah Montague speaks to Pakistan's Foreign Minister, Khawaja Asif. President Trump has accused his country of "housing the very terrorists" that the United States is fighting. He says that will have to change "immediately". He has also questioned why the United States is giving Pakistan billions in aid and military support. It is an argument that has been made before. But now other countries are also pointing to what they see as Pakistan's seeming double-speak on terrorism. Even China has signed a declaration including Pakistan-based groups on a terror list.(Photo: Pakistan Foreign Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif speaks at a press conference with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Beijing, 2017. Credit: Lintao Zhang/Getty Images)

Relations between the US and Russia are at a post-Cold War low point, filled with mistrust, unpredictability and potential danger. In Washington, there's a President whose mixed messages tie his own staff in knots. Meanwhile, in Moscow is a President who seems intent on exploiting Western division. HARDtalk’s Stephen Sackur speaks to Konstantin Kosachev, Chairman of the Russian Senate's Foreign Affairs Committee and an influential Russian voice on foreign affairs. Does Russia see opportunity in diplomatic chaos?(Photo: Konstantin Kosachev)

Are reports of the EU’s resurgence premature? After a bleak decade of economic stagnation, internal dysfunction and public disaffection in the EU, officials in Brussels claim the tide has turned. But is there really a renewed appetite for deeper European integration, while Britain is still searching for an exit strategy? Hardtalk’s Stephen Sackur speaks to former Italian Prime Minister, EU Commissioner and ardent integrationist, Mario Monti.

In this age of the internet, the world has come to expect instant access to knowledge. But real, deep understanding takes longer to acquire and to share. HARDtalk’s Stephen Sackur speaks to one of the world’s most acclaimed novelists- Nobel prize winner Orhan Pamuk. He has lived almost all of his life in Istanbul, writing stories about Turkey which have over decades painted a vivid picture of a country and society pulled between east and west, past and future. What is the key to understanding Orhan Pamuk's Turkey?

As demands to relocate migrants across Europe continue to grow, Hungary seems more and more at odds with the EU's policy on migration. After losing a legal challenge at the European Court of Justice which overruled its objections to the compulsory fixed-quota scheme, Hungary’s Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto has accused the court of playing politics. He tells Zeinab Badawi that the EU's migration policy is the most serious threat to security in Europe and the real battle is only just beginning.(Photo: Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto of Hungary attends a press conference, Budapest, 2017. Credit: Attila Kisbenedek/AFP)

Does the UN have the moral clout and authority to handle pressing world crises? Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is presiding over his first UN General Assembly since he took up the post in January this year. Hardtalk speaks to him at the UN headquarters in New York.(Photo: António Guterres, UN Secretary General, attends the London Conference on Somalia, 2017, London. Credit: Jack Hill/WPA Pool/Getty Images)

Is the African National Congress- the iconic movement of South Africa's liberation struggle, close to the end of its productive life? If so, will its demise be quick, or slow and painful? At the end of this year, the ANC’s current party leader- Jacob Zuma, will quit as party chief, with a host of candidates including his ex-wife vying to replace him. HARDtalk’s Stephen Sackur speaks to the former President of South Africa and ANC stalwart, Kgalema Motlanthe. Are the most respected ANC members ready to contemplate a new political home?

How will Africa cope with an impending population explosion? Over the next thirty years Africa's population is projected to double, requiring delivery of jobs, housing and infrastructure to enable two billion people to thrive. It is an unprecedented leadership challenge. Does governance in Olusegun Obasanjo's Nigeria inspire confidence or scepticism?(Photo: Olusegun Obasanjo, former president of Nigeria speaks at the London Global African Investment Summit, 2015. Credit: Anthony Devlinl/Getty Images)

Is social media bad for public discourse? Man Booker prize-winning author Howard Jacobson thinks the internet is changing the way we use words, and not for the better. But is he an artist swimming against an irresistible cultural tide?(Photo: Howard Jacobson author of The Finkler Question, poses after winning the 2010 Man Booker Prize. Credit: Stuart Wilson/Getty Images)

Donald Trump embraces disruption and unpredictability, but what does that mean for America's national security and foreign policy? At first glance it seems to herald a new era of confrontation, from the Korean peninsula to the Mexican border, but are there limits to the President's break with convention? Hardtalk’s Stephen Sackur speaks to veteran US diplomat and adviser to a host of Republican presidents - John Negroponte. Does this presidency mark a permanent shift in America's global role?(Photo: John Negroponte speaks at the 2016 Concordia Summit, New York. Credit: Paul Morigi/Getty Images)

Is it easy to lose sight of what matters most to business success? We speak to one of Asia's best-know businessmen, Tony Fernandes. He is the boss of Air Asia, football club owner, one-time Formula One investor, and dabbler in reality television. But is a flamboyant style and diversification into sports or media necessarily good for the bottom line?(Photo: CEO AirAsia Tony Fernandes at the World Economic Forum, Jakarta, 2015. Credit: Adek Berry/AFP)

US Senator Lindsey Graham speaks to Hardtalk about the foreign and domestic impact of President Trump. Senator Graham made an unsuccessful bid for the Republican presidential nomination in 2016 but remains an influential voice inside the party. He has been openly critical of President Trump but has also praised him on some aspects of foreign policy. Where does America go from here as tensions with North Korea escalate?(Photo: Senator Lindsey Graham holds a press conference, Washington DC, 2017. Credit: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

How do you survive the North Korean labour camp system? Kenneth Bae is an American Christian missionary who was arrested inside North Korea and spent two years in a Pyongyang prison.(Photo: Kenneth Bae speaks at a briefing on North Korea 2016. Credit: Getty Images)