Hardtalk

Venezuela's economy is in meltdown. It's shrinking faster than any other country in the world. Inflation is at nearly 500% and most people say they can no longer afford to buy enough food. Maria Corina Machado has led street protests and is calling on all Venezuelans - including the military - to force President Maduro to resign. He is accusing her of plotting a coup.

HARDtalk’s Zeinab Badawi speaks to Turkey’s Prime Minister, Binali Yildirim, in his first extensive international broadcast interview since being sworn into office in May.

Zeinab Badawi speaks to Sir Jeremy Greenstock, former UK Ambassador to the UN, who was deeply involved in the decision-making process leading up to the Iraq War. He served as the UK's permanent representative in Iraq in the immediate aftermath of the invasion and gave evidence to the Chilcot inquiry which looked at the invasion and its consequences. With the benefit of hindsight would he have done anything differently?

HARDtalk’s Zeinab Badawi presents a special edition of the programme from Rome. Migration, the Euro, and of course Brexit are testing the European Union as never before. In Italy there’s talk of another possible blow for the EU. If voters use a forthcoming referendum on constitutional change as a chance to register a protest vote against the country’s centre left government, anti-Euro populist parties may be able to capitalise. HARDtalk speaks to Italy’s Foreign Minister Paolo Gentiloni. Are Italians becoming disillusioned with the EU project?

Stephen Sackur talks to Gwyneth Paltrow, Oscar winning actor in Cannes, in the South of France. A Hollywood A-lister who in recent years has focused much of her attention on building her lifestyle and consumer business, Goop. Her likes and dislikes are followed by millions, prompting aspiration in some, mockery in others. Why does Gwyneth Paltrow rouse such strong reaction?(Photo: Actress Gwyneth Paltrow signs copies of her book It's All Easy. Credit: Cindy Ord/Getty Images)

From his Oscar-winning score for The Lion King, through 12 Years A Slave to a series of superhero blockbusters including Batman v Superman, Hans Zimmer is, as one director put it, 'quite simply the contemporary composer to work with'. German born and British educated, he never received formal musical training and is a champion of technology. Shaun Ley asks Hans Zimmer whether the technology he so loves is killing the music makers.Image: Hans Zimmer, Credit: Justin Tallis/AFP/Getty Images

HARDtalks’s Stephen Sackur talks to Tony Garnett, Film and TV producer about his work. Watching TV is something pretty much all of us do for news, sport and entertainment, but how much of what we stare at on the box do we actually remember ? His subjects of homelessness, illegal abortion, police corruption point to his radicalism - he uncovered dark corners of British life. How much of his motivation came from the dark corners in his own life ?

Zeinab Badawi talks to Patrick Chinamasa, Zimbabwean Finance Minister, long-time cabinet minister and ally of President Robert Mugabe. Zimbabwe’s economy is once again staring down at the abyss. Hospitals are running out of basic supplies, more than half the population is hungry and criticisms of the veteran President Mugabe are gathering pace. How will he sort out this mess that he himself must stand accused of helping create?(Photo: Patrick Chinamasa in the Hardtalk studio)

After the worst mass shooting in US history at a nightclub in Orlando, presidential hopefuls Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump are clashing over the causes. Conservatives used to be united by their shared attitude to god, guns and gays; confident warriors in an ideological battle with liberals. Orlando is another test for those beliefs. Former speechwriter for US president George W. Bush, and lifelong conservative David Frum, thinks the triumph of Trump proves that the power of conservatism is crumbling. Should Republicans embrace change? And should they even consider embracing Hillary Clinton?

Stephen Sackur talks to the former deputy prime minister and passionate Remain advocate Lord Heseltine. Britain's referendum campaign on whether to stay in or leave the European Union is not going quite as Prime Minister, David Cameron, would have wished. He wants a convincing win for the Remain camp on 23 June but the polls suggest it will be very close. Are the Remainers beginning to worry?(Photo: Former Conservative Cabinet Minister Michael Heseltine attends the funeral for Tony Benn, 2014. Credit: Oli Scarff/Getty Images)

Stephen Sackur talks to Chris Grayling, the Leader of the House of Commons in the UK and a senior figure in the campaign to leave the European Union. Any hopes that Britain's decision on whether to stay in or leave the EU would be calm, dispassionate and respectful have been well and truly dashed. In the run up to the referendum on 23 June, the the two camps are kicking lumps out of each other - and the fight is at its bloodiest inside the governing conservative party. Will this political war ultimately weaken Britain and Europe?(Photo: Leader of the House of Commons, Chris Grayling, speaks during a Vote Leave press conference on 31 May 2016. Credit: Carl Court/Getty Images)

Stephen Sackur talks to Michael Yardy, former top England one day cricketer and world cup winner in 2010, whose international career ended as a result of mental illness. Elite professional sport is a well-rewarded but unforgiving business. Top performers need a particular kind of mental strength. What happens when they lose it - when self-doubt and depression kick in? Why have so many cricketers suffered from mental torment?(Photo: Michael Yardy of Sussex celebrates his century during the LV County Championship match between Lancashire and Sussex at Old Trafford, 2014. Credit: Jan Kruger/Getty Images)

Stephen Sackur speaks to Tom Fletcher who was appointed British Ambassador to Lebanon at the tender age of 36. Five years on he has just written an operational review of the UK’s Foreign Office. What is the point of the modern day diplomat? Theirs is a world of fortified embassies, chauffeured limousines, and elaborate protocol, but in this globalised internet age, what kind of value do they add? Is diplomacy as we know it dead?

In March British boxer Nick Blackwell almost died after a bout with Chris Eubank junior. HARDtalk's Stephen Sackur speaks to Chris Eubank senior who now manages his son.

HARDtalk’s Stephen Sackur talks to the President of Costa Rica, Luis Guillermo Solis. They used to call Costa Rica the Switzerland of Latin America; it seemed so much more stable, peaceful and prosperous than its neighbours. But now that image is fading as the country faces a budget crisis, endemic poverty, organised crime and corruption. President Solis came to power promising change, so what’s gone wrong?

Stephen Sackur speaks to Dr Fatih Birol, executive director of the International Energy Agency and one of the world's most influential observers of the global energy market. The price of oil has more than halved over the past two years. That's great news if you're an oil consumer but it's alarming if your priority is to wean the world’s economy off carbon emitting fossil fuels. Does cheap oil make decarbonising the world economy even more difficult?(Photo: Dr Fatih Birol in the Hardtalk studio)

Stephen Sackur talks to Libyan politician Mustafa Abushagur, briefly prime minister in 2012 and a backer of the unity government. Over the last five years the Libyan state has been shattered into fragments - now it has a UN backed government committed to restoring unity. But the political scene remains confused and jihadists from Islamic state pose a continued threat. Is Libya beyond salvation?(Photo: Dr Mustafa Abushagur in the Hardtalk studio)

Hardtalk presents a special programme recorded in front of an audience in the BBC’s Radio Theatre in Central London and a guest whose all consuming passion for this subject was forged in his childhood. Alfred Dubs, now Lord Dubs, arrived in Britain as a six-year-old fleeing Nazi persecution. He wants Britain to take more child refugees. What is Europe's responsibility to people fleeing conflict?(Photo: Lord Dubs in the BBC's Radio Theatre)

Stephen Sackur talks to Brian Eno, the hugely influential contemporary music maker once styled the ‘brainiest guy in pop’ – except the word ‘pop’ does not really fit. Briefly a member of Roxy Music in the early '70s, he then went his own way, creating ambient music, developing audio-visual installations and collaborating with a host of big names including Bowie, U2 and Coldplay. His output has been prolific and varied, but what is he? A musician, a composer, or an artist impossible to label?(Photo: British musician and activist Brian Eno speaks at the the Democracy in Europe Movement 2025 (DiEM25), 2016, Berlin. Credit: Sean Gallup/Getty Images)

After the British Labour Party suffered a crushing election defeat a year ago, the shell-shocked party took a dramatic turn to the left. New leader Jeremy Corbyn presented himself as the anti-austerity, anti-war antithesis of Tony Blair's new Labour. So, how is the Corbyn formula working? HARDtalk's Stephen Sackur speaks to Labour stalwart, shadow Foreign Secretary Hilary Benn and asks, does Labour present a credible alternative to the Cameron government?