Hardtalk

After the lifting of all sanctions relating to Iran's nuclear programme, President Hassan Rouhani said a 'golden page' in his country's history had begun. Hardtalk speaks to former British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw who has been a long-time supporter of closer ties with Iran and has visited the country many times. What is his response to critics who believe the current rapprochement will serve to bolster the hard-liners in Tehran, exacerbate regional rivalries, and fuel terror and instability in the Middle East?(Photo: Former British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw arrives at Milbank Studios in 2015. Credit: Rob Stothard/Getty Images)

Stephen Sackur speaks to Francis Egan, head of Cuadrilla, the company wanting a "shale gas revolution" in the UK. Can they win enough support to bring Fracking to the UK?(Photo: Francis Egan on Hardtalk)

Stephen Sackur talks to John Kiriakou, the former CIA agent who played a key role in anti-terror operations after 9/11 and later went public with the truth about water-boarding. He was imprisoned for leaking the names of two CIA agents and is currently on federal probation. He says he is a truth teller scapegoated by the US Government - but he betrayed a trust - should that carry a heavy price?(Photo: John Kiriakou is honored with the First Amendment Award. Credit: Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images)

Stephen Sackur talks to Harlem Desir, France's Secretary of State for European Affairs. Has France drawn the right lessons from the recent attacks on Paris?

Henry Rollins got into punk rock as a curious kid in 1970s Washington DC. He first found success as lead singer with the band Black Flag and went on to form his own band. He had a cult following on the alternative music scene, but he soon left the confines of rock and roll. Henry Rollins has embraced writing, broadcasting, acting and journalism. These days he's an activist and storyteller taking on issues from militarism to race relations to homophobia. He's built up something of a cult following around the world - but how receptive is America to his enduring punk sensibility?(Photo: Henry Rollins. Credit: Getty Images)

The British referendum on whether to stay in, or leave, the European Union may well be held this coming summer. It will be a vote of momentous significance for Britain and for the EU. The polls suggest it could be a close run thing. Stephen Sackur talks to Lord Lawson, president of the Conservatives for Britain group, which is campaigning for a British exit in defiance of Prime Minister David Cameron and his Conservative Government’s official strategy. The Eurosceptic’s have a historic opportunity – can they seize it?(Photo: Lord Lawson on Hardtalk)

Stephen Sackur talks to the political analysts Mohammad Marandi in Tehran and Jamal Khashoggi in Jeddah. Is there any way to take the heat out of the Saudi-Iranian confrontation?(Photo: Prof Mohammad Marandi, Univesity of Tehran (L) and Jamal Khashoggi, columnist and author)

Bosnia and Herzegovina is due to officially apply for membership of the European Union. But 20 years after the Dayton Agreement, which ended the bloody civil war of the early 1990s, significant obstacles persist. Youth unemployment is the highest in Europe and ethnic divisions remain in place with the Serb dominated region of Republika Srpska often threatening to declare independence. Stephen Sackur speaks to Igor Crnadak, the foreign minister of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Can his country stay intact and navigate the road to full EU membership?(Photo: Bosnian Foreign Minister Igor Crnadak, 2015. Credit: Attilla Kisbenedek/AFP/Getty Images)

The Mayor of Jerusalem, Nir Barkat, has grand plans to turn Jerusalem into a world city but is his vision far removed from the reality on the ground? He talks to Stephen Sackur about his aspirations.(Photo: Backdropped by Jerusalem's Old City Ottoman walls, Jerusalem's mayor Nir Barkat speaks during a joint press conference 2015. Credit: Gali Tibbon/AFP/Getty Images)

Depending on your point of view you can call it female circumcision, cutting, or more graphically female genital mutilation. But whatever the label it's become a hugely contentious practice in countries across Africa and beyond. Stephen Sackur speaks to two guests with first-hand experience - Fuambai Ahmadu is co-founder of the group African Women are Free to Choose, and Nimco Ali is co-creator of the Daughters of Eve movement. Should FGM have a place in the 21st Century?(Photo: Left to right, Fuambai Ahmadu and Nimco Ali)

Stephen Sackur talks to internationally acclaimed novelist and poet Ben Okri. How free are Africa's storytellers to explore the richness and diversity of their continent?(Photo: Prakash Singh/AFP/Getty Images)

Imagine you are a patient, about to undergo brain surgery. If it goes well it will save your life; if it goes wrong you could end up paralysed or dead. Of course you want to believe your surgeon is infallible, a superhero - but he is not; he is all too human just like you. That simple truth emerges from the extraordinarily honest writing of one of Britain's leading brain surgeons, Henry Marsh. He gives rare insight into the mind of the doctor - is it reassuring or troubling?

For more than three decades the ballet dancer Sylvie Guillem has performed as principal dancer at most leading ballet establishments, redrawing the boundaries of the genre. But at the end of this year she will be giving her last performance in a worldwide farewell tour. She will undoubtedly go down in ballet history as one of the greatest dancers of all time - but she is famously been dubbed 'Mademoiselle Non' for being too assertive. Zeinab Badawi speaks to her about that as well as the poisonous rivalries in the world of ballet and her activism to save the planet.(Photo: Prima ballet dancer Sylvie Guillem of France delivers a speech at a press conference in Tokyo. Credit: TOSHIFUMI KITAMURA/AFP/Getty Images)

Zeinab Badawi speaks to Nigel Owens, the Welshman who refereed the Rugby World Cup final and is one of the most respected professionals in the game. It has not been an easy journey to the top of the game for him - as a gay man in a macho sport, he has suffered depression and contemplated suicide. How has the world of rugby embraced him and what is making the sport so popular today?(Photo: Referee Nigel Owens. Credit: Matt Lewis - World Rugby/World Rugby via Getty Images)

Stephen Sackur talks to Richard Leakey, the Chairman of the Kenya Wildlife Service. Africa's wildlife is one of the wonders of the natural world, but the fate of the continent's elephants, rhinos and big cats is now desperately uncertain - illegal poaching could see these great species disappear from their African heartlands. Will the fight for Africa's endangered wildlife have a happy ending?(Photo: Richard Leakey (L) gives a press conference organised by Wildlife Direct, in Nairobi, 2014. Credit: Tony Karumba/AFP)

Colm Tóibín is an Irish writer whose intense, lyrical novels have won him awards, acclaim and most importantly millions of readers around the world. There are recurring themes in his work - loss, mourning, exile which might suggest a dark, brooding presence. Stephen Sackur asks how close that is to the real Colm Tóibín?(Photo: Colm Tóibín in the Hardtalk studio)

Hardtalk’s guest is Hollywood actor Burt Reynolds. He turns 80 next year. Why does he say that although he’s made around 100 films he’s only proud of just a handful of them?(Photo: Actor Burt Reynolds accepts award during Spike TV's Guys Choice. Credit: Kevin Winter/Getty Images)

Lord Turner, is a doyen of the UK economic establishment who has concluded that western economies remain dangerously reliant on debt. It might be reassuring if we could put the blame for the financial crash of 2008 on greedy bankers but what if the crisis was much deeper and more structural? Stephen Sackur asks Lord Turner if his solution; printing money to stimulate growth without adding to the debt pile, is credible?(Photo: Lord Turner in the Hardtalk studio)

Tokyo Sexwale served thirteen years in jail on Robben Island with Nelson Mandela. As well as a career in politics he went into business and through interests in mining, gold and diamonds became one of the richest black South Africans. Now he is among five candidates vying to succeed FIFA president Sepp Blatter. Can he reinvent himself and win this top football post? Or could past controversies damage his chances?

Stephen Sackur speaks to the Secretary General of the Anglican communion Archbishop Josiah Idowu-Fearon from Nigeria. Does the Anglican establishment have its priorities right?