Hardtalk

Iron Maiden is one of the most successful heavy metal bands ever. They have sold more than 80 million albums and are renowned for their live shows - tickets for which they say sell faster now than at any point in their 30 years as a band. Sarah Montague speaks to the band's lead singer, Bruce Dickinson, the only member of the band who has lopped off the long, 'hard rocking' hair. And that is because of his dual life. For when he is not on stage performing in front of thousands he can often be found in a cockpit. He is a commercial pilot who has now set up his own aviation business. So how can you mix the hard rock lifestyle of a metal-head with the clean living required of a pilot and entrepreneur?

Robin Gibb was a musician who did much to define the pop music of the 70s and 80s. With his brothers Maurice and Barry he formed the Bee Gees. They wrote the soundtrack for the disco era, perhaps captured best in their music for the movie Saturday Night Fever. In December 2010, Robin Gibb joined Stephen Sackur in the Hardtalk studio to talk about his music, his family and the pressures of a pop business which drove him into a private hell of drink, drugs and depression. In more recent years, Robin Gibb found a new sense of purpose, both in his music and in his work for a host of charities. To the end he remained committed to song-writing and was an advocate for talent in an industry increasingly dominated by marketing rather than the music itself. So today, a look back at Hardtalk with the late Robin Gibb.

So much for all the talk of a Moscow Spring. Despite sporadic street protests and the stirrings of middle-class rebellion, Vladimir Putin is back in the Kremlin and Russia's economic and political status quo remains intact. Why do liberal opponents of Putin struggle to gain traction? Stephen Sackur speaks to Grigory Yavlinsky, economist, reformer and a veteran leader of Russia's fragmented opposition. Will the liberals ever win in Russia?

At last Sub Saharan Africa has a positive economic story to tell, but is it being matched by improved governance? Are Africa's leaders making the best use of the current surge in economic growth to tackle endemic poverty? HARDtalk’s Stephen Sackur speaks to Guy Scott, recently appointed vice-president of Zambia. He is a trained scientist, an ex-farmer, and he happens to be the most senior white official in post-colonial Africa. It is tempting to see him as a symbol of a continent no longer trapped in its past, but is it true?

Football is a global obsession - the star players of the sport, the likes of Messi, Rooney and Ronaldo reap vast rewards and worldwide adulation. But there's a sense of something rotten in the people's game. A sport worth billions of dollars has fallen prey to match fixing, cheating and bouts of shameful behaviour. Stephen Sackur speaks to Louis Saha, a French international striker, currently with Spurs in the English Premier League. His is the view from inside the football factory - has the joy been taken out of the beautiful game?

Greece appears to be inching closer to the Eurozone exit door. If the Greeks leave how far could the contagion spread? One country which could very soon find itself in the eye of a financial storm is Cyprus - where the banks are paying a heavy price for their investments in Greece. Stephen Sackur speaks to Michalis Sarris, chairman of the Cyprus Popular Bank and former minister of finance. A mountain of banking debt, a weak government, an angry public - could Cyprus be the next domino to fall in this Eurozone crisis?

Has western military intervention in Afghanistan failed? The question will hang over this weekend's Nato summit in Chicago as the alliance's political leaders set the seal on a phased military retreat while pledging long-term support for the Afghan Government. Stephen Sackur speaks to Sir William Patey who has just retired from his post as British ambassador in Kabul. Did the West get the balance between war and diplomacy fundamentally wrong in Afghanistan?

Jordan has survived the Arab Spring relatively unscathed, at least so far. Perhaps it is because the king has promised reform. But he is now on his fourth prime minister since the start of 2011 and the changes proposed so far won't do enough to satisfy his critics. They say King Abdullah is just buying time and is not serious about reform. And this in a country seen as critical to peace in the region not least because of its troubled neighbours, Syria and Israel. So how much time does Jordan have to sort itself out? Nasser Judeh, foreign minister of Jordan, talks to Sarah Montague.

American Presidents have long been criticised for being too in thrall to the Jewish lobby, and that American Jews influence US foreign policy, which explains America's unwavering support for Israel. So what happens if American Jews fall out of love with Israel? That's what the Jewish American academic Norman Finkelstein claims is happening. He suggests that American Jews are now unhappy with what Israel is doing and they want to distance themselves from the country. Finkelstein is nothing if not controversial. He, after all, is famous for accusing Jews of exploiting the Holocaust. His actions have resulted in him being banned from entering Israel. Could he be right and, if he is, what does that mean for America's Middle East policy?

The west faces a lost decade of economic stagnation. Unemployment is high, inequality is rising and governments are broke. Should we be blaming capitalism or looking to the market for solutions?HARDtalk’s Stephen Sackur speaks to Sir Ronald Cohen, one of Britain's most innovative business leaders. He is a pioneer of venture capitalism who is now committed to the idea of social investment, or capitalism with a conscience. Can the private sector combine a commitment to profit and the public good?

Africa's newest nation, South Sudan, is in trouble. Less than a year after independence from Khartoum, the South and its much larger northern neighbour are confronting each other over oil reserves, borders and territory. Sporadic fighting has prompted mutual recrimination and talk of all-out war.HARDtalk’s Stephen Sackur speaks to South Sudan's foreign minister Nhial Deng Nhial. The African Union and the UN are pushing hard for a negotiated settlement, but is it already too late?

Science is constantly changing and deepening our understanding of ourselves and our planet. So is it time to give scientists a more prominent role in the debate about humanity's strategic choices; economic, political and environmental?HARDtalk’s Stephen Sackur speaks to Sir John Sulston, a Nobel Prize-winning molecular biologist who has led a Royal Society study into the global impact of population growth two decades on from the Rio Earth Summit. Can science help the human species change its ways?

In post Soviet Russia, a small band of businessmen became unimaginably rich. These so-called oligarchs command assets worth billions of dollars, but their position isn’t without its perils in the era of Putin. Disloyalty to the Kremlin can have grave consequences. HARDtalk’s Stephen Sackur speaks to Oleg Deripaska, a billionaire many times over, the architect of a vast business empire that currently faces significant economic and legal challenges. Is the politics of Russia proving to be bad for business?

HARDtalk’s Stephen Sackur is at the Globe Theatre in London - a magical recreation of the theatre where William Shakespeare honed his theatrical genius in the late sixteenth century. Over the next six weeks every one of Shakespeare’s 37 plays is going to be performed, in 37 different languages by theatre companies from all over the world. He speaks to actor Zoë Wanamaker, honorary president of the Globe which was built thanks to the tireless efforts of her father, the American actor and director, Sam Wanamaker, about Shakespeare, the stage and her family's artistic obsession.

The official Olympic creed says it’s not the winning that counts but the taking part. Try telling that to the elite professional athletes and their coaches who have dedicated their lives to the quest for a gold medal. With the London games now fewer than 100 days away HARDtalk’s Stephen Sackur speaks to Peter Keen, Performance Director for UK Sport. In Beijing four years ago, his strategies helped deliver a record medal haul for team GB - in London the aim is to do even better. But has the cult of winning gone too far?

In a programme first broadcast in 2012, Stephen Sackur speaks to FW de Klerk, South Africa's last apartheid-era leader and a co-recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize with Nelson Mandela.Photo: Former South African President FW de Klerk in Cape Town, South Africa, 2020 (Credit: Reuters)

From Syria, to Sri Lanka, to Russia, there are journalists ready to put themselves in harm's way to shine a light on some of the darkest corners of conflict, crime and corruption. What makes them do it? And what difference do they make? Stephen Sackur speaks to British photo journalist Paul Conroy who was wounded in the Syrian army's bombardment of the city of Homs last February which killed his Sunday Times colleague Marie Colvin. When, if ever, is telling the story worth risking your life?

Stephen Sackur speaks to perhaps the UK's most controversial police officer, a commander in London's Metropolitan Police and a convicted criminal. Ali Dizaei was born in Iran, studied law in London and became a high-flying spokesman for ethnic minority police officers in a London force dogged by accusations of racism. Ali Dizaei portrays himself as a victim; the courts decided he was a rogue cop. What does his rise and fall say about British policing?

Stephen Sackur speaks to one of Britain's finest writing talents, whose creativity defies a simple label. Yes, Michael Frayn is a renowned playwright whose work has ranged from high farce to cerebral intensity. But he's also an acclaimed novelist and an accomplished translator from the Russian of Chekhov and Tolstoy. Throughout his writing career he's mixed high seriousness with a wicked sense of the absurd. Is laughter an essential tool for the serious writer?

Should Iraq be doing more to end the bloodshed on its doorstep or does it have its own vested interest in keeping Syria's president Assad in power? While president Nouri Al-Maliki faces criticism for his stance on Syria and his closeness to Iran, the country remains gripped by a rise in sectarian violence. Hamid Al-Bayati represents Iraq at the United Nations. Tim Franks asks him just how much influence Iran has on Iraq's foreign policy.