Hardtalk

Brandon Bryant's story provides a rare glimpse into a secret world and raises questions about the nature of 21st Century warfare. He joined the US Air Force straight out of college. He was picked to join one of the United States' most controversial and important military programmes - the deployment of armed unmanned aerial vehicles, better known as drones - to hunt down and kill some of America's most dangerous enemies. The experience has left him haunted and angry. We find out why.

Two years after the death of Hugo Chavez, Venezuela’s socialist revolution is in trouble. The country's oil reliant economy is ravaged by inflation, shortages and corruption. Those hit hardest are the poor, Chavez's bedrock supporters. Hardtalk speaks to one of the most prominent and outspoken members of the Venezuelan opposition - Maria Corina Machado. How close is chaos in Venezuela?(Photo: Maria Corina Machado, Venezuelan opposition leader. Credit: Evaristo Sa/AFP/Getty Images)

The scale of humanitarian suffering in Syria is impossible to capture in words delivered from the comfort of a radio studio - 12 million people are in dire need of emergency aid. Hardtalk speaks to Valerie Amos, head of the UN's humanitarian affairs operation. Is Syria part of a wider story of international humanitarian failure?(Photo: Valerie Amos, UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator. Credit: Joseph Eid/AFP/Getty Images)

Do the world's richest individuals owe anything to the societies within which they flourish? Is the notion of 'giving back' a choice or a moral obligation? As part of the BBC’s Richer World season Hardtalk speaks to one of Britain's wealthiest men, the billionaire John Caudwell. He made his fortune out of mobile phones and now divides his time between backing new businesses and philanthropy. What are the ingredients for a healthy capitalist society?(Photo: John Caudwell at the Caudwell Children The Legends Ball in Battersea, London. Credit: Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images)

Hardtalk speaks to a legend of the music business, a man who has written and performed some of the most memorable tracks of the last four decades. Nile Rodgers co-founded Chic, the band which defined the late '70s disco generation. From his own band Chic, to his collaborations with everyone from Madonna to Daft Punk, his beat goes on – so what is the secret to his special sound?(Photo: Nile Rodgers at the Spotify seminar, St. James's Church, Piccadilly, 2015. Credit: Ben A. Pruchnie/Getty Images)

Hong Kong's self-styled umbrella revolution blew itself out before it could deliver any long-term change in the former colony's political weather. Hardtalk speaks to one of the pro-democracy movement leaders, Benny Tai. Months of street protests failed to pressure Beijing into concessions on the election of Hong Kong's next chief executive - so where does the campaign for political reform go now?(Photo: Benny Tai, an original founder of the pro-democracy Occupy movement, surrenders to the police in Hong Kong. Credit: Johannes Eisele/AFP/Getty Images)

Stephen Sackur speaks with US venture capitalist and philanthropist Nick Hanauer, live from the BBC’s Radio Theatre in London. Nick Hanauer is an American dotcom billionaire businessman. He believes that the rich in America should pay more taxes and has warned of revolution if wealth inequality is not addressed. Is American capitalism in danger of collapse?(Photo: Nick Hanauer. BBC copyright)

Stephen Sackur speaks to General Sir Richard Shirreff, recently retired as deputy commander of Nato forces. He has recently described British Prime Minister David Cameron as hesitant and vacillating, and claims Britain and Nato are exhibiting dangerous weakness on conflicts from Ukraine to Syria. But is there a viable strategic alternative?(Photo: General Sir Richard Shirreff. Credit: Nato)

For the past five years Britains Liberal Democrat Party have been the junior partner in a coalition with the Conservatives. They have helped deliver a stable government and have wielded power for the first time in their modern history. Yet the electorate seems ready to condemn them for it in the coming British general election. We speak to Liberal Democrat government minister David Laws. What does his party’s experience say about politics in Britain today?(Photo: David Laws. Credit: Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images)

In-depth, hard-hitting interviews with newsworthy personalities.

Lord Levy is a prominent figure in British public life on two counts - as a leading voice in a British Jewish community which is increasingly concerned about rising levels of anti-Semitism, and as a key fund-raiser for the Labour Party in the era of Tony Blair and new Labour. Lord Levy remains an influential businessman, networker and fundraiser, but in terms of both the Jewish community and today's Labour Party are there problems that just can't be fixed?(Photo: Lord Levy, former Labour Party fundraiser. Credit: Peter Macdiarmid/Getty Images)

The Philippines is Asia’s only predominantly Christian country. The Roman Catholic Church has huge influence - divorce and abortion are illegal for example. The Church is currently engaged in a huge battle with the government over its plans to provide free contraceptives to the poor. Stephen Sackur talks to the Catholic Church’s most senior cleric in the Philippines, Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle and asks, is the Catholic Church helping or hindering the development of the nation?(Photo: Philippines' Luis Antonio Tagle greets visitors during the courtesy visit after being appointed by the pontif on November 24, 2012. Credit: Vincenzo Pinto/AFP/Getty Images)

Stock markets in New York and London are sitting close to record highs - if the Dow is your guide then we are living in the best of times. But it doesn’t feel like that in the real world, what with the Eurozone crisis, a host of geopolitical uncertainties and frightening levels of global debt. Hardtalk speaks to Neil Woodford, Britain’s most successful investor of recent years. Is this a time for economic confidence, or caution?(Photo: Neil Wooford, head of investment, Woodford Investment Management. BBC copyright)

The Conservative peer, Baroness Sayeeda Warsi is one of the most prominent Muslims in Britain. She was the first Muslim to sit in the cabinet, before she resigned last year over government policy on Gaza. As a former minster for communities and social cohesion why does she believe there is a lack of trust between the government and British Muslims?(Photo: Baroness Sayeeda Warsi arrives for a Cabinet meeting at Number 10 Downing St. Credit: Getty Images)

Aimen Dean was a trusted member of Al Qaeda's inner sanctum in Afghanistan in the late 1990s. With his Quranic learning and fervent commitment to holy war, this young Saudi received a personal audience with Osama Bin Laden and came to know most of Al Qaeda's key leaders. But Aiman Dean did not share the group's enthusiasm for terror attacks inflicting mass civilian casualties. After the bombings of US embassies in Africa in 1998, he left Afghanistan and began working as an informant for the UK security services. What does his extraordinary story tell us about the nature of the jihadist threat?

The UK has become the first country in the world to legalise the creation of what are commonly known as 'three-parent babies' and the first such infants could be born next year. The process allows mothers who carry rare but fatal genetic disorders to have children without passing on the diseases. Opponents say the change has been introduced too soon and marks a slippery slope towards designer babies. Hardtalk speaks to one of the most celebrated doctors in modern history - professor Robert Winston - one of the main pioneers of the IVF technique that revolutionised infertility treatment. But are ‘three-parent babies’ a revolution too far?

Berlin doesn’t house any of the European Union’s key institutions, but there is no doubt this is the power capital of Europe – something Greece’s new left-wing Government now knows all too well. Germany calls the shots when it comes to shaping Europe’s economic policy. HARDtalk’s Stephen Sackur speaks to an influential member of Chancellor Merkel’s CDU party – Vice-Chairman of the parliamentary party Michael Fuchs. In the high stakes showdown over Greece’s debt, has Germany used its power wisely?

In-depth, hard-hitting interviews with newsworthy personalities.

Hardtalk speaks to the activist and rapper Tef Poe. He's described the fatal shooting in Ferguson, Missouri, of unarmed teenager Michael Brown as a "declaration of war" by the police. Tef Poe has stated that "my grandparents endured this type of treatment so we wouldn't have to". So if you are young, black and poor in America today are you at war with the police? This interview forms part of the BBC’s Richer World Season.(Photo: Tef Poe)

In a special edition of HARDtalk, Zeinab Badawi is in Brussels to speak to Lebanon’s Foreign Minister Gebran Bassil. He has travelled to the city to tell EU officials that his country has been overwhelmed by Syrian refugees. More than one million Syrians live in Lebanon – many of them have fled the oppression and brutality of the Assad government. So why then does his political party have an alliance with Hezbollah that backs the Syrian President?(Photo: Gebran Bassil. Credit: Emmanuel Dunand/AFP/Getty Images)